DISCLAIMER: All the characters and story belong to Rick Riordan.


Chapter Twenty-Three

WE GET HELP FROM A THIEF

Chiron seemed amused at the title but continued,

Here's my definition of not fun. Fly a pegasus toward an out-of-control helicopter. If Guido had been any less of a fancy flier, we would've been chopped to confetti.

Low chuckles rang out.

"Man, his descriptions are way more hilarious" Connor grinned.

I could hear Rachel screaming inside. For some reason, she hadn't fallen asleep, but I could see the pilot slumped over the controls, pitching back and forth as the helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building.

"Ideas?" I asked Annabeth.

"I don't want his position at that moment. Asking one potential girfriend to save another one. It's too awkward for me." Leo said.

"You're going to have to take Guido and get out," she said.

"What are you going to do?"

In response, she said, "Hyah!" and Guido went into a nosedive.

"Duck!" Annabeth yelled.

We passed so close to the rotors I felt the force of the blades ripping at my hair. We zipped along the side of the helicopter, and Annabeth grabbed the door.

That's when things went wrong.

Guido's wing slammed against the helicopter. He plummeted straight down with me on his back, leaving Annabeth dangling from the side of the aircraft. I was so terrified I could barely think, but as Guido spiraled I caught a glimpse of Rachel pulling Annabeth inside the copter. Good Gods.

"Wow, he's plummeting to his death but doesn't freak out much than you dangling from a helicopter, sounds rough." Lou Ellen commented.

"Well, he has the curse. He can't die that easily." Annabeth reminded.

"Hang in there!" I yelled at Guido.

My wing, he moaned. It's busted.

"You can do it!" I desperately tried to remember what Silena used to tell us in pegasus-riding lessons.

"Just relax the wing. Extend it and glide."

We fell like a rock—straight toward the pavement three hundred feet below. At the last moment Guido extended his wings. I saw the faces of centaurs gaping up at us. Then we pulled out of our dive, sailed fifty feet, and tumbled onto the pavement—pegasus over demigod.

Ow! Guido moaned. My legs. My head. My wings.

Oh poor Guido.

Chiron galloped over with his medical pouch and began working on the pegasus.

I got to my feet. When I looked up, my heart crawled into my throat. The helicopter was only a few seconds away from slamming into the side of the building.

Then miraculously the helicopter righted itself. It spun in a circle and hovered. Very slowly, it began to descend.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the helicopter thudded to a landing in the middle of Fifth Avenue. I looked through the windshield and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Annabeth was at the controls.

Annabeth face beamed with pride for making her boyfriend tongue-tied.

I ran forward as the rotors spun to a stop. Rachel opened the side door and dragged out the pilot.

Rachel was still dressed like she was on vacation, in beach shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

Annabeth climbed out last.

I stared at her in awe. "I didn't know you could fly a helicopter." She's freaking amazing.

Annabeth nodded smugly like - keep the compliments coming

"Neither did I," she said. "My dad's crazy into aviation. Plus, Daedalus had some notes on flying machines. I just took my best guess on the controls."

"Wow girl, I'm your fan. Teach me how." Leo piped.

"You saved my life," Rachel said.

Annabeth flexed her bad shoulder. "Yeah, well . . . let's not make a habit of it. What are you doing here, Dare? Don't you know better than to fly into a war zone?"

"I—" Rachel glanced at me. "I had to be here. I knew Percy was in trouble."

"You both have jealously issues without being a thing yet." Piper joked.

"What do you mean? We were a thing since we kissed in the heart of the volcano. We just didn't wanted anyone between us and to hash out the war first." Annabeth announced indignantly.

"Got that right," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some injured friends I've got to tend to. Glad you could stop by, Rachel."

"What can I say to that. She came for him. He's simply staring at her. I didn't want to thirdwheel. I left" Annabeth said in annoyance.

'Annabeth—" I called.

She stormed off.

Rachel plopped down on the curb and put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean to...I always mess things up."

"You're not the only one jealous, Annabeth." Rachel defended.

"What!" said girl and everyone asked in bewilderment.

"Well, you came first, Annabeth. You know him for longer. You did adventures together. You know more about him. I only lead you in the labyrinth. I don't have anything in common with him." Rachel started her rant.

