Chapter 36

Eavesdropping on My Enemies

I opened my eyes to blue skies. I sat up, looking around, and heard sea birds squawking. I was propped in a lounge chair. Shatterer was manning the helm. Nobody else was around except Prometheus, just to my left, sunbathing in orange swim trunks dotted with images of literature.

"He lives!" the titan pushed his sunglasses up, revealing cheerful gray eyes. "I was beginning to worry."

"Where are we?"

"At sea. I believe we passed Vancouver island not long ago. It's been a day since you exhausted yourself."

A day… I almost couldn't believe it. It felt like I'd only closed my eyes for a few seconds. "We beat Eurybia?"

Prometheus shut the novel he'd been reading and set it on his knee. "We did indeed. It seems tidal waves were not something Auntie anticipated. Silly of her, seeing as she knew who she was up against, but I suppose nobody's perfect."

"Shouldn't she have been on our side?" I blurted. "I mean, if she is your aunt and all…"

"Percy, I'm afraid you're going to have to define what you mean by 'our side'. Do you ask if she supports Kronos? Yes, I believe she does, though not as the most popular figure amongst the forces. She, like me, is an opportunist that only now flocks to his cause, having turned her back in the first war."

"But we're working for Kronos. Doesn't she know stopping us would mess up his plans?"

"And how would she, seeing as we never said so?"

"She could guess!" I said.

"Indeed she could. Likely, she did."

I stared at Prometheus, and he seemed to realize I was waiting for more.

"So long as she never heard it from our mouths, she holds deniability. If questioned she could claim a mistake. Nothing to stop her that way."

"So we could have just told her we were on a mission and she would've let us pass!?"

Prometheus chuckled. "Oh, no, I sincerely doubt that. She would have found some other excuse. Claimed we were trespassing on sacred territory, or alleged a grave insult of one type or another. The Olympians may present our army as a united force, but you will find the only thing we agree on is our hatred of them."

I remembered my talk with Victoria. There are a lot of groups working for the titans, and not all of them get along. It was true. You didn't need to look any further than the cloaked man that put Nera up to killing us.

"Prometheus," I said, "there's something I was wondering about."

He smiled. "Ask away, hero. Giving advice makes me feel competent."

"Say someone wanted me dead," I said. "Hypothetically. And, hypothetically, they did it by manipulating the Gold Regiment to do it for them in The Competition. Would that seem… plausible to you?"

"Hypothetically? Very."

"How would you go about catching them?"

Prometheus hummed. "I would keep alert. If they tried and failed, they will be back. And when the clues come you ought not to overlook them, even if they point in a direction uncomfortably close."

"Huh? What does that mea–"

"Percy!" Somebody tackled me from behind. I slid off the chair, tumbled, and found myself looking up at grinning Emmitt. "You're awake!"

"Have a nice sleep?" Bianca asked, standing next to the chair I'd fallen from.

I flexed my fingers. The joints ached. My ears still felt stuffed with cotton. From the calves to the shoulders my muscles were throbbing like I was twenty-four hours past the most brutal full-body workout since Hercules strangling the Nemean Lion. "I feel like crap."

Bianca nodded. "I was the same after The Competition. You don't even want to move."

"Overuse of divine powers will have that effect," Prometheus said. "Impressive as it was, I imagine that wave was close to your limits, Percy."

I wasn't about to argue. It still didn't seem like something I'd actually done, more like a scene I'd dreamed afterwards.

Prometheus nodded. "Your tolerance may increase as you learn how to manage these things, but there is only so much a mortal body can take. That is why it's wise, when possible, to rely on weapons. Those do not run out."

Bianca snorted. "Tell that to this thing."

She held up her bow… what was left of it. The shaft was in two parts, dangling by the bowstring like unwieldy nunchucks.

"Why are you still carrying that around?" I asked.

"Because I'm sad! How would you feel if your sword got chopped in half?"

