IV. ANNABETH

As Piper's cabin door closed, Percy came into the mess hall and sat down next to Annabeth. She looked up as he took her hand. His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as ever and that made her feel better. She hadn't told Piper the worst part of her dream, which had been seeing Percy shrouded in the corpse-like Death Mist again, but with his eyes hollow and empty. She had sat straight up in bed, choking back a scream. Too afraid to close her eyes again, she had come to the mess hall, where Piper, and now Percy, had found her.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked.

"Maybe an hour or two," Annabeth said. "I was hoping I was exhausted enough that I wouldn't have any dreams, like last night, but no such luck."

Percy studied her face, his eyebrows scrunched together. Annabeth flashed back to the balcony of the Plaza Hotel, after she'd been stabbed, when he'd looked so adorably worried about her. If she hadn't been half-delirious with pain at the time, she probably would have kissed him then and there. Now, just because she could, she leaned forward and kissed him. "It's just the second night. I'm sure it'll get better."

"Yeah, maybe." Percy frowned, but then his eyes lit up. She recognized his "I've just had an idea" expression, which instantly made her wary.

"What are you thinking, Seaweed Brain?"

"Just trust me." He stood up and pulled her to her feet, then led her along the passageway, past the cabins. As they descended the steps to the lowest level of the ship, she thought maybe Percy was taking her to sick bay to try and find sleeping pills. However, he walked right by that door.

"Percy, where are we going?"

He squeezed her hand, but didn't answer.

They passed the engine, chugging away, and the storage rooms, then Percy pushed open the doors to the stables. He let go of her hand, picked up a blanket, spread it across the glass doors, and sat down. "This is your favorite spot on the ship, right?"

Annabeth didn't trust herself to speak. She just nodded and sat down beside him. Percy put an arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I love you," she said.

Percy kissed her forehead. "Love you, too."

Annabeth's heart leapt. It was the first time he'd actually told her he loved her. Not that he needed to say it. His actions, especially over the last few weeks, had made it very clear how he felt. Still, it was nice to hear.

"So, would you have brought me down here if Coach Hedge was still on the ship?" she asked him.

Percy shuddered. "Gods no, we'd end up with bells tied around our necks."

Annabeth laughed. "Plus, he's got that baseball bat."

"Yeah." Percy was quiet for a moment. "I hope they're okay, though. Reyna and Nico and Hedge."

"Me too," Annabeth said. "If they can get the statue back, stop the war with the camps, and heal the gods' split-personality problems, we might actually be able to defeat Gaea."

"That's a big 'if'," Percy muttered.

"If anybody can do all that, it's Reyna," Annabeth said confidently. "She'll find a way."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Percy said. He gave her his sarcastic, annoyingly endearing, grin. "You usually are."

"Don't forget it, Seaweed Brain."

"Never," Percy said seriously. He kissed her and, for a few moments, Annabeth forgot about the war.

When she finally pulled away, she asked, "Can we stay down here? Just for a little while?"

"As long as you want," Percy said. He kissed her again, lightly.

"Good," Annabeth said.

She snuggled closer to him and Percy wrapped his other arm around her. True, they were still in danger and the worst battle lay ahead of them. There was no guarantee of what might happen when they reached Athens. But at this moment, back in the mortal world, surrounded by their friends, with Percy's arms around her, Annabeth allowed herself to relax. She could hear Percy's heart beating. Not the doomsday BOOM of Tartarus's heart, but a steady, comforting thump. Between his heartbeat, the humming of the engines, and the gentle rocking of the ship, Annabeth's eyelids were getting heavy. Exhaustion was overtaking her fear of nightmares and she gave in, letting it pull her under into a deep, mercifully dreamless, sleep.

The next thing she knew, sunlight was streaming through the glass doors. She lifted her head from Percy's chest, which she had been using as a pillow, and turned toward the sound of a groan from the doorway of the stables.

Frank Zhang was standing there, his face bright red. "Oh, come on," he said. "Not again."

The others didn't tease them too much, for which Annabeth was grateful. She was also glad that Coach Hedge had gone with Reyna and Nico; otherwise, the satyr might have tried to institute his "bells tied around the necks of you cupcakes" policy.

Everyone else was on deck by the time Annabeth had showered, dressed, and grabbed some breakfast. Piper was going through her backpack, checking supplies. Jason was standing near her, squinting at the sky as if he were checking the direction of the wind, while Percy was making a stack of their remaining Celestial bronze. Frank and Hazel were standing near the railing, discussing something in low voices.

Annabeth knew Frank wanted to go ashore with Hazel, but they needed him here. The plan was for him and Percy to continue to repair the ship with the supplies they had until the others came back with the rest. But she could understand why he wasn't happy about it. She kept thinking about Percy's dream of Gaea saying that Leo would die in Preveza and Percy, Frank, and Hazel would die in Pylos. She knew Percy wouldn't stay on the ship any more than Leo would, but if he was in danger, she wanted to be there to help. She imagined Frank was probably feeling the same way now because Hazel was going with Leo and whatever was supposed to kill him would likely put the rest of the group in danger, too. Frank's expression resembled a grumpy bulldog as he and Hazel joined the rest of the crew.

