MΛЯK ӨF ΛƬΉΣПΛ

IF NOT FOR LUCIA AND HER LIGHT TRAVEL, PIPER  WOULD'VE DIED. The golden brunette was quick to realize they were in the crossfire and got them over to the edge of the road in a horrified daze. Piper blinked twice and dizzily held her head on landing.

As the boys crossed swords, gold against bronze. Sparks flew. Their blades blurred— strike and parry—and the pavement trembled. The first exchange took only a second, but Lucia couldn't believe the speed of their sword fighting. The horses pulled away from each other. Tempest thundering in protest, Blackjack flapping his wings.

"Stop it!" Piper yelled with charmspeak. 

For only a moment, Jason heeded to her voice. His golden eyes turned towards the two. However, Percy charged at him, slamming his blade into Jason.

Thank the Gods, Percy had turned Riptide, so the flat of it hit Jason's chest. However, the impact was still enough to knock Jason off his mount. 

Blackjack cantered away while Tempest reared in confusion. Tempest charged into the field of sunflowers and dissipated into vapor. Meanwhile, Percy struggled to turn his Pegasus around. 

"Percy, baby, please listen to me," Lucia pleaded. She didn't know charmspeak, and trust that she never wanted to learn it. But she hoped her familiar voice could reach out to the boy she loved somehow.

His terrifying golden eyes met her purple ones. She winced but tried to keep her voice steady. She held a hand out. "Put away Riptide. I know you don't want to hurt him. Jason is our friend, remember?" 

Lucia could hardly believe it, Percy's sword-fighting arm dipped. His face softened for a single moment.

Jason roared. A bolt of lightning arced out of the clear blue sky. It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse.

"No! Percy!" Lucia screamed.

Blackjack whinnied and fled into the wheat fields. Jason charged at Percy, who was now on his back, his clothes smoking from the lightning blast.

For a terrible, paralyzing moment, Lucia lost all her breath. Gaea seemed to whisper to her: You must choose Lucia. Why not let Jason kill him? 

She whisked toward Piper with ferocity, her heartbeat in her ears.

"Piper!"

"Jason, stop!" Piper screamed pouring power into her charmspeak.

He froze with his sword six inches from Percy's face, the gold light in his eyes flickering uncertainly. "I cannot stop. One must die."

There was something different about that voice. It wasn't Gaea, and it definitely wasn't Jason. Whoever it was spoke haltingly as if English wasn't their first language.

"Who are you?" Piper demanded. 

Jason sneered. "We are the Eidolons. We will live again." 

"Eidolons," Lucia furrowed her eyebrows when Piper looked at her for answers. She'd studied all sorts of monsters at Camp Half-Blood, but that term wasn't familiar."Fine, I'll bite. What the hell does that mean?! Are you a ghost?"

"He must die." Jason turned his attention back to a recovering Percy.

Lucia dove into action. She charged forward and skidded across the floor, sweeping the blonde boy off his feet. Jason's head hit the asphalt with a nauseating conk, and Lucia rose in one swift motion.

"Stop it!" Piper yelled again, the charmspeak in her voice being replaced by sheer desperation.

"Piper! I'm a healer! He's fi—"

Lucia was distracted and didn't realize that Percy—His body, regained its senses until it shoved her away. She huffed as she landed on her side a few feet away from Piper.

"Kelphead!" Lucia growled,

But he couldn't listen, Percy raised Riptide over Jason's chest.

Lucia raised her own hands, sparks of light flickered from the very tips of her finger and crackled up her wrist. She was preparing to fight them both off for as long as possible. Which a few years ago might have sounded to her like a suicide mission.

She fought Percy before when she was brainwashed. He had always been conscious enough to never harm her, but now...

It didn't matter, she was determined to do the same. She would make sure Percy got out of there Alive. Along with Jason and Piper.

"Eidolon, stop," Piper barked, and Percy froze.

"Face me." 

Percy turned. He gave a look that was pale, cruel, and evil. Gold eyes glinted instead of green. It forced Lucia to frown. At that moment she couldn't even imagine how he must have felt when she was under Kronos' control. This had only been happening for minutes and she already hated it with all her guts.

"You have not chosen," he told them. "So this one will die, and she will die with him."

"You're a spirit from the Underworld," Piper guessed. "You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?"

Percy sneered in a very un-Percy way. "I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish." 

"Oh fuck that! You're going to get the hell out of my boyfriend!" Lucia growled. Another wave of cold settled over her. It woke her up to a realization. "So this is what happened to Leo! He was being controlled by an Eidolon!"

