Chapter 35

I Send a Goddess Surfing

I thought Prometheus' trick to get Bianca's bow through security was impressive. It had nothing on the magic he'd worked at Colman Dock.

Somehow, impossibly, he'd built himself a blanket of papers and pastry wrappers. Filled-in crosswords completely hid his legs. Staff walked past blindly, the mess not even registering. In the time it took to walk over to him Prometheus added another crossword to the collection.

In the end, I had to physically touch his shoulder to get his attention.

"Oh, back so soon?" Prometheus frowned. "I was just finding my groove."

"Uh, sure," I said, because if this was him out of his groove, I'd hate to see how fast he could actually go. "We've got a ride."

"Ah. I suppose it can't be helped then." He stood, sheets cascading off. "Do lead on."

We'd had to take two cars to fit everyone. Charrer drove the van with the other Daemons, while Emmitt Bianca and I rode in Rose's Orange Mustang GT.

When Prometheus and I got in the sports car, him taking the passenger side and me in the back, Rose stared.

"When they said they had a fourth, I was surprised," she said. "I figured they were three demigods on a quest before. But you… You aren't mortal, are you?"

"Me?" Prometheus smiled. "I'm a titan."

I choked. Where'd his sense of delicacy gone? I mean sure, Rose would need to know at some point, but that didn't mean he had to dunk it on her head like a post-championship Gatorade bath.

I was pretty convinced she was going to scream and kick us out, but Rose only sighed. "I thought so."

"That isn't an issue for you?" I asked.

Rose started the car. "Ehh, I'm not thrilled it's come to this. But the gods made it clear where they stood when they turned their backs on us. If you can get my boats back out there, I don't care if your Kronos himself."

"Oh, no need to worry about that." Prometheus smiled. "We're only his emissaries."

As she eased the Mustang into two lanes of thick traffic, Rose shook her head. "What have I gotten myself into this time…"

We drove parallel with the water, the Daemons van shadowing us, for about twenty minutes before turning onto some smaller roads. Docks coated the water here, masts bobbing in congested rows. Each was connected to a separate spotless sailboat, all with punny names like "The Codfather" or "Holy Ship". After a bit we passed this, too, and were driving between blocky buildings constructed right over the water.

The warehouse Rose hit the breaks in front of was tall, clean, and almost intimidating. If not for the windows it would've looked like a bomb shelter. The door had four locks and a fingerprint machine. Rose caught me looking and shrugged.

"Had to play it safe," she said. "If I got lax, Eurybia would've thrashed this one too."

Prometheus, who had stepped out of the car to stretch, now leaned his head back in. "Eurybia, did you say?"

"Sure did," Rose said. "But bitch works just as well. Why?"

"Curiosity," said the titan, and he strolled away from the van.

Once inside, Rose flicked a row of switches. High-powered lights clicked on along the roof, illuminating a slick sailboat with a glistening coat of dark green paint. It was clearly a hybrid boat, because I sotted a motor big enough to propel a building on its back. An elevated captain's platform towered over the deck from the stern. From the size, there must have been almost as much room below deck as in Rose's house. Stenciled across the side in golden letters was the name. The Nautes. Sailor, my brain translated.

There was a figure on the front, a woman with a slightly puffy face like she was part cloud. The face was a caricature, with chips off of it and the mouth etched into an ugly frown.

"Is that…"

Rose followed my gaze. "Eurybia? Three guesses and no prizes for right answers. Everyone needs an outlet when they work. Mine… well, you can see it."

A ramp was set up for easy boarding. I went first, followed by Emmitt, Bianca, and Prometheus. Rose came last. When she realized there was no one behind her, she turned.

"What are you guys doing?"

The Daemons jumped. "Seeing you off?" Charrer asked.

She put her foot on the rim of the hull – the gunwale, my mind supplied – and rested both her elbows on her knee. "Why would you be doing that?"

"Because you're going to Alaska," Shatterer said. "Why do you think, woman?"

"Going to Alaska? With no crew? Where did you get a crazy idea like that?"

"No way," Shatterer said.

"An outrageous suggestion!" objected Destroyer.

"We aren't you manual laborers!" said Smasher.

