chapter nine!
009. ghost ship

claire

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    "CAIN?"

    Claire had no idea what was happening. Her eyes widened to see her friend doubled over, clutching at his head. She wanted to rush towards him, but behind her, both Jason and Percy were pulling their steeds to a stand still, turning to charge. Her heart raced, trying to think of a way to stop this. "Stop it!" she tried to yell out, but neither of them listened to her. 

    "Cain!" Piper did rush towards the son of Phobos, and if she felt any aversion to whatever fears clouded her mind, she pushed through them, grabbing his shoulders. And then, she gasped. She stumbled back and her eyes went wide. Claire pulled her to her side, on alert as she watched Cain slowly grow steady and rise to stand up. Her breath hitched when she saw, that just like Percy and Jason, Cain's eyes had turned into a ghoulish, golden ichor glow. 

    "Choose, Claire Moore," the voice that came out of his lips was not his own. 

    He drew his sword.

    Percy and Jason charged each other. 

    And if it werent for the horses, both Claire and Piper would have died. Blackjack and Tempest both balked▬knowing in their hearts that something was not right. Claire quickly wrapped her arms around Piper and dived to the side. The both of them rolled across the dirt, painfully as the ground scraped their arms and legs, and through their clothes. Claire managed to pull herself up onto her knees, glancing over with wide eyes as Jason and Percy crossed words▬a mighty crash of bronze against gold. The sound echoed almost like gunfire across the empty road and sunflower fields; sparks flying as two of the most powerful demigods alive met in battle. 

     Her gaze darted towards Cain, and her eyes widened. She recognised what he was about to do, and it sent her stomach lurching. While Percy and Jason were distracted, the son of the god of fear seemed to draw away the summer heat and brought a sudden chill to the air▬the chill of fear that crawled up the back of Claire's neck. "Cain, no▬!"

     Not thinking, she pushed herself up onto her feet and skidded infront of Cain, throwing up her hands and blocking the swirl of shadows filled with the screams of fear with a burst of sunlight. She gritted her teeth and pushed back on it, watching as even fear shrieked▬hissing like vampires as soon as the sunlight touched their skin; spiders shrivelled and shakes peeled apart, screaming faces turned into smoke in the air. 

     "Claire!" Piper shouted, shocked at the sight. She looked forzen with horror▬both at the sight of Percy and Jason fighting, but mostly at the vision of Cain's power. Seeing fear in its true form under Cain's control was always a sickening experience. Fear was always something intangible▬something that can be ignored and overcome, until one was faced with it in the form of something very, very real. It was terrifying, and Claire hated how Gaea's▬or whatever was inside her friend▬control was forcing Cain to do the very thing he hated to do. 

     "I got this!" Claire replied, breathing heavily as she continued to push back. And she did. If there was one thing Claire more understood, was that fear was a very real place▬it was a place between life and death, and she has lived through it and come out the other side. She could face Cain's powers straight on and fight them. "You need to stop Percy and Jason before they kill each other!"

    Piper hesitated. Whatever she had seen in her vision of her fear made her wary to leave Claire alone to handle Cain, but she knew she had to trust her. The daughter of Aphrodite scrambled to her feet. "Stop it!" she shouted, and a burst of the power of persuasion echoed across the road. 

    Both Tempest and Blackjack pulled away from each other, throwing their heads and stamping their feet. At the sound of Piper's desperate pleas, it seemed that for a moment, maybe Jason had heard her. He faltered. His brows knitted together and he glanced over▬and missed Percy's blade by a hairline of an inch; the flat of it hit Jason's chest, and the impact knocked the son of Jupiter right of the back of the storm spirit. 

     Claire couldn't wait and see what would happen next. She heard Jason hit the ground and Tempest rear in confusion, but her focus had to be fixed on Cain. Her powers wavered as he reached for his sword, realising that she had managed to stop his attack. She gasped and quickly dodged, skidding back as she watched the point swipe inches from her nose. Claire stumbled, but regained her balance quickly. With a pull to her gut, she flung up one hand and with it, light swept from the ground and followed her movements▬an arc that knocked Cain's next swing off balance. She then stepped in and punched him across the jaw. He staggered backwards.

