Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
43
43
Before Annabeth or I could reply, a reptilian voice came from down the corridor, "Ssssix
more joined yesssterday."
Annabeth gestured frantically toward the nearest hiding place—the women's room—and all
three of us ducked inside. I was so freaked out it didn't even occur to me to be embarrassed.
Something—or more like two somethings—slithered past the bathroom door, making sounds
like sandpaper against the carpet.
"Yesss," a second reptilian voice said. "He drawssss them. Ssssoon we will be sssstrong."
The things slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hissing that might have been snake
laughter.
Annabeth looked at me. "We have to get out of here."
"You think I want to be in the girls' restroom?"
"I mean the ship, Percy! We have to get off the ship."
"Smells bad," Tyson agreed. "And dogs eat all the eggs. Annabeth is right. We must leave
the restroom and ship."
I shuddered. If Annabeth and Tyson were actually agreeing about something, I figured I'd
better listen.
Then I heard another voice outside—one that chilled me worse than any monster's.
"—only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"
It was Luke, beyond a doubt. I could never forget his voice.
"I'm not pushing you!" another guy growled. His voice was deeper and even angrier than
Luke's. "I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off—"
"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the
admiralty suite and check on the casket."
Their voices receded down the corridor.
Tyson whimpered. "Leave now?"
Annabeth and I exchanged looks and came to a silent agreement.
"We can't," I told Tyson.
"We have to find out what Luke is up to," Annabeth agreed. "And if possible, we're going to
beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus."
Chapter Nine
I Have The Worst Family Reunion Ever
Annabeth volunteered to go alone since she had the cap of invisibility, but I convinced her it
was too dangerous. Either we all went together, or nobody went.
"Nobody!" Tyson voted. "Please?"
But in the end he came along, nervously chewing on his huge fingernails. We stopped at our
cabin long enough to gather our stuff. We figured whatever happened, we would not be staying
another night aboard the zombie cruise ship, even if they did have million-dollar bingo. I made sure
Riptide was in my pocket and the vitamins and thermos from Hermes were at the top of my bag. I
didn't want Tyson to carry everything, but he insisted, and Annabeth told me not to worry about it.
Tyson could carry three full duffel bags over his shoulder as easily as I could carry a backpack.
We sneaked through the corridors, following the ship's YOU ARE HERE signs toward the
admiralty suite. Annabeth scouted ahead invisibly. We hid whenever someone passed by, but most
of the people we saw were just glassy-eyed zombie passengers.
As we came up the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be,
Annabeth hissed, "Hide!" and shoved us into a supply closet.
I heard a couple of guys coming down the hall.
"You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?" one of them said.
The other laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome."
Annabeth was still invisible, but she squeezed my arm hard. I got a feeling I should know
that second guy's voice.