[act five; chapter five - time crawled to a close]
Andy stood on the quarterdeck next to Leo, and it took them all of one second to notice the secret entrance. She couldn't help but gasp at the sight, because holy hells, it was stunning.
Leo seemed to agree. He gasped, "It's beautiful."
After all of the information they had scoured for, they finally hovered over the ancient temple complex of the healing god Asclepius, where they could hopefully find the physician's cure and maybe also some ambrosia and nectar.
Next to her on the quarterdeck, Percy peered over the railing.
"Looks like more rubble," he noted.
His face was still green from his underwater poisoning, but he wasn't running to the bathroom to throw up quite as much as he had before. Between him and Hazel's seasickness, it had been impossible to find an unoccupied toilet onboard for the past few days.
Luckily, Andy's own nausea—thanks to Michael Varus and his handy sword—had faded, which left her with the occasional twinge of deep-rooted pain that only ever lingered for about fifteen minutes at a time, and her wounds from Tartarus had healed nearly completely—though the scars that remained would never fade. Aside from those two facts, she was doing better, but the impending doom regarding a certain queen of dirt and earth still weighed her down. That and the constant lingering voice in her ears and the flicker of gold in her eyes.
Annabeth pointed to the disc-shaped structure about fifty yards off their port side. "There."
Leo smiled. "Exactly. See, the architect knows her stuff."
Donnie threw him a disapproving look and said, "I think anyone could spot it if they had eyes, Leo."
"Eh," Leo grinned wolfishly, "I don't like other people's eyes, just yours."
Andy mockingly gagged and sagged against the railing with an expression on her face that she hoped looked like she was about to throw up.
In reality, she didn't have to, but they all knew that.
The rest of the crew gathered around.
"What are we looking at?" Frank asked.
"Ah, Señor Zhang," Leo said, "you know how you're always saying, "Leo, you are the only true genius among demigods"?"
Eden coughed into her fist and bit back a grin, "I call bull." Annabeth nodded at her in agreement, a grin of her own pulling at her lips.
"I'm pretty sure I never said that."
"Well, turns out there are other true geniuses! Because one of them must have made that work of art down there."
"It's a stone circle," Frank said. "Probably the foundation of an old shrine."
Piper shook her head. "No, it's more than that. Look at the ridges and grooves carved around the rim."
"Like the teeth of a gear," Jason offered.
"And those concentric rings." Hazel pointed to the centre of the structure, where curved stones formed a sort of bull's-eye. "The pattern reminds me of Pasiphaë's pendant: the symbol of the Labyrinth."
The four people who had entered the Labyrinth grimaced at the mention of said maze, sharing a look of both disdain and sadness.
"Huh." Leo scowled. "Well, I hadn't thought of that. But think mechanical. Frank, Hazel, Donnie...where did we see concentric circles like that before?"
"The laboratory under Rome," Frank said.
"The Archimedes lock on the door," Hazel recalled. "It had rings within rings."
Donnie groaned. "I don't like it. It reminds me of math and math makes my head hurt."
Andy laughed at him. "Says the one who is actually good at math."
Her twin merely smiled wide and shrugged as if it didn't matter one bit.
Percy snorted. "You're telling me that's a massive stone lock? It's, like, fifty feet in diameter."
"Leo might be right," Annabeth said. "In ancient times, the temple of Asclepius was like the General Hospital of Greece. Everybody came here for the best healing. Aboveground, it was the size of a major city, but supposedly the real action happened belowground. That's where the high priests had their intensive-care super-magical-type compound, accessed by a secret passage."
Percy scratched his ear. "So, if that big round thing is the lock, how do we get the key?"
"Way ahead of you, Aquaman," Leo said.
"Okay, do not call me Aquaman. That's even worse than water boy."
Andy placed a hand on each of their shoulders and grinned. "Fish Face is my personal favourite, but I may be biassed." Then she grinned even more. "Though I do appreciate the DC reference, Val. But Percy is more of a Dick Grayson than an Arthur Curry, king of Atlantis."
Zara smiled and waved her hand at Andy. "And that makes you Barbara Gordon, Batgirl."
The redhead grinned, "Indeed."
Leo turned to his friends. "You guys remember the giant Archimedes grabber arm I told you I was building?"
