I was too much in shock to register the conversation. Too many facts were falling into place. I vaguely heard Silena claim Beckendorf's death was her fault, and I knew. I knew why she had cried at the mention of the spy in the war counsel. I knew why she expected him to be there when Percy came back from the mission so long ago. I stared at the scythe charm in Silena's hand, and hoped that her last act of heroism would get her into Elysium. I still wasn't quite sure how the afterlife worked since both Almighty God and the Greek gods existed, but I hoped that her obvious repentance would get her into Heaven.
Refocusing on Silena, her eyes were a thousand miles away. "Charlie. See Charlie…" She didn't move again.
Clarisse bowed her head and wept. I wanted to, but I wouldn't allow myself the relief. We had to fight for Silena. We had to honor her. I would take the time to mourn after this battle was won.
When Clarisse said Silena was a hero, I agreed. She had made a big mistake, but she sacrificed her life to set things right. She was incredibly brave, and I hoped that I would have that bravery. We rejoined the battle.
My grief made me a better fighter, so it makes sense that, since Clarisse knew Silena better that I, she would have more grief, and therefore be a better fighter. It certainly looked like it. Clarisse was a demon on that battlefield.
She looped a rope through the drakon's eye sockets and attached it to her chariot, then drove around Fifth Avenue, challenging Kronos. A red aura flickered around her, which had to be the blessing of Ares.
The enemy slowly withdrew behind a shield wall and we went into the Empire State Building to tend the wounded. I heard Chris say he would try to get Clarisse inside, and Thalia volunteer the Hunters to stand guard, telling Annabeth and Percy to set up the final defense on Olympus, but I walked past, heading to the makeshift infirmary.
I went around trying to help with the wounded, doing anything to mask my grief. I didn't have time to deal with it. Eventually, I rebuilt my mask and did my job.
Considering Kronos's pattern of fighting at night, I knew we had a few hours until the next attack. After helping treat the wounded, I hit the bed for a few hours' sleep.
When I woke, a nearby camper told me it was a few minutes to sunset and that Percy was still on Olympus. Signaling that I heard him, I grabbed some food to wolf down—I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten—and readied my weapons.
It wasn't long before the enemy appeared. We saw Kronos standing in a chariot pulled by two Hyperboreans leading a moderately large army. We sounded the alarm and went to battle. Completely exhausted, it didn't take long for us to get cornered. We'd fallen back to the doors and Kronos's army was less than twenty feet away. Clarisse had lost a fight with a Hyperborean and was now a block of ice. All the centaurs aside from Chiron had disappeared a long time ago, and Chiron was blocking Kronos from entering the lobby. Percy chose that moment to rush out of Olympus.
The second Percy came outside he froze. He appeared to be struggling to move. Kronos and his time powers. Kronos and Chiron had a short exchange that I couldn't hear, ending when Chiron struck. Kronos blocked and sent Chiron's blade flying.
"BACK!" Kronos yelled. A light exploded between the Titan and centaur, throwing Chiron into a wall, which collapsed on top of him. Our teacher was buried under a pile of bricks.
Annabeth ran to Chiron, then turned on Luke. She said something and drew her knife. Percy tried to stop her, but she shook him off and attacked Kronos.
She stabbed downward into Luke's chest. The blade should have sunk in close to his heart. Instead, it bounced off and Annabeth doubled over, clutching her bad shoulder. As Kronos swung at her, Percy pulled her out of the way and Kronos readied his scythe to swing again. But before he could, a howl pierced the air.
"Aroooooooo!" Mrs. O'Leary was nearby.
Percy called to his pet and the enemy parted like the Red Sea. Standing at the end of the block was the world's only friendly hellhound and Nico. I sneaked closer, tired of not being able to hear what people were saying.
Nico strolled through the gap in the army while Mrs. O'Leary bounded to Percy with a happy bark.
"I got your message. Is it too late to join the party?"
"Son of Hades," Kronos spat. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"
"Your death," Nico replied, "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 three-foot Stygian iron sword. "I don't agree."
Cracks opened in the ground, and thousands of skeletal warriors climbed their way to the land of the living. The enemy started looking jumpy, but Kronos yelled, "HOLD YOUR GROUND! The dead are no match for us."
Then the sky darkened and the temperature dropped. The shadows thickened as a war horn sounded. An enormous chariot inlaid with obsidian and gold drawn by horses of living shadow roared down the street, stopping next to Nico. Hades, Persephone, and Demeter joined the party.
Hades and Kronos had a relatively short exchange on how terrible a father Kronos was. Finally, Hades told Kronos to fight him. "For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."
"I don't have time for this," Kronos sneered and struck the ground with his scythe.
A crack spread in both directions, encircling the Empire State Building. A wall of power shimmered along the crack, trapping Kronos, his vanguard, Percy, Annabeth, and a handful of others apart from the rest of the armies. Kronos had collapsed the magic barriers around the island, cutting off just Olympus and those close to it. I was trapped outside, but I could still hear what was said inside.
People outside started waking up, and chaos ensued. Most of them ran away, but two ran towards us. Sally understood immediately what was going on and ran toward us, Paul on her heels.
Hades chose that moment to test the wall. Even after blasting it with black energy, the barrier held.
"ATTACK!" Hades roared, and the two armies clashed in a sea of metal.
I battled my way toward Sally and Paul. Paul picked up a sword and disintegrated a dracaena while Sally used a shotgun to blow a Laistrygonian onto Nico's sword. Percy seemed stunned that his parents were fighting so well, but his mother told him to quit worrying and go stop Kronos. He and Annabeth raced toward the building while I reached Sally and Paul.
"Nico! Come help!" He ran over. "Help me guard Percy's parents." He nodded and the four of us formed a circle, Nico and I placing ourselves on either side of Paul, making the order around the circle Sally, me, Paul, Nico. Working as a group, we protected each other and fought whatever came our way. Sally had picked up a sword from a fallen enemy half-blood, and did a fairly good job battling an empousa. One touch with the celestial bronze sword and the monster disintegrated.
But no matter how many we killed, more took their place. Hades summoned wave after wave of undead. Nico, Sally, Paul, and I were ringed in enemies, and more kept coming.
A single choice…Olympus to preserve or raze. I knew it was August 18th, Percy's birthday. Today, the prophecy would be fulfilled. Today we would either save Olympus and the world or destroy it.