For a place called ‘the Sea of Monsters’, it was kind of insulting how beautiful its islands were.

  First, it was Circe’s resort, and now the mountainous Caribbean paradise that was Polyphemus’ home. The green fields and fruit trees spread across the hills of the highland and white beaches lined its shore. Besides the giant rope bridge spanning the chasm splitting the island in half, Percy could see it being a great vacation destination–if you were into the hiking or climbing sort of thing.

  There were two ways up the mountaintop where Polyphemus’ cave was. They could land on the west side of the island and walk up the mountain path, but they’d have to go through the man-eating sheep guarding the Fleece. They did have a great team of heroes…but something told Percy not to risk it. It might have been the pile of clean bones in the meadow.

  So Percy decided to go with option two. The Queen Anne’s Revenge landed on the east side of the island, where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet. Here was where they found the CSS Birmingham. Or at least, what was left of it.

  The ironclad had been run aground, sunken into the shallow waters of the beach. Its back half was crushed like a tin can. Since the dying engine was still whining pathetically, it must have been attacked not very long ago.

  “What could have done that?” Reyna asked.

  “Polyphemus, probably,” Annabeth muttered. “Looks like Clarisse got herself caught again.”

  Serves her right , Percy thought. She had abandoned them, after all, and it was high time for her to be knocked down a peg or two. He looked over the wreckage with worry. “Where’s Tyson?”

  They circled around the sunken ship but found nothing. Not even any zombie sailors. The only thing Percy found was the three duffel bags they got from Hermes, but that was it.

  “Once the ship goes down they do too. It’s probably part of their curse.” Annabeth theorized.

  But still, no Tyson. Percy swallowed a lump in his throat. Tyson had to be alright. Maybe Polyphemus captured him, or he escaped and was somewhere on this island. If Tyson could survive an exploding battleship, then surely he would be fine from this.

  And like the gods were listening to his prayers for once, Percy heard a neigh behind them. They all whirled around to see a glittering horse made out of water, with a very familiar figure sitting on it.

  “Tyson!”

  “Brother!” Tyson leaped onto the ship, sweeping Percy up in a bear hug. “You found us!”

  Percy couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s great to see you, big guy.”

  “What happened here, Tyson?” Leo asked, pointing at the ruined ship.

  “Clarisse didn’t want to wait so she left you on the island. Sorry.” Tyson glumly explained. “I kept hoping you guys would find us. But the big cyclops found us first.”

  “Sounds about right then.” Piper sighed. “What do we do?”

  Annabeth pointed up the cliffs. “Grover and Clarisse are up there. We have to climb.”

  Leo wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, do we have to? Give me an hour and I can get some rope and pulley thing going on…”

  “We don’t have that time.” Percy shook his head. Now that the cyclops had captured Clarisse, who wasn’t exactly good at reading the room, Grover’s cover could be blown at any moment.

  Annabeth clapped her hands authoritatively. “Grab some rope and a partner. We’ll go up in pairs.”

  “Hey, can someone explain what’s going on here?” Hylla interrupted, looking annoyed. “This isn’t what we signed up for, fighting cyclopses and whatever. You said you would keep us safe. Climbing a death cliff isn’t safe. ”

  It was hard to argue with that. Annabeth looked at Hylla apologetically. “You’re right; you shouldn’t have to get involved with this. I won't stop you if you want to stay on the ship.”

  Hylla nodded, making her decision clear. Reyna still looked unsure, which she had been doing a lot lately. It was weird to see her so shaky when Percy always remembered her being so confident and decisive.

  “We should help them, Hylla.” Reyna suddenly said.

  Her sister turned to her incredulously. “What? Why?!”

  “They’ve already helped us so much,” She continued matter-of-factly. “It’s only right we return the favor.”

  “It’s too dangerous.” Hylla shook her head stubbornly. “That’s not enough of a reason to risk ourselves–

  “I’m tired of running, Hylla!” A fire lit in Reyna’s eyes, something that Percy remembered very well. “I’m not a little girl anymore. You don’t have to overprotect me.”

  They all stayed silent as the sisters had a silent staring contest. Percy had no desire to get involved with their family drama. He had his own, thank you very much.

  Eventually, Hylla sighed and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Damnit…I don’t know whether to be vexed or proud. When did you get so headstrong?”

  “I learned from the best.” Reyna looked serious, but the corners of her lips twitched mischievously.

  “Romans.” Piper smiled. “Always so principled.”

  Hylla narrowed her eyes at her, and Piper raised her hands in surrender. “It was a genuine compliment, promise.”

  With that settled, they all paired up and disembarked to shore. Just in case they fell, they were each connected to their partner at the waist by a rope. Tyson had it lucky; the sheep wouldn’t attack him, so Percy told him to go up the easy route and wait for them. Meanwhile, the demigods had to go through the back-breaking effort of scaling the two hundred feet of sheer rock face. It was slow and painful, and Percy’s fingers soon felt like molted lead.

  About fifty feet up, he could tell Reyna and Hylla already regretted joining them. But still, they clenched their teeth in determination and kept going. As they got higher, Percy fell behind as he tried to look out for his friends above him.

  Once, Leo slipped on an edge. Percy quickly reached up, giving him a new foothold. A minute later, Piper lost her grip and dangled on a ledge over a hundred feet above the surf on one hand, until Percy grabbed her free hand and helped her to another handhold.

  Eventually, they all made it to the top. Annabeth hauled Percy over the cliff last, and they collapsed onto the grass.

  Leo could have been on fire with how red his face was. “Thanks…thanks for the save earlier.”

  “S’okay.” Percy huffed, similarly out of breath. Nothing like a quick life-threatening climb to wake you up in the morning.

  “Ugh,” Piper groaned.

  “That sucked,” Reyna agreed.

  Annabeth tiredly turned to look down the other side. “Look. There it is.”

  The ledge dropped off on the opposite side and right below them was Polyphemus’ cave. The stone door was firmly shut, and its owner was nowhere to be seen.

  Hylla frowned. “So your friends are in there? With the cyclops?”

  “No.” Piper pointed to the far side of the island.

