Chapter 44

We're Caught Stealing

Disclaimer: Like Chapter 24, this chapter is very long. 8k words or so, where most are between 3-6k. That's because scenes meant to go last chapter ended up here due to me not finishing them on time. Just a heads up that even if you read most chapters in one sitting, this one could take longer. Enjoy.

It's hard for your blood to run cold while listening to children laugh. Something about the two just don't mix, like pineapple and pizza. But standing there between Hector and the play structure, I managed it.

"Us?" I didn't mean for it to be such a squeak, but what can you do.

"You," Hector confirmed.

"But we're only three people. That's, like, a couple hundred monsters."

"More," Hector said. "Between the two sides, there's gotta be at least a thousand."

"Not making me feel any better over here."

"Normally it would be impossible. It still might be. But between you and me… maybe there's a little hope."

Hector's hands left his pockets and linked behind his back. He shifted from foot to foot, as if he was one of the kids in the park getting scolded for running.

Finally, he spoke up. "There were… plans I made, back when I was a little more hopeful. I haven't gone over them in a long time, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about them. I don't just know my way to Coeus' palace. I know those mountains better than probably anyone in the city— which tunnels lead to where, how the Arimaspoi patrol versus when the Gryphons go hunting, and, most importantly, the location of their hordes."

"It won't be easy, but if you can get to the gold and steal some of it, they'll chase you to the ends of the earth. All of them will swarm together."

"That doesn't seem like a great plan for staying alive," I pointed out. "More like a way to die quicker."

"Which is why the next step is the most important." He glanced left and right, as if worried somebody was eavesdropping. Then he dropped his voice. "Listen, I know the guards pretty well. Some of them fought with my parents. Others wish that they had. If you can lead the enemies to us, we'll fight. You'll have a lot more than three people then."

I lowered my voice to match his. "And if they get into the city while we're fighting?"

"We won't let that happen." His voice was as firm as granite. "But, if it does, so be it. Better than living in fear for another three thousand years."

Did it sound like a better plan than rushing in there all on our own? By a long shot. Did it still sound off the wall crazy? Hades yes. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "This is still just guessing, right? We don't know for sure that Pagomenos will ask for this. Or that Prometheus would agree even if he did."

Hector looked at me with pity. On the basketball court the ball caught the wrong part of the rim and catapulted over the fence. It bounced a few times and rolled to a stop against Hector's foot.

I expected him to ignore it the same way he'd turned away from everyone's greetings all day. Instead he scooped the ball up and hurled it overhand back to the guy who lost it.

"Technically, we don't," he said. "But you're better off not thinking like that. Burying your head in the sand will only take you in circles."

It sounded like advice a teacher would give a normal kid telling them not to procrastinate writing an essay. Because my life was so screwed up, it was a part-giant telling me how to get through a suicide mission. Not that the lesson was bad— I was just on a self-pity kick. It comes with the territory of getting a crazy deadly task dropped on your head.

Maybe I should've been looking on the bright side. I would be sleeping in a comfy bed that night with real blankets and pillows, instead of a cold stinky cave. I could at least get a nice night's sleep, forget these troubles for a bit, and peel off all that stress.

Not.

It was getting dark by the time Hector and I arrived back at his place. We didn't talk much. There wasn't a lot to say with the heavy conversation hanging over us. Dinner was a little more lively with the others and, after it'd been polished off, we split up to our new rooms, Emmitt and I settling on the guest room's Queen bed while Bianca took the downstairs couch.

Except as soon as I'd fallen asleep, the dreams came.

I was either in non-Hyperborea Alaska, or somewhere equally cold. Squalls of snow spiraled past out a dirt-stained window. I could hear wind howling. It seemed like a one-room cabin. Abandoned, if the thick dust was anything to go by, and old, considering how the beams were creaking in the wind. There was only one figure. Sitting at the center of the room, Nico Di Angelo patched himself up by the light of a flashlight.

"Ouch!"

The son of Hades winced as he dabbed his elbow with a cotton swab. A bottle of antiseptic sat next to him. As I watched, a slight shimmer was all that gave Minos away before he spoke.

"I told you to be careful. These demigods are dangerous, Young Master. Don't be overconfident, Young Master. You heard it all from me. And yet, here we are."

"For Hades' sake, shut up." Nico glowered down at his wounds. "I don't want to hear this from you. They caught me off guard. You they beat to your face."

For a second Minos' face flashed into view, eyes glowing and angry. I thought he was about to start screaming, but he only took a deep breath.

"Taking your anger out on me won't do any good. What will you do if our ally abandons us for your failure?"

"My failure?"

"Fine. Our—" The word took Minos audible effort to get out "—failure. Now, do not dodge the question."

"If he abandons us now he's an idiot," Nico said, but I could hear a little fear in his voice. "All I need is one more chance. They won't get the drop on me again."