"Are we ready to go?" Hazel asked.

Leo was making checkmarks on a list. "Just need to double-check…," he scanned the list, "Yep, got it. All set, people. Let's roll."

Piper bit her lip. "Leo, are you sure you shouldn't—?"

Leo held up a hand. "Save your breath, Beauty Queen. I'm not staying on the ship."

"It'll be fine," Jason said. "We're just going to get what we need and come back. Nobody's going to get hurt."

Judging from Piper's expression, she wasn't convinced, but she didn't say anything.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours," Hazel said, giving Frank a quick kiss, which made him look slightly less grumpy.

"Just be careful," Frank said.

When the others had gone, Annabeth turned to Percy and Frank. "Alright, let's get to work."

The repairs weren't difficult. They mostly involved hammering new pieces of Celestial Bronze on top of ones that had been cracked when the sea serpent attacked. It was time consuming work, though, which meant that Annabeth spent most of her day leaning against the railing, looking across the marina at Preveza, and answering the boys' questions when one of them would occasionally pop up (usually Percy, since Frank was once again in octopus mode). The city was pretty, full of white stone buildings with red tiled roofs. People were strolling along the waterfront, enjoying the nice weather. It was a gorgeous, sunny day; the sky was bright blue. The water in the harbor was so clear that if she looked down, she could see Percy and Frank the Octopus swimming around the hull of the Argo II.

The sun was hot against her back and Annabeth was debating jumping over the side for a quick swim, when both boys resurfaced.

"Well, that's it," Percy said. "We're out of bronze."

Frank had turned back to human. "The major cracks are fixed, though. At least we won't sink."

"Always a good thing," Annabeth said as she dropped the rope ladder over the side.

"Are the others back yet?" Frank asked as he climbed over the railing.

Annabeth shook her head. "Not yet. But if they had to go to several stores, and find wood for the masts, it could take them a few hours." She smiled and patted Frank's arm. "I'm sure they're fine."

Frank nodded, but his eyes swept across the city, searching for their friends.

"I forgot about the masts," Percy said, as he climbed back up onto the deck. Frank was drenched, but Percy was completely dry, a talent Annabeth was always a little jealous of. "How the heck are we supposed to fix those?"

"We had to replace them a couple times while you guys were, you know, gone," Frank said. "Usually they're just trees, with the branches cut off."

"Classy," Percy said.

"Oh, most definitely," a woman's voice said.

Annabeth nearly jumped out of her skin. She, Percy, and Frank whirled, weapons in hand, to face the woman who had suddenly appeared on the deck. She was standing near the stump of the main mast, looking as if the sight hurt her feelings. The woman was dressed in a flowing Greek gown the golden color of wheat. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, with a few stalks of wheat sticking out like they were being used as hair pins. Her face was familiar, not only from Mount Olympus, but because the demigods of Cabin 4 at Camp Half-Blood shared their mother's sharp nose and arched eyebrows.

"Demeter," Annabeth said.

The goddess nodded, still studying the stump of the mast as if it had offended her. "Not enough fiber," she announced grimly. "Although why some horrible creature would destroy such a beautiful thing, I have no idea. Oak, wasn't it?" She looked sharply at Frank, who looked baffled.

"I, um, have no idea," he said.

Demeter shook her head. "No one has any appreciation of dendrology anymore."

"Den what?" Percy asked.

"Dendrology," Annabeth said. "It's the study of trees. From the Ancient Greek 'dendron', meaning tree, and 'logia', meaning study of."

Demeter looked delighted. "Are you a student of dendrology, my dear?"

"Actually, I'm an architect," Annabeth said. "Demeter, we've met before. I designed your new garden on Mount Olympus, remember?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," the goddess said, waving her hand dismissively. "Lovely place, very well-cultivated."

"Um, thanks?"

"You're welcome." The goddess had gone back to studying the mast stump. "Pine, I think," she said decisively.

Instantly, a giant pine tree sprang out of the stump. Annabeth, Percy, and Frank hit the deck to avoid being knocked overboard by the branches.

"Oh, that's much better," Demeter said.

A sixty-foot tall pine tree now loomed over the deck. The air smelled like Christmas.

"It's a great tree," Annabeth said carefully as she got back to her feet, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch. She didn't want to offend the goddess (they tended to turn demigods into small animals when they got mad), but there was a problem. "The branches will create a lot of wind resistance, though. We won't be able to go very fast." Not to mention they were taking up most of the deck space.

Demeter sighed. "True. And I suppose you do need to get to Athens quickly." She clapped her hands and the branches disappeared, leaving a perfectly formed mast in the middle of the deck. A second later, the forward mast repaired itself as well, though without becoming a pine tree first.

"Thank you," Annabeth said. "You just saved us hours of work."

"Oh, don't thank me," Demeter said. "I've probably just helped to speed you to your deaths."

"Fantastic," Percy muttered.