  There was Polyphemus in all his massive and overweight glory, and he made Tyson look like a midget. He was feeding his carnivorous sheep, tossing chunks of mystery meat from a great wicker basket. Even from so far away, the sight was enough to make Percy’s stomach churn.

  Leo gagged. “Now I know why Piper’s a vegetarian.”

  “Can’t believe a monster’s home is this nice,” Reyna muttered.

  “It’s because of the Fleece,” Annabeth replied. In the middle of the carnivorous herd was a massive oak tree. The glittering gold Fleece rested in its branches. “The island flourishes because of its magic.”

  “Why is he wearing a suit?” Piper squinted at the cyclops’ distant form.

  Percy chuckled nervously. He decided to let Grover save some face. It was the least his best friend deserved. “Uh…let’s just figure out how to move this boulder.”

  They all tried, but the boulder wouldn’t budge even when they all pushed. Percy yelled into the cracks but got no response. There seemed to be no way to communicate with Clarisse and Grover inside.

  “Maybe try your earthshaker thingy?” Leo suggested.

  Percy scratched his ear. “But what if it collapses the cave?”

  “He’s right.” Annabeth’s eyes scanned the wall. “Percy’s powers are too destructive to risk it.”

  “Doesn’t that mean we have to get Polyphemus to move it, then?” Reyna asked. “Just like Odysseus did.”

  Percy glanced unhappily at the non-carnivorous sheep ahead of them. He was not looking forward to hitching a ride with Widget again. “Man, I wish Hazel was here.”

  “We have no choice then,” Annabeth said. “We’ll get Polyphemus to roll open the door, then lure him away from the cave while someone goes in and frees Grover and Clarisse.”

  “I’ll distract Polyphemus.” Percy immediately volunteered.

  Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him, but Percy didn’t back down. He could still recall the dead, glassy look Annabeth had after Polyphemus dropped her right on her head. If they didn’t have the Fleece then…

  “Me too,” Piper added. “My charmspeak should have some effect on him.”

  “Fine.” Annabeth conceded. “Piper, Percy, and I will distract Polyphemus after he opens to door. The rest of you free Clarisse and Grover and head for the rope bridge.”

  “What about the sheep?” Hylla pointed out.

  Percy perked up. “I’ve told Tyson to lead them away when we arrive. The path should be clear for us.”

  The sun was starting to set, and the demigods went back to the ridge to hide from Polyphemus as he waddled back to his cave. Percy sent a quick apology prayer to Poseidon. The cyclops was technically his brother like Tyson, but…Percy wouldn’t hesitate like last time if he got the chance.

  Besides, he had already killed Charybdis a few days ago. It wouldn’t exactly be a new experience.

  Leo hated cyclopses.

  Ever since the incident with Ma Gasket and her sons, fighting them would reignite the terror he felt when he first saw the hulking monsters, stoking flames to cook and eat his helpless friends.

  It didn’t help that Polyphemus made Ma Gasket look vertically challenged. Leo felt his legs quake as the giant strolled back to the cave with his sheep. Fighting that monster? Leo could barely think in his fright.

  But that was fine. Leo tried not to think in times like this. It interfered with being nuts.

  Polyphemus opened the door and ushered his sheep in. The herd all ambled inside, and the cyclops went to roll the stone back in place.

  “Hey, ugly!” Annabeth’s voice shouted from nowhere.

  Polyphemus stiffened, turning to the direction the sound came from. Of course, Annabeth was wearing her invisibility cap, so he didn’t see anything. “Who said that?”

  “Nobody!”

  Immediately, his face reddened with rage. “Nobody! I remember you!”

  “You’re too stupid to remember anybody, much less nobody.” A different voice taunted. It was Percy this time.

  Polyphemus roared in fury and picked up the massive boulder that was his front door. He chucked the stone at the sound of Percy’s voice, and it shattered into a thousand pieces.

  A moment of silence. Then, “I thought you’d have learned to throw better by now!”

  The cyclops jumped up and down like a child throwing a tantrum. “Come here and let me kill you, Nobody!”

  “You can’t kill Nobody, you idiot!” Annabeth laughed.

  Polyphemus barreled down the hill, leaving the doorway wide open. Leo, Reyna, and Hylla hopped out of their hiding spot and ran into the cave. It was a maze of corridors, caverns filled with bones, wool furniture, and sheep.

  “Grover! Clarisse! Where are you?!” Leo called, running through the halls.

  “Valdez?!” Clarisse’s shocked voice echoed back.

  They followed her voice, finding Grover and Clarisse in the spinning room. Clarisse’s hands and feet were tied up, which Reyna quickly cut with her imperial gold dagger.

  The daughter of Ares glared at her, rubbing her wrists. “Who are you?”

  “Hello to you too, Clarisse.” Leo drawled. “Thanks for leaving us behind, by the way. We picked these two up at Circe’s Island. They’re demigods like us.”

  “You did what?!” Grover shook his head. “Wait, is Percy here?”

  “There’s no time. We have to get out of here.” Hylla ordered.

  “She’s right. Percy, Piper, and Annabeth are here, and we have to go help them.” Leo agreed.

  Clarisse grunted. “Fine by me. I’ll rip that punk’s arms off!”

  They ran to the cave entrance, ready to fight. Clarisse had even armed herself with a ram’s-horn spear and looked ready to drive it into the cyclops’ eye. Grover basked in the light, looking like he was going to cry. Being stuck in the stinky cave for who knows how long probably contributed to that.

  Leo had mentally prepared himself to face Polyphemus, no matter how big and scary the monster was. However, it turned out his friends had it handled.

  Percy and Annabeth ran around the cyclops, stabbing him in the feet over and over again. Polyphemus kept trying to throw boulders at the demigods, but Piper was shouting at him from a distance, making him smash the rocks into his own skull half the time. Tyson was at the other side of the chasm with his own stones, throwing long shots at Polyphemus’ eye with deadly accuracy.

  The cyclops were a thousand times out of their combined weight class, and just one hit would incapacitate them. Polyphemus pounded the ground with his fists and feet, but all it did was bloody them even more.

  “Stand still you little gnats!” He roared. “A thousand curses on Nobody!”

  Annabeth saw them first. “Head for the bridge!”

