The Twelfth Legion advanced up the slope of Mount Tam in a long line of cohorts ten ranks deep. There was no attempt at stealth this time. Hazel Levesque had covered the entire legion in a thick layer of Mist, rendering them invisible to the fortress's defences until they were right on top of it.
Greek demigods advanced ahead of the line, seeking to flush out any traps or snares. Flying chariots, giant eagles and Pegasi riders soared overhead to provide aerial surveillance. Every demigod was on edge as they marched closer and closer to the towering black ramparts. The air was heavy with the scent of battle.
Up ahead, the ground steepened before levelling into a gentle ridge. Reyna could see the scattered horsehair plumes of Greek helmets as they hiked over the ridge.
Several of the Greek scouts came running down the slope towards her, looking flustered.
"Praetor, there are monsters in the woods."
Reyna stiffened in her saddle. "Where? How many?"
"Thousands of them," the Greek scout spread his arms. "The whole forest is crawling with monsters."
Reyna swore under her breath. Mount Othrys was ringed by dense woods on three sides. They would have to march around the entire mountain if the wanted to avoid the monsters within. The other option would be to throw everybody forward and fight their way through, but the Legion's heavy formations would dissolve into chaos in the dense undergrowth, neutralising their biggest advantage. Sheer numbers would decide the battle then, and it was obvious that the monsters were the larger of the two forces.
"Get Praetor Frank and Malcolm Pace over to me."
The Greek scout saluted and vanished. Reyna's frown deepened as she mulled over the situation. Both options seemed equally suicidal. She could see no way forward, but perhaps Malcolm and Frank would provide a solution to the problem at hand.
The two leaders came swooping down to her, Malcolm on a pegasus, Frank as a giant bald eagle. She explained the situation to them.
"So the forest is obstructing us," Malcom said. "And we can't go around it."
"That is correct," Reyna nodded. "Any ideas?"
"Why not destroy the forest?" Frank suggested.
Malcolm's face lit up. "That's brilliant!"
Reyna frowned. "Doesn't the forest contain nature spirits?"
"Evil nature spirits," Malcolm shook his head. "Who are allied with Kronos against the Olympians. We've no qualms about destroying them. There's no question about what will happen if we allow that forest to grow."
"Then it's decided then," Reyna slammed her fist into her palm. "Assemble the siege machines."
A dozen ballistae and onagers were deployed behind the ridge's summit. Along with them were three World War Two-era cannons from Camp Half-Blood that had been specially designed to shoot Greek fire rounds.
The Mist obscuring them would dissipate the moment the artillery opened fire, so Reyna ordered the Legion to deploy ahead of the artillery line. The Greek forces formed a phalanx on either flank, spears bristling over the top of the shield wall.
At Reyna's signal, the artillery opened fire. A salvo of incendiary boulders, spears and artillery shells arced into the sky. A wave of fire and death slammed into the forest. A great wail went up from the burning nature spirits, followed by bellows of outrage as the monsters realised they were under attack.
"Again!" Reyna ordered.
"Keep firing!" Centurion Larry, whom Reyna had placed in charge of the artillery, echoed the command. "Fire at will!"
A second volley of flaming death crashed into the burning forest. Boulders crushed trees and monsters under their weight. Ballistae exploded like missiles, turning dark woodland into flensing splinters.
Camp Half-Blood's Air Force took to the sky. Apollo campers fired flaming arrows into the woods. The flying chariots dropped Greek fire bombs, leaving swathes of green flames roaring in their wake.
On the right of the line, Camp Half-Blood's artillery started shelling the northern woods, spreading the flames toward the north. The ballistae on the left were firing into the southern woods, adding to the growing conflagration there as the onagers continued to bombard the centre.
Monsters started to emerge from the burning forest. Some were on fire and collapsed writhing to the ground. Others ran towards the Roman line, brandishing weapons and screaming hate.
"Forward!" Reyna yelled in response.