"That's what you said last time," Minos pointed out.

"What's your problem today?!" Nico's hand clenched around the bottle beside him, spraying the floor with antiseptic. "I said I'll handle it!"

"Your strategies have failed. You've lost fights and been outsmarted. Face it, your age is showing, Young Master."

"Don't make me replace you," Nico threatened.

"You? Replacing me? Don't make me laugh. If I hadn't taken you under my wing you would be dead. Who was it that helped you shadow travel as you plummeted toward certain death? Who, pray tell, showed you every use of your powers you know?"

Nico glared. "I would have managed myself."

"Hah! Accept it, young one. Without you I am a Judge of the Dead. But without me, you would be nothing."

I noticed that was the first time Minos didn't call Nico Young Master. Slowly, Nico stood. He picked up his sword, but instead of running Minos through he walked to the door.

"The skeletons I sent out to hunt are back," Nico declared. "That's the only thing saving you. When I return, I expect your attitude problem to be fixed."

The door swung on rusty hinges, and Nico disappeared into the snowstorm.

Minos swirled into physical form, sneering. "That brat!"

"Trouble in paradise?"

I didn't blink and I still missed it. One second the couch Nico had sat on was empty, the next someone had taken his place. Reclining, legs crossed, sat the Cloaked Man.

Minos jumped almost as much as I did. "You!"

"Me." The Cloaked man scanned the dingy room. "I must say, our last meeting place had a better view."

Maybe he was still annoyed from arguing with Nico, because Minos outright glared at him. "If you've come to crack jokes, return another night."

"Tut tut, Ghost King. That's no way for a civil servant to act. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were angry."

"Why do you insist on taunting me?" Minos floated around, taking a seat beside the Cloaked Man, crossing his arms and staring at the floor. "I'm in no mood for this today."

"Why not? Plans going awry?"

"You knew." Minos glared from the corner of his eye. "You told me the boy was my old enemy, but you had to know the truth. There's no way it could have escaped you."

"If you'll remember, I said no such thing. You were just so eager to believe that, and I did nothing to contradict you." The Cloaked man reached over and patted the ghost's knee. "Chin up. At least you still have the back-up plan."

Minos smacked the hand away— or tried to, at least. Since he was a ghost, his hand passed straight through. "Don't touch me." He studied his ally. "This… is what you were after the entire time. It must be."

"Let's not go throwing accusations." The Cloaked Man snapped his fingers. From his fingertips, five red lines rose into the air. Each followed a different path, curving and twisting. "There are always different possibilities. A good plan is one which can succeed in multiple ways. The important part is managing all the paths—" each of the red lines converged at a single point "—so that it all comes together in the end. It's about the results, not the methods, my translucent friend."

"We aren't friends," Minos said. Still, I saw a hint of respect and… was that fear in his eyes?

"We're so close now," the Cloaked Man said. "Don't let your hatred of Daedalus cloud your judgment. Revenge can come once you live again. Focus on doing what you must to make that happen… before it's too late."

The Cloaked Man clenched his fist. The crisscrossing red lines crumpled in a bright flash, lighting the room. Minos stared. I gulped. Everything faded.

I was in a very different room. The sun shone through an open door and high windows. The walls were plaster. A wide red rug stretched from the door to the foot of a throne. Set across the back of the room were golden statues and piled treasures that would've made an Arimaspoi's mouth water. The room was decorated with long tables loaded with grapes and juicy cuts of meat— entire legs of lamb, sliced beef, whole chickens. Men and women in togas milled around, chatting and eating and sipping from goblets. Some type of party.

Looking around, everyone seemed to be having a blast except for one guy. And it was the last one you'd expect.

The whole room was set up around a throne. The back was marble, the armrests were gold, and rubies were built right into the frame. The top was trimmed with silver. Selling the thing probably would've gotten you enough to pay off a Manhattan mortgage, with enough left over to purchase some fine art on the side.

But I guess there's something to that saying about buying happiness, because the king — and he just had to be a king — was frowning like somebody peed in his moat.

I wasn't the only one who noticed it. A shaggy-haired man with a handsome face and a full cup of wine in either hand stumbled out of the crowd, hiccuping slightly.

"Where's your smile, Dionysus? What have you *hic* got to be so *hic* gloomy about? Revel a bit!"

The king turned to the drunk. His eyes were brown, and his hair had been at some point but now was streaked with gray. He wasn't a tall guy, but he loomed even while sitting down. I wouldn't want to get onto his bad side. There was something about him, meticulous and rigid, that made it seem like he was shouldering the weight of the sky— and trust me, I'd seen what that could do to even a titan. For a while he just stared, and the strain of his attention was enough to chase away the drunk's hiccups.

"Damocles," the king finally said, "stow your commands for those that would hear them. I will smile when given reason to."

