Leo torches New Rome.
Of course, after getting her heart broken by Percy, her day was obviously going to get better.
As they climb the ladder up onto the Argo II, with the Romans below them screaming and throwing things, Percy turns around to give Emily one last kiss. She hears him promise he'll come back to her, no matter what.
Annabeth turns away, her eyes burning.
They climb aboard the ship, and Percy tackles Leo, his head hitting the deck. Piper and Jason manage to make it onto the ship, and Annabeth pulls the throttle in the controls and brings them straight into the sky.
After a while, she pulls her hair back into a ponytail, instead of letting it hang loose like she had originally put it. Percy had once told her she looked beautiful and dangerous with her hair pulled back, and beautiful and more innocent with her hair down.
After the huge disappointment today, she certainly didn't want to look beautiful and innocent.
She's angry; not just with Leo, but with the whole world, for making her life so complicated and twisted and unpredictable. Four months, four months was all she had gotten, and six months was the time she had to wait.
A lot could happen in six months, she realizes as she glances at Percy. Apparently he was staring at her, and quickly looks away.
She pushes down the hope, and walks to the deck to Frank and Leo, who is slumped against the mast. A part of Annabeth feels pity. Leo looked like someone had sucked the life out of him, as he looked at the wreckage of the ship he had worked so hard to create.
But another part feels anger and frustration. They were this close, or at least Annabeth was, to getting the Romans to trust them, and Leo had to ruin it all with his stupid ballistae.
"One more time," she says. "Exactly what happened?"
He looks miserable. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."
She crosses her arms. "You mean you don't remember?"
"I…" Leo looks like he is trying to swallow a marble. "I remember, but it was like watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."
What? Could this have anything to do with the cold chill Annabeth had felt before?
Coach Hedge taps his bat against the deck. "Look, kid. You blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."
Coach Hedge is a pretty good fighter, (at the times when he isn't all crazy, which is almost never), but it looked like he wouldn't be much help here. "Coach," Annabeth says. "Why don't you check to make sure all the fires are out?"
"But I already did that."
"Do it again."
Coach Hedge walks off grumbling. Annabeth gives herself a mental pat on the back for being terrifying enough to scare off old satyrs with minor mental issues.
Annabeth kneels next to Leo, and tries to make her voice as gentle as possible. "Leo," she says calmly. "Did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or-"
"No," he says. "The guy was a jerk, but he definitely didn't fire at the camp. I did."
This couldn't be right. Leo wouldn't do something like this. He knew getting the Romans to trust them was too important to ruin.
Frank scowls. "On purpose?"
"No!" Leo squeezes his eyes shut. "Well, yes…I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was a cold feeling inside me-"
Annabeth seizes up. "A cold feeling."
"Yeah," Leo says. "Why?"
Annabeth suddenly hears Percy's voice from below the decks. "Annabeth, we need you."
It takes her a few seconds to realize he meant needing her to help Jason.
She notices the worried expression on Leo's face. "He'll be fine." Her expression softens. "Frank, I'll be back. Just…watch Leo. Please."
She doesn't know why, but something about Frank made her trust him instantly. Maybe it was the baby face, she doesn't know.
Frank nods.
Annabeth goes downstairs and heads into Jason's cabin. Piper is holding his hand while he lays on the bed, white as a sheet.
Standing beside the bed is Percy, who looks up at her when she enters. She tries to avoid his eyes.
"How is he?" Annabeth asks, getting an ice pack and some nectar out.
Piper looks anxious. "He's breathing, but…" She trails off.
Piper must've already put some nectar on the head wound, because all there's left is a thin scar on his forehead.
"He should be fine." Annabeth sets the ice pack on his head. "No serious damage was caused. Just stay with him until he wakes up. A familiar face might be helpful. Percy and I will be helping Leo."
Piper nods. "How is he, by the way?"
"Fine, but…"Annabeth swallows. "He says he did fire the ballista."
"What? Why?"
Annabeth shakes her head. "He doesn't know, but apparently something was making him do it. A cold feeling."
"A cold feeling." Percy muttered. The three (four, really) stayed in silence for a few moments, comprehending what this might mean.
Piper looks at her. "You guys go on ahead. I'll stay here with Jason."
Percy and Annabeth go out and head up to the deck. The walk there is silent.
Annabeth wants to reach for his hand and give a reassuring squeeze, just to tell him everything will work out, and that they'll be fine. But she doesn't. She can't.
They climb onto the deck, where Leo immediately says, "Is Jason-?"
"He's resting," Annabeth says. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."
Percy gives him a hard look. "Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?"
