chapter thirty-five

─── the dreaded folder of blackmail on luke castellan

          𝖂aking up after hitting water at that speed was tortuous. We were in a rowboat, with a makeshift sail stitched of grey uniform. Luke was tacking in the wind next to me, my head resting on his legs and I groaned, running my hand over my face.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Luke murmured, the old nickname being brought back.

"Tyson...?" Luke didn't answer, as the waves tossed us up and down. "Oh."

"He may have survived," he said half heartedly. "I mean, fire can't kill him."

I nodded, feeling grateful that he was trying to cheer me up, but I had no reason to feel hopeful. I'd seen that explosion rip through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room, there was no way he could've lived.

Waves lapped at the boat. Luke showed me some things he'd managed to salvage from the wreckage—Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr Pepper. He'd fished me out of the water and found my knapsack, bitten in half by Scylla's teeth. Most of my stuff had floated away, but I still had Hermes's bottle of multivitamins, and of course I had Riptide. 

We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost.

No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could. And we talked about my latest dream of Grover.

"Then we have twenty-four hours to find Grover," Luke muttered, tacking again as I nodded my head. "That's assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus doesn't change his mind and marry Grover earlier."

"Yeah," I said bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops."

"Andi..." Luke trailed off. "I was wrong about Tyson."

I hummed, leaning my head on his shoulder as I looked through our measly possessions.

"Luke, what's Chiron's prophecy?"

"I shouldn't..." Luke huffed.

"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But you didn't promise, did you?"

"Stop trying to make me tell you through loopholes," He prodded my ribs, bringing a small smile to my face. "Look, every time heroes learn the future and try to change it, it never works. Take it from someone who knows that."

"The gods are worried about something I'll do when I get older," I guessed. "Something when I turn twenty or twenty one?"

"Look, I don't know the full prophecy. All I know is that it warns the a half-blood child of the Big Three, the next one to live to the age of twenty one," Luke shrugged. "The next child of the Big Three who reaches twenty one will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?"

"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it."

I let that sink in, sighing. "That's why Kronos didn't kill me last summer."

"That's what he told me," Luke murmured, before sighing and wrapping an arm back around my shoulder. "Look, we don't know anything until you turn twenty one so there's no point worrying and I'm not gonna let you join Kronos, not gonna let you make the same mistake as me."

"Two years."

"That can be a long time for a half-blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed she was the one in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."

On our port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared, my eyes narrowed.

"This kid in the prophecy...he or she couldn't be like, a Cyclops?" I asked. "The Big Three have lots of monster children."

"The Oracle said half-blood which means it's a demigod," Luke sent me a look. "And you're the only one alive."

"Great," I groaned. "Then why do the gods even let me live? It would be safer to kill me."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Did the prophecy give any hints about what I might do in the future?"

Luke paused, thinking.

Maybe he would've told me more, but just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. It dropped a small cluster of leaves in my lap and Luke grinned.

"Land," he said. "There's land nearby!"

I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the centre, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbour filled with a strange assortment of boats.

The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

"Welcome!" said the lady with the clipboard.

She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, you would've thought we'd just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.

Then again, our rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship.

There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired.

"Uh..." Luke and I shared looks.

"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see..."

She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?" Luke asked, and I shrugged.

"I think you look great as you are." I winked at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, Andi darling."

"Right!" She said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

Now here's the thing. Luke and I were used to traps, and usually those traps looked good at first. So I expected the clipboard lady to turn into a snake or a demon, or something, any minute. But on the other hand, we'd been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. I was hot, tired, and hungry, and when this lady mentioned a luau, my stomach sat up on its hind legs and begged like a dog.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Luke muttered.

Of course it could, but we followed the lady anyway. I kept my hands in my pockets where I'd stashed my only magic defences—Hermes's multivitamins and Riptide— but the farther we wandered into the resort, the more I forgot about them. Even Luke had let go of the hilt of his sword.

The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Tyson loved horses, and I knew he'd love those fountains. I almost turned around to see the expression on his face before I remembered: Tyson was gone.

"You okay?" Luke squeezed my hand. "You look pale."

"I'm not ill," I dodged the question. "Just...let's keep walking."

We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests—only young women, as far as I could see—lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old—Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about—moonlight in the olive groves, the colours of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic.

We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I didn't think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who'd been singing...

She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving coloured thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.

"It's beautiful." I murmured, still keeping my hand wrapped around Luke's.

The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "It's stunning."

Our hostess just smiled. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."

The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them. We introduced ourselves to C.C. She glanced over at Luke and pulled a face that both of us knew well. It said 'I don't really like you but I'll pretend'.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" He raised an eyebrow, an unimpressed look on his face.

C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Andromeda on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

I raised an eyebrow. "My hair?"

C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"

I turned to look at Luke, raising my eyebrow.

"Don't worry, my dear," C.C. said, giving me a sad look. "Luke requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."

The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry.

"Well..." Luke nodded, saying it was okay. "I suppose..."

