Perhaps the crew thought that I was a clown, because as soon as I was back on the ship I found myself juggling.
My energy was split between connecting with the Argo, forcing the engine to push harder and fly faster, while also defending the ship from attackers. Frank had said that he could handle the flock of wild, hungry harpies but there were far too many for me to feel comfortable letting him take them on alone.
My Imperial Gold sword whizzed through the air, slicing them left and right while Frank shot them down with his bow. The sky was full of clouds of gold dust and feathers. The Greek landscape below was just as inhospitable. The hills were strewn with boulders and stunted cedars, all shimmering in the hazy air. The sun beat down as if trying to hammer the countryside into a Celestial bronze shield. Even from a hundred feet up, I could hear the drone of cicadas buzzing in the trees— a sleepy, otherworldly sound that made my eyes heavy.
Despite my drowsiness, I didn't miss the way that the others looked confused and downright uncomfortable by my autonomous blade, but this wasn't the time to explain how Goldie came to be. And even so, the sword was one of my closest allies. As long as I had my way, Goldie wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I focused on the thrumming of the engine, urging the Argo to pick up even more speed. Sweat trickled down my neck.
"Hot and steamy!" Leo grinned at the helm. "Makes me homesick for Houston! What do you say, Hazel? All we need now are some giant mosquitoes, and it'll feel just like the Gulf Coast!"
"Thanks a lot, Leo," Hazel grumbled. "We'll probably get attacked by Ancient Greek mosquito monsters now."
"No thank you! I don't need anything else trying to suck me dry," I called.
Leo looked like he was about to shout something, but Frank cut him off quickly. "Don't you do it, Valdez. Low hanging fruit!"
I laughed, soon picking up on where Leo's head was at. I studied the three of them, quietly marveling how the tension among the four of us had disappeared. Since announcing our status as a couple, it was like the twisted knot of fate strings had unraveled, righting all of our courses. The confusing and complicated love triangle (er, love square?) was no more. Instead there was a comfortable familiarity, like everyone had found their rightful place.
"There!" Nico's voice shook me out of my thoughts. As usual, di Angelo was perched atop the foremast. He pointed toward a glittering green river snaking through the hills a kilometer away. "Maneuver us that way. We're close to the temple. Very close."
As if to prove his point, black lightning ripped through the sky, leaving dark spots before my eyes and making the hairs on my arms stand up to full attention.
Jason strapped on his sword belt. "Everyone, arm yourself. Peri, slow her down. Leo, get us close, but don't land— no more contact with the ground than necessary. Piper, Hazel, get the mooring ropes."
"On it!" Piper said.
Hazel gave Frank a peck on the cheek and ran to help.
"Frank," Jason called, "get below and find Coach Hedge."
"Yep!"
The skies were relatively clear, but I kept Goldie on a defensive perimeter around the ship just in case. I had a feeling things were going to get a lot more unexpected from this point on. And it's not like I didn't have the two Stygian Iron blades at my hip— even without them in my hands, the weapons did a lot to steel my nerves. I brought my hands down in a swoop, and the ship began to descend. Frank re-emerged from belowdecks just in time.
As the others made fast the aerial moorings, Leo grabbed Frank and Hazel by the arms. He dragged them to the aft ballista nearby. "Okay, here's the plan."
Hazel narrowed her eyes. "I hate your plans."
"I need that piece of magic firewood," Leo said. "Snappy!"
Hazel backed away, instinctively covering her coat pocket. "Leo, you can't—"
"I found a solution." Leo turned to Frank. "It's your call, big guy, but I can protect you."
"Go ahead, Hazel," Frank said.
"But…" Hazel took a deep breath. "Okay." She took out the piece of firewood and handed it to Leo.
In Leo's hands, it wasn't much bigger than a screwdriver. The tinder was charred on one side.
From a pocket of his tool belt, Leo produced a piece of white cloth. "Behold!"
Frank scowled. "A handkerchief?"
"A surrender flag?" I guessed.
"No, unbelievers!" Leo said. "This is a pouch woven from seriously cool fabric— a gift from a friend of mine."
My eyebrows raised curiously. A friend... could it be... Calypso? Leo slipped the firewood into the pouch and pulled it closed with a tie of bronze thread.
"The drawstring was my idea," Leo said proudly. "It took some work, lacing that into the fabric, but the pouch won't open unless you want it to. The fabric breathes just like regular cloth, so the firewood isn't any more sealed up than it would be in Hazel's coat pocket."
"Uh…" Hazel said. "How is that an improvement, then?"