     "Come on, Cain!" she told him, not wanting to hurt him. "Snap out of this!"

     He wasn't listening▬Claire didn't even know whether Cain could hear her. She was just something in his way▬a nuisance that was stopping him from reaching Jason on the ground. She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to do anything that would hurt her close friend, and so Claire desperately pushed him back with more and more walls of light▬power that was going to drain her eventually, but she couldn't use any other weapon; not at a close range with Cain's sword.

     At her stubborness, the creature that had overtaken her friend growled. "Move," it said in that eery voice. "You cannot stop the inevitable."

     Claire scoffed a short chuckle, having heard those words more often than not. "Believe me, whatever you are, I've stopped worse."

    The ghost voice chuckled and those golden eyes glinted with the light of her powers. "You may have stopped Typhon, Light's Kin, but that is nothing to what you will face in the future."

    She couldn't help but falter at those words. Claire frowned, her heart skipping a fearful beat. "What?" She knew this thing inside Cain could sense her fear, too, and she watched a wry, sickening grin form on her friend's face. "What do you mean?"

     "You are scared," realised the ghostly voice, and the look on Cain's face was horrifyingly gleeful. "You are scared to lose those who you have found again."

    The sky above cracked and split apart. Claire and Cain both broke their battle with each other to hide their heads in their hands as lightning splintered down from the clear blue sky. She glanced around and hitched a horrified breath. "Percy▬!"

     Lightning ricocheted off Jason's gladius and struck Percy square in the chest. He flew off Blackjack, hitting the ground with his shirt smoldering with smoke. Claire felt the urge to run to him, and she couldn't block the flat of Cain's sword that hit her shoulder, hard. Her cry was muffled by the road as she hit the ground, too, groaning. 

      She tried to push herself back up onto her feet, her heart dropping into her stomach as Jason charged and raised his gladius high over Percy's head. She wondered whether it was Gaea's laugh she heard in the back of her mind. "No▬!" Claire forgot about Cain and desperately pushed her palm out. Light twisted above Jason's brow and he winced, stumbling back when the glint flared on the gold of his weapon. He staggered away from Percy. 

     The ground behind her shifted and she knew Cain was moving. Claire turned around and acted quickly, throwing her legs out to the side and knocking her friend off his feet, tripping him over onto the ground before he could approach her boyfriend. 

     Piper was getting desperate and scared. She stood between all of them, shouting a miserable cry: "All of you, stop!"

     It even hit Claire. She froze, the Charmspeak clouding her senses for a moment▬and it was like her limbs couldn't even move. 

     Jason turned, confused. The gold light in his eyes flickered, uncertain. "I cannot stop," the mysterious voice spoke from his lips. "One must die."

     When Claire could force movement in her limbs, she rushed over and kicked Cain's sword from his grip. It skidded across the road and she took deep breaths, standing over him. 

     "Who are you?" demanded Piper, briefly checking whether Claire was all right before turning back to face Jason. 

     His face twisted into a crooked, malicious smile. "We are the eidolons. We will live again."

    "Eidolons..." Claire tried to think, but her mind was blank. She had never heard of that word before. "A▬are you some sort of ghost?"

     It didn't answer her like it answered Piper. Jason turned his attention back to Percy. "He must die."

     Claire's heart twisted. "No, wait▬"

     But Percy was not as dazed as they all thought. He sprung up and swept out his leg. He knocked Jason off his feet. His head hit the tarmac▬and the sound that echoed made Claire feel sick. 

    Percy rose. 

    "No! Stop it!" screamed Piper again, but no charmspeak weighed her voice▬there was nothing except sheer desperation. 

     Claire tried to run forward, ready to fight Percy if she had to, but a hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled. She yelped and her head hit the tarmac hard enough to leave her a little dazed. She turned around and stared, vision sluggish to see Cain stand back up. 

     He didn't attack her, however. Cain merely stepped over her and walked towards Percy and Jason. Claire winced as she tried to struggle back to her feet, but it was pointless. 