"Don't be like that." Damocles swung his arm, sloshing the wine in one cup. "Look behind you. So much treasure, so much wealth. Why, look behind me! So much food, and so many subjects. All of this is yours. What better reasons could there be to mold lips to a smile?"

People were starting to notice the exchange. Side conversations dimmed. Everyone wanted to watch.

"If I am looking for advice," the king said, "then I will ask for it. My life is mine to live as I wish."

"Of course! I don't mean to imply the contrary, my lord. But if a great man like you does not live merrily, what hope do the rest of us have?"

The king rested his elbow on the side of his throne, propping his head on his fist. "You are jealous of me. You covet my treasures."

Even drunk, Damocles could tell this was getting dangerous. He shook his head vigorously, paling to match the marble walls. "I would never dream of stealing from you, my lord!"

"No," the king disagreed, suddenly standing. The folds of his robes hung off him like a shroud. "It is yours. For one day."

The room was dead silent now.

"Pardon me?" Damocles squeaked.

"You heard me." Dionysus strode around his throne, approaching his treasure piles. "All you adore will be yours. This gold, delicious food, dedicated attendants… yours, for a day. On one condition."

Damocles gulped. "That being…?"

In a roundabout way, Damocles had gotten what he wanted. The king was smiling now. More of a smirk than anything, but still a smile. He bent and pulled two objects from the largest treasure pile.

"You'll see," he said, holding a thin, long hair in one hand and a familiar blade in the other. The sword caught the sunlight, glinting almost as brightly as it had a few nights ago in a cave beneath Denali. The king aimed the point of Hector's sword toward Damocles' and laughed.

I could still hear his chuckles as the dream broke apart.

I jerked up. Emmitt was snoring to my right. Out the window it was clearly nighttime, stars visible past the glass.

The second dream didn't seem too important. I was a little more curious about Hector's sword, but that was it. The first one on the other hand…

I didn't like the sound of any plan that could give someone as cruel as Minos cold feet. Whatever this "back-up plan" was, the Cloaked Man had been convincing the ghost to follow through on it. Considering that same ghost's first plan had been to manipulate my friend's brother into trying to kill us all, and that he'd done it with a smile on his translucent face, I didn't want anything to do with whatever he saw as extreme.

It was a while before I got back to sleep.

I knew as soon as I walked downstairs in the morning and found everyone eating outside that we were in trouble. It wasn't the eating outside part though. It was who we were eating outside for.

Everyone was lining a fold-out picnic table covered in breakfast plates. I could smell the pancakes from the door, warm and buttery. Under normal conditions I would've been all over those. In the moment, I was a little more concerned with who was sitting behind them.

"Good morning," Pagomenos said. "Wonderful weather, isn't it?"

He was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed since he was too big not just for the front door, but for any chair, too. On either side of him were his swans. Both birds looked comfy and happy, full plates of fish in front of them.

He wasn't the only guest, either. Wedged in the seat between Hesperos and Emmitt was Prometheus, the titan happily munching away on eggs.

It wasn't like I had anything against those two, but I still felt my back muscles tense. I made eye contact with Hector and got a nod. For both of them to be here…

"Morning," I said, making my way to the picnic table and snagging a seat.

"Sleep well?" Prometheus asked.

"So-so."

"A shame," he said. "I slept great."

"Why am I not surprised," Bianca said.

I slid a plate close to me and loaded up. Sausage, eggs, and pancakes. Biting in, it all tasted great. I still couldn't relax.

"I guess negotiations went well?" I asked.

Prometheus and Pagomenos shared a look. "What makes you say that?" Prometheus asked.

"Well, you're both here, aren't you? I figure you wouldn't be running around together if you spent yesterday arguing."

"I think you underestimate politicians," Prometheus said.

"But he's not wrong, is he?" Pagomenos said. "We can tell them now, can't we? It is why we made the trip."

At the head of the table, Hesperos laughed. "And here I was thinking you'd come out to visit me."

Pagomenos smiled at him. "That was certainly part, old friend. But there was also more. The two of us have reached an agreement. Struck a deal, if you will, on just what would earn Hyperborea's support. It's quite the task, but—"

"You want us to get rid of the tribes," I said.

Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to cut a ruler off in his own backyard, but I had to know. I still had this little hope that they'd laugh it off and say Oh, of course not. We actually want you to clean the swan lake!

Neither of them did. That hope sputtered.

"Did you guess?" Pagomenos asked, looking slightly puzzled.

"Something like that," I said. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Prometheus took a long sip from his cup, leaning back as if to say to Pagomenos, This was your idea. You explain it.

The Hyperboread took a deep breath, stroked his swans for moral support, and dove in.

"You are correct," he said first.

"So you really want us three to do what hundreds of you can't?" Bianca asked. She was watching Pagomenos carefully, and not exactly happily. Emmitt, meanwhile, looked like he was doing his best not to scream, which meant keeping his mouth stuffed with enough food to stop it from acting out.

