The ghosts formed ranks and encircled the crossroads. There were about a hundred in all — not an entire legion, but more than a cohort. Some carried the tattered lightning bolt banners of the Twelfth Legion, Fifth Cohort — Michael Varus's doomed expedition from the 1 980s. Others carried standards and insignia Daria didn't recognize, as if they'd died at different times, on different quests — maybe not even from Camp Jupiter.
Most were armed with Imperial gold weapons — more Imperial gold than the entire Twelfth Legion possessed. Daria could feel the combined power of all that metal humming around her, even scarier than the crackling of the glacier. She wondered if she could use her power to control the weapons, maybe disarm the ghosts, but she was afraid to try. Imperial gold wasn't just a precious metal. It was deadly to demigods and monsters.
Trying to control that much at once would be like trying to control plutonium in a reactor. If she failed, she might wipe Hubbard Glacier off the map and kill her friends.
"Thanatos!" Hazel turned to the robed figure. "We're here to rescue you. If you control these shades, tell them — "
Her voice faltered. The god's hood fell away and his robes dropped off as he spread his wings, leaving him in only a sleeveless black tunic belted at the waist. Daria could see why. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
His skin was the color of teakwood, dark and glistening like the table in the principia. His eyes were as honey-gold as Hazel's. He was lean and muscular, with a regal face and black hair flowing down his shoulders. His wings glimmered in shades of blue, black, and purple.
Daria reminded herself to breathe.
Beautiful was the right word for Thanatos — not handsome, or hot, or anything like that. He was beautiful the way an angel is beautiful — timeless, perfect, remote.
"Oh," Hazel said in a small voice.
The god's wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor. His feet were bare, shackled around the ankles and also chained.
"It's Cupid," Frank said.
"A really hot Cupid," Percy agreed.
"You compliment me," Thanatos said. His voice was as gorgeous as he was — deep and melodious. "I am frequently mistaken for the god of love. Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine. But I am Death. I assure you."
"We're — we're here to save you," Hazel managed. "Where's Alcyoneus?"
"Save me...?" Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand what you are saying, Hazel Levesque? Do you understand what that will mean?"
Percy stepped forward. "We're wasting time."
He swung his sword at the god's chains. Celestial bronze rang against the ice, but Riptide stuck to the chain like glue. Frost began creeping up the blade. Percy pulled frantically. Daria ran to help. Together, they just managed to yank Riptide free before the frost reached their hands.
"That won't work," Thanatos said simply. "As for the giant, he is close. These shades are not mine. They are his."
Thanatos's eyes scanned the ghost soldiers. They shifted uncomfortably, as if an arctic wind were rattling through their ranks.
"So how do we get you out?" Daria demanded.
Thanatos turned his attention to her. "How interesting that you would want me released. How interesting indeed Daria Jackson."
"Don't." She was aware of her friends' watchful eyes. "Where is he?"
"And you, Daughter of Pluto. You of all people should not want me released."
"Listen, Death." Hazel drew her cavalry sword, and Arion reared in defiance. "I didn't come back from the Underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that I'm stupid for setting you free. If I die, I die. I'll fight this whole army if I have to. Just tell us how to break your chains."
Thanatos studied them for a heartbeat. "Interesting. You do understand that these shades were once demigods like you. They fought for Rome. They died without completing their heroic quests. Like you, they were sent to Asphodel. Now Gaea has promised them a second life if they fight for her today. Of course, if you release me and defeat them, they will have to return to the Underworld where they belong. For treason against the gods, they will face eternal punishment. They are not so different from you, Hazel Levesque. Are you sure you want to release me and damn these souls forever?"
Frank clenched his fists. "That's not fair! Do you want to be freed or not?"
"Fair..." Death mused. "You'd be amazed how often I hear that word, Frank Zhang, and how meaningless it is. Is it fair that your life will burn so short and bright? Was it fair when I guided your mother to the Underworld?"
Frank staggered like he'd been punched.
"No," Death said sadly. "Not fair. And yet it was her time. There is no fairness in Death. If you free me, I will do my duty. But of course these shades will try to stop you."
