XV

Landing near Atlanta’s Carter Center, Percy decides not to “burn down the city” and heads downtown. A kindly librarian, Esther, drives Percy, Frank, and Coach Hedge to the Georgia Aquarium. At the entrance, an employee named Kate accepts Frank’s denarii as “VIP” payment and ushers them inside.

Kate’s behavior and scent mark her as non-mortal. She speeds them past crowds and into exhibits, encouraging Frank to take gifts. Passing through tanks, they reach the whale sharks, then a hidden tunnel to a private wing. Inside, Percy sees sedated hippocampi, bored Nereids, telkhines playing with Legos, and other dangerous creatures—evidence of a disturbing, captive “Death in the Deep Seas!” show sponsored by Monster Donut.

Kate reveals she is Keto, goddess of sea monsters, just as her brother Phorcys—running “Phorcys’s Follies”—appears. His pyrotechnics and displays mostly flop, while he and Keto bicker over showmanship versus grisly facts. Keto distracts Hedge with monster lore and leads him away, splitting the group and heightening Percy’s alarm.

Phorcys, craving validation, boasts about his knowledge and collection. Prodded by Percy and Frank, he reveals the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis specialize in spectacle and illusions and are preparing a “doomsday show” in Rome. They hold a prisoner in a bronze jar, echoing a past humiliation of Ares. Phorcys adds that Gaea has placed a bounty on a certain group of demigods but insists one boy and one girl must be spared.

Crucially, Phorcys mentions that even if “the demigods” found a map in Charleston, they would not reach Rome alive—confirming a lead. Seeking to keep the god talking and to retrieve Hedge safely, Percy agrees to continue the VIP tour as Phorcys opens yet another tunnel, drawing them deeper into his lair.