When Percy came to, he was still under the sea. "Percy?" A deep voice spoke, bringing him out of his trance-like state with little success.

Still disoriented, Percy managed to force his eyes open. "Who?"

"It's your brother," came a dry response.

Instantly, Percy turned to face his friend. "Valen! You're awake..!"

Valen nodded. "Looks like your dad's army came through. Took us to his palace. I have to say, he is one of the most humble gods I've met."

"Wait what?" He looked around himself. He was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light.

"How long..?"

"Nine hours." Valen said, continuing on. "The ship is down Percy, we did it."

Percy cracked into a grin, with any luck this would delay Kronos' army.

A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.

"What was that?" he asked.

Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters."

Percy glanced at Valen, who shrugged in response, "Don't look at me, I'm as clueless as you are."

The palace might have been the most amazing place they had ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. They swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As they rose over the rooftops Percy caught my breath—that is if you could catch your breath underwater.

The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.

The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, and his teeth were shark teeth.

Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and antisiege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that they knew all too well– Greek fire. A flame capable of burning underwater.

Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. They could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see, or even survive under the sheer water pressure and low temperatures here.

Fortunately for the child of Hades, his eyes were accustomed to the dark and the film of regenerating oxygen over his body provided him with some immunities.

At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper, surrounded by swarms of mermen, trying to drive it back.

The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water.

"Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.

"He did that?" Percy suddenly felt more hopeful. His father was an elder god, he could deal with the attack.

"Have you been in the fight?" Percy asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

Tyson pouted, and he immediately knew he'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."

The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture.

Percy was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three.

Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.

"Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."

"Lord Posiedon." Valen inclined his head downwards as they approached the old man.

Percy looked in dismay, "Dad?"

Poseidon looked up and smiled, "Hello Percy, Valen."

"What—what happened to you?"

Tyson nudged him in warning, shaking his head vigorously as if he had committed heresy of the highest order.

"It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."

"But you're immortal," Percy said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want."

"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you—I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear—"

The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."

Valen stared at her receding back neutrally, "Pardon my french, but, rude."

Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."

"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"

"Not necessarily," Valen said, noticing Percy's embarrassment, "He's needed on the surface."

Triton shrugged, "It is what it is I guess." He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail."

Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.

"I'm sorry about that," he said.

"Least they're not as bad as Hera is." Valen said under his breath.

Even under the sea, they could hear the sky rumbling. Poseidon cleared his throat again,"My family is anxious. The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."

He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent.

"Oceanus," Percy said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"

"Isn't that Pontus?" Valen asked, he remembered Pontus being the first sea deity.

Poseidon shook his head, "Pontus is a primordial, not a titan. Oceanus, he was neutral in the first war. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."

"But you have more worshippers." Valen pointed out.

"And a far cooler weapon, I mean who fights with a snake?" Percy said, trying to sound upbeat.

"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.

Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."

An explosion went off in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. They could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs.

"Briares!" Percy said.

"Who?" Valen turned to him, he hadn't been there when they had freed Braires so he was clueless about the hecatoncheires.

"He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one."

They watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.

"Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

So the two demigods went into an in depth summary of their mission on the Princess Andromeda.

"We didn't kill him, did we?" Percy said.

Valen snorted, "If it was that easy to kill the titan lord, the gods would have done it already."

Poseidon nodded, "Your friend is correct, Kronos lives still. But you've bought us some time."

Percy nodded, his eyes glossed over in memory of the dead demigods, "We killed the demigods too."

Valen shrugged, "They chose their side."

"They could have been saved." Percy retorted.

"They could have, but we don't have that luxury right now, we're at war Percy. War is ugly, people will die. Heck, I might die, but we need to keep fighting, because if we don't, who will?"

"Percy," Poseidon said, "Their deaths were not in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."

"The bigger threat?" Percy asked, remembering the dream he had.

A shadow passed over Poseidon's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."

"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"

"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere."

"Your father is right Percy, this is not your fight. There's enough firepower here to hold an army off, but Camp Half-Blood doesn't, not without the two of us." Valen placed a hand over his shoulder.

"Return to camp," Poseidon said. "And tell Chiron it is time."

"For what?"

"You must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy."

Percy didn't need to be told which one, after all there was only one that mattered now, the "Great Prophecy" about a child of the big three.

"What if this is the decision?" he said. "Staying here to fight, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ."

"Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice."

Tyson gripped his hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!"

"Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory." Poseidon seemed to have aged another decade in that moment.

Tyson pouted some more. "I will go," he sniffled, hugging Percy as hard as he could without breaking his bones. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"

"You should let him fight," Percy said. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?"

Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."

"You should trust him," he insisted. "Not try to protect him."

Poseidon's eyes flared and Percy felt like he had pushed him too far. Cut then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the titan of the seas was coming closer to the palace.

"Oceanus approaches," he said. "I must meet him in battle."

"I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"

Percy nodded and pulled out his camp necklace. It had four beads and a sand dollar, each bead representing a year hed survived since he went to the camp.

"The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration."

Then the entire sea grew dark in front of them, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. And a wave of fear rolled through the armies below them.

"I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go—and good luck, my son."

"Good-bye, Father," was all he could say as he turned away and willed the ocean currents to aid him. Water swirled around them, and they shot to the surface at speeds that would've snapped a normal humans neck.

They walked out of the ocean and into the north shore of Long Island, word of their arrival spreading like wildfire.

Connor Stoll almost fell out of his tree when he saw them, and managed to blow the conch horn before walking over to them.

"Hey, Percy, Valen. How'd it go?"

Valen cracked a small grin, "We blew them up to high heaven."

"Yeah!" He jumped, happy at their small victory.

Together they climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward them, smiling and excited.

They stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them to come, a look of triumph on their faces.

Chiron galloped into the pavilion first, "Thank the gods! The mission was a success I hope?"

"You can say that again." Valen said, "The titan army has been dealt a heavy blow."

Annabeth walked up to them moments later. "What happened?" She grabbed Percy's arm, "Is Luke–"

"The ship blew up," Percy said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where he is right now, but he is definitely still alive."

Chiron put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"

For the second time that day, the two explained their mission, Percy including the part about his dream this time, but chose to ignore the part about Nico.

Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."

"Poseidon mentioned another threat," Percy said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."

Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something, "We will discuss that also."

"One more thing." Percy said, taking a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy."

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of it. Let's go to the attic."

"Just to let you know, I'm coming with."

Chiron sighed, "Yes, it would be best if you do."

.

.

.

The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. The rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils. When the four of them entered the room, it looked more like a shouting match than a war council.

Clarisse La Rue was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in the battle for Camp Half-Blood. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude.

"It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!"

Valen's face melted into a deadpan stare as he watched them bicker. "Enough!" He yelled, the room darkening for a moment. "We're at the brink of a goddamned war, and this is what you're doing? Bickering and arguing like children? You are the leaders of your cabins, act like it."

Clarisse scoffed, "Who invited you here?"

Valen turned to her, "Same guy who made you in charge of the Ares cabin."

She narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if you don't calm your arse I'm gonna make sure that you never walk the same again. So take a seat, and talk like civilized beings."

Clarisse glowered at him. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk, and then maybe I'll consider."

"Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.

"What are you talking about?" Percy demanded.

Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."

"It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully.

"What issue?" he asked.

Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?"

Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters—"

"Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and fight when you need us, and not complain!"

"That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered.

Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D—"

"As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."

"I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are any of you going to side with me?"

"You won't find many willing to support you. We do not have time to entertain these petty squabbles right now," Valen snapped. "What is this legendary item that's soo important to Clarisse?"

"A flying chariot." Annabeth said, "They captured it in a raid in Philadelphia last week. Some of Luke's demigods were there with that flying chariot. The Apollo cabin seized it during the battle, but the Ares cabin led the raid. So they've been fighting about who gets it ever since."

"That-that's it?" Valen deadpanned at her. "All this over a fucking chariot?"

"Language Mr. Steensen." Chiron warned.

Without another word, he stormed out, but not before giving Chiron an apologetic nod.

Percy sighed, "Well that went great."

Valen returned within five minutes, a chariot floating in behind him, "This the thing you were fighting about?"

Michael Yew stared at him, mouth agape, but nodded nonetheless, "Y-yes"

"Alright," Valen said, turning to the chariot as it began creaking. The flying chariot had more metal than most chariots, allowing Valen to tear it apart with his control over all metals. The wood that remained, burnt to a crisp, victim to the black flames from the depths of the underworld. "Now can we get to what's actually important?"

"It doesn't matter," Clarisse said, "Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. All of you can fight this war without Ares. Have fun dying."

With a flick of his fingers, Clarisse's own shadow rose up to bind her. "The only one whos going to be dying here is you," Valen said, walking over to her, "If you don't pull your head out of your ass that is."

"Valen!" Chiron yelled, appalled at his behavior, "Let her go."

Clicking his tongue in displeasure, he released her and watched as she stormed out. "You should've let me beat some sense into her."

"We will not resort to barbaric methods. I shall talk to her, and try to convince her otherwise."

