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The thing about flying on a pegasus during the daytime is that if you're not careful, you
can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. I had to keep Blackjack
up in the clouds, which were, fortunately, pretty low in the winter. We darted around, trying
to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. And if it was cold on the ground, it was
seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging my skin.
I was wishing I'd brought some of that Camp Half-Blood orange thermal underwear
they sold in the camp store, but after the story about Phoebe and the centaur-blood T-shirt, I
wasn't sure I trusted their products anymore.
We lost the van twice, but I had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan
first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again.
Traffic was bad with the holidays and all. It was mid morning before they got into the
city. I landed Blackjack near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp
van, thinking it would pull into the bus station, but it just kept driving.
"Where's Argus taking them?" I muttered.
Oh, Argus ain't driving, boss, Blackjack told me. That girl is.
"Which girl?"
The Hunter girl. With the silver crown thing in her hair.
"Zoe?"
That's the one. Hey, look! There's a donut shop. Can we get something to go?
I tried explaining to Blackjack that taking a flying horse to a donut shop would give
every cop in there a heart attack, but he didn't seem to get it. Meanwhile, the van kept snaking
its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to me that Zoe could drive. I
mean, she didn't look sixteen. Then again, she was immortal. I wondered if she had a New
York license, and if so, what her birth date said.
"Well," I said. "Lets get after them."
We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Blackjack whinnied in alarm and
almost threw me. Something was curling around my leg like a snake. I reached for my sword,
but when I looked down, there was no snake. Vines—grape vines—had sprouted from the
cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Blackjack's legs,
lashing down my ankles so we couldn't move.
"Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.
He was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin
warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.
God alert! Blackjack yelled. It's the wine dude!
Mr. D sighed in exasperation. "The next person, or horse, who calls me the 'wine dude'
will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"
"Mr. D." I tried to keep my voice calm as the grape vines continued to wrap around my
legs. "What do you want?"
"Oh, what do I want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of
camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"
"Well… maybe."
"I should throw you off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you
sound on the way down."
I balled my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill me
or haul me back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea. "Why do you hate me so
much? What did I ever do to you?"
Purple flames flickered in his eyes. "You're a hero, boy. I need no other reason."
"I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't
understand!"
Um, boss, Blackjack said nervously. Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine
hundred feet in the air, you might want to talk nice.
The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther
and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight.
"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked. "Beautiful young princess of Crete?
She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son
of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the
Labyrinth.
And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"
The answer I wanted to give was I don't care! But I didn't figure that would make Mr. D
finish his story any faster.
"They got married," I said. "Happily ever after. The end."
Mr. D sneered. "Not quite. Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his
ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he… What's the
word you mortals use today?… he dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone.
Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew
behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."
"That's wrong," I said. "But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with
me?"
Mr. D regarded me coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy. I healed her broken heart.
And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I
shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your
ridiculous camp."
I stared at him. "You're… you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a
wood nymph—"
"My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should
look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray
everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish,
ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoe Nightshade."
"What do you mean, ask Zoe?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."
The vines uncurled around my legs.
I blinked in disbelief. "You're… you're letting me go? Just like that?"
"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one
of them. But mark my words, Son of Poseidon, live or die, you will prove no better than the
other heroes."
With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display.
There was a pop and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown
away by the wind.
Too close, Blackjack said.
I nodded, though I almost would have been less worried if Mr. D had hauled me back to
camp. The fact that he'd let me go meant he really believed we stood a fair chance of crashing
and burning on this quest.
"Come on, Blackjack," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll buy you some donuts in New
Jersey."
As it turned out, I didn't buy Blackjack donuts in New Jersey. Zoe drove south like a
crazy person, and we were into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop.
Blackjack darn near tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired.
I'll be okay, boss, he panted. Just… just catching my breath.
"Stay here," I told him. "I'm going to scout."
'Stay here' I can handle. I can do that.
I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult
not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too,
because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me.
I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I
had a little change in my pocket. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup
would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate
problem, when my whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out
of the store.
"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia was saying.
"Well… pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."
"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.
Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did
it right."
"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I…" She frowned. "We
used to live there. That's… that's strange. I'd forgotten."
"I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."
"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.
Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of
being a Hunter!"
"Oh, scullion You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"
"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"
"Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."
Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep
moving."
"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen
than you do."
"Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let
us go."
As Blackjack and I continued south, following the van, I wondered whether Zoe had
been kidding. I didn't know exactly when cars were invented, but I figured that was like
prehistoric times—back when people watched black-and-white TV and hunted dinosaurs.
How old was Zoe? And what had Mr. D been talking about? What bad experience had
she had with heroes?
As we got closer to Washington, Blackjack started slowing down and dropping altitude.
He was breathing heavily.
"You okay?" I asked him.
Fine, boss. I could… I could take on an army.
"You don't sound so good." And suddenly I felt guilty, because I'd been running the
pegasus for half a day, nonstop, trying to keep up with highway traffic. Even for a flying
horse, that had to be rough.
Don't worry about me, boss! I'm a tough one.
I figured he was right, but I also figured Blackjack would run himself into the ground
before he complained, and I didn't want that.
Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central
Washington. I started thinking about air patrols and missiles and stuff like that. I didn't know
exactly how all those defenses worked, and wasn't sure if pegasi even showed up on your
typical military radar, but I didn't want to find out by getting shot out of the sky.
"Set me down there," I told Blackjack. "That's close enough."
Blackjack was so tired he didn't complain. He dropped toward the Washington
Monument and set me on the grass.
The van was only a few blocks away. Zoe had parked at the curb.
I looked at Blackjack. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. I'll be
fine."
Blackjack cocked his head skeptically. You sure, boss?
"You've done enough already," I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks a ton."
A ton of hay, maybe, Blackjack mused. That sounds good. All . right, but be careful,
boss. I got a feeling they didn't come here to meet anything friendly and handsome like me.
I promised to be careful. Then Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument
before disappearing into the clouds.
I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one
of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the
cold wind.
I started to follow. But then I froze.
A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military
buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in
Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd
seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the
van.
The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around,
like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the
direction of my friends.
The worst of it was: when he turned toward me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn,
the manticore from Westover Hall.
Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding. If he had
survived that fall from the cliff, then Annabeth must have too. My dreams had been right. She
was alive and being held prisoner.
Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.
Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND
SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! I'd been here a million years ago with my mom, but
everything had looked so much bigger then.
Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold,
and school was out of session. They slipped inside.
Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and
headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.
Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There
was a big sign on the door. At first I thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then I
realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.
I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur
skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards
stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before they
closed them again.
Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've
gotten me killed.
I was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen
mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake
trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae.
But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women—I could swear he
was looking straight down at me—was my old enemy Luke. He looked terrible. His skin was
pale and his blond hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The
angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a
dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been
reopened.
Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I
could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.
"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my
dream—not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It
filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.
Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with
excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here,
General."
"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"
"In the rocket museum."
"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably.
Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, sir"
I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call
him sir.
"How many?" Luke asked.
Thorn pretended not to hear.
"How many?" the General demanded.
"Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky
black hair and the—how do you say—punk clothes and the horrible shield."
"Thalia," Luke said.
"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."
"That one I know," the General growled.
Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.
"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough—"
"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little
playmate to keep them occupied."
"But—"
"We cannot risk you, my boy."
"Yes, boy," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let me
finish them off."
"No." The General rose from his chair, and I got my first look at him.
He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an
expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude
for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in
half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he
could even move.
"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.
"But, General—"
"No excuses!"
Thorn flinched. I'd thought Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at
the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly
wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born
commander.
"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said.
"I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of
Athena."
"But you promised me revenge.'" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"
"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose
lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all.
Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."
Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the
mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.
"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the
half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."
"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoe Nightshade—"
"Do not speak her name!"
Luke swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"
The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we
will bring the Hunters down."
He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"
The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"
"Plant them," he said.
In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was
supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and
pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.
The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"
"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."
The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind
of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the
feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.
The soil began to bubble.
"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army
from that little boat look insignificant."
Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess
Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"
"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord
Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"
I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that.
"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We
will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."
The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.
In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt.
The first of them said:
"Mew?"
It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared,
until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.
Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly
kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"
The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you
said. The saber-toothed tiger—"
"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those… those infernal fuzzy little
beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."
The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered
out of the room.
"You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the right teeth. NOW!"
The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.
"Imbeciles,' muttered the General.
"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."
"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."
A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.
"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down,
twenty feet.
Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing,
and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."
"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"
"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I
shall do this myself."
He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals
don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon
teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."
He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He
sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. Rise!
The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.
The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"
"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like
the kind the Hunters wore.
"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its
owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They
will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"
As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for
each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind
you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men,
but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo
pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were
human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray
images.
One of them looked straight at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no cap of
invisibility would fool it.
The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As
soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct.
I didn't have time to think. I ran and jumped with all my might, plowing into the
warriors and snatching the scarf out of the air.
"What's this?" bellowed the General.
I landed at the feet of a skeleton warrior, who hissed.
"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"
"It's Percy Jackson!" Luke yelled. "It has to be."
I sprinted for the exit, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had
taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his
nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I
squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.
And then I ran.
I tore across the Mall, not daring to look behind me. I burst into the Air and Space
Museum and took off my invisibility cap once I was through the admissions area.
The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging
from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits
from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour
groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. I wanted to yell at them all
to leave, but I figured that would only get me arrested. I had to find Thalia and Grover and the
Hunters. Any minute, the skeleton dudes were going to invade the museum, and I didn't think
they would settle for an audio tour.
I ran into Thalia—literally. I was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and
slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.
Grover yelped in surprise.
Before I could regain my balance, Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at my
chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.
When Zoe realized who I was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How
dare you show thy face here?"
"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."
Zoe glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"
"Luke," I said, trying to catch my breath. "He's here."
The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet.
"Where?"
I told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.
"The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."
"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"
"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"
"Twelve," I said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending
something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."
Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.
"We were following Artemis's trail," Grover said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some
powerful monster scent… She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we
haven't found anything yet."
"Zoe," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General—"
"It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other
illusion."
"Illusions don't crack marble floors," I told her.
Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn't know why she was taking it so
personally, or how she knew this General guy, but I figured now wasn't the time to ask. "If
Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue.
They are the worst, the most horrible… We must leave now."
"Good idea," I said.
"I was not including thee, boy," Zoe said. "You are not part of this quest."
"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"
"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on.
Let's get back to the van."
"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.
Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you
are!You're still a conceited little brat!"
"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoe growled. "You never could
leave them behind!"
Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze, I heard a growl so
loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.
Below us, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"
Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with
silver claws and golden glittering fur. I'd seen this monster once before. Two years ago, I'd
glimpsed it briefly from a train. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.
"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."
The lion roared so loud it parted my hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.
"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep it distracted."
"Until when?" Grover asked.
"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"
I uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left. Arrows whistled past me, and Grover played a
sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes. I turned and saw Zoe and Bianca climbing the
Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against
the lions metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the
Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him,
but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!"
"Hi-yah!" Thalia said. "Back!"
The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.
For a second, I thought Thalia had it under control. Then I saw the lion crouching, its
leg muscles tensing. I'd seen enough cat fights in the alleys around my apartment in New
York. I knew the lion was going to pounce.
"Hey!" I yelled. I don't know what I was thinking, but I charged the beast. I just wanted
to get it away from my friends. I slashed with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should've
cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.
The lion raked me with its claws, ripping off a chunk of my coat. I backed against the
railing. It sprang at me, one thousand pounds of monster, and I had no choice but to turn and
jump.
I landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost
spilled me to the floor, three stories below.
An arrow whizzed past my head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords
holding the plane began to groan.
The lion swiped at me, and I dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft
with blades like a helicopter. I looked up and saw the lion roar—inside its maw, a pink tongue
and throat.
Its mouth, I thought. Its fur was completely invulnerable, but if I could strike it in the
mouth… The only problem was, the monster moved too quickly. Between its claws and
fangs, I couldn't get close without getting sliced to pieces.
"Zoe!" I shouted. "Target the mouth!"
The monster lunged. An arrow zipped past it, missing completely, and I dropped from
the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. I slid down Russia and
dropped off the equator.
The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too
much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped
off onto the model earth's North Pole.
"Grover!" I yelled. "Clear the area!"
Groups of kids were running around screaming. Grover tried to corral them away from
the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the
floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from me, on the other side
of the globe. The lion regarded us both, trying to decide which of us to kill first.
Zoe and Bianca were above us, bows ready, but they kept having to move around to get
a good angle.
"No clear shot!" Zoe yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"
The lion snarled from the top of the globe.
I looked around. Options. I needed…
The gift shop. I had a vague memory from my trip here as a little kid. Something I'd
made my mom buy me, and I'd regretted it. If they still sold that stuff…
"Thalia," I said, "keep it occupied."
She nodded grimly.
"Hi-yah!" She pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping
the lion in the tail.
"ROOOOOOOAR!" The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding
up Aegis to keep the monster at bay, and I ran for the gift shop.
"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoe yelled.
I dashed into the shop, knocking over rows of T-shirts, jumping over tables full of glowin-
the-dark planets and space ooze. The sales lady didn't protest. She was too busy cowering
behind her cash register.
There! On the far wall—glittery silver packets. Whole racks of them. I scooped up
every kind I could find and ran out of the shop with an armful.
Zoe and Bianca were still showering arrows on the monster, but it was no good. The
lion seemed to know better than to open its mouth too much. It snapped at Thalia, slashing
with its claws. It even kept its eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
Thalia jabbed at the monster and backed up. The lion pressed her.
"Percy," she called, "whatever you're going to do—"
The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan
rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.
"Hey!" I yelled at the lion. I was too far away to strike, so I took a risk: I hurled Riptide
like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's
attention. It turned toward me and snarled.
There was only one way to get close enough. I charged, and as the lion leaped to
intercept me, I chunked a space food pouch into its maw—a chunk of cellophane-wrapped,
freeze-dried strawberry parfait.
The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged like a cat with a hairball.
I couldn't blame it. I remembered feeling the same way when I'd tried to eat space food
as a kid. The stuff was just plain nasty.
"Zoe, get ready!" I yelled.
Behind me, I could hear people screaming. Grover was playing another horrible song on
his pipes.
I scrambled away from the lion. It managed to choke down the space food packet and
looked at me with pure hate.
"Snack time!" I yelled.
It made the mistake of roaring at me, and I got an ice-cream sandwich in its throat.
Fortunately, I had always been a pretty good pitcher, even though baseball wasn't my game.
Before the lion could stop gagging, I shot in two more flavors of ice cream and a freeze-dried
spaghetti dinner.
The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying
to get away from me.
"Now!" I yelled.
Immediately, arrows pierced the lion's maw—two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly,
turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.
Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security
guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on.
Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed.
Zoe and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to me.
Zoe eyed me cautiously. "That was… an interesting strategy."
"Hey, it worked."
She didn't argue.
The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes, until there was
nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a
normal lion's pelt.
"Take it," Zoe told me.
I stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or
something?"
"It is a spoil of war," she told me. "It is rightly thine."
"You killed it," I said.
She shook her head, almost smiling. "I think thy ice-cream sandwich did that. Fair is
fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur."
I lifted it up; it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel at all
like something that could stop a blade. As I watched, the pelt shifted and changed into a
coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.
"Not exactly my style," I murmured.
"We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards won't stay confused for
long."
I noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to
arrest us. They were scrambling in all directions except ours, like they were madly searching
for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.
"You did that?" I asked Grover.
He nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "A minor confusion song. I played some Barry
Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."
