Piper knew she was bored when she pulled out her knife. She usually kept Katopris sheathed because she didn't want to see her and her friends dying. The Feast of Spes was only five days away, so her knife was probably itching to show her sneak peaks of her death.
Piper stared into the blade, tilting it from side to side. For a second, it showed only her reflection, then the metal rippled before coming to rest on one scene. The blade showed a cluster of Greek triremes sailing through a storm. The ships were carrying the demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. As Piper watched, a huge wave came up and engulfed the ships.
The scene changed. Now Katopris showed Jason duelling Porphyrion on his own. Porphyrion kept slashing and thrusting, while all Jason could do was defend himself. Porphyrion saw an opening and took it, and Jason fell to the ground, a spear protruding from his stomach.
Piper felt like her heart was being torn out of her chest. Jason couldn't die. After all they'd done to get to Greece, Jason was just going to be killed by a giant.
Piper made a mental note to warn Jason to stay well away from Porphyrion in the final battle.
The final scene came. Her blade showed Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Zia tied up in a net, hanging over a boiling hot pot of water. Two giants, not Ephialtes and Otis, much taller, stood nearby, stoking the flames and grinning like madmen.
Piper sheathed Katopris. She understood now why Helen went insane because of this knife. The desire to know the future was too great to resist, but the scenes in the blade weren't always clear and could drive someone crazy if they overthought them.
She had to save her friends. All four were important to the quest, plus Annabeth was her best friend. She couldn't just leave them there to be turned into soup for some giants. Piper imagined the conversation she'd have in the Underworld once she died if she didn't save Annabeth: Oh, hi Annabeth! I'm sorry I didn't save you from being boiled alive, but I was too busy staring at a piece of metal!
"I agree that you need to save them," said a beautiful voice. "But I believe that you still have time to chat with your mother."
Piper turned around to find herself face to face with the most gorgeous women alive, her mother, Aphrodite. "Mom!? What are you doing here?"
"Well, you saw that scene with Jason in your blade. I'm here to console you and listen to you talk about your feelings."
Piper mentally rolled her eyes. Of course her mother's visit had something to do with love. At least this time they weren't talking about gory wars over tea.
Aphrodite snapped her fingers, and a pink table with a teapot and two teacups sitting on it appeared to the goddess's left. Piper groaned inside her head, but sat down opposite her mother.
"Now, let's talk about Jason," Aphrodite giggled. "What do you want Jason to do about this?"
"I want him to stay out of fighting, so he can't get hurt." As soon as she said it, she felt extremely selfish. "But he can't. He needs to be fighting with the rest of the seven. The quest would fail without him."
"Exactly, Piper," her mother agreed. "If you love something, set it free. Boys don't like being kept in a cage. Trust me, I learned the hard way." Piper decided not to ask.
Aphrodite stood up. "Well, I think you know what to do," she said, clasping her hands together. "But before I leave, I have something for you." She snapped her fingers, and a bottle of pink liquid appeared in her hand.
"Chanel no. 5?" Piper asked. "I don't wear perfume."
Aphrodite placed the bottle in her daughter's hands. "You'll know how to use it when the time is right." With that, she flashed out with the table, leaving the faint scent of roses, perfume, and chocolate.
Piper placed the bottle on her nightstand and walked up to the deck. Walt was manning the wheel.
"Hey, Walt!" she called.
Walt turned around. "What's wrong, Piper?"
"Set sail for the small town," Piper said. "We have some friends to save."
