The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, Book Three) (40 page)

Piper tried to make the best of the situation.

Once she and Jason had gotten tired of pacing the deck, listening to Coach Hedge sing “Old MacDonald” (with weapons instead of animals), they decided to have a picnic in the park.

Hedge grudgingly agreed. “Stay where I can see you.”

“What are we, kids?” Jason asked.

Hedge snorted. “Kids are baby goats. They’re cute, and they have redeeming social value. You are definitely not kids.”

They spread their blanket under a willow tree next to a pond. Piper turned over her cornucopia and spilled out an entire meal—neatly wrapped sandwiches, canned drinks, fresh fruit, and (for some reason) a birthday cake with purple icing and candles already lit.

She frowned. “Is it someone’s birthday?”

Jason winced. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Jason!”

“There’s too much going on,” he said. “And honestly…before last month, I didn’t even know when my birthday
was
. Thalia told me the last time she was at camp.”

Piper wondered what that would be like—not even knowing the day you were born. Jason had been given to Lupa the wolf when he was only two years old. He’d never really known his mortal mom. He’d only been reunited with his sister last winter.

“July First,” Piper said. “The Kalends of July.”

“Yeah.” Jason smirked. “The Romans would find that auspicious—the first day of the month named for Julius Caesar. Juno’s sacred day. Yippee.”

Piper didn’t want to push it, or make a celebration if he didn’t feel like celebrating.

“Sixteen?” she asked.

He nodded. “Oh, boy. I can get my driver’s license.”

Piper laughed. Jason had killed so many monsters and saved the world so many times that the idea of him sweating a driving test seemed ridiculous. She pictured him behind the wheel of some old Lincoln with a
STUDENT DRIVER
sign on top and a grumpy teacher in the passenger seat with an emergency brake pedal.

“Well?” she urged. “Blow out the candles.”

Jason did. Piper wondered if he’d made a wish—hopefully that he and Piper would survive this quest and stay together forever. She decided not to ask him. She didn’t want to jinx that wish, and she definitely didn’t want to find out that he’d wished for something different.

Since they’d left the Pillars of Hercules yesterday evening, Jason had seemed distracted. Piper couldn’t blame him. Hercules had been a pretty huge disappointment as a big brother, and the old river god Achelous had said some unflattering things about the sons of Jupiter.

Piper stared at the cornucopia. She wondered if Achelous was getting used to having no horns at all. She hoped so. Sure, he had tried to kill them, but Piper still felt bad for the old god. She didn’t understand how such a lonely, depressed spirit could produce a horn of plenty that shot out pineapples and birthday cakes. Could it be that the cornucopia had drained all the goodness out of him? Maybe now that the horn was gone, Achelous would be able to fill up with some happiness and keep it for himself.

She also kept thinking about Achelous’s advice:
If you had made it to Rome, the story of the flood would have served you better.
She knew the story he was talking about. She just didn’t understand how it would help.

Jason plucked an extinguished candle from his cake. “I’ve been thinking.”

That snapped Piper back to the present. Coming from your boyfriend,
I’ve been thinking
was kind of a scary line.

“About?” she asked.

“Camp Jupiter,” he said. “All the years I trained there. We were always pushing teamwork, working as a unit. I thought I understood what that meant. But honestly? I was always the leader. Even when I was younger—”

“The son of Jupiter,” Piper said. “Most powerful kid in the legion. You were the star.”

Jason looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t deny it. “Being in this crew of seven…I’m not sure what to do. I’m not used to being one of so many, well, equals. I feel like I’m failing.”

Piper took his hand. “You’re
not
failing.”

“It sure felt that way when Chrysaor attacked,” Jason said. “I’ve spent most of this trip knocked out and helpless.”

“Come on,” she chided. “Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”

“And if I don’t
know
what’s needed?”

“That’s what your friends are for. We’ve all got different strengths. Together, we’ll figure it out.”

Jason studied her. Piper wasn’t sure that he bought what she was saying, but she was glad he could confide in her. She liked that he had a little self-doubt. He didn’t succeed all the time. He didn’t think the universe owed him an apology whenever something went wrong—unlike another son of the sky god she’d recently met.