"Right this way, dear," Hylla said. I pressed a kiss to Luke's cheek cautiously, before I followed after Hylla, into the gardens of the spa.

∘☽༓☾∘

At the end of the tour, I made my way back to the room where C.C was.

"Miss C.C.?" I knocked on the door, before opening it.

Over the course of the tour, I had a makeover, courtesy to Hylla. I was wearing a sleeveless silk dress, that complimented my skin and hid the hellhound scars. My hair had been washed and braided with gold so that when I turned, it sparkled. 

I looked around, my eyes narrowed as I couldn't find someone important.

"Where's Luke?" A guinea pig squealed up a storm, but I ignored it.

C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"

"It was absolutely amazing. Your library was magnificent." I knew someone who would have loved it.

"Yes, indeed," C.C. said, "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."

"I don't know yet. Maybe a marine biologist?"

"Pah!" C.C. said. "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."

That set my feelings on edge. "A sorceress?"

"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Poseidon when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."

"I—I don't understand."

"Stay with me," C.C. told me. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"

"But—" The disappearance of Luke was starting to bug me further. Where was my boyfriend?

"You are too intelligent, my dear," C.C. said. "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"

"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart—"

"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

"You...C.C...Circe!"

"Yes, my dear." I stumbled backwards and Circe laughed.

"You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What have you done to Luke?"

"Only helped him realize his true form."

I looked around the room, before my eyes widened at the sight of a guinea pig cage. There was a blond guinea pig scratching at the bars, other guinea pigs crowding around it. I knew that shade of blond.

"Forget him," Circe said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."

"But—"

"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."

All I really wanted at the moment was Luke back, and I looked at the little guinea pig.

"Let me think about it," I murmured. "Just...give me a minute alone. To say good-bye."

"Of course, my dear," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh...and so you have absolute privacy..." She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.

I rushed over to the cage. "All right, which one is you?

The guinea pigs all squealed and I kissed my teeth, before pulling the bottle of Hermes multivitamins out of my pocket. I managed to pop one into my mouth before Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants.

"Well," Circe sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dear?"

"This," I growled, before drawing Riptide from my pockets.

The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She sneered. "Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?"

Circe looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell.

"What will Andromeda's makeover be?" Circe mused. "Something small and ill-tempered. I know...a shrew!"

Bitch.

Blue fire coiled from her fingers, curling around me like a serpent but nothing happened.

I leapt forward, kicking her legs out and holding onto her neck. "How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!"

"How?" Circe yelped.

I held up the multi-vitamins.

Circe howled in frustration. "Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."

"Turn Luke back to a human or else!" I growled.

"I can't!"

"Then you asked for it."

Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamin wears off."

I dragged Circe to the cage, knocking the top off and poured the remainder of the vitamins inside.

"No!" Circe screamed.

It took a moment before the cage exploded. Luke was sitting on the floor, looking slightly dazed as he shook wood shavings out of his hair, along with six other guys.

"No!" Circe screamed. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"

One of the men stood up—a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same colour. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply—in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.

"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!"

"No!" Circe moaned.

"Son of Ares?" He had the same nose as Clarisse.

"Aye, lass," the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"

Circe screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates. I sighed in relief, before turning to face Luke.

"You look beautiful." He mumbled, eyes wide as I threw my arms around him. I only pulled away a moment later so that I could press a kiss to his lips and trace the scar. Reaching up, I began to sort his hair out, shaking the wood chips out as he stared.

"Take a picture later, we need to leave." I joked. "Can you get the locks?"

"Absolutely," Luke grinned, placing his hand on the door, than unlocked beneath his palm. We hurried down the hillside, through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels.

"Which ship?" Luke called.

I looked around desperately. We couldn't very well take our rowboat. We had to get off the island fast, but what else could we use? A sub? A fighter jet? I couldn't pilot any of those things. And then I saw it. 

"There," I said.

Luke blinked. "But—"

"I can make it work."

"How?"

I couldn't explain. I just somehow knew an old sailing vessel was the best bet for me. I grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him toward the three-mast ship. Painted on its prow was the name that I would only decipher later: Queen Anne's Revenge.

"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind us. "Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"

"We'll never get going in time!" Luke yelled as we climbed aboard.

I looked around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition for a three-hundred-year-old vessel, but it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway. We didn't have several hours. I could see the pirates running down the stairs, waving tiki torches and sticks of celery.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves lapping against the hull, the ocean currents, the winds all around me. Suddenly, the right word appeared in my mind. "Mizzenmast!" I yelled.

Luke stood beside me, watching as the air filled with the sound of whistling sound of ropes being snapped taut. Canvases unfurled, wooden pulleys creaking as I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arm. I thought of the rudder turning as the Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, we were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.

"Am I great or am I great?" Luke just laughed.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

So Luke was a guinea pig and can you bet everything on the fact that Andi will be bullying him for the future completely. Also, they're just super sweet and I love them.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx