THE HEALER| Heroes of Olympus

one

Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.

"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk."

Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over me, filling me with the desire to drop my bow and have a nice long chat. For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn- out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Maybe as a joke, though I could never besure with Piper.) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.

Then there was Piper's boyfriend—Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control—just like a son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.

Just then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted them.

I thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to me in great detail. Still, I had trouble believing my eyes. 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 

Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. I recognized landmarks Jason had told her 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 she guessed 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 streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, 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. It looked just like the illustrations I had seen in military history books—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.

A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.

I wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. I scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy.

Then something behind me went BOOM!

The explosion almost knocked me overboard. I whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.

Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. 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 Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"Jason shot me a look that said, I've got this.