𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒 ! [percy jackson]¹

C H A P T E R ⟶ S I X

Frank unzipped his backpack and started bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of tee shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs."

Annabeth looked like she was forcing herself to stay calm. "How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack."

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!"

At least the coach seemed to have forgotten about Sarah and Annabeth falling asleep in the stable the night before. But judging from Percy's story, they all had worse problems to worry about than Hedge potentially grounding them.

When Percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, she understood why he seemed upset. 

"That's terrible," she said. "We need to help them."

"We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish. . ." He shook his head. "Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique. 

Aurora bit her lip. "A bounty on our heads. . . as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about?"

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days," Leo said. "I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe. . . but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"

"Hey!" Frank complained.

"Knock it off," Sarah ordered. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map."

Piper leaned against the control panel. She'd done her braid with white feathers today, which looked good with her dark brown hair. Aurora wondered how she found the time. Aurora had barely been able to tie her hair into a messy pair of Dutch braids that morning.

"A map," Piper said. "But a map to what?"

"The Mark of Athena." Percy met Aurora's gaze, their conversation from the night before coming back to her. They turned to see Annabeth and Sarah stiffening. "Whatever that is," he continued. "We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

"The giants' bane," Hazel added.

Percy nodded. "And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"Um. . ." Frank rolled his not-exactly-Chinese handcuffs between his fingers. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try and find it. But what is it?"

Everyone looked at Annabeth. Her eyes stormed with thoughts about what the statue could be, and Aurora hoped she figured it out and could assure Aurora that she was thinking the right thing. Jason was also studying Annabeth. He knew exactly what she was thinking and the three of them didn't like it anymore than the next person. 

"I—I'm close to an answer," Annabeth said. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston. . . have you been there before?"

Jason glanced uneasily at Piper, and then he turned to Aurora.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Reyna, Ari, and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."