"So if we let you go," Percy summed up, "we get mobbed by a bunch of black vapor dudes with gold swords. Fine. How do we break those chains?"
Thanatos smiled. "Only the fire of life can melt the chains of death."
"Without the riddles, please?" Daria asked.
Frank drew a shaky breath. "It isn't a riddle."
"Frank, no," Hazel said weakly. "There's got to be another way."
Laughter boomed across the glacier. A rumbling voice said: "My friends. I've waited so long!"
Standing at the gates of the camp was Alcyoneus. He was even larger than the giant Polybotes they'd seen in California. He had metallic golden skin, armor made from platinum links, and an iron staff the size of a totem pole. His rust-red dragon legs pounded against the ice as he entered the camp. Precious stones glinted in his red braided hair.
The giant approached, grinning at Hazel with his solid silver teeth.
"Ah, Hazel Levesque," he said, "you cost me dearly! If not for you, I would have risen decades ago, and this world would already be Gaea's. But no matter!"
He spread his hands, showing off the ranks of ghostly soldiers. "Welcome, Percy and Daria Jackson! Welcome, Frank Zhang! I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto, the new master of Death. And this is your new legion."
No fairness in Death. Those words kept ringing in Frank's head.
The golden giant didn't scare him. The army of shades didn't scare him. But the thought of freeing Thanatos made Frank want to curl into the fetal position. This god had taken his mother.
Frank understood what he had to do to break those chains. Mars had warned him. He'd explained why he loved Emily Zhang so much: She always put her duty first, ahead of everything. Even her life.
Now it was Frank's turn.
His mother's sacrifice medal felt warm in his pocket. He finally understood his mother's choice, saving her comrades at the cost of her own life. He got what Mars had been trying to tell him — Duty. Sacrifice. They mean something.
In Frank's chest, a hard knot of anger and resentment — a lump of grief he'd been carrying since the funeral — finally began to dissolve. He understood why his mother never came home. Some things were worth dying for.
"Hazel." He tried to keep his voice steady. "That package you're keeping for me? I need it."
Hazel glanced at him in dismay. Sitting on Arion, she looked like a queen, powerful and beautiful, her brown hair swept over her shoulders and a wreath of icy mist around her head. "Frank, no. There has to be another way."
"Please. I — I know what I'm doing."
Thanatos smiled and lifted his manacled wrists. "You're right, Frank Zhang. Sacrifices must be made."
Great. If Death approved of his plan, Frank was pretty sure he wasn't going to like the results.
The giant Alcyoneus stepped forward, his reptilian feet shaking the ground. "What package do you speak of, Frank Zhang? Have you brought me a present?"
"Nothing for you, Golden Boy," Frank said. "Except a whole lot of pain."
The giant roared with laughter. "Spoken like a child of Mars! Too bad I have to kill you. And this one. ..my, my, I've been waiting to meet the famous Percy Jackson."
Daria scowled at him.
The giant grinned. His silver teeth made his mouth look like a car grille.
"I've followed your progress, son of Neptune," said Alcyoneus. "Your fight with Kronos? Well done. Gaea hates you above all others... except perhaps for that upstart Jason Grace. I'm sorry I can't kill you right away, but my brother Polybotes wishes to keep you as a pet. He thinks it will be amusing when he destroys Neptune to have the god's favorite son on a leash. After that, of course, Gaea has plans for you."
"Yeah, flattering." Percy raised Riptide. "But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood."
The ghosts stirred. Some drew swords and lifted shields. Alcyoneus raised his hand, gesturing for them to wait.
"Greek, Roman, it doesn't matter," the giant said easily. "We will crush both camps underfoot. You see, the Titans didn't think big enough. They planned to destroy the gods in their new home of America. We giants know better! To kill a weed, you must pull up its roots. Even now, while my forces destroy your little Roman camp, my brother Porphyrionis preparing for the real battle in the ancient lands! We will destroy the gods at their source."
The ghosts pounded their swords against their shields. The sound echoed across the mountains.
"The source?" Frank asked. "You mean Greece?"
Alcyoneus chuckled. "No need to worry about that, son of Mars. You won't live long enough to see our ultimate victory. I will replace Pluto as lord of the Underworld. I already have Death in my custody. With Hazel Levesque in my service, I will have all the riches under the earth as well!"
