The Mark of Athena

“And you know stuff,” Percy added. “Like about the twins and what they’re up to.”



“The twins!” Phorcys made his voice echo. Sparklers blazed to life in front of the sea serpent tank. “Yes, I know all about Ephialtes and Otis. Those wannabes! They never fit in with the other giants. Too puny—and those snakes for feet.”



“Snakes for feet?” Percy remembered the long, curly shoes the twins had been wearing in his dream.



“Yes, yes,” Phorcys said impatiently. “They knew they couldn’t get by on their strength, so they decided to go for drama—illusions, stage tricks, that sort of thing. You see, Gaea shaped her giant children with specific enemies in mind. Each giant was born to kill a certain god. Ephialtes and Otis…well, together they were sort of the anti-Dionysus.”



Percy tried to wrap his mind around that idea. “So…they want to replace all wine with cranberry juice or something?”



The sea god snorted. “Nothing like that! Ephialtes and Otis always wanted to do things better, flashier, more spectacular! Oh, of course they wanted to kill Dionysus. But first they wanted to humiliate him by making his revelries look tame!”



Frank glanced at the sparklers. “By using stuff like fireworks and disco balls?”



Phorcys’s mouth stretched into that wind tunnel smile. “Exactly! I taught the twins everything they know, or at least I tried to. They never listened. Their first big trick? They tried to reach Olympus by piling mountains on top of one another. It was just an illusion, of course. I told them it was ridiculous. ‘You should start small,’ I said. ‘Sawing each other in half, pulling gorgons out of a hat. That sort of thing. And matching sequined outfits. Twins need those!’”



“Good advice,” Percy agreed. “And now the twins are—”



“Oh, preparing for their doomsday show in Rome,” Phorcys sneered. “It’s one of Mother’s silly ideas. They’re keeping some prisoner in a large bronze jar.” He turned toward Frank. “You’re a child of Ares, aren’t you? You’ve got that smell. The twins imprisoned your father the same way, once.”



“Child of Mars,” Frank corrected. “Wait…these giants trapped my dad in a bronze jar?”



“Yes, another stupid stunt,” said the sea god. “How can you show off your prisoner if he’s in a bronze jar? No entertainment value. Not like my lovely specimens!”



He gestured to the hippocampi, who were bonking their heads apathetically against the glass.



Percy tried to think. He felt like the lethargy of the addled sea creatures was starting to affect him. “You said this—this doomsday show was Gaea’s idea?”



“Well…Mother’s plans always have lots of layers.” He laughed. “The earth has layers! I suppose that makes sense!”



“Uh-huh,” Percy said. “And so her plan…”



“Oh, she’s put out a general bounty on some group of demigods,” Phorcys said. “She doesn’t really care who kills them, as long as they’re killed. Well…I take that back. She was very specific that two must be spared. One boy and one girl. Tartarus only knows why. At any rate, the twins have their little show planned, hoping it will lure these demigods to Rome. I suppose the prisoner in the jar is a friend of theirs or some such. That, or perhaps they think this group of demigods will be foolish enough to come into their territory searching for the Mark of Athena.” Phorcys elbowed Frank in the ribs. “Ha! Good luck with that, eh?”



Frank laughed nervously. “Yeah. Ha-ha. That would be really dumb because, uh…”



Phorcys narrowed his eyes.



Percy slipped his hand into his pocket. He closed his fingers around Riptide. Even this old sea god must be smart enough to realize they were the demigods with the bounty on their heads.



But Phorcys just grinned and elbowed Frank again. “Ha! Good one, child of Mars. I suppose you’re right. No point talking about it. Even if the demigods found that map in Charleston, they’d never make it to Rome alive!”



“Yes, the MAP IN CHARLESTON,” Frank said loudly, giving Percy a wide-eyed look to make sure he hadn’t missed the information. He couldn’t have been more obvious if he had held up a large sign that read CLUE!!!!!



“But enough boring educational stuff!” Phorcys said. “You’ve paid for the VIP treatment. Won’t you please let me finish the tour? The three denarii entrance fee is nonrefundable, you know.”



Percy wasn’t excited about more fireworks, donut-scented smoke, or depressing captive sea creatures. But he glanced at Frank and decided they’d better humor the crabby old god, at least until they found Coach Hedge and got safely to the exit. Besides, they might be able to get more information out of Phorcys.



“Afterward,” Percy said, “can we ask questions?”



“Of course! I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” Phorcys clapped his hands twice. On the wall under the glowing red sign, a new tunnel appeared, leading into another tank.



