In the stands, the sumo dude raised his hands for silence.
‘Good entertainment!’ he bellowed. ‘But nothing I haven’t seen before. What else do you have, Luke, son of Hermes?’
Luke’s jaw tightened. I could tell he didn’t like being called son of Hermes. He hated his father. But he rose calmly to his feet. His eyes glittered. In fact, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
‘Lord Antaeus,’ Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear, ‘you have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favour of passing through your territory.’
‘A favour I have not yet granted,’ Antaeus growled. ‘I want entertainment!’
Luke bowed. ‘I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have a brother of yours.’ He pointed at me. ‘Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.’
The crowd began jeering at me and throwing stones, most of which I dodged, but one caught me on the cheek and made a good-sized cut.
Antaeus’s eyes lit up. ‘A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!’
‘If his death pleases you,’ Luke said, ‘will you let our armies cross your territory?’
‘Perhaps!’ Antaeus said.
Luke didn’t look too pleased about the ‘perhaps’. He glared down at me, as if warning me that I’d better die in a really spectacular way or I’d be in big trouble.
‘Luke!’ Annabeth yelled. ‘Stop this. Let us go!’
Luke seemed to notice her for the first time. He looked stunned for a moment. ‘Annabeth?’
‘Enough time for the females to fight afterwards,’ Antaeus interrupted. ‘First, Percy Jackson, what weapons will you choose?’
The dracaenae pushed me into the middle of the arena.
I stared up at Antaeus. ‘How can you be a son of Poseidon?’
Antaeus laughed, and the rest of the crowd laughed, too.
‘I am his favourite son!’ Antaeus boomed. ‘Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I’ve killed in his name! Your skull shall join them!’
I stared in horror at all the skulls – hundreds of them, and the banner of Poseidon. How could this be a temple for my dad? My dad was a nice guy. He’d never asked me for a Father’s Day card, much less somebody’s skull.
‘Percy!’ Annabeth yelled at me. ‘His mother is Gaia! Gai–’
Her Laistrygonian captor clamped his hand over her mouth. His mother is Gaia. The earth goddess. Annabeth was trying to tell me that this was important, but I didn’t know why. Maybe just because the guy had two godly parents. That would make him even harder to kill.
‘You’re crazy, Antaeus,’ I said. ‘If you think this is a good tribute, you know nothing about Poseidon.’
The crowd screamed insults at me, but Antaeus raised his hand for silence.
‘Weapons,’ he insisted. ‘And then we will see how you die. Will you have axes? Shields? Nets? Flamethrowers?’
‘Just my sword,’ I said.
Laughter erupted from the monsters, but immediately Riptide appeared in my hands, and some of the voices in the crowd turned nervous. The bronze blade glowed with a faint light.
‘Round one!’ Antaeus announced. The gates opened, and a dracaena slithered out. She had a trident in one hand and a weighted net in the other – classic gladiator style. I’d trained against those weapons at camp for years.
She jabbed at me experimentally. I stepped away. She threw her net, hoping to tangle my sword hand, but I sidestepped easily, sliced her spear in half and stabbed Riptide through a chink in her armour. With a painful wail, she vaporized into nothing, and the cheering of the crowd died.
‘No!’ Antaeus bellowed. ‘Too fast! You must wait for the kill. Only I give that order!’
I glanced over at Annabeth and Rachel. I had to find a way to get them free, maybe distract their guards.
‘Nice job, Percy.’ Luke smiled. ‘You’ve got better with the sword. I’ll grant you that.’
‘Round two!’ Antaeus yelled. ‘And slower this time! More entertainment! Wait for my call before killing anybody, OR ELSE!’
The gates opened again, and this time a young warrior came out. He was a little older than me, about sixteen. He had glossy black hair, and his left eye was covered with an eye patch. He was thin and wiry so his Greek armour hung on him loosely. He stabbed his sword into the ground, adjusted his shield straps and pulled on his horsehair helmet.