A great cheer went up from the Legion as they started down the ridge's slope. The first monsters reached the Roman line and were cut down with a vicious efficiency, then a whole new wave of the enemy spilled out from the northern and southern woods.
Reyna saw the enemy come pouring towards them and made her decision instantly.
"Frank!" She called.
Her fellow Praetor knew what she was thinking as he turned to face her.
"I'll take the left!" He yelled back.
"Ave!" Reyna raised her hand in acknowledgement, then cupped her hands to her mouth. "Malcolm!"
The son of Athena jerked around in his saddle.
"Cover the centre!"
Malcolm gave a wave of acknowledgement and wheeled toward the ground to start giving orders. Reyna turned back to the Legion and filled her lungs.
"Legion! Cohorts Two, Three and Four! Right wheel. Advance and engage!"
"Legion!" Frank's own voice bellowed on her left. "Cohorts One, Five and Sixth! Left wheel! Advance and engage!"
The Roman line split smoothly down the middle with the precision of a parade manoeuvre. Both halves swung out to face the oncoming threat on either flank. Greek demigods rushed into the centre to fill the gap left by the Romans' divergence, lining shoulder-to-shoulder to form a shield wall. Monsters, seeing an opening, ran to attack the deploying phalanx before it could fully form.
"Watch your front!" Clarisse La Rue's shouted. Her Ares cabin responded, raising their shields and levelling spears just as the monsters came into striking range.
Both sides tore into each other with a ferocity that numbed the sound of battle. A wave of javelins slammed into the charging monsters, reducing them to dust. Monsters burst into powder as they were spitted on the long spears like roasts. The shield wall buckled as the two sides met, then bronze swords were plunged into monster bodies and the yellow dust exploded out all along the line, spattering the Greek warriors until they were covered in it. The Ares cabin held the line with gritted teeth, shoving their shields against the monsters piling against it. Their swords flashed out as they cut their way forward. Behind them other demigods lunged over the shield wall with spears and axes, slicing into monsters as they scrabbled and clawed.
Four hundred spears went up on either flank as the Roman cohorts met the monsters' charge head-on. The spears' golden tips sparkled in the sun as they soared into the sky, then the monsters suddenly found themselves caught in a shower of golden death. Monsters collapsed in the hundreds. Demigod artillery fired across their front, fragmented boulders and ballistae bolts cutting monsters down in bloody smears. Into the chaos of spears and boulders came the line of legionnaires, rolling over the panicked, disoriented monsters like harvesters. The Legion opened the line, bringing more and more swords to bear against the enemy. Frank and Reyna watched in satisfaction as the two golden lines pushed up the mountain slope, sweeping all before them with tireless strength.
The enemy collapsed against the Legion's relentless assault. Pegasi riders and giant eagles strafed monsters as they turned to flee. Apollo campers and Legion archers rained arrows on the remaining clusters of resistance, reducing them to piles of dust. The combined demigod force marched through the remains of the enemy army, stopping to gather arrows and spears.
Beyond the battle the flames died down as the forest burned to the ground. Reyna smiled in grim satisfaction as the only barrier between them and Othrys was reduced to ash.
Nico, Percy, Jane and Lisa emerged from the stairwell to the sight and sound of battle. Monsters in full battle gear rushed to man the ramparts. Giants ran down the corridors, carrying spiked logs and boulders. The air was filled with the acrid stench of smoke.
"They've gotten wind of the assault." Percy guessed.
"There goes the element of surprise." Lisa said.
"We are the element of surprise." Nico snapped. "No one knows we're here."
The four demigods rounded a corner and ran straight into a group of machine gun-toting telkhines. The two groups gaped at each other for a moment, then the telkhines came to their senses and levelled their weapons.
"Surrender!"
Nico cracked his neck in response. "Begone."
A wave of fear washed out from the Helm of Darkness. The telkhines shrieked and disintegrated, their machine guns dropping to the floor.