Jason raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were kidding."
"Oh, my friend, I never kid about giant grabber arms!" Leo rubbed his hands in anticipation. "It's time to go fishing for prizes!"
Compared to the other modifications Leo had made to the ship, the grabber arm was a piece of cake, or at least that was what he had told Andy when she was keeping him company in the early hours of the morning. Originally, Archimedes had designed it to pluck enemy ships out of the water. Now Leo found another use for it, and it was truly amazing.
He opened the hull's forward access vent and extended the arm, guided by the console monitor and Jason, who flew outside, yelling directions.
"Left!" Jason called. "A couple of inches—yeah! Okay, down. Keep it coming. You're good."
Using his trackpad and turntable controls, Leo opened the claw. Its prongs settled around the grooves in the circular stone structure below. He checked the aerial stabilisers and the monitor's video feed.
"Okay, little buddy." Leo patted the Archimedes sphere embedded in the helm. "This is all you."
He activated the sphere.
The grabber arm began to turn like a corkscrew. It rotated the outer ring of stone, which ground and rumbled but thankfully didn't shatter. Then the claw detached, fixed itself around the second stone ring and turned it in the opposite direction.
Standing next to him at the monitor, Piper kissed him on the cheek. "It's working. Leo, you're amazing."
Leo grinned. But that grin waned, just slightly. "Yeah, well...thanks, Beauty Queen."
Below them, the last stone ring turned and settled with a deep pneumatic hiss. The entire fifty-foot pedestal telescoped downward into a spiral staircase.
Hazel exhaled. "Leo, even from up here, I'm sensing bad stuff at the bottom of those stairs. Something...large and dangerous. You sure you don't want me to come along?"
"Thanks, Hazel, but we'll be good." He patted Piper on the back and tugged on one of Andy's curls. "Me, Stormy, Piper, and Jason—we're old pros at large and dangerous."
Frank held out the vial of Pylosian mint. "Don't break it."
Leo nodded gravely. "Don't break the vial of deadly poison. Man, I'm glad you said that. Never would have occurred to me."
"Shut up, Valdez." Frank gave him a bear hug. "And be careful."
"Ribs," Leo squeaked.
"Sorry."
Andy tucked herself into Zara's arms, even though she was taller than her sister by more than head—Zara March was short, but boy did she know how to pack a punch. Her sister pressed a kiss to her forehead and grinned, her vivid forest green eyes bright, yet sombre all at the same time. "You come back to me in one piece, okay? You, Jay, Piper, and Leo. All of you. In one piece."
Everyone else wished them goodluck and said goodbye, and Andy held her breath when Annabeth laid their foreheads against each other. She whispered, "No hero play today, okay?"
All the daughter of Dionysis did was nod and whisper back, "Okay. Not today."
Then Percy gave her a tight hug, wrapping her up in his strong, sturdy hold. After several moments, he pulled away just slightly, just enough so that sea green could meet amethyst. He murmured hoarsely, "I want to kiss you."
Andy smiled nervously, almost as though this was her very first kiss. "Unless you don't want to. In which I would totally understand, because I'm a complete and utter idiot, but you already know that—"
She was cut off when he pressed his lips against hers, his hands reaching up to cup her neck. He pulled himself away, his cheeks red, and grinned that lopsided grin that she loved so much. "I missed you, Glowstick."
"I've been right here." She ran her thumb across that spot between his eyebrows, smoothing out the skin. "I've always been here. The whole time. I just...it took me a while to realise."
Percy nodded. "I know. I've just been waiting for you. I'll always wait for you."
But then they were leaving, and the feeling of his lips against hers lingered as it always did.
—💫—
The stairs spiralled downward about sixty feet before opening into a chamber as large as Bunker Nine—which is to say, ginormous.
The polished white tiles on the walls and floor reflected the light of Jason and Andy's swords so well that Leo hadn't needed to make a fire. Rows of long stone benches filled the entire chamber and at the far end of the room, where the altar would have been had it been a church, stood a ten-foot-tall statue of pure white alabaster—a young woman in a white robe, a serene smile on her face. In one hand she raised a cup, while a golden serpent coiled around her arm, its head poised over the brim as if ready to drink.