‘Who are you?’ I asked.
‘Ethan Nakamura,’ he said. ‘I have to kill you.’
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Hey!’ a monster jeered from the stands. ‘Stop talking and fight already!’ The others took up the call.
‘I have to prove myself,’ Ethan told me. ‘Only way to join up.’
And with that he charged. Our swords met in midair and the crowd roared. It didn’t seem right. I didn’t want to fight to entertain a bunch of monsters, but Ethan Nakamura wasn’t giving me much choice.
He pressed forward. He was good. He’d never been at Camp Half-Blood, as far as I knew, but he’d been trained. He parried my strike and almost slammed me with his shield, but I jumped back. He slashed. I rolled to one side. We exchanged thrusts and parries, getting a feel for each other’s fighting style. I tried to keep to Ethan’s blind side, but it didn’t help much. He’d apparently been fighting with only one eye for a long time, because he was excellent at guarding his left.
‘Blood!’ the monsters cried.
My opponent glanced up at the stands. That was his weakness, I realized. He needed to impress them. I didn’t.
He yelled an angry battle cry and charged me, but I parried his blade and backed away, letting him come after me.
‘Booo!’ Antaeus said. ‘Stand and fight!’
Ethan pressed me, but I had no trouble defending, even without a shield. He was dressed for defence – heavy armour and shield – which made it very tiring to play offence. I was a softer target, but I was also lighter and faster. The crowd went nuts, yelling complaints and throwing rocks. We’d been fighting for almost five minutes and there was no blood.
Finally Ethan made his mistake. He tried to jab at my stomach and I locked his sword hilt in mine and twisted. His sword dropped into the dirt. Before he could recover I slammed the butt of my sword into his helmet and pushed him down. His heavy armour helped me more than him. He fell on his back, dazed and tired. I put the tip of my sword on his chest.
‘Get it over with,’ Ethan groaned.
I looked up at Antaeus. His red face was stony with displeasure, but he held up his hand and put it ‘thumbs down’.
‘Forget it.’ I sheathed my sword.
‘Don’t be a fool,’ Ethan groaned. ‘They’ll just kill us both.’
I offered him my hand. Reluctantly, he took it. I helped him up.
‘No one dishonours the games!’ Antaeus bellowed. ‘Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!’
I looked at Ethan. ‘When you see your chance, run.’ Then I turned back to Antaeus. ‘Why don’t you fight me yourself? If you’ve got Dad’s favour, come down here and prove it!’
The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice. He couldn’t say no without looking like a coward.
‘I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy,’ he warned. ‘I have been wrestling since the first pankration!’
‘Pankration?’ I asked.
‘He means fighting to the death,’ Ethan said. ‘No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport.’
‘Thanks for the tip,’ I said.
‘Don’t mention it.’
Rachel was watching me with wide eyes. Annabeth shook her head emphatically, the Laistrygonian’s hand still clamped over her mouth.
I pointed my sword at Antaeus. ‘Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx.’
Antaeus laughed. ‘This shouldn’t take long. I swea
r to your terms!’
He leaped off the railing into the arena.
‘Good luck,’ Ethan told me. ‘You’ll need it.’ Then he backed up quickly.
Antaeus cracked his knuckles. He grinned, and I saw that even his teeth were etched in wave patterns, which must’ve made brushing after meals a real pain.
‘Weapons?’ he asked.
‘I’ll stick with my sword. You?’
He held up his huge hands and wiggled his fingers. ‘I don’t need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one.’
Luke smiled down at me. ‘With pleasure.’
Antaeus lunged. I rolled under his legs and stabbed him in the back of his thigh.
‘Argggh!’ he yelled. But where blood should’ve come out, there was a spout of sand, like I’d busted the side of an hourglass. It spilled to the ground, and the earth rose up to collect around his leg, almost like a cast. When it fell away, the wound was gone.
