***Here's Chapter 15, hope you enjoy reading it! Chapter 16, featuring Percy's POV, will be up Monday, April 28. Have a great weekend!***

XV. FRANK

The last thing Frank expected to see when he and Hazel returned to the Argo II was someone else on board the ship. Yet there the man was, standing near the mast and frowning at the rigging.

Hazel froze. "I thought Leo said the ship would be hidden from anyone else while we were gone."

Frank bit back a curse. If this man had gotten through the cloaking devices Leo had installed, that meant he was probably a pretty powerful immortal, which Frank really didn't feel like dealing with at the moment.

He studied the man, who didn't seem to have noticed Frank and Hazel's appearance. The man was dressed in khaki pants and a polo shirt. For a moment, Frank thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but then he realized the man's shirt was gradually changing colors, from pale blue to deep navy to light green to stormy gray and back to blue. He had a long, tangled white beard and hair, which made him look almost like a wizard, but Frank suspected he was a god.

Before Frank could decide what to do, Hazel took a step forward and said, "Excuse me, sir? Can we help you?"

The man turned around. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but it took Frank a moment to figure out what it was. Then, with a jolt, he realized that the man's sea-green eyes were exactly like Percy's. "Poseidon?"

The god's eyes flashed. "That was my name once. Back when I was favored by the Greeks. But no more. I am Neptune."

Frank gulped. From what Percy had said, his dad, Poseidon, was a pretty cool guy. But Neptune, Poseidon's Roman form, was a much different god. He was more angry and vengeful, reflecting the Roman's fears about the sea. Frank wasn't sure why the god was here, but he doubted it was to deliver good news.

Neptune's eyes narrowed as he looked at Frank. "You are a praetor of Rome, correct?"

Frank almost said no, before remembering that yes, in fact, he was. "Yes, I am."

"And a son of Mars Ultor?"

"Yeah."

Neptune nodded as if he approved. "Good, then I believe I can entrust you to carry a message from me to my son."

"Percy Jackson?" Hazel asked.

Neptune stared at Hazel for a long moment, then he snorted. "One of Pluto's brood," he muttered. "Yes, child of the Underworld, I have a message for my son Percy Jackson." He turned back to Frank. His sea-green eyes were piercing. "How do you put to sleep that which is not awake?"

"Is that like a riddle or something?" Frank asked.

A wave rose up and smacked the side of the ship, causing Frank and Hazel to stumble forward. "No, boy, that is my message," Neptune boomed. There was a flash and a trident appeared in his hand, blue-green energy buzzing around it. "I will repeat myself one more time. How do you put to sleep that which is not awake?"

"How do you put to sleep that which is not awake?" Frank repeated. "That's the message for Percy?"

"It is," Neptune said. The sea settled, though the trident was still in the god's hand. "Make sure that he receives it. He will understand."

"I'll tell him," Frank promised.

"Good. Then I will take my leave. Farewell, son of Mars." Frank and Hazel averted their eyes as, without another word, Neptune disappeared in a flash of light.

They stood in silence for a moment, then Hazel took a shaky breath. "Well, that was an eventful return to the ship."

Frank gave a small laugh. "And here I thought we'd gotten the easy job." He looked at Hazel. "But 'How do you put to sleep that which is not awake?' What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea. Do you think Percy really will understand it?"

"I hope so," Frank said. He glanced at the sky. It was late afternoon. "I wonder how long the others will be gone."

"No idea." Hazel sighed. "Come on, we'd better get the ship ready, just in case we need to make a quick escape when they get back.

By the time the sun set, Frank and Hazel, with a little help from Festus, had the ship ready to depart. The problem was, there was still no sign of their friends.

"Should it have taken them this long?" Frank asked nervously as the sun sank into the sea.

Hazel bit her lip. "You could fly over the ruins," she suggested. "Maybe see if they're on their way back."

"Good idea," Frank said.

"Just be careful," Hazel added. "And come get me if there's a problem."

