Chapter 1
The Cavalry is Too Late
Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends.
-Percy Jackson, The Titan's Curse
Percy was dancing. With Annabeth. He felt incredibly awkward, shuffling around clumsily with her holding his sweaty hands. But they had to be inconspicuous if they were going to rescue Bianca and Nico di Angelo, and that meant dancing in the Westover Hall gym.
"So he wants you to move out there with him?" he asked.
"To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."
"What? Why not?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know. It's right there."
"Oh," he said, feeling stupid. "So…you'll go back to living at camp or what?"
"It's more serious than that, Percy. I…I probably should tell you something."
Annabeth froze. "They're gone."
"What?" Percy followed her gaze to the bleachers. There was no sign of Nico and Bianca di Angelo—or Dr. Thorn.
"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" said Annabeth, looking around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"
She ran through the crowd. Percy tried to follow her, but he was blocked by a mob of ribbon-and-lipstick wielding girls. By the time he maneuvered around them, Annabeth had disappeared. He turned a full circle, looking for his friends, and saw something that chilled his blood.
Fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, were a floppy green hat and a few scattered trading cards. And there was Dr. Thorn, steering the di Angelo kids out the door by the scruffs of their necks.
He ran after Annabeth.
It took him a few minutes, but he found Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth standing by the punch bowl.
"Where have you been, Percy?" demanded Thalia. Percy ignored her.
"I saw them," he said. "Dr. Thorn was taking them outside. Hurry!" He led them across the gym, out the door, and through a dark hallway. Grover opened the door to the main entry hall. It was deserted.
Thalia cursed. "They must already be outside!" They rushed into the woods. The group followed three sets of footprints conveniently left in the snow. Soon they were on a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights.
Eventually the woods opened up, and they saw Dr. Thorn and the di Angelos standing by the edge of a cliff. "I'll get the kids out of the way," Annabeth whispered. "Percy, you—" She was interrupted by a thunderous noise. A black helicopter appeared, complete with guns and laser-guided rockets.
"There's no time," said Thalia. "We'll have to wing it."
They charged into the clearing. Dr. Thorn was shoving the di Angelos into the helicopter. He turned around to smirk triumphantly at them. "Foolish demigods. I have already won. The General will make good use of these brats. And with the Great Stirring underway, soon we shall have the most important monster—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"
There was a flicker of movement behind him. They all ducked to avoid the volley of missiles aimed at their heads—they were thorns, Percy realized. By the time he looked up, Dr. Thorn had already gotten inside the helicopter.
"No!" he shouted, running toward the helicopter, but there was no point. It was already flying away.
Bianca and Nico di Angelo were gone. They had failed.
Then he heard the call of a hunting horn.
/\-/\-/\-/\-/\
Bianca was scared, but she would never tell Nico that. She was the oldest. She had to be strong. So she sat on her hands to keep them from shaking. Her little brother was anxiously fiddling with one of his figurines. Neither of them spoke, afraid of angering one of the armed men or their spike-throwing vice principal. What was he?
At the moment Dr. Thorn looked normal enough, staring out the window of the helicopter and looking pleased with himself, but she had seen him launch spikes at those kids that had tried to stop him. She could have sworn that she had seen them come from a tail. If he wasn't human, she didn't want to meet whoever—or whatever—he was working for.
She didn't think that she would get that choice, though. Dr. Thorn had said that he was taking them to someone called the General. Why would a general want them? Generals had armies, and she and Nico were too young to be soldiers.
She couldn't stand it any longer. "Where are you taking us?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
Dr. Thorn turned toward her. Luckily, he still seemed to be in a good mood from his successful kidnapping. "We are going west, girl. I am taking you to my employer. You should be honored. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game your brother plays."
"It isn't silly!" Nico protested. "And you can take your great army and—"
"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well…there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."
What was he talking about? Half-bloods? Monsters? He must be nuts!
Their strange conversation was interrupted by one of the mercenaries. "We're almost there, sir."
"Excellent. Prepare to land." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly at them. "Well, little brats, it is time for the General to enlighten you. Be respectful. He is not as tolerant of insolence as I am."