    And that was when something switched within Piper. She took a deep breath and clenched her hands. "Eidolon, stop."

    The pure rage and anger in her voice twisted the words into something painful and strong▬strong enough that it sent waves across both Percy and Cain which made them freeze right in place. 

    "Face me," she ordered. 

     Both of them turned. Claire held her breath, her heart racing as she watched on. Piper stood before the two of them, and she seemed to glow with power. 

     "You have not chosen," said Percy. "So this one will die."

     "You're spirits from the Underworld," said Piper, her voice courageously even. "You're possessing Percy Jackson and Cain Richards. Is that it?"

    Cain sneered. "We will live again in these bodies. The Earth Mother has promised. We will go where we please, control whom we wish."

     Even with her mind sluggish and dazed, Claire could still connect the missing pieces and come to a cold realisation. This is what had happened to Leo. It hadn't been Leo that had attacked New Rome, he had been controlled by one of these guys▬an eidolon. Piper realised this, too. "Leo ... that's what happened to Leo. He was being controlled by an eidolon."

     The thing inside Claire's boyfriend laughed without a slither of the humour Percy held, and it made her boil with anger. "Too late you realise. You can trust no one."

     Something with a sleek black coat rustled in the wheat. Percy and Cain both frowned. They went to turn towards the sound but Piper blurted out: "Ignore it! Look at me."

     The creatures of the Underworld obeyed the daughter of Aphrodite. "You cannot stop us. We will kill Jason Grace," they both whispered in unison; like a pair of snakes. 

     Piper tilted her head as Blackjack emerged from the wheat field. She kept her face even, but her eyes glinted with determination. "You won't kill them," she ordered, eyes locked onto the pegasus. "You will knock them out."

      Her charmspeak washed over Cain and Percy, and both of them frowned. They glanced at each other. Their weight shifted, torn and confused. "We ... will knock him out?"

     A smile suddenly tugged at Piper's lips. "Oh, sorry," she chuckled, shrugging as if she had just said something incredibly dumb, but she glowed with a smug pride. "I wasn't talking to you."

    Blackjack reared onto his hind legs and brought his front hooves down onto Percy and Cain's heads. 

    Claire winced when they crumpled to the road next to Jason. 

     Her eyes widened and she managed to force herself to stand up. She stumbled towards them. "Gods, Blackjack!" she let out, dropping beside Percy. Piper was at her side in seconds. 

     "You ... you didn't kill them, did you?" Piper asked Blackjack uneasily. 

     He threw his head, snorting indigiantly. Claire let out a soft sigh of relief, slumping and placing her hand on Percy's forehead, brushing some of his hair off his face. Piper checked Jason and Cain. She winced a silent, sheepish apology.

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    SURPRISE WAS an understatement when Claire and Piper returned with three unconscious demigods and a distressed pegasus. Frank and Hazel tended to Blackjack, while Annabeth, Leo and Savreen all helped the girls take the boys towards the sickbay. Claire didn't care about her own daze as she checked over Percy once they made it to the ship's infirmary, quickly muttering a soft hymn to her father that would help with the blow to his head. She sat down beside him, ignoring Coach Hedge's grumble about ambrosia and nectar, and missing out on violent trips, or fun▬she didn't care. 

   "Leo," Claire spoke up, stern. "Tell me we're ready to sail."

    "Well, yeah, but▬"

   "Atlanta. I'll explain later."

    Leo stared at her, taken aback. "I... But ..." he sighed and gave up. "Okay." He hurried off. 

    Savreen pursed her lips and placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. She appreciated it. The tension seemed to just lift away from the frown on her face. "Are you okay?" asked the daughter of Harmonia.

    "I'm fine," said Claire, but accepted the nectar she offered her anyway. "Thanks."

     Annabeth hadn't argued over Claire's decision. She crossed her arms and frowned at the horseshoe-shaped dents on the back of Percy and Cain's heads. She met Claire's gaze, brow arched. "What hit them?"

     A sheepishness crawled up Claire's spine and she pursed her lips. She hunched. "Blackjack," she mumbled.

    "What?"