"I know it's unreasonable," Pagomenos said. "But I do not do this for me. I do it for my people. Any other conditions would see them wiped out."

"You sound pretty sure," Bianca said.

"Of course I am. You have only to think things through to see how vulnerable those left behind would be. But I don't say this from logic. I have seen it."

He reached behind himself and wrapped his fingers around his massive staff where it was resting against a tree trunk it was the size of. That didn't stop Pagomenos from easily pulling it around with one hand.

As he held his staff in front of himself, the orb on the end fizzled and flashed. Suddenly it wasn't clear glass anymore, but scenes— houses on fire, sparks from firing guns, and cruel, twisted laughter.

Then Pagomenos thumped the bottom of the staff on the ground, and the images stopped.

"Long ago," he said, "when my brothers and I were young, we were blessed. We swore ourselves to a then-young god, and in return he shared with us the power of prophecy. Now that I'm alone it is not so reliable as it once was. But it foretold your coming. And it shows all too clearly what fate would await my people."

I'd wondered how he knew exactly when we were going to show up to meet us. Hector had said something about that, not needing to call ahead because it would already be known.

"I told Percy," Pagomenos continued, "that my brothers moved on. They changed." Hesperos sniffed at the reminder, rubbing a tear from his eye. Even Hector looked away, his eyes going to the safe zone of the swans. "What I did not say was that I considered following. These days, in truth, it's only the threat of those tribes keeps me around."

"Don't say that!" Hesperos stood up, tipping over his plate. "If you disappeared, what would the rest of us do?"

"You would manage." Pagomenos's eyes flickered to Hector, then away. "Already more and more think of me less and less. They live happy lives. I am not so needed as I once was."

"That's interesting and all," Bianca said, "but do we really have any chance at fixing your problem? I don't like the odds of one bow against a thousand guns."

"You could do it if you weren't alone," Hector said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What are you saying, son?" Hesperos asked.

Hector leaned forward, planting his hands on the table. "We only got under the Arimaspoi's skin once, and it was when we stole their treasure. We weren't expecting it and things ended… badly." He couldn't help glancing at his father's crippled foot. "But what if we were ready? What if someone else led both of the tribes out, and we sprung a trap?"

"Here in the valley?" Hesperos asked. "But that's dangerous."

"Isn't it about time we took a risk and tried to actually solve our problems?"

Pagomenos snapped a lone icicle off his hair, rolling it between his fingers. "You would need the cooperation of the guard."

"We would," Hector said. "Is that a problem?"

For a moment, the Hyperboread was silent. "No," he finally said, "it isn't. I'll let them know personally."

"So the plan is on then?" Hector asked.

"It is. Do you wish it wasn't?"

Hector grinned. "Of course not. I'll go with these three. They'll need a guide."

"You sure you're up for that?" Bianca asked. "You wouldn't rather sit around back here?"

The question sounded like a pop quiz, but Hector didn't get offended.

"I'm going," he said.

Bianca leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed. It seemed like he got a passing grade, if a grudging one.

Prometheus, the only one who'd kept eating through the whole conversation, finished off his last bite of eggs. "Well," he said, "I sure am glad things seem to have been settled." He glanced at the food still left on our plates. "I would eat that, if I were you. You'll need all the energy you can get."

Four days. That was the gap between coming up with the plan and putting it into action.

We went over details with Hector, learning how to read his maps and plotting the best spots in the valley for an ambush. Eventually we settled on a place just south of the Heliades trees, close enough to the city without being so close the fighting would spill over into it.

Not that it was all hard work. We found time to relax. It seemed like, if we didn't, we could end up regretting it later.

In the end, four days never felt so short.

The morning we set out the sky was cloudy. The weather wasn't bad, still warm, but just the fact we couldn't see the sun seemed like a bad omen. It was the first time Hyperborea had been anything but perfect.

Pagomenos met us by the path we'd be taking, a different cave than the one we arrived from.

I expected Hector to be with him. Our guide hadn't been around when we woke up, so we figured he'd gone ahead. But Hector was nowhere in sight, the only guy with Pagomenos a sharp-faced attendant in a blue parka.

"Who's this?" I wondered. "And where's Hector?"

"About that…" Pagomenos shook his head. "Hector has decided against going."

"What? But this whole plan was his idea!"

"I know," Pagomenos said sadly, "but he came to see me this morning in quite the state. He was doing his best to hold it together, but the memories… Well, it was too much for him right at the end."

"Really?" Emmitt said. "After all that planning?"

Pagomenos tapped his staff. "Indeed. The memories were too strong."

"What a joke." Bianca stepped foward, gripping the strap of her pack. "Is he hiding somewhere to jump out? Did you decide you wanted him doing something else?"

Pagomenos frowned. "As I said, the task was too much for him. He's decided to stay behind—"

"And I'm saying that's bullshit."

