ABOVE THE GODS

THIRTY-SIX

AS IT TURNS OUT, Frank had followed right behind Veronica instead of staying behind with Hazel and Nico. They bounded up the steps to reveal the situation on the deck that was even worse than she had feared.

Coach Hedge and Piper were struggling against their duct tape bonds while one of the demon monkey dwarfs danced around the deck, picking up whatever wasn't tied down and sticking it in his bag. He was maybe four feet tall, even shorter than Coach Hedge, with bowed legs and chimp-like feet, his clothes so loud they made Veronica's eyes sore just looking at them. His green-plaid pants were pinned at the cuffs and held up with bright-red suspenders over a striped pink-and-black woman's blouse. He wore half a dozen gold watches on each arm, and a zebra-patterned cowboy hat with a price tag dangling from the brim. His skin was covered with patches of scraggly red fur, though ninety percent of his body hair seemed to be concentrated in his thick eyebrows.

"Duck!" Leo shouted. He tackled Veronica down as the explosion blasted behind them. The blonde had enough sense to cover her own ears right before Leo had tackled her to the ground.

She knew Leo leaving the boxes of magic grenades out was a bad idea. She scolded herself for not bringing them down to the armory herself.

At least they were alive. Judging from the stars that were dancing across her vision, the dwarf had detonated the flash-bang grenade which was just a step up in terms of being dangerous from the freshly buttered popcorn grenade that Leo had created.

Still, Apollo's music in its pure form did enough damage that covering her ears wasn't enough.

Veronica pushed Leo off of her and tried to stand, her legs still wobbling as a side effect of the grenade. She watched as the brown-furred dwarf pulled Leo's tool belt off the Latino's waist and held it in the air as if it were a prize he'd just won.

The gleam of jewelry around the dwarf's wrist caught her eye causing Veronica's throat to close up upon recognition. The nasty thief had somehow managed to swipe her bracelet of daggers off her wrist.

Veronica lunged for the dwarf but was half a second too slow. The dwarf frolicked over to the nearest ballista, which his red-furred friend was priming to launch.

The brown-furred dwarf jumped onto the projectile like it was a skateboard, and his friend shot him into the sky.

Red Fur pranced over to Coach Hedge. he gave the satyr a big smack on the cheek, then skipped to the rail. He bowed to Leo and Veronica, doffing his zebra cowboy hat, and did a backflip over the side.

Veronica managed to get up without tripping over her own feet and helped Leo get up as well. Jason was already on his feet, stumbling and running into things. Frank had turned into a silverback gorilla, which was of no current use to the demigods but the flash grenade had hit him hard. He was sprawled on the deck with his tongue hanging out and his gorilla eyes rolled up in his head.

"Piper!" Jason staggered to the helm and carefully pulled the gag out of her mouth.

"Don't waste your time on me!" she said. "Go after them!"

Veronica was one step ahead of them, already prepping herself to fly after the little bastards.

"Jason! Grab Leo and let's go!" Veronica urged, anxious to get her bracelet back among the other things stolen.

Jason attempted to protest but with one look from his sister, he was grabbing onto Leo and following Veronica closely into the city.

**

Veronica, Jason, and Leo touched down in a big piazza lined with white marble government buildings and outdoor cafes. Bikes and Vespas clogged the surrounding streets, but the square was empty except for pigeons and a few old men drinking espresso.