XIII - Westover Hall

Annabeth and Thalia rode in the back of the car both thinking the same thing. How bad they felt for the mother of the complete fuckup sitting in the front.

The boy was an utter waste. While he could fight decently, he was the most arrogant and idiotic person they had never met. To make things worse he was a son of Poseidon who thought he was entitled to everything because he was a child of the big three. And besides that, most of the gods understood he was a possible child of the prophecy even though the boy himself didn't know that. But that meant if he wanted to he could get Annabeth in trouble. Though she doubted that. Lord Poseidon had always been good to her after all, considering who her mother was. She was rather surprised and felt guilty for judging her mother's rival so quickly just because...he was her mother's rival! And not mention the father of the seaturd.

She looked out of the window. She remembered the first time she had been to see the world. It had been for a quest to retrieve Zeus' Master Bolt. Alexander, Alex(the son of Poseidon) and Grover had come along with her. She remembered how horrible, arrogant, and stupid the son of Poseidon had been, he had almost gotten killed by medusa, He had decided to face Echidna and Chimera and with one swipe of its paw the demigod had been sent off the Gatway Arch, they had to practically drag him out of the Lotus Casino and finally he had marched up to Hades and demanding the bolt.

Of course, Hades proceeded to humiliate Alex in ways that shouldn't be described. Needless to say, Alex never ever said a word about Hades after that. She didn't mind though. It had brought down his arrogance slightly.

She didn't even want to think of the time when she had to drag him to help Clarisse retrieve the Golden Fleece. She basically had to do all the work. She didn't understand why it was so hard for him to control water when they were in a yacht...IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.

Eventually though, he had helped out by steering the boat clear of the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. He wasn't THAT bad at times. But she sometimes wondered why she put up with him. In truth it was probably because of his mom Sally Fisher. She was one of the kindest and most amazing people Annabeth had ever met. That was the reason why she had dragged Alex along on this mission because she wanted his mom to drive them to Maine.

She had received a distress call from Grover. Grover had practically begged her to come. Apparently he had hit a road-block on one of his missions. So they immediately packed their bags and now headed over to Westover Hall.

Now as amazing as Sally is. The same could not be said about her son. Alex was a pervert, to say the least. She had caught him multiple times staring at her cleavage and her ass. That combined with his arrogant attitude made him one of her least favourite people. Not to mention the way he eats his food. It's like he's a pig. He wasn't ugly or anything actually to most girls he would be considered a lot better than average on looks. But she just hated how he saw her. He's the type of boy that the Hunters hate. A Pig who only cares about themselves.

Today though Annabeth knew Alex wouldn't try anything for one main reason. Her name was Thalia Grace. The daughter of Zeus would zap his ass into next week if he came too close for comfort.

Thalia was paying more attention to the forests and scanning for monsters. Annabeth was Brought of her thoughts by Thalia's voice. "Oh yeah, this will be fun."

Westover Hall looks like a castle where an evil knight would live, completely black stone, with towers and slit windows. A big set of wooden doors on the edge of a rocky, snowy unwelcoming cliff overlooking a big frosty forest at one side and a gray churning ocean on the other.

Okay girls! We're here!". Sally announced.

Annabeth and Thalia chorused their thank you's. Sally then proceeded to ask her son about whether he had everything with him and whether he had his phone number.

"Demigods don't use phones mom!"

The trio headed to the front entrance of the school, where the security guard had stopped them, asking for their IDs. Of course, a little mist trick from Thalia ensured that nobody questioned their presence in the school. They then pushed the huge wooden double doors and stepped inside.

The place was huge. The insides were decorated with antique war paraphernalia: battle flags, old rifles, and medieval weapons. Alex decided to run over and check out the battle axes on the walls.

Annabeth felt something off about the place and immediately started fiddling with her knife on her belt.

Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favourite magic item. She knew they both were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where-"

The doors slammed shut behind them.

"Oo-kay, " Alex mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile. "

Annabeth could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music. They stashed their overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall.

They hadn't gone very far when Thalia heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them. They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to her. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um... ". Alex realised he hadn't planned for this. He'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, he hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. They hadn't talked at all in the car about how they would get inside. Wasn't this supposed to be Annabeth's job, she was the smart one.

He said, "Ma'am, we're just..."

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made them jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!". He had an almost French accent. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colours, one brown, one blue-like an alley cat's.

Alex figured he was about to toss them into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something that looked very weird to him.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of them, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir, " Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Alex. We're in the eighth grade. "

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. He didn't know what Thalia was thinking. He wanted to slap her. Now they'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... Yes. I believe I do, sir. " She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Alex. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before they could answer, they heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You-"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here. "

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... The punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at them. Thalia decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

They didn't wait to be told twice. They left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music. They could feel the teachers' eyes on their backs, but Alex walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"

"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in his throat. Chiron was their head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown him anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not him? Of course, Chiron knew that he would misuse it a lot, but Alex didn't understand that.

Grover hurried them to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with their dyslexia, they could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Alex gave him a big high five to which Grover reluctantly complied.

Annabeth and Thalia though it was good to see him after so many months. From their perspective he'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human, red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves.

He was wearing a black T-shirt that took them a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. Alex wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So what's the emergency?" Annabeth asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two well maybe three demi-gods actually ."

"Three half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. They were losing campers. They needed all the new fighters they could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"First there is a brother and a sister, " he said. "They're eleven and fifteen. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help. "

"Monsters?" Annabeth asked.

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. Alex felt very upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to him for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of them with fending off monsters in the real world.

He started to hate Thalia. Every time she showed up, his chances with Annabeth dwindled massively. Not that he had any chance in the first place. The sad thing was he truly did like her.