“Walk this way!” Phorcys scuttled sideways through the tunnel.



Frank scratched his head. “Do we have to—?” He turned sideways.



“It’s just a figure of speech, man,” Percy said. “Come on.”



Chapter 16



The tunnel ran along the floor of a gymnasium-sized tank. Except for water and some cheap decorations, it seemed majestically empty. Percy guessed there were about fifty thousand gallons of water over their heads. If the tunnel were to shatter for some reason…



No big deal, Percy thought. I’ve been surrounded by water thousands of times. This is my home court.



But his heart was pounding. He remembered sinking into the cold Alaskan bog—black mud covering his eyes, mouth, and nose.



Phorcys stopped in the middle of the tunnel and spread his arms proudly. “Beautiful exhibit, isn’t it?”



Percy tried to distract himself by concentrating on details. In one corner of the tank, snuggled in a forest of fake kelp, was a life-sized plastic gingerbread cottage with bubbles coming out of the chimney. In the opposite corner, a plastic sculpture of a guy in an old-fashioned diving suit knelt beside a treasure chest, which popped open every few seconds, spewed bubbles, and closed again. Littered across the white sand floor were glass marbles the size of bowling balls, and a strange assortment of weapons like tridents and spearguns. Outside the tank’s display wall was an amphitheater with seating for several hundred.



“What do you keep in here?” Frank asked. “Giant killer goldfish?”



Phorcys raised his eyebrows. “Oh, that would be good! But, no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish.”



At descendant of Poseidon, Frank flinched. He stepped back, gripping his backpack like a mace he was prepared to swing.



A sense of dread trickled down Percy’s throat like cough syrup. Unfortunately, it was a feeling he was used to.



“How do you know Frank’s last name?” he demanded. “How do you know he’s descended from Poseidon?”



“Well…” Phorcys shrugged, trying to look modest. “It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson.”



Percy uncapped his pen. Instantly, Riptide appeared in his hand. “Don’t double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers.”



“After the VIP treatment, yes,” Phorcys agreed. “I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don’t really need to know anything.” His grotesque smile stretched wide. “You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you’d never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You’re not leaving. You’re VIPs—Very Important Prisoners!”



Percy lunged. Frank hurled his backpack at the sea god’s head. Phorcys simply disappeared.



The god’s voice reverberated through the aquarium’s sound system, echoing down the tunnel. “Yes, good! Fighting is good! You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You two will make an excellent exhibit—the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity. ‘Demigod Terrors’—yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM.”



“You’re crazy!” Frank yelled.



“Don’t sell yourself short!” Phorcys said. “You’ll be our biggest draw!”



Frank ran for the exit, only to slam into a glass wall. Percy ran the other way and found it blocked as well. Their tunnel had become a bubble. He put his hand against the glass and realized it was softening, melting like ice. Soon the water would come crashing in.



“We won’t cooperate, Phorcys!” he shouted.



“Oh, I’m optimistic,” the sea god’s voice boomed. “If you won’t fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you’ll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you’ll come to love your new home.”



Over Percy’s head, the glass dome cracked and began to leak.



“I’m the son of Poseidon!” Percy tried to keep the fear out of his voice. “You can’t imprison me in water. This is where I’m strongest.”



Phorcys’s laugh seemed to come from all around them. “What a coincidence! It’s also where I’m strongest. This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you two. I’ll see you at feeding time!”



The glass dome shattered, and the water crashed in.



Percy held his breath until he couldn’t stand it. When he finally filled his lungs with water, it felt just like normal breathing. The water pressure didn’t bother him. His clothes didn’t even get wet. His underwater abilities were as good as ever.



It’s just a stupid phobia, he assured himself. I’m not going to drown.



Then he remembered Frank, and he immediately felt a surge of panic and guilt. Percy had been so worried about himself that he’d forgotten his friend was only a distant descendant of Poseidon. Frank couldn’t breathe underwater.



But where was he?



Percy turned in a full circle. Nothing. Then he glanced up. Hovering about him was a giant goldfish. Frank had turned—clothes, backpack, and all—into a koi the size of a teenaged boy.



Dude. Percy sent his thoughts through the water, the way he spoke with other sea creatures. A goldfish?



Frank’s voice came back to him: I freaked. We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me.



I’m having a telepathic conversation with a giant koi, Percy said. Great. Can you turn into something more…useful?



Silence. Maybe Frank was concentrating, though it was impossible to tell, since koi don’t have many expressions.



Sorry. Frank sounded embarrassed. I’m stuck. That happens sometimes when I panic.