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“She’d look nice gift wrapped,” I said. “Maybe the jack-o’-lantern paper?”
Grover grinned. “There’s duct tape back there, too!”
We got to work making Silbe all pretty for Halloween.
I was feeling good about our work, almost giddy, when the store’s front door opened and a girl in a raincoat stormed in. With her hood up and an N95 mask over her face, I didn’t recognize her for a second. Then I noticed the dagger in her hand, like she was ready to shank a naiad.
When she saw us, her shoulders relaxed.
Annabeth swept her hood back and tugged down her mask. “Thank the gods you two are okay.” She looked at the blue bow on my forehead, then Silbe in her duct tape and jack-o’-lantern gift wrapping. “What in the name of Athena are you doing?”
Ihad some’splaining to do.
I told Annabeth what had happened at Aeaea and Fancy Water.
She shook her head. “And you didn’t even wear raincoats?”
Grover splayed his hands. “Thankyou.”
“We had things under control,” I said.
She marched up to me, smirked, then pulled the bow off my forehead. “Okay. Please tell me you’re not wrapping up this naiad to send her Hermes Express to Mount Olympus.”
“Why would—Oh.” I’d momentarily forgotten about that thing with Medusa’s head and the gods. They hadn’t found it funny. “No. No tricks. Just treats. You want some perfume?”
“I’m good.” She wiped the side of my mouth. “But I amnotkissing you until you wash your face. Usually, you don’t drool when you’re awake.”
“How did you find us, anyway?”
“I got the note you left at my school. Skipped my last class and ran down here.”
“Your presentation went okay?”
“Aced it,” she said, likeDuh.“Anyway, I got the feeling you didn’t have any idea what you were up against, so I came as fast as I could.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But honestly, we’re fine—”
“You’ve still got two more naiads to face. You wouldn’t have been fine.” She glanced at our gift-wrapped salesperson. “Sorry about all this, Silbe. Boys. What are you going to do?”
Silbe drooled in agreement.
Annabeth turned to me and Grover. “Come on. We’ll talk outside.”
She led us down the street, removing her raincoat as she walked. “I take it you didn’t recognize the naiads?”
“From where?” Grover asked.
“You weren’t with us,” Annabeth told him. “You were stuck in a Cyclops’s cave at the time.”
Grover shivered. “The Sea of Monsters.”
“Yep. The naiads are from the island of Aeaea.”
I rubbed my sore neck. “I think I would’ve remembered a name like Aeaea.”
Annabeth considered that. “Actually, you’re right. I don’t think anyone called it that when we were there. It’s another name for Circe’s Island.”
The smell of cedar shavings filled my nostrils. It had nothing to do with perfume. I flashed back to the time I’d spent as a guinea pig, stuck in a cage with guinea pig pirates. C.C.’s Spa & Resort had not been my favorite vacation destination.