"Uh, Bianca?" Emmitt said. "Maybe we should tune it down a little?"

"That guy is an idiot," she said, "who makes pretty bad decisions. He's kind of stupid. But he was ready to die for strangers when he decided to. He wouldn't change his mind."

It occurred to me all of a sudden that that was she had such a problem with Hector, why she pushed him so hard. It wasn't the bad first impression. It was that she saw him as a person that lost someone close to them just like her. But where she'd kept going, putting herself back out there, he hadn't. He'd closed himself off from everyone, until we jarred him out of it.

Except, apparently, we hadn't.

"Bianca," I said. "Drop it."

She glanced at me. "You don't really believe this, do you?"

"What choice do we have?"

Luckily, she seemed to catch my meaning. It wasn't that we had no choice but to believe them, there wasn't anything we could do about it if we didn't. Pagomenos had to have a reason for lying, and he was the last person we could afford annoy. If the deal fell through now because we pissed him off, the whole mission would go down in flames. That would be kissing our lives goodbye.

Besides, it had been less than a week since we met Hector. Maybe we'd judged him wrong. I didn't think we had, sure, but that didn't make it impossible.

"Well." Pagomenos cleared his throat. "Anyway, this man here has volunteered to take the place of your guide. Everyone, meet Alex. He's one of my most trusted men, he'll serve you well."

"A pleasure," Alex said, inclining his head.

We nodded back, and Pagomenos clapped his hands. "Great then, off with you! And, of course, I wish you luck."

Alex bowed to his boss. The rest of us made sure our backpacks were on tight and got ready leave.

"Wait!"

Hurrying down the path, being half-carried, was Hesperos. Supporting him was a woman I recognized as one of the sentries from when we first arrived, her partner trailing behind next to none other than Prometheus. The sentries looked grimmer than they had then, or at least more serious. Somehow, I doubted they'd be giving out any ice cream party invitations this time.

"Glad I caught you," Hesperos said when they'd gotten close, breathing hard. "Was worried we'd miss you entirely."

"What's brought you this far out?" Pagomenos asked, frowning. "You know it's risky for you to leave town.

"That's why I brought Irene and Eddie."

The female sentry — Irene, I guess — said, "More like we brought you."

Hesperos waved his hand at her. "No time for that! Look what they forgot!"

Hesperos pulled out a sheet of parchment I'd seen a ton of the last few days. It was Hector's map.

"Would've been bad if you left without this," Hesperos said. "Right, Hector?"

He looked around when nobody answered. "Where is Hector?"

"Ah…" Pagomenos repeated what he'd told us. When he was done, Hesperos frowned.

"That can't be right. Just this morning he was telling me his plans before you called for him."

"You know how fickle hearts can be," Pagomenos said. "Just at the last, his mind changed."

I couldn't help it. My hand moved toward my pocket. Something felt wrong. As I slowly went for Aelia Bianca pinched the hem of her glove…

"It's true," Prometheus said. "I was there. It was shocking for all of us, but that's what trauma will do to someone. The brave front he was putting on couldn't hold. A true shame."

Bianca released her glove. My hand stilled, and I sighed.

"It's too bad," I said, "but this is what we practiced for, right?" I held my hand out. "We can read the map ourselves."

Hesperos didn't look happy as he handed me the map, but I got the feeling it had nothing to do with what I said. He was just upset.

"If that's all," our replacement guide said, "could we please get started? I'd prefer not wasting more time."

This time, nobody had any objections.

"Don't die," Prometheus told us.

"Or come back crippled," Hesperos said.

"And kill lots of those bastards," Irene growled.

"Let's hope for option D," I said. "All of the above."

We stepped out of the valley.

It only took thirty minutes to run into our first problem.

I wasn't the greatest with maps, but after most of a week going over this one, I knew it pretty well. Two routes were marked, one in red and one in blue. The red led to the Arimaspoi lair, while the blue went to the Gryphon den. Except at a four-way crossroads, the direction Alex started to take us followed neither.

"Hold up," I said, "I don't think that's the right way."

Alex stopped. With a sigh, he glanced back. He was barely bigger than Hector, but the way he looked at me made me feel small and stupid.

"Which one of us is the guide?" he drawled, which caught me off guard. When Pagomenos was around he seemed politer.

"The map says that's the wrong way," I insisted.

"Yes, well, which would you rather choose: the drawings of an adolescent, or the personal words of Pagomenos' attendant?"

"The drawings," I said.

"Definitely the drawings," Bianca said.

"I think I'm with them," Emmitt said.

Slowly, Alex stepped back toward us. "Well then," he said tightly, "lead on."

So I did. I could feel the burn of his eyes into my back, but I guided us down the red path, angling for the very heart of Arimaspoi territory.

I really hoped I hadn't made a mistake. Getting us lost now, after that, would be extra embarrassing, like turning up to the first day of school in only your undies.