"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoe said. "Look."
Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the
lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes,
but I could feel their gaze aimed straight at me.
"Go," I said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."
"No," Zoe said. "We go together."
I stared at her. "But, you said—"
"You are part of this quest now," Zoe said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no
changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."
We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black
military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight
toward us.
"They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."
Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.
"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.
"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," I said. "How can the General use
mortals, anyway?"
"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any
cause as long as they are paid."
"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" I asked. "Don't they notice all
the monsters around them?"
Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it
would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than
monsters."
The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.
Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice
about now. Please?"
But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.
"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"
"We'll be trapped," Zoe said.
"Trust me," Bianca said.
Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the
river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.
"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."
"Anything," Thalia agreed.
We bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of
pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C.
As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it
didn't come after us.
Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."
Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through
last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used
to live in D.C."
Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."
"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no
subway."
Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"
Bianca nodded.
Now, I knew nothing about D.C., but I didn't see how their whole subway system could
be less than twelve years old. I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they
looked pretty confused.
"Bianca," Zoe said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter
was getting louder again.
"We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."
Over the next half hour, all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed
trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.
Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the
line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of
snow. It seemed much colder here. I was glad for my new lion's fur coat.
We wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train
somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in
snow, like they hadn't moved in years.
A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic,
because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!'
We huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-ggreat."
"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.
"Feet," I corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.
"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"
"No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."
I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Annabeth was in
danger. Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And we were stuck on
the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless persons fire.
"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His
face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a
train going west?"
"Yes, sir," I said. "You know of any?"
He pointed one greasy hand.
Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those
automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of
the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.
"That's… convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"
She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold
and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.
An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive
now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoe and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on
the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And
Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock
stations from D.C.
"Join you?" I asked her.
She shrugged, so I climbed into the shotgun seat.
The radio was playing the White Stripes. I knew the song because it was one of the only
CDs I owned that my mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin. Thinking about
my mom made me sad, because it didn't seem likely I'd be home for Christmas. I might not
live that long.
"Nice coat," Thalia told me.
I pulled the brown duster around me, thankful for the warmth. "Yeah, but the Nemean
Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for."
"Not even close. We've got a long way to go."
"Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They
wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one."
"He said that?"
"Well, something like that. Yeah."
"That's great. I love being used as bait."
"No idea what the monster might be?"
She shook her head morosely. "But you know where we're going, don't you? San
Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading."
I remembered something Annabeth had said at the dance: how her dad was moving to
San Francisco, and there was no way she could go. Half-bloods couldn't live there.
"Why?" I asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?"
"The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan
magic—what's left of it—still lingers. Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn't
believe."
"What's the Mountain of Despair?"
Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoe. She's the expert."
She glared out the windshield. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but I also
didn't want to sound like an idiot. I hated feeling like Thalia knew more than I did, so I kept
my mouth shut.
The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow
across Thalia's face. I thought about how different she was from Zoe—Zoe all formal and
aloof like a princess, Thalia with her ratty clothes and her rebel attitude. But there was
something similar about them, too. The same kind of toughness. Right now, sitting in the
shadows with a gloomy expression, Thalia looked a lot like one of the Hunters.
Then suddenly, it hit me: "That's why you don't get along with Zoe."
Thalia frowned. "What?"
"The Hunters tried to recruit you," I guessed.
Her eyes got dangerously bright. I thought she was going to zap me out of the
Mercedes, but she just sighed. I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Annabeth, and I
ran into them once, and Zoe tried to convince me. She almost did, but…"
"But?"
Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke."
"Oh."
"Zoe and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I'd regret my
choice. She said Luke would let me down someday."
I watched the sun through the metal curtain. We seemed to be traveling faster each
second—shadows flickering like an old movie projector.
"That's harsh," I said. "Hard to admit Zoe was right."
"She wasn't right! Luke never let me down. Never."
"We'll have to fight him," I said. "There's no way around it."
Thalia didn't answer.
"You haven't seen him lately," I warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but—"
"I'll do what I have to."
"Even if that means killing him?"
"Do me a favor," she said. "Get out of my car."
I felt so bad for her I didn't argue.
As I was about to leave, she said, "Percy."
When I looked back, her eyes were red, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or
sadness. "Annabeth wanted to join the Hunters, too. Maybe you should think about why."
Before I could respond, she raised the power windows and shut me out.
I sat in the driver's seat of Grover's Lamborghini. Grover was asleep in the back. He'd
finally given up trying to impress Zoe and Bianca with his pipe music after he played "Poison
Ivy" and caused that very stuff to sprout from their Lexus's air conditioner.
As I watched the sun go down, I thought of Annabeth. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was
worried what I might dream.
"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams," a voice said right next to me.
I looked over. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to find the homeless guy from the rail yard
sitting in the shotgun seat. His jeans were so worn out they were almost white. His coat was
ripped, with stuffing coming out. He looked kind of like a teddy bear that had been run over
by a truck.
"If it weren't for dreams," he said, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the
future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands
dramatically:
"Dreams like a podcast,
Downloading truth in my ears.
They tell me cool stuff"
Apollo?" I guessed, because I figured nobody else could make a haiku that bad.
He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."
"A god named Fred?"
"Eh, well… Zeus insists on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even
when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."
"Can you help us, then?"
"Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"
"The train. How fast are we moving?"
Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost
sunset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."
"But where is Artemis?"
His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's…
clouded from me. I don't like it."
"And Annabeth?"
He frowned. "Oh, you mean that girl you lost? Hmm. I don't know."
I tried not to feel mad. I knew the gods had a hard time taking mortals seriously, even
half-bloods. We lived such short lives, compared to the gods.
"What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" I asked. "Do you know what it is?"
"No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster
when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long
memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my
Oracle."
"But it's your Oracle," I protested. "Can't you tell us what the prophecy means?"
Apollo sighed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to
explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."
"In other words, you don't know."
Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk
helping you again, Percy, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I
expect a good haiku about your journey!"
I wanted to protest that I wasn't tired and I'd never made up a haiku in my life, but
Apollo snapped his fingers, and the next thing I knew I was closing my eyes.
In my dream, I was somebody else. I was wearing an old-fashioned Greek tunic, which
was a little too breezy downstairs, and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was
wrapped around my back like a cape, and I was running somewhere, being pulled along by a
girl who was tightly gripping my hand.
"Hurry!" she said. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but I could hear the fear in her
voice. "He will find us!"
It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. We were running through tall grass, and
the scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden,
and yet the girl was leading me through it, as if we were about to die.
"I'm not afraid," I tried to tell her.
"You should be!" she said, pulling me along. She had long dark hair braided down her
back. Her silk robes glowed faintly in the starlight.
We raced up the side of the hill. She pulled me behind a thorn bush and we collapsed,
both breathing heavily. I didn't know why the girl was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful.
And I felt strong. Stronger than I'd ever felt before.
"There is no need to run," I told her. My voice sounded deeper, much more confident. "I
have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."
"Not this one," the girl said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain
to my father. It is the only way."
The hurt in her voice surprised me. She was really concerned, almost like she cared
about me.
"I don't trust your father," I said.
"You should not," the girl agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the
prize directly. You will die.'"
I chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"
"I… I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out… they would disown
me."
"Then there's nothing for it." I stood up, rubbing my hands together.
"Wait.'" the girl said.
She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up
and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother,
Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. My
immortal power."
The girl breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like
polished abalone.
"Take it," she told me. "And make of it a weapon."
I laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"
"It may not," she admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."
The girl's voice softened my heart. I reached down and took the hairpin, and as I did, it
grew longer and heavier in my hand, until I held a familiar bronze sword.
"Well balanced," I said. "Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I
name this blade?"
"Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before
you know it, you have been swept out to sea."
Before I could thank her, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air
escaping a tire, and the girl said, "Too late! He is here!"
I sat bolt upright in the Lamborghini's drivers seat. Grover was shaking my arm.
"Percy," he said. "It's morning. The train's stopped. Come on!"
I tried to shake off my drowsiness. Thalia, Zoe, and Bianca had already rolled up the
metal curtains. Outside were snowy mountains dotted with pine trees, the sun rising red
between two peaks.
I fished my pen out of my pocket and stared at it. Anaklusmos, the Ancient Greek name
for Riptide. A different form, but I was sure it was the same blade I'd seen in my dream.
And I was sure of something else, too. The girl I had seen was Zoe Nightshade.
We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said
WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of
the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the
streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the
morning was sunny.
Even with my lion-skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which
was about half a mile from the train tracks. As we walked, I told Grover about my
conversation with Apollo the night before—how he'd told me to seek out Nereus in San
Francisco.
Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."
I tried not to get too depressed about our chances. I didn't want to send Grover into a
panic, but I knew we had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time
for her council of the gods. The General had said Annabeth would only be kept alive until the
winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And he'd said something about a
sacrifice. I didn't like the sound of that at all.
We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a
school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.
"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way
out."
"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.
"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."
"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."
Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will
check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."
We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a
little uncomfortable coming with us, but she did.
Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't
enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no
easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.
"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at
the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several
hundred dollars."
The clerk looked so lonely, I bought a rubber rat. Then we headed back outside and
stood on the porch.
"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the
other shops has a suggestion."
"But the clerk said—"
"I know," she told me. "I'm checking anyway."
I let her go. I knew how it felt to be restless. All half-bloods had attention deficit
problems because of our inborn battlefield reflexes. We couldn't stand just waiting around.
Also, I had a feeling Thalia was still upset over our conversation last night about Luke.
Bianca and I stood together awkwardly. I mean… I was never very comfortable talking
one-on-one with girls anyway, and I'd never been alone with Bianca before. I wasn't sure what
to say, especially now that she was a Hunter and everything.
"Nice rat," she said at last.
I set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store.
"So… how do you like being a Hunter so far?" I asked.
She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"
"Nah. Long as, you know… you're happy."
"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is
definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I
guess that's the immortality."
I stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before,
more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied
back, and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke. With a shiver, I realized that five
hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she
did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other half-blood long after
I was dead, but Bianca would still look twelve years old.
"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she
wanted assurance it was okay.
"He'll be all right," I said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that
for Annabeth."
Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like
you."
"Lot of good it did her."
"Don't blame yourself Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean,
that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at
the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good
guy."
The compliment took me by surprise. "Even though I knocked you down in capture the
flag?"
She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy."
A couple hundred yards away, Grover and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded
down with pastry bags and drinks. I kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird,
but I realized I liked talking to Bianca. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with than
Zoe Nightshade, anyway.
"So what's the story with you and Nico?" I asked her. "Where did you go to school
before Westover?"
She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."
"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"
"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I
think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave
that school."
"Why?"
She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We
traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then… I don't know.
One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us
back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."
It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be
normal for them.
"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"
She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish,
but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico—don't get me wrong—I just needed to find
out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."
I thought about last summer, the way I'd felt when I found out I had a Cyclops for a
baby brother. I could relate to what Bianca was saying.
"Zoe seems to trust you,"I said."What were you guys talking about, anyway—
something dangerous about the quest?"
"When?"
Yesterday morning on the pavilion," I said, before I could stop myself. "Something
about the General."
Her face darkened. "How did you… The invisibility hat. Were you eavesdropping?"
"No! I mean, not really. I just—"
I was saved from trying to explain when Zoe and Grover arrived with the drinks and
pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and me. Coffee for them. I got a blueberry muffin, and it
was so good I could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving me.
"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"
"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think
so. I just need to—"
He froze.
I was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of
springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and
sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.
Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."
Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly
the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. My rubber rat squeaked. It
scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.
Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered
around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.
"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just… What's wrong with Grover?"
"I don't know," I said. "He collapsed."
"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned.
"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as
if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."
We made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared.
They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were
now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray
skin and yellow eyes.
They drew their handguns. I'll admit I used to think it would be kind of cool to learn
how to shoot a gun, but I changed my mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at
me.
Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't
flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into me.
I drew Riptide, though I wasn't sure what good it would do against guns.
Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept
swooning and leaning against her.
"Back up," Thalia said.
We started to—but then I heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on
the road behind us. We were surrounded.
I wondered where the other skeletons were. I'd seen a dozen at the Smithsonian. Then
one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it.
Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone.
Suddenly I understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for us. These
skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon we'd have a full party on our hands.
"It's near," Grover moaned.
"It's here," I said.
"No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."
I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was worried about his condition. He was
in no shape to walk, much less fight.
"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll
ignore Grover that way."
"Agreed," said Zoe.
"The Wild!" Grover moaned.
A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the
skeletons. I remembered the General gloating over Annabeth's fate. I remembered the way
Luke had betrayed her.
And I charged.
The first skeleton fired. Time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I
could feel its path, the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge
of my blade and kept charging.
The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then I swung Riptide
through his waist and cut him in half.
His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began
to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at me and tried to
fire, but I knocked his gun into the snow.
I thought I was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot me in the back.
"Percy!" Thalia screamed.
I landed facedown in the street. Then I realized something… I wasn't dead. The impact
of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn't hurt me.
The Nemean Lion's fur! My coat was bulletproof.
Thalia charged the second skeleton. Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the third
and fourth. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to
hug them.
There was a crashing sound in the forest to our left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the
skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. I got to my feet and ducked a police baton. The
skeleton I'd cut in half was already fully re-formed, coming after me.
There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the
arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, and I thought
she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest.
The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.
"How did you do that?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"
"Well, do it again!"
Bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed us
back, keeping us at baton's length.
"Plan?" I said as we retreated.
Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were
cracking.
"A gift," Grover muttered.
And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road.
It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its
back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.
"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed, and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The
force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where
they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.
Then the pig turned on us.
Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it.'"
The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.
"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill
it."
"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"
The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the
way. I had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk
Express.
"Yeah, I feel blessed!" I said. "Scatter!"
We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.
"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.
"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"
"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.
It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was
faster than I'd realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast.
It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.
I racked my brain, trying to remember the myth of the boar. I was pretty sure Hercules
had fought this thing once, but I couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. I had a vague memory
of the boar plowing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. I hoped
Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.
"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced
around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. But Thalia
and I won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of
raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage.
Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged us.
We only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill, and we could dodge in and
out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.
On the other side of the hill, I found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the
snow.
"This way.'" I grabbed Thalia's arm and we ran along the rails while the boar roared
behind us, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were
not made for this, thank the gods.
Ahead of us, I saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I
had a crazy idea.
"Follow me!"
Thalia slowed down—I didn't have time to ask why—but I pulled her along and she
reluctantly followed. Behind us, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and
crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us.
Thalia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.
"No!" Thalia screamed.
She'd turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain
dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.
The boar was right behind us.
"Come on!" I said. "It'll hold our weight, probably."
"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.
The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.
"Now!" I yelled at Thalia.
She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green.
I didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight
toward us. Plan B. I tackled Thalia and sent us both sideways off the edge of the bridge, into
the side of the mountain. We slid on Aegis like a snow-board, over rocks and mud and snow,
racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the
monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell
into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!
Thalia and I skidded to a stop. We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding.
Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to us, the wild boar was squealing and struggling.
All I could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like
Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.
I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."
Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look.
"Don't be stupid."
"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about
it."
She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell
anyone, I swear—"
"No, no," I said. "That's cool. It's just… the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky,
afraid of heights?"
She was about to knock me into the snow when, above us, Grover's voice called,
"Helloooooo?"
"Down here!" I shouted.
A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined us. We stood watching the wild
boar struggle in the snow.
"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.
"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."
"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like 1 she'd just lost a fight with a
Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."
Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this
boar can travel?"
"Fun," I said. "Like… pig cowboys."
Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish… I wish I had more time to look
around. But it's gone now."
"What's gone?"
Grover didn't seem to hear me. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back.
Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free,
there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and
tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose,
and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.
"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."
She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the
rest of us.
Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.
"Wait a second," I said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild
blessing?"
"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong… I never
thought I would sense that presence again."
"What presence?"
She stared at me like I was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a
moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."
We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my back end could take.
Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable
boar-riding was.
I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance
and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we
were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert.
As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the
muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.
"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."
Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping
up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores.
After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and
belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.
"It likes the mountains better," I guessed.
"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."
Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road
was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked
like it hadn't been open since before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office
with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that
was a range of hills… but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way
too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap
metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.
"Whoa," I said.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at
Graver. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"
Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them
into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no
sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.
"That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there."
"Which one is me?" I asked.
"The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.
"Oh, shut up."
"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."
"A monster?" Thalia asked.
Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the
acorns don't lie. Our next challenge…"
He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of
metal looked like something on an alien planet.
We decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us
wanted to go Dumpster-diving in the dark.
Zoe and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their
backpacks. I don't know how they did it, because the packs were tiny, but must've been
enchanted to hold so much stuff. I'd noticed their bows and quivers were also magic. I never
really thought about it, but when the Hunters needed them, they just appeared slung over their
backs. And when they didn't, they were gone.
The night got chilly fast, so Grover and I collected old boards from the ruined house,
and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about
as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.
"The stars are out," Zoe said.
She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.
"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."
"This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations
have disappeared because of human light pollution."
"You talk like you're not human," I said.
Zoe raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the
world. Can the same be said for thee?"
"For you," Thalia corrected. "Not thee"
"But you use you for the beginning of a sentence."
"And for the end," Thalia said. "No thou. No thee. Just you"
Zoe threw up her hands in exasperation. "I hate this language. It changes too often!"
Grover sighed. He was still looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light
pollution problem. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."
Zoe nodded sadly.
"Maybe it was the coffee," Grover said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came.
Maybe if I drank more coffee…"
I was pretty sure coffee had nothing to do with what had happened in Cloudcroft, but I
didn't have the heart to tell Grover. I thought about the rubber rat and the tiny birds that had
suddenly come alive when the wind blew. "Grover, do you really think that was Pan? I mean,
I know you want it to be."
"He sent us help," Grover insisted. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence.
After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the
best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close."
I didn't answer. I didn't want to squash Grover's hopes.
"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the
zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."
Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."
"Maybe there's something special about your knife," I said.
"It is the same as mine," Zoe said. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the
warriors that way."
"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," I said.
Bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her.
"Never mind," Zoe told her. "We will find the answer. In the meantime, we should plan
our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a
road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."
I was about to protest that Grover and I had had bad experiences in that town, but
Bianca beat us to it.
"No!" she said. "Not there!"
She looked really freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller
coaster.
Zoe frowned. "Why?"
Bianca took a shaky breath. "I… I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When
we were traveling. And then, I can't remember…"
Suddenly I had a really bad thought. I remembered what
Bianca had told me about Nico and her staying in a hotel for a while. I met Graver's
eyes, and I got the feeling he was thinking the same thing.
"Bianca," I said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and
Casino?"
Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"
"Oh, great," I said.
"Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"
"A couple of years ago," I said, "Grover, Annabeth, and I got trapped there. It's
designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five
days had passed. It makes time speed up."
"No," Bianca said. "No, that's not possible."
"You said somebody came and got you out," I remembered.
"Yes."
"What did he look like? What did he say?"
"I… I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."
Zoe sat forward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C., had
changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."
"Yes, but—"
"Bianca," Zoe said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right
now?"
"Don't be silly," Bianca said. She told us the correct name of the president.
"And who was the president before that?" Zoe asked.
Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."
Zoe swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin'?"
"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."
"Like FDR Drive?" I asked. Because seriously, that's about all I knew about F.D.R.
"Bianca," Zoe said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years
ago."
"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I… I'm not that old."
She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.
Thalia's eyes turned sad. I guess she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a
while. "It's okay, Bianca, The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."
"But how?" I said. "We were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped. How
could you have escaped after being there for so long?"
"I told you." Bianca looked about ready to cry. "A man came and said it was time to
leave. And—"
"But who? Why did he do it?"
Before she could answer, we were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The
headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. I was half hoping it was Apollo, come to give us
a ride again, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was
nighttime. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine
slid to a stop in front of us.
The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before I could step away, the point
of a sword touched my throat.
I heard the sound of Zoe and Bianca drawing their bows. As the owner of the sword got
out of the car, I moved back very slowly. I had to, because he was pushing the point under my
chin.
He smiled cruelly. "Not so fast now, are you, punk?"
He was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white
muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but I knew what was behind
those glasses—hollow sockets filled with flames.
"Ares," I growled.
The war god glanced at my friends. "At ease, people."
He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.
"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little farther under my chin.
"Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never
behead my enemies in front of a lady."
"What lady?" Thalia asked.
Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."
He lowered his sword and pushed me away.
"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good
company."
"What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"
Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you.
Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get
some tacos while you wait? Only take Percy a few minutes."
"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe said.
"Besides," Grover managed, "the taco place is closed."
Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life.
The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, goat
boy?"
"Go on," I told my friends. "I'll handle this."
I tried to sound more confident than I felt. I don't think Ares was fooled.
"You heard the boy," Ares said. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."
My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares regarded me with
loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.
"Get inside, punk," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness
as I am."
When I saw her, my jaw dropped.
I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. I forgot how to speak in complete sentences.
She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her
face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that
would've lit up the dark side of the moon.
Thinking back on it, I can't tell you who she looked like.
Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can
think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color,
eye color, whatever. The goddess had that.
When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth. Then like
this television actress I used to have a crush on in fifth grade. Then… well, you get the idea.
"Ah, there you are, Percy," the goddess said. "I am Aphrodite."
I slipped into the seat across from her and said something like, "Um uh gah."
She smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Hold this, please."
She handed me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for
her. She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though I couldn't see anything wrong with
it.
"Do you know why you're here?" she asked.
I wanted to respond. Why couldn't I form a complete sentence? She was only a lady. A
seriously beautiful lady. With eyes like pools of spring water… Whoa.
I pinched my own arm, hard.
"I… I don't know," I managed.
"Oh, dear," Aphrodite said. "Still in denial?"
Outside the car, I could hear Ares chuckling. I had a feeling he could hear every word
we said. The idea of him being out there made me angry, and that helped clear my mind.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.
"Well then, why are you on this quest?"
"Artemis has been captured!"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, Artemis. Please. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if
they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think?
I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"
"But she was chasing a monster," I protested. "A really, really bad monster. We have to
find it!"
Aphrodite made me hold the mirror a little higher. She seemed to have found a
microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara. "Always some
monster. But my dear Percy, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in
you."
My heart pounded. I didn't want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of my
mouth. "Annabeth is in trouble."
Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"
"I have to help her," I said. "I've been having these dreams."
"Ah, you even dream about her! That's so cute!"
"No! I mean… that's not what I meant."
She made a tsk-tsk sound. "Percy, I'm on your side. I'm the reason you're here, after all."
I stared at her. "What?"
"The poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was
an accident? Sending Blackjack to find you? Helping you sneak out of the camp?"
"You did that?"
"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters . are! A quest for some monster,
blah blah blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love—"
"Wait a second, I never said—"
"Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You do know Annabeth was close to joining the
Hunters, don't you?"
I blushed. "I wasn't sure—"
"She was about to throw her life away! And you, my dear, you can save her from that.
It's so romantic!"
"Uh…"
"Oh, put the mirror down," Aphrodite ordered. "I look fine."
I hadn't realized I was still holding it, but as soon as I put it down, I noticed my arms
were sore.
"Now listen, Percy," Aphrodite said. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and
Artemis and the monster. That's not important. You just concentrate on finding and saving
Annabeth."
"Do you know where she is?"
Aphrodite waved her hand irritably. "No, no. I leave the details to you. But it's been
ages since we've had a good tragic love story."
"Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with
tragic!"
"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let
anything come between them?"
"Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?"
"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."
"But… I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean."
She smiled sympathetically. She really was beautiful. And not just because she had a
pretty face or anything. She believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy
when she talked about it.
"Not knowing is half the fun," Aphrodite said. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Not being
sure who you love and who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry."
"No, no," I said. "Don't do that."
"And don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I
have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."
"That's really okay," I told her. "Don't go to any trouble."
"You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you."
Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you'd better go. And do be careful in my husband's
territory, Percy. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."
"What?" I asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"
But the car door opened and Ares grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out of the car and
back into the desert night.
My audience with the goddess of love was over.
"You're lucky, punk." Ares pushed me away from the limo. "Be grateful."
"For what?"
"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me—"
"So why haven't you killed me?" I shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of
war, but being around him always made me feel angry and reckless.
Ares nodded, like I'd finally said something intelligent.
"I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is
that you might start the biggest war in history. I can't risk messing that up. Besides, Aphrodite
thinks you're some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad
with her. But don't worry. I haven't forgotten my promise. Some day soon, kid—real soon—
you're going to raise your sword to fight, and you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."
I balled my fists. "Why wait? I beat you once. How's that ankle healing up?"
He grinned crookedly. "Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll
start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then… Get lost."
He snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. I
fell to the ground.
When I stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole
town of Gila Claw was gone. My friends and I were standing in the middle of the junkyard,
mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.
"What did she want with you?" Bianca asked, once I'd told them about Aphrodite.
"Oh, uh, not sure," I lied. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not
to pick anything up."
Zoe narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee
that. Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."
"For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."
Grover was looking at me funny. Being empathic and all, he could usually read my
emotions, and I got the feeling he knew exactly what Aphrodite had talked to me about.
"So," I said, anxious to change the subject, "how do we get out of here?"
"That way," Zoe said. "That is west."
"How can you tell?"
In the light of the full moon, I was surprised how well I could see her roll her eyes at
me. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west."
She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out
because there were so many other stars.
"Oh, yeah," I said. "The bear thing."
Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."
"You act like it was real."
"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"
We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the
moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots,
tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that
gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.
"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff… some of it looks like real gold."
"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard
of the gods."
"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was
broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"
He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"
Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"
"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden
plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"
She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a
crescent moon. "It's just like Percys sword!"
Zoe's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."
"But—"
"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It
is defective. Or cursed."
Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.
"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.
"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" I asked.
She gave me a hard look. "Zoe is right, Percy. Things get thrown away here for a
reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."
"That's the second time you've agreed with Zoe," I muttered, but Thalia ignored me.
We started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go
on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty
much looked the same.
I'd like to say we left the stuff alone, but there was too much cool junk not to check out
some of it. I found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that was so sweet I had to pick
it up. Grover found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some
of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Grover picked
them up, trying to flap their wings.
Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a
highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road…
"What is that?" Bianca gasped.
Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa,
the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten
thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.
Bianca frowned. "They look like—"
"Toes," Grover said.
Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes."
Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.
"Let's go around," Thalia said. "Far around."
"But the road is right over there," I protested. "Quicker to climb over."
Ping.
Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, but then I realized it was only Grover.
He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the
column were hollow.
"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.
Grover cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"
"Come on." Thalia looked at me. "Around."
I didn't argue. The toes were starting to freak me out, too. I mean, who sculpts ten-foottall
metal toes and sticks them in a junkyard?
After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned
but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.
"We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods."
But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, I heard a sound like
a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.
I whirled around. Behind us, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes
tilted over, and I realized why they looked like toes. They were toes. The thing that rose up
from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He was impossibly tall—a
skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at us,
and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust,
and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words
WASH ME.
"Talos!" Zoe gasped.
"Who—who's Talos?" I stuttered.
"One of Hephaestus's creations," Thalia said. "But that can't be the original. It's too
small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model.
The metal giant didn't like the word defective.
He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out
of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long,
easy. It looked rusty and dull, but I didn't figure that mattered. Getting hit with that thing
would be like getting hit with a battleship.
"Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?"
She stared accusingly at me.
I shook my head. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief."
Bianca didn't say anything. I could swear she looked guilty, but I didn't have much time
to think about it, because the giant defective Talos took one step toward us, closing half the
distance and making the ground shake.
"Run!" Grover yelped.
Great advice, except that it was hopeless. At a leisurely stroll, this thing could
outdistance us easily.
We split up, the way we'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held
it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power
lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path.
Zoe's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the
metal. Grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up a mountain of metal.
Bianca and I ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot.
"You took something," I said. "That bow."
"No!" she said, but her voice was quivering.
"Give it back!" I said. "Throw it down!"
"I… I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late."
"What did. you take?"
Before she could answer, I heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the
sky.
"Move!" I tore down the hill, Bianca right behind me, as the giant's foot smashed a
crater in the ground where we'd been hiding.
"Hey, Talos!" Grover yelled, but the monster raised his sword, looking down at Bianca
and me.
Grover played a quick melody on his pipes. Over at the highway, the downed power
lines began to dance. I understood what Grover was going to do a split second before it
happened. One of the poles with power lines still attached flew toward Talos's back leg and
wrapped around his calf The lines sparked and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.
Talos whirled around, creaking and sparking. Grover had bought us a few seconds.
"Come on!" I told Bianca. But she stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a
small metal figurine, a statue of a god. "It… it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't
have."
"How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" I said.
There were tears in her eyes.
"Throw it down," I said. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone."
She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened.
The giant kept coming after Grover. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Grover
by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him, and then I couldn't see him
anymore.
"No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting
the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to
rise again. It was hard to tell if it could feel anything. There weren't any emotions in its halfmelted
face, but I got the sense that it was about as ticked off as a twenty-story-tall metal
warrior could be.
He raised his foot to stomp and I saw that his sole was treaded like the bottom of a
sneaker. There was a hole in his heel, like a large manhole, and there were red words painted
around it, which I deciphered only after the foot came down: FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY.
"Crazy-idea time," I said.
Bianca looked at me nervously. "Anything."
I told her about the maintenance hatch. "There may be a way to control the thing.
Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."
"How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed"
"Distract it," I said. "I'll just have to time it right."
Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go."
"You can't. You're new at this! You'll die."
"It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. "It's my responsibility. Here." She
picked up the little god statue and pressed it into my hand. "If anything happens, give that to
Nico. Tell him… tell him I'm sorry."
"Bianca, no!"
But she wasn't waiting for me. She charged at the monster's left foot.
Thalia had its attention for the moment. She'd learned that the giant was big but slow. If
you could stay close to it and not get smashed, you could run around it and stay alive. At
least, it was working so far.
Bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps
that swayed and shifted with his weight.
Zoe yelled, "What are you doing?"
"Get it to raise its foot!" she said.
Zoe shot an arrow toward the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. The
giant straightened and shook its head.
"Hey, Junk Boy!" I yelled. "Down here."
I ran up to its big toe and stabbed it with Riptide. The magic blade cut a gash in the
bronze.
Unfortunately, my plan worked. Talos looked down at me and raised his foot to squash
me like a bug. I didn't see what Bianca was doing. I had to turn and run. The foot came down
about two inches behind me and I was knocked into the air. I hit something hard and sat up,
dazed. I'd been thrown into an Olympus-Air refrigerator.
The monster was about to finish me off, but Grover somehow dug himself out of the
junk pile. He played his pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole
whacking against Talos's thigh. The monster turned. Grover should've run, but he must've
been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. He took two steps, fell, and didn't get
back up.
"Grover!" Thalia and I both ran toward him, but I knew we'd be too late.