"Large and dangerous," Jason guessed.
Piper scanned the room. "This must have been the sleeping area." Her voice echoed a little too loudly for Andy's comfort. "The patients stayed here overnight. The god Asclepius was supposed to send them a dream, telling them what cure to ask for."
"How do you know that?" Leo asked. "Annabeth or Andy told you?"
Piper looked offended. "I know stuff. That statue over there is Hygeia, the daughter of Asclepius. She's the goddess of good health. That's where we get the word hygiene."
Jason studied the statue warily. "What's with the snake and the cup?"
"Uh, not sure," Piper admitted. She glanced over her shoulder at Andy, the redhead looking around them, scanning the walls, feeling for anything using the root system under the ground. She cleared her throat, her voice echoing around the chamber. "Back in the day this place—the Asclepeion—was a medical school as well as a hospital. All the best doctor-priests trained here. They would've worshipped both Asclepius and Hygeia."
The silence, the gleaming white tiles, the smile on Hygeia's face...it all made her uneasy, like she wanted, no, needed out of her skin. But they headed down the centre aisle towards the statue.
Strewn across the benches were old magazines: Highlights for Children, Autumn, 20 B.C.E.; Hephaestus-TV Weekly—Aphrodite's Latest Baby Bump; A: The Magazine of Asclepius—Ten Simple Tips to Get the Most out of Your Leeching!
"It's a reception area," Leo muttered. "I hate reception areas."
"Yeah," Andy murmured, glancing around. "A reception area for what?"
Here and there, piles of dust and scattered bones lay on the floor, which did not say encouraging things about the average wait time.
"Check it out." Jason pointed. "Were those signs here when we walked in? And that door?"
Andy didn't think so. On the wall to the right of the statue, above a closed metal door, were two electronic sign boards. The top one read: THE DOCTOR IS: INCARCERATED.
The sign below that read: NOW SERVING NUMBER: 0000000
Jason squinted. "I can't read it that far away. The doctor is..."
"Incarcerated," Leo said. "Apollo warned me that Asclepius was being held under guard. Zeus didn't want him sharing his medical secrets or something."
"Twenty bucks and a box of Froot Loops that statue is the guardian," Piper said.
"I'm not taking that bet." Leo glanced at the nearest pile of waiting-room dust. "Well...I guess we take a number."
The giant statue had other ideas.
When they got within five feet, she turned her head and looked at them. Her expression remained frozen. Her mouth didn't move. But a voice issued from somewhere above, echoing through the room. "Do you have an appointment?"
Piper didn't miss a beat, not even as Andy put an arm out to stop her from passing beyond that point. "Hello, Hygeia! Apollo sent us. We need to see Asclepius."
The alabaster statue stepped off her dais. She might have been mechanical, but Andy wasn't sure.
"I see." The statue kept smiling, though she didn't sound pleased. "May I make a copy of your insurance cards?'
"Ah, well..." Piper faltered, sending Andy an anxious, wide-eyed look. "We don't have them on us, but—"
"No insurance cards?" The statue shook her head. An exasperated sigh echoed through the chamber. Andy took a sharp step back, her arm still in front of Piper. "I suppose you haven't prepared for your visit, either. Have you washed your hands thoroughly?"
It was Andy who responded this time. With a gruff, "Yes," she wound her jaw tight, her gait firm, and her shoulders pulled back.
"Are you wearing clean underwear?" the statue asked.
"Hey, lady," Leo said, "that's getting personal."
"You should always wear clean underwear to the doctor's office," chided Hygeia. "I'm afraid you are a health hazard. You will have to be sanitised before we can proceed."
The golden snake uncurled and dropped from her arm. It reared its head and hissed, flashing sabre-like fangs.
"Uh, you know," Jason said, "getting sanitised by large snakes isn't covered by our medical plan. Darn it."
"Oh, that doesn't matter," Hygeia assured him. "Sanitising is a community service. It's complimentary!"
The snake lunged.
A Stygian Iron shield spun to life on Andy's arm, the girl thrusting herself forward, throwing the snake awake, barely missing Leo as he leaped to one side, the snake missing his head by an inch. He rolled and came up, hands blazing. As the snake attacked, Leo blasted it in the eyes, causing it to veer left and smash into the bench, Andy slamming the shield down with all of her strength, trapping its body under her.