"You fight along with him. What can a mortal do beside being a burden. You're smart. He asks you first for anything. I tried to learn more about the greek stuff, but I couldn't outsmart a daughter of Athena now, could I?"

"You're a leader. Percy trust you enough to do as told without any questions. How can I make him trust me that much with little time I've known him. You like him and know he likes you too. You're confident about you, and you're pretty. How can I compete with that?" Rachel asked.

"All the year he was with me, the more he talks about you, the more I wish I were you. How I wish I met him earlier, knew him more than you, do things with him, liked him more than you, for him to notice me more than you." Rachel finshed with a stubborn face.

"All along, I can only be the second girl. The second option for him to escape from you. How do I change that? What do I have to fight with?" Rachel said exasperated.

Annabeth stared in amazement at the readhead. "To begin with, you are pretty with a creative and lively flair to you. You were determined and bold enough to write your number on his hand that I couldn't." Annabeth began.

"You slowly but silently, took my place - to cover him from accidents, to guide him, answer him, to console him, spend time with him. What would happen to me then? Where do I stand in this?" Annabeth asked indignantly.

"You get to go to school with him. You see the side of Percy in mortal world which I couldn't. You give him a sense of normalcy that I never could. You speak your mind freely without anything to hide. You dare to like and love that I couldn't." Annabeth huffed in annoyance.

"In the end, I didn't get Percy. I got everything else I wished for." Rachel declared.

Annabeth didn't speak anymore. She get what Rachel meant the wish for - to lead, to adventure, to laugh, to love, to trust, to call something home. She too got what she wished from Rachel - school, normalcy, dare to love and tell, speak without reservations.

They exchanged a glance and understanding passed between them. Everyone watched it like a cat fight, none the wiser.

Chiron took it as his queue to continue reading, even his eyes twinkled about the spat.

It was kind of hard to argue with her, though I was glad she was safe. I looked in the direction Annabeth had gone, but she'd disappeared into the crowd. I couldn't believe what she'd just done—saved Rachel's life, landed a helicopter, and walked away like it was no big deal. That girl would definitely be the death of me.

Annabeth sat straight like she'd won the lottery. Rachel made a face at her.

"It's okay," I told Rachel, though my words sounded hollow. "So what's the message you wanted to deliver?"

"See, his mind went along with you. How do I compete with that?" Rachel said in mock-annoynce.

She frowned. "How did you know about that?"

"A dream."

Rachel didn't look surprised. She tugged at her beach shorts. They were covered in drawings, which wasn't unusual for her, but these symbols I recognized: Greek letters, pictures from camp beads, sketches of monsters and faces of gods. I didn't understand how Rachel could have known about some of that. She'd never been to Olympus or Camp Half-Blood.

"I've been seeing things too," she muttered. "I mean, not just through the Mist. This is different. I've been drawing pictures, writing lines—"

"In Ancient Greek," I said. "Do you know what they say?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I was hoping . . . well, if you had gone with us on vacation, I was hoping you could have helped me figure out what's happening to me."

"Even for a friend, you marched into a battlefield, I don't know what to call you." Piper asked.

"I maynot turn out to be crazy as Annabeth regarding his MIA, but I'm doing everything I can with the visions. He introduced me to this new world, my destiny, my family. The Oracle can whisk romance from my life, but I love him too." Rachel announced.

Annabeth just nodded, understanding the other girl completely. Rachel is not to blame for anything.

She looked at me pleadingly. Her face was sunburned from the beach. Her nose was peeling. I couldn't get over the shock that she was here in person. She'd forced her family to cut short their vacation, agreed to go to a horrible school, and flown a helicopter into a monster battle just to see me. In her own way, she was as brave as Annabeth.

Both girls hugged once again. Annabeth mumbled in her ear "Well, not as brave as me, though". Rachel pushed her away.

But what was happening to her with these visions really freaked me out. Maybe it was something that happened to all mortals who could see through the Mist. But my mom had never talked about anything like that. And Hestia's words about Luke's mom kept coming back to me: May Castellan went too far. She tried to see too much.

"Percy is definitely prophetic. This much far-sight is uncanny" Annabeth turned to Chiron.