Rose grinned. "You quite literally are. I pay your bills, remember? Or do you have any other clients to pay for your tattoos? This baby is going to sail, and you are going to make it."

Shatterer dug his nails into his palms. He squared his shoulders, met Rose's eyes, and stomped his foot in defiance. "We aren't your minions. We're staying right here, on land, and that is final!"

Fifteen minutes later we sailed out the hangar doors, the Daemons rushing around the deck to get the sail unfurled.

"You know I can control ships, right?" I said to Rose, standing by her as she manned the helm, humming.

"I do," she said. "I did have about a dozen great grandfathers and granduncles that were Poseidon's kids. The rest of us can't stand that stuff though. Ships are made to by worked by hands, not by minds. Nothing beats callouses and old-fashioned toil. Smasher, pull the rope harder! Harder!"

Smasher put his all into yanking– literally. He nearly toppled backwards putting all his weight against the rope. A moment later the sail unfurled further, and Rose nodded approvingly.

"These guys know what they're doing, even if they insist they don't. We spent a lot of time together. As much as they may think all of it was work, we talked. I taught them enough. They won't slow us down."

Watching Destroyer whip up a sailor's knot in seconds flat, I didn't doubt it. "Did you really hire them just to mess up your work?"

"At first." Rose smiled. "I was desperate. Willing to try anything. You'd be surprised what people will do when they think they don't have anything."

"And later?"

"That's less impressive. Life gets lonely. I'll tell you a secret, although it's only a secret to them. They're good company. Stupid, sure. Completely ineffective. But that's their charm."

"Glorious dumbasses, right?"

"Nail, meet head."

We stood in silence. Bianca was prowling the prow, her bow out, scanning the horizon where dark storm clouds were gathering. They hadn't hit us yet, but I wasn't sure that was a good thing. They seemed to be building up, charging something way nastier than anything we'd seen before.

"I'm only going to say this once, while they can't hear." Rose stared intently over the helm's outer arc. "If Eurybia takes these guys from me after I brought them along, it will be my fault. I'll be alone again. Don't let that happen to me. Please."

"I could barely fight her before," I said. "All I did was make her back off, and I barely managed that."

Rose hummed. The flapping sails cast moving shadows across half her face, from the left ear to the chin. "You asked before what I know about Eurybia. The answer's still too much to tell, but there is one thing you should know. Her specialty is external conditions at sea. Things like the wind, the stars, and seasonal weather. That's why she takes the form of storm clouds. Nobody can make gusts or rapids like her."

"So we're screwed?"

"You think I would sail out here without a plan? She's good at what she's good at sure, but what she's good at isn't everything. Focus on the currents, on the water itself, and you can beat her."

Over our heads, the winds picked up. It came from exactly the right angle to push us faster. The Nautes skimmed along the surface like a skipped stone.

"Eurybia's tired of waiting," Rose said. "She's bringing us to her."

Bianca looked back and made eye contact. I nodded. She resumed her pacing and I drew Aelia. Emmitt shook a little, but stuck close to Prometheus. The center of the inky clouds rose up and open like a gaping mouth, and our boat raced into the gullet.

—

Humans are hardwired to fear the dark. Or maybe that's the Poseidon in me getting reminded of my second least favorite uncle. Either way, the tunnel of clouds gave me the creeps.

The wind cut, slowing our boat's pace to a crawl. We drifted along, just enough light penetrating through to show us how screwed we were.

The passage went forever. I couldn't see an exit or an end. It felt like we could sail for hours and end up at the same spot we started.

"On your guard," Rose said. "She'll show herself soon."

She wasn't bluffing about knowing Eurybia. Less than a minute later a funnel descended in our path, spinning and shaking before distilling in the shape of a woman.

I almost laughed. She looked identical to the masthead at the front of the boat, except with flowing gray hair and a toga as white as her marshmallowy skin. Unlike Rose's sculpture, she wasn't frowning. She was smiling.

"Rose, how nice to see you. Decide today was a good day to die? I did warn you last time what would happen if you sailed again."

"Eurybia," Rose greeted. "Still as hideous as ever."

"How many times must we cover this?" Eurybia waggled a water vapor finger. "Form is only limited for mortals like you. I could look like this–" she morphed into a beautiful woman, with lustrous skin and silky onyx hair "–or this–" now she was a child with pigtails and freckles "–or even this."