  “You heard her!” Leo waved his hand forward. “Let’s go!”

  Clarisse didn’t look happy about it, but the rest of them started running without hesitation. Polyphemus was too preoccupied to deal with them, his half-blind eye determinedly set on ‘Nobody’. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds but was angrier than ever.

  “Nobody’s over to your left! Quick, go that way!” Piper shouted, sounding completely sincere.

  Polyphemus roared and stomped off in a random direction. Percy and Annabeth took the chance to join them in their sprint. Percy scowled at Clarisse but decided to ignore her. “Faster! He’ll be back soon.”

  They stumbled across the wide planks as the rope bridge swayed wildly. Leo almost lost his balance a couple of times, but they managed to make it to the other side.

  “Cut the ropes!” Reyna shouted.

  “Wait!” Leo yelled back, eyes darting around frantically. One, two, three…how could they have left her behind!? “Where’s Piper!?”

  “Raaaah!” Polyphemus suddenly howled.

  The cyclops had finally noticed them and was bounding toward the chasm. And right in front of him was Piper, sprinting just ahead of the monster. Her eyes were wide with panic. Even from a distance, he could see Piper panting hard as she ran, with zero breath to spare for charmspeak.

  “Hurry!” Annabeth called.

  Polyphemus was close. Too close. Leo blasted Polyphemus with fire, hoping it would at least distract the monster, but he didn’t even seem to notice it. Grover threw a sharp sheep bone into the cyclops’ chest. Polyphemus plucked it out like it was a bee sting and kept running.

  Piper scrambled across the rope bridge. She made it about halfway until Polyphemus caught up and leaped onto the planks, making the bridge swing wildly and throwing Piper off her feet. She fell down hard as Polyphemus closed the distance with a few giant steps.

  “Piper!” Leo screamed.

  Polyphemus would have crushed Piper into sheep chow if Percy hadn’t intervened. The son of Poseidon made an impossibly far lunge at the cyclops, jabbing him in the belly. Polyphemus doubled over and immediately got a sword to the nose. He howled in anger and slapped his ginormous hand at Percy.

  Before he could reach him though, Polyphemus’ hand was suddenly separated from his wrist. Annabeth shimmered out of invisibility, knife dripping golden ichor. Polyphemus recoiled with a shriek.

  “Haha! Charge!” Clarisse readied her spear and ran onto the bridge.

  She barrelled forward and stabbed Polyphemus in the heel. The cyclops squawked in outrage and raised his foot to stomp her to oblivion. However, Reyna and Hylla were suddenly there, slashing their blades into his other foot. Polyphemus stumbled, frantically trying to regain his balance.

  Then a large stone hit him in the jugular, making him choke. Polyphemus finally fell, making chicken wing motions as he tumbled into the chasm.

  “Nice shot, Tyson!” Leo called. He might have hugged the big guy if he wasn’t standing in the middle of the killer sheep. “Can you lead the sheep away now? We have to get back to the ship.”

  “But they want food.”

  “They want people food!” Percy replied. “Just give us some time to get to the beach. Then join us there.”

  Tyson nodded slowly. “Um, come sheepies! People food this way!”

  He jogged away as they all gathered at the cliff’s edge. Leo glanced at Piper who was holding her side with a wince.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She gave him a pained smile. “Might’ve broken a rib or two, but fine.”

  “That reminds me.” Annabeth jogged to the oak tree, now killer-sheep-free. She jumped up and snagged something off its branches. The leaves of the tree immediately yellowed. “Anyone else hurt?”

  Somehow, the rest of them had all gotten through unscathed. As the adrenaline of the fight slowly wore down, Grover tackled Percy with a grateful bleat. “Percy! You came!”

  “Of course I did, buddy.” Percy grinned. “As soon as I heard.”

  Annabeth gave Piper the Fleece and turned to Hylla. “You two fought well. Good job.”

  “It was nothing.” Hylla brushed it off. “Nothing compared to you or Percy. You two probably could have taken down the monster by yourselves…”

  Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly, but Leo could tell she was pleased. “Practice makes perfect.”

  They all started to relax. The mood was high, as everyone was feeling cheerful after successfully taking down the monster and saving their friends. Even Hylla and Reyna looked elated, chatting excitedly with each other. The only real downer was Clarisse, who they all collectively decided to ignore.

  Leo glanced over the cliff’s edge, watching Polyphemus’ prone form below. “Is he still alive?”

  “Probably,” Percy said. “We should get going.”

  With the sense of urgency renewed, they ran down the mountain path. The Queen Anne’s Revenge was quite far away, but at least they didn’t have to climb down the cliffs. That would have been torture right now.

  Percy raised his arms when he got to the beach, and soon the tip of the medieval ship came into view.

  “ That’s your ship?” Clarisse sounded incredulous.

  “Better than the crushed one.” Leo couldn’t help but say.

  “Incoming!” Tyson suddenly came sprinting down the hill. The flock of carnivorous sheep was chasing him, evidently livid they were bamboozled.

  Percy pointed at the ship in the distance. “Swim for the ship! They won’t follow us into the water.”

  His friends plunged into the water, but Leo hesitated. He wasn’t a very good swimmer. It wasn’t like he had ever gotten many chances to practice, after all.

  Then Leo heard a tremendous roar and saw a heavily injured Polyphemus limping out of the ravine, and decided to make a business decision. He dove into the surf, frantically dog-paddling to the ship. Leo heard shouts and battle cries behind him as Percy and Tyson battled Polyphemus. Grover and Clarisse had made it to the ship, and the others weren’t far behind. Soon, everyone but him was aboard, waving at him frantically to hurry up.

  Leo knew he should have brought a swimming machine to the Sea of Monsters!

  Suddenly, a wave picked up behind him, and Leo was caught up in the tide. He was thrown onto deck by the wave, coughing out seawater. Percy and Tyson landed beside him.

  “Mizzenmast!” Percy shouted, and Queen Anne’s Revenge picked up speed.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  At the island’s shore, Polyphemus was barely standing, howling as he threw boulders and trees blindly. “Nobody! Curse you, Nobody!”

  “In your face, Cyclops!” Clarisse shouted triumphantly.

