So you guys sent me A LOT of love and I can't express my gratitude. Seriously, my dudes. I loved every single moment of writing Child of Land and Sea and I loved every single encouraging message you guys sent me. Most of the time, it didn't feel like I deserved it, but you had a way of making me feel like I sort of did...

Anyway, so this is Child of Sea and Shore. It's just a few short stories, also by King Rick Riordan. His characters, his world, his story, but with a twist: me.

If you like this, I'll make a next one; this time, all about Andony. So don't forget to review alright?


"Do the thing you fear the most and the death of fear is certain."

Mark Twain

Act VI - Child of Sea and Shore

Tale I - The Death of Fear


Andy was in a science class when she heard these noises outside. SCRAWK! OW! SCREECH!

Like somebody was getting attacked by possessed poultry. Nobody else seemed to notice the commotion. In the lab, everybody was talking loudly. It wasn't hard for Andy to go look out the window without calling attention for herself. There was a girl in the alley outside with her sword drawn. She was tall and muscular like a basketball player. She was hacking at a flock of black birds the size of ravens. A cut was bleeding over her left eye. One of the birds shot a feather like an arrow, and it lodged in her shoulder. She cursed and sliced at the bird, but it flew away.

Andy had no idea what Clarisse, of all people, was doing on the Upper East Side in the middle of a school day, but she was obviously in trouble. And she wouldn't last much longer.

"Mrs White," Andy said, "can I go to the restroom? I feel like I'm going to puke.''

"Go!" Mrs White answered fast.

Andy ran out the door with her ballpoint pen already in hand. Nobody stopped her in the halls. She exited by the gym and got to the alley just in time to see Clarisse smack a devil bird with the flat of her sword. The bird squawked and spiraled away, slamming against the brick wall and sliding into a trashcan. That still left a dozen more swarming around her.

"La Rue!"

The girl glared at Andy in disbelief. "Jackson? What are you doing-" she was cut short by a volley of feather arrows that zipped over her head and impaled themselves in the wall.

"I got to school here."

"Just my luck," Clarisse grumbled, but she was too busy fighting to complain much.

Andy uncapped the pen, which grew into a metre-long bronze sword, and joined the battle, slashing at the birds and deflecting their feathers off her blade. Together, Clarisse and Andy sliced and hacked until all the birds were reduced to piles of feathers on the ground.

They were both breathing hard. Andy had a few scratches, but nothing major. She pulled a feather arrow out of her arm. It hadn't gone in very deep. As long as it wasn't tipped with poison, she'd be okay. She took a bag of ambrosia out of her jacket, where she always kept it for emergencies, broke a piece in half and offered some to Clarisse.

"I don't need your help," she muttered, but she took the ambrosia. Clarisse sheathed her sword and brushed off her jacket. "Well… see ya."

'"Hold up!" Andy said. "You can't just leave."

"Watch me."

"What's going on? What are you doing away from camp? Why were those birds after you?"

Clarisse stumbled past Andy.

"Come on," Andy said. "You just about got killed at my school. That makes it my business."

"It does not!"

"Let me help."

Clarisse took a shaky breath like she really wanted to punch Andy out, but at the same time there was a desperate look in her eyes, like she was in serious trouble. "It's my brothers," she admitted. "They're playing a prank on me."

"Oh," Andy said, not really surprised. "Which brothers? Sherman? Mark? The one with the goatee?"

"No," she answered, sounding afraid. "My immortal brothers. Phobos and Deimos."

They sat on a bench at the park while Clarisse told Andy the story. "So let me get this straight," Andy said. "You took your dad's car for a joyride and now it's missing."

"It's not a car," Clarisse growled. "It's a war chariot! And he told me to take it out. It's like… a test. I'm supposed to bring it back at sunset. But-"

"Your brothers carjacked you."

"Chariot-jacked me," she corrected. "They're his regular charioteers, see. And they don't like anybody else getting to drive. So they stole the chariot from me and chased me off with those stupid arrow-throwing birds."

"Your dad's pets?"