“Hercules was a jerk,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I never want to be like that. But I wouldn’t have had the courage to stand up to him without your taking the lead. You were the hero that time.”

“We can take turns,” she suggested.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You’re not allowed to say that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a breakup line. Unless you’re breaking up—”

Jason leaned over and kissed her. The colors of the Roman afternoon suddenly seemed sharper, as if the world had switched to high definition.

“No breakups,” he promised. “I may have busted my head a few times, but I’m not
that
stupid.”

“Good,” she said. “Now, about that cake—”

Her voice faltered. Percy Jackson was running toward them, and Piper could tell from his expression that he brought bad news.

They gathered on deck so that Coach Hedge could hear the story. When Percy was done, Piper still couldn’t believe it.

“So Annabeth was kidnapped on a motor scooter,” she summed up, “by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.”

“Not kidnapped, exactly,” Percy said. “But I’ve got this bad feeling.…” He took a deep breath, like he was trying hard not to freak out. “Anyway, she’s—she’s gone. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her, but—”

“You had to,” Piper said. “You knew she had to go alone. Besides, Annabeth is tough and smart. She’ll be fine.”

Piper put some charmspeak in her voice, which maybe wasn’t cool, but Percy needed to be able to focus. If they went into battle, Annabeth wouldn’t want him getting hurt because he was too distracted about her.

His shoulders relaxed a little. “Maybe you’re right. Anyway, Gregory—I mean Tiberinus—said we had less time to rescue Nico than we thought. Hazel and the guys aren’t back yet?”

Piper checked the time on the helm control. She hadn’t realized how late it was getting. “It’s two in the afternoon. We said three o’clock for a rendezvous.”

“At the latest,” Jason said.

Percy pointed at Piper’s dagger. “Tiberinus said you could find Nico’s location…you know, with that.”

Piper bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was check Katoptris for more terrifying images.

“I’ve tried,” she said. “The dagger doesn’t always show what I want to see. In fact, it hardly
ever
does.”

“Please,” Percy said. “Try again.”

He pleaded with those sea-green eyes, like a cute baby seal that needed help. Piper wondered how Annabeth ever won an argument with this guy.

“Fine,” she sighed, and drew her dagger.

“While you’re at it,” said Coach Hedge, “see if you can get the latest baseball scores. Italians don’t cover baseball worth beans.”

“Shh.” Piper studied the bronze blade. The light shimmered. She saw a loft apartment filled with Roman demigods. A dozen of them stood around a dining table as Octavian talked and pointed to a big map. Reyna paced next to the windows, gazing down at Central Park.

“That’s not good,” Jason muttered. “They’ve already set up a forward base in Manhattan.”

“And that map shows Long Island,” Percy said.

“They’re scouting the territory,” Jason guessed. “Discussing invasion routes.”

Piper did
not
want to see that. She concentrated harder. Light rippled across the blade. She saw ruins—a few crumbling walls, a single column, a stone floor covered with moss and dead vines—all clustered on a grassy hillside dotted with pine trees.

“I was just there,” Percy said. “That’s in the old Forum.”

The view zoomed in. On one side of the stone floor, a set of stairs had been excavated, leading down to a modern iron gate with a padlock. The blade’s image zoomed straight through the doorway, down a spiral stairwell, and into a dark, cylindrical chamber like the inside of a grain silo.

Piper dropped the blade.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked. “It was showing us something.”

Piper felt like the boat was back on the ocean, rocking under her feet. “We can’t go there.”

Percy frowned. “Piper, Nico is dying. We’ve got to find him. Not to mention, Rome is about to get destroyed.”

Her voice wouldn’t work. She’d kept that vision of the circular room to herself for so long, now she found it impossible to talk about. She had a horrible feeling that explaining it to Percy and Jason wouldn’t change anything. She couldn’t stop what was about to happen.

She picked up the knife again. Its hilt seemed colder than usual.

She forced herself to look at the blade. She saw two giants in gladiator armor sitting on oversized praetors’ chairs. The giants toasted each other with golden goblets as if they’d just won an important fight. Between them stood a large bronze jar.

The vision zoomed in again. Inside the jar, Nico di Angelo was curled in a ball, no longer moving, all the pomegranate seeds eaten.

“We’re too late,” Jason said.

