First Person: Audrey
(Earlier)
When Percy climbed out on the deck, he muttered, "Wow." We had landed near the summit of a forested hill. A complex of white buildings, like a museum or a university, nestled in a grove of pines to the left. Below us spread the city of Atlanta - a cluster of brown and silver downtown skyscrapers two miles away, rising from what looked like an endless flat sprawl of highways, railroad tracks, houses, and green swathes of forest.
"Ah, lovely spot," Hedge said, inhaling the morning air. "Good choice, Valdez." Leo shrugged.
"I just picked a tall hill. That's a presidential library or something over there. At least, that's what Festus says."
"I don't know about that!" Hedge barked. "But do you realize what happened on this hill? Frank Zhang, you should know!" Frank flinched.
"I should?"
"A son of Ares stood here!" Hedge cried indignantly.
"I'm Roman…so Mars, actually."
"Whatever! Famous spot in the American Civil War!"
"I'm Canadian actually."
"Whatever! General Sherman, Union leader. He stood on this hill watching the city of Atlanta burn. Cut a path of destruction all the way from here to the sea. Burning, looting, pillaging - now there was a demigod!" Frank inched away from the satyr.
"Uh, okay." I could imagine some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood ordering the levelling of a city - Clarisse La Rue, for instance, wouldn't hesitate - but I couldn't imagine Frank being so harsh. Then again, if the sweetheart Emily had a dark side, so too must he. Kelly Clarkson once said, "everybody's got a dark side."
"Anyway," I said. "Let's try not to burn down the city this time." The coach looked disappointed.
"All right. But where to?" Percy pointed toward downtown.
"When in doubt, start in the middle." We headed to the presidential library - which turned out to be the Carter Center - and asked the staff if they could call a taxi or give us directions to the nearest bus stop. One of the librarians, whose name was Esther, insisted on driving us personally. She was so nice about it, I thought she must be a monster in disguise, but Hedge pulled us aside and assured us that Esther smelled like a normal human.
"With a hint of potpourri," He said. "Cloves. Rose petals. Tasty!" We piled into Esther's big black Cadillac (I called riding shotgun) and drove toward downtown. Esther was so tiny, she could barely see over the steering wheel, but that didn't seem to bother her. She muscled her car through traffic while regaling us with stories about the crazy families of Atlanta - the old plantation owners, the founders of Coca-Cola, the sports stars, and the CNN news people. She sounded so knowledgeable that Percy decided to try his luck.
"Uh, so Esther," He said. "Here's a hard question for you. Salt water in Atlanta. What's the first thing that comes to mind?" The old lady chuckled.
"Oh, sugar, that's easy. Whale sharks!" Frank and Percy exchanged looks.
"Whale shark?" Frank asked nervously. "You have those in Atlanta?"
"At the aquarium, sugar. Very famous! Right downtown. Is that where you wanted to go?" Well, we werelooking for an ancient Greek sea god. An aquarium seemed like the only lead we had.
"Yeah, that's where we're going," I said. Esther dropped us at the main entrance, where a line was already forming. She insisted on giving us her cell phone number for emergencies, money for a taxi ride back to the Carter Center, and a jar of homemade peach preserves, which for some reason she kept in a box in her trunk. Frank stuck the jar in his backpack and thanked Esther, who had already switched from calling his "sugar" to "son."
"Are all people in Atlanta that nice?" He asked as she drove away. Hedge grunted.
"Hope not. I can't fight them if they're nice. Let's go beat up some whale sharks. They sound dangerous!" I realized that we might have to pay admission, along with stand in a line behind a bunch of families and kids from summer camps. Looking at the elementary schoolers in their colorful T-shirts from various day camps, I missed Camp Half-Blood, having Zy and Emily sleep over at the Poseidon cabin, teaching sword-fighting lessons in the arena, planning pranks on the other counselors with Zy and then having Emily say that wasn't nice. These kids had no idea just how crazy a summer camp could be.
"Well, I guess we wait in line," Percy said. "Anybody have money?" Frank checked his pockets.
"Three denarii from Camp Jupiter. Five dollars Canadian." Hedge patted his gym shorts and pulled out what he found.
"Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and…score! A piece of celery." He started munching on the celery, eyeing the change and the rubber band like they might be next. Percy checked his own pockets, but all he had was Riptide. I dug around in my pockets.
"Uh, a few drachma for Iris messages, a few denarii from Camp Jupiter, a paper clip and some hairpins for when I need to pick a lock…" I pulled my backpack off and dug around in the pockets. "Score! Twenty bucks! Uh…is that enough to get even one of us in this place? Usually, Zy handles expenses wherever we go. Think we can sneak in or something? I mean I probably could if I were alone, but…" Suddenly a woman in a blue-and-green Georgia Aquarium shirt came up to us, smiling brightly.
"Ah, VIP visitors!" She had perky dimpled cheeks, thick-framed glasses, braces, and frizzy black hair pulled to the sides in pigtails, so that even though she was probably in her late twenties, she looked like a schoolgirl nerd - sort of cute, but sort of odd. Along with her Georgia Aquarium polo shirt, she wore dark slacks and black sneakers, and she bounced on the balls of her feet like she simply couldn't contain her energy. Her name tag read KATE.
"You have your payment, I see," She said. "Excellent!"
"What?" Percy asked. Kate scooped up the three denarii out of Frank's hand and the nine coins in my hand that were a mix of denarii and drachma.
"Yes, that's fine. Right this way!" She spun and trotted off toward the main entrance. Percy looked to us.
"A trap?"
"Probably," Frank said.
"Yeah," I agreed.
"She's not mortal," Hedge said, sniffing the air. "Probably some sort of goat-eating, demigod-destroying fiend from Tartarus."
"No doubt," Percy agreed.
"Awesome." Hedge grinned. "Let's go." Kate got us past the ticket queue and into the aquarium with no problem.
"Right this way," Kate said, grinning at Percy. "It's a wonderful exhibit. You won't be disappointed. So rare we get VIPs."
"Uh, you mean demigods?" Frank asked. Kate winked at him impishly and put a finger to her mouth.
"So over here is the cold-water experience, with your penguins and beluga whales and whatnot. And over there…well, those are some fish, obviously." For an aquarium worker, she didn't seem to know much or care much about the smaller fish. We passed one huge tank full of tropical species, and when Frank pointed to a particular fish and asked what it was, Kate said, "Oh, those are the yellow ones." Genius. We passed the gift shop, and Frank slowed down to check out a clearance table with clothes and toys. I'll admit that it I needed to get a present for Veon and Zy for their birthdays considering the past few weeks have been a bit hectic.
"Take what you want," Kate told us. Frank blinked.
"Really?"
"Of course! You're VIP!" Frank hesitated before stuffing some T-shirts in his backpack.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy asked.
"She said I could," Frank whispered. "Besides, I need more clothes. I didn't pack for a long trip!" I walked in and grabbed a journal, making sure it was blank and lined. It was navy blue with golden celestial patterns, with a good 200 pages. Perfect. I grabbed the nearest black thing in the store for Veon - a stuffed orca - and then shoved the two presents into my bag. I saw a tie-dye blue and green shirt and thought "why not?" before taking that too. Frank had added a snow globe to his stash, and when I came back he picked up a braided cylinder about the size of a candy bar, squinting at it.
"What is-?"
"Chinese handcuffs," I said. Frank, who was Chinese Canadian, looked offended.
"How is this Chinese?"
"That's what Zy always says. That's just what they're called. It's like a gag gift."
"Come along boys and girls!" Kate called from across the hall.
"I'll show you later," I promised. Frank stuffed the handcuffs in his backpack, and we kept walking. We passed through an acrylic tunnel, with fish swimming over our heads. I always found these things both cool and scary. I mean, what if the glass breaks and water floods the tunnel? Of course I'd be fine, and that was unlikely to happen, but still. We emerged in a viewing room awash with blue light. On the other side of the glass wall was the biggest aquarium tank I'd ever seen. Cruising in circles were dozens of huge fish, including two spotted sharks, each twice my size. They were fat and slow, with open mouths and no teeth.
"Whale sharks," Coach Hedge growled. "Now we shall battle to the death!" Kate giggled.
"Silly satyr. Whale sharks are peaceful. They only eat plankton." I wondered how Kate knew Hedge was a satyr. Hedge was wearing pants and specially fitted shoes over his hooves, like satyrs usually did to blend in with mortals, and his baseball cap covered his horns. Hedge didn't seem fazed by Kate, though.
"Peaceful sharks?" The coach said with disgust. "What's the point of that?" Frank read the plaque next to the tank.
"The only whale sharks in captivity in the world," He mused. "That's kind of amazing."
"Yes, and these are small," Kate said. "You should see some of my other babies out in the wild."
"Your babies?" Judging from the wicked glint in Kate's eyes, I was pretty sure I didn't want to meet Kate's "babies."
"So Kate," I said, getting to the point. "We're looking for a guy…I mean a god, named Phorcys. Would you happen to know him?" Kate snorted.
"Know him? He's my brother. That's where we're going, sillies. The real exhibits are right through here." She gestured at the far wall. The solid black surface rippled, and another tunnel appeared, leading through a luminous purple tank. Kate strolled inside. I really didn't want to follow her, but if Phorcys was really on the other side, and he if had information that would help us on the quest… I sighed and made myself walk through the tunnel before the rational side of my brain could stop me. As soon as we entered, Coach Hedge whistled.
"Now that's interesting." Gliding above us were multicolored jellyfish the size of trash cans, each with hundreds of tentacles that looked like silky barbed wire. One jellyfish had a paralyzed ten-foot-long swordfish tangled in its grasp. The jellyfish slowly wrapped its tendrils tighter and tighter around its prey. Kate beamed at Coach Hedge.
"You see? Forget the whale sharks! And there much more." Kate led us into an even larger chamber, lined with more aquariums. On one wall, a glowing red sign proclaimed: DEATH IN THE DEEP SEAS! Sponsored by Monster Donut.