She nodded miserably. "They guard his temple. Anyway, if I don't find the chariot…" She looked like she was about to lose it. Andy didn't blame her. Andy had seen Ares get mad before and it was not a pretty sight.

"I know there's no way you'll ask, so I'll make this easy for you. I'll help," Andy decided.

"Why would you? I'm not your friend," she said irritated.

The two girls faced each other. Suddenly, a guy's voice said: "Aw, look at that. I think she's been crying!" A teenage dude was leaning against a telephone pole. He was dressed in ratty jeans, a black T-shirt and a leather jacket, with a bandanna over his hair. A knife was stuck in his belt. He had eyes the color of flames.

"Phobos." Clarisse balled her fists. "Where's the chariot, you jerk?"

"You lost it," he teased. "Don't ask me."

"You little-" Clarisse drew her sword and charged, but Phobos disappeared as she swung, and her blade bit into the telephone pole. He appeared on the bench next to Andy. He was laughing, but he stopped when she stuck Riptide's point against his throat.

"You'd better return that chariot," Andy told him, "before I get mad."

Phobos gave her that look that said women were only good for one thing. "And who might you be, sunflower? Does Clarisse needs help fighting her battles now?"

"I don't need help!" Clarisse tugged her sword, pulling it out of the telephone pole. "She's nobody, alright? Just... Andy Jackson."

Something changed in Phobos's expression. He looked surprised, maybe even nervous. "The child of sea and shore? The one who made Dad angry? Oh, this is too good, Clarisse. You're hanging out with a sworn enemy?"

"I'm not hanging out with her!"

Phobos's eyes glowed bright red.

"Please, no!" Clarisse screamed. She swatted the air as if she were being attacked by invisible bugs.

"What are you doing to her?" Andy demanded. Clarisse backed up into the street, swinging her sword wildly. "Stop it!" Andy told Phobos. She dug her sword a little deeper against his throat, but he simply vanished, reappearing back at the telephone pole.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Jackson," Phobos said. "I'm just showing her what she fears most."

The glow faded from his eyes. Clarisse collapsed, breathing hard. "You son of a bitch," she gasped. "I'll… I'll get you."

Phobos turned toward Andy. "How about you, Andy Jackson? What do you fear? I'll find out, you know. I always do."

"Give the chariot back," Andy tried to keep her voice even. "I took on your dad once. You don't scare me."

"Nothing to fear but fear itself. Isn't that what they say?" Phobos laughed. "Well, let me tell you a little secret, half-blood. I am fear. If you want to find the chariot, come and get it. It's across the water. You'll find it where the little wild animals live - just the sort of place you belong." He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a cloud of yellow smoke.

Andy helped Clarisse up. Her face was still beaded with sweat.

"How about some help now?" Andy asked.


They took the subway, keeping a lookout for more attacks, but no one bothered them. As they rode, Clarisse told Andy about Phobos and Deimos. "They're minor gods," she explained. "Phobos is fear. Deimos is terror."

"What's the difference?"

She shrugged. "Deimos is bigger and uglier, I guess. He's good at freaking out entire crowds. Phobos is more, like, personal. He can get inside your head."

"Why don't they want you driving the chariot?"

"It's usually a ritual just for Ares's sons when they turn eighteen. I'm the first daughter to get a shot in a long time."

"Good for you. Girl power, dude."

"Tell that to Phobos and Deimos. They hate me. I've got to get the chariot back to the temple."

"Where is the temple?"

"Pier 86. The Intrepid."

"Oh. Well, we've got maybe four hours before sunset," Andy guessed. "That should be enough time if we can find the chariot."

"But what did Phobos mean, over the water? We're on an island, for Zeus's sake. That could be any direction!"

"He said something about wild animals," Andy remembered.

"A zoo?"

"Could be. A zoo over the water could be the one in Brooklyn, or maybe… someplace harder to get to, with little wild animals. Someplace nobody would ever think to look for a war chariot..." Something clicked inside Andy's mind. "Staten Island!" she said. "They've got a small zoo."

