"Chiron said we were not to put to shore," Robin told Nasim politely.

"We should!" Nasim said. "I'm telling you that triremes aren't supposed to be out at water this long." Andy rolled her eyes; the boys had been arguing all morning. Apparently, Hecate had seen fit to send Nasim a new bit of trivia: if they remained at sea much longer the Black Pearl was going to start falling apart at the seams. Robin didn't think they should land yet. Andy turned her head to the side and saw, for the first time, that another boat was following them.

"Uh, guys?" Andy called, leaning farther over the starboard rail. "I think you ought to know: the coast guard's after us." Nasim and Robin broke off their argument and ran to her side. Leaning out in a likewise manner, they caught sight of the ship that was closing in on their slow, archaic trireme.

"That's not the coast guard," Nasim said. "That's the Marines. Look at the seal."

"I don't see any sea lions," Andy commented.

"A seal isn't a sea lion," Nasim said absently.

"They're getting closer," Robin said, straightening up.

"Well, their average speed is 35 knots, and ours is only 8," Nasim said at once. "How are we supposed to outrun them?"

Robin looked preoccupied and worried. "Andy, Nasim, stay here," he told them. He turned and ran away, disappearing past the mast.

He was gone a while, and the other ship got close enough that Andy and Nasim could see the Marines moving around on their deck.

"I'm going to see if I can summon a wind," Nasim said. "Get us out of here."

Then suddenly the entire ship jerked and leapt forward. Nasim and Andy were knocked off their feet and onto the deck. Lying there, Andy could hear the slapping of the waves grow louder and even felt a few drops of saltwater splatter onto her face.

She scrambled to her feet and looked back. The Marines were not gone, but their approach was slower because the large oars that had been powering the trireme had increased in speed. They dipped deep into the water and strongly rose again, pushing the ship forward with each pass.

"Still not fast enough," Robin said, reappearing and helping Nasim to his feet.

"I can help," the Arab boy said. "Here." He closed his eyes and stretched out his hands; purple light began to grow around them. Andy's hair stirred as a breeze, the first one in days, whispered past her. Other bits of wind and breeze gathered toward Nasim like moths drawn to a flame. He gathered them, catching the skeins of moving air into a glowing purple ball.

Then, with all the practice of a baseball player, he lobbed the ball of wind towards the sails. The ball caught in the canvas, which bellied out, full.

"Nasim, can you by any chance jam their mechanism?" Robin asked thoughtfully.

"I thought you'd never ask," Nasim grinned as the Black Pearl began to put some distance between herself and the Marines.

Nasim pointed one finger at the pursuing ship. Suddenly, a large amount of black smoke steamed up from the deck and the Marines began to broil around the deck as their ship clunked to a stop.

"Excellent!" Robin chuckled, clapping Nasim on the back. "Now I just need to tell Baios..." he voice faded away as he once more walked away from them.

"Who?" Andy asked Nasim.

"I don't know," he shrugged, still admiring his work. "Maybe someone he can reach by Iris messaging."

"Maybe it's a ghost," Andy giggled. Nasim laughed too and then began to gather another ball of wind. Andy turned back to look over the water and frowned; it seemed like the slice of land visible to the right was growing thinner.

"Are we moving away from the shore?" Andy asked suddenly. Nasim tossed the second ball into the sail and moved to her side.

"We've altered directions," Robin said, coming up behind them again. He jumped lightly up onto the railing, holding on to a rope and leaning out precariously; checking to make sure the marines were still at a standstill, Andy thought. "We're heading out to open ocean. Hopefully we will lose the mortals' ship."

"Can the Pearl take the open sea?" Andy asked. "Whoa, I never thought that I would say something like that. I feel like a pirate!"

"Triremes once had full fledged battles in the Mare Nostrum," Robin said. "She will hold."

"Mare Nostrum," Nasim repeated. "Our sea. In Latin." That particular dead language seemed to be popping up quite a bit lately. "It refers to the Mediterranean Sea, where all the great epics took place."

"Like the Bermuda Triangle," Andy mused. "Gods, I hope this quest doesn't take us there!"

"It might," Nasim told her. "And probably will."

A/N: Footnotes:

Baios: helmsman of Odysseus