“No,” Percy said. “No, I can’t believe that. Maybe he’s gone into a deeper trance to buy time. We have to hurry.”

The blade’s surface went dark. Piper slipped it back into its sheath, trying to keep her hands from shaking. She hoped that Percy was right and Nico was still alive. On the other hand, she didn’t see how that image connected with the vision of the drowning room. Maybe the giants were toasting each other because she and Percy and Jason were dead.

“We should wait for the others,” she said. “Hazel, Frank, and Leo should be back soon.”

“We can’t wait,” Percy insisted.

Coach Hedge grunted. “It’s just two giants. If you guys want, I can take them.”

“Uh, Coach,” Jason said, “that’s a great offer, but we need you to man the ship—or
goat
the ship. Whatever.”

Hedge scowled. “And let you three have all the fun?”

Percy gripped the satyr’s arm. “Hazel and the others need you here. When they get back, they’ll need your leadership. You’re their rock.”

“Yeah.” Jason managed to keep a straight face. “Leo always says you’re his rock. You can tell them where we’ve gone and bring the ship around to meet us at the Forum.”

“And here.” Piper unstrapped Katoptris and put it in Coach Hedge’s hands.

The satyr’s eyes widened. A demigod was never supposed to leave her weapon behind, but Piper was fed up with evil visions. She’d rather face her death without any more previews.

“Keep an eye on us with the blade,” she suggested. “And you can check the baseball scores.”

That sealed the deal. Hedge nodded grimly, prepared to do his part for the quest.

“All right,” he said. “But if any giants come this way—”

“Feel free to blast them,” Jason said.

“What about annoying tourists?”

“No,” they all said in unison.

“Bah. Fine. Just don’t take too long, or I’m coming after you with ballistae blazing.”

Finding the place was easy.
Percy led them right to it, on an abandoned stretch of hillside overlooking the ruined Forum.

Getting in was easy too. Jason’s gold sword cut through the padlock, and the metal gate creaked open. No mortals saw them. No alarms went off. Stone steps spiraled down into the gloom.

“I’ll go first,” Jason said.

“No!” Piper yelped.

Both boys turned toward her.

“Pipes, what is it?” Jason asked. “That image in the blade…you’ve seen it before, haven’t you?”

She nodded, her eyes stinging. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the three of us drowning.”

Jason and Percy both frowned.

“I can’t drown,” Percy said, though he sounded like he was asking a question.

“Maybe the future has changed,” Jason speculated. “In the image you showed us just now, there wasn’t any water.”

Piper wished he was right, but she suspected they wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Look,” Percy said. “I’ll check it out first. It’s fine. Be right back.”

Before Piper could object, he disappeared down the stairwell.

She counted silently as they waited for him to come back. Somewhere around thirty-five, she heard his footsteps, and he appeared at the top, looking more baffled than relieved.

“Good news: no water,” he said. “Bad news: I don’t see any exits down there. And, uh, weird news: well, you should see this.…”

They descended cautiously. Percy took the lead, with Riptide drawn. Piper followed, and Jason walked behind her, guarding their backs. The stairwell was a cramped corkscrew of masonry, no more than six feet in diameter. Even though Percy had given the “all clear,” Piper kept her eyes open for traps. With every turn of the stairs, she anticipated an ambush. She had no weapon, just the cornucopia on a leather cord over her shoulder. If worse came to worst, the boys’ swords wouldn’t do much good in such close quarters. Maybe Piper could shoot their enemies with high-velocity smoked hams.

As they wound their way underground, Piper saw old graffiti gouged into the stones: Roman numerals, names and phrases in Italian. That meant other people had been down here more recently than the Roman Empire, but Piper wasn’t reassured. If monsters were below, they’d ignore mortals, waiting for some nice juicy demigods to come along.

Finally, they reached the bottom.

Percy turned. “Watch this last step.”

He jumped to the floor of the cylindrical room, which was five feet lower than the stairwell. Why would someone design a set of stairs like that? Piper had no idea. Maybe the room and the stairwell had been built during different time periods.

She wanted to turn and exit, but she couldn’t do that with Jason behind her, and she couldn’t just leave Percy down there. She clambered down, and Jason followed.

