Chapter Fifteen

The Rattling Giant

Piper was so worried about Jason. He was beginning to act so strangely. Maybe it was because he was almost back home and he was slowly starting to get all of his memories back. This was something Piper had been afraid of. What if he thought she really was the enemy? What if he didn't really have feelings for her at all and was more concerned about that girl, Reyna?

The Argo II gave a sudden shudder.

Piper raced out of her room and up to the deck. Everyone was already there and Leo was at the wheel, looking pale.

They had landed in a grassy field, with hills surrounding them. Trees twisted all around that looked forbidden and scary. There was a beautiful lake, where the moon shown in a glowing crescent that made Piper think of the moon goddess, Artemis.

"We're here," said Jason, staring out.

"Legion Camp," said Annabeth. She was dressed in battle armor with her bronze knife at her waist. Her stormy eyes were fierce and ready for a fight.

"It's heavily guarded," said Dakota. "We won't get in so easily."

"Not even the campers?" asked Piper, surprised.

Jason and Dakota nodded.

"Let's go," he said.

They descended the ship and didn't make it three feet before shadows spread out around them. Piper unsheathed Katoptris, but she didn't need because all of the shadows compressed themselves into one and a kid was thrown free. He tumbled toward them and said, "That….was wild."

"Nico!" said Annabeth, helping him to his feet.

"It's about time!" smiled Nico.

"So, your Nico," said Jason, holding out a hand for him to take. "I'm Jason. I saw you in a dream. You had been knocked off a cliff."

"Yeah," said Nico, grimly. "That was Polybotes doing."

"Polybotes?" asked Leo. "Sounds like Polly Bots. Like Polly-wanna-cracker-Bot."

"Not funny," said Piper. "Polybotes is one of the giants. I remember. He was supposed to have been tough. I don't know too much about him though."

"He was crushed by Poseidon, in the old stories" said Annabeth.

"Great," said Dakota, grumbled. "Just what we need. A giant ten miles from Legion Camp. This all your fault. Stupid Greeks! You lead it here."

"Hey," said Piper, trying to sound calm. "We're here to rescue Percy. We can deal with the giant-"

"Now," said a booming voice from behind them.

Piper wanted to faint.

A giant about thirty feet tall was walking toward them. She had thought Enceladus was bad. This giant didn't even compare to him. He was as tall as the tallest tree. From the waist up, he looked humanoid. He had bulging triceps, biceps, and every other cep you could think of. On one of his arms, there was a wave tattoo etched into its skin. His face was brutal and he had a slack mouth. His dirty hair hung down in dreadlocks, twisted with seaweed. From the waist down, his legs were like a dragon. Black scales with sharp and deadly looking talons. Around his waist was a bulky bag, that looked to be stitched together from what appeared to be human skin. He wore Greek battle armor over his chest and large trident was in one hand. It was grand. It looked to be made of a rusted metal.

Immediately, Piper had a flashback to the dream she had when Dakota first arrived at camp. The figure with the trident and the wave that had swallowed her beneath the sea. She began to shake, slightly, and gripped Katoptris.

"Polybotes!" growled Nico, unleashing a sword made of Stygian iron. It was as black as a nightmare and Piper couldn't help but stare at the beauty of the blade.

"Son of Hades," said Polybotes, staring down at the group, with a grin. His jagged teeth shown through his slackened mouth. "Let's see here. What do we have? A daughter of Athena, a daughter of Aphrodite, a son of Hephaestus, daughter of Phoebus Apollo, and a son of Jupiter. Two children of Rome and three Greek demigods. Together and still no bloodshed."

"Looks like we learned to get along!" called Piper. She had no idea where the sudden courage came from. But she knew she needed it. She wished she could charmspeak it into herself.

"For now," grumbled Polybotes. "Our plan wasn't a complete waist. We have tried to derail or sink your ship, the best way we knew how, but you stood triumphant every time. I knew that this would be the perfect place to win in the end. Near the sacred grounds of the Castra Roma."

"You won't get far," said Dakota, pulling out her bow and arrow.

"Oh," said Polybotes, "I won't be stopped. Watch."

He grabbed the human skinned bag and shook it. A rattling sound escaped. Piper thought a million rattlesnakes had been unleashed and were surrounding them. She remembered there was a Cherokee song to charm snakes, but she didn't see any.

"Bone rattler!" cried Nico.

Obviously, that was bad, thought Piper.

"Yes, son of Hades," said Polybotes, with a pointed grin. He tossed the bone rattling bag into the lake and pointed his trident. There was a flash of bright light and the lake exploded. "Meet some of my friends."

Piper stared and couldn't believe her eyes. A dozen humanoid fish monsters rose from the lake. They were bald with gills and scaly gray skin, with algae like acne on their cheeks. Their yellow eyes glowed in the night and they had sucking noises as their gills gasped for air. But being out of water didn't seem to have any effect on them.

"What are those?" said Leo.

"Daemons," said Polybotes.

"Again," said Leo, "what are those?"

"Their sea demons," hissed Annabeth, as they slowly approached. "Supposedly, they were sons of Poseidon, but after they drove Aphrodite out, they went insane and Poseidon confined them to an island in the Sea of Monsters. the Argonauts faced them while sailing through the Sea of Monsters. I don't recall them ever saying what they looked like though."

"That's because their spirits, Annabeth," said Nico. "By rattling the bones of the dead, Polybotes has given them human form! He's opened the Doors of Death! I tried to stop him before the quest. I failed. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Nico," she responded. "It's not your fault."

"Can we get back to the Daemons?" said Leo. "How do we kill 'em?"

"I doubt even your combined power will be enough to defeat all the Daemons and myself," said Polybotes. "Alas, let's find out! ATTACK!"