Coach Hedge grunted. “Well, I’m out, too. If you softhearted cupcakes are going to stroll through Venice without even whacking those furry animals on the head, forget it. I don’t like boring expeditions. ”
“It’s okay, Coach. ” Leo grinned. “We still have to repair the foremast. Then I need your help in the engine room. I’ve got an idea for a new installation. ”
Frank didn’t like the gleam in Leo’s eye. Since Leo had found that Archimedes sphere, he’d been trying out a lot of “new installations. ” Usually, they exploded or sent smoke billowing upstairs into Frank’s cabin.
“Well…” Piper shifted her feet. “Whoever goes should be good with animals. I, uh…I’ll admit I’m not great with cows. ”
Frank figured there was a story behind that comment, but he decided not to ask.
“I’ll go,” he said.
He wasn’t sure why he volunteered—maybe because he was anxious to be useful for a change. Or maybe he didn’t want anyone beating him to the punch. Animals? Frank can turn into animals! Send him!
Leo patted him on shoulder and handed him the leather-bound book. “Awesome. If you pass a hardware store, could you get me some two-by-fours and a gallon of tar?”
“Leo,” Hazel chided, “it’s not a shopping trip. ”
“I’ll go with Frank,” Nico offered.
Frank’s eye started twitching. The war gods’ voices rose to a crescendo in his head: Kill him! Graecus scum!
No! I love Graecus scum!
“Uh…you’re good with animals?” he asked.
Nico smiled without humor. “Actually, most animals hate me. They can sense death. But there’s something about this city. …” His expression turned grim. “Lots of death. Restless spirits. If I go, I may be able to keep them at bay. Besides, as you noticed, I speak Italian. ”
Leo scratched his head. “Lots of death, huh? Personally, I’m trying to avoid lots of death, but you guys have fun!”
Frank wasn’t sure what scared him more: shaggy-cow monsters, hordes of restless ghosts, or going somewhere alone with Nico di Angelo.
; “I’ll go too. ” Hazel slipped her arm through Frank’s. “Three is the best number for a demigod quest, right?”
Frank tried not to look too relieved. He didn’t want to offend Nico. But he glanced at Hazel and told her with his eyes: Thank you thank you thank you.
Nico stared at the canals, as if wondering what new and interesting forms of evil spirits might be lurking there. “All right, then. Let’s go find the owner of that book. ”
FRANK MIGHT HAVE LIKED VENICE if it hadn’t been summertime and tourist season, and if the city wasn’t overrun with large hairy creatures. Between the rows of old houses and the canals, the sidewalks were already too narrow for the crowds jostling one another and stopping to take pictures. The monsters made things worse. They shuffled around with their heads down, bumping into mortals and sniffing the pavement.
One seemed to find something it liked at the edge of a canal. It nibbled and licked at a crack between the stones until it dislodged some sort of greenish root. The monster sucked it up happily and shambled along.
“Well, they’re plant-eaters,” Frank said. “That’s good news. ”
Hazel slipped her hand into his. “Unless they supplement their diet with demigods. Let’s hope not. ”
Frank was so pleased to be holding her hand, the crowds and the heat and the monsters suddenly didn’t seem so bad. He felt needed—useful.
Not that Hazel required his protection. Anybody who’d seen her charging on Arion with her sword drawn would know she could take care of herself. Still, Frank liked being next to her, imagining he was her bodyguard. If any of these monsters tried to hurt her, Frank would gladly turn into a rhinoceros and push them into the canal.
Could he do a rhino? Frank had never tried that before.
Nico stopped. “There. ”
They’d turned onto a smaller street, leaving the canal behind. Ahead of them was a small plaza lined with five-story buildings. The area was strangely deserted—as if the mortals could sense it wasn’t safe. In the middle of the cobblestone courtyard, a dozen shaggy cow creatures were sniffing around the mossy base of an old stone well.
“A lot of cows in one place,” Frank said.
“Yeah, but look,” Nico said. “Past that archway. ”
Nico’s eyes must’ve been better than his. Frank squinted. At the far end of the plaza, a stone archway carved with lions led into a narrow street. Just past the arch, one of the town houses was painted black—the only black building Frank had seen so far in Venice.
“La Casa Nera,” he guessed.
Hazel’s grip tightened on his fingers. “I don’t like that plaza. It feels…cold. ”
Frank wasn’t sure what she meant. He was still sweating like crazy.
But Nico nodded. He studied the town-house windows, most of which were covered with wooden shutters. “You’re right, Hazel. This neighborhood is filled with lemures. ”
“Lemurs?” Frank asked nervously. “I’m guessing you don’t mean the furry little guys from Madagascar?”
“Angry ghosts,” Nico said. “Lemures go back to Roman times. They hang around a lot of Italian cities, but I’ve never felt so many in one place. My mom told me…” He hesitated. “She used to tell me stories about the ghosts of Venice. ”