XXI Frank

Frank trudges uphill in despair, hating Mars’s spear and his new role, and feeling unworthy of his recent honors. As the group nears the darkened convenience store, lime-green, fire-breathing snakes appear. Frank’s flare arrow only illuminates them; when one attacks, he bats it away with his bow, which disintegrates from the monster’s touch as more snakes converge.

Retreating to the porch, Frank, Hazel, and Percy see the snakes circling but not crossing toward the store. They enter “Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles,” where lights and flute music start. Among crystals and wind chimes, a cloud nymph clerk, Fleecy, greets them, and a toppled Neptune fountain vanishes at her clap. Percy, weakening and nauseous, asks for help.

At the counter, the shop’s owner reveals herself as Iris, the rainbow goddess, now running a nonviolent, holistic co-op. She explains her “cupcake simulations” used to repel monsters and pointedly refuses to engage in Olympian aggression, despite the army marching south. Iris recognizes Percy’s Roman ties and Juno’s meddling.

When Percy requests an Iris-message, Iris notes the Greeks used them, while Romans did not. She identifies Percy’s “memory sickness,” likely worsened by encountering Polybotes, and has Fleecy prepare restorative tea with medicinal powders while arranging messages for Percy and Hazel.

Iris then focuses on Frank, studying him with a maternal air and telling Hazel not to worry. She separates Frank from his friends for a private conversation, signaling deeper concern about Frank’s situation as Percy and Hazel head to the back with Fleecy for food and communications.