The monster raised his sword to smash Grover. Then he froze.
Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started
moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and
punched himself in the face.
"Go, Bianca!" I yelled.
Zoe looked horrified. "She is inside?"
The monster staggered around, and I realized we were still in danger. Thalia and I
grabbed Grover and ran with him toward the highway. Zoe was already ahead of us. She
yelled, "How will Bianca get out?"
The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his
whole body and he staggered toward the power lines.
"Look out!" I yelled, but it was too late.
The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. I
hoped the inside was insulated. I had no idea what was going on in there. The giant careened
back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible
CLANG!
His left arm came loose, too. He was falling apart at the joints.
Talos began to run.
"Wait!" Zoe yelled. We ran after him, but there was no way we could keep up. Pieces of
the robot kept falling off, getting in our way.
The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally, his legs
collapsed. When we reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. We
crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. We searched until the sun
started to rise, but no luck.
Zoe sat down and wept. I was stunned to see her cry.
Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.
"We can keep searching," I said. "It's light now. We'll find her."
"No we won't," Grover said miserably. "It happened just as it was supposed to."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
He looked up at me with big watery eyes. "The prophecy. One shall he lost in the land
without rain."
Why hadn't I seen it? Why had I let her go instead of me?
Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone.
At the edge of the dump, we found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away
itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so we decided to borrow it.
Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as Zoe or Grover or me.
"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded us. "We need to keep moving."
She navigated us through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to
look at. Zoe sat up front with Thalia. Grover and I sat in the pickup bed, leaning against the
tow wench. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after
losing Bianca.
My hand closed around the little figurine that had cost her life. I still couldn't even tell
what god it was supposed to be. Nico would know.
Oh, gods… what was I going to tell Nico?
I wanted to believe that Bianca was still alive somewhere. But I had a bad feeling that
she was gone for good.
"It should've been me," I said. "I should've gone into the giant."
"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough
Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if…" He sniffled. "Do
you think anybody else would be my best friend?"
"Ah, Grover…"
He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy, like he had on war
paint. "I'm… I'm okay."
But he wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico—whatever had happened
when that wild wind blew through—he seemed really fragile, even more emotional than
usual. I was afraid to talk to him about it, because he might start bawling.
At least there's one good thing about having a friend who gets freaked out more than
you do. I realized I couldn't stay depressed. I had to set aside thinking about Bianca and keep
us going forward, the way Thalia was doing. I wondered what she and Zoe were talking about
in the front of the truck.
The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well,
because the road dead-ended.
Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What
now?"
I scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional
clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing
interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few
rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below us.
"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."
I tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down
the cliff face. "That's a goat path," I said.
"So?" he asked.
"The rest of us aren't goats."
"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."
I thought about that. I'd done cliffs before, but I didn't like them. Then I looked over at
Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. Her problem with heights… she'd never be able to do
it.
"No," I said. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."
Grover said, "But—"
"Come on," I said. "A walk won't hurt us."
I glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick Thank you.
We followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down
to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but I
left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying IOU two canoes.
"We need to go upstream," Zoe said. It was the first time I'd heard her speak since the
junkyard, and I was worried about how bad she sounded, like somebody with the flu. "The
rapids are too swift."
"Leave that to me," I said. We put the canoes in the water.
Thalia pulled me aside as we were getting the oars. "Thanks for back there."
"Don't mention it."
"Can you really…" She nodded to the rapids. "You know."
"I think so. Usually I'm good with water."
"Would you take Zoe?" she asked. "I think, ah, maybe you can talk to her."
"She's not going to like that."
"Please? I don't know if I can stand being in the same boat with her. She's… she's
starting to worry me."
It was about the last thing I wanted to do, but I nodded.
Thalia's shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one."
"Two."
"One and a half," Thalia said.
She smiled, and for a second, I remembered that I actually liked her when she wasn't
yelling at me. She turned and helped Grover get their canoe into the water.
As it turned out, I didn't even need to control the currents. As soon as we got in the
river, I looked over the edge of the boat and found a couple of naiads staring at me.
They looked like regular teenage girls, the kind you'd see in any mall, except for the fact
that they were underwater.
Hey, I said.
They made a bubbling sound that may have been giggling. I wasn't sure. I had a hard
time understanding naiads.
We're heading upstream, I told them. Do you think you could—
Before I could even finish, the naiads each chose a canoe and began pushing us up the
river. We started so fast
Grover fell into his canoe with his hooves sticking up in the air.
"I hate naiads," Zoe grumbled.
A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoe in the face.
"She-devils!" Zoe went for her bow.
"Whoa," I said. "They're just playing."
"Cursed water spirits. They've never forgiven me."
"Forgiven you for what?"
She slung her bow back over her shoulder. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."
We sped up the river, the cliffs looming up on either side of us.
"What happened to Bianca wasn't your fault," I told her. "It was my fault. I let her go."
I figured this would give Zoe an excuse to start yelling at me. At least that might shake
her out of feeling depressed.
Instead, her shoulders slumped. "No, Percy. I pushed her into going on the quest. I was
too anxious. She was a powerful half-blood. She had a kind heart, as well. I… I thought she
would be the next lieutenant."
"But you're the lieutenant."
She gripped the strap of her quiver. She looked more tired than I'd ever seen her.
"Nothing can last forever, Percy. Over two thousand years I have led the Hunt, and my
wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis herself is in danger."
"Look, you can't blame yourself for that."
"If I had insisted on going with her—"
"You think you could've fought something powerful enough to kidnap Artemis? There's
nothing you could have done."
Zoe didn't answer.
The cliffs along the river were getting taller. Long shadows fell across the water,
making it a lot colder, even though the day was bright.
Without thinking about it, I took Riptide out of my pocket. Zoe looked at the pen, and
her expression was pained.
"You made this," I said.
"Who told thee?"
"I had a dream about it."
She studied me. I was sure she was going to call me crazy, but she just sighed. "It was a
gift. And a mistake."
"Who was the hero?" I asked.
Zoe shook her head. "Do not make me say his name. I swore never to speak it again."
"You act like I should know him."
"I am sure you do, hero. Don't all you boys want to be just like him?"
Her voice was so bitter, I decided not to ask what she meant. I looked down at Riptide,
and for the first time, I wondered if it was cursed.
"Your mother was a water goddess?" I asked.
"Yes, Pleione. She had five daughters. My sisters and I. The Hesperides."
"Those were the girls who lived in a garden at the edge of the West. With the golden
apple tree and a dragon guarding it."
"Yes," Zoe said wistfully. "Ladon."
"But weren't there only four sisters'?"
"There are now. I was exiled. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed."
"Why?"
Zoe pointed to my pen. "Because I betrayed my family and helped a hero. You won't
find that in the legend either. He never spoke of me. After his direct assault on Ladon failed, I
gave him the idea of how to steal the apples, how to trick my father, but he took all the
credit."
"But—"
Gurgle, gurgle, the naiad spoke in my mind. The canoe was slowing down.
I looked ahead, and I saw why.
This was as far as they could take us. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a
football stadium stood in our path.
"Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."
We stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the
cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.
The naiads had left with a lot of grumbling—not in words I could understand, but it was
obvious they hated this dam blocking up their nice river. Our canoes floated back
downstream, swirling in the wake from the dam's discharge vents.
"Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s."
"Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.
Graver sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."
Zoe stared at us. "How do you know all that?"
"Annabeth," I said. "She liked architecture."
"She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.
"Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying."
"I wish she were here," I said.
The others nodded. Zoe was still looking at us strangely, but I didn't care. It seemed like
cruel fate that we'd come to Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's personal favorites, and she
wasn't here to see it.
"We should go up there," I said. "For her sake. Just to say we've been."
"You are mad," Zoe decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge
parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."
We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road. It
came up on the east side of the river. Then we straggled back toward the dam. It was cold and
windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the
other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to
the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.
Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover kept sniffing
the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but I knew he smelled monsters.
"How close are they?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us…
the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like
that."
I didn't either. It was already Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and we
still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters,
"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.
"You've been here before?" I asked.
"Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the
side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar
statues with wings.
"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from
Athena."
Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet.
"What are they doing?" I asked.
"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."
"Why?"
She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to
Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."
"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?"
Thalia's expression darkened. I could tell that she'd come here before hoping for exactly
that—some kind of sign from her dad. Some connection. "No. They don't do anything.
They're just big metal statues."
I thought about the last big metal statue we'd run into. That hadn't gone so well. But I
decided not to bring it up.
"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."
Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"
Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"
"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french
fries."
Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."
Maybe it was the fact that we were so tired and strung out emotionally, but I started
cracking up, and Thalia and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at us. "I do not
understand."
"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.
"And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."
I busted up, and I probably would've kept laughing all day, but then I heard a noise:
"Moooo."
The smile melted off my face. I wondered if the noise was just in my head, but Grover
had stopped laughing too. He was looking around, confused. "Did I just hear a cow?"
"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.
"No," Grover said. "I'm serious."
Zoe listened. "I hear nothing."
Thalia was looking at me. "Percy, are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."
"What's wrong?" Grover asked.
"Nothing," I said. "I… I just need a minute. To think."
They hesitated, but I guess I must've looked upset, because they finally went into the
visitor center without me. As soon as they were gone, I jogged to the north edge of the dam
and looked over.
"Moo."
She was about thirty feet below in the lake, but I could see her clearly: my friend from
Long Island Sound, Bessie the cow serpent.
I looked around. There were groups of kids running along the dam. A lot of senior
citizens. Some families. But nobody seemed to be paying Bessie any attention yet.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her.
"Moo!"
Her voice was urgent, like she was trying to warn me of something.
"How did you get here?" I asked. We were thousands of miles from Long Island,
hundreds of miles inland. There was no way she could've swum all the way here. And yet,
here she was.
Bessie swam in a circle and butted her head against the side of the dam. "Moo!"
She wanted me to come with her. She was telling me to hurry.
"I can't," I told her. "My friends are inside."
She looked at me with her sad brown eyes. Then she gave one more urgent "Mooo!,"
did a flip, and disappeared into the water.
I hesitated. Something was wrong. She was trying to tell me that. I considered jumping
over the side and following her, but then I tensed. The hairs on my arms bristled. I looked
down the dam road to the east and I saw two men walking slowly toward me. They wore gray
camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies.
They passed through a group of kids and pushed them aside. A kid yelled, "Hey!" One
of the warriors turned, his face changing momentarily into a skull.
"Ah!" the kid yelled, and his whole group backed away.
I ran for the visitor center.
I was almost to the stairs when I heard tires squeal. On the west side of the dam, a black
van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people.
The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. I was surrounded.
I bolted down the stairs and through the museum entrance. The security guard at the
metal detector yelled, "Hey, kid!" But I didn't stop.
I ran through the exhibits and ducked behind a tour group. I looked for my friends, but I
couldn't see them anywhere. Where was the dam snack bar?
"Stop!" The metal-detector guy yelled.
There was no place to go but into an elevator with the tour group. I ducked inside just as
the door closed.
"We'll be going down seven hundred feet," our tour guide said cheerfully. She was a
park ranger, with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and tinted glasses. I guess she
hadn't noticed that I was being chased. "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen, the elevator
hardly ever breaks."
"Does this go to the snack bar?" I asked her.
A few people behind me chuckled. The tour guide looked at me. Something about her
gaze made my skin tingle.
"To the turbines, young man," the lady said. "Weren't you listening to my fascinating
presentation upstairs?"
"Oh, uh, sure. Is there another way out of the dam?"
"It's a dead end," a tourist behind me said. "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the
other elevator."
The doors opened.
"Go right ahead, folks," the tour guide told us. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the
end of the corridor."
I didn't have much choice but to go out with the group.
"And young man," the tour guide called. I looked back. She'd taken off her glasses. Her
eyes were startlingly gray, like storm clouds. "There is always a way out for those clever
enough to find it."
The doors closed with the tour guide still inside, leaving me alone.
Before I could think too much about the woman in the elevator, a ding came from
around the corner. The second elevator was opening, and I heard an unmistakable sound—the
clattering of skeleton teeth.
I ran after the tour group, through a tunnel carved out of solid rock. It seemed to run
forever. The walls were moist, and the air hummed with electricity and the roar of water. I
came out on a U-shaped balcony that overlooked this huge warehouse area. Fifty feet below,
enormous turbines were running. It was a big room, but I didn't see any other exit, unless I
wanted to jump into the turbines and get churned up to make electricity. I didn't.
Another tour guide was talking over the microphone, telling the tourists about water
supplies in Nevada. I prayed that Thalia, Zoe, and Grover were okay. They might already be
captured, or eating at the snack bar, completely unaware that we were being surrounded. And
stupid me: I had trapped myself in a hole hundreds of feet below the surface.
I worked my way around the crowd, trying not to be too obvious about it. There was a
hallway at the other side of the balcony—maybe some place I could hide. I kept my hand on
Riptide, ready to strike.
By the time I got to the opposite side of the balcony, my nerves were shot. I backed into
the little hallway and watched the tunnel I'd come from.
Then right behind me I heard a sharp Chhh! like the voice of a skeleton.
Without thinking, I uncapped Riptide and spun, slashing with my sword.
The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex.
"Oh my god.'" she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?"
The first thing that went through my head was that the sword hadn't hurt her. It had
passed clean through her body, harmlessly. "You're mortal!"
She looked at me in disbelief. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm mortal!
How did you get that sword past security?"
"I didn't—Wait, you can see it's a sword?"
The girl rolled her eyes, which were green like mine. She had frizzy reddish-brown hair.
Her nose was also red, like she had a cold. She wore a big maroon Harvard sweatshirt and
jeans that were covered with marker stains and little holes, like she spent her free time poking
them with a fork.
"Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world," she said. "And why
didn't it hurt me? I mean, not that I'm complaining. Who are you? And whoa, what is that
you're wearing? Is that made of lion fur?"
She asked so many questions so fast, it was like she was throwing rocks at me. I
couldn't think of what to say. I looked at my sleeves to see if the Nemean Lion pelt had
somehow changed back to fur, but it still looked like a brown winter coat to me.
I knew the skeleton warriors were still chasing me. I had no time to waste. But I just
stared at the redheaded girl. Then I remembered what Thalia had done at Westover Hall to
fool the teachers. Maybe I could manipulate the Mist.
I concentrated hard and snapped my fingers. "You don't see a sword," I told the girl.
"It's just a ballpoint pen."
She blinked. "Um… no. It's a sword, weirdo."
"Who are you?" I demanded.
She huffed indignantly. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Now, are you going to answer my
questions or should I scream for security?"
"No!" I said. "I mean, I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm in trouble."
"In a hurry or in trouble?"
"Um, sort of both."
She looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened. "Bathroom!"
"What?"
"Bathroom! Behind me! Now!"
I don't know why, but I listened to her. I slipped inside the boys' bathroom and left
Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing outside. Later, that seemed cowardly to me. I'm also pretty
sure it saved my life.
I heard the clattering, hissing sounds of skeletons as they came closer.
My grip tightened on Riptide. What was I thinking? I'd left a mortal girl out there to die.
I was preparing to burst out and fight when Rachel Elizabeth Dare started talking in that
rapid-fire machine gun way of hers.
"Oh my god! Did you see that kid? It's about time you got here. He tried to kill me! He
had a sword, for god's sake. You security guys let a sword-swinging lunatic inside a national
landmark? I mean, jeez! He ran that way toward those turbine thingies. I think he went over
the side or something. Maybe he fell."
The skeletons clattered excitedly. I heard them moving off.
Rachel opened the door. "All clear. But you'd better hurry."
She looked shaken. Her face was gray and sweaty.