"No chance," I said. "It's too sturdy to break."

"One more word about my bow and we'll see about that!"

Emmitt leaned forward, looking at the bow. "Maybe it can be fixed?"

The cut was clean; all the way through. Slivers and splinters were missing where the jagged handle parts used to connect. The string whined supporting the swaying pieces, ready to give out at a strong wind.

"I don't think duct tape is enough for that," I said.

"Superglue?" suggested Prometheus.

Bianca looped the broken bow over her shoulder. "Can you all find something new to talk about already? You're making me mad all over again."

I took pity, and definitely not because she looked ready to stomp my stomach if I didn't.

"When'll we reach Alaska?" I asked. I knew exactly where we were– 52.8 degrees North, 156 degrees West. Which told me… exactly nothing without a map and someone to do the math.

The others traded looks.

"It would be another three days," Emmitt said.

"I sense a but coming."

"Buuttt," Bianca said, "there's–"

Before she could finish something below deck rocked the boat. Black smoke wafted into sight. Somewhere down below I heard a voice cursing– Rose's.

Bianca smiled sarcastically. "Well, that was perfectly timed. There's that."

She pointed to the black smoke. Out of sight, something heavy started cranking, punctuated by more curses.

"I'm afraid the ship did not escape damage," Prometheus said. "As is, we've not long before the engine fails. We've also begun taking on water. The Daemons are below deck bailing the excess."

"What about the sails?" I asked. "Can't we use those?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Bianca said.

I looked around. The masthead was frowning out over the water in front of us. There were still slices in the deck from Eurybia's henchman. Salt was on the still air and waves lapped our sides.

Wait a minute. Still air?

"There's no wind."

"And there hasn't been," Emmitt groaned.

Prometheus tapped the sunbaked leather of his seat. "My fault I'm afraid. I wasn't so specific as I ought to have been in wording Auntie's promise. Eurybia may've agreed not to sink us, but she never said a thing about stealing our headwinds."

"Rose is guessing it'll take four days to get there," Bianca said. "And that's not including the stop for repairs."

"Stop? Stop where?"

She pointed to the horizon. It wasn't more than a dark blob, but I could see land far off the starboard bow.

"Graham Island," Prometheus said. "Our next, unplanned, stop."

After Seattle Graham Island felt like the wilderness. Or it might've had nothing to do with where we were coming from. It was just that small.

There wasn't even a downtown. Most of the buildings were houses with moss blanketing the roofs, wedged into gaps in the forest. I spotted a sign on shore announcing the scattered buildings as Masset, British Colombia. Population: 183.

"We're looking for a mechanic here?" Bianca asked.

The door to below deck swung open. Rose marched out, oily rags tucked in her belt and soot along her arms. Her boots squeaked. However fast the Daemons were bailing water down there, it wasn't faster than it was coming in.

"If we did need a mechanic we'd be in trouble," she said. "Luckily, we've got the best one this side of the world. Me."

"What're we stopping for then?" I asked.

Rose got halfway to answering before she realized who'd asked the question. Without a word she marched over and gave my shoulder a palm-strike of a pat on the back. "Percy! Next time you spit out a tsunami, warn me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to catch that thing on camera."

"Did you get one of Eurybia?" I asked.

"Need you ask?" She rubbed her hand on a rag and pulled a picture out of the back pocket of her jeans. On it Eurybia leaned over the prow of her boat, glaring into the camera mid-scream. I could practically hear the photo. After I'd looked at it a second Rose tucked it delicately back in the pocket.

"Got to keep it out of the sunlight," she explained. "This thing'll be in my family as long as Great Grandaddy Argus's model if I have my way. Anyway, we're stopping because, well, have you ever tried fixing a ship on the open ocean? It's a headache. Better to knock all the repairs out in one go. Shouldn't take more than an afternoon."