"Rachel," I said, "I wish I knew. Maybe we should ask Chiron—"

She flinched like she'd gotten an electric shock. "Percy, something is about to happen. A trick that ends in death."

"Oh" Everyone looked down.

Piper suddenly looked sick. Her sister's life is about to end. Jason wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer.

"What do you mean? Whose death?"

"I don't know." She looked around nervously. "Don't you feel it?"

"Is that the message you wanted to tell me?"

"No." She hesitated. "I'm sorry. I'm not making sense, but that thought just came to me. The message I wrote on the beach was different. It had your name in it."

"Perseus," I remembered. "In Ancient Greek."

Rachel nodded. "I don't know its meaning. But I know it's important. You have to hear it. It said, Perseus, you are not the hero."

"How can be not the hero, you're not making any sense." Leo questioned the Oracle. She shook her head.

I stared at her like she'd just slapped me. "You came thousands of miles to tell me I'm not the hero?"

"It's important," she insisted. "It will affect what you do."

"Not the hero of the prophecy?" I asked. "Not the hero who defeats Kronos? What do you mean?"

"I'm . . . I'm sorry, Percy. That's all I know. I had to tell you because—"

"All the gods, Oracles, and everyone fed him half-half answers that he'd seriously mess up someday." Annabeth grumbled.

Why actually did she leave her post. She'd have figured everything out with her dreams helping her. No, she just had to get the jealousy in her way.

"Well!" Chiron cantered over. "This must be Miss Dare."

I wanted to yell at him to go away, but of course I couldn't.

Chiron shook his tail, before continuing.

I tried to get my emotions under control. I felt like I had another personal hurricane swirling around me. "Chiron, Rachel Dare," I said. "Rachel, this is my teacher Chiron."

"Hello," Rachel said glumly. She didn't look at all surprised that Chiron was a centaur.

"You are not asleep, Miss Dare," he noticed. "And yet you are mortal?"

"I'm mortal," she agreed, like it was a depressing thought. "The pilot fell asleep as soon as we passed the river. I don't know why I didn't. I just knew I had to be here, to warn Percy."

"Warn Percy?"

"She's been seeing things," I said. "Writing lines and making drawings."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Tell me."

She told him the same things she'd told me.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Miss Dare . . . perhaps we should talk."

"Why didn't atleast tell him something about the prophecy. To atleast put him out his misery. Do you know how many times he'd accepted his death." Annabeth glared half-heartedly at the centaur.

Chiron looked sheepish. "My dear, I didn't even consider the lines in the prophecy."

"Chiron," I blurted. I had a sudden terrible image of Camp Half-Blood in the 1990s, and May Castellan's scream coming from that attic. "You . . . you'll help Rachel, right? I mean, you'll warn her that she's got to be careful with this stuff. Not go too far."

"At that time, I didn't think about the Oracle. I just wanted to make some sense of her visions." Chiron confirmed.

His tail flicked like it does when he's anxious. "Yes, Percy. I will do my best to understand what is happening and advise Miss Dare, but this may take some time. Meanwhile, you should rest. We've moved your parents' car to safety. The enemy seems to be staying put for now. We've set up bunks in the Empire State Building. Get some sleep."

"Everybody keeps telling me to sleep," I grumbled. "I don't need sleep."

Chiron managed a smile. "Have you looked at yourself recently, Percy?"

I glanced down at my clothes, which were scorched, burned, sliced, and tattered from my night of constant battles. "I look like death," I admitted. "But you think I can sleep after what just happened?"

"You may be invulnerable in combat," Chiron chided, "but that only makes your body tire faster. I remember Achilles. Whenever that lad wasn't fighting, he was sleeping. He must've taken twenty naps a day. You, Percy, need your rest. You may be our only hope."

"That last thing is not what he needed to hear, y'know. He's already under pressure and the bomb Rachel dropped on him." Annabeth muttered.

I wanted to complain that I wasn't their only hope, According to Rachel, I wasn't even the hero. But the look in Chiron's eyes made it clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Sure," I grumbled. "Talk."

I trudged toward the Empire State Building. When I glanced back, Rachel and Chiron were walking together in earnest conversation, like they were discussing funeral arrangements.

Annabeth face palmed. She left so they could talk privately. Nothing happened. A message delivered, See you soon. Why the Hades did she leave for.

