A Quest of Eight; A Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

Demigod Display Case

Y/n's POV

Our first stop in Atlanta was the library. We wanted to either get directions or catch a taxi. Instead, we got a chauffer. One of the librarians named Esther insisted on driving us, so here we were in the back of her car. She was so nice that I thought she was a monster, but Hedge promised us that she smelled like a human, so we were fine.

"Um, Esther? When you think of salt water in Atlanta, what's the first thing that comes to mind?" Percy asked.

"Oh, that's easy. Whale sharks," Esther responded.

Frank frowned. "Whale sharks?"

"At the aquarium," Esther clarified. "Is that where you want to go?"

"Yes, please," I chirp. Esther dropped us off at the main entrance to the aquarium, where a long line of people was already forming. She also insisted we take a jar of her homemade peach preserves, which Frank put in his backpack.

"Well, I guess we wait in line," Percy figured. "Anybody have money?"

Frank checked his pockets. "Three denarii from Camp Jupiter and five Canadian dollars."

"Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and-score! A piece of celery," Hedge cheered and munched on the vegetable.

"All I've got is 4 drachma on me," I reveal. "I have more money on the Argo II, but I didn't think we'd need it. You got anything, Percy?"

Percy shook his head. "Nope. Just my trusty sword." Just then, an employee, whose nametag read Kate, approached us, smiling brightly. It would have been weird, but she looked sort of nerdy, so maybe that was just the way she acted.

"Ah VIP visitors. You have your payment I see," Kate noticed and took the money from our hands. "Excellent. Right this way."

"Uh, Coach?" Frank quizzed and turned towards the satyr.

"She's not mortal," Hedge disclosed. "Keep an eye on her." Kate led us past the exhibits and over to the gift shop, where she said we were allowed to take whatever we wanted. I stuffed a shirt into my backpack along with a cool snow globe which I figured I could place on one of the shelves in my room. Frank took a couple of pieces of clothing, and then held up a long braided cylinder.

"What is this?" Frank questioned.

"Chinese handcuffs. I'll show you later. Promise," I pledge and turn to Kate. "So, we're looking for a guy named Phorcys. Would you happen to know him?"

"Know him? Why of course. He's my brother," Kate shared. "That's where we're going. The real exhibits are through here." Kate led us through a hidden entrance to another part of the aquarium where there were all sorts of mythical creatures sitting inside of tanks: hippocampi, nereids, telkhines, etc. "Ooh. These sea monsters have over a thousand teeth, and their favorite food is demigod."

"Demigod?" Frank yelped.

"Hello!" a man greeted and scuttled out of the darkness. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies. I'm Phorcys!"

"Your name tag says Porky," I point out.

Phorcys snarled. "The stupid uniform company can't get anything right."

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "I told them that my name was Keto, and they engraved Kate into my name tag. How rude."

"Yes. Unfortunate," Phorcys confirmed. "But you folks don't want to hear us complain. Did you know the monster squid is the only beast known to eat a demigod whole?"

I gulped and wrapped my arms around myself. "Wow. Interesting. Could we move on?"

"Of course. Come with me!" Phorcys urged.