I peeked around the corner. Three skeleton warriors were running toward the other end
of the balcony. The way to the elevator was clear for a few seconds.
"I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."
"What are those things?" she asked. "They looked like—"
"Skeletons?"
She nodded uneasily.
"Do yourself a favor," I said. "Forget it. Forget you ever saw me."
"Forget you tried to kill me?"
"Yeah. That, too."
"But who are you?"
"Percy—" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!"
"What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?"
I bolted for the exit.
The cafe was packed with kids enjoying the best part of the tour—the dam lunch.
Thalia, Zoe, and Grover were just sitting down with their food.
We need to leave," I gasped. "Now!" But we just got our burritos!" Thalia said. Zoe
stood up, muttering an Ancient Greek curse. "He's right! Look."
The cafe windows wrapped all the way around the observation floor, which gave us a
beautiful panoramic view of the skeletal army that had come to kill us.
I counted two on the east side of the dam road, blocking the way to Arizona. Three
more on the west side, guarding Nevada. All of them were armed with batons and pistols.
But our immediate problem was a lot closer. The three skeletal warriors who'd been
chasing me in the turbine room now appeared on the stairs. They saw me from across the
cafeteria and clattered their teeth.
"Elevator!" Grover said. We bolted that direction, but the doors opened with a pleasant
ding, and three more warriors stepped out. Every warrior was accounted for, minus the one
Bianca had blasted to flames in New Mexico. We were completely surrounded.
Then Grover had a brilliant, totally Grover-like idea.
"Burrito fight!" he yelled, and flung his Guacamole Grande at the nearest skeleton.
Now, if you have never been hit by a flying burrito, count yourself lucky. In terms of
deadly projectiles, it's right up there with grenades and cannonballs. Grover's lunch hit the
skeleton and knocked his skull clean off his shoulders. I'm not sure what the other kids in the
cafe saw, but they went crazy and started throwing their burritos and baskets of chips and
sodas at each other, shrieking and screaming.
The skeletons tried to aim their guns, but it was hopeless. Bodies and food and drinks
were flying everywhere.
In the chaos, Thalia and I tackled the other two skeletons on the stairs and sent them
flying into the condiment table. Then we all raced downstairs, Guacamole Grandes whizzing
past our heads.
"What now?" Grover asked as we burst outside.
I didn't have an answer. The warriors on the road were closing in from either direction.
We ran across the street to the pavilion with the winged bronze statues, but that just put our
backs to the mountain.
The skeletons moved forward, forming a crescent around us. Their brethren from the
cafe were running up to join them. One was still putting its skull back on its shoulders.
Another was covered in ketchup and mustard. Two more had burritos lodged in their rib
cages. They didn't look happy about it. They drew batons and advanced.
"Four against eleven," Zoe muttered. "And they cannot die."
"It's been nice adventuring with you guys," Grover said, his voice trembling.
Something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I glanced behind me at the statue's feet.
"Whoa," I said. "Their toes really are bright."
"Percy!" Thalia said. "This isn't the time."
But I couldn't help staring at the two giant bronze guys with tall bladed wings like letter
openers. They were weathered brown except for their toes, which shone like new pennies
from all the times people had rubbed them for good luck.
Good luck. The blessing of Zeus.
I thought about the tour guide in the elevator. Her gray eyes and her smile. What had
she said? There is always a way for those clever enough to find it.
"Thalia," I said. "Pray to your dad."
She glared at me. "He never answers."
"Just this once," I pleaded. "Ask for help. I think… I think the statues can give us some
luck."
Six skeletons raised their guns. The other five came forward with batons. Fifty feet
away. Forty feet.
"Do it!" I yelled.
"No!" Thalia said. "He won't answer me."
"This time is different!"
"Who says?"
I hesitated. "Athena, I think."
Thalia scowled like she was sure I'd gone crazy.
"Try it," Grover pleaded.
Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. I put in my own prayer to
Annabeth's mom, hoping I was right that it had been her in that elevator—that she was trying
to help us save her daughter.
And nothing happened.
The skeletons closed in. I raised Riptide to defend myself. Thalia held up her shield.
Zoe pushed Grover behind her and aimed an arrow at a skeleton's head.
A shadow fell over me. I thought maybe it was the shadow of death. Then I realized it
was the shadow of an enormous wing. The skeletons looked up too late. A flash of bronze,
and all five of the baton-wielders were swept aside.
The other skeletons opened fire. I raised my lion coat for protection, but I didn't need it.
The bronze angels stepped in front of us and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged
off of them like rain off a corrugated roof. Both angels slashed outward, and the skeletons
went flying across the road.
"Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel said. His voice sounded tinny and rusty,
like he hadn't had a drink since he'd been built.
"Will ya look at my toes?" the other said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists
thinking?"
As stunned as I was by the angels, I was more concerned with the skeletons. A few of
them were getting up again, reassembling, bony hands groping for their weapons.
"Trouble!" I said.
"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.
Both angels looked down at her. "Zeus's kid?" Yes!
"Could I get a please, Miss Zeus's Kid?" an angel asked.
"Please!"
The angels looked at each other and shrugged.
"Could use a stretch," one decided.
And the next thing I knew, one of them grabbed Thalia and me, the other grabbed Zoe
and Grover, and we flew straight up, over the dam and the river, the skeleton warriors
shrinking to tiny specks below us and the sound of gunfire echoing off the sides of the
mountains.
"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. The statue was holding
on to us so we couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important
thing in the world.
"Everything's fine," I promised.
"Are… are we very high?"
I looked down. Below us, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. I stretched out my
foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks.
"Nah," I said. "Not that high."
"We are in the Sierras.'" Zoe yelled. She and Grover were hanging from the arms of the
other statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few
hours."
"Hey, hey, Frisco!" our angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the
Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"
"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am so there!"
"You guys have visited San Francisco?" I asked.
"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" our statue said. "Those
mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady
statues, see. And—"
"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."
"Oh, right." If bronze statues could blush, I swear Hank did. "Back to flying."
We sped up, so I could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell away into hills,
and then we were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways.
Grover played his pipes to pass the time. Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at
random billboards as we flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store—and we
passed dozens of them—she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred
miles an hour.
Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. She muttered to herself a lot, like she was
praying.
"You did good back there," I told her. "Zeus listened."
It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes closed.
"Maybe," she said. "How did you get away from the skeletons in the generator room,
anyway? You said they cornered you."
I told her about the weird mortal girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who seemed to be able to
see right through the Mist. I thought Thalia was going to call me crazy, but she just nodded.
"Some mortals are like that," she said. "Nobody knows why."
Suddenly I flashed on something I'd never considered.
My mom was like that. She had seen the Minotaur on Half-Blood Hill and known
exactly what it was. She hadn't been surprised at all last year when I'd told her my friend
Tyson was really a Cyclops. Maybe she'd known all along. No wonder she'd been so scared
for me as I was growing up. She saw through the Mist even better than I did.
"Well, the girl was annoying," I said. "But I'm glad I didn't vaporize her. That would've
been bad."
Thalia nodded. "Must be nice to be a regular mortal." She said that as if she'd given it a
lot of thought.
"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking me up from a nap.
I looked down and said, "Whoa."
I'd seen San Francisco in pictures before, but never in real life. It was probably the most
beautiful city I'd ever seen: kind of like a smaller, cleaner Manhattan, if Manhattan had been
surrounded by green hills and fog. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats, and
the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. I felt like I should take a picture or
something. Greetings from Frisco. Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here.
"There," Zoe suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."
"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."
We all looked at him.
"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"
As it turned out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning and not many
people were around. We freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when we landed. He
screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels
from Mars.
We said our good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends.
That's when I realized I had no idea what we were going to do next.
We'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere. Annabeth too, I hoped.
But I had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did I have any
clue what monster Artemis had been hunting. It was supposed to find us on the quest. It was
supposed to "show the trail," but it never had. Now we were stuck on the ferry dock with not
much money, no friends, and no luck.
After a brief discussion, we agreed that we needed to figure out just what this mystery
monster was.
"But how?" I asked.
"Nereus," Grover said.
I looked at him. "What?"
"Isn't that what Apollo told you to do? Find Nereus?"
I nodded. I'd completely forgotten my last conversation with the sun god.
The old man of the sea," I remembered. "I'm supposed to find him and force him to tell
us what he knows. But how do I find him?"
Zoe made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"
"You know him?" Thalia asked.
My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know him.Unfortunately, he is never very hard to
find. Just follow the smell."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Come," she said without enthusiasm. "I will show thee."
I knew I was in trouble when we stopped at the Goodwill drop box. Five minutes later,
Zoe had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red
sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat.
"Oh, yeah," Grover said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely
inconspicuous now."
Zoe nodded with satisfaction. "A typical male vagrant."
"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. "Why am I doing this again?"
"I told thee. To blend in."
She led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the
docks, Zoe finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless
guys were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.
"He will be down there somewhere," Zoe said. "He never travels very far from the
water. He likes to sun himself during the day."
"How do I know which one is him?"
"Sneak up," she said. "Act homeless. You will know him. He will smell… different."
"Great." I didn't want to ask for particulars. "And once I find him?"
"Grab him," she said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he
does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about the monster."
"We've got your back," Thalia said. She picked something off the back of my shirt—a
big clump of fuzz that came from who-knows-where. "Eww. On second thought… I don't
want your back. But we'll be rooting for you."
Grover gave me a big thumbs-up.
I grumbled how nice it was to have super-powerful friends. Then I headed toward the
dock.
I pulled my hat down and stumbled like I was about to pass out, which wasn't hard
considering how tired I was. I passed our homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was
still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.
He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell… different. I kept walking.
A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats checked me out as I came
close.
"Beat it, kid!" one of them muttered.
I moved away. They smelled pretty bad, but just regular old bad. Nothing unusual.
There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She
glared at me like I was going to steal her birds.
At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a
patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He
was fat, with a white beard that had turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had been
rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.
And his smell?
As I got closer, I froze. He smelled bad, all right—but ocean bad. Like hot seaweed and
dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side… this guy was it.
I tried not to gag as I sat down near him like I was tired. Santa opened one eye
suspiciously. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't look. I muttered something about
stupid school and stupid parents, figuring that might sound reasonable.
Santa Claus went back to sleep.
I tensed. I knew this was going to look strange. I didn't know how the other homeless
people would react. But I jumped Santa Claus.
"Ahhhhhl" he screamed. I meant to grab him, but he seemed to grab me instead. It was
as if he'd never been asleep at all. He certainly didn't act like a weak old man. He had a grip
like steel. "Help me!" he screamed as he squeezed me to death.
"That's a crime!" one of the other homeless guys yelled. "Kid rolling an old man like
that!"
I rolled, all right—straight down the pier until my head slammed into a post. I was
dazed for a second, and Nereus's grip slackened. He was making a break for it. Before he
could, I regained my senses and tackled him from behind.
"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but I locked my arms around his
chest. His rotten fish smell was awful, but I held on.
"I don't want money," I said as he fought. "I'm a half-blood! I want information.'"
That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"
"Because you know everything!"
He growled and tried to shake me off his back. It was like holding on to a roller coaster.
He thrashed around, making it impossible for me to keep on my feet, but I gritted my teeth
and squeezed tighter. We staggered toward the edge of the pier and I got an idea.
"Oh, no!" I said. "Not the water!"
The plan worked. Immediately, Nereus yelled in triumph and jumped off the edge.
Together, we plunged into San Francisco Bay.
He must've been surprised when I tightened my grip, the ocean filling me with extra
strength. But Nereus had a few tricks left, too. He changed shape until I was holding a sleek
black seal.
I've heard people make jokes about trying to hold a greased pig, but I'm telling you,
holding on to a seal in the water is harder. Nereus plunged straight down, wriggling and
thrashing and spiraling through the dark water. If I hadn't been Poseidon's son, there's no way
I could've stayed with him.
Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he
burst out of the water.
A whole bunch of tourists went, "Whoa!"
I managed to wave at the crowd. Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco.
Nereus plunged into the water and turned into a slimy eel. I started to tie him into a knot
until he realized what was going on and changed back to human form. "Why won't you
drown?" he wailed, pummelmg me with his fists.
"I'm Poseidon's son," I said.
"Curse that upstart! I was here first!"
Finally he collapsed on the edge of the boat dock. Above us was one of those tourist
piers lined with shops, like a mall on water. Nereus was heaving and gasping. I was feeling
great. I could've gone on all day, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted him to feel like he'd put up
a good fight.
My friends ran down the steps from the pier.
"You got him!" Zoe said.
"You don't have to sound so amazed," I said.
Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I
suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"
"I've got more than one question," I said.
"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."
I looked at my friends.
This wasn't good. I needed to find Artemis, and I needed to figure out what the
doomsday creature was. I also needed to know if Annabeth was still alive, and how to rescue
her. How could I ask that all in one question?
A voice inside me was screaming Ask about Annabeth! That's what I cared about most.
But then I imagined what Annabeth might say. She would never forgive me if I saved
her and didn't save Olympus. Zoe would want me to ask about Artemis, but Chiron had told
us the monster was even more important.
I sighed. "All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring
an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."
The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth.
"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."
Nereus pointed to the water at my feet.
"Where?" I said.
"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a
backflip into the sea.
"You tricked me!" I yelled.
"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is that?"
"MOOOOOOOO!"
I looked down, and there was my friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock.
She nudged my shoe and gave me the sad brown eyes.
"Ah, Bessie," I said. "Not now."
"Mooo!"
Grover gasped. "He says his name isn't Bessie."
"You can understand her… er, him?"
Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his name is the
Ophiotaurus."
"The Ophi-what?"
"It means serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"
"Moooooooo!"
"He says Percy is his protector," Grover announced.
"And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close."
I was wondering how you got all that out of a single moooooo.
"Wait," Zoe said, looking at me. "You know this cow?"
I was feeling impatient, but I told them the story.
Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"
"Well… yeah." It seemed silly, now that she said it, but things had been happening so
fast. Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.
"I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly. "I know this story!"
"What story?"
"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My… my father told me this tale, thousands of
years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."
"Bessie?" I looked down at the bull serpent. "But… he's too cute. He couldn't destroy
the world."
"That is how we were wrong," Zoe said. "We've been anticipating a huge dangerous
monster, but the Ophiotaurus does not bring down the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."
"MMMM," Bessie lowed.
"I don't think he likes the S-word," Grover said.
I patted Bessie on the head, trying to calm him down. He let me scratch his ear, but he
was trembling.
"How could anyone hurt him?" I said. "He's harmless."
Zoe nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence.
Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born.
They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the
power to destroy the gods."
"MMMMMM!"
"Um," Grover said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about entrails, too."
Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods… how? I
mean, what would happen?"
"No one knows," Zoe said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in
fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails
away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand
years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."
Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie went right to her.
Thalia placed her hand on his head. Bessie shivered.
Thalia's expression bothered me. She almost looked… hungry.
"We have to protect him," I told her. "If Luke gets hold of him—"
"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's…
that's huge."
"Yes, it is, my dear," said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power
you shall unleash."
The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.
I looked up. We'd been so busy talking, we'd allowed ourselves to be ambushed.
Standing behind us, his two-color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the
manticore himself.
"This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.
He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was
torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved
recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically he didn't look much better than
the guys down at the soup kitchen.
"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to
scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human
farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in
the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast on the
flesh of half-bloods!"
On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries I'd
seen in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape that
way. There were tourists all around—walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above
us—but I knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.
"Where… where are the skeletons?" I asked the manticore.