The room was just like she’d seen it in Katoptris’s blade, except there was no water. The curved walls had once been painted with frescoes, which were now faded to eggshell white with only flecks of color. The domed ceiling was about fifty feet above.

Around the back side of the room, opposite the stairwell, nine alcoves were carved into the wall. Each niche was about five feet off the floor and big enough for a human-sized statue, but each was empty.

The air felt cold and dry. As Percy had said, there were no other exits.

“All right.” Percy raised his eyebrows. “Here’s the weird part. Watch.”

He stepped to the middle of the room.

Instantly, green and blue light rippled across the walls. Piper heard the sound of a fountain, but there was no water. There didn’t seem to be any source of light except for Percy’s and Jason’s blades.

“Do you smell the ocean?” Percy asked.

Piper hadn’t noticed at first. She was standing next to Percy, and he always smelled like the sea. But he was right. The scent of salt water and storm was getting stronger, like a summer hurricane approaching.

“An illusion?” she asked. All of a sudden, she felt strangely thirsty.

“I don’t know,” Percy said. “I feel like there should be water here—lots of water. But there isn’t any. I’ve never been in a place like this.”

Jason moved to the row of niches. He touched the bottom shelf of the nearest one, which was just at his eye level. “This stone…it’s embedded with seashells. This is a nymphaeum.”

Piper’s mouth was definitely getting drier. “A what?”

“We have one at Camp Jupiter,” Jason said, “on Temple Hill. It’s a shrine to the nymphs.”

Piper ran her hand along the bottom of another niche. Jason was right. The alcove was studded with cowries, conches, and scallops. The seashells seemed to dance in the watery light. They were ice-cold to the touch.

Piper had always thought of nymphs as friendly spirits—silly and flirtatious, generally harmless. They got along well with the children of Aphrodite. They loved to share gossip and beauty tips. This place, though, didn’t feel like the canoe lake back at Camp Half-Blood, or the streams in the woods where Piper normally met nymphs. This place felt unnatural, hostile, and
very
dry.

Jason stepped back and examined the row of alcoves. “Shrines like this were all over the place in Ancient Rome. Rich people had them outside their villas to honor nymphs, to make sure the local water was always fresh. Some shrines were built around natural springs, but most were man-made.”

“So…no actual nymphs lived here?” Piper asked hopefully.

“Not sure,” Jason said. “This place where we’re standing would have been a pool with a fountain. A lot of times, if the nymphaeum belonged to a demigod, he or she would invite nymphs to live there. If the spirits took up residence, that was considered good luck.”

“For the owner,” Percy guessed. “But it would also bind the nymphs to the new water source, which would be great if the fountain was in a nice sunny park with fresh water pumped in through the aqueducts—”

“But this place has been underground for centuries,” Piper guessed. “Dry and buried. What would happen to the nymphs?”

The sound of water changed to a chorus of hissing, like ghostly snakes. The rippling light shifted from sea blue and green to purple and sickly lime. Above them, the nine niches glowed. They were no longer empty.

Standing in each was a withered old woman, so dried up and brittle they reminded Piper of mummies—except mummies didn’t normally move. Their eyes were dark purple, as if the clear blue water of their life source had condensed and thickened inside them. Their fine silk dresses were now tattered and faded. Their hair had once been piled in curls, arranged with jewels in the style of Roman noblewomen, but now their locks were disheveled and dry as straw. If water cannibals actually existed, Piper thought, this is what they looked like.

“What would happen to the nymphs?”
said the creature in the center niche.

She was in even worse shape than the others. Her back was hunched like the handle of a pitcher. Her skeletal hands had only the thinnest papery layer of skin. On her head, a battered wreath of golden laurels glinted in her roadkill hair.

She fixed her purple eyes on Piper. “What an interesting question, my dear. Perhaps the nymphs would still be here, suffering, waiting for revenge.”

The next time that she got a chance, Piper swore she would melt down Katoptris and sell it for scrap metal. The stupid knife never showed her the whole story. Sure, she’d seen herself drowning. But if she’d realized that nine desiccated zombie nymphs would be waiting for her, she never would’ve come down here.