"Maybe," Clarisse said. "That sounds like the kind of out-of-the-way place Phobos and Deimos would stash something. But if we're wrong-"

"We don't have time to be wrong."


They hopped off the train at Times Square and caught a line downtown, towards the ferry terminal. They boarded the Staten Island Ferry at three thirty, along with a bunch of tourists, who crowded the railings of the top deck, snapping pictures of the Statue of Liberty.

"He modeled that on his mom," Andy said, looking up at the statue.

"Who?" Clarisse glared at her uninterested.

"Bartholdi," she said. "The dude who made the Statue of Liberty. He was a son of Athena, and he designed it to look like his mom. That's what Anthony told me, anyway. And he thinks I never listen."

"The things he can get you to say..." Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Useless. If it doesn't help you fight, it's useless information."

Andy would've argued with her, but just then the ferry lurched like it had hit a rock. Tourists spilled forward, tumbling into each other. Clarisse and Andy ran to the front of the boat. The water below them started to boil. Then the head of a sea serpent erupted from the bay. The monster was at least as big as the boat. It was grey and green with a head like a crocodile and razor-sharp teeth. Riding on its neck was a bulky guy in black Greek armor. His face was covered with ugly scars, and he held a javelin in his hand.

"Deimos!" Clarisse yelled.

"Hello, sister! Care to play a game?"

The monster roared. Tourists screamed and scattered. Whatever they saw terrified them.

"Leave them alone!" Andy ordered.

"Or what, child of sea and shore?" Deimos sneered. "My brother warned me you were just a little girl. Oh, but I love terror. I live on terror!" He spurred the sea serpent into head-butting the ferry, which sloshed backwards. Alarms blared. Passengers fell over each other trying to get away. Deimos laughed with delight.

"That's it," Andy grumbled. "Clarisse, grab on."

"What?" she looked appalled.

"Then don't, but we're going for a ride."

Clarisse grabbed onto Andy. The two girls leaped off the top deck and straight into the bay, but they were only underwater for a moment. Andy felt the power of the ocean surging through her. She willed the water to swirl around them, building force until they burst out of the bay on top of a ten-metre-high waterspout that steered them straight towards the monster.

"You think you can tackle Deimos?" Andy yelled to Clarisse.

"I'm on it!" she said. "Just get me within three metres."

They barreled toward the serpent. Just as it bared its fangs, Andy swerved the waterspout to one side, and Clarisse jumped. She crashed into Deimos, and both of them toppled into the sea. The sea serpent came after Andy. Quickly, Andy turned the waterspout to face it, then summoned all her power and willed the water to even greater heights.

Fifty thousand litres of salt water crashed into the monster. Andy leaped over its head, uncapped Riptide, and slashed with all her might at the creature's neck. The monster roared. Green blood spouted from the wound, and the serpent sank beneath the waves. Andy dived underwater and watched as it retreated to the open sea. Clarisse surfaced near her, spluttering and coughing. Andy grabbed her. "Did you get Deimos?"

Clarisse shook her head. "The coward disappeared as we were wrestling. But I'm sure we'll see him again. Phobos, too."

Tourists were still running around the ferry in a panic, but it didn't look like anybody was hurt. The boat didn't seem damaged. Andy held onto Clarisse's arm and willed the waves to carry them towards Staten Island.


In the west, the sun was going down over the Jersey shore. Time was running out. Staten Island was a lot bigger than Andy thought.

"We'll never make it in time," Clarisse noted.

"Happy thoughts, man. Good vibes. Flowers. Summer. Water. Chocolate that melts in your tongue-"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going slap you until you can't stand."

"That was a happy thought, wasn't it?"

Clarisse shrugged. "Oh yeah."

After dragging themselves halfway down the island, they finally saw a sign that said ZOO. They turned a corner and followed this curvy street with some woods on one side until they came to the entrance. Thank the gods, Andy had enough cash to get them inside.

Around the reptile house, Clarisse stopped in her tracks. "There it is." A large golden and red chariot tethered to four black horses was sitting at a crossroads between the petting zoo and the sea otter pond. "Where are Phobos and Deimos?" Clarisse muttered, drawing her sword.

