揢m. Okay,?I said, a little confused. 揑 was kind of hoping you抎 have something else for me. Circe said something about a lyre. Do you know where I can get one by any chance??
Hermes raised one bushy brow. He glanced around the room. 揑抦 sorry to say I haven抰 been in possession of that particular object in a thousand years. I suppose you抣l have to use Odysseus抯 method.?
揜emind me of what that was,?I said.
揟ie yourselves to the mast and hope for the best.?
I blinked and caught a glimpse of his gold sandals as he ascended the staircase and disappeared.
Outside, a narrow stone pathway snaked around to the bluff, and a rickety staircase made from weathered wood and rusted metal rails led down to the shore. I descended the steps and stood among the rocks slicked with green moss and sea silt as Circe and Marie climbed into a small dinghy tethered at the water抯 edge.
揜eady??Marie called.
I climbed in beside them, and Marie rowed us out to the ship. We scrambled up a ladder and onto the deck.
I抎 never been on a boat bigger than the ferries that crisscrossed the East River. The ship Hermes secured for us looked like Blackbeard was gonna pop out at any moment and tell us to swab the deck. I heard the unmistakable beating of the Absyrtus Heart coming from somewhere below me.
揌ere ya go, Marie,?Circe said. 揧ou wanted to be Captain Hook? Have at it.?
Marie grinned. She looked around the ship and scrunched her nose up. 揈verybody gotta say the word 憁atey.?That抯 the rule. Ahoy, matey!?
揘obody ever actually said that,?Persephone said as she emerged from a small room at the front of the ship.
揧ou抎 know,?Circe said.
揥ait,?said Marie, glancing back and forth between Circe and Persephone. 揑 have at least seven questions.?
I laughed despite the sense of dread that had been growing in the pit of my stomach since we got there.
揥hen were you a pirate??Marie clasped her hands together in front of her and stared Persephone right in the face. 揧ou weren抰 gonna tell me that? You know how much I love pirates.?
揟hat抯 why I didn抰 tell you. You抎 never shut up about it.?
Marie crossed her arms over her chest. 揜ude. We抮e gonna talk about that, but right now, I wanna know where Hermes got this boat. Because it looks like he stole it from Jack Sparrow. What is happening here??
揝eriously,?I said. 揝houldn抰 we use something more桰 don抰 know梞odern??
揝omething with an engine??Marie chimed in.
Persephone huffed. 揗odern doesn抰 necessarily mean better. Hermes knows these waters. He has assured me that this kind of vessel is much better suited for what we抮e attempting.?
揝o he told you where to go??I asked.
Persephone nodded. 揟he Great Eye can抰 see Aeaea, but it can see the rocky outcroppings where the sirens dwell. When we approach, we have to let the wind carry us in as quietly as possible. A modern ship is too loud.?
揝o, what抯 the timeline here??I asked. 揌ow long will it take us to get there??
揥e should reach the Sirenum scopuli by nightfall,?said Circe. 揑f we can get on to the island around that same time we should make camp and wait till morning to go any farther.?
揥e抳e got provisions for several days, and we have backup in case that runs out,?Persephone said. She glanced toward the stack of our belongings. Circe抯 traveling apothecary was tucked away there. I realized she meant we could grow some food if we needed to, and honestly, I was embarrassed that I hadn抰 considered using my power for something like that. I was too focused on getting a few tendrils of Devil抯 Pet around Karter抯 neck.
Persephone got to work uncoiling ropes and inspecting the wide swaths of sail while I helped move the rest of our belongings into the room at the front of the ship. Inside, there was a single bed set into an alcove and a small table. The windows were made of green and blue stained glass, and as the sun slanted through, it washed the room in a dappled, emerald light. I imagined a captain and her shipmates sitting around counting their treasure, plotting their next adventure. We weren抰 sailors or pirates. We were two people with the ability to control plants and an immunity to poison and two immortals, one of whom was my girlfriend. There was a lot of strange and wonderful power between the four of us, but I still wasn抰 confident it would be enough.
I finished loading our stuff and rejoined Persephone on deck. She抎 drawn up the sails, but as she stared at them they barely moved. The breeze that had kicked up earlier that morning was completely gone.
揥hat now??Marie asked.
Circe went to the captain抯 quarters and came back clutching a small vial with a cork stopper, something from her miniature apothecary. She held it between her fingers and gave it a shake.