Hazel gripped her spatha. "I don't do service."
"Oh, but you gave me life!" Alcyoneus said. "True, we hoped to awaken Gaea during World War II. That would've been glorious. But really, the world is in almost as bad a shape now. Soon, your civilization will be wiped out. The Doors of Death will stand open. Those who serve us will never perish. Alive or dead, you will join my army."
Daria shook her head. "Yeah, not if I kill you first."
Alcyoneus bared his teeth at her, "One day, Daria Jackson, you will regret this choice, among many others.. And I will be there waiting." She glared at with such force that it was clear they both knew what he was talking about. The shades began to tremble lightly. Percy may be the son of Poseidon, but this was Daria Jackson.
"Wait." Hazel spurred her horse toward the giant. "I raised this monster from the earth. I'm the daughter of Pluto. It's my place to kill him."
"Ah, little Hazel." Alcyoneus planted his staff on the ice. His hair glittered with millions of dollars' worth of gems. "Are you sure you will not join us of your own free will? You could be quite ... precious to us. Why die again?" Hazel's eyes flashed with anger. She looked down at Frank and pulled the wrapped-up piece of firewood from her coat.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," he said.
She pursed her lips. "You're my best friend, too, Frank. I should have told you that." She tossed him the stick. "Do what you have to. And Percy, Daria... can you protect him?"
They gazed at the ranks of ghostly Romans. "Against a small army? Sure, no problem." Percy said.
"Then I've got Golden Boy," Hazel said.
She charged the giant.
Frank unwrapped the firewood and knelt at the feet of Thanatos.
He was aware of Daria standing over him, swinging her sword and yelling in defiance as the ghosts closed in, Percy farther to her right. He heard the giant bellow and Arion whinny angrily, but he didn't dare look.
His hands trembling, he held his piece of tinder next to the chains on Death's right leg. He thought about flames, and instantly the wood blazed.
Horrible warmth spread through Frank's body. The icy metal began to melt, the flame so bright it was more blinding than the ice.
"Good," Thanatos said. "Very good, Frank Zhang."
Frank had heard about people's lives flashing before their eyes, but now he experienced it literally. He saw his mother the day she left for Afghanistan. She smiled and hugged him. He tried to breath in her jasmine scent so he'd never forget it.
I will always be proud of you, Frank, she said. Someday, you'll travel even farther than I. You'll bring our family full circle. Years from now our descendants will be telling stories about the hero Frank Zhang, their great-, great-, great — She poked him in the belly for old times' sake. It would be the last time Frank smiled for months.
He saw himself at the picnic bench in Moose Pass, watching the stars and the northern lights as Hazel snored softly beside him, Daria saying, Frank, you are a leader. We need you.
He saw Percy disappearing into the muskeg, then Hazel diving after him. Frank remembered how alone he had felt holding on to the bow, how utterly powerless. He had pleaded with the Olympian gods — even Mars — to help his friends, but he knew they were beyond the gods' reach.
With a clank, the first chain broke. Quickly, Frank stabbed the firewood at the chain on Death's other leg.
He risked a glance over his shoulder.
Percy was fighting like a whirlwind. In fact... he was a whirlwind. A miniature hurricane of water and ice vapor churned around him as he waded through the enemy, knocking Roman ghosts away, deflecting arrows and spears. Since when did he have that power?
Daria was right beside him now. Bending heavy metal to her will. Sharpened daggers twisted in midair to attack their owners, Frank found it hard to watch. And apparently so did the ghosts, as they covered their eyes (?) in order to see past the gleaming gold. The Jacksons seemed to be taking down hundreds of ghosts by the minute.
They moved through the enemy lines, and even though they seemed to be leaving Frank undefended, the enemy was completely focused on them. Frank wasn't sure why — then he saw the goal. One of the black vapory ghosts was wearing the lion's-skin cape of a standard bearer and holding a pole with a golden eagle, icicles frozen to its wings. The legion's standard.
Frank watched as Percy plowed through a line of legionnaires, scattering their shields with his personal cyclone. He knocked down the standard bearer and grabbed the eagle.