    "Look, I'll explain later. I just▬let me handle this."

    Annabeth frowned, but sighed. "All right."

    She stepped aside and let Claire get to work. While the daughter of Apollo fussed over their friends with Coach Hedge's help, Piper did her best to explain what happened to Annabeth. Savreen listened, making a few incredulous faces and soft expressions at any big reveal within Piper's story. After some ambrosia and a few prayers, Claire could relax. She sat back down beside Percy and bit back a relieved smile to hear his groan. 

    He opened his eyes, and her smile brightened for a moment to see the sea green was back. "Ugh," was the first thing Percy said, his hand coming to the back of his head. "I feel like I just got run over by a horse."

     "Well," Claire chuckled softly, "you're ... not that far from the truth."

     Percy glanced at her, confused. But instead of asking a question, his gaze softened to see her hovering beside him. A little, dumb smile tugged at his lips. "Hey."

     She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Come on, drool boy, you need to sit up."

     Soon, Percy, Cain and Jason were all sitting up without any help. All three of them still looked a little dazed and confused, and barely could remember what had happened. When Piper and Claire did their best to explain what had happened, Jason winced.

    "Knocked out twice in two days," he rubbed his eyes. "Some demigod..."

    "Hey, it wasn't your fault," offered Savreen kindly. 

     Jason managed a weak little smile. He took a deep breath and glanced sheepishly at Percy. "Sorry, man. I▬I didn't mean to blast you."

      Even with a shirt peppered with burn holes and his hair more dishevelled than usual, Percy still managed a soft laugh. "Don't stress. It's not the first time I've been blasted. Thalia got me good once at camp."

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

    Percy made a face. "Or I could have killed you."

    Jason shrugged, as if to say well... "Yeah, if there'd been an ocean in Kansas, maybe."

     The son of Poseidon sat up straighter. "I don't need an ocean▬"

     Cain tilted his head at the both of them, speaking up for the first time to butt in: "Well, I mean, I think I could have taken the both of you▬"

    "Boys," Annabeth held up her hands, incredulous. They went quiet immediately. "I'm sure all three of you would've been wonderful at killing each other. But right now you need some rest."

     "I need food," Cain mumbled. 

     "Oh, man," Percy sighed and his head fell back with a pleased hum. "Food. Yes, food first."

     "Getting kicked the back of the head by a pegasus really brings out an appetite..."

      Claire sighed and pinched the bridge fo her nose, but she was also a little hungry. "Aside from food, we all really need to talk anyway, Annabeth. There were some things that Bacchus said▬"

    "Bacchus?" Annbeth raised her hand again. "Okay, fine. We need to talk. Mess hall. Ten minutes. I'll tell the others. And Percy ... maybe change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse."

     He saluted her and she sighed, shaking her head and walking out, as if she had dealt with them enough for the day. Savreen pursed her lips before awkwardly following. Piper hesitated and then decided to sit down beside Jason. 

     Cain pursed his lips and sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his head. A realisation hit him and he glanced at Claire, pained. "I ... Hey, Claire, I'm sorry."

     She shook her head quickly. "Cain, don't. It's not your fault."

     He didn't look convinced. Instead, Cain looked as if he had suddenly lost an entire week of sleep, and it seemed to age him another year. For a teenager, he didn't look anything like his age▬as if all youthfullness to him had faded away. "If you hadn't stepped in..."

     "If Piper hadn't done anything, all of us would have done something we'd regret," Jason spoke up and Cain met his gaze, taken aback. "Gaea got the jump on us this time, but we got through it. We'll know better next time. Focus on that, okay?"

     Claire met Cain's stare, and nodded, reassuring. "It's okay. I'm okay."

      When he didn't say anything, seeming to accept their words for now, Claire turned to Percy. "Come on, do you need help to get to your room?"

     "I mean," he just shrugged with a crooked smile, and Claire realised that he was going to take any excuse to be pampered even if he didn't need it. She chuckled at him, glad that he was back with her. 

     As the two of them walked down the hallway▬with Claire staying close to Percy at first, to double check whether he was okay to walk on his own and then later just slipping into a comfortable pace beside him▬Percy glanced down at her and murmured: "You sure you're okay?"

