By the time we got to the street, it was too late. Campers and Hunters lay wounded on the ground. Clarisse must've lost a fight with a Hyperboreangiant, because she and her chariot were frozen in a block of ice. The centaurs were nowhere to be seen.
Either they'd pan-icked and ran or they'd been disintegrated. The Titan army ringed the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos's vanguard wasin the lead:
Ethan Nakamura, the dracaena queen in her green armor, and two Hyperboreans. I didn't seePrometheus. The slimy weasel was probably hiding back at their headquarters. But Kronos himself stoodright in front with his scythe in hand. The only thing standing in his way was . . . "Chiron, " Annabeth said, her voice trembling. If Chiron heard us, he didn't answer. He had an arrow notched, aimed straight at Kronos's face. As soon as Kronos saw me, his gold eyes flared. Every muscle in my body froze. Then the Titan lordturned his attention back to Chiron. "Step aside, little son."
Hearing Luke call Chiron his son was weird enough, but Kronos put contempt in his voice, like sonw asthe worst word he could think of. "I'm afraid not."
Chiron's tone was steely calm, the way he gets when he's really angry. I tried to move, but my feet felt like concrete. Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia were straining too, like theywere just as stuck. "Chiron!" Annabeth said. "Look out!" The dracaena queen became impatient and charged. Chiron's arrow flew straight between her eyes andshe vaporized on the spot, her empty armor clattering to the asphalt. Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. He dropped the bow and drew his sword.
I knew he hated fighting with a sword. It was never his favorite weapon. Kronos chuckled. He advanced a step, and Chiron's horse-half skittered nervously. His tail flicked backand forth. "You're a teacher, " Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."
"Luke was a hero, " Chiron said. "He was a good one, untilyou corrupted him."
"FOOL!" Kronos's voice shook the city. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the godscared about me!" "Me, " Chiron noticed. "You said me."
Kronos looked confused, and in that moment, Chiron struck. It was a good maneuver—a feint followedby a strike to the face. I couldn't have done better myself, but Kronos was quick. He had all of Luke'sfighting skill, which was a lot. He knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!" A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of thebuilding with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him. "No!" Annabeth wailed. The freezing spell broke. We ran toward our teacher, but there was no sign ofhim. Thalia and I pulled helplessly at the bricks while a ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan'sarmy. "YOU!" Annabeth turned on Luke. "To think that I . . . that I thought—" She drew her knife. "Annabeth, don't."
I tried to take her arm, but she shook me off. She attacked Kronos, and his smug smile faded. Perhaps some part of Luke remembered that he usedto like this girl, used to take care of her when she was little. She plunged her knife between the straps ofhis armor, right at his collar bone. The blade should've sunk into his chest. Instead it bounced off.
Annabeth doubled over, clutching her arm to her stomach. The jolt might've been enough to dislocate herbad shoulder. I yanked her back as Kronos swung his scythe, slicing the air where she'd been standing. She fought me and screamed, "I HATE you!" I wasn't sure who she was talking to—me or Luke orKronos. Tears streaked the dust on her face. "I have to fight him, " I told her. "It's my fight too, Percy!" Kronos laughed. "So much spirit. I can see why Luke wanted to spare you. Unfortunately, that won't bepossible."
He raised his scythe. I got ready to defend, but before Kronos could strike, a dog's howl pierced the airsomewhere behind the Titan's army. "Arroooooooo!" It was too much to hope, but I called, "Mrs. O'Leary?"
The enemy forces stirred uneasily. Then the strangest thing happened. They began to part, clearing apath through the street like something behind them was forcing them to. Soon there was a free aisle down the center of Fifth Avenue. Standing at the end of the block was mygiant dog, and a small figure in black armor. "Nico?"
I called. "ROWWF!"Mrs. O'Leary bounded toward me, ignoring the growling monsters on either side. Nicostrode forward. The enemy army fell back before him like he radiated death, which of course he did. Through the face guard of his skull-shaped helmet, he smiled."
Got your message. Is it too late to join theparty?"
"Son of Hades."
Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"
"Your death, " Nico said, "would be great for me."
"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."
Nico drew his sword—three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree."
The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared in the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletalhands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands ofthem, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up. "HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."
