I watched from above on the mast, unseen, as Annabeth Chase paced the deck of the Argo ll. I watched as she checked and double-checked if the ballistae were locked down if the "We come in peace" flag was up (which caused me to hide more), and even encouraged Coach Gleeson Hedge, a violent satyr, to take the morning off--I swear that girl was so paranoid. And even if she were doing that stuff, it wouldn't have made a difference. The Argo ll was two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete. So yeah, it wasn't the friendliest looking of rides.

Earlier, Annabeth had asked Leo Valdez to send the Romans one of his inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert them not to attack them. I hope it worked because I'm on this ship, too, and I do not want to get blown up today.

Too late to turn back now.

The hull broke through the clouds letting the once hidden Oakland Hills be seen. Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail. Her three crewmates took their places.

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a whirlwind, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. You know, most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller, right? Wrong! Leo went all out. He had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle and fire weapons by sampling an album or raising sails by quickly shaking his Wii controllers. How he got all that stuff, I do not know.

I turned my head and looked to the second girl on the crew, Piper McLean. Piper was pacing back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.

"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk."

Her charm speak was powerful, I even saw it turn Annabeth's head a bit, but it wasn't enough to make me bat an eye. The mental block in my head that I had created years ago made her enchanting words useless.

For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Let me tell you; it wasn't working. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. Piper braided her choppy brown hair down the right side with an eagle's feather.

Then I turned to where her boyfriend, Jason Grace, stood: at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. He looked calm and in control—just like a child of Jupiter should be—,but the death grip on his sword's hilt told another story. He wore jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, under a toga and purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor. He's grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully, his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.

As I have said before, I'm on this ship too. Besides, I don't think combustion would be good for my health.

Jason was also part of Hera's forced "exchange program" to introduce the two camps. Her Majesty, Queen of Olympus, had convinced the other gods that their two sets of children—Roman and Greek—had to combine forces to save the world from the evil goddess Gaea, who was awakening from the earth, and her horrible children, the giants.

Without warning, Hera had taken Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. In return, the Greeks had gotten Jason. I shifted. The thought made me think of Percy and that he was somewhere below.

In the beginning, Percy was my mission. Watch over him, make sure he was going down the right path, and that he was generally ok. Chiron assigned me to him; he even made me live next to him. I was never supposed to talk to him or meet him, but I broke that rule about a month after moving into the building. We became best friends, inseparable. But I never told him about me. He didn't know l followed him on his quests or that I had any part of his world. I kept it like that.

After Percy was kidnapped, Chiron reassigned me to watch over the crew below me. And let me just say, it was not easy to watch over four demigods.

Then I felt it—a shiver as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind me and was breathing down my neck. I whirled around, almost falling, to see nothing there. I narrowed my eyes. That was not normal. There was something on the ship.

It was not possible, though. The Argo ll was well protected. The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and their onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders.

Something is about to go wrong.

Then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted the ship.

Chiron had described what the camp looked like from what Jason had told him, but it still took my breath away. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.

Directly below the ship, nestled at the lake's edge, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. I recognized landmarks Chiron had told me about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.

I saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building, l guess was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.

Dozens of kids in togas were coming out of the Senate House to better look at the Argo ll. More came out from the shops and cafès, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.

About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill--with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road--the Via Principalis.

Demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. And they had a war elephant. Great. We're going to be surrounded before we even reach the ground.

Then something on the deck went BOOM!

I was so startled that if I hadn't been holding on to the rigging, I would have fallen. After I steadied myself, I looked down.

A statue. A living statue. A living, angry-looking statue had exploded into existence, right there on the deck.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.

Um...how? Enhanced hearing sucks sometimes. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.

"I will not have weapons inside the Pomeranian Line!" He announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"

Rude

Jason stepped forward with a face that said, I've got this.

"Terminus," he said. "It's me, Jason Grace."

"Oh, I remember you, Jason." Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had a better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

"But they're not enemies—"

"That's right," Piper jumped in, charm speaking. "We just want to talk. If we could—"

"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charm speak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

Um...how?

Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."