"Monster Donut?" Percy asked after a moment.
"Oh yes," Kate said. "One of our corporate sponsors." Percy gulped, and I think I remembered Annabeth mentioning a story with Monster Donut that involved acid-spitting serpent heads, much screaming, and a cannon. In one aquarium, a dozen hippocampi - horses with the tails of fish - drifted aimlessly. I had seen numerous hippocampi in the wild, and had even ridden a few while Zy was taking me out for training, but I'd never seen any in an aquarium. I tried to speak with them, but they just floated around, occasionally bonking against the glass. Their minds seemed addled.
"This isn't right," Percy muttered.
"No kidding," I agreed. I turned and saw something worse. At the bottom of a smaller tank, two Nereids - female sea spirits - sat cross-legged, facing each other and playing a game of Go Fish. They looked incredibly bored. Their long hair floated listlessly around their faces, and their eyes were half closed.
"How can you keep them here?" Percy asked, glaring at Kate.
"I know," Kate sighed. "They aren't very interesting. We tried to teach them some tricks, but with no luck, I'm afraid. I think you'll like this tank over here much better." Percy looked ready to protest, but Kate had already moved on.
"Holy mother of goats!" Hedge exclaimed. "Look at these beauties!" He was gawking at two sea serpents - thirty-foot-long monsters with glowing blue scales and jaws that could have bitten a whale shark in half. In another tank, peeking out from its cement cave, was a squid the size of an eighteen-wheeler, with a beak like a giant bolt cutter. A third tank held a dozen humanoid creatures with sleek seal bodies, doglike faces, and human hands. They sat at the bottom of the tank, building things out of Legos, thought the creatures seemed just as dazed as the Nereids.
"Are those…?" Percy began, struggling to form the question.
"Telkhines?" Kate finished. "Yes! The only ones in captivity."
"But they fought for Kronos in the last war!" Percy said. "They're dangerous!" Kate rolled her eyes.
"Well, we couldn't call it "Death in the Deep Seas" if these exhibits weren't dangerous. Don't worry. We keep them well sedated."
"Sedated?" Frank asked. "Is that legal?" Kate appeared not to have heard. She kept walking, pointing out other exhibits. Percy and I looked back at the telkhines. One was obviously a youngster. He was trying to make a sword out of Legos, but he seemed too groggy to put the pieces together. I felt real sorry for them. Maybe they were dangerous sea demons, but surely they didn't deserve being locked up like this, right? I was reminded of what Veon had said before. No matter what Nico had done, he didn't deserve to just die suffocating while trapped in a bronze jar.
"And these sea monsters," Kate continued narrating up ahead. "They can grow 500 feet long in the deep ocean. They have over a thousand teeth. And these? Their favorite food is demigod-"
"Demigod?" Frank yelped.
"But they will eat whales or small boats, too." She turned to Percy and I and blushed. "Sorry. I'm such a monster nerd! I'm sure you know all this, being children of Poseidon and all." So Kate knew who we were too, huh? It wasn't much of a surprise, but that didn't mean I liked it.
"Who are you?" Percy demanded. "Does Kate stand for something?"
"Kate?" She looked momentarily confused. Then she glanced at her name tag. "Oh…" She laughed. "No, it's-"
"Hello!" A new voice said, booming through the aquarium. A small man scuttled out of the darkness. He walked sideways on bowed legs like a crab, his back hunched, his arms raised on either side like he was holding invisible plates. He wore a wetsuit that was several horrible shades of green. Glittery silver words printed down the side read: PORKY'S FOLLIES. A headset microphone was clamped over his greasy wiry hair. His eyes were milky blue, one higher than the other, and though he smiled, he didn't look friendly - more like his face was being peeled back by a wind tunnel.
"Visitors!" He said, the word thundering through the microphone. He had a DJ's voice, deep and resonant, which did not at all match his appearance. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!" He swept his arms in one direction, as if directing our attention to an explosion, but nothing happened. "Curse it," The man grumbled. "Telkhines, that's your cue! I wave my hands and you leap energetically in your tank, do a synchronized double spin, and land in a pyramid formation. We practiced this!" The sea demons paid him no attention. Coach Hedge leaned towards the crab man and sniffed his glittery wet suit.
"Nice outfit." He didn't sound like he was kidding. Of course, the satyr wore gym uniforms for fun.
"Thank you!" The man beamed. "I am Phorcys." Frank shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"Why does your suit say Porky?" Phorcys snarled.
"Stupid uniform company! They can't get anything right." Kate tapped her name tag.
"I told them my name was Keto, and they misspelled it as Kate. My brother…well, now he's Porky."
"I am not!" The man snapped. "I'm not even a little porky. The name doesn't work with Follies, either. What kind of show is called Porky's Follies? But you folks don't want to hear us complain. Behold, the wondrous majesty of the giant killer squid!" He gestured dramatically toward the squid tank. This time, fireworks shot off him in from of the glass right on cue, sending up geysers of golden sparkles. Music swelled from the loudspeakers, and the lights brightened to reveal the wondrous majesty of an empty tank. The squid had apparently skulked back into its cave.