"You said there was maybe another one but you didn't say where." Alex said

Grover looked thoughtful. "Yes I can tell they are older than the other two and they have a surprisingly strong scent, they might even know they're a half blood, oh and they are really powerful but I have not been able to find them."

"Right, " Thalia said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance, " Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh, " Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

Thalia noticed a weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. She guessed it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face.

Thalia sighed. This was exactly the type of dance she hated to go to. "There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo".

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at Thalia, and she nodded. She'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but she knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," Annabeth said.

She started forward, but Thalia put her hand on her shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eyes seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, Annabeth guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who they were. He was just waiting to see why they were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids and keep an eye out for the other one."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy." Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Annabeth smiled.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

Alex scowled in Thalia's direction. He didn't find it 'cool' that Thalia was back. Thalia had stuck to Annabeth's side at every possible opportunity and due to that it was impossible for Alex to get closer to her. He looked at Annabeth, and noticed how especially beautiful she was.

She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason. He licked his lips as he gave her body a once-over and tried to discreetly look at her breasts, which had grown larger than he had last seen. Blame puberty.

The truth was he was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. He'd been hoping to see her more often, alone preferably. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and he was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, He hardly ever saw them.

Yeah, uh, cool," He said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to them. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike Alex, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

He looked at Annabeth with a proud gleam in his eye, then at Grover and Thalia.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Come on babe. A dance!". Alex said. It was surprising to see the amount of difference his conversation with Annabeth was alone as opposed to with Thalia around.

Annabeth however looked disgusted. "I'm not your girlfriend. Never was, never will be."

So they went onto the dance floor, out of the corner of her eye Annabeth noticed a super attractive boy who looked maybe 15 with amazing violet eyes. When he noticed her staring he winked at her and she couldn't help but blush.

Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

He followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. He was about to follow when a mob of girls got in his way. He maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time he was free, Annabeth had disappeared. He turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, he saw something that made him nervous.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then he caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

He still couldn't see Annabeth, but he knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.

He almost ran after her, and then he thought, Wait.

He remembered what Thalia had said to him in the entry hall, looking at him all puzzled when he asked about the finger-snap trick: 'Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?' He thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

He really resented Thalia. Annabeth had said many times that it wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention… Still, he didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time he found his 'friends'. He knew monsters. He could handle this himself.

He took Riptide out of his pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

The door led into a dark hallway. He heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. Like an idiot he uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in his hands until he held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

He jogged down the corridor, but when he got to the other end, no one was there. He opened a door and found himself back in the main entry hall. He completely turned around. He didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at him.

He advanced slowly, lowering the tip of his sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

"My name's Alex," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did he realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of him. She was trying to warn him. Alex couldn't help but notice how attractive she was.

He whirled around and something went WHISH! Pain exploded in his shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked him backward and slammed him to the wall.

He slashed with his sword but there was nothing to hit. A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Alex Fisher." Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled his last name. "I know who you are."

He tried to free his shoulder. His coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike… a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of his shoulder as it passed through his clothes, and the cut burned. He'd felt something like this before. Poison.

He forced himself to concentrate. He would not pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward them. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of his sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

Alex tried to swing his sword again, but he was just out of reach.

WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

Next to him, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

Alex didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he knew he was very fast.

He thought that he could defend himself if he could get his shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of his wrist-watch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. He needed help, and there was only one way he got it. Sadly, his 'friends' were nowhere to be seen.

Alex closed his eyes.

"What are you doing, boy?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"

He opened his eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder," he wailed, sounding miserable. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn in-arched them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. Alex's shoulder ached. The wind blowing through his ripped clothes was so cold that he felt like he would freeze at any moment

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way.'" Nico said. His voice quivered, but Alex was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human.

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. They'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, Alex sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. He could hear the waves churning and he could smell the cold salty froth. But all he could see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge. Alex stumbled, and Bianca caught him.

"Thanks," he murmured, checking her out. Fortunately she was too scared to notice.

"What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I… I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first Alex 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 he realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy to him—a monster using a mobile phone.

Alex glanced behind him, wondering how far the drop was.

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," He said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

He thought that he maybe could get both the di Angelos to jump with him into the ocean. If they survived the fall, he could use the water to protect them. He'd done things like that before. If his dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.

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

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

"Unfortunately," 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," Alex said. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when he said the name of his old enemy—a former friend who'd tried to kill him several times. "You have no idea what is happening, Alex Fisher. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to beating - sorry, meeting you."

"The General? who's the General?" he asked.

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

Alex turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then he heard the chopping 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 shove it up your—"

"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?" Alex asked. Anything to keep him talking while he tried to figure out a plan.

"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 Alex. "He's completely nuts."

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

"Oh, fucking great idea. You're completely fucked up too."

He never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into him.

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and Alex, knocking them to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave Thalia and Grover 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!"

Alex thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. 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 him, but he didn't dare look.

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

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, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into Alex and the di Angelos.

"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!"

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

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Alex remembered his own shield. He hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. He wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

He heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to him with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, Alex thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides 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.

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

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

Thorn launched another volley of spikes on Thalia and Annabeth knew she wouldn't be there in time to save her. Still, she ran as fast as she could. She was way too far to reach and she didn't have that good accuracy when it came to throwing knives. Not from this distance at least.

Alex could have saved her but he stood watching as the spikes neared her. He nearly smiled in glee. Finally, finally the pesky daughter of Zeus would be out of his way.

Grover and Annabeth watched helplessly as the spikes neared their best friend and they knew she was a goner. They looked away. Annabeth almost cried as her best friend was to be impaled with spikes…

A.N: That chapter was a pain. It was mostly a filler and an intro to Alexander. I mean not much is different than the regular story.