All three demigods stared wide-eyed at the son of Hades.
"Holy shit." Jane summed up.
"You can try it on later." Nico pointed toward the ramparts. "The defences are in full swing. The Legion must have reached the walls."
"Why hasn't Jordan broken down the wall yet?" Percy asked.
"Because we're still here." Nico told him.
"Then let's get out of here." Percy suggested.
"Not without taking down Alaric." Nico said.
A series of deafening impacts shook the ground like an earthquake, making them all stumble to their knees. Part of the wall was blown inward into the courtyard. The smoke thickened.
"The Legion's trying to knock the wall down with their siege machines." Percy guessed.
Lisa stood and drew back her bow. "Let's give them some help."
Othrys's battlements returned fire. Two ballistae mounted on towers fired massive spears wreathed in Greek fire at the unseen attackers. A trio of onagers lined just behind the damaged wall launched a salvo of boulders over the ramparts toward the demigods beyond.
The artillery duel was abruptly cut short as Lisa loosed three energy bolts from Artemis's bow, hitting all three onagers at once and blowing them apart. The four demigods ducked for cover as deadly shrapnel exploded in all directions.
Jane thrust out her arm, her eyes glowing molten gold. "Stop."
All the shrapnel flying towards them froze, suspended in midair. Jane's eyes returned to normal and the shrapnel clattered harmlessly to the cobbles.
"Nice one." Lisa grinned at her.
"Heads up." Nico warned as the two ballistae on the towers abruptly swung toward them.
Lisa blew the first one to pieces with an energy bolt, then spun on her heel and took aim at the second one just as it fired. Lisa shot the ballista bolt down in midair and blinding light exploded out as the resulting explosion rocked the fortress like an earthquake. The four demigods blinked stars out of their eyes to see the ballista locked and reloaded for another shot, then the whole tower collapsed as a volley of glowing green artillery shells struck it head-on from the outside.
The enemy's defences disabled, Lisa turned her longbow on the damaged wall. Her first shot made a large dent in the wall's base. The second blew a hole clean through, then the third collapsed a large section of the wall in an eruption of choking dust.
"Yes!" Percy coughed, waving a fist in triumph.
Two more shots widened the breach on either side, then there was a far-off cheer as the attacking demigods came charging in.
It was at that moment that Nico realised they were standing directly under a second, larger inner wall that towered over the ruins of the first. More importantly, the second wall was crowned with enemy ballistae that all opened fire just as the first Roman legionnaires came spilling over the breach.
Deafening impacts shook the ground. Demigods were flung through the air like rag dolls. The Legion's cheers turned to screams.
"Hades!" Nico threw himself to the ground, hearing fragments of stone whistle over his head.
He pushed himself up, then dropped flat again as the survivors from the Legion's charge reached the breach's summit a second time, prompting another salvo of ballista bolts. The demigod artillery replied and a half-dozen assorted missiles struck the second wall. One flaming boulder found an enemy ballista, but the second wall was much thicker and more heavily fortified compared to the first. The demigod artillery was outmatched by the sheer volume of Othrys's firepower.
"We've got to disable those siege machines!" Percy yelled.
"Screw it!" Nico shouted back. "Bring the whole wall down!"
"That's gonna take me some time!" Lisa yelled.
"Not you," Nico pointed to Percy and himself. "Us! We'll bring down the wall, you take out the ballistae."
"How're you gonna break down the wall?" Lisa asked incredulously. Stab it with your sword?"
Nico smiled then, and Lisa recoiled at the black fire dancing in his eyes. "You'll see."
Nico and Percy stabbed their swords into the base of the wall, burying them to the hilt in the enchanted bricks. A tremor went through the ground as the two children of the Big Three combined their powers.
The shaking intensified. Jane and Lisa took an involuntary step backwards as the entire wall began to vibrate like a massage chair. A giant crack tore from the bottom of the wall to the top, dust and rubble sifting out.