  Polyphemus screamed and threw a giant boulder at them. It crashed into the water just in front of them, drenching them in the splash. Leo blinked. Polyphemus was aiming only at Clarisse’s voice, but he was still very accurate. If he got one more shot…

  “You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, idiot!”

  “Clarisse!” Percy hissed at her.

  Polyphemus threw another boulder, this time straight on target. Fortunately, Leo was ready. He snatched a magic grenade out of his tool belt and pitched it at the boulder. It intercepted the stone in midair and exploded, and suddenly the boulder flew right back at Polyphemus.

  Percy breathed a sigh of relief as Polyphemus wailed in pain. “That’s a cool bomb.”

  “Thanks. Kind of a close call, though.” Leo narrowed his eyes at Clarisse.

  She just huffed and looked away. He rolled his eyes.

  Piper clutched the Golden Fleece tightly. “Hey…we did it, though. We succeeded.”

  “Yup, we did.” Annabeth grinned. “We got the Fleece. We can save camp.”

  Clarisse scowled but said nothing. Leo watched Polyphemus’ Island grow smaller and smaller, shrinking to a dot and disappearing. “We really did it.”

  “We’ll head straight back to camp.” Percy hesitated, glancing at Reyna and Hylla. “Well…yeah. We’ll figure something out.”

  Leo sat down and leaned against the railing, sighing contently. Piper soon joined him, the Fleece still wrapped around her. Leo leaned his head against the Golden Fleece, just now realizing how tired he was.

  Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

  There were many words that Annabeth would use to describe Luke.

  Friend. Enemy. Brother. Traitor.

  Those were just a few. But out of all of them, ‘pirate’ was not one that had ever come to Annabeth’s extensive thoughts.

  But as they made their way back to camp, they had passed by somewhere off the coast of Florida. There they found a giant cruise ship blocking their way, absolutely dwarfing their meager medieval ship. Waiting patiently at the railing was the face Annabeth least wanted to see right now.

  “Hey, cuz!” Luke called at them from the Princess Andromeda . “Mind if we board?

  “No thanks!” Percy shouted back. “Come back tomorrow!”

  The Queen Anne’s Revenge turned, steering around the cruise ship. However, Annabeth knew it was hopeless. Even with Percy’s powers, there was no way it could outpace a modern cruise ship.

  Luke snapped his fingers. “Bring them to me!”

  Obligingly, a dozen harpies came flying out of the Princess Andromeda . Their harsh screeches were a wake-up alarm as they dove at the demigods.

  “We’re under attack!” Percy yelled.

  Annabeth’s friends quickly stirred, rudely awakened. An ugly harpy zooming at you did wonders to get rid of grogginess. Grover bleated in panic, lunging for the Fleece and snatching it out of the way of a diving harpy’s claws. Hylla and Reyna scrambled for cover as Clarisse immediately charged to battle. Tyson and Leo came running out from below deck.

  Leo charbroiled one of the bird hags with a burst of fire. “We’re cut off!”

  The Princess Andromeda was at their side now, its massive starboard side looming over them. Monsters lined the railing of the cruise ship.

  “Board them!” Luke yelled.

  Immediately, the giants and snake women leaped off the cruise ship, crashing onto the deck with little regard for their own wellbeing. In the blink of an eye, the demigods were surrounded by monsters. Annabeth quickly cut down the first few dracaena, but more just kept landing on the ship.

  Piper ran through the fighting, loudly encouraging the monsters to take a refreshing dive into the sea. “It’ll be fun!”

  Of course, all that waited for them was hungry sharks, courtesy of Percy. Annabeth put on her invisibility cap, darting through the battle and easily stabbing unsuspecting monsters in the back. Being able to do so was something she had sorely missed after Minerva had removed its powers that one time.

  To her left, Percy was hacking down giants like weeds while Leo blasted gryphons and harpies out of the air. Tyson barrelled past them, slamming into a squad of dracaena and toppling them like bowling pins. Beside him was Clarisse, who swung her spear around gleefully like a child at a pinata party while Grover tried not to get caught up in the friendly fire. Reyna and Hylla had managed to find their weapons and were quickly dispatching hellhounds as a duo. Annabeth was shocked at how quickly Reyna had picked up knifefighting.

  The heroes began to form a loose circle as they fought for their lives. Golden dust began to pile up around them as the battle went on and on.

  Luke simply watched it all, his apathetic expression making Annabeth’s blood boil. Eventually, the son of Hermes visibly sighed. “This is taking too long. Let’s just crush them and fish the Fleece out.”

  Annabeth cursed, but she could do nothing as the Princess Andromeda suddenly turned toward them with a groan, its bow angling toward the Queen Anne’s Revenge . It began to lurch forward at the hull.

  “She’s going to ram into us!” Leo exclaimed.

  The cruise ship was approaching fast. Annabeth paled. “Brace for impact!”

  Metal crumpled and wood splintered as the Princess Andromeda crashed into the pirate ship, its hull caving instantly under the much larger weight. Annabeth stumbled as the deck under them heaved with the impact. The whole boat began to tilt, groaning.

  “We’re going under!” Annabeth warned.

  Percy kicked a dracaena off the rapidly sinking deck. “Gather around me!”

  They huddled close to him, and suddenly a jet of water sent them all flying. Percy had launched them up to the deck of the Princess Andromeda , and they all tumbled in a heap. Behind them, the Queen Anne’s Revenge was sinking fast, dragging all the monsters with it like a sinkhole. In the blink of an eye, the masts disappeared underwater.

  “Get them!” A Lastrygonian giant growled.

  Unfortunately, they had landed smack in the middle of a group of monsters. Annabeth judo-flipped the giant off the railing, but they were still completely outnumbered. She glanced up at the cruise ship’s awning.

  “Get up on the roof!” She ordered.

  Hylla didn’t need to be told twice. Without hesitation, she boosted Reyna up, who then pulled up her sister.

  Piper pointed in a random direction. “They’re over there! Go get ‘em!”

  As the monsters scattered in confusion, Reyna and Hylla helped the others climb onto the roof. Tyson was last, with all of them combined hauling his huge body onto the ceiling. The monsters returned and swarmed the spot they were standing at, cursing and gnashing their teeth.