"Hold this so I don't give you a heart attack." Leo tossed the pouch to Frank, who almost fumbled it.
Leo summoned a white-hot ball of fire into his right hand. He held his left forearm over the flames, grinning as they licked the sleeve of his jacket.
"See?" he said. "It doesn't burn!"
Frank looked as though he didn't like to argue with a guy who was holding a ball of fire, but he said, "Uh… you're immune to flames."
Leo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I have to concentrate if I don't want my clothes to burn. And I'm not concentrating, see? This is totally fireproof cloth. Which means your firewood won't burn in that pouch."
Hazel looked unconvinced. "How can you be sure?"
"Sheesh, tough audience." Leo shut off the fire. "Guess there's only one way to persuade you." He held out his hand to Frank.
"Uh, no, no." Frank backed off. "That's okay, Leo. Thanks, but I— I can't—"
"Man, you gotta trust me."
Frank looked torn, his eyes glossy like he was recalling an unpleasant memory. Finally, his shoulders slumped.
"Okay." Frank handed Leo the pouch. "Try not to kill me."
Leo's hand blazed. The pouch didn't blacken or burn. The three of us waited for something to go horribly wrong. I counted to twenty, but the son of Mars was still alive.
Leo extinguished his fire. He wriggled his eyebrows at Frank. "Who's your best buddy?"
"Don't answer that," Hazel said. "But, Leo, that was amazing."
"It was, wasn't it?" Leo agreed. "So who wants to take this newly ultra-safe piece of firewood?"
"I'll keep it," Frank said.
Hazel pursed her lips. She looked down, maybe so Frank wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes. She told me before that she'd protected that firewood for him through a lot of hard battles. It was a sign of trust between them, a symbol of their relationship.
"Hazel, it's not about you," Frank said, as gently as he could. "I can't explain, but I—I have a feeling I'm going to need to step up when we're in the House of Hades. I need to carry my own burden."
Hazel's golden eyes were full of concern. "I understand. I just…I worry."
Leo tossed Frank the pouch. Frank tied it around his belt. He looked like he felt strange carrying his fatal weakness so openly, after months of keeping it hidden.
"And, Leo," he said, "thanks."
Leo grinned. "What are genius friends for?"
"Hey, guys!" Piper called from the bow. "Better get over here. You need to see this."
We'd found the source of the dark lightning.
The Argo II hovered directly over the river. A few hundred meters away at the top of the nearest hill stood a cluster of ruins. They didn't look like much— just some crumbling walls encircling the limestone shells of a few buildings— but from somewhere within the ruins, tendrils of black ether curled into the sky, like a smoky squid peeking from its cave. As I watched, a bolt of dark energy ripped through the air, rocking the ship and sending a cold shockwave across the landscape.
"The Necromanteion," Nico said chillingly. "The House of Hades."
Piper hugged her arms. "I feel vulnerable floating up here like this. Couldn't we set down in the river?"
"I wouldn't," Hazel said. "That's the River Acheron."
I squinted in the sunlight. "I thought the Acheron was in the Underworld."
"It is," Hazel said. "But its headwaters are in the mortal world. That river below us? Eventually it flows underground, straight into the realm of Pluto— er, Hades. Landing a demigod ship on those waters—"
"Yeah, let's stay up here," Leo decided. "I don't want any zombie water on my hull."
Half a kilometer downstream, some fishing boats were puttering along. I guessed they didn't know or care about the history of this river. Must be nice, being a regular mortal.
"So, uh, Nico…" Frank gestured at the scepter. "Have you learned to use that thing?"
"We'll find out." Nico stared at the tendrils of darkness undulating from the ruins. "I don't intend to try until I have to. The Doors of Death are already working overtime bringing in Gaea's monsters. Any more activity raising the dead, and the Doors might shatter permanently, leaving a rip in the mortal world that can't be closed."
Coach Hedge grunted. "I hate rips in the world. Let's go bust some monster heads."
Frank looked at the satyr's grim expression. "Coach, you should stay on board, cover us with the ballistae."
Hedge frowned. "Stay behind? Me? I'm your best soldier!"
"We might need air support," Frank said. "Like we did in Rome. You saved our braccae."
The coach's scowl relaxed. Relief showed in his eyes.
"Well…" he grumbled, "I suppose somebody's got to save your braccae."
Jason clapped the coach on the shoulder. Then he gave Frank an appreciative nod. "So that's settled. Everybody else— let's get to the ruins. Time to crash Gaea's party."