PERI'S POV

After my shower last night in which Leo did not join me (pity), I headed to bed. Surprisingly, I didn't have any dreams. No creepy sinking in quicksand dreams and no visits from my dad either. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

In the morning, I was jarred from sleep by a loud ship's horn literally shaking me out of bed and landing on my butt.

I winced in pain and rubbed my sore ass. "What the-?"

The horn boomed again, and I realized this wasn't just some prank. I scrambled to my feet and threw on some leggings and my boots. A Celestial Bronze dagger materialized in my hand, and I rushed out the door.

By the time I got up to the deck, most of the others were already there-all hastily dressed except for Coach Hedge, who had pulled the night watch.

Frank's Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt was inside out. Percy wore pajama pants and a bronze breastplate, which was an interesting fashion statement. Hazel's hair was all blown to one side, as though she'd walked through a cyclone; and Leo had accidentally set himself on fire. His T-shirt was in charred tatters, and his arms were smoking.

About a hundred yards to port, a massive cruise ship glided past. Tourists waved at us from fifteen or sixteen rows of balconies. Some smiled and took pictures. None of them looked surprised to see an Ancient Greek trireme. Maybe the Mist made it look like a fishing boat, or perhaps the cruisers thought the Argo II was a tourist attraction.

The cruise ship blew its horn again, and the Argo II had a shaking fit.

Coach Hedge plugged his ears. "Do they have to be so loud?"

"They're just saying hi," Frank speculated, and I nodded sleepily in agreement.

"WHAT?!" Hedge yelled back.

The ship edged past us, heading out to sea. The tourists kept waving. If they found it strange that the Argo II was populated by half-asleep kids in armor and pajamas and a man with goat legs, they didn't let on.

"Bye!" Leo called, waving his smoking hand.

"Can i man the ballistae?" Hedge asked.

"No," Leo said through a forced smile.

I rubbed my eyes and looked across the glittering green water. "Where are- oh... wow!"

The others followed my gaze, and a few even gasped. Without the cruise ship blocking our view, I saw a mountain jutting from the sea less than half a mile to the north. On one side, the limestone cliffs were almost completely sheer, dropping into the sea over a thousand feet below, as near as I could figure. On the other side, the mountain sloped in tiers, covered in green forest, so that the whole thing reminded me of a colossal sphinx, worn down over the millennia, with a massive white head and chest, and a green cloak over its back.

"The Rock of Gibraltar," the daughter of Athena said in awe. "At the tip of Spain. And over there—" She pointed south, to a more distant stretch of red and ochre hills. "That must be Africa. We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

"What now?" Piper asked. "Do we just sail in?"

"Why not?" Leo said. "It's a big shipping channel. Boats go in and out all the time."

"Not triremes full of demigods," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

"In the old days," Bonnabelle said, "they called this area the pillars of Hercules. The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one."

"Hercules, huh?" Percy frowned. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn—there he is."

A thunderous boom shook the Argo II, though I wasn't sure where it came from this time. I didn't see any other ships, and the skies were clear.

Piper wrung her hands together nervously. "So…these Pillars of Hercules. Are they dangerous?"

Bonnabelle stayed focused on the white cliffs, as if waiting for the Mark of Athena to blaze to life. "For Greeks, the pillars marked the end of the known world. The Romans said the pillars were inscribed with a Latin warning—"

"Non plus ultra," Percy said.

The daughter of Athena looked stunned. "Yeah. Nothing Further Beyond. How did you know?"

Percy pointed. "Because I'm looking at it."

Directly ahead of them, in the middle of the straits, an island had shimmered into existence. Piper was positive no island had been there before. It was a small hilly mass of land, covered in forests and ringed with white beaches. Not very impressive compared to Gibraltar, but in front of the island, jutting from waves about a hundred yards offshore, were two white Grecian columns as tall as the Argo's masts. Between the columns, huge silver words glittered underwater—maybe an illusion, or maybe inlaid in the sand: NON PLUS ULTRA.

"Guys, do I turn around?" Leo asked nervously. "Or…"

No one answered—maybe because, like me, they had noticed the figure standing on the beach. As the ship approached the columns, I saw a dark-haired man in purple robes, his arms crossed, staring intently at our ship as if he were expecting us. I couldn't tell much else about him from this distance, but judging from his posture, he wasn't happy.

Frank inhaled sharply. "Could that be—?"

"Hercules," Jason said. "The most powerful demigod of all time."

The Argo II was only a few hundred yards from the columns now.

"Need an answer," Leo said urgently. "I can turn, or we can take off. The stabilizers are working again. But I need to know quick—"

"We have to keep going," Bonnabelle said. "I think he's guarding these straits. If that's really Hercules, sailing or flying away wouldn't do any good. He'll want to talk to us."

Piper looked like she wanted to yell at Leo: Fly! Get us out of here! Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly the leader of our ragtag group.

"Won't Hercules be on our side?" she asked hopefully. "I mean…he's one of us, right?"

Jason grunted. "He was a son of Zeus, but when he died, he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."

"Great," I said. "Eight of us against Hercules."

"And a satyr!" Hedge added. "We can take him."

"I've got a better idea," Bonnabelle said. "We send ambassadors ashore. A small group—one or two at most. Try to talk with him."

"I'll go," Jason said. "He's a son of Zeus. I'm the son of Jupiter. Maybe he'll be friendly to me."

"Or maybe he'll hate you," Percy suggested. "Half brothers don't always get along."

Jason scowled. "Thank you, Mr. Optimism."

"It's worth a shot," Bonnabelle said. "At least Jason and Hercules have something in common. And we need our best diplomat. Somebody who's good with words."

All eyes turned to Piper.

She tried to avoid screaming and jumping over the side. It almost looked like she'd dissolve in a puddle right there on the spot. She swallowed hard before mustering up all the courage she had.

"Fine," she said. "Just let me change my clothes."

Once Leo had anchored the Argo II between the pillars, Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper ashore.

The man in purple was waiting for them.

"Good luck, guys!" I called after them as Jason flew them to the island. "They're gonna need it."