"The enemy is weak." Reyna declared. "Now is the right time to strike."
Silence filled the packed Senate House. Reyna's authority was unquestionable, her mastery of the Senate total and complete. Nico shook his head at the stark contrast between the current Senate meeting and the previous one a week ago. Back then the Romans had been fearful and demoralised. Now Reyna's return had galvanised them and they were ready to march on the fortress.
Leadership was everything. Frank was a good listener, winning support by finding solutions to accomodate the different factions and opinions. A competent administrator and a solid tactician, he was well suited to the Praetor's role. But he lacked Reyna's charisma and power that enabled her to force decisions. He could read the mood of the Senate but could not shift it. Reyna was the one who set the pace, the vanguard that marched ahead to flush out the enemy and crush them. Frank was the rearguard, bringing order into the chaos to deliver the final shattering blow. Together they made an unstoppable team, provided each was there to compliment the other.
"The Legion, including the veterans, will move out at eight o'clock tomorrow," Reyna announced. "The Lares will stay behind to guard the city."
A chorus of displeasure went up from the benches of Lares.
"We always get the worst jobs." One Lare complained.
"You had your glory four thousand years ago," Frank spoke up from the other side of the Praetor's dais. "Be quiet. This isn't a marketplace."
The Lares settled down, shifting and muttering unhappily.
"Any questions?" Reyna spoke into the silence.
One senator stood. "Is the rescue mission still on?"
Reyna nodded. "Yes it is. A small team will infiltrate Othrys to create a diversion and rescue our captured legionnaires. As we attack from the east, they will escape from the west. This will draw Alaric's attention long enough for us to make the assault."
"I am not a diversion," Jordan muttered. "That is an insult to my capabilities."
"And mine, too." Lisa, sat next to her brother, said indignantly. She crossed her arms, accidentally elbowing Jordan in the process.
"You're hungry, and that's why you're cranky," Nico told them.
"I'll blow the whole fortress to pieces," Jordan ignored Nico's remark. "The Romans can come afterward to clean it up. They're good at that."
"By this time tomorrow, we shall be celebrating our victory from the ramparts of Othrys." Reyna declared, raising a large cheer from the Senate House.
Jordan shot to his feet as the Romans erupted into cheers, heading straight for the door the moment the meeting ended. His stomach growled over the noise of the Senate House, making his scowl deepen further.
"Missed my lunch for some flowery speech." He grumbled as he emerged into the sunny forum. "Damned waste of my time."
"I know, right?" Lisa flexed her jaw unhappily, keeping pace with his long stride. "I'm starving."
"So cranky. You really are alike," Nico remarked, earning a glare from both of them.
"Shut up." They both said at the same time.
"So what's the plan this time?" Percy asked.
Jordan looked up from his screen, frowning as his concentration was broken by Percy's voice. He swivelled his chair around.
"Nico and Annabeth Chase will rescue Jane." His tone reminded Percy of his high school math teacher. "If necessary, we will airlift them out. Once they escape, I will destroy Othrys's eastern wall. This will enable the Twelfth Legion to breach the fortress."
"And if something goes wrong with the rescue?" Percy asked.
"I have Annabeth's number." Jordan said. "We will save them."
"You have her number?" Percy was surprised. "I don't have it."
"That is because you don't have a phone." Jordan said matter-of-factly.
Percy fell silent at that, then his attention wandered to the buttons on Jordan's dashboard.
"What's this button for?" He asked.
"This lowers the underbelly hatch." Jordan explained.
"What about this one?"
"That is for the emergency alarm."
"This one?"
"That is the fire button. Do not touch it."
"How about this one?"
"That turns on the cockpit lights." Jordan sounded slightly irritated now.
"Oh." Percy was oblivious to the son of Athena's growing annoyance. "And that one?"
Lisa smirked at her brother's displeasure.
Thirty thousand feet below, Annabeth and Nico crept through the fortress, searching for the dungeon where the captive Roman legionnaires were being held. They slipped past the large courtyard where the massacre had taken place a week earlier, then the barracks and training yards which were fortituously empty.
"The dungeon should be underground," Annabeth whispered to Nico.
"I know," Nico hissed back. "I'm looking for a staircase."
The two demigods backed round a corner as two tattooed laistrygonians appeared at the end of the corridor, three-metre-tall giants carrying massive battleaxes. As they marched past the two demigods, Nico struck.
The first giant collapsed in a crash of armour as the Sword of Hades passed clean through his neck. Nico put his sword to the second giant's throat before he could realise what was happening, backing him up to the nearest pillar.
"Drop the axe." Nico growled.
The Helm of Darkness radiated fear so intense that the giant complied immediately. The battleaxe fell from his nerveless hands, sinking blade-first into the floor so hard that the stones trembled.
"Where are the captive demigods being held?"
"Th-they're all dead." The giant stammered.
Nico's mouth tightened.
"You lie." His sword dug harder into the giant's neck.
"It's true, I swear!" The giant shook like a leaf. "We barbecued them last week!"