For a Daughter of Athena, Annabeth could be a dumb idiot sometimes.

Inside the lobby, I found an empty bunk and collapsed, sure that I would never be able to sleep. A second later, my eyes closed.

"Wait a moment, where have you gone? You were pretty mad. You didn't do anything stupid right?" Piper asked Annabeth.

Annabeth flushed. "I moped at some corner until Thalia found me."

"She seemed about to do something stupid. She confessed that she loves the idiot and it's stupid to find out in the war, with the prophecy and then Rachel, blah blah" Thalia announced.

"I convinced her there's nothing between those two, reminded her of all the things he'd done for her and made her look for him." Annabeth glared at the hunter for revealing everything.

In my dreams, I was back in Hades's garden. The lord of the dead paced up and down, holding his ears while Nico followed him, waving his arms.

"I'd pay to see that" Will said, then blushed that he'd said that outloud.

"You have to!" Nico insisted.

Demeter and Persephone sat behind them at the breakfast table. Both of the goddesses looked bored. Demeter poured shredded wheat into four huge bowls. Persephone was magically changing the flower arrangement on the table, turning the blossoms from red to yellow to polka-dotted.

"I don't have to do anything!" Hades s eyes blazed. "I'm a god!"

"Father," Nico said, "if Olympus falls, your own palace's safety doesn't matter. You'll fade too."

"I am not an Olympian!" he growled. "My family has made that quite clear."

"You are,'' Nico said. "Whether you like it or not."

"You saw what they did to your mother," Hades said. "Zeus killed her. And you would have me help them? They deserve what they get!"

Persephone sighed. She walked her fingers across the table, absently turning the silverware into roses. "Could we please not talk about that woman?"

"You know what would help this boy?" Demeter mused. "Farming."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother—"

"Six months behind a plow. Excellent character building."

The mental image of Nico in farming for six months made everyone guffaw.

Nico stepped in front of his father, forcing Hades to face him. "My mother understood about family. That's why she didn't want to leave us. You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible. You've done horrible things to them too."

"That's what we call standing up for oneself. Go Nico" The stolls cheered.

"Maria died!" Hades reminded him.

"You can't just cut yourself off from the other gods!"

"I've done very well at it for thousands of years."

"What's his point?" Thalia asked.

"And has that made you feel any better?" Nico demanded. "Has that curse on the Oracle helped you at all? Holding grudges is a fatal flaw. Bianca warned me about that, and she was right."

"For demigods! I am immortal, all-powerful! I would not help the other gods if they begged me, if Percy Jackson himself pleaded—"

"You're just as much of an outcast as I am!" Nico yelled. "Stop being angry about it and do something helpful for once. That's the only way they'll respect you!"

Why did mentioning Percy drew such a reaction from Nico. Everyone was thinking about the same thing. He already confirmed that he didn't have a crush on Annabeth. What is it then?

Annabeth had a notion that Nico just looked like her defending Luke. Did Nico consider Percy as his hero then, since we saved him at ten. It's possible. Then why was he angry with her? Does he blame her for Bianca's death? No, he blamed Percy and was over it too.

Hades's palm filled with black fire.

"Go ahead," Nico said. "Blast me. That's just what the other gods would expect from you. Prove them right."

Will whimpered silently that no one noticed it.

"That took guts, kid" Thalia praised.

"Yes, please," Demeter complained. "Shut him up."

Persephone sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I would rather fight in the war than eat another bowl of cereal. This is boring."

"For once, I agree with her. They're talking instead of fighting the battle." Piper said, annoyed.

Hades roared in anger. His fireball hit a silver tree right next to Nico, melting it into a pool of liquid metal.

And my dream changed.

I was standing outside the United Nations, about a mile northeast of the Empire State Building. The Titan army had set up camp all around the UN complex. The flagpoles were hung with horrible trophies—helmets and armor pieces from defeated campers. All along First Avenue, giants sharpened their axes. Telkhines repaired armor at makeshift forges.

Kronos himself paced at the top of the plaza, swinging his scythe so his dracaenae bodyguards stayed way back. Ethan Nakamura and Prometheus stood nearby, out of slicing range. Ethan was fidgeting with his shield straps, but Prometheus looked as calm and collected as ever in his tuxedo.