One more shift, and it was a man floating above our boat. I recognized him down to his shaggy black hair. I'd seen him, earlier that day, in 2D.

Rose's father smirked down at us, sadistically pleased.

"Do leave your nasty fingers off of him," Rose said. Her voice was even, but both her fists were starting to shake on the helm's wooden handles.

Eurybia smirked. "Too late for that, isn't it? I took his business, robbed him of his art, and, well, ruined him. And what comes next?"

"Shut your mouth. Don't you dare."

"To think of a man like that, once so full of vigor, kicking away the stool in his bedroom–"

Rose yanked a lever. A hatch popped open and a nozzle appeared on deck, spewing flames. The column of fire evaporated Eurybia, stolen form and all.

Now, under most conditions, I would've been all over the fact that our boat had a flamethrower. But I was a little distracted.

"Did she mean what I think she meant?"

Rose shook her head. "I told you Daddy didn't take things well. If you really want to know, I'm not hiding anything. But later. Things are just starting."

She was right. Already a new Eurybia had formed, back to her original shape.

"Rude," said the goddess. "Why, if you weren't about to learn your place permanently, I'd be quite livid. What a nice ship you've brought for me to sink this time."

I took a deep breath. "Hey, Ms. Cream Puff! I know you're really into the whole villain act, but we're kind of in a hurry, so if you could speed things up that would be great."

"Ah, yes, the son of Poseidon." Eyes like chunks of hail shifted to me. "I gave you a chance, you know. You could have fled."

"Is that what you want to call getting your butt kicked?"

She chuckled. "Yes, yes. You did save that ferry, didn't you? Managed to get ashore. That will not be happening again. Look around you. There is nowhere to run. You are stuck in my domain. It is cute you have not yet recognized your loss."

Wind rushed by, sounding like a child's giggles. The surface of the water split in whirlpools, none close enough to hit our boat. Yet.

"And who else do we have?" Eurybia's eyes roamed the deck. "A few stray spirits, interchangeable heroes, and… Prometheus!?"

From the center of the deck, hands linked behind his back, Prometheus gazed up. "Hello, Auntie."

"Why did my favorite nephew wait so long to say something?" Eurybia pressed on the sides of her toga. "I would have materialized in something a bit more seemly, and brought along a fish filet. Now I feel like a terrible host. What are you doing in company like this, anyway?"

"Oh, a bit of Kronos' bidding. A bit of my own." Prometheus rubbed a vulture scar bashfully. "Your whirlpools earlier were wonderful, by the way. Have you been practicing?"

"You noticed!"

Eurybia giggled and waved her hand. The cloud tunnel bounced and rumbled, like a contracting stomach.

When she'd calmed down Eurybia said, "I'm going to have to sink this vessel you know. No ill will to you, but a lady can't go back on her word."

Prometheus bowed. "Do what you must, as if I weren't here. Far be it from me to get in your way."

"Lovely. You really do know just what to say."

"Hold on hold on hold on." I smacked my hands on the wooden railing. "You two know each other?"

"Of course," Prometheus said. "Percy, meet my half-aunt by birth, full aunt by marriage."

"Do you understand how weird that sentence is?" Bianca asked.

"Don't strain your tiny brains thinking it over," Eurybia said. "You'll be on the seafloor soon enough anyway. Goodbye, demigods. Goodbye Rose."

Eurybia grinned, her form beginning to fade. The whirlpools expanded. Spires of howling wind descended from the ceiling. The walls began inching closer, squeezing in.

Then Rose flicked another switch. A mechanical arm appeared from between her feet, shooting up to hold a megaphone in front of her face.

"EURYBIA, YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS!"

Rose's amplified voice drowned out the gusts. A second before she disappeared completely, Eurybia rematerialized.

"What desperate trick have you fallen to now?" she asked.

"NO TRICKS!" Rose leaned to the side, speaking around her megaphone. "A boring fight? Throwing storms at the boat until it goes down? Nobody wants that, least of all you. Let's make it a game."

"Quaint. You want a fighting chance. Well, go on. You're meant to hear out the dying's final words, I believe."