"Curse it!" Phorcys yelled again. He wheeled on his sister. "Keto, training the squid was your job. Juggling, I said. Maybe a bit of flesh-rendering for the finale. Is that too much to ask?"
"He's shy," Keto said defensively. "Besides, each of his tentacles has 62 razor-like barbs that have to be sharpened daily." She turned toward Frank. "Did you know the monstrous squid is the only beast known to eat demigods whole, armor and all, without getting indigestion? It's true!" Frank stumbled away from her, hugging his gut as if making sure he was still in one piece.
"How does that work?" I asked. "Wouldn't that be unhealthy?"
"Keto!" Porky snapped - literally, since he clicked his fingers to his thumbs like crab claws. "You'll bore our guests with so much information. Less education, more entertainment! We've discussed this."
"But-"
"No buts! We're here to present "Death in the Deep Seas!" Sponsored by Monster Donut!" The last words reverberated through the room with extra echo. Lights flashed, and smoke clouds billowed from the floor, making donut-shaped rings that smelled like real donuts. "Available at the concession stand. But you've spent your hard-earned denarii and drachma to get the VIP tour, and so you shall! Come with me!"
"Um, hold it," Percy said. Phorcys's smile melted in an ugly way.
"Yes?"
"You're a sea god, aren't you? Son of Gaea?" The crab man sighed.
"Five thousand years and I'm still known as Gaea's little boy. Nevermind that I'm one of the oldest sea gods in existence. Older than your upstart father, by the way. I'm god of the hidden depths! Lord of watery terrors! Father of a thousand monsters! But no, nobody even knows me. I make one little mistake, supporting the Titans in their war, and I'm exiled from the ocean - to Atlanta of all places."
"We thought the Olympians said Atlantis," Keto explained. "Their idea of a joke, I guess, sending us here instead."
"So you're a goddess?" I asked.
"Keto, yes!" She smiled happily. "Goddess of sea monsters, naturally! Whales, sharks, squids, and other giant sea life, but my heart always belonged to monsters. Did you know that young sea serpents can regurgitate the flesh of their victims and keep themselves fed for up to six years on the same meal? It's true!" Frank was still clutching his stomach like he was going to be sick. Hedge whistled.
"Six years? That's fascinating!"
"I know!" Keto beamed.
"But if they regurgitate it, they wouldn't get the nutrients, right?" I asked. "And we demigods aren't thathealthy. Six years sounds like a lot of time, and they're bound to run into more food within that amount of time."
"Of course, but they have a way of conserving the amount of nutrients they gain from their meal, and don't have to use the technique for the maximum amount of time every time."
"And how exactly does a killer squid rend the flesh from its victims?" Hedge asked. "I love nature!"
"Yeah, squids always look really slow," I agreed. "How precise are they?"
"Oh, well-"
"Stop!" Phorcys demanded. "You're ruining the show! Now, witness our Nereid gladiators fight to the death!" A mirrored disco ball descended into the Nereid exhibit, making the water dance with multicolored light. Two swords fell to the bottom and plunked in the sand. The Nereids ignored them and kept playing Go Fish. "Curse it!" Phorcys stomped his legs sideways. Keto grimaced at Coach Hedge.
"Don't mind Porky. He's such a windbag. Come with me, my fine satyr. I'll show you full-color diagrams of the monsters' hunting habits."
"Excellent!" Before any of us could object, Keto led Coach Hedge away through a maze of aquarium glass, leaving us along with a crabby sea god. I saw the boys exchanging nervous glances. None of us seemed to see any way the encounter was going to end well, though if it did, that would've been the real surprise. Part of me wanted to flee from this place right now before we lost anyone, but we hadn't gotten any information out of Phorcys. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to find Coach Hedge again, let alone the exit. There was a lot of water here, and if we ran into an emergency, maybe we could just blow the roof off this place in a hurricane. Phorcys must've read our expressions.
"Oh, it's fine!" The god assured us. "Keto might be a little boring, but she'll take good care of your friend. And honestly, the best part of the tour is still to come!" I felt like I was starting to get a migraine. Maybe it was Phorcys's special effects.
"So…Dionysus sent us here," Percy said, seemingly a bit dazed as well.
"Bacchus," Frank corrected.
"Right," Percy said, sounding annoyed. Remembering one name for each god was hard enough. Two must've been pushing it for him. "The wine god. Whatever." He looked at Phorcys. "Bacchus said you might know what your mom Gaea is up to, and these twin giant brothers of yours - Ephialtes and Otis. And if you happen to know anything about this Mark of Athena-"
"Bacchus thought I would help you?" Phorcys asked.
"Well yeah," I said. "I mean, you're Phorcys. Everybody talks about you." Phorcys tilted his head so that his mismatched eyes almost lined up.
"They do?"
"Of course." This guy was looking for a show, so that meant stroking his ego might work well to get answers out of him. "Don't they, Frank?"
"Oh…sure!" Frank said. "People talk about you all the time."
"What do they say?" The god asked.
"You've got great pyrotechnics," I said.