"I hate this place," Kronos growled. "United Nations. As if mankind could ever unite. Remind me to tear down this building after we destroy Olympus."

"Yes, lord." Prometheus smiled as if his master's anger amused him. "Shall we tear down the stables in Central Park too? I know how much horses can annoy you."

"He's got guts to mock Kronos to his face" Leo said in admiration.

"Don't mock me, Prometheus! Those cursed centaurs will be sorry they interfered. I will feed them to the hellhounds, starting with that son of mine—that weakling Chiron."

"HEY!" All the camper hollered indignantly. Chiron looked pleased.

Prometheus shrugged. "That weakling destroyed an entire legion of telkhines with his arrows."

Kronos swung his scythe and cut a flagpole in half. The national colors of Brazil toppled into the army, squashing a dracaena.

"We will destroy them!" Kronos roared. "It is time to unleash the drakon. Nakamura, you will do this."

"Y-yes, lord. At sunset?"

"No," Kronos said. "Immediately. The defenders of Olympus are badly wounded. They will not expect a quick attack. Besides, we know this drakon they cannot beat."

"Isn't he being hasty to get things done? Is he competing with Typhon to see who reaches Olympus first or what?" Leo asked amused.

Ethan looked confused. "My lord?"

"Never you mind, Nakamura. Just do my bidding. I want Olympus in ruins by the time Typhon reaches New York. We will break the gods utterly!"

"But, my lord," Ethan said. "Your regeneration."

Kronos pointed at Ethan, and the demigod froze.

"Does it seem," Kronos hissed, "that I need to regenerate?"

"The titan seems growing arrogant by the day." Rachel said animatedly.

Ethan didn't respond. Kind of hard to do when you're immobilized in time.

Kronos snapped his fingers and Ethan collapsed.

"Soon," the Titan growled, "this form will be unnecessary. I will not rest with victory so close. Now, go!"

Ethan scrambled away.

"This is dangerous, my lord," Prometheus warned. "Do not be hasty."

"Hasty? After festering for three thousand years in the depths of Tartarus, you call me hasty? I will slice Percy Jackson into a thousand pieces."

"Wow, Percy would be honoured to be called an enemy to a Titan king." Travis whistled.

"Thrice you've fought him," Prometheus pointed out. "And yet you've always said it is beneath the dignity of a Titan to fight a mere mortal. I wonder if your mortal host is influencing you, weakening your judgment."

"Man, that hit a sour spot. I like how this tux dude thinks" Leo whistled.

"Tux dude?" Chiron asked. Leo nodded.

"Is this the title refers to? That Prometheus confirming Luke is still struggling from within?" Everyone nodded.

"Not exaclty, we already knew that. He's referring to the Titan king being hasty and none is advicing against it." Annabeth supplied.

Kronos turned his golden eyes on the other Titan. "You call me weak?"

"No, my lord. I only meant—"

"Are your loyalties divided?" Kronos asked. "Perhaps you miss your old friends, the gods. Would you like to join them?"

Prometheus paled. "I misspoke, my lord. Your orders will be carried out." He turned to the armies and shouted, "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

The troops began to stir.

From somewhere behind the UN compound, an angry roar shook the city—the sound of a drakon waking. The noise was so horrible it woke me, and I realized I could still hear it from a mile away.

Grover stood next to me, looking nervous. "What was that?"

"They're coming," I told him. "And we're in trouble."

"When are we not in trouble?" Grover complained.

The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of us had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar we didn't dare take any more.

We had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies tried to form ranks, but they staggered and giggled and they all smelled like root beer. The Texans were head-butting the Coloradoans. The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois. The chances were pretty good the whole army would end up fighting each other rather than the enemy.

Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back. I felt a twinge of annoyance because Chiron rarely gave anyone a ride, and never a mortal.

Chiron shook his head in amusement.

"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy," he said.

Rachel blushed. "Just some things I saw in my head."

"A drakon," Chiron said. "A Lydian drakon, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."

I stared at her. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel admitted. "But this drakon has a particular fate. It will be killed by a child of Ares."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "How can you possibly know that?"

"If only you'd never left" Thalia singsonged. She got slugged in the arm.

"Annabeth, I'd like to point out that you left your brain in the freezer. Percy asked that and Racel replied she's not sure." Piper mused.