/\-/\-/\-/\-/\
Percy was sitting next to Annabeth, who was busy explaining the situation to the young girl who was apparently the goddess Artemis. He felt like a complete failure. Dr. Thorn had gotten away with the kids, and now they were probably going to be forced to join Kronos's army.
"—consider joining us, my girl?" What? Annabeth couldn't join the Hunters! Seized by panic, he opened his mouth to object…but he didn't need to.
"No, thank you, Lady Artemis," Annabeth declined coolly. Then she smirked at him. "Seaweed Brain here needs me."
The goddess looked disappointed, but she nodded. "In that case, I have a small task for you two."
"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?" he asked. Annabeth glared at him.
"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."
"What?" said Zoë. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. And we must hunt the monster!"
"I must do this alone, Zoë."
"But, Artemis—"
"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."
"As…as you wish, my lady."
"What about those kids?" asked Percy. "Nico and Bianca di Angelo."
"Do not despair, Percy Jackson," said the goddess. "If they can be found, I shall find them."
/\-/\-/\-/\-/\
They were at a museum: a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. Unfortunately, Bianca and Nico weren't exactly being given a tour. They were marched across the chamber to a set of closed doors. There were two mercenaries—guards—standing outside. They opened the doors.
Inside was a huge round room, with guards on the second level balcony. There were also two women that had what looked like double-snake trunks instead of legs. (Bianca was beginning to feel lightheaded.) Between them stood a sandy-haired young man. He was good-looking, except for the pale scar on his face. Next to him was another man, sitting in the shadows. She could only see his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair.
"What is this?" asked the man in the chair. His voice filled the room even though he wasn't yelling.
Dr. Thorn bowed. "Demigods, General. These two are young, but they are strong."
"I sent you to capture a child of the three elder gods, Thorn" said the General. "Whose children are these?"
"I do not know, but they could be—"
"You don't know?" the General boomed. "If these two are children of some minor god, we won't be able to carry out our plan. I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence."
"But, General," said Dr. Thorn. "Their scent…it reeks of death." Bianca resisted the urge to sniff herself. Death? She didn't smell that bad.
The snake women sniffed the air. "It'ssss true, lord," one of them said.
"Hmm…" the General said thoughtfully. "Then it is time for a test. You!" he pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Bring one of the teeth. I don't want to waste them."
"General," said the blond. "I don't think that this is a good idea. These kids don't have any training."
"We need to be sure, Luke," replied the General, "or our plan will be ruined." Then he turned to the siblings, studying them. Bianca tried her hardest to not look afraid. Nico kept on fiddling with his toy. "Give the girl a knife."
A bewildered-looking guard obeyed. Soon she was standing alone next to a big circle of dirt, large knife in hand. The other guard came back with a sharp white tooth, which he was impatiently ordered to plant. The guard poured a suspiciously red liquid over it. Bianca was no scientist, but she highly doubted that it would make teeth grow.
Impossible or not, that's exactly what happened.
The dirt trembled, and a skeletal hand burst out of the ground. Bianca watched in horror as the skeleton rose, growing flesh and clothing. The creature stared at her emotionlessly.
The General's voice boomed above her. "Destroy it, girl."
The skeleton lunged at her. Instinctively, she raised the knife and stabbed her attacker in the chest. It burst into flames.
The room was silent. Everyone was staring at Bianca and the pile of ashes at her feet. How had she done that?
"Hades," said Luke, looking shocked.
"Well, Thorn," said the General, "It looks like you haven't failed me after all. Luke, I want you to train them personally."
"Yes, General."
Hades. That was the only figurine that Nico didn't have. What did the Greek god of death have to do with her?
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Your heritage, girl," the General replied. "You are an extremely powerful demigod—powerful enough to destroy Olympus itself."
His pleasure, along with Dr. Thorn's excitement, filled her with dread. These people had kidnapped her and Nico and made her fight a zombie. Anything that made them happy couldn't be good.
Bianca looked at her brother, whose expression was a combination of awe and fear. No matter what they were planning, she had to protect him. If that meant doing the General's bidding, then so be it.