He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He
will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"
I needed time to think. I had to save Bessie. I could dive into the sea, but how could I
make a quick getaway with a five-hundred-pound cow serpent? And what about my friends?
"We beat you once before," I said.
"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas… that goddess
is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now."
Zoe notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either
side of us raised their guns.
"Wait!" I said. "Zoe, don't!"
The manticore smiled. "The boy is right, Zoe Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would
be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."
"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.
"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos
brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the
sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday,
you will overthrow Olympus."
No one spoke. It made terrible sense. Thalia was only two days away from turning
sixteen. She was a child of the Big Three. And here was a choice, a terrible choice that could
mean the end of the gods. It was just like the prophecy said. I wasn't sure if I felt relieved,
horrified, or disappointed. I wasn't the prophecy kid after all. Doomsday was happening right
now.
I waited for Thalia to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. She looked completely
stunned.
"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "Your friend Luke recognized
it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the
Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain
power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come
to you. Use your spear."
"Thalia," I said, "snap out of it!"
She looked at me the same way she had the morning she woke up on Half-Blood Hill,
dazed and uncertain. It was almost like she didn't know me. "I… I don't—"
"Your father helped you," I said. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to
preserve you."
Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear.
I looked at Grover desperately. Thank the gods, he understood what I needed. He raised
his pipes to his mouth and played a quick riff.
The manticore yelled, "Stop him!"
The guards had been targeting Zoe, and before they could figure out that the kid with
the pipes was the bigger problem, the wooden planks at their feet sprouted new branches and
tangled their legs. Zoe let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in clouds of
sulfurous yellow smoke. Fart arrows!
The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in our direction, but they
ricocheted off my lion's coat.
"Grover," I said, "tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"
"Moooooo!" Grover translated. I could only hope that Bessie got the message.
"The cow…" Thalia muttered, still in a daze.
"Come on!" I pulled her along as we ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier.
We dashed around the corner of the nearest store. I heard the manticore shouting at his
minions, "Get them!" Tourists screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air.
We scrambled to the end of the pier. We hid behind a little kiosk filled with souvenir
crystals—wind chimes and dream catchers and stuff like that, glittering in the sunlight. There
was a water fountain next to us. Down below, a bunch of sea lions were sunning themselves
on the rocks. The whole of San Francisco Bay spread out before us: the Golden Gate Bridge,
Alcatraz Island, and the green hills and fog beyond that to the north. A picture-perfect
moment, except for the fact that we were about to die and the world was going to end.
"Go over the side!" Zoe told me. "You can escape in the sea, Percy. Call on thy father
for help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus."
She was right, but I couldn't do it.
"I won't leave you guys," I said. "We fight together."
"You have to get word to camp!" Grover said. "At least let them know what's going
on!"
Then I noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. There was a drinking
fountain next to me…
"Get word to camp," I muttered. "Good idea."
I uncapped Riptide and slashed off the top of the water fountain. Water burst out of the
busted pipe and sprayed all over us.
Thalia gasped as the water hit her. The fog seemed to clear from her eyes. "Are you
crazy?" she asked.
But Grover understood. He was already fishing around in his pockets for a coin. He
threw a golden drachma into the rainbows created by the mist and yelled, "O goddess, accept
my offering!"
The mist rippled.
"Camp Half-Blood!" I said.
And there, shimmering in the Mist right next to us, was the last person I wanted to see:
Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator.
He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?"
"Where's Chiron!" I shouted.
"How rude." Mr. D took a swig from a jug of grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"
"Hello," I amended. "We're about to die! Where's Chiron?"
Mr. D considered that. I wanted to scream at him to hurry up, but I knew that wouldn't
work. Behind us, footsteps and shouting—the manticore's troops were closing in.
"About to die," Mr. D mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you
like me to take a message?"
I looked at my friends. "We're dead."
Thalia gripped her spear. She looked like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die
fighting."
"How noble," Mr. D said, stifling a yawn. "So what is the problem, exactly?"
I didn't see that it would make any difference, but I told him about the Ophiotaurus.
"Mmm." He studied the contents of the fridge. "So that's it. I see."
"You don't even care!" I screamed. "You'd just as soon watch us die!"
"Let's see. I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight."
I wanted to slash through the rainbow and disconnect, but I didn't have time. The
manticore screamed, "There!" And we were surrounded. Two of the guards stood behind him.
The other two appeared on the roofs of the pier shops above us. The manticore threw off his
coat and transformed into his true self, his lion claws extended and his spiky tail bristling with
poison barbs.
"Excellent," he said. He glanced at the apparition in the mist and snorted. "Alone,
without any real help. Wonderful."
"You could ask for help," Mr. D murmured to me, as if this were an amusing thought.
"You could say please."
When wild boars fly, I thought. There was no way I was going to die begging a slob like
Mr. D, just so he could laugh as we all got gunned down.
Zoe readied her arrows. Grover lifted his pipes. Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a
tear running down her cheek. Suddenly it occurred to me: this had happened to her before.
She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She'd willingly given her life for her friends. But
this time, she couldn't save us.
How could I let that happen to her?
"Please, Mr. D," I muttered. "Help."
Of course, nothing happened.
The manticore grinned. "Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill
the others."
The men raised their guns, and something strange happened. You know how you feel
when all the blood rushes to your head, like if you hang upside down and turn right-side up
too quickly? There was a rush like that all around me, and a sound like a huge sigh. The
sunlight tinged with purple. I smelled grapes and something more sour—wine.
SNAP!
It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One
guard put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all fours. Two
others dropped their guns and started waltzing with each other. The fourth began doing what
looked like an Irish clogging dance. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying.
"No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself!"
His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines, which
immediately began wrapping around the monster's body, sprouting new leaves and clusters of
green baby grapes that ripened in seconds as the manticore shrieked, until he was engulfed in
a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes stopped
shivering, and I had a feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no more.
"Well," said Dionysus, closing his refrigerator. "That was fun."
I stared at him, horrified. "How could you… How did you—"
"Such gratitude," he muttered. "The mortals will come out of it. Too much explaining to
do if I made their condition permanent. I hate writing reports to Father."
He stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to
resist power, is it?"
Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed.
"Mr. D," Grover said in amazement. "You… you saved us.
"Mmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going, Percy Jackson. I've bought you a
few hours at most."
"The Ophiotaurus," I said. "Can you get it to camp?"
Mr. D sniffed. "I do not transport livestock. That's your problem."
"But where do we go?"
Dionysus looked at Zoe. "Oh, I think the huntress knows. You must enter at sunset
today, you know, or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting."
"Mr. D," I said.
He raised his eyebrow.
"You called me by my right name," I said. "You called me Percy Jackson."
"I most certainly did not, Peter Johnson. Now off with you!"
He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist.
All around us, the manticore's minions were still acting completely nuts. One of them
had found our friend the homeless guy, and they were having a serious conversation about
metal angels from Mars. Several other guards were harassing the tourists, making animal
noises and trying to steal their shoes.
I looked at Zoe. "What did he mean… 'You know where to go'?"
Her face was the color of the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In
the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer.
"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."
"We will never make it," Zoe said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the
Ophiotaurus."
"Mooo," Bessie said. He swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. We'd left
the shopping center pier far behind. We were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it
was a lot farther than I'd realized. The sun was already dipping in the west.
"I don't get it," I said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"
"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoe said. "We can only enter their
garden as day changes to night."
"What happens if we miss it?"
"Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until
tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady
Artemis tonight."
Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.
"We need a car," Thalia said.
"But what about Bessie?" I asked.
Grover stopped in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different
bodies of water, right?"
"Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into
the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."
"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron
could help us get him to Olympus."
"But he was following me" I said. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"
"Moo," Bessie said forlornly.
"I… I can show him," Grover said. "I'll go with him."
I stared at him. Grover was no fan of the water. He'd almost drowned last summer in the
Sea of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves.
"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense."
He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a
contented, lowing sound.
"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy,
pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."
I didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to Long Island from California.
Then again, monsters didn't travel the same way as humans. I'd seen plenty evidence of that.
I tried to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide.
"Dad," I said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at
sea."
"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."
I thought for a second. Then I took off my coat.
"Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin… that's really helpful. Hercules
used it!"
As soon as he said that, I realized something.
I glanced at Zoe, who was watching me carefully. I realized I did know who Zoe's hero
had been—the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even
mentioned how she'd helped him: Hercules, a hero I'd admired all my life.
"If I'm going to survive," I said, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not
Hercules."
I threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light.
Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.
The sea breeze picked up.
Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."
He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and
let Grover take hold of his neck.
"Be careful," I told them.
"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um… Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east.
Over that way."
"Moooo?" Bessie said.
"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And… it's long. Oh, let's just
start."
"Mooo!"
Bessie lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breathe
underwater! Just thought I'd mention—" Glub!
Under they went, and I hoped my father's protection would extend to little things, like
breathing.
"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoe said. "But how can we get to my sisters'
garden?"
"Thalia's right," I said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we,
uh, borrowed one."
I didn't like that option. I mean, sure this was a life-or-death situation, but still, it was
stealing, and it was bound to get us noticed.
"Wait," Thalia said. She started rifling through her backpack. "There is somebody in
San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere."
"Who?" I asked.
Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase.
Annabeth's dad."
After hearing Annabeth gripe about her dad for two years, I was expecting him to have
devil horns and fangs. I was not expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap
and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all
took a step back on the front porch.
"Hello," he said in a friendly voice, "Are you delivering my airplanes?"
Thalia, Zoe, and I looked at each other warily.
"Um, no, sir," I said.
"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."
"Right," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We're friends of
Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" He straightened as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "Is she all right?
Has something happened?"
None of us answered, but our faces must've told him that something was very wrong.
He took off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Annabeth and intense brown
eyes. He was handsome, I guess, for an older guy, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a
couple of days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher
than the other side.
"You'd better come in," he said.
It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs
and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with
magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like
fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed
like a messy, happy kind of home—the kind of place that had been lived in forever.
"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"
"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots."
"I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"
"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"
"Okay, Dad!"
Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."
"Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her
hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.
"Who are our guests?" she asked.
"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is…"
He stared at us blankly.
"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"
We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked
if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies and
sandwiches and sodas.
"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."
I half expected Mrs. Chase to turn into a raving lunatic at the mention of her
stepdaughter, but she just pursed her lips and looked concerned. "All right. Go on up to the
study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled at me. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I've heard a
lot about you."
Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study and I said, "Whoa!"
The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught my attention were the war
toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted
river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the
ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.
Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the
use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than
they've been given credit for."
He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane
engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.
"Oh, right," I said. I knew Annabeth's dad was a professor of military history. She'd
never mentioned he played with toy soldiers.
Zoe came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the
river."
Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"
"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war
was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete
waste."
Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You—"
"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need—"
"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What
formations did they fly?"
"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."
That got his attention. He set the biplane down.
"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."
It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were
running out of time.
When we'd finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands.
"My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."
"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoe said. "And we need it
immediately."
"I'll drive you. Hmm. it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."
"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" I said.
"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here.
My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He
let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"
"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without
you. It's too dangerous." .
Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my
daughter. Dangerous or not, I… I can't just—"
"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of
peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the
chocolate chips still gooey. Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies while Zoe said, "I can drive,
sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."
Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"
"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but…
apparently it's no place for mortals."
It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.
I waited for Mrs. Chase to say no. I mean, what mortal parent would allow three
underage teenagers to borrow their car? To my surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd
better get going."
"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys…"
His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside
your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."
"Right!" Dr. Chase said.
Zoe grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now"
We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us.
"Percy," Mrs. Chase called as I was leaving, "tell Annabeth… Tell her she still has a
home here, will you? Remind her of that."
I took one last look at the messy living room, Annabeth's half brothers spilling LEGOs
and arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. Not a bad place, I thought.
"I'll tell her," I promised.
We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going
down. I figured we had less than an hour to save Annabeth.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded. Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control
traffic."
"You both sound like my mother," I said. "Shut up!" they said in unison.
Zoe weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the
horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway.
The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and
around the edges of steep ravines. Zoe didn't slow down at all.
"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" I asked.
"Eucalyptus." Zoe pointed to the huge trees all around us.
"The stuff koala bears eat?"
"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."
"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"
"Believe me," Zoe said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."
I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of
us loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but it looked
plenty huge as we were driving toward it.
"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I asked.
"Yes," Zoe said tightly.
"Why do they call it that?"
She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans
and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces
and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned
up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."
"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the
mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A
storm?"
Zoe didn't answer. I got the feeing she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she
didn't like it.
"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."
"The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.
"Both."
The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight
toward them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and
rocks and fog.
I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, and I saw
something that made me jump out of my seat.
"Look!" But we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.
"What?" Thalia asked.
"A big white ship," I said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."
Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"
I wanted to say I wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But I knew better. The Princess
Andromeda, Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship
all the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East Coast to
California.
"We will have company, then," Zoe said grimly. "Kronos's army."
I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Thalia
shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"
Zoe must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without
question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.
"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement.
The next second: BOOOM!
Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. I
probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over
me. I heard a sound like metal ram, and when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by
wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was
spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.
I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia. "You saved my
life."
"One shall perish by a parent's hand" she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me?
Me?"
It took me a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't
have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."
"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.
"I don't know. Zoe said Kronos's name. Maybe he—"
Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."
"Wait," I said. "Where's Zoe? Zoe!"
We both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either
direction down the road. I looked down the cliff. No sign of her.
"Zoe!" I shouted.
Then she was standing right next to me, pulling me by my arm. "Silence, fool! Do you
want to wake Ladon?"
"You mean we're here?"
"Very close," she said. "Follow me."
Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoe stepped into one of them, and
when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and I looked at each other.
"Concentrate on Zoe," Thalia advised. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog
and keep that in mind."
"Wait, Thalia. About what happened back on the pier… I mean, with the manticore and
the sacrifice—"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You wouldn't actually have… you know?"
She hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all."
"Zeus didn't send that lighting bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate
you, make you angry at your dad."
She took a deep breath. "Percy, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Thanks.
But come on. We need to go."
She stepped into the fog, into the Mist, and I followed.
When the fog cleared, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The
grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the
mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one
path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and
flowers: the garden of twilight, just like I'd seen in my dream.
If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful
place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were
such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble
led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples,
and I don't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. I mean real golden apples. I
can't describe why they were so appealing, but as soon as I smelled their fragrance, I knew
that one bite would be the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.
"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."
I wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree.
Now, I don't know what you think of when I say dragon. Whatever it is, it's not scary
enough. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He
had more heads than I could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together.
He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all
the eyes closed.
Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing,
like voices from the bottom of a well. I reached for Riptide, but Zoe stopped my hand.
Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like
Zoe. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair
tumbled loose around their shoulders. It was strange, but I'd never realized how beautiful Zoe
was until I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and
probably very dangerous.
"Sisters," Zoe said.
"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a
Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."
"You've got it wrong." I stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."
The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.
"Perseus Jackson," one of them said.
"Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat."
"Who said I was a threat?"
The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee.
They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee."
She pointed at Thalia.
"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. He's my friend."
"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."
"Not without Annabeth," Thalia said.
"And Artemis," Zoe said. "We must approach the mountain."
"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him."
"Artemis must be freed," Zoe insisted. "Let us pass."
The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our
voices and Ladon will wake."
"He will not hurt me," Zoe said.
"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"
Then Zoe did the last thing I expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"
The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and
scattered. The lead girl said to Zoe, "Are you mad?"
"You never had any courage, sister," Zoe said. "That is thy problem."
The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues
flickering and tasting the air. Zoe took a step forward, her arms raised.