"I just saw it. I can't explain."

"Well, let's hope you're wrong," I said. "Because we're a little short on children of Ares. . . ." A horrible thought occurred to me, and I cursed in Ancient Greek.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"The spy," I told her. "Kronos said, We know they cannot beat this drakon. The spy has been keeping him updated. Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us. He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill."

Clarisse looked down. Soon..

Thalia scowled. "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry. Maybe we could send another messenger to camp—"

"I've already done it," Chiron said. "Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able—"

A roar shook the ground. It sounded very close.

"Rachel," I said, "get inside the building."

"See, her mere presence brings me annoyance. He's always concerned about her in my presence. What do I take it as?" Annabeth crossed her arms.

"What, you want to go inside too? You refused to stay invalid and argued he needed every manpower needed and you say this? I don't know why Percy put up with you" Thalia asked in annoyance, whereas Annabeth flushed at her whining.

"I want to stay."

A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.

"On second thought," Rachel said in a small voice, "I'll be inside."

Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons.

"yes, Prof Percy, we await your lesson." Leo asked sarcastically, mimicking a taking notes pose.

Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, and much larger. They look like giant serpents. Most don't have wings. Most don't breathe fire (though some do). All are poisonous. All are immensely strong, with scales harder than titanium. Their eyes can paralyze you; not the turn-you~to-stone Medusatype paralysis, but the oh~my~gods-that~big~snake~is~going~to~eat~me type of paralysis, which is just as bad.

We have drakon-fighting classes at camp, but there is no way to prepare yourself for a two-hundred foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth big enough to chew elephants.

It almost made me long for the flying pig.

Everyone chuckled at that.

Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. We'd done our best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for our enemies to approach. The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously. Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encouragement to stand tough and think about victory and root beer, but I figured any second they would panic and run.

"I'll take the drakon." My voice came out as a timid squeak. Then I yelled louder: "I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON! Everyone else, hold the line against the army!"

Annabeth stood next to me. She had pulled her owl helmet low over her face, but I could tell her eyes were red.

"Will you help me?" I asked.

"That's what I do," she said miserably. "I help my friends."

I felt like a complete jerk. I wanted to pull her aside and explain that I didn't mean for Rachel to be here, that it wasn't my idea, but we had no time.

"Atleast he thought about before the battle. It would've made my day if he actually said that." Annabeth mumbled.

"Go invisible," I said. "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy. Just be careful."

I whistled. "Mrs. O'Leary, heel!"

"ROOOF!" My hellhound leaped over a line of centaurs and gave me a kiss that smelled suspiciously of pepperoni pizza.

I drew my sword and we charged the monster.

The drakon was three stories above us, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up our forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear.

From the north, the enemy army crashed into the Party Ponies, and our lines broke. The drakon lashed out, swallowing three Californian centaurs in one gulp before I could even get close.

Chiron closed his eyes for a second to mourn his brethren.

Mrs. O'Leary launched herself through the air—a deadly black shadow with teeth and claws. Normally, a pouncing hellhound is a terrifying sight, but next to the drakon, Mrs. O'Leary looked like a child's night-night doll.

Everyone bellowed at the comparision, even though the atmosphere is about to get glum.

Her claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat but couldn't make a dent. Her weight, however, was enough to knock the drakon off the side of the building. It flailed awkwardly and crashed to the sidewalk, hellhound and serpent twisting and thrashing. The drakon tried to bite Mrs. O'Leary, but she was too close to the serpent's mouth. Poison spewed everywhere, melting centaurs into dust along with quite a few monsters, but Mrs. O'Leary weaved around the serpent's head, scratching and biting.

"YAAAH!" I plunged Riptide deep into the monster's left eye. The spotlight went dark. The drakon hissed and reared back to strike, but I rolled aside.

It bit a swimming-pool-size chunk out of the pavement. It turned toward me with its good eye, and I focused on its teeth so I wouldn't get paralyzed. Mrs. O'Leary did her best to cause a distraction. She leaped onto the serpent's head and scratched and growled like a really angry black wig.

The rest of the battle wasn't going well. The centaurs had panicked under the onslaught of giants and demons. An occasional orange camp T-shirt appeared in the sea of fighting, but quickly disappeared.

