The Watcher ❪ Book 1❫

Prologue

After Percy was kidnapped, Chiron reassigned me to watch over the crew below me. And let me just say, it was not easy to watch over four demigods.

Then I felt it—a shiver as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind me and was breathing down my neck. I whirled around, almost falling, to see nothing there. I narrowed my eyes. That was not normal. There was something on the ship.

It was not possible, though. The Argo ll was well protected. The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and their onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders.

Something is about to go wrong.

Then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted the ship.

Chiron had described what the camp looked like from what Jason had told him, but it still took my breath away. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.

Directly below the ship, nestled at the lake's edge, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. I recognized landmarks Chiron had told me about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.

I saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building, l guess was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.

Dozens of kids in togas were coming out of the Senate House to better look at the Argo ll. More came out from the shops and cafès, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.

About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill--with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road--the Via Principalis.

Demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. And they had a war elephant. Great. We're going to be surrounded before we even reach the ground.

Then something on the deck went BOOM!

I was so startled that if I hadn't been holding on to the rigging, I would have fallen. After I steadied myself, I looked down.

A statue. A living statue. A living, angry-looking statue had exploded into existence, right there on the deck.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.

Um...how? Enhanced hearing sucks sometimes. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.

"I will not have weapons inside the Pomeranian Line!" He announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"

Rude

Jason stepped forward with a face that said, I've got this.

"Terminus," he said. "It's me, Jason Grace."

"Oh, I remember you, Jason." Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had a better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

"But they're not enemies—"

"That's right," Piper jumped in, charm speaking. "We just want to talk. If we could—"

"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charm speak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"