Chapter 28

Reyna

Gwen sighed, "I wish John and Julia had told us ahead of time that they had booked us passage aboard a cruise ship."

"Me too." agreed Reyna.

It wasn't the first time over the past three days that one or both of them had voiced the sentiment while lounging in the late afternoon sun. Never had the camp sprung for such lavish travel arrangements…though it couldn't have been all that expensive. The ship was bound for some shipyard in Texas where it was scheduled for a full remodel, and didn't feature many of the more upscale amenities. The live entertainment was merely serviceable. From what the two of them had gathered a lengthy trip like this usually included more than half a dozen stops at several desirable locations along the way too the Panama Canal. This trip would include only the bare minimum of two stop offs. And of course the camp paid for the cheapest cabins available, but it was a cruise ship complete with an all-you-can-eat-buffet, pool, and several different health options for daily exercise. Still…

"My world for a bathing suit." added Reyna. As she looked down at her and Gwen's shorts and rolled up t-shirts. The two young lady's looked longingly at the cool water rolling wistfully as they lay near the edge of the pool…bathing suit's a requirement for entry.

Gwen asked almost pleadingly, "Reyna can we please go shopping?"

The three of them had discussed this from the first day aboard ship. None of them had any idea how they would continue onto the "Sea of Monsters"-AKA the Bermuda Triangle- after passing through the canal, and so at Perseus's insistence agreed to save their camp issued cash in case they had no choice but to book passage aboard another ship.

"We all agreed…" began Reyna.

"I know, but how fair is it that Percy gets to swim and we don't?"

Secretly she had been thinking the same thing. And hated that Perseus could slip off the ship, swim in the open ocean, and return without being seen. All while the ship sped along faster than any normal human or even demigod could hope to match…Perseus being the exception.

Reyna thought, "His clothes never even get wet!"

Gwen continued, "Where is our fearless leader anyway?"

As if on cue Perseus erupted from a column of water, and landed with a thud near them. The two girls' eyes darted around looking to see who else might have witnessed Perseus's impromptu arrival. The ship had sparingly few passengers compared to normal, and the small number of people around had failed to take notice Perseus's sudden appearance.

Knowing he was invincible Reyna wasn't concerned with the harsh landing and exploded with anger, "What are you doing!"

Perseus made a grunting noise of pain as he began to rise. That's when Gwen rushed to his side, looked at Reyna, and then pointed to the hand pinned beneath him. For the first time Reyna noticed that their mostly irresponsible leader had his sword out and clenched between his fingers.

A lifetime of training asserted itself and Reyna was immediately on guard. Her eyes began to calmly scan the horizon searching for the threat while Gwen pounded Perseus's back. The landing had obviously been painful and knocked the wind out of the water logged demigod.

"Water logged?"

Perseus coughed out a command, "I'm…al…right. Get back…to the…cabins…arm yourselves."

Reyna knelt and looked Perseus in the eye, "What happened? What attacked you, and why are you soaked?"

He took a deep desperate breath, "Storm coming…a big one…fast."

"A storm how can we fight a storm Perseus?" asked Gwen.

Reyna looked off toward the setting sun. In the distance she thought she could see a thin dark band of clouds. And blocking out distractions thought she could just make out a rumble of thunder.

"How far out does he go when he swims?"

"She's right Perseus we can't fight a storm."

By now he had recovered, "We're not fighting the storm…we're going to be fighting the creatures making it."

"What!" Gwen had never heard of such a thing.

Perseus nodded.

Reyna was skeptical, "What creatures?"

Perseus looked her directly in the eye and was deadly serious when he spoke…

"Mermaids."


Perseus had been right the storm was big and nasty. As Gwen, Perseus, and herself sat in one of their small cabins she could feel the massive ship rocking, rolling, and bobbing. In her mind she pictured a small chunk of wood as it careened down a series of ever more turbulent rapids. On an inexorable course toward its doom as it would soon sail over the edge of a waterfall and be splintered on the rocks below.

She quickly dismissed the thought. It never served a soldier to envision doom on the eve of battle.

"If there's even anyone to do battle with."

Perseus had seemed so certain that she had instantly believed they were about to be attacked by mermaids. But already two hours had passed and so far there was no sign of the mysterious creatures.

The ship lurched violently two the left, and Reyna found herself forcing down another bout nausea. Roman's hated the sea and she was no exception…from the look on Gwen's face neither did she.

Percy who had remained silent in a near comatose state of concentration lifted his head…

"They're here."

Before either could respond Perseus was out the door headed for the main deck sword already drawn his shield watching spiraling out and its plates interlocking. The two girls shared a look then followed behind…going cautiously as the ship continued to shift atop the ocean's writhing surface. Then the crazy motion abruptly ceased. Gwen and Reyna stumbled nearly falling down the stairs as their bodies continued to try and rock in-spite of the ship's new found stillness.

"What is the son of the sea god doing?" thought Reyna.

Another few steps revealed the answer. Perseus had engaged more than a dozen what could only be described as fish people. The creatures' skins were green and scaly. They had long dark flowing hair. They wore no armor with the exception of the rough seaweed war skirts similar to those worn by the warriors of ancient Rome. The strange fish-warriors each carried two weapons. Their primary weapon was a six foot long spear which they were using to pin down Perseus, and they each carried a single long bladed knife, tied at that waists by old ropes of varying sizes. Each weapon's blade was made of Celestial Bronze.

"But they're not mermaids…they have no tails, and they're all guys." another thought occurred to her, "Why isn't Perseus tearing them apart?"

Another three fish landed on the deck, and Reyna watched as their tails shimmered, split, and formed two scaly legs.

"Okay…they are mer-people." Reyna realized.

Reyna said aloud, "But they're still not mermaids."

Behind her Gwen shouted, "They're tritones!"

