Daughter of Wine

Leo

After raiding a museum full of Confederate ghosts, I didn't think my day could get any worse. I was wrong. 

We hadn't found anything in the Civil War sub or elsewhere in the museum, just a few elderly tourists, a dozing security guard, and—when we tried to inspect the artifacts—a whole battalion of glowing zombie dudes in gray uniforms.

The idea that Frank should be able to control the spirits? Yeah...that pretty much failed. By the time Piper sent her Iris-message warning us about the Roman attack, we were already halfway back to the ship, having been chased through downtown Charleston by a pack of angry dead Confederates.

Then—oh, boy!—I got to hitch a ride with Frank the Friendly Eagle so we could fight a bunch of Romans. Rumor must've gotten around that I was the one who had fired on their little city, because those Romans seemed especially anxious to kill me.

But wait! There's more! Coach Hedge shot us out of the sky; Frank dropped me (that was no accident); and we crash-landed in Fort Sumter.

Now, as the Argo II races across the waves, I have to use all my skill just to keep the ship in one piece. Percy and Jason are a little too good at cooking up massive storms. The only reason we're not sinking down into the ocean is Calli. She is calm, cool, and collected, pushing buttons I forget to push and generally just keeping the ship together while I barrel through the ocean. 

At one point, Annabeth comes to stand next to us, yelling against the roar of the wind. "Percy says he talked to a Nereid in Charleston Harbor!"

"Good for him!" Calli and I yell back simultaneously, as if we read each other's minds. 

"The Nereid said we should seek help from Chiron's brothers." 

"What does that mean?" I ask. 

"The Party Ponies?" Calli asks. 

I've never met Chiron's crazy centaur relatives, but I've heard rumors of Nerf sword-fights, root beer-chugging contests, and Super Soakers filled with pressurized whipped cream. 

"Not sure." Annabeth says. "But I've got coordinates. Can you input latitude and longitude into this thing?"

"I can input star charts and order you a smoothie, if you want. Of course I can do latitude and longitude!"

Annabeth rattles off numbers. I somehow manage to punch them in while holding the wheel with one hand. A red dot pops up on the bronze display screen. 

"That location is in the middle of the Atlantic." Calli frowns. "Do the Party Ponies have a yacht?"

Annabeth shrugs helplessly. "Just hold the ship together until we get farther from Charleston. Jason and Percy will keep up the winds!"

"Oh, goody!" Calli grumbles loudly. 

"Happy fun time!" I tell her. 

It seems like forever, but finally the sea calms and the winds die. 

"Valdez, Rivera." Coach Hedge comes up to us with surprising gentleness. "Let me take the wheel. You guys have been at it for two hours."

"Two hours?" Calli asks. Her hair looks like it's become a nest for wild birds. 

"Yeah. Give me the wheel."

Calli swirls one last Wii controller, and steps back. 

"Hey, Coach?" I say. 

"Yeah, kid?"

"I can't unclench my hands. 

It's true. My fingers feel like they've turned to stone. My eyes burn from staring at the horizon. My knees are marshmallows. Coach Hedge and Calli manage to pry me from the wheel.