"Remember what started all this?" Rose asked. "You better. You had a racket going. Sailors that needed fast passage would pray to you, make offerings, and you'd give them the best winds. You grew rich. Powerful. But then your favored got left in the wake of our boats. How that must've chaffed, knowing your blessing meant less than mortal engineering."

"If you are attempting to convince me not to kill you now," Eurybia said, "then you are doing a very poor job."

"A race! Your chosen against my boat. First to reach the open ocean wins. If I lose, you sink us then and there. But if I win, you never come after my boats ever again. You don't just get the chance to end our family, you can destroy everything we stood for." Rose leaned back behind her megaphone. "OR ARE YOU TOO CHICKEN!"

"Interesting." Eurybia rubbed her chin. "Fascinating. Intriguing. I accept your offer, Rose Villanueva. Enjoy losing everything."

I wondered if we'd have to wait around for Eurybia to find a boat to race. We didn't. A few feet off our starboard side the water split like a sinkhole. A boat sailed vertically into sight before flattening out with a splash. Smasher, the only crewmate on that side, took a brackish shower.

The new boat was a boat in shape only. It had all the parts of a fancy sailing rig, like what Blackbeard would go raiding on, except instead of wood and cloth it was made of mist. The same stuff trapping us from the sun made up the sails and ghostly crew— faceless forms without any detail, like anthropomorphic marshmallows.

"This will do." Eurybia nodded her satisfaction. "If all is set—"

"One more thing, auntie." Prometheus smiled. "An unbreakable oath, if you will. No good wager is complete without one."

"Are you doubting my honor, nephew?"

"And at what point did honor begin mattering to beings like us?" Prometheus asked.

Eurybia cackled. "Too true, nephew. Very well. If your boat reaches the ocean before mine, I will never purposefully sink your ships again. I swear it on the River Styx and all that."

Despite the informal delivery, the crack of thunder sealed the deal. Prometheus was satisfied.

"Lovely," he said, stepping back. "No more interruptions from me."

Eurybia teleported behind the steering wheel of her ship. For a second her head expanded to twice its regular size, just to support an inhuman grin. "Well, then. Let's race."

There was no countdown. Nobody waved a checkered flag. The cloud boat took off and we zoomed in pursuit, just behind.

"DROP THE SAILS!" Rose said through her megaphone. "SHE'LL USE THEM AGAINST US!"

She was right. A headwind had formed in front of us only, shoving our boat further behind Eurybia's. The Daemons struggled with the sails, drawing them shut. Mist hugged our boat and blinded us. Rose flicked a switch and a display flickered on to her left, our surroundings painted in red dots. Whirlpools opened in our path. For these, Rose nudged me.

"You're time to shine."

With a deep breath, I focused on the water.

I could tell we were closer to the ocean than on the ferry. The water was saltier here. I don't know if it was that or prior experience that made controlling it so much easier.

The whirlpools shattered like glass. I grabbed the currents and sped them up, faster and faster, until we burst from the fog shooting across the water as fast as when Eurybia's winds were pushing us.

We drew level with the other boat. Faceless sailors noticed us and worked faster. Eurybia looked over, frowning.

"You are doomed!" she called across.

"Doomed to win!" Rose said, whooping as we pulled into the lead.

Our boats were casting fifteen-foot wakes. A shipping barge came the other way and we split, each going around to one side as the captain laid on his booming ship's horn.

When the boats came back together we were still ahead, but Eurybia had cooked up something new.

Her crew had doubled, and half were armed. Their swords and axes were made of the same vapor as them, so I figured maybe they couldn't touch us. When are we so lucky.

They leaped across the gap like humanoid crickets, landing on our deck with very real thuds. One hacked at Destroyer and even though it missed, its weapon left a gauge in the deck. The invaders advanced.

"Waaaah," Prometheus intoned. "Save me."

I would've loved to wash the boarding party away, but keeping our path clear was taking all I had. Then an arrow pierced one at the front. It disintegrated into specks of fog.

"That's a relief." Bianca already had a second arrow notched. "They do die."

But her second shot was wide, whizzing past another's ear. They all turned toward her as one.

She laughed nervously. "Could maybe use some help though."

Before they could advance Smasher flew through, tackling one to the deck. Emmitt jumped in with a battle cry, slamming an enamel pail over the head of another. Rose hit a chain of buttons. Cannons and blades appeared from cracks and slits, blasting and piercing invaders. One cloud man was hurled overboard as a giant spring went off under its feet.