The Eidolon in Percy's body laughed but it lacked humor. "Too late you realize. You can trust no one." 

Jason still wasn't moving. Lucia was trying to figure out a way to get them out of this.

She heard a gentle rustle and her eyes glanced at the wheat. There was the tip of Blackjack's wing peeking through. Percy began to turn towards the sound.

"I can't see!" Percy—No, the Eidolon cried,

"Hold on!" Lucia felt guilt run through her at Percy's desperate voice. "I'm sorry Perce, I promise it's temporary."

Percy growled. "You cannot stop me Lucia. I will kill Jason Grace."  He frantically flailed. Not knowing where to look or go.

Blackjack emerged from the wheat field, moving with surprising stealth for a large animal.

"No you won't," Lucia finalized, making eye contact with Blackjack, hoping the Pegasus would understand her. "Instead, you're only knocking him out."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows "No?! I'm going to kill him.!"

Lucia nudged Piper.  "You will knock him out," Piper repeated. She nudged again and whispered something into her ear. Piper gave her a look but indulged her.  "Be careful with the face..." 

The charmspeak washed over Percy and he shifted his weight indecisively. "I...will knock him out? Don't...hit his face?"

"Oh, sorry," Lucia said. "She wasn't talking to you." 

Blackjack reared and knocked his hoof against Percy's head. Percy crumpled onto the pavement next to Jason. The golden brunette exhaled in relief, and quickly tucked her weapons away.

She rushed over to the boys with Piper at her heels.

"Oh, Gods!" Piper exclaimed. "You didn't kill them, did you?" 

"It was just enough to make them unconscious," Lucia reassured.

Tempest was nowhere to be seen. The lightning steed had apparently returned to wherever storm spirits live on clear days.

"Check on Jason, tell me if his breath is steady. He might be a bit concussed. But the important thing is that he isn't bleeding." She ordered before kneeling in front of her boyfriend. Percy's head was taken off the floor to be gently checked for any signs of blood. She softly touched his cranium, running her hand around to feel for any abnormalities.

Lucia was relieved to see that there was only a growing knot forming where Blackjack had kicked Percy. She looked down at his unconscious figure and gently smoothed down his hair. I've got you, ocean eyes

"He's breathing okay." Piper informed, "No blood."

"Blackjack, we have to get them both back to the ship so I can help them," Lucia told the Pegasus. "Are you all right with carrying all four of us?" 

The Pegasus bobbed his head in agreement. He knelt on the ground so Lucia and Piper could drape Percy and Jason over his back.

After a lot of hard work (two unconscious demigod boys the size of mini Roman gods are pretty damn heavy), they got the boys reasonably secured. Lucia and Piper climbed onto Blackjack's back, and they took off toward the Argo II

༄

THE OTHERS WERE SHOCKED WHEN Piper and Lucia came back on a pegasus with two unconscious demigods.

While Frank and Hazel tended to Blackjack, Annabeth, and Leo helped get Piper, Lucia, and the boys to the sickbay.

"At this rate, we're going to run out of ambrosia," Lucia sighed. She gulped down a glass of nectar, and slammed it on her work desk. "Guess I have to start getting creative,"

"How come I never get invited on these violent trips?" Coach Hedge grumbled, he stood over Lucia's shoulder as she worked. Breathing down the back of her neck, loudly he judged her for being 'too kind to the plants'.

Lucia glared down at her mortar and pestle, she kept crushing at the pace Will taught her.  "Hey, Coach. Wasn't there a live boxing match on right now?"

His eyes widened, "Was there?" Finally, he ran off yelling "DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Lucia felt her frustration dissipate as he left, she continued pounding down the mixture of honey and herbs. She made a thick plaster smooth enough to coat the boy's wounds. Once done, she walked up to Percy and Jason and applied it to their skin.

"Leo," Piper said from the doorway, "are we ready to sail?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Set course for Atlanta. We'll explain later."

"But...okay." He hurried off.

Annabeth stood beside Lucia, examining the horseshoe-shaped bump on the back of Percy's head. "What hit him?" she demanded.

"Blackjack," She mumbled, too distracted to explain anymore.

"What?"

Piper tried to explain while Lucia applied a different healing paste to his head. She sang a low hymn that was supposed to soothe any pain coming from the crown of one's body. Then she moved and sat on the chair beside Jason to do the same.

Lucia had never been impressed with her nursing abilities before, but she must have done something right. Because it only took seconds before both boys groaned and opened their eyes.