She considered bolting for the stairs, but when she turned, the doorway had disappeared. Naturally. Nothing was there now but a blank wall. Piper suspected it wasn’t just an illusion. Besides, she would never make it to the opposite side of the room before the zombie nymphs could jump on them.

Jason and Percy stood to either side of her, their swords ready. Piper was glad to have them close, but she suspected their weapons wouldn’t do any good. She’d seen what would happen in this room. Somehow, these things were going to defeat them.

“Who are you?” Percy demanded.

The central nymph turned her head. “Ah…names. We once had names. I was Hagno, the first of the nine!”

Piper thought it was a cruel joke that a hag like her would be named
Hagno
, but she decided not to say that.

“The nine,” Jason repeated. “The nymphs of this shrine. There were always nine niches.”

“Of course.” Hagno bared her teeth in a vicious smile. “But we are the
original
nine, Jason Grace, the ones who attended the birth of your father.”

Jason’s sword dipped. “You mean Jupiter? You were there when he was
born
?”

“Zeus, we called him then,” Hagno said. “Such a squealing whelp. We attended Rhea in her labor. When the baby arrived, we hid him so that his father, Kronos, would not eat him. Ah, he had lungs, that baby! It was all we could do to drown out the noise so Kronos could not find him. When Zeus grew up, we were promised eternal honors. But that was in the old country, in Greece.”

The other nymphs wailed and clawed at their niches. They seemed to be trapped in them, Piper realized, as if their feet were glued to the stone along with the decorative seashells.

“When Rome rose to power, we were invited here,” Hagno said. “A son of Jupiter tempted us with favors.
A new home,
he promised.
Bigger and better! No down payment, an excellent neighborhood. Rome will last forever.”

“Forever,” the others hissed.

“We gave in to temptation,” Hagno said. “We left our simple wells and springs on Mount Lycaeus and moved here. For centuries, our lives were wonderful! Parties, sacrifices in our honor, new dresses and jewelry every week. All the demigods of Rome flirted with us and honored us.”

The nymphs wailed and sighed.

“But Rome did not last,” Hagno snarled. “The aqueducts were diverted. Our master’s villa was abandoned and torn down. We were forgotten, buried under the earth, but we could not leave. Our life sources were bound to this place. Our old master never saw fit to release us. For centuries, we have withered here in the darkness, thirsty…so thirsty.”

The others clawed at their mouths.

Piper felt her own throat closing up.

“I’m sorry for you,” she said, trying to use charmspeak. “That must have been terrible. But we are not your enemies. If we can help you—”

“Oh, such a sweet voice!” Hagno cried. “Such beautiful features. I was once young like you. My voice was as soothing as a mountain stream. But do you know what happens to a nymph’s mind when she is trapped in the dark, with nothing to feed on but hatred, nothing to drink but thoughts of violence? Yes, my dear. You can help us.”

Percy raised his hand. “Uh…I’m the son of Poseidon. Maybe I can summon a new water source.”

“Ha!” Hagno cried, and the other eight echoed, “Ha! Ha!”

“Indeed, son of Poseidon,” Hagno said. “I know your father well. Ephialtes and Otis promised you would come.”

Piper put her hand on Jason’s arm for balance.

“The giants,” she said. “You’re working for them?”

“They are our neighbors.” Hagno smiled. “Their chambers lie beyond this place, where the aqueduct’s water was diverted for the games. Once we have dealt with you…once you have
helped
us…the twins have promised we will never suffer again.”

Hagno turned to Jason. “You, child of Jupiter—for the horrible betrayal of your predecessor who brought us here, you shall pay. I know the sky god’s powers. I raised him as a baby! Once, we nymphs controlled the rain above our wells and springs. When I am done with you, we will have that power again. And Percy Jackson, child of the sea god…from you, we will take water, an endless supply of water.”

“Endless?” Percy’s eyes darted from one nymph to the other. “Uh…look, I don’t know about
endless.
But maybe I could spare a few gallons.”

“And you, Piper McLean.” Hagno’s purple eyes glistened. “So young, so lovely, so gifted with your sweet voice. From you, we will reclaim our beauty. We have saved our last life force for this day. We are very thirsty. From you three, we shall drink!”

All nine niches glowed. The nymphs disappeared, and water poured from their alcoves—sickly dark water, like oil.