They gathered around the dining table, and Hadrian explained what had happened at TOPEKA 32— their conversation with Bacchus, the trap sprung by Gaea, the eidolons that had possessed the boys.
"Of course!" Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. "That's what happened to Leo too."
"So it wasn't my fault." Leo exhaled. "I didn't start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's a relief!"
"But the Romans don't know that," Annabeth said. "And why would they take our word for it?"
"We could contact Reyna," Jason suggested. "She would believe us."
"You could convince her, Hads"
"I could try," he said halfheartedly. Guilt was bubbling inside him like a volcano ready to burst. Gaea had asked him to choose and he had. Would he do the same in battle? He probably would. For Kira? He would. But he couldn't suppress the ball of anxiety that grew like a blackhole inside his stomach. He wasn't cut out for this traitor stuff. "But Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dream, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Reyna can stop him."
Jason's expression darkened.
"He's right," Frank said. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath."
Hazel grimaced. "This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He'll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll say she's soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles... It's like they could smell us."
"They can," Jason said. "Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely— not from them."
Leo drummed his fingers. "Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."
Hazel frowned. "What is a chicken nugget?"
Leo, Percy and Hadrian's eyes bulged as they looked at her. Hazel shifted in her seat.
"Oh, man..." Leo shook his head in amazement. "That's right. You've missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget—"
"Doesn't matter," Annabeth interrupted.
"Annabeth!" Hadrian pressed an offended hand to his chest, "Chicken nuggets and doesn't matter don't belong in the same conversation. Don't worry sweetheart, I'll get you all the chicken nuggets in the world"
Frank frowned, turning a little red.
"And you too Frank" Hadrian added quickly, "I'll third wheel you guys. First date idea: discovering chicken nuggets! It's perfect!"
"Hadrian" Annabeth glared. Wisely, he shut up. "The point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us—"
"You're right." Jason leaned forward. "We should just keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe—at least from the legion."
"How can you be sure?" Hadrian asked. "Why wouldn't they follow us?"
He shook his head. "You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They're much too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden to go there for generations. Even Octavian couldn't get around that rule."
Frank swallowed a bite of burrito like it had turned to cardboard in his mouth. "So, if we go there..."
"We'll be outlaws as well as traitors," Jason confirmed. "Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn't worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean— the Mare Nostrum."
Percy pointed his blue pizza slice at Jason. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine."
Jason didn't argue. The other demigods stared at their plates, except for Percy, who continued to enjoy his pizza.
"So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested, "and make sure we don't die. Mr. D—Bacchus— Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?"
"Ephialtes," Jason said.
"Twin giants, like Hads saw in his dream..." Annabeth ran her finger along the rim of her cup. Okay so was everyone going to use that nickname? "I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."
Frank nearly choked. "Well, that's great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?"
"Something like that," Percy said. "I don't think we should count on his help this time. He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn't handle."
Silence fell around the table. Hadrian could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing "Blow the Man Down," except he didn't know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, "Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum."
Hadrian couldn't shake the feeling that Bacchus was meant to help them. The giant twins were in Rome. They were keeping something the demigods needed—something in that bronze jar. Whatever it was, he got the feeling it held the answer to sealing the Doors of Death—the key to endless death. He also felt sure they could never defeat the giants without Bacchus's help. And if they couldn't do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed, and Hazel's brother, Nico, would die.
But then again. Did he have to destroy the giants? Or did he just have to watch everything play out. He hated being given partial instructions and told to do things on his own.
On the other hand, if the vision of Bacchus offering him a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions didn't have to come true either—especially the one of him, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was just symbolic.
The blood of a female demigod, Gaea had said, and the blood of a male. Hadrian, my dear, choose which hero will die with one of the girls.
Jason. I choose Jason.
Hadrian looked at Jason now. He set down his potato wedge. Had Jason heard that? Did it make him a terrible person to choose Jason like that? Did he even care?
"She wants two of us," Hadrian murmured.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Today on the highway," he said, "Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She uh l-she asked me to choose which one of you would die, or if I didn't choose, she would take me"
Jason smiled at him "But neither of us died. You saved us."
So Jason hadn't heard him or even if he had, he thought it was all a part of Hadrian's plan. Okay. Hadrian breathed out shakily. He could make this work.
"I know. It's just... Why would she want that?"
Leo whistled softly. "Jason, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling your blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."
"Oh..." Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the lightning blasts had just now registered.
"Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm.
"Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"
"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember."
"I had a dream," Percy said, "when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said— he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"
Hadrian wondered if the room's temperature controls were broken, because suddenly he couldn't stop shaking. It was the same way he'd felt on the highway outside Topeka. Would he still go with his plan? He knew what he was signing up for... but Gaea was something else entirely. "You think the giants would use our blood... the blood of two of us—"
"I don't know," Percy said. "But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured."
Jason grunted. "That I agree with."
"But how do we figure it out?" Hazel asked. "The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy... how does it all fit together?"
Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. "Hads, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."
"Right," Hadrian said. "Bacchus told us we should find... what's his name?"
"Phorcys," Percy said.
Annabeth looked surprised, like she wasn't used to her best friend having the answers. "You know him?"
Hadrian felt kind of sad for Percy. He presented a goofball outer layer, but people tended to forget just how sharp he was. Even people he had known for years.
Percy shrugged. "I didn't recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. Never met him, but supposedly he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."
Leo snorted. "What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by evening tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."
"Don't even say that," Annabeth muttered. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."
"Wait," Hadrian said.
Once more, everyone looked at him.
He was rapidly losing his courage, wondering if his instincts were wrong, but he forced himself to speak.
"There's one last thing," he said. "The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room."