The Son of Neptune

Frank is worried by the state of his grandmother’s house. Dishes are undone and the living room is cluttered, things his grandmother would never have allowed before. The friends make their way upstairs and find Frank’s grandmother in her bedroom with Mars. Frank sends his friends back downstairs and speaks to Mars. Frank learns the ogres are camped outside the house waiting for him, that Gaea told them he was coming and sent them to stop him. Mars says that Frank will need to use the family gift to survive the ogres. He walks Frank through what he knows about the family gift, but Frank still comes up short in his understanding of what it is. However, he finally understands that his family was Greek who joined Rome and then migrated to China. He belongs to both sides of the myths. He also learns that his ancestor was the son of Neptune.

Frank wakes the following morning to the sound of his grandmother’s voice. The ogres have surrounded the house. Frank’s grandmother tells him that the ogres want to eat him because they believe they can take the family gift that way. Grandmother gives him a letter for a pilot who is waiting on an airfield not far from the house. She tells him he must continue his quest. She also tells him that his great-grandfather did not cause the earthquake for which he was blamed in 1906. She says that the Romans are biased, and she wanted him to tell them about the earthquake to test if their biases had changed. Finally, she encourages him to embrace the family gifts, but Frank is still struggling to understand what the gifts are.

Frank showers and then joins his friends in the attic. He discovers an entire arsenal in the attic he never knew existed. As Frank assesses the situation, Ella tells him something that sounds like a prophecy, announcing that the son of Neptune will drown in Alaska. Frank believes what Ella has recited might be from the Sibyllean Books. Frank joins Percy and Hazel on the roof where Percy has been using water from the sprinkler system to deflect the cannonballs the ogres are shooting at the house. He tells them what Ella said and Percy mentions it might have something to do with the Great Prophecy, but he doesn’t have time to tell them more. Frank sends Percy and Hazel to the garage to start the car. Frank tries to use the family gift by becoming a dragon, but it doesn’t work, so he distracts the ogres with a potato gun and a new bow and arrow. The ogres continue to attack the house with more cannonballs, starting a fire. Frank quickly grabs a few supplies and runs down to the garage. As they prepare to leave, Percy causes the sprinkler system to explode, distracting the ogres long enough for them to escape. As they race away, Frank looks back and sees a bird rise from the fire destroying the house, hoping it is his grandmother escaping. They arrive at the airport, but Ella refuses to get on the plane. Percy tells her to hide in the woods and promises he will arrange for a friend to pick her up. Frank and his friends board the plane and escape the ogres.