We were angling into the Masset port now, two long docks with only one dinky rowboat bobbing between them. The ocean in front of us narrowed into a thin inlet like a river. The water sliced through the center of the town, bisecting it like Bianca's broken bow.

I could only see two people– a grandma fishing on the beach and a woman in rubber overalls working with crab cages at the tip of the dock. I watched the grandma reel in as we floated by, dragging the line too quick for even the fastest fishes to bite. When she pulled her hook above water I could just make out the metal shape… and nothing else. No bait, no lure.

"Curses!" she shouted. "Damn these aquatic vermin!"

As the Daemons came on deck and moored the boat the crab cage woman left her work and ambled over.

"Tourists?" she asked. "We don't get many of those."

Rose leaned over the gunwale. "Our ship's damaged. We need to dock for repairs."

"Oh." The woman wiped her gloves on her sides. "Makes more sense. Well, we have space."

"Thanks," I said.

I only said it because it seemed like good manners, but boy did it get her attention. She stared at me, silently, for a full ten seconds, before scanning the rest of our crew.

"We have a hotel in town," she said. "You all should stay the night. Plenty of open rooms."

"Thanks," Rose said, "but we have space on board. A dock is all we need."

But Bianca wasn't having it. "What's the harm in a break from bouncing up and down as we try to sleep? We're already here."

Rose drew a wrench and screwdriver, already moving back to the door downstairs. "Eh, if you're paying, go for it. But I'll sleep better on the water– if I have time to sleep tonight at all."

"How much is a room?" I asked the local.

She screwed her face up in thought. "It was… five dollars? Or was it fifty? Very cheap."

It sounded like an okay deal to me. We had enough money from what we'd packed, even after Emmitt's share turned into kindling. If we were going to be on The Nautes for the next four nights, a change of scenery couldn't hurt.

"Sure," I said. "Why not."

The lady nodded. "Excellent. I will guide you."

She strode down the dock. Prometheus stayed put, but Shatterer and Charrer joined Bianca, Emmitt and me in hurrying after her.

"The ship is enough for me," Prometheus called after us. "Unless they have a hot tub, in which case please come get me. I could do with a soak."

I gave him a thumbs up.

Following the woman, she led us down the dock and up a flight of rusted metal stairs onto what I guess passed as the main street. It was one lane either direction, paralleled the ocean, and every driveway in sight branched off from it. To the left, three businesses were clustered– a diner with a sign so weatherbeaten you couldn't read the name, a gas station with one out-of-order pump, and a two-story motel. The motel's front sign called it the Pines Lodge. The 'No' part of the No Vacancies sign was lit up, but someone had painted letters behind it to read Nothing but Vacancies.

"Don't get much business I guess," I said.

The woman waved to a lady in the diner as we passed, the only person inside. From behind the counter, the lady waved back. That was the first person I'd seen away from the dock.

"Only a few," our guide said, stopping before the motel's front door.

"Thanks for the help," I said.

"Mm," she replied, and ambled the way she came.

The lobby smelled like mildew. Strips of wallpaper were peeling in the corners. But the carpets were vacuumed, the front desk was dusted, and the girl working looked so excited to see us it felt cruel to even think about heading back to the boat.

"Guests!" she only looked a little older than me. A nametag on her shirt called her Chloe. "How many? Four? How long are you staying? We can get you a room. We could get each of you a room if you wanted–"

"Three is enough," I said.

"One night only," Bianca added. "We won't be in town long."

Chloe's mood was too bright for to be doused. "Two rooms! Amazing! If I can just get your names…"

We paid, got our keys, and found our rooms on the second floor. It wasn't hard. There were only ten rooms total.

Inside all of them had two beds, a fold-out couch, and space along the floor. The TVs looked like they were invented around Daedalus's first birthday, blocky cubes that I was surprised even had color.

By the time we'd checked the rooms out the sun was starting to droop. I thought that was a little crazy because it wasn't even late before I remembered where we were. Canada in December, of course it was going to get dark early. Which made me realize something else. We really were getting close to Alaska.