The sky turned dark and cold. Shadows thickened. A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiersformed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enor-mous chariot roared down FifthAvenue. It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. Thechariot was inlaid with obsidian and gold, decorated with scenes of painful death. Holding the reins wasHades himself, Lord of the Dead, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him. Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood. On top of his pale head was the helm ofdarkness:
a crown that radiated pure terror. It changed shape as I watched—from a dragon's head to acircle of black flames to a wreath of human bones. But that wasn't the scary part. The helm reached intomy mind and ignited my worst nightmares, my most secret fears. I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, and I could tell the enemy army felt the same way. Only Kronos's power and authority kept his ranksfrom fleeing. Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking . . . young."
"Hades, " Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."
"I'm afraid not."
Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list ofenemies."
He glanced at me with distaste. "As much as I dislike certainupstart demigods, it would not dofor Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on—it isthat you were a TERRIBLE father."
"True, " muttered Demeter."
No appreciation of agriculture."
"Mother!"Persephone complained. Hades drew his sword, a double-edged Stygian blade etched with silver. "Now fight me! For today theHouse of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."
"I don't have time for this, " Kronos snarled. He struck the ground with his scythe. A crack spread in both directions, circling the Empire StateBuilding. A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos's vanguard, my friends, andme from the bulk of the two armies. "What's he doing?"
I muttered. "Sealing us in, " Thalia said. "He's collapsing the magic barriers around Manhattan—cutting off just thebuilding, and us."
Sure enough, outside the barrier, car engines revved to life. Pedestrians woke up and stareduncomprehendingly at the monsters and zombies all around them. No telling what they saw through theMist, but I'm sure it was plenty scary. Car doors opened. And at the end of the block, Paul Blofis andmy mom got out of their Prius. "No, " I said. "Don't . . ."
My mother could see through the Mist. I could tell from her expression that she understood how seriousthings were. I hoped she would have the sense to run. But she locked eyes with me, said something toPaul, and they ran straight toward us. I couldn't call out. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her to Kronos's attention. Fortunately, Hades caused a distraction. He charged at the wall of force, but his chariot crashed againstit and over-turned. He got to his feet, cursing, and blasted the wall with black energy. The barrier held. "ATTACK!" he roared. The armies of the dead clashed with the Titan's mon-sters. Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute chaos.
Mortals screamed and ran for cover. Demeter waved her hand and an entire column of giants turned intoa wheat field. Persephone changed the dracaenae's spears into sunflowers. Nico slashed and hacked hisway through the enemy, trying to protect the pedestrians as best he could. My parents ran toward me, dodging monsters and zombies, but there was nothing I could do to help them. "Nakamura, " Kronos said. "Attend me. Giants—deal with them."
He pointed at my friends and me. Then he ducked into the lobby. For a second I was stunned. I'd been expecting a fight, but Kronos completely ignored me like I wasn'tworth the trouble. That made me mad. The first Hyperborean giant smashed at me with his club. I rolled between his legs and stabbed Riptideinto his backside. He shattered into a pile of ice shards. The second giant breathed frost at Annabeth, who was barely able to stand, but Grover pulled her out of the way while Thalia went to work. Shesprinted up the giant's back like a gazelle, sliced her hunting knives across his monstrous blue neck, andcreated the world's largest headlessice sculpture. I glanced outside the magic barrier. Nico was fighting his way toward my mom and Paul, but theyweren't waiting for help. Paul grabbed a sword from a fallen hero anddid a pretty fine job keeping adracaena busy. He stabbed her in the gut, and she disintegrated. "Paul?"
I said in amazement. He turned toward me and grinned. "I hope that was a monster I just killed. I was a Shakespearian actorin college! Picked up a little swordplay!" I liked him even better for that, but then a Laistrygonian giant charged toward my mom. She wasrummaging around in an abandoned police car—maybe looking for the emer-gency radio—and her backwas turned. "Mom!" I yelled. She whirled when the monster was almost on top of her.
I thought the thing in her hands was an umbrellauntil she cranked the pump and the shotgun blast blew the giant twenty feet backward, right into Nico'ssword. "Nice one, " Paul said. "When did you learn to fire a shotgun?"
I demanded. My mom blew the hair out of her face. "About two sec-onds ago. Percy, we'll be fine. Go!" "Yes, " Nico agreed, "we'll handle the army. You have to get Kronos!" "Come on, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth said. I nodded. Then I looked at the rubble pile on the side ofthe build-ing. My heart twisted. I'd forgotten about Chiron. How could I do that? "Mrs. O'Leary, " I said. "Please, Chiron's under there. If anyone can dig him out, you can. Find him!Help him!" I'm not sure how much she understood, but she bounded to the pile and started to dig. Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, and I raced for the elevators.
To be continued....
Share