"If it doesn't work, do I have free reign to try my way?" Valen asked, knowing she wouldn't listen to words.

Chiron said, "Very well, but try not to harm her."

"I make no promises."

"Now," Chiron cleared his throat, "if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy—the Great Prophecy."

Annabeth handed him the parchment, and he fumbled with the string for a moment before carefully uncurling it.

"A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ."

"Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs."

"Oh, right," Percy said, somewhat embarrassed by his dyslexia,

"A half~blood of the eldest gods . . .

Shall reach sixteen against all odds . . ."

Here, he hesitated, the next lines seemed to weigh on him heavier than any other,

"And see the world in endless sleep,

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

Percy paused, pondering what those lines could mean. After a while, Chiron interfered. "Percy," he urged. "Read the rest."

"A single choice shall. . . shall end his days.

Olympus to per—pursue—"

"Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."

"I know what it means," I grumbled. "Olympus to preserve or raze."

The room was silent. Finally Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?"

"Raze as in destroy, raze to the ground." Valen corrected.

"Got it." Percy said, sounding forced. "Thanks."

Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders—"

"Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" he said. "Yeah, I get it."

Valen remained silent, there was nothing he could say here. The cursed blade could very well refer to Thanatos' scythe.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die."

"Sure," he said. "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"

"Maybe we can stop it," Charles Beckendorf offered. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"

"Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said after a while. "He needs time—"

"No." Percy folded up the prophecy and shoved it into his pocket. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"

"Percy, I swear to you, I will find a loophole in this prophecy like I did with Zoe. If it comes to it, I will find a way to keep you alive, you have my word."

Percy nodded at him, somewhat reassured by his words. "Thanks."

"Let's move on," he said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy."

Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?"

As Percy began telling them what Kronos had said, Valen switched his vision. He could see exactly how evil or saintly a person was by watching their soul, maybe he could find the spy like that.

Most in the room were normal, Percy's soul was as it had always been, if not a bit dimmer. Annabeths was a stormy grey. Connor's was brown, Charles's was a mixture of red and orange like a flame. It was only when his eyes fell upon Silena Beauregard did he find a flicker of suspicion.

As most children of Aphrodite, her soul was hot pink, only it was flickering between bright and dull, and if he concentrated enough, he could smell the scent of rusted metal and salt. Guilt.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he decided to confront her later. The guilt she had making him reconsider exposing her at the moment. Not to mention, his speculation wasn't foolproof either.

"Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke—like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well."

Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody."

"Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings."

"Now, let's not point fingers here. That will only sow discord among us, exactly what Kronos wants." Valen said, trying to calm them down.

"He's right," Pollux said. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too."

Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."

"No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way."

Percy scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?"

"Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your . . . mortal friends."

"Tell me what's happened," he said.

Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where they usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat."

The mist shimmered and the familiar image of a smoldering volcano came up—Mount St. Helens. As they watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "—even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done."

The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. The giant was bigger than anything they'd ever encountered. Even for the demigods it was hard to make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing.

"It's him," I said. "Typhon."

"Not good." Valen muttered.

Chiron nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."

Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. Valen saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path—ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.

"Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. Inside the storm he could see the giant—just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. he saw flashes of light, and realized the giant was trying to swat them. Squinting he saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird—a monstrous owl—dived in to attack the giant.

"Are those . . . the gods?" Percy said.

"Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward—toward New York. Toward Olympus."

"How long until he gets here?" Percy asked after a while.

"Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."

"But then who's guarding Olympus?"

Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."

"Agreed, if the gods cant stop him, we might as well have already reached the Underworld."

"It's a trick," Percy said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen."

Chiron looked at him gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not."

"We have to defend Olympus," he insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned."

"He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship."

"It won't be long before he returns though, we've only bought a few days, a week if we're lucky. Percy has a point, if Typhon is distracting the gods, it leaves Olympus open for Kronos to waltz in and destroy their thrones." Valen mused, "With only us as the defence, Kronos would have an easy time getting through."

"Hey, we're not that weak. Give us some credit." Michael Yew retorted.

Valen turned his gaze to him, sending a shiver down his spine, "And Kronos is a titan, it takes one divine form to incinerate us all. We can fight, hold him off for long enough for the gods to arrive, but I don't expect us to win, or even survive."

"Well you're a ray of sunshine." He grumbled.

"I'm a child of Hades, sunshine is the farthest thing from me." He deadpanned.

The gods were m the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on their own with a spy in their midst.

"Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night."

He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared

"That's an understatement," Percy muttered.

And the war council adjourned