Andy concentrated on the horses. "Hey, pretty horses. Looking good, uh? Nice, shiny fur and-"

One of horses whinnied disdainfully calling Andy some names that were too rude even for an animal.

"I'll try to get the reins," Clarisse said. "The horses know me. Cover me."

"Right."

Andy kept her eyes peeled as Clarisse approached the chariot. Her hand had almost reached the rail when the horses reared up, whinnying and breathing flames. Phobos and Deimos appeared in the chariot.

"The hunt is on!" Phobos yelled.

Clarisse stumbled back as he lashed the horses and charged the chariot straight toward Andy. She jumped over a trashcan and an exhibit fence, but there was no way she could outrun the chariot. It crashed through the fence right behind Andy, ploughing down everything in its path.

"Jackson, look out!" Clarisse yelled.

Andy jumped and landed on a rock island in the middle of the otter exhibit. She willed a column of water out of the pond and doused the horses, temporarily extinguishing their flames and sending them into confusion. Andy ran as Phobos cursed and tried to get his horses under control. Clarisse took the opportunity to jump on Deimos's back just as he was lifting his javelin. Both of them went tumbling out of the chariot as it lurched forward. Andy could hear Deimos and Clarisse starting to fight, sword on sword. But Phobos was riding after her again. Andy sprinted towards the aquarium.

"Hey, sunflower!" Phobos taunted. "I've got something for you!"

Andy glanced back and saw the chariot melting, the horses turning to steel and folding into each other like clay figures being crumpled. The chariot refashioned itself into a black metal box with caterpillar tracks, a turret and a long gun barrel. A tank. Andy rolled to one side as the gun fired.

KA-BOOOOM!

A souvenir kiosk exploded in every direction. As Phobos re-aimed his gun, Andy got to her feet and dived into the aquarium. She ran through the rooms washed in weird blue light from the fish tank exhibits. Andy stopped at the back of the aquarium and listened. She heard nothing. And then… Vroom, Vroom. Phobos came riding on a Harley-Davidson.

"Hey, pretty lady," Phobos said pulling a huge sword out of its sheath. "Time to be scared."

Andy raised her own sword, determined to face him. Then Phobos's eyes glowed brighter, and she made the mistake of looking into them.

Suddenly Andy was in a different place. It was Camp Half-Blood. But it was empty. There was nobody there. Andy glanced around, her heart racing. "Anthony?" she called. "Grover? Chiron?"

"No one's here," a voice said from nowhere. "You're alone, Andy Jackson."

"What?" Andy tried to find where the voice was coming from but couldn't. "Where are they? What happened to them?"

"They died. Or they're just gone. Whatever you prefer. The important thing is they aren't here. You're alone, Andy Jackson."

"I..." Andy felt the cold, heavy fear taking over her.

"They've moved on without you. And why would they stay? What have you got to offer them? You are nothing. And now you're alone, Andy Jackson."

Andy's hands trembled. Breathing heavily, she called again: "Anthony?"

"He can't hear you," the voice answered.

"No."

"He can't see you."

"Anthony?"

"He doesn't even know you. You're alone, Andy Jackson."

"No. Stop! Please, I-"

Andy stood paralyzed but somewhere in her brain she had the vague notion this was happening inside her head. It's not real, she told herself. I'm not at camp. She could feel the power of the ocean in her veins. It's just an illusion. This wasn't happening. She wasn't alone. She couldn't be...

Andy blinked and saw Phobos's blade coming down towards her head. She raised Riptide and blocked the blow just before it cut her in two. Andy counterattacked and stabbed Phobos in the arm. Golden ichor soaked through his shirt. Phobos growled and slashed at her. Andy parried easily. Fear still threatened to froze her legs, but Andy kept herself strong. She pressed him back, swiped at his face, and gave him a cut across the cheek. The angrier he was, the clumsier he got and less fear Andy felt.

Finally she kicked him backwards against the water fountain. His sword skittered into the ladies room. Andy sucker-punched him in the nose. "You're going to disappear now," she told him. "You're going to stay out of Clarisse's way. And if I see you again, I'll break something bigger."

