The Moon and the Stars || Heroes of Olympus

Chapter 61

I didn't know a whole lot about the Mediterranean climate, but I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to freeze in July.

Two days out to sea from Split, grey clouds swallowed the sky. The waves turned choppy. Cold drizzle sprayed across the deck, forming ice on the rails and the ropes.

'It's the sceptre,' Nico murmured, hefting the ancient staff. 'It has to be.'

It made sense that the sceptre might have caused this weather change. The black orb on top seemed to leach the colour right out of the air. The golden eagles at its base glinted coldly. The sceptre could supposedly control the dead, and it definitely gave off bad vibes. Coach Hedge still refused to be in the same room as it.

So, maybe the sceptre could cause a freak ice storm. But I didn't think that was it. I feared something else was happening – something even worse.

'We can't talk up here,' Jason decided. 'Let's postpone the meeting.'

We'd all gathered on the quarterdeck to discuss strategy as we got closer to Epirus. Now it was clearly not a good place to hang out. Wind swept frost across the deck. The sea churned beneath us.

I didn't mind the waves so much. But I could tell Hazel wasn't doing well. The poor girl got seasick even in calm waters. She looked like she was trying to swallow a billiard ball.

'Need to –' Hazel gagged and pointed below.

'Yeah, go.' Nico kissed her cheek, which I found surprising. He hardly ever made gestures of affection, even to his sister. It was good to see him reaching out.

'I'll walk you down.' Frank put his arm around Hazel's waist and helped her to the stairs.

I hoped Hazel would be okay. The last few nights, since that fight with Sciron, the four of us girls had some good talks together. Being the only ones on board was kind of rough. We'd shared stories, complained about the guys' gross habits and shed some tears together about Annabeth. Though while Hazel and Piper bonded over their shared skills, Alessa spent her time trying to convince me to stop avoiding Leo. The two of us had been dancing around each other since Split.

Nico brushed some ice from his hair. He frowned at the sceptre of Diocletian. 'I should put this thing away. If it's really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help ....'

'Sure,' I said. "I'll fill you in later."

Nico glanced at Piper and Leo, as if worried what they might say when he was gone. They were certainly curious about what had actually happened in Croatia, though they tried to keep quiet about it.

Leo pulled a screwdriver from his belt. 'So much for the big team meeting. Looks like it's just us again.'

Just us again.

I remembered a wintry day in Chicago last December, when the four of us had landed in Millennial Park on our first quest.

Leo hadn't changed much since then, except he seemed more comfortable in his role as a child of Hephaestus. He'd always had too much nervous energy. Now he knew how to use it. His hands were constantly in motion, pulling tools from his belt, working controls, tinkering with his beloved Archimedes sphere. Today he'd removed it from the control panel and shut down Festus the figurehead for maintenance – something about rewiring his processor for a motor-control upgrade with the sphere, whatever that meant.

As for Jason, he looked thinner, taller and more careworn. His hair had gone from close-cropped Roman style to longer and shaggier. The groove Sciron had shot across the left side of his scalp was interesting, too – almost like a rebellious streak. His icy blue eyes looked older, somehow – full of worry and responsibility.