“You wait and fix the oars!” Coach said. “Or just sail the other direction, you big galoot. ”
Frank looked confused. “What’s a galoot?”
“Guys!” Nico called down from the mast. “About sailing the other direction? I don’t think that’s going to work. ”
He pointed past the prow.
A quarter mile ahead of them, the long rocky strip of land curved in and met the cliffs. The channel ended in a narrow V.
“We’re not in a strait,” Jason said. “We’re in a dead end. ”
Hazel got a cold feeling in her fingers and toes. On the port rail, Gale the weasel sat up on her haunches, staring at Hazel expectantly.
“This is a trap,” Hazel said.
The others looked at her.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Leo said. “Worse that happens, we make repairs. Might take overnight, but I can get the ship flying again. ”
At the mouth of the inlet, the turtle roared. It didn’t appear interested in leaving.
“Well…” Piper shrugged. “At least the turtle can’t get us. We’re safe here. ”
That was something no demigod should ever say. The words had barely left Piper’s mouth when an arrow sank into the mainmast, six inches from her face.
The crew scattered for cover, except for Piper, who stood frozen in place, gaping at the arrow that had almost pierced her nose the hard way.
“Piper, duck!” Jason whispered harshly.
But no other missiles rained down.
Frank studied the angle of the bolt in the mast and pointed toward the top of the cliffs.
“Up there,” he said. “Single shooter. See him?”
The sun was in her eyes, but Hazel spotted a tiny figure standing at the top of the ledge. His bronze armor glinted.
“Who the heck is he?” Leo demanded. “Why is he firing at us?”
“Guys?” Piper’s voice was thin and watery. “There’s a note. ”
Hazel hadn’t seen it before, but a parchment scroll was tied to the arrow shaft. She wasn’t sure why, but that made her angry. She stormed over and untied it.
“Uh, Hazel?” Leo said. “You sure that’s safe?”
She read the note out loud. “First line: Stand and deliver. ”
“What does that mean?” Coach Hedge complained. “We are standing. Well, crouching, anyway. And if that guy is expecting a pizza delivery, forget it!”
“There’s more,” Hazel said. “This is a robbery. Send two of your party to the top of the cliff with all your valuables. No more than two. Leave the magic horse. No flying. No tricks. Just climb. ”
“Climb what?” Piper asked.
Nico pointed. “There. ”
A narrow set of steps was carved into the cliff, leading to the top. The turtle, the dead-end channel, the cliff…Hazel got the feeling this was not the first time the letter writer had ambushed a ship here.
She cleared her throat and kept reading aloud: “I do mean all your valuables. Otherwise my turtle and I will destroy you. You have five minutes. ”
“Use the catapults!” cried the coach.
“P. S. ,” Hazel read, “Don’t even think about using your catapults. ”
“Curse it!” said the coach. “This guy is good. ”
“Is the note signed?” Nico asked.
Hazel shook her head. She’d heard a story back at Camp Jupiter, something about a robber who worked with a giant turtle; but as usual, as soon as she needed the information, it sat annoyingly in the back of her memory, just out of reach.
The weasel Gale watched her, waiting to see what she would do.
The test hasn’t happened yet, Hazel thought.
Distracting the turtle hadn’t been enough. Hazel hadn’t proven anything about how she could manipulate the Mist…mostly because she couldn’t manipulate the Mist.
Leo studied the cliff top and muttered under his breath. “That’s not a good trajectory. Even if I could arm the catapult before that guy pincushioned us with arrows, I don’t think I could make the shot. That’s hundreds of feet, almost straight up. ”
“Yeah,” Frank grumbled. “My bow is useless too. He’s got a huge advantage, being above us like that. I couldn’t reach him. ”
“And, um…” Piper nudged the arrow that was stuck in the mast. “I have a feeling he’s a good shot. I don’t think he meant to hit me. But if he did…”
She didn’t need to elaborate. Whoever that robber was, he could hit a target from hundreds of feet away. He could shoot them all before they could react.
“I’ll go,” Hazel said.