DIVINE » l. valdez

xxiv

❝if you're looking for trouble then count me in ❞

The Mediterranean was worse than anyone could have expected. They'd been attacked multiple times within the first hour of passing the Pillars of Hercules. Everything that could attack a flying ship was attacking.

A flock of flesh-eating birds has descended on the Argo II twice in the night, Festus blasting the birds with a row of fire. Storm spirits swirled around the mast, Jason shooting them from the sky with lightning. During dinner, a rogue pagasus ran across the deck, leaving a horse shoe shaped dent in Coach Hedge's enchiladas and cheesy hoof prints along the floor.

Around midnight, after the ninth or tenth aerial attack, Jason ordered everyone to bed while he watched over the ship.

Hina collapsed on her bed, exhausted from the constant attacks. 

She was engulfed in darkness, the temperature dropping to subzero. A raspy voice shook the floor, Hina stumbled to regain her balance.

"Hina Ito, child of sun, it is time for the sun to set and return to the earth. Come to me in Rome, come to salvation. Learn how to reverse your countdown."

"Gaea," Hina hissed, shaking her head furiously. "Leave me alone. I don't need your help."

"We need each other to survive. You help me, I help you. It's simple."

"No. It's not, you want me to kill my friends!" 

The floor shook a second time, Hina's feet sinking into the ground. 

"Cooperation is not necessary, Hina Ito. Tread lightly on my domain."

She fought against the tug of the ground, her fighting leaving no effect on the dirt encasing her feet. 

"Everything returns to the earth eventually," Gaea threatened, her presence fading away. Hina was left alone, struggling to free herself. 

Suddenly, the Argo II lurched to the side as if it had hit something. Hina shot from her bed, trying to regain her composure. She grabbed her bow and ripped her door open.

Once the door was wide open, Hina was face to face with an army of dolphin faced humanoids. Some had grey smooth faces, shaped into snouts. Others held spears in their flippers, waddling forward their legs were fused together in grotesque tails. Hina felt sick seeing them. 

On the overhead speaker, the alarm bell rang through the hallway. 

Hina raised her bow in defense, silently cursing. The dolphin creatures snarled, barring their teeth and jabbing their spears at Hina. 

Down the hall, Hina could hear the rest of her friends struggling against the intruders. 

"Get back!" she warned, a dim glow enveloping her hands. A wall of light pushed the dolphin creatures away from her cabin. Hina moved forward, loading an arrow into her bow.

As she fired, the creatures moved with lightning speed, catching the arrows midair. Realizing the projectiles were useless, Hina started swinging her bow, letting the wood crack against the grey skin of the creatures.

All Hina seemed to do was anger the dolphins. They advanced, their flippered arms tackling her to the floor. Hina swore at the dolphins as they tied her up in a bundle of ropes.

The creatures waddled away, pushing Hina along with them, leaving the underbelly of the ship eerily silent.

She scowled, focusing on not tripping as they pushed her through the halls. As they crowded into the stairway, more dolphin creatures joined dragging Jason, Piper, and Hazel. Jason was tossed over a dolphin's shoulder, his face beaten. Hazel and Piper were bound at the wrists and ankles as well, with Piper's mouth gagged shut. Frank, however, was nowhere to be found. The only sign the demigod had even been on board were the bee stings lining a few of the dolphin's faces.