"Hey!" One giant on the parapet spotted the small group of demigods below. "You there! What're you doing?"
As if it wasn't obvious.
The giant hefted a large boulder over his head and hurled it at them. Lisa took aim and blew it apart.
More giants gathered on the ramparts. Five boulders came hurtling down and Lisa shot them down one after another. She vaporised the giants with a string of energy bolts, then her eyes widened in alarm as a row of dracanae archers appeared in their place.
Jane threw up her arm as a dozen arrows were loosed toward them. All the arrows froze in midair two metres above their heads.
"Forgot you were with us." Lisa grinned.
The shaking intensified. More cracks streaked across the walls. Monsters screamed as they fell off the battlements. Chunks of masonry began to fall.
Lisa loosed a cluster of energy bolts that struck the wall right in the centre. That was the finishing blow. Lisa gaped in astonishment as the entire wall collapsed like a house of cards. A jagged spire of black rock the size of a shipping container erupted from the ground, adding to the destruction as it tore through the side of a tower.
Lisa gave a yell as a cloud of dust enveloped their surroundings. "Bloody hell! I can't see a thing!"
Wind suddenly started to swirl around them. Lisa backed up nervously, feeling like her head was about to explode from all the displays of demigod power. To her astonishment, rain started to fall. Clouds of water vapour swirled around her, churning the dust cloud into the eye of a storm. She realised she was standing in the middle of a miniature hurricane.
Or rather, Percy Jackson was. Lisa stared at the son of Poseidon in wonder. Percy's arms were raised, dark clouds and lightning flashing around him as he bent the elements to his will. He swept his arms outward and the hurricane expanded, blowing the dust cloud apart and scattering it into the air.
With the dust gone, the true extent of the damage was revealed. The entire eastern side of the fortress was now a smoking ruin. Towers had been reduced to piles of rubble. Walls were spiderwebbed with cracks, sporting gaping holes like Swiss cheese. It looked like a sand castle ravaged by a toddler.
"We've trashed Othrys." Percy said in astonishment. He pulled Riptide from the base of the wall, staring in wonder at the destruction he and Nico had caused.
Plumes of smoke started to rise from crackling fires scattered about the ruins. Alarm bells were ringing throughout the fortress. The four demigods scanned their surroundings, wary of more threats to come.
Beyond the destroyed eastern wall was the large courtyard where the Legion had been decimated during their previous assault. Rubble and debris were strewn across the cracked stones. Several doors and gates had fallen from their hinges.
"Uh oh." Jane spotted movement from the corner of her eye.
Monsters started to emerge from the remaining structures, hundreds and hundreds of them pouring into the courtyard like a flood. Hundreds more were appearing on the ramparts with javelins and bows.
"Looks like the party's just getting started." Nico said sourly.
The Twelfth Legion breached the outer wall for third time, spilling over the pile of stones and into the fortress. The two sides roared a challenge as they each came into sight of the other, then their voices were drowned out by a high-pitched shriek that made everybody freeze. Nico spotted a blinding light streaking in from the east.
"HIT THE DECK!"
Jordan's missile came screaming into the smoking ruins, heading straight towards the centre of the courtyard. The two armies dropped flat and covered themselves with their shields, but for the monsters it was much too late.
A split-second pause, an earsplitting crack, and the world vanished in a blinding flash. Searing heat blasted out from the courtyard. Monsters were flung from the ramparts and vaporised in midair. The damaged walls crumbled like Lego bricks.
When the explosion faded, Othrys was no more. The great Titan fortress had been reduced to rubble. Monsters lay dead and dying in the thousands. The only thing left standing was a single large tower that had been part of the outer wall.
The Romans picked themselves up, gaping in astonishment at the smoking ruins that used to be Mount Othrys. A cheer began to spread through their ranks.
