‘The children of Ares!’ Annabeth said in amazement. ‘How did Rachel know?’
I didn’t have an answer. But leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armour, her face covered by a boar’s head helm. She held aloft a spear that crackled with electricity. Clarisse herself had come to the rescue. While half her chariots charged the monster army, Clarisse led the other six straight for the drakon.
The serpent reared back and managed to throw off Mrs O’Leary. My poor pet hit the side of the building with a yelp. I ran to help her, but the serpent had already zeroed in on the new threat. Even with only one eye, its glare was enough to paralyse two chariot drivers. They veered into a line of cars. The other four chariots kept charging. The monster bared its fangs to strike and got a mouthful of celestial bronze javelins.
‘EEESSSSS!’ it screamed, which was probably drakon for OWWWW!
‘Ares, to me!’ Clarisse screamed. Her voice sounded shriller than usual, but I guess that wasn’t surprising given what she was fighting.
Across the street, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies new hope. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building, and the enemy army was momentarily thrown into confusion.
Meanwhile, Clarisse’s chariots circled the drakon. Lances broke against the monster’s skin. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the warriors simply leaped to their feet, drew their swords and went to work. They hacked at chinks in the creature’s scales. They dodged poison spray like they’d been training for this all their lives, which of course they had.
No one could say the Ares campers weren’t brave. Clarisse was right there in front, stabbing her spear at the drakon’s face, trying to put out its other eye. But, as I watched, things started to go wrong. The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp. It knocked aside another and sprayed poison on a third, who retreated in a panic, his armour melting.
‘We have to help,’ Annabeth said.
She was right. I’d just been standing there frozen in amazement. Mrs O’Leary tried to get up but yelped again. One of her paws was bleeding.
‘Stay back, girl,’ I told her. ‘You’ve done enough already.’
Annabeth and I jumped onto the monster’s back and ran towards its head, trying to draw its attention away from Clarisse.
Her cabin mates threw javelins, most of which broke, but some lodged in the monster’s teeth. It snapped its jaws together until its mouth was a mess of green blood, yellow foamy poison and splintered weapons.
‘You can do it!’ I screamed at Clarisse. ‘A child of Ares is destined to kill it!’
Through her war helmet, I could only see her eyes – but I could tell something was wrong. Her blue eyes shone with fear. Clarisse never looked like that. And she didn’t have blue eyes.
‘ARES!’ she shouted, in that strangely shrill voice. She levelled her spear and charged the drakon.
‘No,’ I muttered. ‘WAIT!’
But the monster looked down at her – almost in contempt – and spat poison directly in her face.
She screamed and fell.
‘Clarisse!’ Annabeth jumped off the monster’s back and ran to help while the other Ares campers tried to defend their fallen counsellor. I drove Riptide between two of the creature’s scales and managed to turn its attention on me.
I got thrown but I landed on my feet. ‘C’MON, you stupid worm! Look at me!’
For the next several minutes, all I saw were teeth. I retreated and dodged poison, but I couldn’t hurt the thing.
At the edge of my vision, I saw a flying chariot land on Fifth Avenue.
Then someone ran towards us. A girl’s voice, shaken with grief, cried, ‘NO! Curse you, WHY?’
I dared to glance over, but what I saw made no sense. Clarisse was lying on the ground where she’d fallen. Her armour smoked with poison. Annabeth and the Ares campers were trying to unfasten her helmet. And kneeling next to them, her face blotchy with tears, was a girl in camp clothes. It was … Clarisse.
My head spun. Why hadn’t I noticed before? The girl in Clarisse’s armour was much thinner, not as tall. But why would someone pretend to be Clarisse?
I was so stunned the drakon almost snapped me in half. I dodged and the beast buried its head in a brick wall.
‘WHY?’ the real Clarisse demanded, holding the other girl in her arms while the campers struggled to remove the poison-corroded helmet.
Chris Rodriguez ran over from the flying chariot. He and Clarisse must’ve ridden it here from camp, chasing the Ares campers, who’d mistakenly been following the other girl, thinking she was Clarisse. But it still made no sense.