Gathered on the walkway, somebody's stomach grumbled.

"Anybody feel like trying that diner?" I asked.

Nobody jumped at the idea. I guess they didn't trust the cooking of a place that couldn't even keep its name visible.

"Dinner on the boat it is, I guess."

The upside of a town this small? Its pretty hard to get lost. Finding our way back was a piece of cake, guide or no.

After we'd eaten, Rose grabbed me. Literally.

"Help me a minute," she said, dragging me toward the bottom part of the boat. "We have to get rid of the water we took on."

Boy, was that minute part a lie. By the time we'd cleared the boat of puddles I felt as tired as after spitting out a tidal wave, minus the passing out part. That waited until I'd stumbled through the dark streets to the motel.

Emmitt and I were sharing a room with Charrer and Crudebake. The Daemons were two to a bed, passed out by the time I got there. Emmitt was sleeping on the couch. I plopped face-first onto the open bed.

The dream started before the springs had stopped squeaking.

It was still nighttime, and I was perched on the ledge of a skyscraper. Far below orange and yellow lights made up inner city traffic. Chatter and horns echoed off the buildings. Past the rooftops, a dark expanse loomed with occasional lights dotting opposite shore— the Puget Sound. My spirit was back in Seattle.

The rooftop itself was cramped, a fenced-in stretch of concrete no bigger than Rose's living room. A stairwell door loomed on the opposite side from me, and knelt in its shadow was the scrawny kid from the Coast Starlight train. Just like I'd guessed, he wasn't roasted at all. Not even toasted.

"This is the place?" he asked.

I frowned. When a voice I couldn't see a body for answered, I frowned harder.

"The location does not matter, young master. Privacy is all that's required."

"You still haven't told me who this guy is. I don't like this."

"He can be trusted," soothed the voice.

"You keep avoiding the question. I can make you answer if I have to."

"Of course you can. You are very powerful, young master, and deserve great respect. That is why I trust you to think rationally on this. Did he or did he not tell us the party would be on the train?"

The kid didn't answer. The voice pressed on.

"And were they there? They were! You were so close to taking my— our, revenge. If that primate had not butted his oversized nose in, our mission would already be complete. Trust, young master. Trust in me."

There was a moment of quiet. In the dark I couldn't read his expression, but the kid was obviously thinking it over. "Okay," he said finally.

Rooted there, I realized two things. First, I knew why the kid seemed familiar on the train. I'd seen him before, just not in person. Before meeting Luke I'd dreamt a scene a lot like this one, but with less of a drop and more of a stench. He'd been huddled at a gas station talking to a voice, this voice, the voice without a body.

The second thing I realized? I wasn't the only spectator.

What looked like a black possessed bedsheet had materialized, perched above the roof's only door. Two long legs dangled over the edge. I could almost see the bottom of a torso connected to them, but the rest was obscured by a flapping cloak. Under the hood was only dark space. My stomach clenched.

The Cloaked Man…

"Touching," it warbled in a synthesized male voice. "Companionship is admirable in this world."

Emo kid rose to his feet, making himself taller. Or preparing to run. It was hard to tell. "You're here. Tell us what you know."

"Demanding. That's no way to speak to a business partner."

"I don't need you," said Emo Kid.

"That isn't true," the Cloaked Man said, "and we both know it. Don't you want to save your sister? Trapped, controlled against her will. Why, she's waiting desperately for you!"

"Shut up. I'll kill you."

"Calm yourself, young master," the disembodied voice soothed. "Don't let your manners ruin this chance."

The cloaked man pushed off, landing silently without bending his knees. "The one that won't show himself speaks of manners. If you were to ask me, you are the rude one."

"Very well," the voice answered after a beat. "If it should be so important to you, here."

At first I thought a cloud had formed. We were high enough up for it. But then the mist condensed into a translucent man.

