JASON SAW TWO OPTIONS: FIGHT OR TALK.
Usually, when faced with a creepy twenty-foot-tall lady with jellyfish hair, he would’ve gone with fight.
But since she called Percy brother – that made him hesitate.
‘Percy, do you know this … individual?’
Percy shook his head. ‘Doesn’t look like my mom, so I’m gonna guess we’re related on the godly side. You a daughter of Poseidon, Miss … uh … ?’
The pale lady raked her fingernails against the metal disc, making a screeching sound like a tortured whale. ‘No one knows me,’ she sighed. ‘Why would I assume my own brother would recognize me? I am Kymopoleia!’
Percy and Jason exchanged looks.
‘So …’ Percy said. ‘We’re going to call you Kym. And you’d be a, hmm, Nereid, then? Minor goddess?’
‘Minor?’
‘By which,’ Jason said quickly, ‘he means under the drinking age! Because obviously you’re so young and beautiful.’
Percy flashed him a look: Nice save.
The goddess turned her full attention to Jason. She pointed her index finger and traced his outline in the water. Jason could feel his captured air spirit rippling around him, as if it were being tickled.
‘Jason Grace,’ said the goddess. ‘Son of Jupiter.’
‘Yeah. I’m a friend of Percy’s.’
Kym’s narrowed. ‘So it’s true … these times make for strange friends and unexpected enemies. The Romans never worshipped me. To them, I was a nameless fear – a sign of Neptune’s greatest wrath. They never worshipped Kymopoleia, the goddess of violent sea storms!’
She spun her disc. Another beam of green light flashed upward, churning the water and making the ruins rumble.
‘Uh, yeah,’ Percy said. ‘The Romans aren’t big on navies. They had, like, one rowboat. Which I sank. Speaking of violent storms, you’re doing a first-rate job upstairs.’
‘Thank you,’ said Kym.
‘Thing is, our ship is caught in it, and it’s kind of being ripped apart. I’m sure you didn’t mean to –’
‘Oh, yes, I did.’
‘You did.’ Percy grimaced. ‘Well … that sucks. I don’t suppose you’d cut it out, then, if we asked nicely?’
‘No,’ the goddess agreed. ‘Even now, the ship is close to sinking. I’m rather amazed it’s held together this long. Excellent workmanship.’
Sparks flew from Jason’s arms into the tornado. He thought about Piper and the rest of the crew frantically trying to keep the ship in one piece. By coming down here, he and Percy had left the others defenceless. They had to act soon.
Besides, Jason’s air was getting stale. He wasn’t sure if it was possible to use up a ventus by inhaling it, but, if he was going to have to fight, he’d better take on Kym before he ran out of oxygen.
The thing was … fighting a goddess on her home court wouldn’t be easy. Even if they managed to take her down, there was no guarantee the storm would stop.
‘So … Kym,’ he said, ‘what could we do to make you change your mind and let our ship go?’
Kym gave him that creepy alien smile. ‘Son of Jupiter, do you know where you are?’
Jason was tempted to answer underwater. ‘You mean these ruins. An ancient palace?’
‘Indeed,’ Kym said. ‘The original palace of my father, Poseidon.’
Percy snapped his fingers, which sounded like a muffled explosion. ‘That’s why I recognized it. Dad’s new crib in the Atlantic is kind of like this.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ Kym said. ‘I am never invited to see my parents. I can only wander the ruins of their old domains. They find my presence … disruptive.’
She spun her wheel again. The entire back wall of the building collapsed, sending a cloud of silt and algae through the chamber. Fortunately the ventus acted like a fan, blowing the debris out of Jason’s face.
‘Disruptive?’ Jason said. ‘You?’
‘My father does not welcome me in his court,’ Kym said. ‘He restricts my powers. This storm above? I haven’t had this much fun in ages, yet it is only a small taste of what I can do!’
‘A little goes a long way,’ Percy said. ‘Anyway, to Jason’s question about changing your mind –’
‘My father even married me off,’ Kym said, ‘without my permission. He gave me away like a trophy to Briares, a Hundred-Handed One, as a reward for supporting the gods in the war with Kronos aeons ago.’
Percy’s face brightened. ‘Hey, I know Briares. He’s a friend of mine! I freed him from Alcatraz.’
‘Yes, I know.’ Kym’s eyes glinted coldly. ‘I hate my husband. I was not at all pleased to have him back.’
‘Oh. So … is Briares around?’ Percy asked hopefully.
Kym’s laugh sounded like dolphin chatter. ‘He’s off at Mount Olympus in New York, shoring up the gods’ defences. Not that it will matter. My point, dear brother, is that Poseidon has never treated me fairly. I like to come here, to his old palace, because it pleases me to see his works in ruins. Someday soon his new palace will look like this one, and the seas will rage unchecked.’
Percy looked at Jason. ‘This is the part where she tells us she’s working for Gaia.’
‘Yeah,’ Jason said. ‘And the Earth Mother promised her a better deal once the gods are destroyed, blah, blah, blah.’ He turned to Kym. ‘You understand that Gaia won’t keep her promises, right? She’s using you, just like she’s using the giants.’
‘I am touched by your concern,’ said the goddess. ‘The Olympian gods, on the other hand, have never used me, eh?’
Percy spread his hands. ‘At least the Olympians are trying. After the last Titan war, they started paying more attention to the other gods. A lot of them have cabins now at Camp Half-Blood: Hecate, Hades, Hebe, Hypnos … uh, and probably some that don’t begin with H, too. We give them offerings at every meal, cool banners, special recognition in the end-of-summer programme –’
‘And do I get such offerings?’ Kym asked.
‘Well … no. We didn’t know you existed. But –’
‘Then save your words, brother.’ Kym’s jellyfish-tentacle hair floated towards him, as if anxious to paralyse new prey. ‘I have heard so much about the great Percy Jackson. The giants are quite obsessed with capturing you. I must say … I don’t see what the fuss is about.’
‘Thanks, sis. But, if you’re going to try to kill me, I gotta warn you it’s been tried before. I’ve faced a lot of goddesses recently – Nike, Akhlys, even Nyx herself. Compared to them, you’re not scaring me. Also, you laugh like a dolphin.’
Kym’s delicate nostrils flared. Jason got his sword ready.
‘Oh, I won’t kill you,’ Kym said. ‘My part of the bargain was simply to get your attention. Someone else is here, though, who very much wants to kill you.’
Above them, at the edge of the broken roof, a dark shape appeared – a figure even taller than Kymopoleia.
‘The son of Neptune,’ boomed a deep voice.
The giant floated down. Clouds of dark viscous fluid – poison, perhaps – curled from his blue skin. His green breastplate was fashioned to resemble a cluster of open hungry mouths. In his hands were the weapons of a retiarius – a trident and a weighted net.
Jason had never met this particular giant, but he’d heard stories. ‘Polybotes,’ he said, ‘the anti-Poseidon.’
The giant shook his dreadlocks. A dozen serpents swam free – each one lime green with a frilled crown around its head. Basilisks.
‘Indeed, son of Rome,’ the giant said. ‘But, if you’ll excuse me, my immediate business is with Perseus Jackson. I tracked him all the way across Tartarus. Now, here in his father’s ruins, I mean to crush him once and for all.’