"Form line!" Frank climbed up the breach, pushing legionnaires out of his path. "Don't just stand there. Get every cohort over the wall and into the fortress. Stop celebrating! It isn't over yet!"
The mass of legionnaires stirred themselves. Legionnaires of the Fifth Cohort that had been first to enter the wall stepped forward and shook themselves into line. Behind it, the Third Cohort moved into the space on its right, while further to the rear the under-strength First and Second Cohorts took up position on the left.
"Fourth Cohort to the left!" Frank directed the next group of legionnaires marching over the breach. "Veteran Cohort to the right flank. Malcolm! Your Greeks will support the flanks."
The son of Athena acknowledged Frank with a wave, then wheeled his pegasus around to direct his troops.
A single javelin sailed through the air, moving so quickly that it was almost impossible to detect. At the last second Frank spotted the movement at the edge of his vision. He spun around, a warning on his lips, but it was too late.
The Javelin struck Malcolm in the small of his back, piercing through his bronze cuirass. The son of Athena went rigid, mouth opening in a silent scream. Frank could only watch as he fell from his pegasus and hit the ground with a sickening thump. His body twitched once and was still.
"Malcolm!" Percy went pale as he saw his friend fall out of the sky.
Frank jerked back around to see a single figure standing atop the mound of rubble that used to be the inner wall, shimmering with golden light.
"YOU FOOLS!" Alaric bellowed. "YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!"
"There he is," Nico muttered.
Alaric flung another javelin into the sky, this one aimed at Reyna. The daughter of Bellona wheeled her pegasus around and sliced it out of the air.
"Surrender!" She yelled at Alaric. "It's over."
"Never!" Alaric yelled back.
A scattering of monsters began to emerge from the ruins, looking dazed and dusty from the massive explosion. At the sight of monsters the Legion roared a challenge as one, the sound echoing across the broken walls.
The Javelin materialised on the Legion's right flank, weapons pointed straight at the son of Kronos.
"Fire!" Jordan barked.
The Javelin's two cannons opened fire. A salvo of Imperial gold ammunition and Greek fire rounds struck the son of Kronos dead-on, churning the ground around him into a maelstrom of flames, bullets and scraps of stone.
"Yes!" Jordan pounded his armrest in fierce satisfaction as he saw Alaric scythed down by the barrage.
"Forward!" Frank ordered.
The Legion gave a great roar as they broke into a fast run, covering the shrinking gap between the two sides at full sprint. The surviving monsters shook off their confusion, howled their challenge and surged forward.
Jordan's eyes widened as a glowing golden figure shot out of the growing cloud of dust created by the Javelin's fire, hurtling toward the Roman line like a ballista bolt.
"What the Artemis?" Lanesra peered at the screen, trying to process this latest development.
"Oh no." Jordan managed to say before the glowing figure ploughed into the Fifth Cohort like a bowling ball, creating a golden explosion that sent the entire cohort flying backwards like bowling pins.
"Light it up!" Lanesra screamed. The Javelin could not fire on Alaric for fear of hitting the Roman legionnaires around him, so Lanesra turned her cannon on the monsters, blowing the first of them to dust with fifty-calibre explosive Imperial gold rounds.
"Get him!" Nico pointed at Alaric with his sword.
The quartet of demigods charged out of the wall's shadow and into battle.
Greek demigods rushed to fill the gap left by the Fifth Cohort's destruction. Alaric's golden glow intensified and the Greeks froze on the spot. Alaric swept his hand at them and an arc of golden energy blasted out, throwing them backwards across the rubble.
Lisa loosed an energy bolt at Alaric. A starburst of silver and gold sparks went up as it struck his golden form, throwing him to the ground. In the second it took him to push off the ground, Nico shadow-travelled directly in front of him, punching his hilt into Alaric's helm so hard that he knocked it off. Alaric lifted into the air with the force of the blow, his eyeballs rattling, but managed to spot the Sword of Hades coming down for his head. He raised his own sword just in time to block the strike.
