The Blood of Olympus(30)

‘More rubble!’ Leo said.

‘And that round bandstand-looking thing – that’s the Philipeon, dedicated to Philip of Macedonia.’

‘Even more rubble! First-rate rubble!’

Hazel, who was still riding Arion, kicked Leo in the arm. ‘Doesn’t anything impress you?’

Leo glanced up. Her curly gold-brown hair and golden eyes matched her helmet and sword so well she might’ve been engineered from Imperial gold. Leo doubted Hazel would consider that a compliment, but, as far as humans went, Hazel was first-rate craftsmanship.

Leo remembered their trip together through the House of Hades. Hazel had led him through that creepy maze of illusions. She’d made the sorceress Pasiphaë disappear through an imaginary hole in the floor. She’d battled the giant Clytius while Leo choked in the giant’s cloud of darkness. She’d cut the chains binding the Doors of Death. Meanwhile Leo had done … well, pretty much nothing.

He wasn’t infatuated with Hazel any more. His heart was far away on the island of Ogygia. Still, Hazel Levesque impressed him – even when she wasn’t sitting atop a scary immortal supersonic horse who cussed like a sailor.

He didn’t say any of this, but Hazel must have picked up on his thoughts. She looked away, flustered.

Happily oblivious, Frank continued his guided tour. ‘And over there … oh.’ He glanced at Percy. ‘Uh, that semicircular depression in the hill, with the niches … that’s a nymphaeum, built in Roman times.’

Percy’s face turned the colour of limeade. ‘Here’s an idea: let’s not go there.’

Leo had heard all about his near-death experience in the nymphaeum in Rome with Jason and Piper. ‘I love that idea.’

They kept walking.

Once in a while, Leo’s hands drifted to his tool belt. Ever since the Kerkopes had stolen it in Bologna, he was scared he might get belt-jacked again, though he doubted any monster was as good at thievery as those dwarfs. He wondered how the little crud monkeys were doing in New York. He hoped they were still having fun harassing Romans, stealing lots of shiny zippers and causing legionnaires’ trousers to fall down.

‘This is the Pelopion,’ Frank said, pointing to another fascinating pile of stones.

‘Come on, Zhang,’ Leo said. ‘Pelopion isn’t even a word. What was it – a sacred spot for plopping?’

Frank looked offended. ‘It’s the burial site of Pelops. This whole part of Greece, the Peloponnese, was named after him.’

Leo resisted the urge to throw a grenade in Frank’s face. ‘I suppose I should know who Pelops was?’

‘He was a prince, won his wife in a chariot race. Supposedly he started the Olympic games in honour of that.’

Hazel sniffed. ‘How romantic. “Nice wife you have, Prince Pelops.” “Thanks. I won her in a chariot race.” ’

Leo didn’t see how any of this was helping them find the victory goddess. At the moment, the only victory he wanted was to vanquish an ice-cold drink and maybe some nachos.

Still … the further they got into the ruins, the more uneasy he felt. He flashed back to one of his earliest memories – his babysitter Tía Callida, a.k.a. Hera, encouraging him to prod a poisonous snake with a stick when he was four years old. The psycho goddess told him it was good training for being a hero, and maybe she’d been right. These days Leo spent most of his time poking around until he found trouble.

He scanned the crowds of tourists, wondering if they were regular mortals or monsters in disguise, like those eidolons who’d chased them in Rome. Every so often he thought he saw a familiar face – his bully cousin, Raphael; his mean third-grade teacher, Mr Borquin; his abusive foster mom, Teresa – all kinds of people who had treated Leo like dirt.

Probably he just imagined their faces, but it made him edgy. He remembered how the goddess Nemesis had appeared as his Aunt Rosa, the person Leo most resented and wanted revenge on. He wondered if Nemesis was around here somewhere, watching to see what Leo would do. He still wasn’t sure he’d paid his debt to that goddess. He suspected she wanted more suffering from him. Maybe today was the day.

They stopped at some wide steps leading to another ruined building – the Temple of Zeus, according to Frank.

‘Used to be a huge gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus inside,’ Zhang said. ‘One of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Made by the same dude who did the Athena Parthenos.’

‘Please tell me we don’t have to find it,’ Percy said. ‘I’ve had enough huge magic statues for one trip.’

‘Agreed.’ Hazel patted Arion’s flank, as the stallion was acting skittish.