"More to your liking?" he asked.

"Much! Why, Ghost King, you almost look half alive."

The ghost scowled. Before he could answer, Emo Kid said, "Enough. Tell us where they are."

"Ah, as you wish. Head to Alaska within the next four days and you will cut them off. Do hurry, though. I'd hate to see another tip go to waste."

Emo Kid gripped his sword, digging the tip into the ground. "It won't."

"Please make sure of it. You have already ruined things once, so–"

"It won't," Emo Kid repeated, and this time the night around him came alive. Waves like hundred-degree heat off asphalt radiated through the shadows. The only darkness that didn't seem affected was the sliver obscuring the Cloaked Man's face.

"See that you don't," said the man, before my whole view wobbled like the shadows and became something new.

I was in a car on a road that scythed through rows of endless corn. There were no hills. If it weren't for the cars coming the other way, I wouldn't have been able to tell we were moving.

The driver, a sharply-dressed older woman with a handkerchief tucked in her black suit's breast pocket, looked over her shoulder. "We've entered Nebraska. Notify me when you must relieve yourselves."

I couldn't move my body but I could turn my neck. In the backseat, each looking out one window, was a boy and girl. Siblings, if the dark hair was anything to go by, although most of the girl's was hidden under a green beanie. That hat was pulled as low as it could be, and she was looking down as she mumbled, "Alright."

"Hey." The boy bounced in his seat. "Did you know Demeter's attack power goes up by five when played together with a crops card? She'd be so effective here!"

"Nico, don't babble," scolded the girl. " You'll annoy people."

But the driver seemed interested. "Is that higher than Hades'?"

Nico shook his head. "Hades has a natural eight– even better depending on the size of your graveyard. Oh, but Demeter has higher defense!"

The driver scowled. "Preposterous! She could not even protect her own daughter!"

"She lost a point of Wisdom after that," Nico said forlornly.

"Hey," said the girl, "how much longer will we have to drive for?"

The driver whipped around a semi-truck, nails digging into the leather steering wheel like claws. She looked familiar, but I was certain I'd never seen her before. It was as if I was staring at a face from my memories with the features tweaked, like two paintings by the same artist.

"Two days," she said."Two days and then you dears will be all settled in. Westover has rooms ready for you. You will survive there."

"You mean 'live there', right?" the girl asked.

The driver snapped her fingers. "That, too."

As the car quieted down the scene dissolved. I was back in bed with a mouthful of pillow. It tasted a bit like bitter paper, and I didn't waste time rolling over.

As far as demigod dreams went the second one had been tame. And yet it hit me harder than the rooftop planning session on how to murder me and my friends.

I knew those people. The driver, I was guessing, was Mrs. Schmeltzer, the lawyer that drove Bianca cross-country to boarding school. Because that was who was in the backseat. No amount of shy posture and oversized hats could make me mistake Bianca's face.

And her brother Nico? I knew him, too. He'd tried to kill me, looking a whole lot more haggard. There wasn't a speck of doubt in my head.

Emo Kid was Bianca's dead brother.

Charrer was snoring and my head was spinning, so I stumbled to the door. I didn't know what time it was, but I could tell I wasn't getting back to sleep for a while. Better to take a walk and clear my head.

The minute I stepped outside I wished I'd brought a jacket. I was about to duck back in and grab one before I realized I hadn't brought any. Everything heavier than a t-shirt was back on board The Nautes… a really dumb mistake, now that I thought about it.

I thought maybe I'd take a dip to warm up and headed for the ocean. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but water never really felt cold for me unless I let it.

When I arrived wind was raking the beach, dragging up soggy sand in waves. It was high tide. The ocean washed way higher up the beach, halfway to where the road ran. I was North of the dock, and the beach here was separated from the town by a slope of slippery-looking rock piles. I didn't feel like spraining an ankle messing around, so I paralleled the beach looking for a path down.

