PHILOXENIA ➸ Percy Jackson¹

επτά

"What?" Percy yelled back.

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Lux and Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron screamed. "Woohoooo!"

The music got cranked up, so loud that it made the boat vibrate.

"—Miami," Chiron shouted over the noise. "I'll try to keep watch—"

The misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had hurled a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

An hour later, they spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A Coast Guard cruiser passed on their starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. It must've been weird for them to see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by four kids.

"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy said.

Both Annabeth and Lux stared at him. "How did you know that?"

"I—I'm not sure."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"

"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," he answered immediately. He shook his head, confused. "Whoa. How did I know that?"

"I think it's because of your dad," Lux guessed. "When you're at sea, you know exactly where we are. That's pretty cool."

His eyebrows furrowed as if he wasn't sure having the ability to spew out coordinates helped classify him as cool. But before he could say anything, Tyson tapped his shoulder. "Other boat is coming."

They looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on their tail. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.

"We can't let them catch us," Percy said. "They'll ask too many questions."

"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth directed. "I know where to go."

Percy had a questioning look on his face as though he wasn't sure why she knew the area so well. Lux had no particular impression about Virginia Beach, but something about Chesapeake Bay and Annabeth's familiarity with it did strike some memory of hers.

Percy loosened the thermos cap a bit more, and a fresh burst of wind sent them rocketing around the northern tip of the beach into the bay. The Coast Guard boat fell farther and farther behind. They didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side as they entered the mouth of a river.

Percy faltered for a moment, his head lolling like all of his energy had just left him. He was disoriented, but Annabeth was still giving him directions.

"There. Past that sandbar."

They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass and the lifeboat beached at the foot of a giant cypress. Vines-covered trees loomed above them, no doubt hiding a number of insects and creatures that made chittering noises. The air was muggy and hot, making Lux's clothes stick to her skin.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Just follow." She grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."