"You want it back?" Daria shouted at the ghosts. "Come and get it!"
They drew the ghosts away, and Frank couldn't help being awed by their bold strategy. As much as those shades wanted to keep Thanatos chained, they were Roman spirits. Their minds were fuzzy at best, like the ghosts Frank had seen in Asphodel, but they remembered one thing clearly: they were supposed to protect their eagle.
Still, Percy and Daria couldn't fight off that many enemies forever. Maintaining a storm like that had to be difficult. Despite the cold, Percy's face was already beaded with sweat. He saw Daria grimace for a second as she controlled more metal, like she was in pain.
Frank looked for Hazel. He couldn't see her or the giant.
"Watch your fire, boy," Death warned. "You don't have any to waste."
Frank cursed. He'd gotten so distracted, he hadn't noticed the second chain had melted.
He moved his fire to the shackles on the god's right hand. The piece of tinder was almost half gone now. Frank started to shiver. More images flashed through his mind. He saw Mars sitting at his grandmother's bedside, looking at Frank with those nuclear explosion eyes: You're Juno's secret weapon. Flave you figured out your gift yet?
He heard his mother say: You can be anything.
Then he saw Grandmother's stern face, her skin as thin as rice paper, her white hair spread across her pillow. Yes, Fai Zhang. Your mother was not simply boosting your self-esteem. She was telling you the literal truth.
He thought of the grizzly bear his mother had intercepted at the edge of the woods. He thought of the large black bird circling over the flames of their family mansion.
The third chain snapped. Frank thrust the tinder at the last shackle. His body was racked with pain. Yellow splotches danced in his eyes.
He saw Daria at the end of the Via Principalis, holding off the army of ghosts. They'd overturned the chariot and destroyed several buildings, but every time Percy threw off a wave of attackers in his hurricane, the ghosts simply got up and charged again. Every time Daria slashed one of them down with his sword, the ghost re-formed immediately. They were back to back, as far as they could go. Behind was the side gate of the camp, and about twenty feet beyond that, the edge of the glacier.
As for Hazel, she and Alcyoneus had managed to destroy most of the barracks in their battle. Now they were fighting in the wreckage at the main gate. Arion was playing a dangerous game of tag, charging around the giant while Alyconeus swiped at them with his staff, knocking over walls and cleaving massive chasms in the ice. Only Arion's speed kept them alive.
Finally, Death's last chain snapped. With a desperate yelp, Frank jabbed his firewood into a pile of snow and extinguished the flame. His pain faded. He was still alive. But when he took out the piece of tinder, it was no more than a stub, smaller than a candy bar.
Thanatos raised his arms.
"Free," he said with satisfaction.
"Great." Frank blinked the spots from his eyes. "Then do something!"
Thanatos gave him a calm smile. "Do something? Of course. I will watch. Those who die in this battle will stay dead."
"Thanks," Frank muttered, slipping his firewood into his coat. "Very helpful."
"You're most welcome," Thanatos said agreeably.
"Guys!" Frank yelled. "They can die now!"
Percy nodded understanding, but he looked worn out. His hurricane was slowing down. His strikes were getting slower. Daria looked no better and sweat had finally gathered on her forehead. The entire ghostly army had her surrounded, gradually forcing them toward the edge of the glacier.
Frank drew his bow to help. Then he dropped it. Normal arrows from a hunting store in Seward wouldn't do any good. Frank would have to use his gift.
He thought he understood his powers at last. Something about watching the firewood burn, smelling the acrid smoke of his own life, had made him feel strangely confident.
Is it fair your life burns so short and bright? Death had asked.
"No such thing as fair," Frank told himself. "If I'm going to burn, it might as well be bright."
He took one step toward Percy. Then, from across the camp, Hazel yelled in pain. Arion screamed as the giant got a lucky shot. His staff sent horse and rider tumbling over the ice, crashing into the ramparts.
"Hazel!" Frank glanced back at Percy, wishing he had his spear. If he could just summon Gray...but he couldn't be in two places at once.
"Go help her!" Daria yelled, somehow holding the golden eagle that Percy had only moments earlier. "We've got these guys!"