He charged again. Fortunately I’d had some experience fighting giants. I dodged sideways this time and stabbed him under the arm. Riptide’s blade was buried to the hilt in his ribs. That was the good news. The bad news was that it wrenched out of my hand when the giant turned, and I was thrown across the arena, weaponless.
Antaeus bellowed in pain. I waited for him to disintegrate. No monster had ever withstood a direct hit like that from my sword. The celestial bronze blade had to be destroying his essence. But Antaeus groped for the hilt, pulled out the sword and tossed it behind him. More sand poured from the wound, but again the earth rose up to cover him. Dirt coated his body all the way to his shoulders. As soon as the dirt spilled away, Antaeus was fine.
‘Now you see why I never lose, demigod!’ Antaeus gloated. ‘Come here and let me crush you. I’ll make it quick!’
Antaeus stood between me and my sword. Desperately, I glanced to either side, and I caught Annabeth’s eye.
The earth, I thought. What had Annabeth been trying to tell me? Antaeus’s mother was Gaia the earth mother, the most ancient goddess of all. Antaeus’s father might have been Poseidon, but Gaia was keeping him alive. I couldn’t hurt him as long as he was touching the ground.
I tried to skirt around him, but Antaeus anticipated my move. He blocked my path, chuckling. He was just toying with me now. He had me cornered.
I looked up at the chains hanging from the ceiling, dangling the skulls of his enemies on hooks. Suddenly I had an idea.
I feinted to the other side. Antaeus blocked me. The crowd jeered and screamed at Antaeus to finish me off, but he was having too much fun.
‘Puny boy,’ he said. ‘Not a worthy son of the sea god!’
I felt my pen return to my pocket, but Antaeus wouldn’t know about that. He would think Riptide was still in the dirt behind him. He would think my goal was to get my sword. It wasn’t much of an advantage, but it was all I had.
I charged straight ahead, crouching low so he would think I was going to roll between his legs again. While he was stooping, ready to catch me like a grounder, I jumped for all I was worth – kicking off his forearm, scrambling up his shoulder like it was a ladder, placing my shoe on his head. He did the natural thing. He straightened up indignantly and yelled ‘HEY!’ I pushed off, using his force to catapult me towards the ceiling. I caught the top of a chain, and the skulls and hooks jangled beneath me. I wrapped my legs around the chain, just like I used to do at the ropes course in gym class. I drew Riptide and sawed off the chain next to me.
‘Come down here, coward!’ Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab me, but I was just out of reach. Hanging on for dear life, I yelled, ‘Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?’
He howled and made another grab for me. He caught a chain and tried to pull himself up. While he was struggling, I lowered my sawn-off chain, hook first. It took me two tries, but finally I snagged Antaeus’s loincloth.
‘WAAA!’ he yelled. Quickly I slipped the free chain through the fastening link on my own chain, pulled it taut and secured it the best I could. Antaeus tried to slip back to the ground, but his butt stayed suspended by his loincloth. He had to hold on to the other chains with both hands to avoid getting flipped upside down. I prayed the loincloth and the chain would hold up for a few more seconds. While Antaeus cursed and flailed, I scrambled around the chains, swinging and cutting like I was some kind of crazed monkey. I made loops with hooks and metal links. I don’t know how I did it. My mom always said I have a gift for getting stuff tangled up. Plus I was desperate to save my friends. Anyway, within a couple of minutes the giant was suspended above the ground, hopelessly snarled in chains and hooks.
I dropped to the floor, panting and sweaty. My hands were raw from climbing.
‘Get me down!’ Antaeus demanded.
‘Free him!’ Luke ordered. ‘He is our host!’
I uncapped Riptide. ‘I’ll free him.’
And I stabbed the giant in the stomach. He bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to help him. Antaeus just dissolved, pouring out bit by bit, until there was nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook and a bunch of grinning skulls dancing above me like they finally had something to smile about.
‘Jackson!’ Luke yelled. ‘I should have killed you long ago!’
‘You tried,’ I reminded him. ‘Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I’m the winner.’
