Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 31

Piper grinned. "Nice."

They climbed aboard the Argo II, and Annabeth ran to the helm. "Piper, get below. Use the sink in the galley for an Iris message. Warn Jason to get back here!" Piper nodded and raced off. "Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck!"

"Right!"

"And Percy—you and I need to get this ship to Fort Sumter."

"I got the crossbow!" Cressida called as she ran for the weapon she'd been dying to operate.

Her aim was flawless as she incapacitated the Romans that tried to board their ship as Percy ran for the mast. Ropes flew on their own—releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. The sails unfurled and caught the wind. Meanwhile, Annabeth fired the engine. The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the Argo II turned from the dock, heading for the island in the distance.

The three eagles still circled overhead, but they made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because Festus the figurehead blew fire whenever they got close. More eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter—at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod...that was a lot of enemies.

Cressida debated shooting at them but no good would come of it as she would've sealed the idea that they were enemies.

Coach Hedge came pounding up the stairs with Hazel at his hooves. "Where are they?" he demanded. "Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Cressida scolded. "Help me keep the Roman's away from the ship!"

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

"Gleeson!"

"Got it!"

Piper emerged from below. "Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. He should be—oh! There!"

Soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden Roman birds.

"Frank!" Hazel said. Leo was holding on to the eagle's feet, and even from the ship, you could hear Leo cursing and screaming. Behind them flew Jason, riding the wind. 

"Never seen Jason fly before," Percy grumbled. "He looks like a blond Superman."

"Hey, Captain Nemo!" his girlfriend called, and she smirked at him. "Superman's overrated. I've always loved Aquaman."

And he grinned at her before Piper scolded, "This isn't the time! They're in trouble!"

Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows. Arrows whistled under Leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were forced to overshoot the Argo II and fly toward Fort Sumter.

"I'll get 'em!" yelled Coach Hedge. He spun the port ballista.

"NO!" Cressida screamed but it was pointless.

Hedge fired. A flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot. It exploded over the heads of the pegasi and threw them into a panic. Unfortunately, it also singed Frank's wings and sent him spiralling out of control. Leo slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot toward Fort Sumter, slamming into Jason. Annabeth watched in horror as Jason—obviously dazed and in pain —lunged for Leo, caught him, and then struggled to gain altitude. He only managed to slow their fall. They disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. Frank tumbled after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone-shattering CRACK! One broken wheel spun into the air.

"GLEESON!" Cressida shouted.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "That was just a warning shot!"

"I'll show you a warning shot," Cressida said as she started on the satyr only for Percy to intercept her.

Annabeth gunned the engines. The hull shuddered as they picked up speed. The docks of the island were only a hundred yards away now, but a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a Roman demigod in its claws. They would easily be outnumbered at least three to one.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "we're going to come in hard. I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

"But—Jason!" Piper said.

"Frank and Leo!" Hazel added.

"I'll get the boys," Cressida offered. "I can by Books time to get to the Fort as well."

"Cress, Wise Girl-"

"We'll be fine," Annabeth promised. "I've got to figure out where the map is. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Percy warned. "You'll have to fight your way through, find our friends—assuming they're okay—find this map, and get everybody back alive."

"Just your average demigod day, Aquaman," Cressida said as she kissed him and Annabeth shouted,

"Whatever you do, don't let them take this ship!"