In a way the wind stinging my arms was nice. It made me feel sort of like a kite, and imagined myself floating above my worries for a pegasus-eye view. And boy did I need it, because trying to sift through everything was making my head spin.

The Cloaked Man tried to get Nera to kill us, and now he was trying to get Nico to do it, Nico who was Bianca's brother, Bianca's brother that was supposed to be dead, who wasn't dead but instead had some creepy ghost following him, some creepy ghost who–

"Aah!" I shouted, jamming my hands through my hair. "It's too complicated!"

Somebody yelped. On a bench not far up the road positioned out toward sea, a figure twisted around so fast they fell off.

I jogged over. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare– Emmitt?"

Emmitt rubbed the back of his head. There were slight bags under his eyes. His hair, blowing fifty different directions in the wind, made him look like a stray puppy in need of grooming

"–Percy?" he said. "Why're you out here?"

"Why're you?"

He played with the zipper on his borrowed jacket. "Couldn't sleep."

"Dreams?"

"Yeah."

I took a seat on the bench, patting the spot next to me. "Same. Tell you mine if you tell me yours."

Emmitt picked himself off the ground, knocked stray sand off his butt, and sat down. "I dreamed I was back at Camp," he said.

"You were at Camp Half-Blood?"

"Mhm." Emmitt took his zipper in two fingers, tapping it rhythmically against the cold bench. "I wasn't there long. Two summers."

"Didn't like it much?" I guessed.

He blinked. "What, cause I left?"

"Well, and the fact you're fighting for the people trying to wipe it off the map."

"Oh, I guess so. I never really thought of it like that. I just wanted to make a name for myself."

A particularly wild wave broke, spraying the beach with water. The wind seemed like it was getting faster. It howled through the woods further inland, making the trees squawk.

"Couldn't you have done that at Camp?" I asked.

"No." I was surprised by how sure he sounded. "Unless you're a kid of Ares or Athena or Hephaestus or something they barely let you do anything, even in Capture the Flag. They just assume you can't fight."

"But you can't fight."

"Well, yeah. I'm not saying they're wrong. But it's the principle of the matter!" He crossed his arms, staring out to sea. "There are kids at camp that have switched sides. Not all of them left. Some stuck around so they can look out for half-bloods that seem upset and recruit them. The one that got to me was really nice. He didn't insult me, and he only lied a little bit."

Spying wasn't a side to the war that I'd really thought about, but it made sense. It had to be almost impossible to find them out when everyone was a half-blood. I wondered if there were any on our side, funneling information back to New York. Maybe the Cloaked Man was a spy?

But that didn't make sense. If he knew where our group was he had to be high up, and I couldn't see any titans playing traitor. Besides, that reminded me it was my turn.

I told Emmitt about my first dream, but not the second. I figured Bianca deserved to know that one before anybody else.

When I was done Emmitt looked a little paler. He could've just been cold, though. It really was freezing.

"So somebody's trying to kill us and they know where we are?" he asked. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"I'm here because I couldn't sleep, remember? But anyway, don't worry too much about it. We survived once already. And yesterday, we faced down a goddess! It'll be fine."

I wished I could actually be that confident, but telling him how worried I was would only make things worse. Besides, it seemed like there was something on his mind. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a fish. Finally, he made up his mind. "Percy… am I useful?"

The question came so out of left field that I said, "What?"

He squeezed his knee. "It's just, I've been thinking. I want to be a hero, I always have. Someone that flies in and saves the day, fighting off bad guys and saving people."

I imagined Hercules swooping out of the air and clocking a hydra in the face before zooming away.

"There's more than one way to be a hero," I said.

Emmitt shook his head morosely. "And I'm none of them. I was so excited when you picked me for The Feat. I thought it was my chance! But what have I done since then? I almost got eaten less than an hour in. On the train I managed to blow up all my stuff, and almost us with it. And yesterday, on the boat, even Shatterer did more than me! I just got knocked out."