    His hand reached up, his thumb hovering where the cut from her fall had faded away after some nectar. Claire hummed, nodding. "Yeah, I'm okay. I was more worried about you for a second there."

    Percy cracked a grin. "Oh, come on, I've faced worst."

    Her smile faltered when she thought back to what the eidolon had said▬how it had seen her fears through Cain's eyes. You are scared to lose those you have found again. Percy has faced worst, and he has come back to her again and again▬but now that he was without the Blessing of Achilles, she could feel her chest tighten with worry. He could handle himself well without it, he has survived without it for far longer than he's had it. But Claire's just got him back, she didn't want to lose him again. But that wasn't just it. She knew the eidolon had meant Timmy▬and that realisation scared her, maybe even more. 

     "Hey," Percy's arm wrapped over her shoulders and drew her close when he noticed the look on her face. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her head, amongst her hair. "I'm right here, okay? I'm not letting anything take me away from you, okay? Not again. Don't worry."

     Absent-mindedly, her fingers swept around his side and gently hovered near the small of his back. As if he still had the blessing, Percy's breath hitched just like it did the first time her fingers found home at the most vulnerable part of him. It was a reminder of his mortality, and he felt it. 

     "Do you ever wonder what might've happened if you said yes to immortality?" whispered Claire, not sure why she was asking the question, but she did. "Do you think that all of this never would have happened? You'd never have to worry about another quest again, about getting hurt▬about dying..."

     "I know exactly what would've happened," Percy cut her off, gentle. She looked up and met his gaze. "I would've lost you. I'd rather fight every monster that crawls out of the Underworld as long as I get to spend a life of vulnerability with you, Claire. A life without you is just not a life I want▬I'd make the same decision every time."

     Her heart fluttered. She stood up on her toes and cupped his cheek, gently guiding him down for a soft kiss. Percy held her closer. When Claire pulled away, her thumb brushed some dirt off his cheek. "I'm not gonna let anything separate us again, either. I'll fight anybody who tries."

    Percy smiled. He nodded. "I know," he said, not needing any words of reassurace or any promise▬he just knew. "We'll fight them together."

    Together, like old times. She liked that promise. 

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    ONCE PERCY had a shower, they rejoined the others at the mess hall. Coach Hedge was perfectly happy to take over the helm from Leo (but only if he promised to not set course for the nearest military base "for educational puposes and fun."). Claire could hear him sing his sea songs above deck and winced at how off tune he was. Now that everyone was together at the dining table, Piper explained what happened once again. Claire pitched in every now and then, and even though she tried her best to downplay what happened with Cain, there was no way to soften the guilt she knew he was carrying. The eidolons had affected Percy and Jason, too▬they had attacked each other, too▬but the idea that Cain had lost control so easily when it came to his powers, even if it hadn't been on his own accord, was troubling him and Claire could tell. 

     Once Piper and Claire finished, Hazel gasped and slammed her hand on the dining table. "Of course!" she exclaimed and Frank was startled so much he dropped his burrito. He stared at her, taken aback. "That's what happened to Leo, too."

     Leo slumped in his chair, filled with relief. He looked like he finally had gotten a good night's sleep, just like that. "So, it wasn't my fault. I didn't start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit!" he faltered and groaned. "That's actually not as releiving anymore."

     Savreen rubbed his arm. "If only the Romans knew that," she murmured. "Would they take our word for it?" 

     Jason leaned forward. "We could contact Reyna," he suggested. The way he sounded, it was as if he believed it deep to his bones▬like there was no possibility that Reyna would ever betray his vision of her; his trust. "She would believe us. You and Pipes could convince her," the bright gleam in his eyes moved onto his girlfriend. "I know you could."