It seemed like the right direction though, by which I mean it was super ominous. The cave from Coeus's territory had been uncomfortable— cold, harsh, stinky. But these caves felt mean. As we sloped down I started catching faint whiffs of gunpowder, real or imagined, and could've sworn the air tasted menacing.

After setting our course none of us had talked, which was why I nearly jumped out of my skin when Emmitt said, "Percy?"

"What?" I said, trying to hide how fast my heart was thumping.

"You're glowing."

"Huh?"

Pulling off my pack, I found something bright and golden shining through the fabric. Zipping it open and shifting aside Andy's kitchenware, I found an item I'd forgotten I'd even brought— the wooden splinter from the baby Kallikatzaroi was sitting in the middle of my stuff, shining as bright as my flashlight.

"What in the world?" I pulled out the bark.

"What is that?" Bianca asked.

"A piece of some roots. A goblin gave it to me after I burned down his house. Long story."

"Interesting," Bianca said, in a way that meant she didn't find it interesting at all. "Why's it doing that?"

"No idea," I said. "Let's just ignore it."

Emmitt shivered. "Easier said than done, man! It's so loud."

"It's talking?" I asked.

"Screaming, more like."

"What's it saying?"

Emmitt glanced around the cave like he was seeing it in a new way. "Just one thing, over and over. 'I'm home!'"

Bianca shivered. "Creepy much?"

"If you three are finished," Alex said tersely from the back, "shall we get moving again?"

"Yeah," I said, "we're finished."

I shoved the wood back in my bag, this time covering it up more. Whatever was wrong with it, we had more important things to worry about.

It was a little difficult to tell, dark and dank as it was, but I was pretty sure the cave was following a U shape. First we went down, angling deeper underground, and then something changed and we were climbing an incline. It wasn't steep, but it went on long enough for my legs to burn.

And then, out of nowhere, I couldn't see a thing.

I thought we'd stepped out right in front of the sun: everything was white, bright, and scorching my retinas. As I blinked the pain from my eyes, my flashlight beam dropped to the floor, and suddenly I could see again.

It wasn't a sun at all, but a pile of treasures. Not just a pile, but a pile, big enough to dwarf an apartment complex. And not just treasure, but special treasures. I recognized the glow it was giving off. Most, if not all of it, was Celestial Bronze and enchanted metal.

"Holy cow," Emmitt said. "I can't even see the top."

"Shhh!" Bianca said, and pulled him down, deeper into the dark we'd arrived from.

"Did ya hear someone?" came a faint voice from somewhere in the cavern ahead of us.

"You're going crazy," another replied. "Just shut up and keep guard."

We exchanged looks. Arimaspoi. We couldn't see them, but the good news was they couldn't see us either. We crept to the end of the cave, more carefully this time.

The treasure cavern was basically an underground auditorium. The space was massive, with a high roof and wicked wide walls. In addition to the huge pile at its center there were littler piles scattered around, like ducklings next to the momma. Our entrance was tucked behind one of those smaller piles, mostly out of sight. Hector's map had come through; this was even better than I'd hoped for.

"This should be impossible." Alex's eyes were wide with disbelief. "This shouldn't— no, it cannot exist."

"Newsflash," Bianca muttered, "it does. Now be quiet! They'll hear you."

The guards hadn't heard him. Yet. They were still chatting to each other somewhere out of our line of sight. Other than their voices, the only noise was metallic pings as drips of moisture dropped from the ceiling onto the assembled metal. It was definitely Arimaspoi treasure— the room smelled almost as strongly of body odor as the group we vaporized on the way to Hyperborea.

"For something like this to be stumbled upon… I must tell Pagomenos!"

Alex's voice got louder as he talked. With the last word the guards stopped talking.

"Yes," Bianca whispered harshly, "you go do that, before you get us killed."

But he had already retreated back the way we came, drawing a beat-up black walkie-talkie from the folds of his parka.

"I think it came from this way."

We didn't have time to worry about him. Bootsteps squelched in mud. Aelia grew longer and heavier, taking the shape of a spear in my hand. Bianca's bow formed, and I crept to the base of the gold as she covered me.

"You're sure you heard someone?"

"Positive. I'm not crazy, dickhead."

High pitched cackles. "I don't know, maybe you gotta be. How would they get in here past Arim and the others?"

"I dunno, man, demigods are crafty and—" The one in front came around the side and froze, staring at me. "right here?!"

Those were his last words. I pounced and drove Anthea straight through him. His partner was stunned for a minute, then tried to whip his pistol around to fire. An arrow sprouted from his chest before he got close. The whole thing was over with barely a sound.

We stayed frozen, waiting, straining our ears for the sound of more enemies rushing in. Nothing. It was like those had been the only two guards, which was strange itself.

Slowly, we stepped out toward the center of the room.