Lucia then felt her chair being pulled. The chair legs squeaked as it made friction with the floor. Before she knew it, her chair was back on the side of Percy's berth. He looked at her with a pained expression.

"Heal me, doctor."

Lucia took him seriously and softly felt his head. She ran her hands around his face and chest, doting on him. She kept looking him over, and over in attempt to find out what she had missed.

Annabeth gave Percy a hard look that said, seriously? seaweed brain.

Within a few seconds, Lucia realized what he was doing and cursed him out in Spanish for worrying her.

She helped both boys sit up in their berths and watched as they finally managed to talk in complete sentences.

Both had fuzzy memories of what had happened. When Lucia described their duel on the highway, Jason winced.

"Knocked out twice in two days," he muttered. "Some demigod."
He glanced sheepishly at Percy. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to blast you."

Percy's shirt was peppered with burn holes. The plaster of yarrow poultice and Honey Lucia applied stuck to his skin. His hair was even more disheveled than normal. Despite that, he managed a weak laugh. "Not the first time. Your big sister got me good once at camp."

"Yeah, but...I could have killed you."

"Or I could have killed you," Percy countered.

Lucia frowned,

"If there'd been an ocean in Kansas, maybe.", Jason shrugged.

Percy tensed, "I don't need an ocean—"

"Boys," Annabeth interrupted, noticing the look on her friend's face. "I'm sure you both would've been wonderful at killing each other. But right now, you need some rest."

"Food first," Percy looked at Lucia with puppy dog eyes. "Please, Doctor?"

" Don't 'please, doctor' me." She huffed, "But yes, both of you need rest and food. Plus we really need to talk. Bacchus said some things that don't—"

"Bacchus?" Annabeth raised her hand. "Okay, fine. We need to talk. Mess hall. Ten minutes. I'll tell the others."

Piper looked at Jason for a split second, "I'll see you there?" But she wasn't asking, she followed behind Annabeth. Leaving Lucia with the two boys.

Lucia turned to them, she stood at the foot of the two berths. Her hands were now placed on her hips. And her brows wrinkling in

"Uh. Oh," Percy said,

"Why, Uh Oh?" Jason asked,

Percy pointed to his girlfriend, "You see the furrowed brows, pursed lips, and hands on her hips, yeah, that means we fucked up."

"Listen." She shut them up, "I don't know what this little competition thing seems to be. But it's getting old real fast. You two are two different people, with two different personalities and two different lives. There is no point in fighting, especially over petty stuff like who's in charge. Because I assure you if anyone is in charge, It's Annabeth and I. So get off your high horses before we knock you down a few pegs. Because big three or not, we can and will. We are supposed to be on the same team. How do you expect new Rome and Camp half blood to ever get along when you two are busy measuring out whose dick is bigger—"

"Luz!" Percy interrupted her. He flushed in embarrassment.

Jason's mouth fell agape at her vulgarness."We get it. no more metaphors, please."

"Good!" She demanded, "You better get it, because once we figure this whole thing out. I want you two to stop with this toxic masculinity! Now, I'm going to go to the mess hall, makeup or whatever." She began to leave but stopped, she wrinkled her nose, " And please, Percy...change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse."

༄

LEO GAVE THE HELM TO COACH HEDGE AGAIN, after making the satyr promise he would not steer them to the nearest military base "for fun."

They gathered around the dining table, and Piper and Lucia explained what had happened at TOPEKA 32—their conversation with Bacchus, the trap sprung by Gaea, the eidolons that had possessed the boys.

"Of course!" Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. "That's what happened to Leo too."

"So it wasn't my fault." Leo exhaled. "I didn't start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's a relief!"

"But the Romans don't know that," Annabeth said. "And why would they take our word for it?"

"We could contact Reyna," Jason suggested. "She would believe us."

Annabeth nodded, she looked distracted, "You think? her voice got higher in pitch. She turned to Piper with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "You could probably convince her, Pip."

Piper looked like all the blood in her body was draining into her feet.

Lucia didn't seem to be the only one to notice. Jason clenched his jaw from beside the daughter of Aphrodite, waiting to see what she would say.

Even though, she only had an idea of what was going on. Lucia looked at her sympathetically

"I could try," Piper said halfheartedly. "But Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dagger blade, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Reyna can stop him."

Jason's expression darkened. Piper clearly didn't get any pleasure from bursting his bubble, but the other Romans—Hazel and Frank—nodded in agreement.

"She's right," Frank said. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath."

Hazel grimaced. "This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He'll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll say she's soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles...It's like they could smell us."