He did just what I expected. He said, ‘Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I’m feeling merciful today, I’ll have you killed quickly.’
He pointed at Annabeth. ‘Spare the girl.’ His voice quavered just a little. ‘I would speak to her before – before our great triumph.’
Every monster in the audience drew a weapon or extended its claws. We were trapped. Hopelessly outnumbered.
Then I felt something in my pocket – a freezing sensation, growing colder and colder. The dog whistle. My fingers closed around it. For days I’d avoided using Quintus’s gift. It had to be a trap. But now… I had no choice. I took it out of my pocket and blew. It made no audible sound as it shattered into shards of ice, melting in my hand.
Luke laughed. ‘What was that supposed to do?’
From behind me came a surprised yelp. The Laistrygonian giant who’d been guarding Annabeth flew past me and smashed into the wall.
‘AROOOOF!’
Kelli the empousa screamed as a two-hundred-kilogram black mastiff picked her up like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke’s lap. Mrs O’Leary snarled, and the two dracaenae guards backed away. For a moment the monsters in the audience were caught completely by surprise.
‘Let’s go!’ I yelled at my friends. ‘Heel, Mrs O’Leary!’
‘The far exit!’ Rachel cried. ‘That’s the right way!’
Ethan Nakamura took his cue. Together we raced across the arena and out the far exit, Mrs O’Leary right behind us. As we ran, I could hear the disorganized sounds of an entire army trying to jump out of the stands and follow us.
15 We Steal Some Slightly Used Wings
‘This way!’ Rachel yelled.
‘Why should we follow you?’ Annabeth demanded. ‘You led us straight into that death trap!’
‘It was the way you needed to go,’ Rachel said. ‘And so is this. Come on!’
Annabeth didn’t look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of us. Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn’t even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, ‘Duck!’ and we all crouched as a huge axe swung over our heads. Then we kept going as if nothing had happened.
I lost track of how many turns we made. We didn’t stop to rest until we came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. I stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but I heard nothing. Apparently, we’d lost Luke and his minions in the maze.
Then I realized something else: Mrs O’Leary was
gone. I didn’t know when she’d disappeared. I didn’t know if she’d got lost or been overrun by monsters, or what. My heart turned to lead. She’d saved our lives, and I hadn’t even waited to make sure she was following us.
Ethan collapsed on the floor. ‘You people are crazy.’ He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.
Annabeth gasped. ‘I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in Hermes cabin, years ago.’
He glared at her. ‘Yeah, and you’re Annabeth. I remember.’
‘What – what happened to your eye?’
Ethan looked away, and I got the feeling that was one subject he would not discuss.
‘You must be the half-blood from my dream,’ I said. ‘The one Luke’s people cornered. It wasn’t Nico after all.’
‘Who’s Nico?’
‘Never mind,’ Annabeth said quickly. ‘Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?’
Ethan sneered. ‘There’s no right side. The gods never cared about us. Why shouldn’t I –’
‘Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?’ Annabeth said. ‘Gee, I wonder.’
Ethan struggled to his feet. ‘I’m not going to argue with you. Thanks for the help, but I’m out of here.’
‘We’re going after Daedalus,’ I said. ‘Come with us. Once we get through, you’d be welcome back at camp.’
‘You really are crazy if you think Daedalus will help you.’
‘He has to,’ Annabeth said. ‘We’ll make him listen.’
Ethan snorted. ‘Yeah, well. Good luck with that.’
I grabbed his arm. ‘You’re just going to head off alone into the maze? That’s suicide.’
He looked at me with barely controlled anger. His eye patch was frayed around the edges and the black cloth was faded, like he’d been wearing it a long, long time. ‘You shouldn’t have spared me, Jackson. Mercy has no place in this war.’
Then he ran off into the darkness, back the way we’d come.
Annabeth, Rachel and I were so exhausted we made camp right there in the huge room. I found some scrap wood and we started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns rising around us like trees.