Ten
When I walk out of the temple, everyone starts talking at once.
“Did it work?”
“What did he look like?”
“Did you get the coin?”
“What happened?”
“Are you okay?”
The last question is from Troy. I give him disapproving look—of course I’m okay—and then pull the coin from my pocket. I hold it up, the golden metal shining in the setting sun.
“I got it,” I say, and everyone falls quiet.
This quest just got more real than anyone ever imagined. With this little piece of gold—okay, not so little: it has to weigh at least a few ounces—the idea of time travel has gone from a distant dream to near reality.
Trust me, I feel the weight of it settle on my shoulders.
“Now what?” Phoebe finally asks.
“Now,” I say with a shrug, “I wait. Chronos said I have to call Persephone at the same time