Piper and Jason went to work on Hygeia. They slashed through the statue's knees, taking her down like an alabaster Christmas tree. Her head hit a bench. Her chalice splashed steaming acid all over the floor. Jason and Piper moved in for the kill, but, before they could strike, Hygeia's legs popped back on like they were magnetic. The goddess rose, still smiling.
"Unacceptable," she said. "The doctor will not see you until you are properly sanitised."
She sloshed her cup towards Piper, who jumped out of the way as more acid splashed across the nearest benches, dissolving the stone in a hissing cloud of steam.
The snake, meanwhile, recovered its senses and shoved against Andy so hard she tumbled back more than five feet. Its melted metal eyes somehow repaired themselves. Its face popped back into shape like a dent-resistant car hood.
It struck at Leo, who ducked and tried to grapple its neck. The serpent shot past, its rough metal skin leaving Leo's hands scraped and bleeding.
Andy swung Mania as the snake lunged at her, a chain sprouting from where the blade of the sword usually was. The chain whip circled around its body and she tugged in the opposite direction, slamming it into the ground.
Leo ran to her, his eyes wide, "It's a robot!"
Across the room, Jason soared into the air and lopped the goddess's head off. Sadly, the head flew right back into place.
"Unacceptable," Hygeia said calmly. "Decapitation is not a healthy lifestyle choice."
"Jason, get over here!" Leo yelled. "Piper, buy us some time!"
Piper glanced over, like Easier said than done.
"Hygeia!" she yelled. "I have insurance!"
That got the statue's attention. Even the golden snake turned its head towards her, as if insurance was some sort of tasty rodent. Still, Andy did not relent her hold on the robot, her foot pressed down on the chain that was wrapped around it.
"Insurance?" the statue said eagerly. "Who is your provider?"
"Um...Blue Lightning," Piper said. "I have the card right here. Just a second."
She made a big show of patting down her pockets. The snake attempted to slither over to watch, and as Andy tried to keep it in place, it jerked her off again, the girl stumbling in shock.
Jason ran to Leo and Andy's side, gasping. "What's the plan?"
"We can't destroy these things," Leo said. "They're designed for self-healing. They're immune to pretty much every kind of damage."
"Great," Jason said. "So...?"
"You remember Chiron's old gaming system?" Leo asked.
Jason's eyes widened. "Leo...this isn't Mario Party Six."
Andy looked towards Piper cautiously. "Same principle, though."
"Idiot mode?"
Leo grinned. "I'll need you and Piper to run interference. Andy'll hold the snake down and I'll reprogram it, then Big Bertha."
"Hygeia."
'Whatever. Ready?'
"No."
The three of them ran for the snake.
Hygeia was assailing Piper with health-care questions. "Is Blue Lightning an HMO? What is your deductible? Who is your primary care deity?"
As Piper ad-libbed answers, Leo jumped on the serpent's back. This time he knew what he was looking for, and for a moment the serpent didn't even seem to notice him, not as Piper let lies roll off of her tongue like honey. Leo pried open a service panel near the snake's head. Jason and Andy stood by, ready to attack, but the snake seemed transfixed by Piper's problems with Blue Lightning's coverage.
"Then the advice nurse said I had to call a service centre," Piper reported. "And the medications weren't covered by my plan! And—"
The snake lurched as Leo connected the last two wires. The son of Hephaestus jumped off and the golden serpent began shaking uncontrollably.
And again, Andy whirled her golden chain whip forward, tugging the snake towards her. She grabbed its head and slammed it down, straddling its neck to keep it pinned.
Hygeia whirled to face them. "What have you done? My snake requires medical assistance!"
"Does it have insurance?" Piper asked.
"WHAT?" The statue turned back to her, and Leo jumped. Jason summoned a gust of wind, which boosted him onto the statue's shoulders like a little kid at a parade. He popped open the back of the statue's head as she staggered around, sloshing acid.
"Get off!" she yelled. "This is not hygienic!"
"Hey!" Jason yelled, flying circles around her. "I have a question about my deductibles!"