It was clearly used to being way more full. Boot tracks went every which way. But there were no people, one-eyed or otherwise, except for us. It was eerie. Such a huge cavern, and other than the treasure and gnarled roots running along the walls, It was totally empty.

"Where is everyone?" Emmitt wondered.

"The guard said something about a bunch protecting the front," Bianca said.

"But all of them?"

"Let's just call ourselves lucky," I said, although it was freaking me out, too.

It shouldn't be this easy.

"How much do we have to take?" Emmitt asked, eyeing the treasure towering over us. "I don't think all of that is going to fit in my pockets."

"Don't worry," I said. "Hector was certain that they've memorized every single thing that they have. He said last time when they swarmed into the valley, it was all over one item. We don't have to take much."

"Great." Bianca strode to the base and pulled open her pack, starting to shovel in glistening jewelry— bracelets, pendants, rings. When it was half full she looked back at us. "Come on you two. Don't just stand there."

Emmit joined her. I went to a different side of the pile and pocketed a few things, like a celestial bronze fridge magnet shaped like a trident and glowing can opener, but my heart wasn't in it. I kept glancing around. It felt like we were in the palm of a giant hand, safe for the moment but the fingers were coming closer and closer, inching in to crush us in a fist.

Maybe I was paranoid. Or maybe, enough things had tried to kill me that I could sort of sense when something else was about to try to.

"Alright guys," I said after a minute or so, "that should be enough."

"Are you sure?" Bianca was casting longing glances at about a dozen more jeweled accessories still in the pile. "Shouldn't we, y'know, make extra sure they notice?"

"This'll work," I repeated. "Besides, I don't like this. Something feels wrong."

Emmitt was shooting glances too. Unlike Bianca it wasn't at more golden goodies, but around the room. "I'm with Percy. This place gives me the creeps."

"Fine." Reluctantly, Bianca stood and joined us. As a trio we made for the tunnel we'd arrived from.

Only, after just a couple of steps, we froze. There were voices. Lots of them, talking to each other. Worst of all? It wasn't coming from behind us but in front of us. Slowly, we backed into the main cavern.

We traded nervous looks.

"Crap," Bianca said.

"What now?" Emmitt asked. "And what about Alex?"

"It's too late to do anything for him now," I said. "We'll have to find another way out."

Near where the guards we dusted had been posted was one exit. Big, with burning torches built into either side, it was clearly the main entrance. That also meant taking it would land us smack in the middle of that huge group the guards had been talking about. It wasn't an option.

Fanning out, we found a few more little caves branching off, but most smelled stale. Dead ends, or angling off in the opposite direction of the way we needed to go. I studied Hector's map desperately, but couldn't spot an escape route. Even worse, when we gathered back where we started, the voices were coming from more directions, including the main entrance.

"I could try shadow traveling," Bianca said, but she didn't sound confident. She hadn't practiced even once, and trying to take two people along with her on her first troop was almost as dangerous as jumping into the middle Arimaspoi.

"How about that one?" Emmitt asked, pointing to a cave on the far wall.

I stared at it. The walls were lined with thick roots, almost like the tree tentacles had carved it themselves. Compared with the other caves, I could almost smell fresh air emanating from this one. But the strangest thing was that I didn't remember seeing it before. "Was that always there?"

"Caves don't just appear, Percy," Bianca said.

"But look, it isn't even on Hector's map!"

I held the map up, but Bianca just pushed my hands straight back down.

"We don't have time to be looking at maps," she said. "It's either we try this cave or we die. I know which one I'm picking."

She was right. The three of us tore off for the root-ringed cave.

Thank Apollo's golden undies the first Arimaspoi into the room was such a bad shot.

We heard the crack of the rifle too late to dodge. Good news, it missed, thumping into the cave wall with a spray of stone. Bad news, if one could shoot at us, others could too. Desperately, I grabbed Emmitt and Bianca, hauling them to the ground. We pressed ourselves against the treasure pile as more shots whizzed overhead.

Then a voice said, "Stop, stop you fools!"

The gunshots paused. We kept our backs against the treasure, scanning to make sure we weren't being flanked.

"Greetings, demigods," the same voice suddenly said. It was a little scratchy, but confident and loud. "Welcome. My name is Arim."

My heart was still thumping, but I called back, "The leader."

"Yes, the leader. Get that from my subordinates you vaporized, did you?"

I kept quiet, which was kind of an answer itself.

"They died for a good cause," Arim carried on. "Your entry and their sacrifice exposed a flaw in our security, one which has been rectified. That tunnel will be collapsed and never used again— for any more entries, or any escapes. Terribly sorry."

A perfectly timed explosion sounded down that entrance. Definitely not an option.

"You're too late," I bluffed. "You caught us, but there was a fourth. We already sent your treasure ahead with our guide. If you go now, you might still be able to catch him."

