TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

twenty.

VAL DIDN'T KNOW why she was here.

It's a prophecy of eight, Val, why don't you just come along? Annabeth had asked her a couple of weeks ago. You're probably one of the heroes anyway. You're one of the strongest demigods I know, probably the strongest, because of the powers that your fathers gave you.

And, naturally, Val could never refuse Annabeth anything, so she'd gone along on the trip. And instantly regretted it, but she'd never say anything.

The warship descended through the clouds, and Val's stomach dropped. She couldn't tell if she hated the thought of being on a flying warship, or if it was just her curse.

Maybe it was just how scary the ship looked. The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete. Val had a right to be scared of this thing.

But it was too late to turn back now.

The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Val felt Annabeth grip her waist, as if they were something, which just made her chest hurt.

They weren't. Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, was probably below them. Also, Annabeth hadn't told Piper McLean what Val and she were. But to be honest, Val didn't know what they were.

Speaking of Piper, she was pacing back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.

"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk."

The charmspeak was impressive. She and Val could actually rival in that department. One other thing they rivaled in. Ever since Piper had basically insulted her and Drew the first day they'd met, Val had been cordial to her, but not overly nice like she was to other people.

For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. ( maybe as a joke, though Val could never be sure with Piper ) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Val enjoyed Leo's company. They were incredibly similar — they're from the same place, after all, and she talked to him about Mexico often. They'd both lost their mothers. Honestly, besides for Annabeth and maybe Percy, Val was probably the closest to him.

Then there was Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, which Val didn't think was a good idea, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak — symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control — just like a son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.

He wasn't anything special to Val. She still treated him like the usual person, but he wasn't anything close to her.

"Hey," Annabeth's voice was suddenly in her ear, and Val jumped in her arms. Laughing in a slightly low voice, Annabeth muttered, "sorry, babe, didn't mean to scare you."