Instead, Reyna had arrived in Croatia not with him but with a dozen angry wind spirits on her tail. She’d fought her way through ghosts in the palace. On her way out, gryphons had attacked, mortally wounding her pegasus. The closest she’d got to Jason was finding a note he’d left for her under a bust of Diocletian in the basement.
She would only have painful memories of that place.
Don’t be bitter, she chided herself. Aeneas suffered, too. So did Romulus, Diocletian and all the rest. Romans don’t complain about hardship.
Staring at the plaster death figures in the museum window, she wondered what they had been thinking as they curled up to die in the ashes. Probably not: Well, we’re Romans! We shouldn’t complain!
A gust of wind blew through the ruins, making a hollow moan. Sunlight flashed against the window, momentarily blinding her.
With a start, Reyna looked up. The sun was directly overhead. How could it be noon already? She’d left the House of the Faun just after breakfast. She’d only been standing here a few minutes … hadn’t she?
She tore herself from the museum display and hurried off, trying to shake the feeling that the dead Pompeians were whispering behind her back.
The rest of the afternoon was unnervingly quiet.
Reyna kept watch while Coach Hedge slept, but there was nothing much to guard against. Tourists came and went. Random harpies and wind spirits flew by overhead. Reyna’s dogs would snarl in warning, but the monsters didn’t stop to fight.
Ghosts skulked around the edges of the courtyard, apparently intimidated by the Athena Parthenos. Reyna couldn’t blame them. The longer the statue stood in Pompeii, the more anger it seemed to radiate, making Reyna’s skin itchy and her nerves raw.
Finally, just after sunset, Nico woke. He wolfed down an avocado and cheese sandwich, the first time he’d shown a decent appetite since leaving the House of Hades.
Reyna hated to ruin his dinner, but they didn’t have much time. As the daylight faded, the ghosts started moving closer and in greater numbers.
She told him about her dreams: the earth swallowing Camp Jupiter, Octavian closing in on Camp Half-Blood and the hunter with the glowing eyes who had shot Reyna in the gut.
Nico stared at his empty plate. ‘This hunter … a giant, maybe?’
Coach Hedge grunted. ‘I’d rather not find out. I say we keep moving.’
Nico’s mouth twitched. ‘You are suggesting we avoid a fight?’
‘Listen, cupcake, I like a smackdown as much as the next guy, but we’ve got enough monsters to worry about without some bounty-hunter giant tracking us across the world. I don’t like the sound of those huge arrows.’
‘For once,’ Reyna said, ‘I agree with Hedge.’
Nico unfolded his aviator jacket. He put his finger through an arrow hole in the sleeve.
‘I could ask for advice.’ Nico sounded reluctant. ‘Thalia Grace …’
‘Jason’s sister,’ Reyna said.
She’d never met Thalia. In fact, she’d only recently learned Jason had a sister. According to Jason, she was a Greek demigod, a daughter of Zeus, who led a group of Diana’s … no, Artemis’s followers. The whole idea made Reyna’s head spin.
Nico nodded. ‘The Hunters of Artemis are … well, hunters. If anybody knew about this giant hunter guy, Thalia would. I could try sending her an Iris-message.’
‘You don’t sound very excited about the idea,’ Reyna noticed. ‘Are you two … on bad terms?’
‘We’re fine.’
A few feet away, Aurum snarled quietly, which meant Nico was lying.
Reyna decided not to press.
‘I should also try to contact my sister, Hylla,’ she said. ‘Camp Jupiter is lightly defended. If Gaia attacks there, perhaps the Amazons could help.’
Coach Hedge scowled. ‘No offence, but, uh … what’s an army of Amazons going to do against a wave of dirt?’
Reyna fought down a sense of dread. She suspected Hedge was right. Against what she’d seen in her dreams, the only defence would be to prevent the giants from waking Gaia. For that, she had to put her trust in the crew of the Argo II.
The daylight was almost gone. Around the courtyard, ghosts were forming a mob – hundreds of glowing Romans carrying spectral clubs or stones.
‘We can talk more after the next jump,’ Reyna decided. ‘Right now, we need to get out of here.’
‘Yeah.’ Nico stood. ‘I think we can reach Spain this time if we’re lucky. Just let me –’
The mob of ghosts vanished, like a mass of birthday candles blown out in a single breath.
Reyna’s hand went to her dagger. ‘Where did they go?’