     Claire pursed her lips, sharing a glance across the table with Annabeth who tried very hard to hide her exasperation. They both sent Piper an understanding look, knowing the way she clenched her jaw and hid the boiling bitterness that festered in her chest, even if she wished it did not. It was hard to hear your boyfriend praise a girl that wasn't you, and not see how it hurt▬especially when that girl held a strong connection to your boyfriend's past. Claire was sure Piper felt a little insecure about Reyna▬no, more than that; insecure about Jason's connection to Camp Jupiter and his past, and his connection with her, and then feel a breath of guilt over feeling that way. Claire wasn't the best at comforting people, but she hoped Piper could see the look on her face and know she was telling her it was okay to feel the way she was. 

    "I could try," murmured Piper, but the offer held little motivation. "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 looked down, his expression turning a bit sad. Jason always looked a bit sad, but right now, he almost looked as if he were more lost than he's ever been before. 

    "She's right," said Frank. "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. She sighed and pocketed a ruby that fused out from the metal of her plate. "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," muttered Jason, still frowning at the table. "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."

     Claire swallowed harshly. She tried not to focus on it, but she wasn't sure whether she was hoping or dreading the thought that her brother would be with the Romans trailing them. She wanted another chance to talk to him▬to explain what happened, to try and get through to him. To tell him that this whole time, she had thought he was gone▬that he was dead; that she'd never see him again, but that didn't mean she never stopped thinking about him ... wishing that things had been different; that there could have been a way she could have changed it. That if she could go back and change it▬somehow turn back time ... she would. 

     Leo was drumming his fingers on the table. He scoffed and sat back in his chair. "Great," he muttered sarcastically. "I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."

     Hazel frowned. She titled her head at him, rather perplexed. "What is a chicken nugget?"

    Leo stared at her. "Oh man..." he shook his head, unable to believe the question she had just asked. "That's right. You've missed the last▬like▬seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget▬"

    "Doesn't matter," Annabeth spoke up, her voice sharp as she tried to direct them all back to the matter at hand. "The point is we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us▬"

    "You're right," Jason didn't sound enthusiastic. "We should keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe▬at least from the legion."

     Cain glanced at him sideways. "Are you sure?" he muttered. Claire noticed Piper swallow harshly and look away, tense the moment Cain spoke. Claire pursed her lips. "They wouldn't follow us?"

    Jason 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 hesitated. "So ... if we go there..."

    "We'll be outlaws as well as traitors," Jason's voice sounded dry. "Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight." He took a deep breath and tried to force himself to sound positive, but even he couldn't hide the way his shoulders weighed down at the thought of being an outlaw to a home he's known since he was a child; his only home since he found Camp Half-Blood. "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 had been too busy eating his pizza, but when Jason said that, he pointed his slice at him. "Now, you, sir, are a ray of sunshine." While everyone else swallowed their clenching hearts and looked a little pale in the mess hall light, Percy swallowed the rest of his pizza and dusted off his hands. He sat back in his chair and nochanantly rested his arm over the back of Claire's own. "So, let's plan ahead 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▬something that started with an F?"

    "Ephilates," corrected Jason. "E. Starts with an E."

     Percy shrugged. 

     Annabeth's brows furrowed at her cup. She ran a finger along the brim. Claire watched her. "What?" she demanded softly. "What's up? I know that look..."

     She chewed the inside of her cheek before elaborating. "Twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade ... I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."

     Claire had a strange picture in her head of cartoon twin giants stacking triangular pointed mountains ontop of one another and watching them fall down with sad faces and pouts of: "Oh, no," followed with a big wha-whump and she realised that Percy really was having an influence on her. 

      Frank didn't see any amusement in it, though. He nearly choked on his burrito. "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?"

    Claire got another cartoon image of that. 

    "Something like that," said Percy. "I don't think we should count on his help this time. He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn't handle."

     A stale silence settled across the table. Savreen's fingers inched towards the necklace hidden under her shirt. The only sound came from up above, where Coach Hedge was bellowing Blow the Man Down, except he didn't know half of the lyrics and just made up his own. 

