ONE LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW, and Frank knew he was in
trouble.
At the edge of the lawn, the Laistrygonians were
stacking bronze cannonballs. Their skin gleamed red.
Their shaggy hair, tattoos and claws didn’t look any
prettier in the morning light.
Some carried clubs or spears. A few confused ogres
carried surfboards, like they’d shown up at the wrong party.
All of them were in a festive mood – giving each other
high fives, tying plastic bibs round their necks, breaking
out the knives and forks. One ogre had fired up a portable
barbecue and was dancing in an apron that said KISS THE
COOK.
The scene would’ve been almost funny, except Frank
knew he was the main course.
‘I’ve sent your friends to the attic,’ Grandmother said.
‘You can join them when we’re done.’
‘The attic?’ Frank turned. ‘You told me I could never go
in there.’
‘That’s because we keep weapons in the attic, silly boy.
Do you think this is the first time monsters have attacked
our family?’
‘Weapons,’ Frank grumbled. ‘Right. I’ve never handled
weapons before.’
Grandmother’s nostrils flared. ‘Was that sarcasm, Fai
Zhang?’
‘Yes, Grandmother.’
‘Good. There may be hope for you yet. Now, sit. You
must eat.’
She waved her hand at the nightstand, where someone
had set a glass of orange juice and a plate of poached
eggs and bacon on toast – Frank’s favourite breakfast.
Despite his troubles, Frank suddenly felt hungry. He
looked at Grandmother in astonishment. ‘Did you –’
‘Make you breakfast? By Buddha’s monkey, of course
not! And it wasn’t the house staff. Too dangerous for them
here. No, your girlfriend Hazel made that for you. And
brought you a blanket and pillow last night. And picked
out some clean clothes for you in your bedroom. By the
way, you should shower. You smell like burning horse
hair.’
Frank opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He
couldn’t make sounds come out. Hazel had done all that
for him? Frank had been sure he’d destroyed any chance
with her last night when he had summoned Grey.
‘She’s … um … she’s not –’
‘Not your girlfriend?’ Grandmother guessed. ‘Well, she
should be, you dolt! Don’t let her get away. You need
strong women in your life, if you haven’t noticed. Now, to
business.’
Frank ate while Grandmother gave him a sort of military
briefing. In the daylight, her skin was so translucent, her
veins seemed to glow. Her breathing sounded like a
crackly paper bag inflating and deflating, but she spoke
with firmness and clarity.
She explained that the ogres had been surrounding the
house for three days, waiting for Frank to show up.
‘They want to cook you and eat you,’ she said
distastefully, ‘which is ridiculous. You’d taste terrible.’
‘Thank you, Grandmother.’
She nodded. ‘I admit, I was somewhat pleased when
they said you were coming back. I am glad to see you one
last time, even if your clothes are dirty and you need a
haircut. Is this how you represent your family?’
‘I’ve been a little busy, Grandmother.’
‘No excuse for sloppiness. At any rate, your friends
have slept and eaten. They are taking stock of the
weapons in the attic. I told them you would be along
shortly, but there are too many ogres to fend off for long.
We must speak of your escape plan. Look in my
nightstand.’
Frank opened the drawer and pulled out a sealed
envelope.
‘You know the airfield at the end of the park?’
Grandmother asked. ‘Could you find it again?’
Frank nodded mutely. It was about three miles to the
north, down the main road through the canyon.
Grandmother had taken him there sometimes when she
would charter planes to bring in special shipments from
China.
‘There is a pilot standing by to leave at a moment’s
notice,’ Grandmother said. ‘He is an old family friend. I
have a letter for him in that envelope, asking him to take
you north.’
‘But –’
‘Do not argue, boy,’ she muttered. ‘Mars has been
visiting me these last few days, keeping me company. He
told me of your quest. Find Death in Alaska and release
him. Do your duty.’
‘But if I succeed you’ll die. I’ll never see you again.’
‘That is true,’ Grandmother agreed. ‘But I’ll die anyway.
I’m old. I thought I made that clear. Now, did your praetor
give you letters of introduction?’
‘Uh, yes, but –’
‘Good. Show those to the pilot as well. He’s a veteran of
the legion. In case he has any doubts, or gets cold feet,
those credentials will make him honour-bound to help you
in any way possible. All you have to do is reach the
airfield.’
The house rumbled. Outside a ball of fire exploded in
midair, lighting up the entire room.
‘The ogres are getting restless,’ Grandmother said. ‘We
must hurry. Now, about your powers, I hope you’ve figured
them out.’
