PERI'S POV

"The other place is called the Battery - it's a park right by the harbor." Jason said.

"The last time I was there. . . with Reyna. . ." He glanced at Piper and rushed on. "We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. Then Reyna had this feeling - she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

We all waited.

Bonnabelle's eye twitched. "What did it say?"

"Reyna wouldn't tell me," Jason admitted. "But it must have been important. She seemed. . . shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

Silence fell over the deck as everyone took in what Jason had said. My eyes moved over the sky lazily as I mulled over his words. I wondered what kind of spirit would dwell in a place called the Battery, and how it would treat any unexpected. . . guests.

"A girls' adventure, then," Bonnabelle said. "Piper, Hazel, and Peri can come with me."

The three of us nodded, but Hazel looked nervous. I wondered if her time in the Underworld had given her more ghost experience than she would've liked. I felt a pang of guilt in the pit of my stomach. Piper's eyes flashed defiantly, like anything Reyna could do, she could do better.

"So that's settled." Bonnabelle turned towards me. "Peri, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Hmm," I muttered, my eyes scanning the screen. I cursed softly. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us - long-range radar, though, so they're still not in sight."

Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman?"

Leo rolled his eyes, fast approaching the controls. "No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight-"

"That's a stupid idea," I said sharply, shaking my head. "They're gonna come after us ten times harder after something like that. It would squash any thoughts in their heads that we're not enemies."

Leo looked at me for a little too long, chewing his lip. "Okay, I've got another idea. If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things could get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning-"

Hazel started to protest, but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel said tersely. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

I did the math in my head, speaking slowly as I came to a conclusion. "Hazel, I bet if I try really hard I could push the ship. I bet. . . I bet I could make it go faster. Fast enough that we should have enough time to reach Rome."

Hazel scowled. "When you say should have enough. . ."

Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. Sounds about typical for us."

Bonnabelle nodded, apparently taking Hazel's response as a green light. "Okay, Leo. What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm glad you asked!" He punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly press an unnecessarily large green button. He called into the intercom. "Buford? Report for duty, please."

Frank spoke before I could. "There's somebody else on the ship?" He took a step back. "Who is Buford?"

I frowned and sniffed the air, a familiar scent hitting me.

And then a bronze table with a mahogany top hobbled onto the deck. 'His' bronze base had several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. Buford was toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of his legs. He clattered to the helm, and made a sound like a train whistle.

"This is Buford," Leo announced.

Grinning, I bent down to pet the little table. And here I thought Festus was cool, but this little cutie was like pocket sized! He was so perfect and adorable and- oh my gosh get yourself together, it's a table! But it's a Celestial Bronze table. Therefore there is win here.

"You name your furniture?" Frank asked.

Leo snorted. "Man you just wish you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?"

Buford spewed steam. He stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off, leaving me stunned.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the laundry?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo smirked. "I hope you don't mind, Frank."

Frank choked. "What?"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

Leo shrugged. "I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He rubbed his hands and grinned. "Well! I call that a good day's work. See you all at dinner!"

The crowd began to disperse until only Frank, Leo, and I were the remaining silhouettes on the quarterdeck. Frank was gaping open-mouthed as Buford the flying end table was rapidly becoming a dark speck onto the orange horizon.

"My clothes," he said weakly.

Leo laughed hysterically, heading belowdecks.

And I stood there.

Seething.