Bloodlines: Ichor || [2]

CXXXI. The Doctor Will See You Now

ARIANA SPOTTED THE SECRET ENTRANCE IMMEDIATELY.

"Oh, that's beautiful." Leo maneuvered the ship over the ruins of Epidaurus. The Argo II really wasn't in good shape to fly, but Leo had got her airborne after only one night of work. With the world ending tomorrow morning, he was highly motivated. He'd primed the oar flaps. He'd injected Styx water into the samophlange. He'd treated Festus the figurehead to his favorite brew – thirty-weight motor oil and Tabasco sauce. Even Buford the Wonder Table had pitched in, rattling around belowdecks while his holographic Mini-Hedge yelled, 'GIVE ME THIRTY PUSH-UPS!' to inspire the engine.

Now, at last, they hovered over the ancient temple complex of the healing god Asclepius, where they could hopefully find the physician's cure and maybe also some ambrosia, nectar and Fonzies (because Leo's supplies were running low).

Next to him on the quarterdeck, Percy peered over the railing.

"Looks like more rubble," he noted.

Annabeth pointed to the disc-shaped structure about fifty yards off their port side. "There."

Leo smiled. "Exactly. See, the architect knows her stuff."

The rest of the crew gathered around.

"What are we looking at?" Frank asked.

"Ah, Señor Zhang," Leo said, "you know how you're always saying, 'Leo, you are the only true genius among demigods'?"

"I'm pretty sure I never said that."

"Well, turns out there are other true geniuses! Because one of them must have made that work of art down there."

"It's a stone circle,"| Frank said. "Probably the foundation of an old shrine."

Ariana shook her head. "Look at the ridges and grooves carved around the rim—gears."

"And those concentric rings." Hazel pointed to the center of the structure, where curved stones formed a sort of bull's-eye. "The pattern reminds me of Pasiphaë's pendant: the symbol of the Labyrinth."

"Huh." Leo scowled. "Well, I hadn't thought of that. But think mechanical. Frank, Hazel ... where did we see concentric circles like that before?"

"The laboratory under Rome," Frank said.

"The Archimedes lock on the door," Hazel recalled. "It had rings within rings."

Percy snorted. "You're telling me that's a massive stone lock? It's, like, fifty feet in diameter."

"You know the difference between diameter and radius?" Alex asked him.

"Leo might be right," Annabeth said, stopping Percy from arguing back. "In ancient times, the temple of Asclepius was like the General Hospital of Greece. Everybody came here for the best healing. Aboveground, it was the size of a major city, but supposedly the real action happened belowground. That's where the high priests had their intensive-care super-magical-type compound, accessed by a secret passage."

Percy scratched his ear. "So, if that big round thing is the lock, how do we get the key?"

"Way ahead of you, Aquaman," Leo said.

"Okay, do not call me Aquaman. That's even worse than water boy."

Leo turned to Jason and Piper. "You guys remember the giant Archimedes grabber arm I told you I was building?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were kidding."

"Oh, my friend, I never kid about giant grabber arms!" Leo rubbed his hands in anticipation. "It's time to go fishing for prizes!"