     Claire frowned at her cup, a lot of troubling thoughts surfacing. She had a feeling Bacchus was meant to help them. They couldn't defeat a giant without a god's help, and the Fates love their full-circles and coincidences. If Bacchus had destroyed the twins in the past, then it was sure that he was destined to do it again. That meant, they had to make a tribute ... she didn't like the feeling that twisted in her stomach over what that tribute needed to be. But they needed to get to Rome and find these twin giants. They needed to find Nico, and they needed to find the answer on how to seal the Doors of Death. There was so much to do and so little time. Claire was stressed because deep down, she had a feeling they were all playing into what Gaea wanted. The blood of a female demigod, she had said, and the blood of a male. 

     She swallowed the bile in her throat. "She wants two of us," Claire spoke up into the tense silence.

    Everyone turned to look at her. 

    "Who wants what?" Leo blinked. 

     Claire shifted. She didn't know why she felt so uneasy, but she had this strange feeling ... like there were more eyes watching her than there should be. "Gaea," she said. "Today on the highway, she told me that she needed the blood of two demigods▬one female, one male. She ... she asked me to choose who would die."

     Percy lifted his arm slightly to squeeze her gently around the shoulders. "Hey, none of us died. It's okay."

    "Yeah, I know, but it's ... it's strange. Why would she want that? What does it mean?"

    Savreen seemed to clutch her necklace tighter. Claire thought about what Cain had suggested▬had worried about. There were a lot of demigods on this quest▬way too many. And when there were way too many, something bad always happened ... people always died. 

     Leo leaned forward with sudden interest. "Oh, guys▬" he whistled, tapping Savreen's arm and nodding to Jason and Piper. "Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favourite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would tain the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."

    This caused some revelation to cross Percy's face. He leaned back in his chair and stared at nothing. "Oh..." 

    Claire frowned. "Percy?"

    "Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." His gaze darted over to Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

    Hazel made a face. "You mean the guy who invaded Camp Jupiter. The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue? Yeah, yeah, I think I remember."

    "I had a dream," Percy didn't register her sarcasm at this moment, "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 Mother Earth'... or something like that."

      "Or something like that..." muttered Cain, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. It suddenly had gotten very cold in the room. "So▬so, what you're saying is that you think the giants want to use our blood▬the blood of two of us to▬"

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

    Jason scoffed softly. "Yeah, that I agree with."

    Savreen fiddled with her necklace. "But ... the Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy ... how does it all fit together? What else are we missing?"

    No one had an answer. Annabeth turned to Claire. "You told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."

    "Yeah," nodded Claire. "Bacchus told us we should seek out▬"

    "Phorcys," Percy finished for her.

    Annabeth looked suprised. "You know him?"

    "I didn't recognise the name at first," shrugged Percy. He grabbed a fry from Claire's plate. "But then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god 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 a breath of laughter at this. "What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."

    Cain quickly knocked on the table. He flushed at the glance Annabeth gave him, sheepish. "I ... well .. you know ... knock on wood?" He glanced at the table and winced. "This isn't wood ..."

    She seemed to bite back a smile. Annabeth took a deep breath. "Leo, don't say that, okay? It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

    Sleep. That sounded like a great idea. Claire stood up first, but before she could leave the table, Piper blurted out: "Wait."

    Everyone froze. Claire glanced back at her with a confused frown. "What?"

     Piper was gripping the edge of the table, tense. "There's one last thing," she said. "The eidolons▬the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

    a/n: only a few more days omfg *sobs*

    for some reason, height is a thing for me with characters. I don't know why, I just like knowing my character's heighs and henceforth making everyone know my character's heights as well obnoxiously, and i'm not happy with the weird confusion of how tall the pjo characters are so i'm just stating them here and now its canon.

     percy: 6'0"
     claire: 5'2" (dove is a midget lol)
     jason: 6'2" (apparently he's like 2 inches taller than percy, so let's just go with this)
     annabeth: 5'9"/5'10" (apparently it says she's 5'10" in the demigod files...)
     cain: 5'7" (the tom holland/zendaya height difference between cain and annabeth is making me smile)

     leo: 5'6"

     savreen: 5'6"

     frank: 6'3" (apparently this is BEFORe the blessing of mars bro. afterwards he's literally 6'5"-)

     hazel: 5'4"
     piper: 5'7"
     coach hedge: 5'0" (ha lol)

    (limited editing)