Percy gazed out the window. So much to do, and only twenty-four hours left. This time tomorrow, the Feast of Fortuna would be starting. Unless they unleashed Death and made it back to camp, the giant’s army would flood into the valley. The Romans would be the main course at a monster dinner.
Across the street, a frosty black sand beach led down to the sea, which was as smooth as steel. The ocean here felt different—still powerful, but freezing, slow, and primal. No gods controlled that water, at least no gods Percy knew. Neptune wouldn’t be able to protect him. Percy wondered if he could even manipulate water here, or breathe underwater.
A Hyperborean giant lumbered across the street. Nobody in the café noticed. The giant stepped into the bay, cracking the ice under his sandals, and thrust his hands in the water. He brought out a killer whale in one fist. Apparently that wasn’t what he wanted, because he threw the whale back and kept wading.
“Good breakfast,” Frank said. “Who’s ready for a train ride?”
The station wasn’t far. They were just in time to buy tickets for the last train south. As his friends climbed on board, Percy said, “Be with you in a sec,” and ran back into the station.
He got change from the gift shop and stood in front of the pay phone.
He’d never used a pay phone before. They were strange antiques to him, like his mom’s turntable or his teacher Chiron’s Frank Sinatra cassette tapes. He wasn’t sure how many coins it would take, or if he could even make the call go through, assuming he remembered the number correctly.
Sally Jackson, he thought.
That was his mom’s name. And he had a stepdad…Paul.
What did they think had happened to Percy? Maybe they had already held a memorial service. As near as he could figure, he’d lost seven months of his life. Sure, most of that had been during the school year, but still…not cool.
He picked up the receiver and punched in a New York number—his mom’s apartment. Voice mail. Percy should have figured. It would be like, midnight in New York. They wouldn’t recognize this number.
Hearing Paul’s voice on the recording hit Percy in the gut so hard, he could barely speak at the tone.
“Mom,” he said. “Hey, I’m alive. Her a put me to sleep for a while, and then she took my memory, and…” His voice faltered. How he could possibly explain all this? “Anyway, I’m okay. I’m sorry. I’m on a quest—” He winced. He shouldn’t have said that. His mom knew all about quests, and now she’d be worried. “I’ll make it home. I promise. Love you.”
He put down the receiver. He stared at the phone, hoping it would ring back. The train whistle sounded. The conductor shouted, “All aboard.”
Percy ran. He made it just as they were pulling up the steps, then climbed to the top of the double-decker car and slid into his seat.
Hazel frowned. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “Just…made a call.”
She and Frank seemed to get that. They didn’t ask for details.
Soon they were heading south along the coast, watching the landscape go by. Percy tried to think about the quest, but for an ADHD kid like him, the train wasn’t the easiest place to concentrate.
Cool things kept happening outside. Bald eagles soared overhead. The train raced over bridges and along cliffs where glacial waterfalls tumbled thousands of feet down the rocks. They passed forests buried in snowdrifts, big artillery guns (to set off small avalanches and prevent uncontrolled ones, Hazel explained), and lakes so clear, they reflected the mountains like mirrors, so the world looked upside down.
Brown bears lumbered through the meadows. Hyperborean giants kept appearing in the strangest places. One was lounging in a lake like it was a hot tub. Another was using a pine tree as a toothpick. A third sat in a snowdrift, playing with two live moose like they were action figures. The train was full of tourists ohhing and ahhing and snapping pictures, but Percy felt sorry they couldn’t see the Hyperboreans. They were missing the really good shots.
Meanwhile, Frank studied a map of Alaska that he’d found in the seat pocket. He located Hubbard Glacier, which looked discouragingly far away from Seward. He kept running his finger along the coastline, frowning with concentration.
“What are you thinking?” Percy asked.
“Just…possibilities,” Frank said.
Percy didn’t know what that meant, but he let it go.
After about an hour, Percy started to relax. They bought hot chocolate from the dining car. The seats were warm and comfortable, and he thought about taking a nap.
Then a shadow passed overhead. Tourists murmured in excitement and started taking pictures.
“Eagle!” one yelled.
“Eagle?” said another.
“Huge eagle!” said a third.
“That’s no eagle,” Frank said.
Percy looked up just in time to see the creature make a second pass. It was definitely larger than an eagle, with a sleek black body the size of a Labrador retriever. Its wingspan was at least ten feet across.