  “How do we get out of here?!” Grover’s gripped the Fleece so hard his knuckles turned white.

  “The lifeboats!” Annabeth said.

  A giant’s meaty hand grabbed the roof’s edge, right next to Annabeth’s foot. “Watch out!”

  The monsters trying to climb up and follow them got a face full of Leo’s flames, causing them to fall back down and squash each other. Annabeth and her friends all sprinted to the other end of the roof. Annabeth was about to hop down when a voice froze her in her tracks

  “What are you doing?” Caught red-handed, Annabeth just managed to stop before falling over. Luke was waiting right below them, looking more disappointed than angry. He gestured at them chidingly. “Don’t walk on my roof.”

  “Other way, other way!” Annabeth called, but it was too late.

  Piper stumbled to a halt, but Leo bumped into her from behind. She fell into Reyna, who tripped into Grover, who knocked over Hylla…pretty quickly, they all collapsed like dominos and one by one toppled off the roof as a pile in front of Luke.

  “Ugh.” Annabeth winced. “Tyson, your elbow’s in my ribs!”

  “Sorry!”

  Clarisse grunted. “Get off me, repair boy!”

  “Percy, move your foot!” Leo’s muffled voice responded.

  By the time they untangled themselves, they were thoroughly trapped. Luke’s army crowded onto the aft deck.

  Luke’s bear-men appeared behind them. One of them snatched up Reyna and Hylla by the shirt collars, kicking and screaming. The other one did the same to Leo and Piper.

  Tyson roared and lunged, but was intercepted cold by three Lastrygonian giants, who all dog-piled onto the cyclops.

  Luke spotted Grover and the Fleece with a triumphant grin.

  Clarisse growled in rage. “You spineless traitor!”

  She stabbed at him with her spear, but Luke calmly parried and cut the spear’s shaft in half with his sword. He knocked the daughter of Ares aside and walked toward Grover.

  Annabeth and Percy stepped in between them, blades at the ready.

  “You might want to back down, Percy.” Luke tilted his head. “Or I’ll tell Argus and Oreius to bash your friends' heads together.”

  Annabeth couldn’t believe how quickly they had been incapacitated. But they were in Luke’s territory, his home field. Frankly put, they were not in a good strategic spot.

  But the swimming pool was behind Luke and his monsters. Fountains sprayed into the air, forming shimmering rainbows. They still had an advantage to play.

  “Give me the Fleece.” Luke pointed Backbiter at them. “I’ll even let you go on in peace if you hand it over now.”

  “So that’s your plan.” Annabeth glared at him. “You played us. You wanted us to bring you the Fleece so you didn’t have to go through the trouble.”

  Luke smiled thinly. “Yeah. Good plan, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “You traitor!” Percy hotly declared. He threw something gold and shiny at Luke, who predictably dodged. “You tricked all of us. Even Dionysus and Camp Half-Blood!”

  In the fountain where the drachma landed, the air began to glimmer.

  “It was you who poisoned the tree all along, wasn’t it!” Percy pointed at Luke.

  “Of course.” Luke sneered. “I used the elder Python venom straight from the depths of Tartarus.”

  Annabeth’s heart was pounding. “So Chiron was framed, then?”

  Luke snorted. “You know the old man wouldn’t have the guts to do something like that. The Olympians only know how to point fingers and blame. That’s not on me.”

  “Guts, Luke?” Annabeth scoffed. “Is that what you call poisoning your best friend? Endangering your siblings? Betraying everyone? Thalia trusted you!”

  “You don’t understand, Annabeth.” He gritted his teeth. “I was going to let you have the Fleece…after I was finished with it.”

  “Oh, so you do care,” Percy rolled his eyes. “What if we failed, Luke? You would have killed Thalia!”

  “Shut up! The gods killed her, not me!” Luke snarled. “They deserve what’s coming for them!”

  “Kronos, you mean. You want to use the Fleece to heal him.” Annabeth blinked fast.

  “Of course! The magic of the Fleece is one of the only things that can.” He stepped forward threateningly. “Now give it to me, Grover!”

  “Never!” Grover shouted back. “You’re a traitor! You poisoned Thalia’s tree and set all this up!”

  Luke threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly. “You already know this! Why do you keep saying so?”

  “So that your audience can hear you,” Percy said.

  Luke frowned, confused. He slowly turned around with his goons. They gasped in unison.

  The campfire of Camp Half-Blood was silent for once, as the whole camp was watching the show in shock. Even Dionysus had both his eyebrows raised, which was perhaps the most emotion the apathetic god could express. “Well…this is some unplanned entertainment.”

  Tantalus seemed to be the only one not stunned, still focused on eating his marshmallow. “The iris message…could be a trick, though.”

  “I’m afraid not. It appears I should reinstate Chiron as our director. I do suppose I miss his old pinochle games.” Dionysus airily decided. “We are no longer in need of your services, Tantalus.”

  Tantalus froze in the middle of reaching for another marshmallow. “What?”

  “You may return to the Underworld. Dismissed.”

  The campers erupted into rambunctious cheering as Tantalus dissolved into smoke, screaming. Luke bellowed in rage and slashed his sword through the rainbow, ending the message.

  “That’s enough theatrics for today.” Luke’s ears were bright red with anger. “Percy, you’re not leaving this ship alive.”

  Percy glared right back. “So you’ll kill me with your horde? Just like the gods—hiding behind their pets and heroes. Why not fight me yourself?”

  Was that a slight rumble in the clouds at Percy’s insult that Annabeth heard? Or perhaps it was from Luke, whose eyes flared in fury at the comparison.

  “You can’t bait me into a fight, Percy,” Luke said with difficulty. “I already told you this.”

  “And you keep avoiding one. Scared that your army will see you get whipped?”

  Luke glanced at his warriors. But his grip on Backbiter loosened. “Ha. Why should I waste my time? The Fleece is within my grasp, right in front of me. I have nothing to prove to you, Percy.”

  Percy blinked, surprised. Annabeth didn’t expect him to back out either, but if he did, their chances of escape were slim. So before Luke could command his army, Annabeth stepped forward.