"But I also have some advice for you," the goddess added, smiling as if she hadn't just told them they were going to die. "There is an object that may be able to help you in your fight against the giants and the earth goddess."

"Great," Annabeth said. "Where is it?"

"I have no idea. You'll have to find it, of course," Demeter said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

Annabeth fought down the impulse to roll her eyes. Goddesses, she thought. "Can you at least tell us what type of object we're looking for?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Demeter said, now admiring the pine mast. "That's part of the mystery, isn't it? You have to seek out the object, the knowledge, yourself, otherwise it won't have any meaning. Like your quest for that statue, my dear."

Annabeth wanted to strangle the goddess. "Can you give us any kind of clue about what we're looking for?"

"Of course!" Demeter looked offended. "I've already given you one."

"Can we get a second clue?" Percy asked.

"It's a part of the mystery," Demeter said as if she were explaining that two plus two equals four. "My mysteries, my sacred festival. I would imagine that if you go to the place where the ceremonies were held, you would find something that could aid your quest. Of course," she said, tilting her head as if she were considering the matter, "you'd have to pick up the key. Otherwise, you'll never be able to get in."

Percy pressed his fingers against his temples like he was getting a headache. "Where can we find the key?"

"I have no idea," Demeter said. "It's been lost for centuries."

Percy opened his mouth but Annabeth grabbed his arm before he could say something that would get him turned into a pine tree. "Do you know where we can start looking?" she asked.

"That young man knows." Demeter gestured to Frank, who looked perplexed.

"I do?"

"Oh yes, son of Ares," Demeter said, nodding.

"Mars, actually," Frank corrected. "And are you sure I know where to look? Because I don't think I know anything about where to find a key."

The goddess rolled her eyes. "Pylos, obviously. Didn't your ancestor Periclymenus tell you to meet him there?"
Frank looked like he'd been struck by lightning. "P-Periclymenus? He's the one who's going to meet me in Pylos?"

"Obviously," Demeter said, rolling her eyes again and looking very much like her daughter, Annabeth's friend Katie Gardiner.

"I think I'm getting a migraine," Percy muttered.

"Just to be clear," Frank said, ticking off points on his fingers, "we need to go to Pylos to meet my shape-changing ancestor Periclymenus, who is going to tell us where to find a key, that will let us get into some place where your festival was held, where we might find a tool that will help us defeat Gaea and the giants."

Demeter nodded, looking very pleased with herself. "Exactly."

"I am definitely getting a migraine," Percy said.

Annabeth wanted to scream. The Olympians had given them cryptic advice before, but this was ridiculous. "Is there anything else?"

"No, the son of Ares summed everything up quite nicely," Demeter said.

"Mars," Frank said under his breath.

"And I have one last gift for you." Demeter held out her arms and a dozen baskets overflowing with bread appeared on the deck. There was rye bread, pumpernickel, sourdough, baguettes, croissants, even, for some reason, Wonder Bread. "You could all use more fiber. Enjoy!" And the goddess disappeared in a swirling dust cloud of grain, leaving the three demigods coughing, surrounded by bread baskets.

"That might be the least helpful advice I've ever gotten from an Olympian," Percy said. "And that's including the time Apollo gave me dating tips."

"At least she fixed the masts," Annabeth said.

"How the heck are we supposed to figure out what her sacred festival is, though?" Frank asked.

As it turned out, that was the easy part. A quick Google search on the ship's computer pointed them straight to the Eleusinian Mysteries. "Held in Eleusis, Greece," Annabeth read, "the sacred festival to Demeter involved secret rites that initiates must pass through, in order to be purified to receive the sacred mysteries of the goddess." She looked at the boys. "Wow, that sounds fun."

"And how in Hades is this supposed to help us defeat Gaea?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I have no idea."

"You sound like Demeter," Percy said.

She smacked his arm. "Watch it, Seaweed Brain."

"We'll just have to start in Pylos," Frank said. "Hopefully, Periclymenus will be able to help us."

Annabeth pulled up a map of Greece. "Pylos isn't far. We should be able to get there by tomorrow, as long as we can finish the repairs tonight."

"Speaking of which," Percy said, still rubbing his arm where Annabeth had smacked him, "it's getting kind of late. Shouldn't the others be back by now?"

Annabeth looked around. The sun was starting to sink toward the Ionian Sea. Her stomach dropped. "It shouldn't have taken them this long."

Frank looked pale. "I'm going to turn into an eagle, see if I can spot them."

Percy nodded. "Come get us if you see anything."

Frank took off, spiraling up into the darkening sky until Annabeth lost sight of him. She looked at Percy, who was scanning the Preveza waterfront for familiar faces. His jaw was clenched. She knew he was thinking of what Gaea had said, about Leo dying in Preveza, about Jason and Piper being captured and used as sacrifices. She slipped her hand into his. "They're probably fine," she said.

Percy squeezed her hand, but he didn't say anything. They stayed at the railing, looking out at the city, as the sun slowly set behind them.

***Chapter Five, featuring Hazel's POV, will be up by Tuesday, March 25. Have a great weekend!***