‘Uh …’
Grandmother muttered some curses in rapid-fire
Mandarin. ‘Gods of your ancestors, boy! Have you
learned nothing?’
‘Yes!’ He stammered out the details of his discussion
with Mars the night before, but he felt much more tonguetied
in front of Grandmother. ‘The gift of Periclymenus … I
think, I think he was a son of Poseidon, I mean Neptune, I
mean …’ Frank spread his hands. ‘The sea god.’
Grandmother nodded grudgingly. ‘He was the grandson
of Poseidon, but good enough. How did your brilliant
intellect arrive at this fact?’
‘A seer in Portland … he said something about my
great-grandfather, Shen Lun. The seer said he was
blamed for the 1906 earthquake that destroyed San
Francisco and the old location of Camp Jupiter.’
‘Go on.’
‘At camp, they said a descendant of Neptune had
caused the disaster. Neptune is the god of earthquakes.
But … but I don’t think great-grandfather actually did it.
Causing earthquakes isn’t our gift.’
‘No,’ Grandmother agreed. ‘But, yes, he was blamed.
He was unpopular as a descendant of Neptune. He was
unpopular because his real gift was much stranger than
causing earthquakes. And he was unpopular because he
was Chinese. A Chinese boy had never before claimed
Roman blood. An ugly truth – but there is no denying it.
He was falsely accused, forced out in shame.’
‘So … if he didn’t do anything wrong, why did you tell me
to apologize for him?’
Grandmother’s cheeks flushed. ‘Because apologizing
for something you didn’t do is better than dying for it! I
wasn’t sure if the camp would hold you to blame. I did not
know if the prejudice of the Romans had eased.’
Frank swallowed down his breakfast. He’d been teased
in school and on the streets sometimes, but not that
much, and never at Camp Jupiter. Nobody at camp, not
once, had made fun of him for being Asian. Nobody cared
about that. They only made fun of him because he was
clumsy and slow. He couldn’t imagine what it had been
like for his great-grandfather, accused of destroying the
entire camp, drummed out of the legion for something he
didn’t do.
‘And our real gift?’ Grandmother asked. ‘Have you at
least figured out what it is?’
His mother’s old stories swirled in Frank’s head.
Fighting like a swarm of bees. He was the greatest dragon
of all. He remembered his mother’s appearing next to him
in the backyard, as if she’d flown from the attic. He
remembered her coming out of the woods, saying that
she’d given a mama grizzly bear directions.
‘You can be anything,’ Frank said. ‘That’s what she
always told me.’
Grandmother huffed. ‘Finally, a dim light goes on in that
head of yours. Yes, Fai Zhang. Your mother was not
simply boosting your self-esteem. She was telling you the
literal truth.’
‘But …’ Another explosion shook the house. Ceiling
plaster fell like snow. Frank was so bewildered he barely
noticed. ‘Anything?’
‘Within reason,’ Grandmother said. ‘Living things. It
helps if you know the creature well. It also helps if you are
in a life-and-death situation, such as combat. Why do you
look so surprised, Fai? You have always said you are not
comfortable in your own body. We all feel that way – all of
us with the blood of Pylos. This gift was only given once to
a mortal family. We are unique among demigods.
Poseidon must have been feeling especially generous
when he blessed our ancestor – or especially spiteful. The
gift has often proven a curse. It did not save your
mother …’
Outside, a cheer went up from the ogres. Someone
shouted, ‘Zhang! Zhang!’
‘You must go, silly boy,’ Grandmother said. ‘Our time is
up.’
‘But – I don’t know how to use my power. I’ve never – I
can’t –’
‘You can,’ Grandmother said. ‘Or you will not survive to
realize your destiny. I don’t like this Prophecy of Seven
that Mars told me about. Seven is an unlucky number in
Chinese – a ghost number. But there is nothing we can do
about that. Now, go! Tomorrow evening is the Feast of
Fortuna. You have no time to waste. Don’t worry about me.
I will die in my own time, in my own way. I have no
intention of being devoured by those ridiculous ogres.
Go!’
Frank turned at the door. He felt like his heart was being
squeezed through a juicer, but he bowed formally. ‘Thank
you, Grandmother,’ he said. ‘I will make you proud.’
She muttered something under her breath. Frank
almost thought she had said, You have.
He stared at her, dumbfounded, but her expression
immediately soured. ‘Stop gaping, boy! Go shower and
dress! Comb your hair! My last image of you, and you
show me messy hair?’
He patted down his hair and bowed again.
His last image of Grandmother was of her glaring out of
the window, as if thinking about the terrible scolding she
she would give the ogres when they invaded her home
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