I thought we were doing pretty good. Then Eurybia snapped her fingers, and a second group materialized like it was nothing.

She cackled. "Sorry, did you think you were winning?"

"Kind of!" I admitted as the second wave joined the assault.

Rose was sweating now. On her beeping display I could see the mouth of the sound in the upper corner. We were getting close to the ocean. If we could last that long.

Our crew was starting to go down. Smasher had been knocked unconscious by his wrestling partner. Charrer was being chased around the deck. Shatterer disintegrated three wielding by harpoon like a staff, but more were on their way. It was all Emmitt and Bianca could do to protect Prometheus. An attacker got close, and Bianca was forced to block its sword with her bow shaft. The weapon split down the middle, totally broken. Bianca tossed it aside and drew her knife.

The attackers were switching focus now. Some forced their way below deck. Others sliced ropes until the sails fluttered loose. Suddenly the wind could slow us down again. Every bit of damage took us closer to sinking.

We were back to staring at Eurybia's stern. With a minute at most to go, her lead was widening.

"Have any more levers?" I asked desperately.

Rose grunted. I assumed that meant no.

Emmitt took a knock to the head and dropped. Bianca had backed Prometheus up against the gunwale, parrying desperately. Suddenly there was a bang, and the motor sputtered and died. The attackers had broken it.

Eurybia noticed us falling behind. I could tell because she enlarged her hand to the size of a car and waved goodbye.

It was over. We had lost. I think that was why I decided, screw it, let's try something crazy.

The most water I'd ever controlled was that morning, saving the ferry. A few months ago I couldn't even stop a fountain. So when I pictured a tidal wave I didn't really expect anything to happen.

At first nothing did. Then I noticed a tiny tug in my stomach, like someone had wrapped twine around my liver and given it a tug. I grabbed that string with both fists and pushed for all I was worth.

The currents propelling us cut. We weren't moving forward anymore. Rose looked over, smacking her hands on the captain's wheel. "DON'T GIVE UP!"

I didn't answer. I pushed, pushed, and pushed some more. What started as the curiosity of someone with nothing to lose had grown into fascination. Something deep inside me demanded I stretch the sensation to its limits, just to see how far it could go.

When shade covered our boat I assumed Eurybia had won. We'd lost, and now she was sending her storms to drown us.

"Holy shit," Rose said. "I don't remember my great grandfathers doing that."

Doing what? I thought. Then I looked up.

A fifty-foot wave wider than an oil tanker was barreling up the Puget Sound, blotting out the sun. Eurybia's boat had been scooped up like a toy. I thought, I made that!?

About a second later I realized something more important. It was coming for us, next.

With the last of my energy I threw out my hands. The killer wave split around our boat, Eurybia's ship sailing overhead. And I meant that in the way ships weren't supposed to sail– through the air.

The fog pirates must have needed attention to form, and Eurybia had her hands full. The raiders dissolved. Taking advantage of the peace, Rose grabbed a wrench and vaulted onto the deck.

"Steer!" she shouted up at me before disappearing down a hatch.

"Steer what?" I wondered. With the engine dead and my energy spent, we were dead in the water. But only a minute later something backfired under my feet, and the engine roared to life again.

I tried to take the helm, really I did. But my body wouldn't listen to me. It was like every ounce of my energy had drained into the wave that washed Eurybia away. My toes caught the floor and I belly-flopped on the wood.

I could hear Eurybia screaming in the distance, but getting closer. She'd gotten free and was on her way back. I wondered if even after all that we were still going to lose.

A pair of grimy combat boots appeared inches from my eyes.

"I like you better like this," Shatterer said, hands pulling the helm to orient us out to sea. "On the ground at my feet, while I save the day. One day you might be half as cool as me!"

I wanted to ask how many tsunamis he'd made today, but my mouth wouldn't work. Lying there, cheek to the cool floor, I watched Eurybia zoom after us on the horizon in a last, useless attempt as we turned between rocks and ships and chugged over the finish line into open ocean.

We'd done it, we'd won, and the last thing I heard before drifting into unconsciousness was the click of a camera.

(-)