Understanding dawned, "Of course the children of Triton…herald and son of Neptune." agreed Reyna, "But why are they attacking us?"

"A little help here!" shouted Perseus, "I can't hold this storm in check forever, and these mermaids aren't making it any easier!"

"Tritones!" their attackers roared in angered unison.

"He's holding back the storm!" was the last thought she had before she darted into the fray.

Brandishing one of the camp's awkward collapsible circular shields, and her own Imperial-gold dagger Reyna plowed into the enemy ranks. Bashing and slicing never stopping…refusing to relinquish her much needed momentum. She was like a shadow passing through the gaps between the disorganized rabble of ocean monsters. The monsters were obviously unaccustomed to their land legs. Making it even easier for her to weave her way to Perseus's side.

"What are you doing?" Reyna demanded as she reached Perseus, "Take the kid gloves off already and go monster-mincer on them."

"Can't." said Perseus.

Reyna parried a spear thrust, but before she could strike at the opponent a silver shafted arrow buried itself in her opponent's chest dissolving it instantly. Reyna nodded in Gwen's direction. The daughter of Apollo had wisely moved up a couple of decks, and from her sniper-like position proceeded to shoot down their assailants still swarming up the ship's sides.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"There are hundreds of them down below the surface trying to wrestle control of the surrounding water away from me. It's taking all my concentration to keep them from cap-sizing this tub."

Frustrated by the revelation Reyna bellowed, "So if you could keep the ocean calm…why have we spent the last two hours huddled in our cabin while the ship has been battered by wave after wave?"

"If you think you can hold the ocean in check indefinitely be my guest." Perseus mocked. "I move through the water generating my own personal ocean current. These guys do the same. When I engaged them earlier it was like tug-of-war we each tried wrestling away the other's control of the surrounding currents." Perseus explained, "I'm a lot stronger than they are, but there were too many for me. In the end it was all I could do was make it back to the ship. That's why my clothes were wet…I had nearly lost control of my current." Perseus drove his sword into a stumbling merman, "I think they were trying to drown me."

Reyna brushed aside another stroke with her shield, "Could they do that?"

"No clue…" Perseus lunged and the target countered with the shaft of his spear, "but I'm in no rush to find out. That's why I waited for them to catch up to the ship. I was hoping to draw them out of the water so we could thin their numbers and I could gain total control of the water and maybe break-up this storm."

"Some plan!"

"You got a better one?"

Reyna back-handed a merman whose spear had broken and moved in with his knife. Her follow through forced Perseus to duck or be leveled like the unfortunate half-fish.

"Well if you had bothered to mention all of this before maybe I would have."

Half a dozen columns of water burst from below, like those before each column carried a warrior, but instead of landing on the main deck these newest arrivals landed near Gwen. Within seconds of landing Gwen had vanquished two of the adversaries with as many shots from her bow.

Reyna watched in horror as another six warriors catapulted themselves toward their ranged support. She knew if those merman landed Gwen would be finished, and without Gwen's arrows mitigating the numbers of those landing on the main deck…it would only be a matter of time before Perseus and herself would be over run as well.

"Perseus!" the Prefect cried.

But the ocean-born demigod was way ahead of her. Perseus reached out with his sword hand grabbing the columns of water like they were strings attached to balloons. And with one violent motion of his arm sent the newest arrivals hurtling into the support beams of the deck just above Gwen's position.

Gwen was saved, but it had been a mistake.

The concentration Perseus had on the ocean was more tenuous than Reyna had realized, and the extra exertion needed to end the threat to Gwen had strained Perseus's concentration beyond the breaking point. For the first time in the last few minutes the ship heaved under the weight of the once again churning sea. Perseus by his father's grace maintained his balance while Reyna and Gwen were sent sailing over the sides of the ship.

Reyna watching the guard rail of the ship move further and further away as she plummeted toward the icy and hostile water of the enraged sea was astounded when it began raining. Before she plunged beneath the dark surface she realized Perseus most have been holding back the rain as well. With what she was certain were to be her last thoughts she tried desperately to unravel the mysteries surrounding Perseus. Never before had she encountered such a powerful demigod.

"That's not true…" Reyna amended, "Jason's nearly as powerful."

That was certainly true she had seen Jason perform nearly impossible to believe feats when either angered or backed into a corner. The weather itself would sometimes bend to Jason's will as he rode the sky eddies high above a battle field. He could even bring the greatest natural force of violence known to man down on his enemies…lightning. Although using such power often left exhausted.

"Which is how Perseus described himself earlier." she thought, "But how can a child of a minor Roman deity be as a powerful as one born to the sky-god Jupiter?"

She slammed into the water, and Reyna blacked out.

It didn't make sense. No child born to any god but Jupiter should be so powerful. Deep in the recesses of her consciousness a thought was screaming to be heard as she focused on the problem. The last great prophecy leapt to the fore of her thoughts.

"It had stated that a child of the 'Big Three' would decide the gods' fate on his or her sixteenth birthday."

The tumblers began to fall in place as her extremities grew numb from the frigid temperature of the water.

In Roman society the gods were arranged into threes. During a time of war the camp's ruling Triumvirate was made up of Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva. During times of piece Rome was ruled by Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. But that was during the latter stages of the pre-Christian empire.

She thought back to the earliest days of Rome. After the trek across the Mediterranean and for sometime following Rome's founding. Roman's had worshiped as the Greek's once had. And if she remembered history correctly the Greek's three principle gods were the brothers: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

There was a rumble from deep below, and she felt more than heard a low almost sub-audible sound pass through her. Not that it mattered she had drifted so deeply, and been without air so long she was bordering on Death's domain. That's when something grabbed her…unaware in her unconscious state she was moving through the water and toward the surface at speeds no animal, man, or machine could equal.