"We couldn't have won The Competition without you," I said. "Remember when the Iron Regiment was spying on us? You caught them."

He didn't look convinced. I wracked my brain, feeling like I was on some gameshow with a huge counter beeping down above my head. There had to be something to prove my point, something to cheer him up…

Then it came to me.

"On the first day," I said, "you knew what a Leukrokotta was. And on the train you knew who exactly who those weird monsters were. How'd you do that?"

"But that's nothing," he said. "I just read about them."

"Are you kidding? Daedalus made me study till my eyes were peeling, and I still only know the basics. Don't all those weird names just make your head spin?"

The praise made Emmitt blush, but he still wasn't moved. "It's not amazing," he insisted, "It's only studying. Heroes can all fight, like Achilles or Hercules. You've seen me try."

"What about Odysseus? You think he could've done everything he did just by being tough?"

"I thought you didn't know myths."

"I said I had the basics, remember? Daedalus would've skinned me if I didn't get that much. Besides, you don't have to look a million years back to see it's true. I knew a girl that saved Luke and me without even fighting, just by watching what the monster was doing. She figured out its weakness. We never would've beaten it without that."

I didn't mention that I was the one that actually finished Lamia off. It only would've ruined my example, and without Annabeth I never would've known what to aim for, so it wasn't like I was lying.

"Just from watching?" Emmitt asked.

"Just from watching."

"Where is she now?"

I watched the water. It was like after the Daemons reminded me of Thalia, memories had come unstuck. Hitchhiking trips and campfire meals that usually barely crossed my mind I was starting to think of more and more.

"No idea," I said. "But I think I'd like to know."

We shivered in silence for a couple seconds. Finally he asked, "You really mean it?"

"I wouldn't lie about this," I said. "Being a hero doesn't just mean fighting, and being useful is more than charging headfirst. Just do what you can, man. You'll do great."

I'd love to say his mood did a full 180 and he was back to his bouncy self, but Professor Percy's counseling wasn't that impressive. I guess that's why I don't have my license. Still, he seemed slightly less gloomy. When he stood up off the bench, he almost cracked a smile. "I'm going back inside. I'm really cold."

I grinned, showing off my chattering teeth. "Let's get out of here."

As we walked back into town I realized I still hadn't seen a single person. That wasn't too crazy considering it was the middle of the night, but I thought someone would be around at least. A fisherman getting ready for dawn or somebody with a night shift or something.

Around when we passed the diner Emmitt said, "Hey, Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. I mean it."

"No problem," I said. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like he was holding his head a little higher with every step.

By the time we climbed the caste-iron staircase and saw our room's doorway, I was ready to bury myself in blankets and catch whatever sleep I could. I didn't bother trying to come in quietly– grabbing the handle, I shoved the door open and hurried right in.

I froze. The lights were on. In more pressing concerns, the Daemons weren't alone… and boy had they seen better days.

Charrer had a black eye. Crudebake had a cut on his forehead. Both of them were trussed up in thick cables and gagged with rags. Standing above Charrer, still finishing the knot behind his back, was the woman that guided us to the hotel in the first place. On either side of her were four more women including Chloe, the girl that checked us in.

"Score!" said Chloe. "They didn't get away!"

Emmitt and I traded looks. I shoved the door back open and we jumped out, only to see five more women strolling up the stairs. Unless we felt like vaulting twenty feet onto half-frozen asphalt, we were trapped.

Back in the room, the woman in the center finished the knot, Charrer groaning as she drew it tight.

"Perfect," she said, and gazed straight out at us. "Two more to go."

I drew Aelia. Somehow, I didn't think I would be getting that blanket cocoon I wanted. So I did the thing I just told Emmitt not to bother with.

I charged.

(-)

I don't like cliffhangers. I don't usually do them. But the way this chapter shaped up, this was the only ending point that wouldn't make it super long or super short. Hopefully it isn't too annoying.