"I will." Frank gave her a quick kiss, then changed into an eagle. Within a minute, he was soaring over the ruins, but there was no sign of the other demigods. He circled over the hilltop, even landed on the steeple of a church there, but there was no river and no caves. Apparently, that place only existed after passing through Demeter's tests. He flew back down to the cave behind Demeter's temple, but realized he had no cornucopia to get through the door. Discouraged, Frank made one last pass over the ruins, but after seeing nothing, he flew back to Hazel on the Argo II.

"Did you see them?" she asked as soon as he changed back into himself.

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. But I'm sure they'll be back," he added hastily.

Hazel's brow furrowed, but she managed a weak smile. "Of course they will." She sat down next to the mast. "We'll just have to wait a little bit."

Frank sat down next to her. They were quiet for a few minutes, watching the stars come out.

"It almost feels like we're on guard duty at Camp Jupiter," Hazel said.

"We could practice our French again," Frank suggested.

"Didn't our last conversation in French involve a question about a shoe being green and how the beef was feeling?"

Frank shrugged. "Obviously we could use the practice."

Hazel laughed. She reached over and squeezed his hand. "I think it's a lost cause."

Silence fell between them and Frank found his mind drifting to his visit with Periclymenus. He didn't believe what the man had said about Hazel being only a spirit and not truly alive. She felt alive, sitting next to him warm and solid, not ghostly like Phineas had seemed in Portland or the shades of Roman soldiers in Alaska or the House of Hades. Then he remembered his ancestor saying, "Our fates are not set in stone," when talking about Frank's own curse, the stick of firewood that determined his lifespan.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Hazel asked. Her golden eyes glowed in the moonlight as she looked up at him.

Frank had to swallow before he could answer her. "Just thinking about something Periclymenus said. Do you think our fates are set in stone?"

Hazel rested her chin on her knees, looking out at the lights of Eleusis in the harbor. "I wish I knew. The first time I met my father, he said I'd been born too soon. But then my mother took me to Alaska and I died to stop Gaea. I like to think that was my choice, but sometimes I wonder if that's true, because if I hadn't died then, I wouldn't be here now. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. So you want to know what happened because of the choice you made and what happened because it was fated to happen?"

"Or did the Fates know what my choice would be, so even though I made the decision, it was still exactly what was supposed to happen?" Hazel shook her head, then smiled at Frank. "This is a really philosophical discussion."

Frank smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Hazel said. "You were thinking about your firewood, right?"

Frank nodded. "Iris and my dad both said my life would burn bright and short. But Periclymenus said that our fates aren't set in stone. And apparently Percy met a Titan and a giant who changed their fates."

"Seriously?" Hazel asked.

"That's what he said. I guess I'm just hoping—"

"That it's true," Hazel said quietly. "That you can determine your own fate."

"Periclymenus said when the time comes, the choice will be mine." Frank's throat felt dry as he said this. "I just hope I make the right decision."

"Trust me, when the time comes, you'll make the right choice," Hazel told him. Frank met her eyes and recalled that she had already sacrificed her life once to stop Gaea. The thought gave him courage. If Hazel had been able to make that decision, then he could, too.

Hazel kissed him and Frank decided that whether it was fate or not, he was really glad they were together.

Hazel leaned her head against Frank's shoulder. They were still holding hands. Together, they watched the moon rise over the hills and waited for their friends to come back.

Frank woke to sunlight piercing his eyes. He was stiff from sitting against the mast all night. Hazel's head was on his shoulder and she was breathing slowly, still asleep. He had to admit, that was a nice way to wake up. What was less nice was the realization that came to him as he looked around the silent ship. He shook Hazel's shoulder gently. "Hazel, wake up!"

She blinked, then yawned and sat up. "Frank, what's wrong?"
"Listen," he said.

The Argo II was as quiet as a ghost ship. The only sounds were the occasional creak from Festus, the waves lapping against the hull, and their own breathing.

Hazel's eyes widened. "Oh gods, the others—."

Frank nodded, fear clenching his stomach in a vise. "They never came back last night."