The drakon tugged its head from the brick wall and screamed in rage.
‘Look out!’ Chris warned.
Instead of turning towards me, the drakon whirled towards the sound of Chris’s voice. It bared its fangs at the group of demigods.
The real Clarisse looked up at the drakon. Her face filled with absolute hate. I’d seen a look that intense only once before. Her father Ares had worn the same expression when I’d fought him in single combat.
‘YOU WANT DEATH?’ Clarisse screamed at the drakon. ‘WELL, COME ON!’
She grabbed her spear from the fallen girl. With no armour or shield, she charged the drakon.
I tried to close the distance to help, but Clarisse was faster. She leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. Then she jumped onto the creature’s head. As it reared up, she drove her electric spear into its good eye with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the magic weapon’s power.
Electricity arced across the creature’s head, causing its whole body to shudder. Clarisse jumped free, rolling safely to the sidewalk as smoke boiled from the drakon’s mouth. The drakon’s flesh dissolved, and it collapsed into a hollow scaly tunnel of armour.
The rest of us stared at Clarisse in awe. I had never seen anyone take down such a huge monster single-handedly. But Clarisse didn’t seem to care. She ran back to the wounded girl who’d stolen her armour.
Finally Annabeth managed to remove the girl’s helmet. We all gathered around – the Ares campers, Chris, Clarisse, Annabeth and me. The battle still raged along Fifth Avenue, but for that moment nothing existed except our small circle and the fallen girl.
Her features, once beautiful, were badly burned from poison. I could tell that no amount of nectar or ambrosia would save her.
Something is about to happen. Rachel’s words rang in my ears. A trick that ends in death.
Now I knew what she meant, and I knew who had led the Ares cabin into battle.
I looked down at the dying face of Silena Beauregard.
17 I Sit on The Hot Seat
‘What were you thinking?’ Clarisse cradled Silena’s head in her lap.
Silena tried to swallow, but her lips were dry and cracked. ‘Wouldn’t … listen. Cabin would … only follow you.’
‘So you stole my armour,’ Clarisse said in disbelief. ‘You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol, you stole my armour and pretended to be me.’ She glared at her siblings. ‘And NONE of you noticed?’
The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their combat boots.
‘Don’t blame them,’ Silena said. ‘They wanted to … to believe I was you.’
‘You stupid Aphrodite girl,’ Clarisse sobbed. ‘You charged a drakon? Why?’
‘All my fault,’ Silena said, a tear streaking the side of her face. ‘The drakon, Charlie’s death … camp endangered –’
‘Stop it!’ Clarisse said. ‘That’s not true.’
Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm – the mark of Kronos.
A cold fist closed around my heart. ‘You were the spy.’
Silena tried to nod. ‘Before – before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so – charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised … he
promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn’t hurt – Charlie. He lied to me.’
I met Annabeth’s eyes. Her face was chalky. She looked like somebody had just yanked the world out from under her feet.
Behind us, the battle raged.
Clarisse scowled at her cabin mates. ‘Go, help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!’
They scrambled off to join the fight.
Silena took a heavy, painful breath. ‘Forgive me.’
‘You’re not dying,’ Clarisse insisted.
‘Charlie …’ Silena’s eyes were a million miles away. ‘See Charlie …’
She didn’t speak again.
Clarisse held her and wept. Chris put a hand on her shoulder.
Finally Annabeth closed Silena’s eyes.
‘We have to fight.’ Annabeth’s voice was brittle. ‘She gave her life to help us. We have to honour her.’
Clarisse sniffled and wiped her nose. ‘She was a hero, understand? A hero.’
I nodded. ‘Come on, Clarisse.’
She picked up a sword from one of her fallen siblings. ‘Kronos is going to pay.’
I’d like to say I drove the enemy away from the Empire State Building. The truth was Clarisse did all the work. Even without her armour or spear, she was a demon. She rode her chariot straight into the Titans’ army and crushed everything in her path.