He gulped. "There will be a next time, Jackson! I know what you fear the most!" and he dissolved into yellow smoke.


Andy found Deimos and Clarisse in the goat area. Clarisse was on her knees. Andy ran forward but stopped suddenly when she saw how Deimos had changed form. He was Ares now: the tall god of war, raising his fist over Clarisse. "You failed me again! I told you what would happen!"

He tried to strike her, but Clarisse scrambled away. "No! Please!"

In those small words, Andy could still hear her own voice begging Phobos. The feeling of seeing it happen to someone else made everything that much worse. Andy knew she couldn't help. Clarisse had to do this alone. This was her worst fear and she had to overcome it for herself.

"Foolish girl!"

"Clarisse!" Andy yelled. "It's an illusion. It's not real. Stand up to him!"

Deimos's form flickered. "I am Ares!" he insisted. "I knew you would fail me. Now you will suffer my wrath."

"La Rue!" Andy called. "Stand up to him! Girl power, remember? Now get up!"

"I… I can't."

"Yes, you can. Because you're a girl! Because you're a warrior! Any boy in your place wouldn't be strong enough, but you are getting up now!"

She hesitated. Then Clarisse began to stand.

"What are you doing?" Ares bellowed. "Grovel for mercy!"

Clarisse took a shaky breath. "No," she said calmly. "I'm tired of being scared of you." She raised her sword. Deimos struck, but Clarisse deflected the blow. She staggered but didn't fall. "You're not Ares," she said. "You're not even a good fighter."

Deimos growled in frustration. When he struck again, Clarisse was ready. She disarmed him and stabbed him in the shoulder. He yowled in pain and began to glow. Both Clarisse and Andy averted their eyes as Deimos exploded into golden light and disappeared. They were left there beside a horse-drawn chariot.

Clarisse looked at Andy cautiously. "You didn't see that. You didn't see any of that."

Andy held her eyes. "Any of what?"

Clarisse grinned. She glanced at the sky, which was turning red behind the trees. "Get in the chariot, Jackson. We've still got a long ride to make."


Only problem was: they were on an island.

"Great," Clarisse mumbled. "What do we do now? Ride this thing across the Verrazano Bridge?"

Andy had an idea. "We'll take the direct route."

Clarisse frowned. "What do you mean?"

Andy closed her eyes and began to concentrate. "Drive straight ahead. Go!"

Clarisse was so desperate she didn't hesitate. She lashed the horses. They charged straight towards the water. Andy imagined the sea turning solid, the waves becoming a firm surface all the way to Manhattan. The war chariot hit the surf. They rode the tops of the waves straight across New York Harbor.

They arrived at Pier 86 just as the sunset was fading to purple. They parked the chariot on the ramp and jumped out. Andy almost passed out of exhaustion. Concentrating on keeping the chariot above the waves had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

"I'd better get out of here before Ares arrives," she decided.

Clarisse nodded. "He'd probably kill you on sight." She wrapped the reins around her hand. "About what you didn't see, Jackson... What I'm afraid of..."

"I won't tell anybody."

Clarisse looked at her uncomfortably. "Did Phobos scare you too?"

"Oh, yeah. Apparently, I'm monophobic. I didn't... I didn't know that. I guess I never thought about it."

Clarisse made a face like she thought Andy was lying. "What, you're afraid of being alone?"

"Not alone like everyone's-too-busy-to-talk-to-me. More like... everyone I love is gone? And there's nobody, just... just me." Andy pushed the thought away. "What I'm trying to say is... I know how you felt."

Clarisse lowered her eyes. "I, uh… I guess I should say…" The words seemed to stick in her throat.

"You don't have to say anything."

Andy started to walk away, but Clarisse called out, "Jackson?"

"La Rue?"

"Just to make things clear... I'd vote for you as less likely to ever be alone. You've got a lot of friends. A lot of people who... who care. It just won't happen, alright?" A faint smile crossed her face and all of her certainty flooded Andy's heart.

The End