"What?" the statue cried.
"Hygeia!" Piper shouted. "I need an invoice submitted to Medicare!"
"No, please!"
Leo seemed to know what he was doing—as usual—because Hygeia began to spin, hollering and flailing her arms. He jumped away, barely avoiding an acid bath.
Andy left the snake be, the robot nailed into the ground by Mania, now in sword form, its blade through the robot's head.
"What did you do?" Piper demanded.
"Idiot mode," Leo said. Andy grinned.
"Excuse me?"
"Back at camp," Jason explained, "Chiron had this ancient gaming system in the rec room. Andy, Leo, and I used to play it sometimes with Janaya. You'd compete against, like, computer-controlled opponents, coms—"
"—and they had three difficulty options," Leo said. "Easy, medium and hard."
"I've played video games before," Piper said with a grumble. "So what did you do?"
"Well...Leo got bored with those settings.' Andy explained. "So he invented a fourth difficulty level: idiot mode. It makes the coms so stupid it's funny. They always choose exactly the wrong thing to do."
Piper stared at the statue and snake, both of which were writhing and starting to smoke. "Are you sure you set them to idiot mode?"
"We'll know in a minute."
"What if you set them to extreme difficulty?"
"Then we'll know that, too."
The snake stopped shuddering. It coiled up and looked around as if bewildered.
Hygeia froze. A puff of smoke drifted from her right ear. She looked down at Leo. "You must die! Hello! You must die!"
She raised her cup and poured acid over her face. Then she turned and marched face-first into the nearest wall. The snake reared up and slammed its head repeatedly into the floor.
"Okay," Jason said. "I think we have achieved idiot mode."
"Hello! Die!" Hygeia backed away from the wall and face-slammed it again.
"Let's go." Leo ran for the metal door next to the dais. He grabbed the handle. It was still locked. Then he stared at the two blinking signs above the door.
"Jason," he said, "give me a boost."
Another gust of wind levitated him upward. Leo went to work with his pliers, reprogramming the
signs until the top one flashed: THE DOCTOR IS: IN DA HOUSE.
The bottom sign changed to read: NOW SERVING: ALL DA LADIES LUV LEO!
The metal door swung open, and Leo settled to the floor.
"See, the wait wasn't so bad!" Leo grinned at them. "The doctor will see us now."
—💫—
At the end of the hall stood a walnut door with a bronze plaque: ASCLEPIUS
MD, DMD, DME, DC, DVS, FAAN, OMG, EMT, TTYL, FRCP, ME, IOU, OD, OT, PHARMD, BAMF, RN, PHD, INC., SMH
There may have been more acronyms in the list, but Andy didn't have the energy, nor the patience to read it all.
Piper knocked. "Dr Asclepius?"
The door flew open. The man inside had a kindly smile, crinkles around his eyes, short salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a white lab coat over a business suit and a stethoscope around his neck—a stereotypical doctor outfit, except for one thing: Asclepius held a polished black staff with a live green python coiled around it. The python regarded them with pale yellow eyes.
"Hello!" said Asclepius.
"Doctor." Piper's smile was so warm it would've melted a Boread. "We'd be so grateful for your help. We need the physician's cure."
Andy wasn't even her target, but Piper's charmspeak washed over her, more than it ever had before—she was so used to being able to shove it away, but she didn't, she let it warm her up and keep her safe...
Asclepius put his hand over his heart. "Oh, my dear, I would be delighted to help."
Piper's smile wavered. "You would? I mean, of course you would."
"Come in! Come in!" Asclepius ushered them into his office.
The doctor's welcoming attitude set her off, but instead of a trap-ridden room, his office was, well, a doctor's office: a big maple desk, bookshelves stuffed with medical books, and some of those plastic organ models.
Asclepius took the big comfy doctor's chair and laid his staff and serpent across his desk. "Please, sit!"
Jason and Piper took the two chairs on the patients' side, while Leo and Andy both remained standing, though neither of them complained.
"So." Asclepius leaned back. "I can't tell you how nice it is to actually talk with patients. The last few thousand years, the paperwork has got out of control. Rush, rush, rush. Fill in forms. Deal with red tape. Not to mention the giant alabaster guardian who kills everyone in the waiting room. It takes all the fun out of medicine!"