"Zoe, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."
"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoe said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden.
Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."
"Should," I said. "Not exactly reassuring."
"It is the only way," she said. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him."
Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver
down my back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my
eyes burn, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. I remembered the time a rat had died
inside our apartment wall in New York in the middle of the summer. This stench was like
that, except a hundred times stronger, and mixed with the smell of chewed eucalyptus. I
promised myself right then that I would never ask a school nurse for another cough drop.
I wanted to draw my sword. But then I remembered my dream of Zoe and Hercules, and
how Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. I decided to trust Zoe's judgment.
Thalia went left. I went right. Zoe walked straight toward the monster.
"It's me, my little dragon," Zoe said. "Zoe has come back."
Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing.
Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice
of the eldest whispered, "Fool."
"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoe continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she
stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"
The dragon's eyes glinted.
Thalia and I were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky
trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the
summit like it was the axis for the whole world.
We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's
mood shift. Maybe
Zoe got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he
lunged at Zoe.
Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and
tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction,
gagging from the monster's horrible breath.
I drew Riptide to help.
"No!" Zoe panted. "Run!"
The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoe cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the
dragon hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoe sprinted past us up the mountain, and we
followed.
The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but I guess he was
well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off even by the tasty prospect of
eating some heroes.
We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind us.
The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now—more like the sound track for a funeral.
At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses.
Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.
"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.
"Yes," Zoe said. "It was not here before. This is bad."
"What's Mount Othrys?" I asked, feeling like a fool as usual.
"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoe said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys
were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was—" She winced and held her side.
"You're hurt," I said. "Let me see."
"No! It is nothing. I was saying… in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."
"But… how is it here?"
Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks
of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always
exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good."
"Why?"
"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe said. "Where he holds—" She froze. Her voice was
ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."
We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy
vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the
shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her
legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what I had seen in my dream. It
hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world.
"My lady!" Zoe rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave
now."
Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain
before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.
Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.
A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."
We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke
and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth stood at
Luke's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was
holding the point of his sword to her throat.
I met her eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she
was sending me, though: RUN.
"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."
Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in
D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."
Thalia spat at him.
The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It's been a long time.
How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."
"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."
"Wait a second," I said. "You're Atlas?"
The General glanced at me. "So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure
something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods.
Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."
"You're not going to hurt Zoe" I said. "I won't let you."
The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family
matter." I frowned. "A family matter?"
"Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."
The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal
expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was
mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally
disliked about Zoe, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.
"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.
Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her,
then? Be my guest."
Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."
Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit
at him, almost taking off his fingers.
"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I
think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules
again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."
I looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned
her head toward Luke. But all
I could do was stare at her. I hadn't noticed before, but something about her had
changed. Her blond hair was now streaked with gray.
"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight
should've killed her."
"I don't understand," I said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"
Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky
and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the
Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it
would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a
hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless
someone else takes it from you."
He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh?
Not much of a challenge."
"Fight us," I said. "And let's see."
"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly.
It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."
"So you're another coward," I said.
Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia.
"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."
"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as
if it were painful. If I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for him.
"Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"
He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black
marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. I could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more
I thought about it, the more I was sure I could hear Bessie mooing.
Don't think about him! Suddenly Grover's voice was inside my mind—the empathy link.
I could feel his emotions. He was on the verge of panic. I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts!
I tried to make my mind go blank. I tried to think about basketball players, skateboards,
the different kinds of candy in my mom's shop. Anything but Bessie.
"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the
gods."
"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"
"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods?
Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"
Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."
"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together.
Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…"
His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree.
Please."
I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed
that Luke was in danger.
His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it,
too.
"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."
Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at
camp. A sacrificial flame.
"Thalia," I said. "No."
Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist
all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful
palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.
"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was
hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are
not weak."
He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain,
from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and
Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't
even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more
than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes,
they would be here.
"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm
Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."
For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if
the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You
aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."
"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me… Don't make him destroy
you."
There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I
met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded.
I looked at Thalia and Zoe, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to
die fighting with friends like this.
"Now," I said.
Together, we charged.
Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragonwomen
bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But
despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild
animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of
lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life, which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan
Lord Atlas.
He laughed as I approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted
into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!"
"Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!"
I knew what she was warning me about. Chiron had told me long ago: Immortals are
constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he
has the nerve. Once I attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his
might.
I swung my sword, and Atlas knocked me aside with the shaft of his javelin. I flew
through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising,
brick by brick. It was becoming real.
"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoe's arrows. "Did you think,
simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to me?"
The mention of Ares sent a jolt through me. I shook off my daze and charged again. If I
could get to that pool of water, I could double my strength.
The javelins point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Riptide, planning to cut off
his weapon at the shaft, but my arm felt like lead. My sword suddenly weighed a ton.
And I remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago:
When you need it most, your sword will fail you.
Not now! I pleaded. But it was no good. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in
the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I
looked up and found I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.
"Run, boy," she told me. "You must run!"
Atlas was taking his time coming toward me. My sword was gone. It had skittered away
over the edge of the cliff. It might reappear in my pocket—maybe in a few seconds—but it
didn't matter. I'd be dead by then. Luke and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning
crackling around them. Annabeth was on the ground, desperately struggling to free her hands.
"Die, little hero," Atlas said.
He raised his javelin to impale me.
"No!" Zoe yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's
armor.
"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.
I reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. I couldn't fight Atlas, even with a
sword. And then a chill went down my back. I remembered the words of the prophecy: The
Titan's curse must one withstand. I couldn't hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else
who might stand a chance.
"The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."
"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver.
"You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"
"Annabeth took it!"
"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long."
"I'll die anyway," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"
I didn't wait for her answer. I took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then I
stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee—holding up my hands—and touched the
cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together. It was the heaviest
thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out
from the pain, but I breathed deeply. I can do this.
Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.
Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't.
Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted
to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to
the ground, the sky's weight crushing me.
Fight back! Grover's voice said inside my head. Don't give up.
I concentrated on breathing. If I could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. I
thought about Bianca, who had given her life so we could get here. If she could do that, I
could hold the sky.
My vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. I caught glimpses of the battle,
but I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his
javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked
hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and
leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a
tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain. Zoe shot arrows at
her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark,
but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting.
Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia
pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated,
wincing and growling in frustration.
"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."
He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."
Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed
with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrae in my spine were being welded together by a
blowtorch.
Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His
javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure
opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back
toward me.
Get ready, she spoke in my mind.
I was losing the ability to think through the pain. My response was something like
Agggghh-owwwwwwww.
"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."
He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming.
Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas
brought up his javelin tip for the kill.
"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow
straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in
rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black
rocks.
I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even
see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face.
Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her
and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending
him flying over her, I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen.
I loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let
myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he
managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky.
But it was too late.
"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning
up.
Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden
coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face
glistened with sweat.
He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his
hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.
For a moment, there was silence.
"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.
Thalia trembled with fury.
Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was
bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"
"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"
In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the
black rocks where Zoe had fallen.
"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."
"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To
please your dad?"
Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.
"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke
away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.
We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the Princess Andromeda had
stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how
much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was
impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.
One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"
Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave
of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas
as we passed.
"Artemis!" I yelled.
The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the
goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…
"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.
"Atlas poisoned her?" I asked.
"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."
She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the
dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She
had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.
"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."
"Nectar and ambrosia," I said. "Come on! We have to get her some."
No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even
Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom right there, but then I heard a
strange buzzing noise.
Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of
the sky.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to
life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into
scattering.
"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.
"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.
This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now
banking around for another strafe.
"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come, We must get Zoe away
from here."
She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of
Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering.
"Hang in there!" I told her. "It'll be all right!"
The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew
straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. I realized with
amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his
bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into
sulfurous yellow powder.
"That's… my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.
We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already
recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.
Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn
by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us.
"Get in," Artemis said.
Annabeth helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoe. We wrapped
Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain,
straight into the air.
"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," I murmured, still dazed with pain.
Artemis took time to look back at me. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you
think that legend came from?"
Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor
guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver
flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.
Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount
Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as
he struggled under the weight of the sky.
We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall.
As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave
him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew… you shot… oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing
I've ever seen!"
Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."
"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you get those?"
"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the
last time you… left."
Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. I noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say
ran away.
"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little
experiment."
He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. I could understand all of
a sudden why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an
excellent mad scientist at heart.
"Dad…" Annabeth faltered.
"Annabeth, Percy," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were
kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds.
Annabeth and I ran over to help, but there wasn't much we could do. We had no
ambrosia or nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but I could see that Zoe
didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was
fading.
"Can't you heal her with magic?" I asked Artemis. "I mean… you're a goddess."
Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be
cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."
She tried to set her hand on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped her wrist. She looked into the
goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.
"Have I… served thee well?" Zoe whispered.
"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."
Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."
"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."
But in that moment, I knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her
father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she
would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save
me, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.
She saw Thalia, and took her hand.
"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters."
"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes,
men—everything."
"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmured. She smiled weakly at me. "Do you still have the
sword, Percy?"
I couldn't speak, but I brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it
contentedly. "You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like… like Hercules. I am
honored that you carry this sword."
A shudder ran through her body.
"Zoe—" I said.
"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."
A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."
"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.
Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on
her shoulders. I watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few
words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in
the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.
Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the
silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.
For a moment I didn't see anything different. Then Annabeth gasped. Looking up in the
sky, I saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern I had never noticed before—a
gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow, running across
the sky.
"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."
It wasn't easy saying our good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over
Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made
me nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we
would disintegrate by looking at her.
"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I
will send help."
The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my
girl. You will do what is right."
Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this
younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and
she held the goddess's eyes. I wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze
softened with sympathy. Then she turned to me.
"You did well," she said. "For a man."
I wanted to protest. But then I realized it was the first time she hadn't called me a boy.
She mounted her chariot, which began to glow. We averted our eyes. There was a flash
of silver, and the goddess was gone.
"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."
Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I… I'm sorry that—"
"Shh." He hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you."
His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.
Then I heard the whoosh of large wings. Three pegasi descended through the fog: two
white winged horses and one pure black one.
"Blackjack!" I called.
Yo,boss! he called. You manage to stay alive okay without me?
"It was rough," I admitted.
I brought Guido and Porkpie with me.
How ya doin? The other two pegasi spoke in my mind.
Blackjack looked me over with concern, then checked out Dr. Chase, Thalia, and
Annabeth. Any of these goons you want us to stampede?
"Nah," I said aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."
No problem, Blackjack said. Except for the mortal over there. Hope he's not going.
I assured him Dr. Chase was not. The professor was staring openmouthed at the pegasi.
"Fascinating," he said. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for
the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"
Blackjack cocked his head. Whaaaat?
"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr.
Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade—"
"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.
Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear,
I know you must go."
He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As she turned to climb aboard the
pegasus Guido, Dr. Chase called, "Annabeth. I know… I know San Francisco is a dangerous
place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you
safe."
Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to
say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged
away across the dark field.
Thalia and Annabeth and I mounted our pegasi. Together we soared over the bay and
flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind us,
with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.
Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on Porkpie's back. I knew she had to be really
tired to sleep in the air, despite her fear of heights, but she didn't have much to worry about.
Her pegasus flew with ease, adjusting himself every once in a while so Thalia stayed safely on
his back.
Annabeth and I flew along side by side.
"Your dad seems cool," I told her.
It was too dark to see her expression. She looked back, even though California was far
behind us now.
"I guess so," she said. "We've been arguing for so many years."
"Yeah, you said."
"You think I was lying about that?" It sounded like a challenge, but a pretty halfhearted
one, like she was asking it of herself.
"I didn't say you were lying. It's just… he seems okay. Your stepmom, too. Maybe
they've, uh, gotten cooler since you saw them last."
She hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco, Percy. I can't live so far from camp."
I didn't want to ask my next question. I was scared to know the answer. But I asked it
anyway. "So what are you going to do now?"
We flew over a town, an island of lights in the middle of the dark. It whisked by so fast
we might've been in an airplane.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But thank you for rescuing me."
"Hey, no big deal. We're friends."
"You didn't believe I was dead?"
"Never."
She hesitated. "Neither is Luke, you know. I mean… he isn't dead."
I stared at her. I didn't know if she was cracking under the stress or what. "Annabeth,
that fall was pretty bad. There's no way—"
"He isn't dead," she insisted. "I know it. The same way you knew about me."
That comparison didn't make me too happy.
The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole
landscape below was a glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray.
And up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before us—the lights of New York.
How's that for speedy, boss? Blackjack bragged. We get extra hay for breakfast or what?
"You're the man, Blackjack," I told him. "Er, the horse, I mean."
"You don't believe me about Luke," Annabeth said, "but we'll see him again. He's in
trouble, Percy. He's under Kronos's spell."
I didn't feel like arguing, though it made me mad. How could she still have any feelings
for that creep? How could she possibly make excuses for him? He deserved that fall. He
deserved… okay, I'll say it. He deserved to die. Unlike Bianca. Unlike Zoe. Luke couldn't be
alive. It wouldn't be fair.
"There it is." Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan,
which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."
"What's started?" I asked.
Then I looked where she was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus
was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble
palaces gleaming in the early morning air.
"The winter solstice," Thalia said. "The Council of the Gods."
Click here to Go to Index
Flying was bad enough for a son of Poseidon, but flying straight up to Zeus's palace, with thunder and lightning swirling around it, was even worse. We circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. I'd only been there once before, traveling by elevator up to the secret six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building. This time, if it was possible, Olympus amazed me even more. In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes. Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods. Our pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves. Good luck, boss, Blackjack said. "Yeah." I didn't know why, but I had a sense of doom. I'd never seen all the gods together. I knew any one of them could blast me to dust, and a few of them would like to. Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable? I looked at the pegasus. Just a thought, he said. Sorry. Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Thalia, Annabeth, and me alone. For a minute we stood there regarding the palace, the way we'd stood together in front of Westover Hall, what seemed like a million years ago. And then, side by side, we walked into the throne room. Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoe the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn. All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and I'm telling you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once… Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic. "Welcome, heroes," Artemis said. "Mooo!" That's when I noticed Bessie and Grover. A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw us, he cried, "You made it!" He started to run toward me, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission. "Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia. Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled. I looked nervously at my father, Poseidon. He was dressed similar to the last time I'd seen him: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me again, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with smile lines. He nodded as if to say It's okay. Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped my arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!" "Do what?" I asked. "Heroes," Artemis called. The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburnhaired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight. "The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act." There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested. "At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…" She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?" She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera. On Zeus's right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus. Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife. On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of myself. All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart. "I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—" "Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?" A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite. "Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and me. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—" "Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits." "Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well." Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I knew how she felt. I'd hardly ever talked to my father, much less gotten a compliment. The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two." "Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—" Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such as Thalia and Percy… are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point." "Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—" He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down. "Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later." Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?" Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?" "I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide." "I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it." "Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up." "Don't call me sis! I will reward them." "Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?" A lot of nodding heads. It took me a second to realize what they were saying. Then my heart turned to lead. "Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?" "Mooooooo!" Bessie protested. My father frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?" "Dad," I said, "he's just a sea creature. A really nice sea creature. You can't destroy him." Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Percy, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—" "You can't," I insisted. I looked at Zeus. I probably should have been afraid of him, but I stared him right in the eye. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? Besides, Bess—the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as… as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do. It's wrong!" Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says." "You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them." Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?" "Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately." Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear. A feeling of panic seized me. "Annabeth," I said under my breath. "Don't." She frowned at me. "What?" "Look, I need to tell you something," I continued. The words came stumbling out of me. "I couldn't stand it if… I don't want you to—" "Percy?" she said. "You look like you're going to be sick." And that's how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn't move because of the fear in my stomach. And then Artemis turned. "I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it." "No," I murmured. "Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?" Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. Annabeth smiled. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along. "I will," Thalia said firmly. Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well—" "Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again." She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men…" Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised me almost as much as the pledge. She came over to me, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave me a big hug. I blushed. When she pulled away and gripped my shoulders, I said, "Um… aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?" "I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "I must join the Hunt, Percy. I haven't known peace since… since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy." "Great," I muttered. "I'm proud to be your friend." She hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon. Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side. "Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said. "This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the boy—" "No." I looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him." "And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus. "I'm only fourteen," I said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years." "Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero." "Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated. "It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the boy." My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it." He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus." "You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession." "Brother, please," Poseidon sighed. Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone. "Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor." Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?" To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else… "We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!" There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian. The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up. Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!" Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, and he was so cheerful I hated to tell him what had happened to his least favorite son, Luke, but before I could even get up the courage, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away. Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons— "Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery." "Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!" I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I was looking for Annabeth. Last I saw her, she'd been dancing with some minor godling. Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope." I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me. "Dad… hi." "Hello, Percy. You've done well." His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me. "I won't let you down," I promised. He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts. "Your friend Luke—" "He's not my friend," I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. "Sorry." "Your former friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall." "Luke fell pretty hard," I agreed. "He's dead." Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not." I stared at him. "What?" "I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him." "How can he be alive?" I said. "That fall should've killed him!" Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength." "What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?" My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my son. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death." "Luke did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Annabeth into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky." "Yes," Poseidon said. "Luke is… an interesting case." I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd, "I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time." And just like that he was gone. I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know." I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that. "Athena." I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she'd written me off in the council, but I guess I didn't hide it very well. She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous." "You never take risks?" She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet… your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself." My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Annabeth and I had had a talk about fatal flaws. Every hero had one. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything… like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn't really know what mine was. Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth." She paused, disapproving. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous." I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—" "The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed." I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty darn smart. "I hope the Council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties…" She fixed me with her cold gray stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid just because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail. "Percy!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who I was talking to. "Oh… Mom." "I will leave you," Athena said. "For now." She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis. "Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked. "No," I said. "It's… fine." She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly—our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. "So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?" The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And… I think I owe you a dance." She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain." So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.
Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a
quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris-message to my brother, Tyson, under the
sea. I told him about our adventures, and Bessie—he wanted to hear every detail about the
cute baby cow serpent—and I assured him that Annabeth was safe. Finally I got around to
explaining how the shield he'd made me last summer had been damaged in the manticore
attack.
"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"
"It sure did, big guy," I said. "But now it's ruined."
"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will visit and fix it next summer."
The idea picked me up instantly. I guess I hadn't realized how much I missed having
Tyson around.
"Seriously?" I asked. "They'll let you take time off?"
"Yes! I have made two thousand seven hundred and forty-one magic swords," Tyson
said proudly, showing me the newest blade. "The boss says 'good work'! He will let me take
the whole summer off. I will visit camp!"
We talked for a while about war preparations and our dad's fight with the old sea gods,
and all the cool things we could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started
yelling at him and he had to get back to work.
I dug out my last golden drachma and made one more Iris-message.
"Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."
The mist shimmered, and there was my mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding
hands with her friend Mr. Blowfish.
I felt so embarrassed, I was about to wave my hand through the mist and cut the
connection, but before I could, my mom saw me.
Her eyes got wide. She let go of Mr. Blowfish's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know
what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure, Sally. No problem."
He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned toward the Iris-message. "Percy! Are
you all right?"
"I'm, uh, fine. How's that writing seminar going?"
She pursed her lips. "It's fine. But that's not important. Tell me what's happened!"
I filled her in as quickly as I could. She sighed with relief when she heard that Annabeth
was safe.
"I knew you could do it!" she said. "I'm so proud."
"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework."
"Percy, I… Paul and I—"
"Mom, are you happy?"
The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really
am, Percy. Being around him makes me happy."
"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me." The funny thing was, I meant it.
Considering the quest I'd just had, maybe I should have been worried for my mom. I'd seen
just how mean people could be to each other, like Hercules was to Zoe Nightshade, like Luke
was to Thalia. I'd met Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, in person, and her powers had scared me
worse than Ares. But seeing my mother laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered
with my nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, I couldn't help feeling happy for her.
"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.
I shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."
"Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from our living room. "You need the green binder or the red
one?"
"I'd better go," she told me. "See you for Christmas?"
"Are you putting blue candy in my stocking?"
She smiled. "If you're not too old for that."
"I'm never too old for candy."
"I'll see you then."
She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared, and I thought to myself
that Thalia had been right, so many days ago at Westover Hall: my mom really was pretty
cool.
Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it
was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed
security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried
us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost
deserted.
As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece
glittered, I half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for us. But she wasn't. She was long gone
with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.
Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches.
Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the
magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the
nearest espresso bar was.
Annabeth and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf,
Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back
from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she
didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had
been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.
"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."
"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you
have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"
Annabeth smiled at me gratefully, which made me look away.
For some strange reason, I found myself thinking about Hoover Dam, and the odd
mortal girl I'd run into there, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I didn't know why, but her annoying
comments kept coming back to me. Do you always kill people when they blow their nose? I
was only alive because so many people had helped me, even a random mortal girl like that. I'd
never even explained to her who I was.
"Luke is alive," I said. "Annabeth was right."
Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"
I tried not to feel annoyed by her interest. I told her what my dad had said about the
Princess Andromeda.
"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come
when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."
I had a feeling that when she said "figure something out," she meant "get Luke to
change his ways," which annoyed me even more.
Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really
old. I mean… he was really old, but he usually didn't look it.
"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still
hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is
almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."
"How do you know?" I asked. "Why would he care about camp?"
"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and
the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous… We
must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"
There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his
cheeks bright red from the cold.
He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's… where's my sister?"
Dead silence. I stared at Chiron. I couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then I
realized why. They'd been waiting for us to appear, to tell Nico in person.
That was the last thing I wanted to do. But I owed it to Bianca.
"Hey, Nico." I got up from my comfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to
talk."
He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. I kept talking, trying to
explain how it had happened, how Bianca had sacrificed herself to save the quest. But I felt
like I was only making things worse.
"She wanted you to have this." I brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in
the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it.
We were standing at the dining pavilion, just where we'd last spoken before I went on
the quest. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow
fell lightly against the marble steps. I figured outside the camp borders, there must be a
blizzard happening.
"You promised you would protect her," Nico said.
He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger.
It would've hurt less than reminding me of my promise.
"Nico," I said. "I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not
to. But she—"
"You promised!"
He glared at me, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god
statue.
"I shouldn't have trusted you." His voice broke. "You lied to me. My nightmares were
right!"
"Wait. What nightmares?"
He flung the god statue to the ground. It clattered across the icy marble. "I hate you!"
"She might be alive," I said desperately. "I don't know for sure—"
"She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've
known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being
evaluated. I can feel it."
"What do you mean, you can feel it?"
Before he could answer, I heard a new sound behind me. A hissing, clattering noise I
recognized all too well.
I drew my sword and Nico gasped. I whirled and found myself facing four skeleton
warriors. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. I wasn't sure how
they'd made it inside the camp, but it didn't matter. I'd never get help in time.
"You're trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "You brought these… these things?"
"No! I mean, yes, they followed me, but no! Nico, run. They can't be destroyed."
"I don't trust you!"
The first skeleton charged. I knocked aside its blade, but the other three kept coming. I
sliced one in half, but immediately it began to knit back together. I knocked another's head off
but it just kept fighting.
"Run, Nico!" I yelled. "Get help!"
"No!" He pressed his hands to his ears.
I couldn't fight four at once, not if they wouldn't die. I slashed, whirled, blocked, jabbed,
but they just kept advancing. It was only a matter of seconds before the zombies overpowered
me.
"No!" Nico shouted louder. "Go away!"
The ground rumbled beneath me. The skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a
crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth.
Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!
Silence.
In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the
marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise there was no sign of the warriors.
Awestruck, I looked to Nico. "How did you—"
"Go away!" he yelled. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"
The ground didn't swallow me up, but Nico ran down the steps, heading toward the
woods. I started to follow but slipped and fell to the icy steps. When I got up, I noticed what
I'd slipped on.
I picked up the god statue Bianca had retrieved from the junkyard for Nico. The only
statue he didn't have, she'd said. A last gift from his sister.
I stared at it with dread, because now I understood why the face looked familiar. I'd
seen it before.
It was a statue of Hades, Lord of the Dead.
Annabeth and Grover helped me search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of
Nico di Angelo.
"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said, out of breath.
"No," I said.
She and Grover both stared at me.
"Um," Grover said nervously, "what do you mean… no?
I was still trying to figure out why I'd said that, but the words spilled out of me. "We
can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a—"
"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is?
Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"
"I don't think so," I said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath."
"What?"
"He's their dad," I said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long
time, since even before World War II."
"The Lotus Casino!" Grover said, and he told Annabeth about the conversations we'd
had with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born
before the oath was made."
I nodded.
"But how did they get out?" Annabeth protested.
"I don't know," I admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to
Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great
Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not
even Chiron. If the Olympians find out—"
"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said. "That's the last
thing we need."
Grover looked worried. "But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever."
"I don't need forever," I said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen."
Annabeth paled. "But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might
be about Nico.We have to—"
"No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."
"Why are you saying that?" she cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole
world?"
It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it.
"I can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I… let
them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer any more."
"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Grover reminded me.
"Maybe we can find him," I said. "We can convince him it's okay, hide him someplace
safe."
Annabeth shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him—"
"Luke won't," I said. "I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."
I wasn't sure Chiron believed the story Annabeth and I told him. I think he could tell I
was holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it.
Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear.
"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was
eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army."
That idea made me really uneasy. I almost changed my mind about telling Chiron, but I
didn't.
"You really think the first attack will be here?" I asked.
Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. I could see smoke from the dragon
guardian at the pine tree, the glitter of the distant Fleece.
"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. This winter will be hard… the
hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Percy; try to keep your mind
on school. And rest. You will need rest."
I looked at Annabeth. "What about you?"
Her cheeks flushed. "I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye
on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else."
"You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?"
She nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need
time to regain his strength."
I didn't like the idea of waiting. Then again, next August I would be turning fifteen. So
close to sixteen I didn't want to think about it.
"All right," I said. "Just take care of yourself. And no crazy stunts in the Sopwith
Camel."
She smiled tentatively. "Deal. And, Percy—"
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Grover, who stumbled out of the Big
House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a specter.
"He spoke.'" Grover cried.
"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"
"I… I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and
lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"
"Who?" Annabeth demanded.
"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to… I have to
find a suitcase."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "What did he say?"
Grover stared at me. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you...'"
Click here to Begin Reading
CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE GODS VOTE HOW TO KILL US
Click here to Go to Index
Flying was bad enough for a son of Poseidon, but flying straight up to Zeus's palace, with thunder and lightning swirling around it, was even worse. We circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. I'd only been there once before, traveling by elevator up to the secret six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building. This time, if it was possible, Olympus amazed me even more. In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes. Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods. Our pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves. Good luck, boss, Blackjack said. "Yeah." I didn't know why, but I had a sense of doom. I'd never seen all the gods together. I knew any one of them could blast me to dust, and a few of them would like to. Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable? I looked at the pegasus. Just a thought, he said. Sorry. Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Thalia, Annabeth, and me alone. For a minute we stood there regarding the palace, the way we'd stood together in front of Westover Hall, what seemed like a million years ago. And then, side by side, we walked into the throne room. Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoe the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn. All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and I'm telling you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once… Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic. "Welcome, heroes," Artemis said. "Mooo!" That's when I noticed Bessie and Grover. A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw us, he cried, "You made it!" He started to run toward me, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission. "Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia. Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled. I looked nervously at my father, Poseidon. He was dressed similar to the last time I'd seen him: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me again, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with smile lines. He nodded as if to say It's okay. Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped my arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!" "Do what?" I asked. "Heroes," Artemis called. The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburnhaired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight. "The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act." There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested. "At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…" She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?" She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera. On Zeus's right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus. Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife. On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of myself. All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart. "I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—" "Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?" A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite. "Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and me. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—" "Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits." "Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well." Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I knew how she felt. I'd hardly ever talked to my father, much less gotten a compliment. The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two." "Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—" Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such as Thalia and Percy… are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point." "Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—" He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down. "Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later." Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?" Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?" "I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide." "I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it." "Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up." "Don't call me sis! I will reward them." "Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?" A lot of nodding heads. It took me a second to realize what they were saying. Then my heart turned to lead. "Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?" "Mooooooo!" Bessie protested. My father frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?" "Dad," I said, "he's just a sea creature. A really nice sea creature. You can't destroy him." Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Percy, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—" "You can't," I insisted. I looked at Zeus. I probably should have been afraid of him, but I stared him right in the eye. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? Besides, Bess—the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as… as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do. It's wrong!" Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says." "You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them." Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?" "Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately." Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear. A feeling of panic seized me. "Annabeth," I said under my breath. "Don't." She frowned at me. "What?" "Look, I need to tell you something," I continued. The words came stumbling out of me. "I couldn't stand it if… I don't want you to—" "Percy?" she said. "You look like you're going to be sick." And that's how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn't move because of the fear in my stomach. And then Artemis turned. "I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it." "No," I murmured. "Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?" Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. Annabeth smiled. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along. "I will," Thalia said firmly. Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well—" "Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again." She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men…" Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised me almost as much as the pledge. She came over to me, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave me a big hug. I blushed. When she pulled away and gripped my shoulders, I said, "Um… aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?" "I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "I must join the Hunt, Percy. I haven't known peace since… since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy." "Great," I muttered. "I'm proud to be your friend." She hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon. Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side. "Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said. "This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the boy—" "No." I looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him." "And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus. "I'm only fourteen," I said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years." "Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero." "Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated. "It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the boy." My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it." He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus." "You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession." "Brother, please," Poseidon sighed. Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone. "Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor." Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?" To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else… "We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!" There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian. The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up. Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!" Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, and he was so cheerful I hated to tell him what had happened to his least favorite son, Luke, but before I could even get up the courage, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away. Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons— "Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery." "Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!" I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I was looking for Annabeth. Last I saw her, she'd been dancing with some minor godling. Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope." I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me. "Dad… hi." "Hello, Percy. You've done well." His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me. "I won't let you down," I promised. He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts. "Your friend Luke—" "He's not my friend," I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. "Sorry." "Your former friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall." "Luke fell pretty hard," I agreed. "He's dead." Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not." I stared at him. "What?" "I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him." "How can he be alive?" I said. "That fall should've killed him!" Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength." "What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?" My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my son. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death." "Luke did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Annabeth into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky." "Yes," Poseidon said. "Luke is… an interesting case." I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd, "I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time." And just like that he was gone. I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know." I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that. "Athena." I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she'd written me off in the council, but I guess I didn't hide it very well. She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous." "You never take risks?" She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet… your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself." My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Annabeth and I had had a talk about fatal flaws. Every hero had one. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything… like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn't really know what mine was. Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth." She paused, disapproving. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous." I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—" "The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed." I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty darn smart. "I hope the Council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties…" She fixed me with her cold gray stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid just because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail. "Percy!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who I was talking to. "Oh… Mom." "I will leave you," Athena said. "For now." She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis. "Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked. "No," I said. "It's… fine." She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly—our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. "So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?" The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And… I think I owe you a dance." She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain." So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.
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