"Man, I-I don't understand what happened. I'm so sorry-"
"Sorry?" Percy growls. Annabeth puts a hand on his chest to keep him back, but then quickly draws it back in. "We'll figure it out later," she repeated. "Right now we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"
He tells Annabeth about the damage and the supplies they needed. He is bemoaning the shortage of Celestial bronze when Festus the dragon masthead begins to whir and squeak.
"Perfect." Leo sighs with relief.
"What's perfect?" Annabeth asks. "I could use some perfect right now." She really could.
Leo manages a smile. "Everything we need is in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us in the Great Salt Lake in Utah."
As Leo got the ship ready for landing, Piper, Frank, Percy and Annabeth strap themselves into chairs below. Strapping Jason to his bed was the hard part, but they manage (leave it to Leo to conjure up a gigantic rope from his tool belt).
Although the ship was damaged, Annabeth knows that Leo would be able to get them down safely. Annabeth may get annoyed with him sometimes, but she trusts him.
Up on the deck, they hear Coach Hedge – who insisted on clinging to the forward railing – yell, "YEAH! Bring it on, lake!"
They all snicker. All Annabeth could hope for was that he didn't get hurt.
"Hang on, Coach!" Leo yells a few moments later. "This is going to hurt."
"I was born for hurt!"
So much for that thought.
WHOOM! The four demigods could feel the ship tilt dangerously to starboard as it crashed down onto the lake. They cling onto the chair arms until the ship righted itself and Leo rang the all-clear bell.
Piper immediately goes to Jason's room while Percy, Annabeth and Frank sit dejectedly around the dining table. Percy sends a quick Iris message to Tyson, telling him to take Ella the harpy to Camp Half-Blood. After he does that, he sits back with them, discussing Leo and the ballista problem. Annabeth notices that Percy stares at the enchanted wall that shows a sunset view of Camp Half-Blood. With longing, she couldn't tell.
That was the thing about Percy. She knew him inside and out, sometimes even better than he knew himself. All those years of fighting together had created a bond between them; a bond she had thought was unbreakable. But there were those extremely rare times when he got distant and she had no idea what he was thinking.
No doubt she was like that sometimes, too.
Leo and Hazel come downstairs and look around.
"So we've landed," Percy says. "What now?"
Frank plucks his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean… that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"
"The what?" Leo asks.
Annabeth had learned about the Sibylline Books before. She knows that they were supposed to be destroyed around the fall of Rome, but there were rumors that some of the pages had survived and were still out there to be read. Frank explains that Ella had somehow got hold of a collection of the prophecies in the books and memorized them.
That's one smart chicken lady, she thinks.
"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guesses. "You didn't want them to get a hold of her."
"Ella's sensitive," Percy says, tearing his eyes away from the image. "She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want…" He makes a fist. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson a message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."
At least the Romans didn't take away his kindness and willingness to help others.
Annabeth laces her fingers. "Let me think about prophecy – but right now we have more immediate problems. Leo, what do we need?"
"The easiest thing is tar." Annabeth can tell he's glad to change the subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or something like that. Also, celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those at an island in the lake, just west of here."
Something inside Annabeth feels relief. Everything they needed really was in one place.
"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warns. If I knew Octavian, here's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."
Everybody's eyes turn to Leo. "Guys…I don't know what happened. Honestly, I-"
Annabeth raises a hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned…I felt it too. It must've been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened-"
Frank grunts. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"
Annabeth can't answer that. Living in a world with monsters, magic, and evil forces who want to take over the world, nobody was ever sure if something dangerous might happen again.
"I'm fine now," Leo insists. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge to board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."
"Split up?" Percy says. "That sounds like a really bad idea." It didn't sound good to Annabeth either, but it was safer, and what other choice did they have?
"It'll be quicker," Hazel puts it. "Besides, there's a reason a quest's usually limited to three demigods, right?"
The daughter of Pluto was pretty clever. "You're right," Annabeth says. "The same reason why we needed the Argo II…outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe on board, but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No point in alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."
Percy takes a deep breath. "Okay, then." He looks at Annabeth. "We can be partners. If that's okay with you."
Annabeth doesn't want to. "Sure."
Hazel smiles. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Percy and Annabeth into town for the tar?"
Poor Frank. He opens his mouth like he wants to protest. "I…I suppose. But what about you?"
"I'll ride Arion with Sa- with Leo here." What had she just called Leo? "We'll get the bronze and lime. We can all meet back here by dark."
Frank scowled, but Annabeth got the feeling Leo wanted to go with Hazel. To prove he was trustworthy.
"Leo," Annabeth said. "If we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"
"With luck, just a few hours."
That was good news. "Fine. We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."