"Yeah," Leo said. "Hygeia is kind of a downer."
Asclepius grinned. "My real daughter Hygeia isn't like that, I assure you. She's quite nice. At any rate, you did well reprogramming the statue. You have a surgeon's hands."
Jason shuddered. "Leo with a scalpel? Don't encourage him."
Andy couldn't help but agree.
The doctor god chuckled. "Now, what seems to be the trouble?" He sat forward and peered at Andy. "Hmm...Imperial gold sword wound, but that's healed nicely. And the wounds on your back have also healed nicely, though the scars won't fade completely, if at all. But no signs of cancer, heart problems. Though I would maybe recommend seeing a psychologist, you have this dizzying look in your eyes, like your brain is ridden with more than one soul."
Andy blanched. "How did you—"
"Oh, of course!" Asclepius said. "You're a bit deaf in one ear, yes? But what..." He turned towards Jason, almost like he forgot what he was saying. "And you! You're a bit short-sighted! Simple fix!" He opened his drawer, whipped out a prescription pad and an eyeglasses case. He scribbled something on the pad, then handed the glasses and the scrip to Jason. "Keep the prescription for future reference, but these lenses should work. Try them on."
"Wait," Leo said. "Jason is short-sighted?"
Andy nodded and whispered teasingly, hiding her unease, "Like a bat."
Jason opened the case. "I—I have had a little trouble seeing stuff from a distance lately," he admitted. "I thought I was just tired." He tried on the glasses, which had thin frames of Imperial gold. "Wow. Yeah. That's better."
Piper smiled. "You look very distinguished. Zara will like it for sure."
"I don't know, man," Leo said. "I'd go for contacts—glowing orange ones with cat's-eye pupils. Those would be cool."
"Glasses are fine," Jason decided. "Thanks, uh, Dr Asclepius, but that's not why we came."
"No?" Asclepius steepled his fingers. "Well, let's see then..." He turned to Piper. "You seem fine, my dear. Broken arm when you were six. Fell off a horse?"
Piper's jaw dropped. "How could you possibly know that?"
"Vegetarian diet," he continued. "No problem, just make sure you're getting enough iron and protein. Hmm...a little weak in the left shoulder. I assume you got hit with something heavy about a month ago?"
"A sandbag in Rome," Piper said. "That's amazing."
"Alternate ice and a hot pack if it bothers you," Asclepius advised. "And you..." He faced Leo. "Oh, my." The doctor's expression turned grim. The friendly twinkle disappeared from his eyes. "Oh, I see..."
The doctor's expression said, I am so, so sorry.
Andy flinched and grasped Leo's hand, holding on tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him. Something told her that he appreciated it, especially when he squeezed her hand in a pattern she knew as—I love you. She repeated it.
"What?" Jason's new glasses flashed. "What's wrong with Leo?"
"Hey, doc." Leo shot him a look, one that begged him to drop the subject. "We came for the physician's cure. Can you help us? I've got some Pylosian mint here and a very nice yellow daisy."
He set the ingredients on the desk, carefully avoiding the snake's mouth.
"Hold it," Piper said. "Is there something wrong with Leo or not?"
Asclepius cleared his throat. "I...never mind. Forget I said anything. Now, you want the physician's cure."
Piper frowned. "But—"
"Seriously, guys," Leo said, "I'm fine, except for the fact that Gaea's destroying the world tomorrow. Let's focus."
They didn't look happy about it, but Asclepius forged ahead. "So this daisy was picked by my father, Apollo?"
Andy shivered. It was weird to associate this god as someone related to her. She stopped thinking about it.
"Yep," Andy drawled. "He sends hugs and kisses."
Asclepius picked up the flower and sniffed it. "I do hope Dad comes through this war all right. Zeus can be...quite unreasonable, don't you agree, niece?" Andy nodded her agreement, but said nothing. "Now, the only missing ingredient is the heartbeat of the chained god."
"I have it," Piper said. "At least...I can summon the makhai."
"Excellent. Just a moment, dear." He looked at his python. "Spike, are you ready?"
Leo stifled a laugh. "Your snake's name is Spike?"
