The Curse of Achilles (PJO AU)

The Son of Neptune (Part 1)

Outside Camp Jupiter, California

They reached the riverbank, and Percy Jackson stopped to catch his breath. The current was fast, but the river didn't look deep. Only a stone's throw across stood the gates of the fort.

"Go, Hazel." Frank Zhang nocked two arrows at once. "Escort Percy so the sentries don't shoot him. It's my turn to hold off the baddies."

Hazel Levesque nodded and waded into the stream.

Percy started to follow, but something made him hesitate. Usually, he loved the water, but this river seemed . . . powerful, and not necessarily friendly.

"The Little Tiber," said June sympathetically. "It flows with the power of the original Tiber river of the empire. This is your last chance to back out, child. The mark of Achilles is a Greek blessing. You can't retain it if you cross into Roman territory. The Tiber will wash it away."

Percy was too exhausted to understand all that, but he got the main point. "If I cross, I won't have iron skin anymore?"

June smiled. "So what will it be? Safety, or a future of pain and possibility?"

Behind him, the gorgons screeched as they flew from the tunnel. Frank let his arrows fly.

From the middle of the river, Hazel yelled, "Percy, come on!"

Up on the watchtowers, horns blew. The sentries shouted and swiveled their crossbows toward the gorgons.

Percy tightened his grip around June. Whoever this lady was, he didn't entirely trust her. She might be right about the Tiber, but she didn't know Percy. He didn't really know himself, either, but he was sure of one thing—he wasn't ready to give up the mark of Achilles. If it was Greek, maybe that had something to do with his past. With Annabeth. Percy wasn't willing to let that go.

He operated on instinct. He felt a tug in his gut as he took the first step into the river, and his thoughts became reality. The river parted around his feet, leaving him and June untouched by the water.

"Interesting choice," the old lady murmured, almost disapproving. Percy didn't care.

He could have used the energy boost that he had discovered in the last few days that water gave him, but he could last a little bit longer if it meant retaining a connection to his past. June seemed to have tripled in weight, and the thought of finally putting her down once they crossed the river drove him forward.

He could sense that he'd succeeded once he reached the other side and put the old woman down. The atmosphere here . . . it didn't like him, or his Greek blessing. But Percy had kept it for now, and that was all that mattered.

The camp's gates opened. Dozens of kids in armor poured out.

Hazel turned with a relieved smile. Then she looked over Percy's shoulder, and her expression changed to horror. "Frank!"

Frank was halfway across the river when the gorgons caught him. They swooped out of the sky and grabbed him by either arm. He screamed in pain as their claws dug into his skin.

The sentries yelled, but Percy knew they couldn't get a clear shot. They'd end up killing Frank. The other kids drew swords and got ready to charge into the water, but they'd be too late.

There was only one way.

Percy thrust out his hands. An intense tugging sensation filled his gut, and the Tiber obeyed his will. The river surged. Whirlpools formed on either side of Frank. Giant watery hands erupted from the stream, copying Percy's movements. The giant hands grabbed the gorgons, who dropped Frank in surprise. Then the hands lifted the squawking monsters in a liquid vise grip.