One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorfs shoulders. He

peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged

backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all

blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.

 

I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.

 

"Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?"

 

Ethan turned pale. "Um — "

 

"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

 

Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.

 

I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I

caught Beckendorfs eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would

understand: How long?

 

He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. Zero. There was no delay on

the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would

blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The

monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both.

 

Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. " Y ou'll have to excuse my