"And a good announcer's voice," Percy added.
"And, um, a disco ball-" Frank tried.
"It's true!" Phorcys said, clacking his fingers and thumbs in excitement. "I also have the largest collection of captive sea monsters in the world!"
"And you know stuff," I said. "Like about the twins and what they're up to."
"The twins!" Phorcys made his voice echo. Sparklers blazed to life in front of the sea serpent tank. "Yes, I know all about Ephialtes and Otis. Those wannabes! They never fit in with the other giants. Too puny - and those snakes for feet."
"Snakes for feet?" Percy asked. I guess they did have long curly shoes back in my dream.
"Yes, yes," The god said impatiently. "They knew they couldn't get by on their strength, so they decided to go for drama - illusions, stage tricks, that sort of thing. You see, Gaea shaped her giant children with specific enemies in mind. Each giant was born to kill a certain god. Ephialtes and Otis…well, together they were sort of the anti-Dionysus." Percy looked like he was trying to wrap his mind around that idea.
"So…they wanted to replace all the wine with cranberry juice or something?" The sea god snorted.
"Nothing like that! Ephialtes and Otis always wanted to do things better, flashier, more spectacular! Oh, of course they wanted to kill Dionysus, but first they wanted to humiliate him by making his revelries look tame!" Frank glanced at the sparklers.
"By using stuff like fireworks and disco balls?" Phorcys's mouth stretched into that wind tunnel smile.
"Exactly! I taught the twins everything they know, or at least I tried to. They never listened. Their first trick? They tried to reach Olympus by piling mountains on top of one another. It was just an illusion, of course. I told them it was ridiculous. "You should start small," I said. "Sawing each other in half, pulling gorgons out of a hat. That sort of thing. And matching sequined outfits. Twins need those!"
"Good advice," I agreed. "And now the twins are…"
"Oh, preparing for their doomsday show in Rome. It's one of mother's silly ideas. They're keeping some prisoner in a bronze jar." He turned toward Frank. "You're a child of Ares, aren't you? You've got that smell. The twins imprisoned your father the same way once."
"Child of Mars," Frank corrected. "Wait…these giants trapped my dad in a bronze jar?"
"Yes, another stupid stunt. How can you show off your prisoner if he's in a bronze jar? No entertainment value. Not like my lovely specimens!" He gestured to the hippocampi, who were bonking their heads pathetically against the glass. The image was so sad, and I think it was making me sick.
"You said this…this doomsday show was Gaea's idea?" Percy asked.
"Well…mother's plans always have a lot of layers." He laughed. "The earth has layers! I suppose that makes sense!"
"Uh-huh," I agreed. "And so her plan…"
"Oh, she's put out a general bounty on some group of demigods. She doesn't really care who kills them, as long as they're killed. Well…I take that back. She was very specific that two must be spared. One boy and one girl. Tartarus knows why. At any rate, the twins have their little show planned, hoping it will lure these demigods to Rome. I suppose the prisoner in the jar is a friend of theirs or some such. That, or perhaps they think this group of demigods will be foolish enough to come into their territory searching for the Mark of Athena." Phorcys elbowed Frank in the ribs. "Ha! Good luck with that, eh?" Frank laughed nervously.
"Yeah. Ha-ha. That would be really dumb because, uh…" Percy slipped his hand into his pocket. Phorcys must be smart enough to realize we were the ones with the bounty on our head. But Phorcys just grinned and elbowed Frank again.
"Ha! Good one, child of Mars. I suppose you're right. No point talking about it. Even if the demigods found that map in Charleston, they'd never make it to Rome alive!"
"Yes the MAP IN CHARLESTON," Frank said loudly, giving a wide-eyed look to make sure we hadn't missed the information. He couldn't have been more obvious if he had held up a large sign that read CLUE! Yes, Frank, I believe we heard him.
"Of course," I said calmly as though Frank hadn't said anything. "They're bound to die."
"But enough with boring educational stuff!" Phorcys said. "You've paid for the VIP treatment. Won't you please let me finish the tour? The twelve denarii and drachma entry fee is nonrefundable, you know." The three of us shared a flew glances, and we silently decided that we needed to humor the crabby old god, at least until we found Coach Hedge and got safely to the exit. Besides, we needed to get more information out of Phorcys.
"Afterword," Percy said. "Can we ask questions?"
"Of course! I'll tell you everything you need to know." Phorcys clapped his hands twice. On the wall under the glowing red sign, a new tunnel appeared, leading into another tank.
"Walk this way!" Phorcys scuttled sideways through the tunnel. Frank scratched his head.
"Do we have to…?" He turned sideways.
"I think it's just a figure of speech, man," I said. "Come on." The tunnel ran along the floor of a gymnasium-sized tank. Except for water and some cheap decorations, it seemed majestically empty. There had to be about fifty-thousand gallons of water over our heads. I've never had it happen before, but I still worried what would happen if that thing shattered for some reason. Water was my home court, sure, but I still knew how to hold my breath. After the whole muskeg incident, I realized that it might be wise to keep training to hold my breath even if I could breath underwater.