There was a second of silence, just long enough to wonder if I'd convinced him. Then, laughter.

"Good try," Arim said, "but that's impossible. You're quite thoroughly done for. Oh, but don't worry, not all of you will be dying. Let's see here, I'm pretty sure it started with a B…" Some sort of paper rustled. "Ah, here it is! Bianca Di Angelo, you are free to leave."

Bianca looked more shocked than Emmitt or me. "What?!"

"Yes, yes, it's all in order. That was one of the terms of the deal you see, and I'm not in the habit of going back on my word when it doesn't benefit me."

"What deal?" I asked.

"You don't need to know. None of you do. So if Bianca could stroll over here and you two could step away from our valuables, my day would run a ton smoother. Thanks in advance."

I realized their fear of hitting Bianca or damaging their treasure were the only two things keeping us from being riddled with bullet holes. That meant, for right now, we could stall.

"I think you should tell us about this deal," I said. "Y'know, as a favor to someone that's going to die anyway."

"I don't think I have to. The first thing the greedy lose is their conscience. Please, let's not drag this out."

Bianca gripped my arm. "Percy, I've never even met this guy! I don't know why he wants me alive, but it isn't because— I would never set you up."

"It's alright," I whispered back. "I believe you."

"Tick-tock, children."

"But…" It seemed like Bianca had gotten an idea. I wasn't sure I liked the manic look in her eye, though. "Maybe we can use this."

Her bow turned back into a glove. Before I could do more than yelp she'd stood and dragged me with her, positioning my spear point under her chin and stepping us out into view.

It was the first real looked I'd gotten at our situation, and it was at least as bad I'd been afraid of. At least a hundred Arimaspoi stood scattered, aiming rifles. In the center of them was Arim. His camo pants were baggy and his shirt was a sleeveless black tank top. A walkie-talkie was clipped onto his belt next to a pistol and spare ammo. His black hair was cropped close, military style, and a cigar hung from his lips. His lone eye, beady and intelligent, watched us with disappointment.

"Kids," he said, "I really thought we could avoid pointless plots like this. It's not too late to do the easy thing and cooperate."

"If even one of you takes a shot," Bianca said, "Percy will kill me. Whether you hit me or not I'll die, and your deal will be destroyed."

Arim took a drag off his cigar, holding it with two fingers. "He doesn't have the balls. He won't do it."

He was right. I wouldn't. But he didn't have to know that. Picturing the Phonoi's deranged student, I fixed my best imitation of Mark's murderous smile on my face. "Who says I won't?"

Something in my face made Arim pause. Enough not to order his men to grab us, at least.

"That's it," I said. "You all stay over there while we…"

With careful, backward steps we started moving for the tunnel behind us. Emmitt bent down like a sprinter, ready to scurry after us. The Arimaspoi shifted side to side anxiously, itching to take the open shot.

"I'll give it to you kids. You're better than I thought." Arim was still smoking his cigar. Out of all of his men, he looked the least concerned. "You've seen some stuff to try a plan like this. You're making the best of a bad situation. I like it. Very professional." He paused to puff out smoke. "Of course, you're still young. Let me give a lesson, as a senior that's been in the business a hundred times longer than you. Sometimes the best plan is to give up. Sometimes, there is no winning."

We were getting close now. Just ten more steps. Emmitt was tensed to take off.

"In our tribe we have this term, a Walking Corpse. It means two things. First, a soldier who's been set up, sent on a suicide mission they can't even recognize. Second, it means anyone that tries to steal from the horde. That's kinda the cardinal sin around these parts. Seeing as you kids are both, you qualify better than just about anybody. I don't have to explain why the term's called a Walkie Corpse, do I?"

A wave of simultaneous clicks punctured the room— a hundred safeties released at once. Five more steps, but we were never going to make it.

Arim dropped his cigar and ground it under his boot. "An Arimaspoi's word only matters until his gold's on the line. Take that lesson with you to the next life."

I released Bianca and spun. Emmitt sprinted out after us. My back felt coated in boiled oil— the terrifying anticipation of finding out what not one, but tens of bullet wounds would feel like all at once.

Except before the rifles could fire, something else did. In the opposite direction.

Little holes opened up in the wall we were making for, punched open by tree roots. From these holes and the cave in front of us shot volley after volley of arrows, vaporizing the entire Arimaspoi front row.

"Run, humans!"

The voice, echoing from the tunnel, spoke with a thick lisp. There was only one creature that lived underground, shot with that sort of accuracy, and couldn't say their "s"s. We raced into the tunnel and the welcoming safety of the Kallikatzaroi war party that had just saved our lives, Arim bellowing irate orders behind us until the tunnel closed itself off in our wake, completing a perfect, impossible getaway.

(-)

The Dionysus mentioned in the dream is not the god, but rather a king named after the god. Confusing, I know, hence the addition of this note.