Legend of Perseus 2: Mission: Bermuda (Completed)

~Chapter 18~

I waited on the Leonidas, watching the pirates running around the island causing problems. Soon three figures came runnning to the ship. As they boarded I couldn't help but whitled.

"Damn girls, you all look quite beautiful."

"Shut up man, and change my clothes back please!" Ethan begged taking his hair from the braid. I laugh and cover him with shadows as I return his normal clothes and armor. I did the same to Clarisse and Silena.

"Gods, I hated that." Clarisse muttered as she went below deck. Silena following.

I raised my hands and Leonidas responded to my command. The ship removed itself from the dock before setting sail into the sea. It all felt perfect—the wind in my face, the waves breaking over the prow.

"So what happened with Circi?" Ethan asked after some time.

"She is dead," I responded. Staring at my shadow. I was surprised it worked, so I could even enslave gods and humans... how interesting.

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We sailed through the night.

Silena tried to help me keep lookout, but sailing didn't agree with her. After a few hours rocking back and forth, her face turned the color of guacamole and she went below to lie in a hammock.

I watched the horizon. More than once I spotted monsters. A plume of water as tall as a skyscraper spewed into the moonlight. A row of green spines slithered across the waves—something maybe a hundred feet long, reptilian. I didn't really want to know.

Sometime after midnight, Clarisse came up on deck. We were just passing a smoking volcano island. The sea bubbled and steamed around the shore.

"One of the forges of Hephaestus," Clarisse said. "Where he makes his metal monsters."

"Like those bronze bulls?"

She nodded. "Go around. Far around."

I will have to return to this island soon, maybe get myself some new toys. I looked at Clarisse. "Are you okay?"

It was hard to see her expression in the dark.

"Yes I am," she said finally. "As the daughter of Ares I need to be a warrior and-"

"You are more than the daughter of Ares." I inturrupted. "I know your father abused you, if you want I can-"

"NO!" Clarisse yelled as silnce filled the air. I could hear her voice break a little. "Please... stay out of it."

"Alright, but I am here if you need it."

"How did you know..." Clarisse asked after a while.

"I just did." I sighed.

We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.

"Go below," Clarisse told me at last. "You need some rest. Your monster guys can steer the ship."

I nodded. My eyes were heavy. But when I got below and found a hammock, it took me a long time to fall asleep.

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I didn't dream about Grover.

Instead I found myself standing before a golden sarcophagus, it was glowing faintly—the only source of light in the room.

A cold laugh startled me. It seemed to come from miles below the ship. "You don't have the courage, young one. You can't stop me."

"Who said I wan't to stop you, dear grandfather?"

The laughter stopped, all the voices stopped before kronos spoke once more.

"If you arn't going to stop me than why don't you join me, I can grant you anyting you could wish for. Help me return to the mortal realm."

"Sorry, but I can't do that. I have my own thing going on. this won't be a two sided war..." it was my turn to laugh.

Then a girl spoke right next to me: "Well, Ghost-Fish?"

I looked over, expecting to see Annabeth, but the girl wasn't Annabeth. She wore punk-style clothes with silver chains on her wrists. She had spiky black hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy blue eyes, and a spray of freckles across her nose. She looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why.

"Well?" she asked. "Are we going to stop him or not?"

"Hello, Thalia. Don't you worry I will come and save you soon."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine. Leave it to me and Aegis."

She tapped her wrist and her silver chains transformed— flattening and expanding into a huge shield. It was silver and bronze, with the monstrous face of Medusa protruding from the center. It looked like a death mask, as if the gorgon's real head had been pressed into the metal. I didn't know if that was true, or if the shield could really petrify me, but I looked away. Just being near it made me cold with fear. I got a feeling that in a real fight, the bearer of that shield would be almost impossible to beat. Any sane enemy would turn and run.

The girl drew her sword and advanced on the sarcophagus. The shadowy ghosts parted for her, scattering before the terrible aura of her shield.

"I wouldn't open that if I was you," I tried to warn her.

But she didn't listen. She marched straight up to the sarcophagus and pushed aside the golden lid.

For a moment she stood there, gazing down at whatever was in the box.

The coffin began to glow.

"No." The girl's voice trembled. "It can't be."

From the depths of the ocean, Kronos laughed so loudly the whole ship trembled.

"No!" The girl screamed as the sarcophagus engulfed her in a blast of a golden light.

"Ah!" I sat bolt upright in my hammock.

Silena was shaking me. "Percy, you were having a nightmare. You need to get up."

"Wh—what is it?" I rubbed my eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Land," she said grimly. "We're approaching the island of the Sirens."

I could barely make out the island ahead of us—just a dark spot in the mist.

"I want you to do me a favor," Silena said. "The Sirens ... we'll be in range of their singing soon."

I remembered stories about the Sirens. They sang so sweetly their voices enchanted sailors and lured them to their death.

"No problem," I assured her. "I will create a protective water sphere around us to protect us from their voice."

"Alright." Silena responded giving a curt bow.

"What the heck was that about?" I wondered when she had left. I got to work raising the water around us forming a large bubble that was see through yet thick enough to completly muffle the sirens voice.

"Dang nice bubble." Clarisse muttered.

"Why thank you," I laughed as I prepared the ship giving orders to some cyclops to watch other the others just incase. As we sailed past the jagged rocks I could see the shape of some seal like creature. Ignoring them I focused on getting as far from them as I could.

Suddenly Clarisse's eyes widened. "Percy."

I turned.

Up ahead was another blotch of land—a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows.

My nautical senses confirmed it. 30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west.

We had reached the home of the Cyclops.