They didn't have them. Frank knew that. The Jacksons were about to be overwhelmed, but Frank ran to Hazel's aid.
She was half-buried in a collapsed pile of snow-bricks. Arion stood over her, trying to protect her, rearing and swatting at the giant with his front hooves.
The giant laughed. "Hello, little pony. You want to play?"
Alcyoneus raised his icy staff.
Frank was too far away to help... but he imagined himself rushing forward, his feet leaving the ground.
Be anything.
He remembered the bald eagles they'd seen on the train ride. His body became smaller and lighter. His arms stretched into wings, and his sight became a thousand times sharper. He soared upward, then dove at the giant with his talons extended, his razor-sharp claws raking across the giant's eyes.
Alcyoneus bellowed in pain. He staggered backward as Frank landed in front of Hazel and returned to his normal form.
"Frank..." She stared at him in amazement, a cap of snow dripping off her head. "What just... how did — ?"
"Fool!" Alcyoneus shouted. His face was slashed, black oil dripping into his eyes instead of blood, but the wounds were already closing. "I am immortal in my homeland, Frank Zhang! And thanks to your friend Hazel, my new homeland is Alaska. You cannot kill me here!"
"We'll see," Frank said. Power coursed through his arms and legs. "Hazel, get back on your horse."
The giant charged, and Frank charged to meet him. He remembered the bear he'd met face to face when he was a child. As he ran, his body became heavier, thicker, rippling with muscles. He crashed into the giant as a full-grown grizzly, a thousand pounds of pure force. He was still small compared to Alcyoneus, but he slammed into the giant with such momentum, Alcyoneus toppled into an icy watchtower that collapsed on top of him.
Frank sprang at the giant's head. A swipe of his claw was like a heavyweight fighter swinging a chain saw. Frank bashed the giant's face back and forth until his metallic features began to dent.
"Urgg," the giant mumbled in a stupor.
Frank changed to his regular form. His backpack was still with him. He grabbed the rope he'd bought in Seward, quickly made a noose, and fastened it around the giant's scaly dragon foot.
"Hazel, here!" He tossed her the other end of the rope. "I've got an idea, but we'll have to — "
"Kill — uh — you — uh..." Alcyoneus muttered.
Frank ran to the giant's head, picked up the nearest heavy object he could find — a legion shield — and slammed it into the giant's nose.
The giant said, "Urgg."
Frank looked back at Hazel. "How far can Arion pull this guy?"
Hazel just stared at him. "You — you were a bird. Then a bear. And — "
"I'll explain later," Frank said. "We need to drag this guy inland, as fast and far as we can."
"But Percy and Daria!" Hazel said.
Frank cursed. How could he have forgotten?
Through the ruins of the camp, he saw Percy with his back to the edge of the cliff. Daria by his side, both exhausted. Percy's hurricane was gone. Daria only held one of her two swords and the golden eagle in the other hand. The entire army of shades edged forward, their weapons bristling.
"Percy!" Frank yelled.
Percy glanced over. He saw the fallen giant and seemed to understand what was happening. He yelled something that was lost in the wind, probably: Go! Then he looked at Daria, who shrugged and nodded back, like he had just asked her something unimportant.
Then Percy slammed Riptide into the ice at his feet. The entire glacier shuddered. Ghosts fell to their knees. Behind them, a wave surged up from the bay — a wall of gray water even taller than the glacier. Water shot from the chasms and crevices in the ice. As the wave hit, the back half of the camp crumbled. The entire edge of the glacier peeled away, cascading into the void — carrying buildings, ghosts, and the infamous Jacksons over the edge.
Almost to the end of SoN! Of course, don't forget to fav/review!
: Your review made my week! Thank you! As for Jason and Daria's relationship in The Mark of Athena, well, it's a bit frustrating for sure. But that's all I'm going to say on that!
Another question someone had was about Daria's ethnicity. You're welcome to picture her any way you want, but I see her as racially ambiguous, along with Percy. However, she and Jason grew up in an Indian household-to add some spice to our favorite white boy.
If there are more questions like these feel free to comment them below! I'll answer one per chapter in the order they arrive :)
As always, thank you so much for reading!
-M