For a large amount of time in my life, I didn't know I could breathe underwater. I mean if you're told that humans can't breathe underwater, then you're going to hold your breath when you dive and come up before you run out of air. I can breathe underwater, sure, but that doesn't mean I can hold my breath any longer than any other person. It was only once my friend dragged me into the lazy river at a pool and the jets swept me away when I was too short that I learned I could stay under indefinitely. Under normal circumstances, I would've drowned. The lifeguard? An idiot! I came up once near the lifeguard stand, but there was a jet that was pulling me away. The dude offered me a hand, offered me a freaking hand when I was struggling to keep my head above water, but when I reached for it, the jet swept me under, and he let me go! He didn't jump in after me when I was clearly choking on water in panic! I was clinging to the walls of the pool and circled that thing twice before I was finally able to escape. Not to mention there was a waterfall that forced me under a couple times. I would have died like twenty times if not for my special circumstances. Long story short, people can sometimes suck.
I digress. Where were we again? Oh right, crazy crab dude. For some reason, this place was making me really nervous. The water was resonating differently, like someone else was controlling it. Considering we were in Phorcys's domain, I assumed that was normal. Every time we went through one of these tunnels, I realized that all he had to do was cut off the entrance and exit and we'd be trapped under tens of thousands of gallons of water. Call it claustrophobia, but these tunnels were seriously starting to scare me. It was only a matter of time before Phorcys moved to attack or capture us. The capturing itself wasn't the scary part, it was the anticipation of knowing it was coming but not knowing when. Phorcys stopped in the middle of the tunnel and spread his arms proudly.
"Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?" I looked around. In one corner of the tank, snuggled in a forest of fake kelp, was a life-sized plastic gingerbread cottage with bubbles coming out of the chimney. In the opposite corner, a plastic sculpture of a guy in an old-fashioned diving suit knelt beside a treasure chest, which popped open every few seconds, spewed bubbles, and closed again. Littered across the white sand floor were glass marbles the size of bowling balls, and a strange assortment of weapons like tridents and spear-guns. Outside the tank's display wall was an amphitheater with seating for several hundred.
"What do you keep in here?" Frank asked. "Giant killer goldfish?" Phorcys raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, that would be good! But no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish." At descendant of Poseidon, Frank flinched. He stepped back, gripping his backpack like a mace he was prepared to swing. I sighed. Hurry up with the trap, dude, so we can escape from it.
"How do you know Frank's last name?" Percy demanded. "How do you know he's descended from Poseidon?"
"Well…" Phorcys shrugged, trying to look modest. "It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson." Percy uncapped his pen. Instantly, Riptide appeared in his hand.
"Don't double-cross, us Phorcys. You promised us answers."
"After the VIP treatment, yes. I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything." His grotesque smile stretched wide. "You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giants brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs - Very Important Prisoners!" Percy lunged and Frank hurled his backpack at the sea god's head. Phorcys simply disappeared.
"Well, that was to be expected," I sighed.
"Yes, good!" The god's voice reverberated through the aquarium's sound system, echoing down the tunnel. "Fighting is good! You see, mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You three will make an excellent exhibit - the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity. "Demigod Terrors!" - yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM."
"You're crazy!" Frank yelled.
"Don't sell yourself short! You'll be our biggest draw!" Frank ran for the exit, only to slam into a glass wall. Percy ran for the other and found it blocked as well. The tunnel had become a bubble, just like in all my worst nightmares. I put my hand on the glass and realized it was melting like ice. Soon the water would come crashing in.
"We won't cooperate, Phorcys!" Percy shouted.
"Oh, I'm optimistic. If you won't fight each other first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll love your new home." Above my head, the glass dome cracked and began to leak.
"Yeah right, crab brain!" I shouted. "We're not staying here and we're not your entertainment! No sedative can make us compliant!"
"I'm the son of Poseidon!" Percy said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest."
"What a coincidence!" Phorcys said. "It's also where I'm strongest. This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you three. I'll see you at feeding time!" The glass dome shattered and water came crashing in. As the water surrounded us, I found my water powers still working at full capacity, so Phorcys wasn't restricting that. Frank transformed - clothes, backpack and all - into a koi the size of a teenage boy. Percy was looking around frantically below us when he looked up and noticed Frank.
"Dude," His mental voice said through the water. "A goldfish?"
"I freaked," Frank said. "We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me."
"We're currently having a telepathic conversation with a giant koi," I muttered. "Well okay then. Can you transform into anything else?" There was silence as Frank seemed to be concentrating on something else, though it was impossible to tell since koi don't have many expressions.
"Sorry." Frank sounded embarrassed. "I'm stuck. That happens sometimes when I panic."