Arrows screamed. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was moving across the street to the entrance of the Empire State Building. We were losing ground.

Suddenly Annabeth materialized on the drakon's back. Her invisibility cap rolled off her head as she drove her bronze knife between a chink in the serpent's scales.

The drakon roared. It coiled around, knocking Annabeth off its back. My blood ran cold.

I reached her just as she hit the ground. I dragged her out of the way as the serpent rolled, crushing a lamppost right where she'd been.

"Thanks," she said.

"I told you to be careful!"

"Yeah, well, DUCK!"

It was her turn to save me. She tackled me as the monster's teeth snapped above my head. Mrs. O'Leary body-slammed the drakon's face to get its attention, and we rolled out of the way.

Meanwhile our allies had retreated to the doors of the Empire State Building. The entire enemy army was surrounding them.

We were out of options. No more help was coming. Annabeth and I would have to retreat before we were cut off from Mount Olympus.

Then I heard a rumbling in the south. It wasn't a sound you hear much in New York, but I recognized it immediately: chariot wheels.

A girl's voice yelled, "ARES!"

"Noo" Everyone moaned sadly.

And a dozen war chariots charged into battle. Each flew a red banner with the symbol of the wild boar's head. Each was pulled by a team of skeletal horses with manes of fire. A total of thirty fresh warriors, armor gleaming and eyes full of hate, lowered their lances as one—making a bristling wall of death.

"The children of Ares!" Annabeth said in amazement. "How did Rachel know?"

"Because I set them up, Annabeth?" Rachel tried to diffuse the situation. It worked.

I didn't have an answer. But leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armor, her face covered by a boar's-head helm. She held aloft a spear that crackled with electricity. Clarisse herself had come to the rescue. While half her chariots charged the monster army, Clarisse led the other six straight for the drakon.

Clarisse looked upon being called in the book. She didn't realize how much Percy needed and trusted her for the battle.

The serpent reared back and managed to throw off Mrs. O'Leary. My poor pet hit the side of the building with a yelp. I ran to help her, but the serpent had already zeroed in on the new threat. Even with only one eye, its glare was enough to paralyze two chariot drivers. They veered into a line of cars. The other four chariots kept charging. The monster bared its fangs to strike and got a mouthful of Celestial bronze javelins.

"EEESSSSS!" it screamed, which is probably drakon for OWWWW!

"Ares, to me!" Clarisse screamed. Her voice sounded shriller than usual, but I guess that wasn't surprising given what she was fighting.

Across the street, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies new hope. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building, and the enemy army was momentarily thrown into confusion.

Meanwhile, Clarisse's chariots circled the drakon. Lances broke against the monster's skin. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the warriors simply leaped to their feet, drew their swords, and went to work. They hacked at chinks in the creature's scales. They dodged poison spray like they'd been training for this all their lives, which of course they had.

No one could say the Ares campers weren't brave. Clarisse was right there in front, stabbing her spear at the drakon's face, trying to put out its other eye. But as I watched, things started to go wrong. The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp. It knocked aside another and sprayed poison on a third, who retreated in a panic, his armor melting.

"We have to help," Annabeth said.

She was right. I'd just been standing there frozen in amazement. Mrs. O'Leary tried to get up but yelped again. One of her paws was bleeding.

Aww's rang in pity for the dog.

"Stay back, girl," I told her. "You've done enough already."

Annabeth and I jumped onto the monster's back and ran toward its head, trying to draw its attention away from Clarisse.

Her cabinmates threw javelins, most of which broke, but some lodged in the monster's teeth. It snapped its jaws together until its mouth was a mess of green blood, yellow foamy poison, and splintered weapons.

"You can do it!" I screamed at Clarisse. "A child of Ares is destined to kill it!"

Through her war helmet, I could only see her eyes—but I could tell something was wrong. Her blue eyes shone with fear. Clarisse never looked like that. And she didn't have blue eyes.

Clarisse sat up straight at being called brave by Percy.

"ARES!" she shouted, in that strangely shrill voice. She leveled her spear and charged the drakon.

"No. no" Clarisse whispered closing her eyes. That was her fault. Totally her fault.

"No," I muttered. "WAIT!"

"Too late." she said in low voice.

