Annabeth's POV

We had to find Percy's sorry butt first before we could save it.

We ran through the door next to the bleachers but we couldn't find Thorn, the di Angelo kids, or even Percy. It just led us to empty rooms. We backtracked to the gymnasium, the kids continuing to dance, not realizing the danger happening around them.

"Where are they?" Will asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

Toothless called out to us to get our attention.

He was standing on the ground, next to him laid a floppy green hat, just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards.

I looked around. I spotted another door at the opposite end of the gym, also wide open.

"The other door was set up to make it look like they went that way," I said. "To give him more time to get away with them."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Thalia said.

She charged forward and the rest of us followed close behind.

It led into a dark hallway. When we got to the other end, I noted a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long sticking out on the wall like a spike. There was a little bit of blood on it. Another spike sticking out about twenty feet away. They were definitely in here.

There was one other door besides the one we had come through that led to outside the building. We headed toward it, the cold winter wind blowing into our faces. Jasmine returned Toothless back to his full size, sending him out to scout. With it being night time, no one would be able to spot him.

There were tracks in the snow leading toward a dimly lit snowy path by old-fashioned lamplights toward the woods. We followed them and a couple minutes later, Toothless returned to report that Thorn, Percy, and the di Angelo kids were in fact up ahead. We continued on, walking cautiously and quietly as possible.

We came to an opening. Percy and Bianca and Nico di Angelo were standing near a cliff. Dr. Thorn was standing roughly twenty feet away from them. Percy was holding his sword, Riptide, in his hand, but he appeared to be injured. His shoulder sleeve was ripped and there was dry blood.

I pulled my invisibility hat out of my pocket and put it on. Jasmine joined me, using her powers to turn herself invisible. I crept slowly around Thorn and toward Percy.

I watched as Thorn pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."

There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. That seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a mobile phone.

Percy glanced behind himself, down the cliff on the other side.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later," Percy said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

He continued to look down the cliff.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said as if reading Percy's thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to Percy that it nicked his ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible . . . almost like a tail.

"Unfortunately," Dr. Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I . . ." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," Percy said. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when he said that name. "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asked, with a French accent for whatever reason. "I mean . . . who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the clopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! 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."

"The Great what?" Percy asked.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to Percy. "He's completely nuts."

If only that were true.

"We have to jump off the cliff," Percy told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."

I watched Thorn raise something from behind himself, Percy and the di Angelo kids too distracted to notice.

Instinctively, I lunged forward and knocked them to the ground, feeling another force beside me, probably Jasmine, knocking them down beside me. My hat had fallen off in the process and making me visible, just as Thorn's volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads, taking him by surprise. This gave Thalia, Grover, Will, and Toothless a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought that would've taken care of Dr. Thorn. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Will nocked an arrow. Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiked tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

I knew exactly what he was now. "A manticore!"

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

"Get down!" I pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow and Jasmine helped me, now visible herself. At the last second, Percy hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impaled against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to Percy with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the side that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Percy ran to help her. He parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. He raised his shield over themselves, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past Percy like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp or Jasmine (well, perhaps Jasmine and Toothless) could shoot with that much accuracy.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged his attack and slammed his tail into Percy's shield, knocking him aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions. I recognized them from many years ago.

"The Hunters!" I cried.

Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

"Great," Jasmine agreed with just as much distaste.

I remembered how much they didn't like them from our last visit.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. I definitely remember her. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful, but her expression was stern and dangerous. I remembered her too. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and Percy, knowing we were weak and dazed.

"No!" I yelled, and I charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But I leaped onto the monster's back and drove my knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as I hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

"No!" I heard Percy and Jasmine scream.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, including myself, the monster, with me still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.


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