The impact sent a shock through the air. Alaric was forced to his knees by the powerful blow, but recovered enough of his senses to wrench Nico's blade aside. Nico kneed him in the face. Alaric reeled, then lunged forward and punched Nico in the gut, blowing him off his feet with a burst of golden energy.
Percy Jackson came running in from behind, sword swinging. His sweeping slash left a long cut along the side of Alaric's neck, the weak impact pitching him forward onto his hands and knees.
Alaric put a hand to the blood running down his neck, eyes widening as he stared at it.
"How?" He demanded.
"I soaked my sword in the Little Tiber," Percy told him. "It washes away your Achilles curse."
"Damned Romans," Alaric got to his feet, murder in his eyes. Percy charged him and the two demigods clashed in the shadow of the destroyed outer wall.
Riptide sparked and scraped down the Sword of Kronos until it hit the longer sword's wide hilt. Alaric heaved him backwards, then twisted and backswing to meet Nico's lunging strike. The son of Hades darted aside as Alaric stabbed at his midsection. His answering swipe was parried away, then Percy came running in from the left, hollering wildly, sword raised above his head. Alaric flicked Nico's blade away, turned, raised his sword arm and locked his elbow, the tip of his sword aimed for Percy's throat.
At the last second Percy dropped into a baseball slide, avoiding the sword of Kronos by a hair's breadth. Riptide flashed bronze as he went down, slashing across Alaric's calf. Alaric staggered, eyes wide with alarm, then turned around as Nico leapt at him from behind and brought his sword down with all his strength.
Alaric tried to duck away. His injured leg buckled, destroying his balance. The sword of Kronos came round for the parry as he fell, but Percy's trick had slowed him just enough. The Sword of Hades cleaved down on his arm, severing his wrist clean through. Alaric collapsed onto one knee, staring in horror at the bloody ruin of his hand. The Sword of Kronos clattered to the ground.
Nico punched his hilt into the side of Alaric's head, grabbed Alaric's hair with his free hand and slammed his pommel down onto Alaric's skull. Alaric, eyes watering from the heavy impacts, shoved him away with a glowing hand, blowing him ten metres away into a block of stone.
Percy lunged with his sword, stabbing into the back of Alaric's knee as he rose. Alaric roared and blasted him away with golden energy, but as soon as Percy was knocked back a trio of silver bolts exploded against Alaric's back, sending him sprawling.
Jane made a grabbing motion with her arm and the Sword of Kronos flew into her grasp. She levelled the blade at Alaric.
"It's over."
"That's what you think." Alaric gasped. He grabbed onto a chunk of debris, levering himself to his feet. He stood shakily, blood pouring from his wounds.
Lisa blasted him off his feet with another silver bolt. The four demigods closed him down as he struggled to sit up, breathing heavily.
"You're done." Nico spat a glob of blood onto the ground.
"So…" Alaric rasped. "So are you."
Percy raised his eyebrows. "Doesn't look that way."
"Fool." Alaric gave him a bloody smile. "Look harder."
Lisa drew back her bow, three silver bolts nocked in its rest. "Shut up."
Alaric's smile widened. His form shimmered with golden light.
"No!" Nico lunged with his sword. Lisa loosed her bow.
Alaric vanished in a golden flash. Percy howled in frustration, cleaving the nearest chunk of rubble in half with his sword.
"I can't believe he got away!" Lisa stamped her boot onto the ground.
"That might not matter." Nico inspected the bloodied tip of his sword. "I think your energy bolts hit him right as he teleported. We gave him quite the beating. He might well bleed to death."
"I've learned not to make assumptions," Percy said darkly.
"Can we track him somehow?" Lisa asked.
"You're a hunter." Percy said. "Can't you track him?"
Lisa rolled her eyes. "If he'd walked away, yeah. I'm not a sorceress."
"We need a magical tracker." Nico guessed.
