The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus #4)(144)

“All right,” said Nico. “Grab the ropes, please. Here we go.”

Reyna and Hedge took hold. The air darkened. The Athena Parthenos collapsed into its own shadow and disappeared, along with its three escorts.

The Argo II sailed after nightfall.

They veered southwest until they reached the coast, then splashed down in the Ionian Sea. Percy was relieved to feel the waves beneath him again.

It would have been a shorter trip to Athens over land, but after the crew’s experience with mountain spirits in Italy, they’d decided not to fly over Gaea’s territory any more than they had to. They would sail around the Greek mainland, following the routes that Greek heroes had taken in the ancient times.

That was fine with Percy. He loved being back in his father’s element—with the fresh sea air in his lungs and the salty spray on his arms. He stood at the starboard rail and closed his eyes, sensing the currents beneath them. But images of Tartarus kept burning in his mind—the River Phlegethon, the blistered ground where monsters regenerated, the dark forest where arai circled overhead in the blood-mist clouds. Most of all, he thought about a hut in the swamp with a warm fire and racks of drying herbs and drakon jerky. He wondered if that hut was empty now.

Annabeth pressed next to him at the rail, her warmth reassuring.

“I know,” she murmured, reading his expression. “I can’t get that place out of my head, either.”

“Damasen,” Percy said. “And Bob…”

“I know.” Her voice was fragile. “We have to make their sacrifice worth it. We have to beat Gaea.”

Percy stared into the night sky. He wished they were looking at it from the beach on Long Island rather than from halfway around the world, sailing toward almost certain death.

He wondered where Nico, Reyna, and Hedge were now, and how long it would take them to make it back—assuming they survived. He imagined the Romans drawing up battle lines right now, encircling Camp Half-Blood.

Fourteen days to reach Athens. Then one way or another, the war would be decided.

Over in the bow, Leo whistled happily as he tinkered with Festus’s mechanical brain, muttering something about a crystal and an astrolabe. Amidships, Piper and Hazel practiced their swordplay, gold and bronze blades ringing in the night. Jason and Frank stood at the helm, talking in low tones—maybe telling stories of the legion, or sharing thoughts on being praetor.

“We’ve got a good crew,” Percy said. “If I have to sail to my death—”

“You’re not dying on me, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth said. “Remember? Never separated again. And after we get home…”

“What?” Percy asked.

She kissed him. “Ask me again, once we defeat Gaea.”

He smiled, happy to have something to look forward to. “Whatever you say.”

As they sailed farther from the coast, the sky darkened and more stars came out.

Percy studied the constellations—the ones Annabeth had taught him so many years ago.

“Bob says hello,” he told the stars.

The Argo II sailed into the night.

Glossary

Achelous a potamus, or river god

Aegis Thalia Grace’s terror-inducing shield

Aeolus god of all winds

Akhlys Greek goddess of misery; goddess of poisons; controller of the Death Mist; daughter of Chaos and Night

Alcyoneus the eldest of the giants born to Gaea, destined to fight Pluto

Alodai twin giants who attempted to storm Mount Olympus by piling three Greek mountains on top of each other. Ares tried to stop them, but he was defeated and imprisoned in a bronze urn, until Hermes rescued him. Artemis later brought about the giants’ destruction when she raced between them in the form of a deer. They both took aim with their spears, but missed and instead struck each other.

Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares, the god of war. Roman form: Venus

Aquilo Roman god of the North Wind. Greek form: Boreas

Arachne a weaver who claimed to have skills superior to Athena’s. This angered the goddess, who destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom. Arachne hung herself, and Athena brought her back to life as a spider.

arai female spirits of curses; wrinkled hags with batlike wings, brass talons, and glowing red eyes; daughters of Nyx (Night)

Archimedes a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer who lived between 287–212 BCE and is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity; he discovered how to determine the volume of a sphere

Ares the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena. Roman form: Mars

argentum silver; the name of one of Reyna’s two metallic greyhounds that can detect lies

Argo II the fantastical ship built by Leo, which can both sail and fly and has Festus the bronze dragon as its figurehead. The ship was named after the Argo, the vessel used by a band of Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece.

Argonauts in Greek mythology, a band of heroes who sailed with Jason on the Argo, in search of the Golden Fleece

Ariadne a daughter of Minos who helped Theseus escape from the Labyrinth

Arion an incredibly fast magical horse that runs wild and free, but occasionally answers Hazel’s summons; his favorite snack is gold nuggets

astrolabe an instrument used to navigate based on the position of planets and stars