Read Online The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rick Riordan
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taking turns looking through Leo’s spyglass, trying not to laugh as they watched Grandpa Jason hobble uphill.
“Stupid Ithaca,” he muttered.
He supposed the island was pretty enough. A spine of forested hills twisted down its center. Chalky white slopes plunged into the sea. Inlets formed rocky beaches and harbors where red-roofed houses and white stuccoed churches nestled against the shoreline. The hills were dotted with poppies, crocuses, and wild cherry trees. The air smelled of blooming myrtle. All very nice—except the temperature was about a hundred and five degrees. The air was as steamy as a Roman bathhouse.
It would’ve been easy for Jason to control the winds and fly to the top of the hill, but
nooo
. For the sake of stealth, he had to struggle along as an old dude with bad knees and chicken-soup stink.
He thought about his last climb, two weeks ago, when Hazel and he had faced the bandit Sciron on the cliffs of Croatia. At least then Jason had been at full strength. What they were about to face would be much worse than a bandit.
“You sure this is the right hill?” he asked. “Seems kind of —I don’t know—
quiet.”
Piper studied the ridgeline. Braided in her hair was a bright blue harpy feather—a souvenir from last night’s attack. The feather didn’t exactly go with her disguise, but Piper had earned it, defeating an entire flock of demon chicken ladies by herself while she was on duty. She downplayed the accomplishment, but Jason could tell she felt good about it. The feather was a reminder that she wasn’t the same girl she’d been last winter, when they’d first arrived at Camp Half-Blood
“The ruins are up there,” she promised. “I saw them in Katoptris’s blade. And you heard what Hazel said. ‘The biggest—’ ”
“‘The biggest gathering of evil spirits I’ve ever sensed,’” Jason recalled. “Yeah, sounds awesome.”
After battling through the underground temples of Hades, the last thing Jason wanted was to deal with more evil spirits. But the fate of the quest was at stake. The crew of the
Argo II
had a big decision to make. If they chose wrong, they would fail, and the entire world would be destroyed.
Piper’s blade, Hazel’s magical senses, and Annabeth’s instincts all agreed—the answer lay here in Ithaca, at the ancient palace of Odysseus, where a horde of evil spirits had gathered to await Gaea’s orders. The trick was to sneak among them, learn what was going on, and decide the best course of action. Then get out, preferably alive.
Annabeth readjusted her golden belt. “I hope our disguises hold up. The suitors were nasty customers when they were living. If they find out we’re demigods—”
“Hazel’s magic will work,” Piper said.
Jason tried to believe that.
The suitors
: a hundred of the greediest, evilest cutthroats who’d ever lived. When Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, went missing after the Trojan War, this mob of B- list princes had invaded his palace and refused to leave, each one hoping to marry Queen Penelope and take over the kingdom. Odysseus managed to return in secret and slaughter them all—your basic happy homecoming. But if Piper’s visions were right, the suitors were now back, haunting the place where they’d died.
Jason couldn’t believe he was about to visit the actual palace of Odysseus—one of the most famous Greek heroes of all time. Then again, this whole quest had been one mind-blowing event after another. Annabeth herself had just come back from the eternal abyss of Tartarus. Given that, Jason decided maybe he shouldn’t complain about being an old man.
“Well . . .” He steadied himself with his walking stick. “If I
look
as old as I feel, my disguise must be perfect. Let’s get going.”
As they climbed, sweat trickled down his neck. His calves ached. Despite the heat, he
“Stupid Ithaca,” he muttered.
He supposed the island was pretty enough. A spine of forested hills twisted down its center. Chalky white slopes plunged into the sea. Inlets formed rocky beaches and harbors where red-roofed houses and white stuccoed churches nestled against the shoreline. The hills were dotted with poppies, crocuses, and wild cherry trees. The air smelled of blooming myrtle. All very nice—except the temperature was about a hundred and five degrees. The air was as steamy as a Roman bathhouse.
It would’ve been easy for Jason to control the winds and fly to the top of the hill, but
nooo
. For the sake of stealth, he had to struggle along as an old dude with bad knees and chicken-soup stink.
He thought about his last climb, two weeks ago, when Hazel and he had faced the bandit Sciron on the cliffs of Croatia. At least then Jason had been at full strength. What they were about to face would be much worse than a bandit.
“You sure this is the right hill?” he asked. “Seems kind of —I don’t know—
quiet.”
Piper studied the ridgeline. Braided in her hair was a bright blue harpy feather—a souvenir from last night’s attack. The feather didn’t exactly go with her disguise, but Piper had earned it, defeating an entire flock of demon chicken ladies by herself while she was on duty. She downplayed the accomplishment, but Jason could tell she felt good about it. The feather was a reminder that she wasn’t the same girl she’d been last winter, when they’d first arrived at Camp Half-Blood
“The ruins are up there,” she promised. “I saw them in Katoptris’s blade. And you heard what Hazel said. ‘The biggest—’ ”
“‘The biggest gathering of evil spirits I’ve ever sensed,’” Jason recalled. “Yeah, sounds awesome.”
After battling through the underground temples of Hades, the last thing Jason wanted was to deal with more evil spirits. But the fate of the quest was at stake. The crew of the
Argo II
had a big decision to make. If they chose wrong, they would fail, and the entire world would be destroyed.
Piper’s blade, Hazel’s magical senses, and Annabeth’s instincts all agreed—the answer lay here in Ithaca, at the ancient palace of Odysseus, where a horde of evil spirits had gathered to await Gaea’s orders. The trick was to sneak among them, learn what was going on, and decide the best course of action. Then get out, preferably alive.
Annabeth readjusted her golden belt. “I hope our disguises hold up. The suitors were nasty customers when they were living. If they find out we’re demigods—”
“Hazel’s magic will work,” Piper said.
Jason tried to believe that.
The suitors
: a hundred of the greediest, evilest cutthroats who’d ever lived. When Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, went missing after the Trojan War, this mob of B- list princes had invaded his palace and refused to leave, each one hoping to marry Queen Penelope and take over the kingdom. Odysseus managed to return in secret and slaughter them all—your basic happy homecoming. But if Piper’s visions were right, the suitors were now back, haunting the place where they’d died.
Jason couldn’t believe he was about to visit the actual palace of Odysseus—one of the most famous Greek heroes of all time. Then again, this whole quest had been one mind-blowing event after another. Annabeth herself had just come back from the eternal abyss of Tartarus. Given that, Jason decided maybe he shouldn’t complain about being an old man.
“Well . . .” He steadied himself with his walking stick. “If I
look
as old as I feel, my disguise must be perfect. Let’s get going.”
As they climbed, sweat trickled down his neck. His calves ached. Despite the heat, he
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