The Son of Neptune - Chapter 18

‘HAZEL!’ FRANK SHOOK HER ARMS, sounding panicked.
‘Come on, please! Wake up!’
She opened her eyes. The night sky blazed with stars.
The rocking of the boat was gone. She was lying on solid
ground, her bundled sword and pack beside her.
She sat up groggily, her head spinning. They were on a
cliff overlooking a beach. About a hundred feet away, the
ocean glinted in the moonlight. The surf washed gently
against the stern of their beached boat. To her right,
hugging the edge of the cliff, was a building like a small
church with a searchlight in the steeple. A lighthouse,
Hazel guessed. Behind them, fields of tall grass rustled in
the wind.
‘Where are we?’ she asked.
Frank exhaled. ‘Thank the gods you’re awake! We’re in
Mendocino, about a hundred and fifty miles north of the
Golden Gate.’
‘A hundred and fifty miles?’ Hazel groaned. ‘I’ve been
out that long?’
Percy knelt beside her, the sea wind sweeping his hair.
He put his hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever.
‘We couldn’t wake you. Finally we decided to bring you
ashore. We thought maybe the seasickness –’
‘It wasn’t seasickness.’ She took a deep breath. She
couldn’t hide the truth from them any more. She
remembered what Nico had said: If a flashback like that
happens when you’re in combat …
‘I – I haven’t been honest with you,’ she said. ‘What
happened was a blackout. I have them once in a while.’
‘A blackout?’ Frank took Hazel’s hand, which startled
her … though pleasantly so. ‘Is it medical? Why haven’t I
noticed before?’
‘I try to hide it,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve been lucky so far, but
it’s getting worse. It’s not medical … not really. Nico says
it’s a side effect from my past, from where he found me.’
Percy’s intense green eyes were hard to read. She
couldn’t tell whether he was concerned or wary.
‘Where exactly did Nico find you?’ he asked.
Hazel’s tongue felt like cotton. She was afraid if she
started talking she’d slip back into the past, but they
deserved to know. If she failed them on this quest, zonked
out when they needed her most … she couldn’t bear that
idea.
‘I’ll explain,’ she promised. She clawed through her
pack. Stupidly, she’d forgotten to bring a water bottle.
‘Is … is there anything to drink?’
‘Yeah.’ Percy muttered a curse in Greek. ‘That was
dumb. I left my supplies down at the boat.’
Hazel felt bad asking them to take care of her, but she’d
woken up parched and exhausted, as if she’d lived the last
few hours in both the past and the present. She
shouldered her pack and sword. ‘Never mind. I can
walk …’
‘Don’t even think about it,’ Frank said. ‘Not until you’ve
had some food and water. I’ll get the supplies.’
‘No, I’ll go.’ Percy glanced at Frank’s hand on Hazel’s.
Then he scanned the horizon as if he sensed trouble, but
there was nothing to see – just the lighthouse and the field
of grass stretching inland. ‘You two stay here. I’ll be right
back.’
‘You sure?’ Hazel said feebly. ‘I don’t want you to –’
‘It’s fine,’ said Percy. ‘Frank, just keep your eyes open.
Something about this place … I don’t know.’
‘I’ll keep her safe,’ Frank promised.
Percy dashed off.
Once they were alone, Frank seemed to realize he was
still holding Hazel’s hand. He cleared his throat and let
go.
‘I, um … I think I understand your blackouts,’ he said.
‘And where you come from.’
Her heartbeat stumbled. ‘You do?’
‘You seem so different from other girls I’ve met.’ He
blinked, then rushed on. ‘Not like … bad different. Just the
way you talk. The things that surprise you – like songs, or
TV shows, or slang people use. You talk about your life
like it happened a long time ago. You were born in a
different time, weren’t you? You came from the
Underworld.’
Hazel wanted to cry – not because she was sad, but
because it was such a relief to hear someone say the
truth. Frank didn’t act revolted or scared. He didn’t look at
her as if she were a ghost or some awful undead zombie.
‘Frank, I –’
‘We’ll figure it out,’ he promised. ‘You’re alive now. We’re
going to keep you that way.’
The grass rustled behind them. Hazel’s eyes stung in
the cold wind.
‘I don’t deserve a friend like you,’ she said. ‘You don’t
know what I am … what I’ve done.’
‘Stop that.’ Frank scowled. ‘You’re great! Besides, you’re
not the only one with secrets.’
Hazel stared at him. ‘I’m not?’
Frank started to say something. Then he tensed.
‘What?’ Hazel asked.
‘The wind’s stopped.’
She looked around and noticed he was right. The air
had become perfectly still.
‘So?’ she asked.
Frank swallowed. ‘So why is the grass still moving?’
Out of the corner of her eye, Hazel saw dark shapes
ripple through the field.
‘Hazel!’ Frank tried to grab her arms, but it was too late.
Something knocked him backwards. Then a force like a
grassy hurricane wrapped around Hazel and dragged her
into the fields.

Categories: The Son of Neptune