"Fine," Percy said, gritting his teeth. "Let's figure out how to escape." Frank and I swam around before reporting no exits. The top was covered with Celestial bronze mesh, like the curtains that roll down over closed storefronts at the mall. Percy tried to cut through with Riptide, but he couldn't make a dent. My trident refused to even expand, and my dagger and sword were as worthless as Percy's. We tried to smash through the glass wall with our weapons, but to no avail. Percy went to the effort of repeating the process with several of the weapons lying around the bottom of the tank and managed to break three tridents, a sword, and a spear-gun. He and I tried controlling the water, but the water didn't obey, maybe enchanted or under Phorcys's control. I gave up and started thinking of a way out, but Percy insisted on concentrating until his ears popped. The best he could do was blow the lid off the plastic treasure chest.
"Okay, so we can't control the water very easily," I said, my voice clear through the water. "There's no cutting the mesh or breaking the glass without some kind of outside help. My trident isn't working, but possibly it could work as a cuff. Maybe we could try throwing one of these bowling balls."
"That's it," Percy said dejectedly, sitting criss-cross on said bowling balls of marble. "I'll have to live in a plastic gingerbread house the rest of my life, fighting against my giant goldfish friend and waiting for feeding time."
"To hell with that," I said. "There's gotta be a way out. Maybe the others will come for us if we don't return." I thought about all my training with Zy.
"If water won't obey you because someone has more power and/or a stronger will, what do you do? You don't have power over water, therefore swimming puts you at a disadvantage. If everything around you is against you instead of with you, how do you compensate?"
"You change the location of the battle, try and make their water power worthless."
"And if you're trapped in a tank or under the sea?"
"Focus on your other skills. Physical attacks and defenses are your only option. Consider what you've lost and what you have." I had my ability to breath underwater for one. I could communicate with sea creatures, but there weren't any others in our tank or with access to it that might be able to come to our aid. Freezing or boiling the water wasn't working either. The glass was hard to break by any weapon, but it seemed like an easier option than the mesh. Controlling the water seemed feasible, even if it would be a harder task than usual.
"When you're having trouble controlling water, focus on a song."
"I'm not an Apollo girl. Songs won't do me much good."
"A song focuses one's mind, whether they be related to some music oriented being or not. If you don't focus too hard and let your mind work on its own, then a song will give you more control than any of your enemies. Sound can mess with anyone's control. If you can utilize the vibrations in the water, you can overpower someone else's power."
"Well do I just sing a song I like, or do I have to focus on a certain genre?"
"Some whales have the ability to create sonar loud enough to break ones eardrums if done in the air. You have the potential for extremely powerful sound waves in the water, even if it's under someone else's control. Just hold a note and it should resonate with the water. Depending on the water you're in and who you're fighting for control over may affect what pitch will do the most work. If you're in a tank, then it should be easy to find the pitch that will shatter it."
I tapped the glass. I'm not sure what pitch would break it, but if I could sing a note and get this water to work for me, then we might be in business. Starting small, I whistled and held a note. I concentrated and felt the water around me slightly vibrating. I needed a song with long notes that I could zone out with. I started with just singing a C and then moving up and down, feeling the notes. I wasn't doing a song, just choosing notes that sounding like they'd make a flowing tune. I kept the song slow and gave a whole note for each pitch.
"Audrey, what are you doing?" Percy asked. I stopped singing, but then realized how much effect the notes were having on the water. Without that hum that I'd put in it, it just felt cold and heavy.
"If I can find the right pitch, I might be able to break the glass or take control of the water again. Unless you have a better idea."
"Higher notes were thinner and more piercing, but lower notes were thicker and more pushing. Whatever you chose, you need to be louder." I took a deep breath and began to sing a lower note. He was right. The lower note made more of a booming push through the water. I moved to a higher note and found it more piercing, slicing farther through the water but spreading more thin so that it had less of a vibrating effect. Lower notes it was. I may have been an alto, but I was only an Alto I, meaning I was on the higher range of alto. Even Veon, who was a tenor with a very surprisingly great falsetto, would be able to reach lower notes than me, granted he was a male so that was natural. Still, I was more comfortable in lower parts than Zy might be, so this would work.
"Look!" Frank suddenly said. Outside the glass, Keto was leading Coach Hedge through the amphitheater, lecturing him on something while the coach nodded and admired the stadium seating.
"Coach!" Percy shouted, before realizing he was yelling telepathically and Hedge wouldn't hear him. Frank bumped his head against the glass, but Hedge didn't seem to notice.
"Hedge!" I shouted, pounding the glass, but the water's density slowed my hands so that I was barely tapping them no matter how much force I put in. "Gleeson! Coach! Hey!" Keto walked him briskly across the amphitheater. She didn't even look through the glass, maybe because she knew we were in here and didn't want Hedge to know, or because she thought the tank was still empty. She pointed to the far end of the room and began to lead him away. We had only seconds before the coach would be gone, so we needed to do something fast. The glass seemed to be sound-proof, at least to any pounding I was doing. Percy tried to swim after them, but the water didn't help him move like it usually did. In fact, it seemed to be pushing him back. He dropped Riptide and used both arms. I pounded my trident against the glass, hoping to make some kind of clanging noise, but I wasn't able to make enough momentum with the water fighting me. In desperation, I scooped up a giant marble and lifted it.