"There is one still alive." Nico knew that Jane hadn't been killed along with the rest. "Where is she?"
"I don't know!" The giant shook his head. "The dungeon's that way, but there's no one in it. The master's killed them all."
"Where is the master now?" Nico demanded.
"How d'you expect me to know? I'm just a guard!"
Nico's sword twitched once. The giant burst into powder.
"I'm glad you're on my side." Annabeth shivered at the residual power radiating from the Helm of Darkness.
"Dungeon's that way." Nico said casually. "Let's go."
Alaric threw the cell door open and marched inside, grabbing Jane and pulling her out.
"Let me go!" Jane shouted.
Alaric slammed her head into the bars in response, making her vision shudder, then hauled her up and struck her across the face. Blood sprayed from twin gashes across her cheekbone where the spikes on his gauntlet had split her skin.
Dazed, Jane made no resistance as he yanked her to her feet, dragging her into the corridor.
"Your friends are here to save you," Alaric snarled.
Jane blinked twice as her senses slowly started to return. Her right hand started to drift down to the dagger hidden in her greave.
Another hand stopped her, grabbing her wrist hard. Jane's heart shot into her throat.
Warm healing energy flowed from the unseen hand into her. Her head stopped spinning. The pain faded.
Jane sighed in relief as she realised it was Alabaster. Their eyes met and he shook his head minutely. Not yet.
So he was on her side after all.
Alaric failed to notice their exchange because Nico had appeared at the end of the corridor, sword drawn.
"So you've come to die with your friend." Alaric's voice rang down the rows of bars.
"Let them go." Nico snarled.
Alaric drew his own sword.
Jane caught Alabaster's eye and jerked her chin toward Alaric. Alabaster nodded, raising a glowing fist. Jane reached down to her greave.
Time slowed down. Alaric reared forward and delivered a powerful Spartan kick to the air in front of him. His armoured boot connected with an invisible body with a sickening thump.
Annabeth Chase materialised in front of him, thrown off her feet and doubled over in midair from Alaric's kick. The invisibility cap fell from her head, dislodged by the massive impact. Her eyes were wide with alarm.
"A poor effort." Alaric drew back his sword for a fatal blow.
Jane's powers activated, counteracting Alaric's time spell. Annabeth twisted desperately aside and the blade that was intended for her heart lanced into her ribs instead. She fell to the ground with a cry.
Alaric's eyes widened in shock. Realising what had happened, he shoved Jane away so hard that she slammed into the metal bars. Her concentration wavered and time slowed down again.
Alabaster's fist connected with Alaric's temple in a flash of green light as he turned back toward the corridor, making him stumble. The Sword of Kronos flashed out in response. Alabaster threw himself backwards in slow motion, but could not avoid the long sword as it carved through his magical armour, opened his forearm to the bone and sliced across his ribs. He fell to the ground, defenceless.
"Traitor," Alaric stood over him, bloody sword raised. "I'll have your soul."
The Sword of Kronos came down just as a stabbing pain erupted in Alaric's neck. Time returned to normal again and Alabaster threw himself aside. The Sword of Kronos pierced his shoulder and cleaved into the stone floor beneath, pinning him in place.
Alaric roared in pain and backhanded Jane away. Jane ducked under his swinging arm and rammed her body into him, trying to knock him off balance. Alaric stumbled, then grabbed her ponytail and kneed her in the face. He brought his elbow down onto her head with hammer force, then hauled her up and punched her so hard that she flew out of his grip.
Annabeth, coughing up blood on the stone floor, saw the opening and threw her dagger as Alaric turned to deal with Jane. The blade buried itself in the back of his knee and he howled as his leg crumpled. Alabaster blasted him with green energy, blowing him through the bars of the nearest cell.
Nico raced down the corridor, fury blazing in his eyes. He reached the cell just as Alaric climbed unsteadily out of it.
Nico brought his sword around with a yell. Alaric's eyes glowed molten gold and time slowed down again, enabling the son of Kronos to duck under the sweeping strike meant to take his head off. Alaric stepped inside Nico's guard and blasted him with golden energy so hard that he flew all the way down the corridor and slammed into the far wall.
Annabeth had recovered enough to stand and lunged at him in slow motion with her drakon-bone sword. Alaric sidestepped and sent her flying to the floor with another blast of golden energy.
"Fools," he rasped. "I have the power of the Ophiotaurus. I am invincible!"
Alabaster, still impaled on the floor, struck Alaric in the back with a weak beam of green energy, making him stumble forward. Alaric recovered, turned and blasted him back, slamming Alabaster to the ground so hard that he blacked out for a few seconds. Alaric limped over to Alabaster and pulled the sword out of his shoulder. Alabaster's eyes fluttered open to see Alaric standing over him, bloodied sword in hand.
"I'll kill you all," he growled, raising the sword.
Dizzy with blood loss and too weak to move, Alabaster could only watch as Alaric stabbed him in the stomach.