But the monster looked down at her—almost in contempt—and spit poison directly in her face.

She screamed and fell.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth jumped off the monster's back and ran to help, while the other Ares campers tried to defend their fallen counselor. I drove Riptide between two of the creature's scales and managed to turn its attention on me.

I got thrown but I landed on my feet. "C'MON, you stupid worm! Look at me!"

For the next several minutes, all I saw were teeth. I retreated and dodged poison, but I couldn't hurt the thing.

At the edge of my vision, I saw a flying chariot land on Fifth Avenue.

Then someone ran toward us. A girl's voice, shaken with grief, cried, "NO! Curse you, WHY?"

I dared to glance over, but what I saw made no sense. Clarisse was lying on the ground where she'd fallen. Her armor smoked with poison. Annabeth and the Ares campers were trying to unfasten her helmet. And kneeling next to them, her face blotchy with tears, was a girl in camp clothes. It was. . .Clarisse.

Jason and Leo looked confused. "Do you a twin with same name?" Clarisse shook her sadly, no strength for a comeback.

My head spun. Why hadn't I noticed before? The girl in Clarisse's armor was much thinner, not as tall. But why would someone pretend to be Clarisse?

I was so stunned, the drakon almost snapped me in half. I dodged and the beast buried its head in a brick wall.

"WHY?" The real Clarisse demanded, holding the other girl in her arms while the campers struggled to remove the poison-corroded helmet.

Everyone looked down, already knowing the answer.

Chris Rodriguez ran over from the flying chariot. He and Clarisse must've ridden it here from camp, chasing the Ares campers, who'd mistakenly been following the other girl, thinking she was Clarisse. But it still made no sense.

The drakon tugged its head from the brick wall and screamed in rage.

"Look out!" Chris warned.

Instead of turning toward me, the drakon whirled toward the sound of Chris's voice. It bared its fangs at the group of demigods.

The real Clarisse looked up at the drakon, her face filled with absolute hate. I'd seen a look that intense only once before. Her father, Ares, had worn the same expression when I'd fought him in single combat.

"YOU WANT DEATH?" Clarisse screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!"

Everyone not on the battlefield looked at Clarisse with new found respect.

She grabbed her spear from the fallen girl. With no armor or shield, she charged the drakon. I tried to close the distance to help, but Clarisse was faster. She leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. Then she jumped onto the creature's head. As it reared up, she drove her electric spear into its good eye with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the magic weapon's power.

Electricity arced across the creature's head, causing its whole body to shudder. Clarisse jumped free, rolling safely to the sidewalk as smoke boiled from the drakon's mouth. The drakon's flesh dissolved, and it collapsed into a hollow scaly tunnel of armor.

The rest of us stared at Clarisse in awe. I had never seen anyone take down such a huge monster single-handedly. But Clarisse didn't seem to care. She ran back to the wounded girl who'd stolen her armor.

"A piece of work, actually." Leo tried to diffuse the mood. It didn't work.

Finally Annabeth managed to remove the girl's helmet. We all gathered around: the Ares campers, Chris, Clarisse, Annabeth, and me. The battle still raged along Fifth Avenue, but for that moment nothing existed except our small circle and the fallen girl.

Her features, once beautiful, were badly burned from poison. I could tell that no amount of nectar or ambrosia would save her.

Something is about to happen. Rachel's words rang in my ears. A trick that ends in death.

why didn't I stay long enough to hear and plan for it. Annabeth thought to herself. No point in beating herself up.

Now I knew what she meant, and I knew who had led the Ares cabin into battle.

I looked down at the dying face of Silena Beauregard.

A lone tear ran down from Piper's eye. Good bye sister.

"Chapter completed. It's a good time to stop and continue tomorrow. What do you say?" Chiron asked uncertainly.

"Let's finish the next chapter Chiron. Better not leave at a cliffhanger." Annabeth suggested.

"Who wants to read then?"

"I will" Piper volunteered. She took the book and started.

xXx

A/N: Well, another chapter behind us. I tried to show the different relation phases of Annabeth and Percy. Please let me know, if I missed any.

The book doesn't depict not only Percy's action. Let's focus on them too- Annabeth, Rachel, Clarisse, Nico, Thalia. Happy reading.