  “What about me, Luke?” Annabeth stared into Luke’s eyes. “Don’t you have anything to prove to me?”

  Luke flinched. “Annabeth?”

  “I still can’t believe you.” Annabeth snapped. “I used to think you were the most selfless and responsible person. But doing all this…you’re just a coward, Luke.”

  “W–what?” He looked shaken.

  “Thalia would be ashamed! You may have cursed the gods together, but not once would she think serving the Titans would be any better!” Annabeth declared. “You’re a fool if you think the Titan Lord will be more fair and just.”

  “No!” Luke shook his head. “Demigods have no future living like this. The gods have used and hurt us so many times. They don’t deserve their power! They need to be torn down! Kronos will give me…give them justice!”

  Annabeth sighed. “Justice…do you really believe that, Luke…?”

  She lunged with her dagger, catching him off guard. Luke managed to parry her strike, her blade an inch away from his chest. “Look at this knife, Luke! The knife you gave me!”

  Luke shook his head again, shutting his eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, Annabeth realized. He didn’t want to be reminded. Luke had buried his promise so far down after Thalia had died…could she ever bring it back?

  With a roar, Luke slashed outward, forcing Annabeth to move away. He followed up with a lightning-quick thrust. Annabeth caught it on her dagger’s hilt, metal screeching on metal. She used the momentum to close the distance and kick Luke in the chest.

  He stumbled away, but easily dodged her next jab. Luke abused the reach of his longer blade, trying to force Annabeth back, but she stubbornly stayed right in his face, where he had less maneuverability.

  Luke had once told her only the cleverest and quickest of fighters could wield the knife properly. Now, Annabeth was showing him two lives of experience, weaving in and out with her small blade as Luke struggled to defend with his bulkier longsword. It was dangerous; one slip-up, one misstep, and it would be all over.

  But Annabeth didn’t make mistakes.

  She ducked as Backbiter whooshed over her head, sending a flurry of jabs so that Luke had no choice but to keep backing up, losing more and more ground.

  But Luke wasn’t the best swordfighter of their generation for nothing. He managed to catch the hilt of her dagger and twist it into a deadlock, an extraordinarily difficult feat for a swordsman. He pushed hard, throwing Annabeth back.

  Luke glared at her, panting. But he didn’t press the attack. He almost looked…regretful. “You really should have joined me, Annabeth.”

  “Enough of this.” He looked over to Oreius and Agrius. “You can eat your dinner now, boys. Bon appetit.”

  “You coward–just like I said!” Annabeth spun around. “No!”

  Oreius lifted Reyna and Hylla, baring his teeth. “Hehe! He–”

  The bear-man choked in pain as Reyna suddenly grabbed his arm and spun herself around, twisting his furry arm around his back. She kicked Oreius in the back of his knees and the bear-man crumpled. Her imperial gold dagger was suddenly in her hand, and Reyna slashed it across Oreius’ throat.

  “Brother!”

  Agrius blindly tossed Piper and Leo into the pool and charged at the sisters. But he was intercepted by Hylla, who surged forward and grabbed his outstretched wrist. Despite being wildly outclassed in weight, Hylla flipped him over her shoulder, and as the bear-man crashed into the ground, Reyna tossed Hylla her dagger. Hylla caught it with ease and smoothly stabbed Agrius in the chest.

  For a split second, everyone was too stunned to do anything but watch the twin bodies dissolve into dust. Annabeth was a little scared of how quickly the daughters of Bellona learned to fight.

  Luke stammered, trying to recover. “Wha–I mean–get them!”

  The army surged forward as one, a massive horde against a ragged group of teenagers. Tyson was still trying to throw off the giants on him, but more just kept coming. Piper and Leo were scrambling out of the pool. They were completely unprepared, and Annabeth cursed in Ancient Greek. Their window was closing fast, and if they didn’t do something quick they would all be overwhelmed at once–

  “Stop!”

  One simple word.

  One simple command.

  One person in the middle of it all.

  Everyone froze, monsters and demigods alike.

  Piper stood tall, her kaleidoscope eyes shining a thousand different colors. By all rights, she was a mess–hair blown each and every way from days of sailing, skin dusty from the lack of a proper bath–but for some reason, Annabeth thought it all just looked right. Piper seemed like the greatest model, the new pinnacle of beauty even though if she were anyone else she would look ridiculous.

  And though it was hard to describe, there was an aroma in the air as well. A calming scent that made Annabeth feel comforted, trusting, and…vulnerable. A pheromone?

  “You don’t want to fight us. ” Piper slowly said, focusing on Luke. His face went slack. “ You don’t want to kill us.”

  Her voice had a new quality that Annabeth was sure wasn’t there before. If she focused, it almost sounded like her mother: commanding, proud, and wise. Did Luke hear something different? Was Piper’s voice as subjective as Aphrodite’s looks, different from every perspective?

  “You want to let us go. ” Piper continued, and Annabeth shivered. She wasn’t even the intended target of her words, yet Annabeth could feel the overwhelming desire and emotions wash over her. “ So you will wait here as we leave this ship. None of you will raise a hand against us.”

  Luke’s eyes glazed over. “I–I…”

  Annabeth looked over to her friends, who were similarly in a stupor. It was as if a haze had settled in over her mind…Annabeth slapped herself, clearing the mist slightly. She demanded herself to not lose focus.

  She grabbed Percy and Grover and shook them roughly. “W-wha–?”

  “We’re leaving,” Annabeth said.

  “R-right.”

  The monsters didn’t try to stop them as they gathered their other friends. Even the giants atop Tyson didn’t react when Percy and Annabeth shoved them off the cyclops, almost as if they were in a trance.

  “You will let us go. ” A bead of sweat trailed down the side of Piper’s face as she turned to the monsters. “ All of you.”

  “Piper…” Leo carefully approached her. Somehow, her beauty and presence made them all feel small in comparison, like a god. “We should go now, right?”

  Piper stared at him for a moment, almost uncomprehendingly. She nodded with difficulty.

  They backed away from the monsters and Luke, down the deck. They began to follow them sleepily, like zombies.

  “Don’t follow us!” Piper demanded, her voice starting to strain. Clearly, this was taking a toll on her.