Spike looked at him balefully. He hissed, revealing a crown of spikes around his neck like a basilisk's.
"My bad," Leo said. "Of course your name is Spike."
"He's a little grumpy," Asclepius said. "People are always confusing my staff with the staff of Hermes, which has two snakes, obviously. Over the centuries, people have called Hermes's staff the symbol of medicine, when of course it should be my staff. Spike feels slighted. George and Martha get all the attention. Anyway..." Asclepius set the daisy and poison in front of Spike. "Pylosian mint—certainty of death. The curse of Delos—anchoring that which cannot be anchored. Now the final ingredient: the heartbeat of the chained god—chaos, violence and fear of mortality." He turned to Piper. "My dear, you may release the makhai."
Piper closed her eyes.
Wind swirled through the room. Angry voices wailed. Andy grimaced and clutched Leo's hand tighter, ignoring the look Jason sent her way. She felt lightheaded and a voice, low and grave, echoed around her head. She felt something shoving against it, something violent yet comforting—Dom. Dom was protecting her, like always.
Then Spike unhinged his jaw and swallowed the angry wind. His neck ballooned as the spirits of battle went down his throat. He snapped up the daisy and the vial of Pylosian mint for dessert.
"Won't the poison hurt him?" Jason asked.
"No, no," Asclepius said. "Wait and see."
A moment later Spike belched out a new vial—a stoppered glass tube no bigger than Andy's finger.
Dark red liquid glowed inside.
"The physician's cure." Asclepius picked up the vial and turned it in the light. His expression became serious, then bewildered. "Wait...why did I agree to make this?"
Piper placed her hand palm up on the desk. "Because we need it to save the world. It's very important. You're the only one who can help us."
Her charmspeak was so potent even Spike the snake relaxed. He curled around his staff and went to sleep. Asclepius's expression softened, like he was easing himself into a hot bath.
"Of course," the god said. "I forgot. But you must be careful. Hades hates it when I raise people from the dead. The last time I gave someone this potion, the Lord of the Underworld complained to Zeus, and I was killed by a lightning bolt. BOOM!"
Leo flinched. "You look pretty good for a dead guy."
"Oh, I got better. That was part of the compromise. You see, when Zeus killed me, my father Apollo got very upset. He couldn't take out his anger on Zeus directly; the king of the gods was much too powerful. So Apollo took revenge on the makers of lightning bolts instead. He killed some of the Elder Cyclopes. For that, Zeus punished Apollo...quite severely. Finally, to make peace, Zeus agreed to make me a god of medicine, with the understanding that I wouldn't bring anyone else back to life." Asclepius's eyes filled with uncertainty. "And yet here I am...giving you the cure."
"You're willing to make an exception," Andy chided. "You know why this is important, and just how much, right?"
"Yes..." Reluctantly, Asclepius handed Piper the vial. "At any rate, the potion must be administered as soon as possible after death. It can be injected or poured into the mouth. And there is only enough for one person. Do you understand me?" He looked between Andy and Leo. The redhead felt all of the hair on her arm stand up as she stood under his gaze.
"We understand," Piper promised. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Asclepius? Your guardian is out of commission. You'd be really helpful aboard the Argo II."
Asclepius smiled wistfully. "The Argo...back when I was a demigod, I sailed on the original ship, you know. Ah, to be a carefree adventurer again!"
"Yeah..." Jason muttered. "Carefree."
"But, alas, I cannot. Zeus will already be quite angry with me for helping you. Besides, the guardian will reprogram itself soon. You should leave." Asclepius rose. "Best wishes, demigods. And, if you see my father again," he looked at Andy when he spoke, "please, niece...give him my regrets."
She didn't know why, but she felt like she was obliged to. Like she owed it to this god in front of her, this man, to pass along his message. A message from a child to a parent. "Of course. I promise."
As they passed through the waiting room, the statue of Hygeia was sitting on a bench, pouring acid on her face and singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star', while her golden snake gnawed at her foot. The peaceful scene was almost enough to lift Andy's drowning spirits.
—💫—
Back on the Argo II, they gathered in the mess hall and filled in the rest of the crew.
"I don't like it," Jason said. "The way Asclepius looked at Leo—"
"Aw, he just sensed my heartsickness." Leo tried for a smile. "You know, I'm dying to see Camp Half-Blood again.'