"NO!" A familiar voice howled from the end of the corridor.
Alaric turned in time to receive a silver energy bolt square in his chest. If the weapon had been in the hands of it's Olympian owner, the bolt would have torn through his body, blowing him apart. Instead, it hurled him down the corridor, leaving him sprawled on the floor.
Lisa van Staal came running down the corridor, followed closely behind by Percy Jackson and Lanesra. All three of them skidded to a stop at the sight of the badly-wounded demigods.
"Annabeth!" Percy caught sight of his girlfriend and rushed to her.
"Oh no," Lisa's eyes widened at the sight of Alabaster. "Oh no. Oh no no no no no no."
Despite the pain, Alabaster's heart jumped at the sight of Jordan's pretty sister.
"Hey," he smiled weakly at her, then winced.
"Lie still," Lisa knelt beside him, pulling a flask of nectar from her jacket. She cut away his shirt, her face turning ashen at the amount of blood soaking through it. She poured nectar over his wounds, then soaked a thick gauze pad with the magical liquid and pressed it over the wound in the centre of his abs.
"Can you put pressure on it?"
Alabaster lifted his good hand in response. Lisa guided his hand to the pad and a frission of excitement went through him as their hands touched.
He held the gauze in place while Lisa bandaged his shoulder and fed him ambrosia. Lisa pressed another nectar-soaked pad to the exit wound in the small of his back, wrapped bandages around both pads and pulled it taut, causing a grunt to escape from his lips.
"What is it?" She asked immediately.
"Tight," he whimpered. So much for being tough.
"Sorry," her features softened. "It needs to be tight to stop the blood flow."
You're making my blood flow, Alabaster thought. He nodded instead.
Lisa started to do a blood sweep, running her hands over him to check for more wounds. Alabaster let out another groan that had nothing to do with his injuries. He pushed himself upright with his good arm.
"Don't move." Lisa leaned over him, holding his shoulders down. "You're in no condition to be going anywhere."
"I heal faster than you think," Alabaster muttered.
"No," Lisa insisted. "Stay down. I'll take care of you."
Across the corridor, Lanesra had revived Jane with nectar and ambrosia and was trying to get her to her feet.
"We gotta get out of here," she warned. "Reinforcements are bound to arrive any second."
"Nico, can you shadow-travel us out?" Percy asked.
At the end of the corridor, Nico staggered to his feet. His Stygian iron armour had been charred by Alaric's energy blast, somehow blackening it even further. He shook his head. "Too many of you."
Alabaster raised his hand again. "I can."
"You're bleeding everywhere—" Lisa started to say.
"I'm fine." Alabaster waved her off. "Sword wounds are like bruises to me."
"Good." Percy took charge. "Everyone gather up." He made his way to Alabaster's side, Annabeth leaning heavily on him.
"Wait." Nico stopped. "Where's Alaric?"
Lisa glanced down the corridor. "Gone."
"Can't have gone far." Nico picked up his sword. "I'm going after him."
"You're kidding," Lanesra said. "He already wiped the floor with the group of you. You wanna fight him alone? Once we're out of here Jordan will bury him in rubble."
"That won't stop him." Nico shook his head.
"Di Angelo, stop arguing." Lanesra snapped. "We're getting out of here, now."
"No." This time it was Annabeth, surprising them. "The Twelfth Legion is coming in. If we leave them with Alaric they'll be slaughtered. We have to finish this here and now."
"Then I'm not leaving either." Jane shook Lanesra's arm off. "You need me to counteract his time spell."
"You're in no shape to even walk." Lisa told her.
Alabaster pointed at Jane. "Heal."
Jane blinked and straightened. Lisa gaped at Alabaster. "How did you—"
"Wanna see what else I can do?" He winked at her. He was seriously going delirious with blood loss.
"Well you can't stay." She said.
"Neither can Annabeth." Percy said.
"No biggie," Alabaster shrugged his good shoulder. "I can teleport us out."
Jane stepped away from them. "Anyone else staying to take on the big bad?"
Annabeth removed her arm from Percy's shoulders. "Percy's staying."
"I'm not leaving you—" Percy started to say.
"Didn't you want to come along so badly in the first place? They need your help." Annabeth pointed out. "Besides, you're the greatest swordsman in the last three hundred years."
Percy groaned. "Will you people please stop saying that?"
"Time's a'wastin'," Nico cut in. "Anyone else?"
Percy stepped away from the group, giving Annabeth a quick kiss.
"All aboard." Alabaster warbled.
Lanesra, Annabeth, Lisa and Alabaster vanished in a flash of green light. When the light faded, Lisa was still there.
"Wait what?" Percy gaped at her.
"Of course I'm staying," Lisa hefted Artemis's longbow. "I've got the super bow."
"How did you—" Nico began.
"Trade secret." Lisa winked. "Alabaster doesn't have as good a grip on me as he thinks."
"Wait 'till he hears that," Nico muttered. He hefted the Sword of Hades. "Let's go get this son of a bitch."