She was so inspiring even the panicked centaurs started to rally. The Hunters scrounged arrows from the fallen and launched volley after volley into the enemy. The Ares cabin slashed and hacked, which was their favourite thing. The monsters retreated towards Thirty-fifth Street.
Clarisse drove to the drakon’s carcass and looped a grappling line through its eye sockets. She lashed her horses and took off, dragging the drakon behind the chariot like a Chinese New Year dragon. She charged after the enemy, yelling insults and daring them to cross her. As she rode, I realized she was literally glowing. An aura of red fire flickered around her.
‘The blessing of Ares,’ Thalia said. ‘I’ve never seen it in person before.’
For the moment, Clarisse was as invincible as I was. The enemy threw spears and arrows, but nothing hit her.
‘I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON-SLAYER!’ she yelled. ‘I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?’
‘Clarisse!’ I yelled. ‘Stop it. Withdraw!’
‘What’s the matter, Titan lord?’ she yelled. ‘BRING IT ON!’
There was no answer from the enemy. Slowly, they began to fall back behind a dracaenae shield wall, while Clarisse drove in circles around Fifth Avenue, daring anyone to cross her path. The fifty-metre-long drakon carcass made a hollow scraping noise against the pavement, like a thousand knives.
Meanwhile, we tended our wounded, bringing them inside the lobby. Long after the enemy had retreated from sight, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue with her horrible trophy, demanding that Kronos meet her in battle.
Chris said, ‘I’ll watch her. She’ll get tired eventually. I’ll make sure she comes inside.’
‘What about the camp?’ I asked. ‘Is anybody left there?’
Chris shook his head. ‘Only Argus and the nature spirits. Peleus the dragon is still guarding the tree.’
‘They won’t last long,’ I said. ‘But I’m glad you came.’
Chris nodded sadly. ‘I’m sorry it took so long. I tried to reason with Clarisse. I said there’s no point in defending camp if you guys die. All our friends are here. I’m sorry it took Silena …’
‘My Hunters will help you stand guard,’ Thalia said. ‘Annabeth and Percy, you should go to Olympus. I have a feeling they’ll need you up there – to set up the final defence.’
The doorman had disappeared from the lobby. His book was face down on the desk and his chair was empty. The rest of the lobby, however, was jam-packed with wounded campers, Hunters and satyrs.
Connor and Travis Stoll met us by the elevators.
‘Is it true?’ Connor asked. ‘About Silena?’
I nodded. ‘She died a hero.’
Travis shifted uncomfortably. ‘Um, I also heard –’
‘That’s it,’ I insisted. ‘End of story.’
‘Right,’ Travis mumbled. ‘Listen, we figure the Titans’ army will have trouble getting up the elevator. They’ll have to go up a few at a time. And the giants won’t be able to fit at all.’
‘That’s our biggest advantage,’ I said. ‘Any way to disable the elevator?’
‘It’s magic,’ Travis said. ‘Usually you need a key card, but the doorman vanished. That means the defences are crumbling. Anyone can walk into the elevator now and head straight up.’
‘Then we have to keep them away from the doors,’ I said. ‘We’ll bottle them up in the lobby.’
‘We need reinforcements,’ Travis said. ‘They’ll just keep coming. Eventually they’ll overwhelm us.’
‘There are no reinforcements,’ Connor complained.
I looked outside at Mrs O’Leary, who was breathing against the glass doors and smearing them with hellhound drool.
‘Maybe that’s not true,’ I said.
I went outside and put a hand on Mrs O’Leary’s muzzle. Chiron had bandaged her paw, but she was still limping. Her fur was matted with mud, leaves, pizza slices and dried monster blood.
‘Hey, girl.’ I tried to sound upbeat. ‘I know you’re tired, but I’ve got one more big favour to ask you.’
I leaned next to her and whispered in her ear.
After Mrs O’Leary had shadow-travelled away, I rejoined Annabeth in the lobby. On the way to the elevator, we spotted Grover kneeling over a fat wounded satyr.
‘Leneus!’ I said.