  The monsters obliged, but Piper started to gasp for breath.

  Percy looked worried. “Let’s hurry and get to the lifeboats.”

  “Stay…where you are.” Piper huffed out as they left the aft deck. She turned to Annabeth, her eyes glowing with pain. “That…won’t last…forever…”

  And then Piper’s eyes shut, and she slumped to the ground unconscious. The hazy feeling disappeared, and Annabeth gasped as she felt her mind clear. “Piper!”

  Percy caught Piper, picking her up bridal-style. “You heard her. Let’s move!”

  Neither Luke nor the monsters seemed to have snapped out of it yet, but Annabeth hurried along anyway. They had no idea how long Piper’s weird new charmspeak would last, and Annabeth didn’t want to tempt fate by finding out. They started sprinting down the deck, which was thankfully clear of enemies. Annabeth led them through the ship, hoping she still remembered where the lifeboats were correctly.

  They managed to find one right ahead of the captain’s room. Annabeth threw the cover off, and everyone piled in. Hylla, Reyna, Clarisse, Grover, Piper and Percy, Tyson, and…

  “Leo! What are you doing?” Annabeth hissed at the Latino boy, who was scrambling out of the captain’s room for some reason. “What were you doing in there? Hurry, get in!”

  She and Leo hopped into the lifeboat just as the shouts started. The boat deck shook as hundreds of monsters started running at once, growling and snarling. Annabeth heard the unmistakable scream of anger from Luke. Piper's effect had ended.

  “Let’s go, let’s go!” Clarisse demanded.

  “How do you release this thing?” Grover tugged on the pulley, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Annabeth pushed Grover aside and used her knife to slash the ropes, plummeting the lifeboat to the water. There were several screams as they hurtled straight down, and Annabeth gasped as they hit the water with a huge splash. Percy threw his hand out and the lifeboat immediately rocketed forward, propelled by the waves.

  They made it far, but not far enough. Luke sprinted to the prow to see them speeding away, and she could practically smell his rage as he screamed at them.

  “You’re not escaping that easily!” He turned to shout at someone behind him. “Chase them down or I’ll feed you to the drakon!”

  The Princess Andromeda stuttered as it revved into a turn, beginning to slowly follow them. Though they had a head start, the cruise ship looked far faster than their meager lifeboat.

  Annabeth glared at him, thinking of some choice words to yell back. Before she could, the cruise ship suddenly stuttered to a halt with a groan. Luke grew redder and redder in confusion and anger as the Princess Andromeda started to list unnaturally to the left, going off in the wrong direction.

  Luke jerked his head around with a snarl. “What’s going on!?”

  Leo whooped. “In your face, Luke! That’s just a taste of Leo World, baby.”

  “You did that?” Reyna’s brow furrowed.

  Leo wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I can do a lot of other things, too.”

  Reyna didn’t seem amused, and neither did Hylla. Under their twin glares, Leo quickly backtracked, awkwardly clearing his throat. “I mean, I just set their navigation to head for Brazil. It’ll take them a while to fix it, and by then we’ll be long gone.”

  “Good job.” Annabeth nodded in relief. “You almost gave me a heart attack, though.”

  Something in Leo’s eyes seemed to dance madly like a wildfire. “Thank you, thank you. You don’t have to say it, I already know I’m awesome.”

  Annabeth snorted. “That’s not what anyone was going to say.”

  She turned to Piper who was still unconscious. Pressing a hand to her forehead, Piper seemed fine, if only a little feverish. Hopefully, she had just exerted herself with a new power. “Grover, can you pass me the Fleece?”

  The satyr obliged, and Annabeth draped the Golden Fleece over her friend. She wasn’t sure how much it would help, but it wouldn’t hurt.

  After a quiet moment of silence, Grover piped up. “Aren’t we going too slow? At this rate, we’ll just tire Percy out, let alone get back to camp on time.”

  “He’s right; I’m steering us to land,” Percy said. “We’ll figure it out from there.”

  The waves pushed their overcrowded boat forward, and a city skyline slowly appeared in the skyline. There was a beachside highway lined with palm trees next to a harbor full of yachts and cruise ships. The little lifeboat looked very out of place as they pulled into the docks.

  There were crowds of people arriving for vacations, and a group of tattered kids slipped right into the chaos. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers. Annabeth didn’t see anyone paying attention to them.

  She grabbed a newspaper from the nearest stand. “June seventeenth. We’ve been away from camp for almost ten days.”

  Clarisse nearly screamed. “That’s impossible!”

  “Thalia’s tree must be almost dead.” Grover realized, turning pale. “We have to get the Fleece back tomorrow at the latest!”

  “How do we do that?” Clarisse slumped to the ground, her voice trembling. “We’re hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said…it’s your fault, Jackson! If you hadn’t interfered–”

  “Stop!” Annabeth demanded. “Clarisse, that’s not helping anyone right now!”

  Percy just sighed. He was probably thinking about Clarisse and Ares, how the god of war threatened his own daughter not to fail and make him look bad. This was Clarisse’s quest, after all. Failing like this…

  (‘“Percy is nice.”

  “Percy is too nice.”’)

  “What’d you say about the Oracle?” Leo wondered. “What did it tell you, by the way? You never told me.”

  Clarisse pulled her head out of her hands. She scowled deeply but eventually sighed in defeat.

  “ You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,

  you shall find what you seek and make it your own,

  but despair for your life entombed within stone,

  and fail without friends, to fly home alone.”

  Now, that was a good old tragic Greek prophecy if Ananbeth had ever heard one. She knew what it meant, of course. But to everyone else, it sounded like quite a depressing fate. The daughters of Bellona had been largely staying out of the conversation, but even they winced. Reyna muttered, “Ouch.”

  “Hold on now,” Looking very pleased with himself, Percy took out three Ziploc bags all full of cash from his pockets. “These are Hermes’ supplies. I’d say that’s enough for a plane ticket to New York.”

  Annabeth couldn’t help but grin. He had actually remembered and kept it all along just for this moment.

  “You–why–how did you know?” Clarisse looked shocked.

