~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Sailing Through The Atlantic

   "I've got it covered," Coach Hedge promised. "Now, go away!"

   Leo nodded wearily. He staggered across the deck toward his friends.

   Percy and Jason sat with their backs against the mast, their heads slumped in exhaustion. Annabeth and Piper were trying to get them to drink some water. Kiara's head was lolled sideways as she leaned against the wall at one side of the deck. She seemed to be deep in sleep. Hazel and Frank stood just out of earshot, having an argument that involved lots of arm waving and head shaking.

   Leo should not have felt pleased about that, but part of him did. The other part of him felt bad that he felt pleased. The argument stopped abruptly when Hazel saw Leo. Everybody gathered at the mast.

   Frank scowled like he was trying hard to turn into a bulldog. "No sign of pursuit," he said.

   "Or land," Hazel added. She looked a little green, though Leo wasn't sure if that was from the rocking of the boat or from arguing.

   Leo scanned the horizon. Nothing but ocean in every direction. That shouldn't have surprised him. He'd spent six months building a ship that he knew would cross the Atlantic. But until today, their embarking on a journey to the ancient lands hadn't seemed real. Leo had never been outside the U.S. before—except for a quick dragon flight up to Quebec.

   Now they were in the middle of the open sea, completely on their own, sailing to the Mare Nostrum, where all the scary monsters and nasty giants had come from. The Romans might not follow them, but they couldn't count on any help from Camp Half-Blood, either.

   Leo patted his waist to make sure his tool belt was still there. Unfortunately that just reminded him of Nemesis's fortune cookie, tucked inside one of the pockets.

   You will always be an outsider. The goddess's voice still wriggled around in his head. The seventh wheel.

   Forget her, Leo told himself. Concentrate on the stuff you can fix.

   He turned to Annabeth. "Did you find the map you wanted?"

   She nodded, though she looked pale. Leo wondered what she'd seen at Fort Sumter that could have shaken her up so badly. She kept glancing at Kiara, too. Did it have something to do with Kiara?

   "I'll have to study it," she said, as if that was the end of the subject. "How far are we from those coordinates?"

   "At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo said. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

   "No," she admitted. "Percy?"

   Percy raised his head. His green eyes were bloodshot and droopy. "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but..." He paused, like he'd used up all his energy saying that much. "She also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

   "Wonderful," Frank muttered.

   Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over, and he slid back down the mast.

   "Can we get the ship aloft?" he asked. "If we could fly—"

   "That'd be great," Leo said. "Except Festus tells me the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter."

   "We were in a hurry," Annabeth said. "Trying to save your ass."

   "And saving my ass is a very noble cause," Leo agreed. "I'm just saying, it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere." He had a feeling Kiara would be happy about that. He remembered that from their trip to rescue Hera.