"That is so sweet," Piper said. "But I'm not sure that's it."
Percy frowned at the glowing red vial that sat in the middle of the table. "Any of us might die, right? So we just need to keep the potion handy."
"Assuming only one of us dies," Eden pointed out. "There's only one dose."
A few cautious glances were thrown around the room—though it was all unending, none of them fully noticed or acknowledged by anyone else.
Andy wanted to scream. The others didn't see the full picture. To storm or fire the world must fall—Jason, Leo, or herself, as they had determined if any one of the Storm's were to die at the hands of Gaea or because of her, it would be Andy. But between the three of them, Andy knew Leo was the obvious choice, as much as it pained her to say. His name had been mentioned too many times, had been murmured by too many immortals for it to mean nothing.
But the thing was, Leo wasn't the only one whose name had been murmured by gods and giants and titans.
"We have to keep our options open," Piper suggested. "We need, like, a designated medic to carry the potion—somebody who can react quickly and heal whoever gets killed."
"Good idea, Beauty Queen," Leo quipped. "I nominate you."
Andy nodded, crossing her arms. "I agree."
Piper blinked. "But...Annabeth is wiser. Hazel can move faster on Arion. Andy and Donnie both have actual medical training and powers. Frank can turn into animals—"
"But you've got heart." Annabeth squeezed her friend's hand. "Leo's right. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."
"Yeah," Jason agreed. "I have a feeling you're the best choice, Pipes. You're going to be there with us at the end, whatever happens, storm or fire."
Zara gazed at the vial. Then she looked up, looked around the room, and sighed. She nodded, though it seemed reluctant.
Leo picked up the vial. "Is everyone in agreement?"
No one objected.
Leo pulled a chamois cloth from his tool belt and made a big show of wrapping up the physician's
cure. Then he presented the package to Piper.
"Okay, then," he said. "Athens tomorrow morning, gang. Be ready to fight some giants."
"Yeah..." Frank murmured. "I know I'll sleep well."
After everyone retreated from the hall to try and find some semblance of sleep, Andy found herself laying on the upper deck, staring up at the stars. She had her hands laid out on her stomach, her eyes tracing the constellations above her.
She was so entranced that she hardly noticed the light thud of bare feet on the wood, until her brother laid down next to her. He reached over and grasped her hand, getting her to turn her head in his direction.
He smiled. "Hey."
"Hi." She didn't smile. She couldn't find it in herself. "How are you?"
"I'm—scared. You?"
"Yeah. Scared." She turned her head away, back towards the sky. "I wish I was a star. Life would be so quiet. Simple. No fear or pain. No anger." Her voice croaked, "No voices."
"Are they bad tonight?"
She nodded. "It's like I can't hear anything else. They've drowned Dom out. Trapped her." A tear rolled down her cheek, towards her ear, since she was lying on her back. "I can feel her, Little Bean. She's got her claws in me and she's not letting go."
Donnie grabbed hold of one of her hands, holding it against his chest. His thumb traced the scars that marred her skin, feeling the soft rise and fall of every ridge, every mark, every reminder of all that they, all that she had survived.
Someone else joined them just then, lying on the other side of Andy. Zara's long hair created a sort of pillow beneath her head, which she leaned against her older sister's shoulder with a sigh. She whispered, "I love you guys. Thank you for loving me. For being my siblings."
Donnie let out a weak, teary laugh. "Diddo."
They grew quiet, but that was okay. It was just the three of them, just as it had been in the beginning.
But things, life, was not the same as it had been in the beginning.
Eden joined them, lying next to Donnie, grabbing a hold of his free hand. Together, the four of them held tight, held on to all that they had left to hold.
And for that moment, that brief pause in time, everything seemed a little less terrifying, even as time crawled to its close.
AHHHHHH
We're almost done. That's crazy. I kind of want to cry because I am not ready for what's about to happen, and if I feel this way, then all I'm gonna say is buckle up folks.
I feel like I got some redemption with this chapter after that last one, because this actually flowed and felt good, whereas the other one was actually painful to write. I'm being serious (and no, my name is not ✨Sirius✨).
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, BYE!