The old satyr looked terrible. His lips were blue. There was a broken spear in his belly and his furry goat legs were twisted at a painful angle.
He tried to focus on us, but I don’t think he saw us.
‘Grover?’ he murmured.
‘I’m here, Leneus.’ Grover was blinking back tears, despite all the horrible things Leneus had said about him.
‘Did – did we win?’
‘Um … yes,’ Grover lied. ‘Thanks to you, Leneus. We drove the enemy away.’
‘Told you,’ the old satyr mumbled. ‘True leader. True …’
He closed his eyes for the last time.
Grover gulped. He put his hand on Leneus’s forehead and spoke an ancient blessing. The old satyr’s body melted, until all that was left was a tiny sapling in a pile of fresh soil.
‘A laurel,’ Grover said in awe. ‘Oh, that lucky old goat.’
He gathered up the sapling in his hands. ‘I – I should plant him. In Olympus, in the gardens.’
‘We’re going that way,’ I said. ‘Come on.’
Easy-listening music played as the elevator rose. I thought about the first time I’d visited Mount Olympus, back when I was twelve. Annabeth and Grover hadn’t been with me then. I was glad they were with me now. I had a feeling it might be our last adventure together.
‘Percy,’ Annabeth said quietly. ‘You were right about Luke.’ It was the first time she’d spoken since Silena Beauregard’s death. She kept her eyes fixed on the elevator floors as they blinked into the magical numbers – 400, 450, 500.
Grover and I exchanged glances.
‘Annabeth,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry –’
‘You tried to tell me.’ Her voice was shaky. ‘Luke is no good. I didn’t believe you until – until I heard how he’d used Silena. Now I know. I hope you’re happy.’
‘That doesn’t make me happy.’
She put her head against the elevator wall and wouldn’t look at me.
Grover cradled his laurel sapling in his hands. ‘Well … sure good to be together again. Arguing. Almost dying. Abject terror. Oh, look. It’s our floor.’
The doors dinged and we stepped onto the aerial walkway.
Depressing is not a word that usually describes Mount Olympus, but it looked
that way now. No fires lit the braziers. The windows were dark. The streets were deserted and the doors were barred. The only movement was in the parks, which had been set up as field hospitals. Will Solace and the other Apollo campers scrambled around, caring for the wounded. Naiads and dryads tried to help, using nature magic songs to heal burns and poison.
As Grover planted the laurel sapling, Annabeth and I went around trying to cheer up the wounded. I passed a satyr with a broken leg, a demigod who was bandaged from head to toe and a body covered in the golden burial shroud of Apollo’s cabin. I didn’t know who was underneath. I didn’t want to find out.
My heart felt like lead, but we tried to find positive things to say.
‘You’ll be up and fighting Titans in no time!’ I told one camper.
‘You look great,’ Annabeth told another camper.
‘Leneus turned into a shrub!’ Grover told a groaning satyr.
I found Dionysus’ son Pollux propped up against a tree. He had a broken arm, but otherwise he was okay.
‘I can still fight with the other hand,’ he said, gritting his teeth.
‘No,’ I said. ‘You’ve done enough. I want you to stay here and help with the wounded.’
‘But –’
‘Promise me to stay safe,’ I said. ‘Okay? Personal favour.’
He frowned uncertainly. It wasn’t like we were good friends or anything, but I wasn’t going to tell him it was a request from his dad. That would just embarrass him. Finally he promised, and when he sat back down, I could tell he was kind of relieved.
Annabeth, Grover and I kept walking towards the palace. That’s where Kronos would head. As soon as he made it up the elevator – and I had no doubt he would, one way or another – he would destroy the throne room, the centre of the gods’ power.
The bronze doors creaked open. Our footsteps echoed on the marble floor. The constellations twinkled coldly on the ceiling of the great hall. The hearth was down to a dull red glow. Hestia, in the form of a little girl in brown robes, hunched at its edge, shivering. The Ophiotaurus swam sadly in his sphere of water. He let out a half-hearted Moo when he saw me.
In the firelight, the thrones cast evil-looking shadows, like grasping hands.