  “Uh…” Percy chuckled nervously. “Gut feeling. But hey, we can definitely get to camp in time now. You can take the Fleece back.”

  Clarisse became even more stunned as Percy handed her one of the bags of cash. “You’d let me…really?”

  “It’s your quest.” Annabeth reluctantly pulled the Fleece from Piper and handed it to her. “That’s what the prophecy meant. You’d need our help to succeed, but you’ll fly home alone. Get the Fleece back safely.”

  Clarisse looked at them back and forth, trying to decide whether to be suspicious or grateful. Eventually, she nodded resolutely. “You can count on me. I won’t fail.”

  “Not failing would be good.” Leo chimed in.

  “Shut up, Valdez.” Clarisse grumbled, grabbing a taxi at the curb.

  She got in the cab and peeled away, leaving just a cloud of exhaust behind. They watched it disappear into the chaotic sea of bustling cars and traffic. The Fleece was on its way to Thalia.

  Grover coughed to break the silence. “That was…generous.”

  “I’m not too sure what’s going on, but that seemed a little risky.” Hylla frowned. “She didn’t exactly seem like the best on terms with you.”

  “Didn’t you say she ditched you on Circe’s Island.” Reyna’s expression was stormy. “Why not just go yourself? Or at least go with her…”

  Percy shrugged. “Well, for one, I can’t fly. And the rest of this money is for something else.”

  Annabeth turned to Grover and Tyson. “Now that his name is cleared, could you two Iris Message Chiron and tell him to find us? He can help us get back to camp.”

  Grover looked at her questioningly but nodded. “Come on, then…uh, Tyson, right.”

  They went to the harbor to find a rainbow, leaving the demigods to themselves. After they left earshot, Percy held the two remaining bags of cash to Reyna and Hylla. “Here.”

  Hylla raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

  “We’re going back to our home,” Annabeth explained. “But that’s not where you two belong. Our camp is Greek; it would be too dangerous to bring you there.”

  Reyna took the bags, eyes guarded. “So where are we going?”

  “There’s a Roman camp in California. It’s a legion, basically.” Percy said. “You’ll be safe there.”

  “Huh…so we’re leaving you, then.” Hylla looked strangely conflicted.

  “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” Leo shrugged. “Don’t ask me why, but I feel pretty confident about it.”

  Reyna shifted her feet. “O-okay, then. Guess this is goodbye. It was nice meeting you all.”

  “No need to be so formal.” Percy smiled. “We’re friends by now, right?”

  “We haven’t known you for long but…I suppose so.” A tiny smile formed on Reyna’s lips.

  They shook hands, and Annabeth couldn’t help but notice the worn-out skin of their palms. Ever since they’d left Circe’s Island, the two girls had been training hard and learning fast. They would be fine, she was sure.

  Hylla flagged down another taxi and waved to them one last time. “See you next time, then!”

  By the time Grover and Tyson returned, they were long gone. The satyr looked around, confused. “Huh? Where did the two new demigods go?”

  “They had their own place to go to. They have their own home.” Annabeth said.

  “But Camp Half-Blood’s the only safe place for demigods.” Grover pointed out.

  Leo chuckled. “They’ll be okay, Grover. We should probably worry about how we’ll get back to camp without getting ambushed every five feet by monsters.”

  Grover scowled at the son of Hephaestus and then narrowed his eyes at Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth pleaded with him with her eyes, and he eventually sighed and relented, not pressing like the great satyr friend he was.

  “Fine. Chiron said he and his brethren will be here soon. They’ll get us back to camp.”

  “Yay, ponies!” Tyson clapped his hands excitedly. “We get to ride on ponies!”

  “Yes, we will, Tyson,” Annabeth couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, we will.”

  “Curse the Titan Lord,” Chiron murmured. “He’s tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy.”

  Annabeth ran to Chiron, eyes streaming with tears. “It…she…just suddenly there…”

  Percy ran toward the unconscious girl. Chiron said, “Percy, wait!”

  He didn’t listen, kneeling by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose, wearing clothes somewhere between punk and Goth.

  She wasn’t a camper. He didn’t recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet Percy had the strangest feeling he’d seen her before…

  “It’s true,” Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. “I can’t believe…”

  Nobody else came close to the girl. He put his hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but Percy’s fingertips tingled as if they were burning. “She needs nectar and ambrosia.”

  Why were they all acting so scared? She was clearly a half-blood, camper or not. He knew from just one touch.

  “Come on!” Percy lifted the girl into a sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder. “What’s wrong with you people? Let’s get her to the Big House.”

  No one moved. They were all too stunned. Then the girl took a shaky breath, coughing and opening her eyes. Her irises were startlingly blue–electric blue.

  “Who–” She stared in bewilderment at Percy, shivering.

  “I’m Percy. You’re safe now.”

  “Strangest dream…”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Dying…”

  “No,” Percy assured. “You’re fine. What’s your name?”

  Then he knew. Even before she said anything. Her blue eyes stared into his, and suddenly Percy realized what the Golden Fleece quest had been all about. The poisoning of the tree. Kronos brought another chess piece into play, another chance to control the prophecy.

  Grover, Chiron, and Annabeth were too shocked to celebrate this moment, thinking about what it might mean for the future.

  Percy was holding someone who was destined to be his best friend, or possibly his worst enemy.

  “I am Thalia.” The girl said. “Daughter of Zeus.”

  Percy shot up awake in his bunk, Thalia's voice still echoing in his mind. What was that? Why did he dream about that memory?

  Percy felt like he had just remembered something incredibly important. But he didn’t know why. Was it because Thalia would revive today? They had made it back to camp a few days ago with Chiron, and the Fleece would completely purge the poison and free Thalia any moment now. Was that the reason the memory resurfaced as a dream?

  Something felt off. He was missing something, like a missing puzzle piece. Percy shook his head, trying to clear the confusion. He had the strangest feeling…

  He looked next to him, where the envelope from Poseidon he got from Hermes after the quest was lying. There were a lot of things Percy wanted to hear from Poseidon, but all that was written in the letter was two words.

  Two words that might mean a lot more than he originally thought.

  Two words Percy might’ve needed to hear now more than ever, to prepare for what was coming in the future.

  Brace Yourself.