The Mark Of Athena by Rick Riordan

Author:Rick Riordan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

PIPER HAD A NEW ENTRY in her top-ten list of Times Piper Felt Useless.

Fighting Shrimpzilla with a dagger and a pretty voice? Not so effective. Then

the monster had sunk into the deep and disappeared along with three of her friends,

and she’d been powerless to help them.

Afterward, Annabeth, Coach Hedge, and Buford the table rushed around repair-

ing things so that the ship wouldn’t sink. Percy, despite being exhausted, searched

the ocean for their missing friends. Jason, also exhausted, flew around the rigging

like a blond Peter Pan, putting out fires from the second green explosion that had lit up the sky just above the mainmast.

As for Piper, all she could do was stare at her knife Katoptris, trying to locate

Leo, Hazel, and Frank. The only images that came to her were ones she didn’t want

to see: three black SUVs driving north from Charleston, packed with Roman demi-

gods, Reyna sitting at the wheel of the lead car. Giant eagles escorted them from

above. Every so often, glowing purple spirits in ghostly chariots appeared out of

the countryside and fell in behind them, thundering up I-95 toward New York and

Camp Half-Blood.

Piper concentrated harder. She saw the nightmarish images she had seen be-

fore: the human-headed bull rising from the water, then the dark well-shaped room

filling with black water as Jason, Percy, and she struggled to stay afloat.

She sheathed Katoptris, wondering how Helen of Troy had stayed sane during

the Trojan War, if this blade had been her only source of news. Then she re-

membered that everyone around Helen had been slaughtered by the invading Greek

army. Maybe she hadn’t stayed sane.

By the time the sun rose, none of them had slept. Percy had scoured the sea-

floor and found nothing. The Argo II was no longer in danger of sinking, though without Leo, they couldn’t do full repairs. The ship was capable of sailing, but no

one suggested leaving the area—not without their missing friends.

Piper and Annabeth sent a dream vision to Camp Half-Blood, warning Chiron

of what had happened with the Romans at Fort Sumter. Annabeth explained her

exchange of words with Reyna. Piper relayed the vision from her knife about the

SUVs racing north. The kindly centaur’s face seemed to age thirty years during the

course of their conversation, but he assured them he would see to the defenses of

the camp. Tyson, Mrs. O’Leary, and Ella had arrived safely. If necessary, Tyson

could summon an army of Cyclopes to the camp’s defense, and Ella and Rachel

Dare were already comparing prophecies, trying to learn more about what the fu-

ture held. The job of the seven demigods aboard the Argo II, Chiron reminded

them, was to finish the quest and come back safely.

After the Iris-message, the demigods paced the deck in silence, staring at the

water and hoping for a miracle.

When it finally came—three giant pink bubbles bursting at the surface off the

starboard bow and ejecting Frank, Hazel, and Leo—Piper went a little crazy. She

cried out with relief and dove straight into the water.

What was she thinking? She didn’t take a rope or a life vest or anything. But

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