Though I wanted to know, I didn't think that was the right thing to say.

"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.

Oh, that's how.

"Lucky for you, I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

I winced. That comment could not have sat well with Leo.

"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."

The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to make me snicker and apparently snap Annabeth out of her shock.

"Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—"

"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."

Annabeth clenched her jaw. That wasn't good. "What exactly do you mean by that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—"

"Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"

"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"

Um...what?

"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"

"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

Do you feel the silent judgment?

"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. Did you get any gears in there that need loosening? I can take a look."

He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal. I covered my mouth to muffle my laughter. I don't think that he has gears, Leo.

"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. I wondered if his imagery hands were making shooing motions. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomeranian Line."

"The what?" Piper asked.

"City limits," Jason translated.

"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"

Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. I could see Annabeth scanning the faces of the crowd. I started looking too. I spotted him immediately. He was walking towards the ship with his arms around two other kids like best buddies—a stout boy with a black buzz cut and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's—oh my gods, they made him a praetor. Why am I not surprised?

"Leo, stop the ship," Annabeth orders.

I whipped my head around towards Annabeth. Excuse me?

"What?"

"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."

Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.

"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"

That is brilliant.

The statue frowned. "Well, no..."

"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

Terminus seemed to ponder this.

"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching towards us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?

I don't like that part.

"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule-breakers?"

"Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Thank you for noticing.

I could still feel that cold feeling. It sounded like it was laughing as if it was delighted by the choice Annabeth was making. The thought of Percy down there was clouding her judgment, I could tell.

"It'll be fine," she answered. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"

Terminus sniffed. "I suppose for now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town."

You had to jinx it.

You would think there would be a more negative interaction between Greeks and Romans when they met each other, but no, after a kiss, a judo-flip, and introductions, they were eating in the forum together.

Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled around, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. I could see Lares drifting through the crowd in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, fauns(the Roman form for satyrs) trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change. In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits.

But all I could think about was the cold feeling that came back.

Leo had come back to give Octavian a tour around the ship. He had already shown everything below decks and now was doing above. Leo was showing how the controls worked and what everything did. I already knew what some of them did because of Chiron, but it was good to find out what the others were for. Octavian tried not to show that he was interested, but I could see right through him. He was a bit of a snob, in my opinion, because he carried himself like he was better than everyone else. I hate those types of people.

I was about to turn my head and check on the others below when Leo seized up and turned to the weapons system. What is he doing? He already showed—BOOM!

Leo had fired on New Rome.

I was so shocked that I had lost my balance and slipped, only for my boots to be caught in the rigging. So instead of falling to my possible death, I hung above it.

I huffed and looked around. You might as well.

I unhooked my crossbow from my back, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at the rope holding my foot. I pulled the trigger. The arrow whizzed through the air and snapped the rope apart. I dropped.

I unsheathed one of my twin daggers and plunged it into the wood of the mast as gravity brought me down. I slid to a stop five feet above the deck. I breathed out a sigh of relief. I pulled out my dagger and fell the rest of the way, landing with a THUMP.

There was no sign of Octavian, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista. My gut twisted with horror.

"Leo!" I screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Destroy them..." He faced me. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all."

Before I knew what I was doing, I was running at him. I heard somebody yell a 'Hey,' but I ignored it. Leo turned back to the ballista, ready to fire again, but he never got the chance. I had come up behind him and roundhoused kicked him in the head. He hit the deck hard; eyes rolled up. Sorry, Leo.

Then, a gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who collapsed.

"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"

I started to run for the helm, but Annabeth--who I hadn't realized had made it back to the ship along with Percy--beat me to it. She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo ll shot into the clouds.

______

As soon as we were out of Roman's sight, I turned and ran for the side. I never made it. Percy had tackled me. We tumbled to the deck, him on top of me.

"Who are you?!" he questioned, holding me down. I elbowed him hard in the side, making him grunt. Using the distraction, I twisted us so instead of Percy on top of me; I was on him.

"You know who I am," I said, looking him in the eyes. I reached one hand up and slid the hood of my black leather jacket down.

"Cerise?"

"Hi, Percy...it's good to see you."

That was last year...