Chapter 21

Shelton

It took me twenty minutes to find and print out all the maps, blueprints and useful looking photos I could find. When I got back downstairs, Amber and Sapphire were discussing methods for keeping Amber in contact with the rest of the group when they went after Asher. For some reason, most of them involved wax.

"The warehouse is about a quarter mile from the ocean," I said. I put the papers I was carrying on the table.

"What's that in real measurements?" Sapphire asked.

"About four hundred meters," Amber said. "Is that close enough for Percy?"

All three demigods said it was.

"Will, Percy and Piper," Nico said. "I'll be back with them in ten minutes."

He got up from his seat and disappeared. My eyes were telling me that he'd walked out the door, but I knew he'd actually shadow travelled. Aunt Mariko had mentioned something about being able to think her way around the Mist even though she couldn't see through it. I guess that was what she was talking about.

Leo put his head down on the table, missing the line of wind-up dogs he'd made by a hair. "Have I mentioned how much I hate that we have to do this?"

Sapphire reached out a hand but froze before she touched Leo's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Amber said. "You don't control Asher's actions."

"No, but I was born," Sapphire said.

That didn't sound good.

Aunt Mariko pursed her lips. "Tory, may I borrow your dog?"

Tory practically radiated confusion. "Uh, sure?" She coaxed Coop out from under the table.

"Sapphire, pet the dog," Aunt Mariko said.

Sapphire robotically lowered her hand for Coop to sniff. Coop head-butted her fingers and demanded attention in the form of petting. Coop isn't a therapy dog or anything like that but, as Hi would say, he's the best boy. I could see Sapphire becoming less tense as he repaid petting with cuddles.

"I'm sorry," Leo said. "I don't want him to hurt you again."

"He already has," Sapphire said lightly. "But we're going to stop him. And then I'm going to go to months of therapy. We still have Dr. Kessler's number, right Mom? I liked her."

Aunt Mariko nodded. "We do."

"Does she work with groups?" Leo asked. "Because half of camp still has PTSD and all the therapists we find end up being monsters."

That sounded like really bad luck.

"Doesn't Camp Jupiter have therapists?" Amber asked.

Leo scoffed. "They're Romans."

I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it was apparently enough of an answer for Amber. She made a sound of agreement and went back to moulding the wax she'd gotten from somewhere. It looked like she was making a bowl.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"Hit hard, hit fast, rescue any hostages and don't die," Amber said.

Hi cleared his throat. "The ghost goddess is working with him, right? Does that mean you might have to fight ghosts?"

Sapphire scratched Coop behind his ears. "Almost certainly. And if they're my sister's Nico and I won't be able to control them, but Piper should be able to."

It wasn't easy for me to make sense of the fight in the forest on Loggerhead with the Mist getting in the way but I was pretty sure Sapphire and Leo had been in a lot of trouble before Tory talked Katherine down. Was Katherine a ghost Sapphire should have been able to control?

"Well, you're not going to be fighting anything without a good meal in you," Dad said. "Out! Harrold and I need the kitchen to teach Richie to make Mom's sweet potato casserole."

Uncle Harrold grimaced. "We are not making sweet potato casserole, Nelson."

We got out of the kitchen. I grabbed the maps. Leo swept his wind-up dogs off the table and into his tool belt.

When Nico got back with Percy, Will and Piper, everyone but Dad, Uncle Harrold and Richie was watching Amber and Sapphire test Amber's wax ear. (It was supposed to be an ear, but I thought it still looked like a bowl.)

"Okay, so if you don't talk too loud I can hear everything going on," Amber said. "But the second you start talking it's messaging function only."

"We can work with that," Leo said. "Will or Sapphire should wear it."

"Wear what?" Will asked.

Sapphire peeled the layer of wax off the back of her ear and held it up. "Sympathetic magic ear. Amber hears whatever we hear and it doubles as a walkie-talkie."

"Neat," Will said. "Does it work when she's bird?"

Piper looked at Amber with wide eyes. "You turn into a bird?"

"Long story," Amber said.

Percy and Nico leaned over the printouts I'd spread on the coffee table. Their back and forth muttering of possible battle plans seemed to be the cue for the rest of the demigods to sit around the coffee table and start throwing out ideas.

"There are four entrances and eight of us," Percy said. "We could split up into teams of two."

"Eight of you?" Mom asked.

"Jordan and Olivia are on their way," Percy said. "Teams, yay or nay?"

The answers I heard were split. Very split. Will changed from "yay" to "nay" halfway through the word.

Percy raked his fingers through his hair. "Okay, not teams of two. Any other suggestions?"

Hi hesitantly raised his hand. "I know I'm not exactly battle ready, but what if you blocked some of the doors? You could melt them shut or something?"

Leo and Sapphire looked at each other. "That's something we could do," Leo said. Sapphire nodded.

"If we block the door on the roof we don't have to worry as much about sending someone up there," Piper said. "And the one on the side of the building looks like it shouldn't take long to sabotage. How current are these pictures?"

I looked at Mom and Aunt Mariko. They were paying enough attention that I didn't want to mention that I might have borrowed some stills from security cameras. "No more than a month old."

Nico picked up one of the blueprints. "I have an idea."