Lisa's face brightened. "Maybe Alabaster can find him!"
"Maybe." Nico looked away so she wouldn't see his smirk. "He's just wonderful, isn't he?"
"Yeah!" Lisa agreed happily, then reddened. "Did I just—"
"Yes, yes you did." Nico grinned.
His moment of triumph was ruined by a half-dozen giants that suddenly realised they were there, charging towards them with clubs and swords.
"Get back!" Percy shouted at Jane, who was the closest to the giants.
Jane didn't respond. Her two blades tightened in her grip.
"Look out!" Lisa screamed.
Time slowed down. The six giants froze, their mouths open in silent yells.
Jane planted her feet and swung, passing the Sword of Kronos through all six giants' throats in a single chopping sweep.
The six giants dissolved into powder. Jane lowered her blades, her eyes glowing molten gold.
"Whoa." Lisa took an involuntary step backwards.
The battle was over. The last monsters had been hunted down by the demigod army. Victorious Greek and Roman heroes swarmed over the fortress ruins, collecting discarded weapons and tending to the wounded. Reyna landed her pegasus at last in the middle of the ruined courtyard next to a work party led by Centurion Larry. She shook her head. "I can't believe we had to destroy this place twice."
"Let's hope it's the last time." Larry grunted. "I don't want to see this place ever again."
"Me neither." Reyna shivered under her armour. "Gives me the chills."
Percy Jackson sat down on a block of stone, munching a half-squashed piece of ambrosia from his pocket. He gave the rest of the pack to Nico, who passed it around after taking a piece. Lisa and Jane were sprawled on their backs, exhausted, staring into the sky.
"My hair's covered in stone dust," Lisa muttered.
"Your whole body is covered in stone dust." Jane told her. "Your jacket isn't silver anymore. It's grey."
"I'm gonna have to send it to Olympus' dry cleaners," Lisa sighed. "That's so troublesome."
A patch of air started to shimmer beside Percy, making him start.
"An Iris-message." Nico straightened.
"Percy!" Grover's panicked face appeared in the mist. "You've got to get over here! He's going to destroy everything! We're all going to die!"
"What?" Percy tried to swallow his chunk of ambrosia and it stuck halfway down his throat. "Who?" he choked. "Where?"
"Where are you?" Nico clarified.
"Camp!" Grover yelped. "Camp Half-Blood!"
"Someone's attacking Camp?" Jane sat up.
"Who?" Nico demanded.
"Atlas."
"Atlas is what?" Annabeth demanded.
Lanesra slammed her fist into the communications console, almost cracking the screen. "That bastard! How did he get free?"
"I forgot to tell you," Alabaster came into the cockpit, wincing at his injuries. "While you guys were distracted by Othrys, Alaric planned to have Atlas attack Camp Half-Blood. It was supposed to be in two weeks' time. I guess they've moved it ahead of schedule."
"Oh now you tell us." Jordan glared at him.
"I'm sorry," Alabaster growled. "I was a little busy trying to pull the sword out of my stomach."
"Okay, that's not important right now." Annabeth massaged her temples, trying to think. "There's nobody at Camp?"
"The satyrs are here," Grover's voice came through the speaker. "A few junior campers. Chiron. None of them would be a match for the General, not to mention the few hundred monsters he brought. Everyone else went to help New Rome."
"We have to get to Camp Half-Blood right now." Annabeth told Jordan.
The son of Athena was already turning the Javelin around. "Put on your seat belts. We'll be there in a few minutes."
"How few?" Annabeth pressed.
"Ten," Jordan answered reluctantly. "Maybe fifteen."
"That's more than enough time for the General to level the place." Annabeth groaned in anguished frustration. "There's nobody who can stop him!" A tear ran down her face at the thought of Camp Half-Blood destroyed.
Jordan shifted in his chair. "There is actually one person still there…"
Couple more chapters to go. Leave a review if you survived the battle! Cheers!
Josh SB