"They can," Jason said. "Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely—not from them."

Leo drummed his fingers. "Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."

"You could have remembered the music on the deck too." Lucia grumbled, still holding a grudge. "Would make cleaning it in the mornings much less boring."

Leo looked up exasperated, "Are you still on that."

"She shrugged, "All I'm saying is that this ship needs a damn radio... Can't we stop at a best buy?" They didn't answer, "No? Fine. Don't complain when you want inspirational background music!"

"Lucy, That's just you,"

Hazel frowned. "Hey, What is a chicken nugget?"

"Oh, man..." Leo shook his head in amazement. "That's right. You've missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget—"

"Doesn't matter," Annabeth interrupted. "The point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us—"

"You're right." Jason leaned forward. "We should just keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe—at least from the legion."

He sounded so depressed, Lucia felt sorry for him.  "How can you be sure?" She asked. "Why wouldn't they follow us?"

He shook his head. "You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They're much too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden to go there for generations. Even Octavian couldn't get around that rule."

Frank swallowed a bite of burrito like it had turned to cardboard in his mouth. "So, if we go there..."

"We'll be outlaws as well as traitors?" Lucia asked,

Jason nodded.

"Wow, my reputation just gets better and better..."

"Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn't worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean—the Mare Nostrum."

Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine."

Lucia rolled her eyes in amusement,

The blonde boy didn't argue. The other demigods were staring at their plates, except for Percy, who continued to enjoy his pizza. Where he put all that food, Lucia didn't know. The guy could eat like Grover in a furniture store or Lucia's closet... (Never! again!)

"So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested, "and make sure we don't die. Mr. D —Bacchus— Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh—?"

"Ephialtes," Lucia said.

"Twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade..." Annabeth ran her finger along the rim of her cup. "I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."

Frank nearly choked. "Well, that's great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?"

"Something like that," Percy mumbled. "But we can't count on his help this time. He wants tribute, and he made it clear that meant something we couldn't handle."

Silence fell around the table. Lucia could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing "Blow the Man Down," except he didn't know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, "Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum." He was pitchy but not awful.

Lucia couldn't shake the feeling that Bacchus was meant to help them though. Piper said the giant twins were in Rome. They were keeping something the demigods needed —something in a bronze jar.

Whatever it was, she got the feeling it held the answer to sealing the Doors of Death—the key to endless death. She also felt sure they could never defeat the giants without Bacchus's help. And if they couldn't do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed, and Nico, would die.

The blood of a female demigod, Gaea's voice entered her head, and the blood of a male. Lucia, daughter of the hyacinth, choose which hero will die with you.

"She wants two of us," Lucia murmured.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Lucia didn't always enjoy being the center of attention. Maybe that was strange for a child of Apollo, because the sun always demanded to be seen, even without trying.

She admitted that she didn't hate it like she used to. But she'd grown up watching her dad, and then her, deal with fame for years. So she was always forced in front of a camera, always being observed by something or someone.

Sometimes she wanted to be like Echo, completely see-through. But she saw first hand, how that wasn't any better either...

They're my friends, she told herself. It's okay.

But she had a strange feeling...as if more than seven sets of eyes were watching her.

"Today on the highway," Lucia said, "Gaea told us that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die with me."

Jason looked at her intently. "But neither of us died. You saved us."

"I know. It's just...Why would she want that?"

Leo whistled softly. "Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason's blood, and how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."

"Oh..." Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the horse kick to his head had just now registered.

"Percy?" Lucia's hand gripped his arm.

"Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember."

"I had a dream," Percy said, "when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth
Mother!'"

Lucia wondered if the room's temperature controls were broken because suddenly she couldn't stop shaking. It was the same way she'd felt on the highway outside Topeka.

Piper stuttered, "Y-you think the giants would use our blood...the blood of two of us—"

"I don't know," Percy said. "But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured."

Jason grunted. "That I agree with."

"But how do we figure it out?" Hazel asked. "The Mark of Athena, the twins, The summer flower, Ella's prophecy ...how does it all fit together?"

Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. "Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."

"Right," Piper said. "Bacchus told us we should seek out...what was his name?"

"Phorcys," Percy said.

Lucia looked up. "You know him?"

Percy shrugged. "I didn't recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. Never met him, but supposedly he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."

Leo snorted. "What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."

"Don't even say that," Annabeth muttered. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

"—Wait," Piper stopped them.

Everyone looked at her.

She took a deep breath in, before raising her chin to speak with confidence. "We're not done," she said. "The eidolons—They're still here, in this room.".