"Percy!" I shouted. He turned and grabbed the marble with me. Together we hurled it with all our might. Our combined strength managed to fight the water's resistance, but it hit the glass with a light thunk - not nearly loud enough to attract attention. Five feet left. I dived for another before taking a deep breath and then holding out a low note with all my strength and infusing it with all the power I could. The water around us vibrated and seemed to loosen up, and then I threw the thing underhand like a bowling ball and the thing whacked the glass with force, and even made a cracking sound.
Hedge, thankfully having the ears of a satyr, glanced over his shoulder. Anyone else would still have had trouble hearing that, but thank goodness he insisted on coming with us. When he saw us, his expression went through several changes in a matter of microseconds - incomprehension, surprise, outrage, then a mask of calm. Before Keto could notice, Hedge pointed toward the top of the amphitheater, and if I was reading his lips right, he was saying something along the lines of "Gods of Olympus, what is that?!"
It was nearly as bad as "Hey look, it says gullible on the ceiling!" but Keto turned to him looking ready to answer some question. Hedge promptly took off his fake foot and ninja-kicked her in the back of the head with his giant goat hoof. Keto crumpled to the floor, and I saw Percy wince. His recently whooped head must've been throbbing in sympathy. Still, I had never been so happy to have a chaperone who liked mixed martial arts cage matches.
Hedge ran to the glass and held up his palms like "What the hell are you two doing in there?!"
The two of us pounded on the glass and mouthed "Break it!" I attempted to read his lips as best I could, and after processing for a moment, I translated his question.
"Where's Frank?" We both pointed to the giant koi. Frank waved his left dorsal fin.
"Sup?" Behind Hedge, the sea goddess began to move. Percy pointed frantically, and Hedge shook his leg like he was warming up his kicking hoof, but Percy then waved his arms to stop him. We couldn't keep whooping Keto in the head forever. Since she was immortal, she wouldn't stay down forever, and it wouldn't get us out of this tank. Not to mention it was only a matter of time before Phorcys came to check on us.
"On three!" Percy said, holding up three fingers. "Audrey, sing and try to weaken the water and glass. All of us hit it at the same time!" Hedge nodded, seemingly getting the point. Hitting things was a language that satyr knew well. Percy hefted another giant marble and I drew my sword.
"Frank, we'll need you too. Can you change form yet?"
"Maybe back to human."
"Human is fine! Just hold your breath. If this works…" Keto rose to her knees.
"No time to waste!" I warned. Percy counted on his fingers.
"One, two three!" I let out the loudest note I could and infused it with all the power I could, the water and glass vibrating like we'd been put over one of those giant speakers, while I also slammed my sword into it, creating a large crack. Frank turned into a human and shoved his shoulder against the glass, coach did a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick with his hoof, and Percy used all his strength to slam the marble into the wall. With the water now working on our frequency, the two of us were able to gain control over the water, feeling the pent-up pressure inside the tank and putting it to use. Water liked to be free. Given time, water could overcome any barrier, and it hated to be trapped. I thought about destroying this horrible prison for sea creatures and shoving Phorcys's microphone down his ugly throat. Clearly Percy was thinking the same things, as our wills worked together to push against the water. Fifty thousand gallons of water responded to our anger.
The glass wall cracked. Fracture lines zigzagged from the point of impact, and I screamed my note, increasing its pitch and concentrating the sharp force into that fissure I'd made to widen it. The entire glass wall vibrated under the frequency and the water pressure, and suddenly the tank burst. We were sucked out in a torrent of water, tumbling across the amphitheater with Frank, some large marbles, and a clump of plastic seaweed. Keto was just getting to her feet when the diver statue slammed into her like it wanted a hug. Hedge spit salt water.
"Pan's pipes, Jackson! What were you and Mavepo doing in there?"
"Phorcys! Trap! Run!" Percy spluttered. Alarms blared as we fled the exhibits. We ran past the Nereids' tank, then the telkhines. I wanted to free them, but there was no way we could free them all and ship them to the ocean. They were drugged and sluggish, and with this being Phorcys's domain, we didn't have the time to waste to try and free all them even if I was somehow able to control the water and contain them in a bubble of it for transportation. Besides, if Phorcys caught us, I wasn't sure I'd be able to overcome his power even with Percy and my new sonar technique. Not to mention Keto was probably already after us too, ready to feed us to her sea monsters. We'd be back. We had to come back for these poor creatures. The only difference between them and Nico was that Nico was in Rome. They deserved to be freed even if it would do little good to the world.
"I'll be back," I heard Percy promise them, but if the creatures in the exhibits could hear him, they gave no sign.
"Percy Jackson!" Phorcys's voice boomed over the sound system. Flash pots and sparklers exploded randomly, donut-scented smoke filled the halls, dramatic music - five or six different tracks - blared simultaneously, and lights popped and caught fire as all the special effects in the building were triggered at once.
We stumbled out of the glass tunnel and found ourselves back in the whale shark room. The mortal section of the aquarium was filled with screaming crowds - families and day camp groups running in every direction while the staff raced around frantically, trying to assure everyone it was just a faulty alarm. We knew better. We joined the mortals and ran for the exit.
