Chapter 16: We Meet the Dragon of Eternal Bad Breath

"Ladon." Artemis breathed.

"We will never make it," Zoe said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus." "Mooo," Bessie said. He swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. We'd left the shopping center pier far behind. We were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than I'd realized. The sun was already dipping in the west. "I don't get it," I said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?" "The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoe said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night." "What happens if we miss it?" "Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."

"Well it's not a Percy quest without almost running out of time." Annabeth sighed.

"It's not like we get a lot of time to achieve these quests. Especially considering we usually have to get to the other side of America." Percy pointed out.

Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.

"Thanks for not mentioning that." Grover said.

"I figured you and Thalia had enough to worry about." Percy shrugged.

"We need a car," Thalia said. "But what about Bessie?" I asked. Grover stopped in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?" "Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here." "So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus." "But he was following me" I said. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?" "Moo," Bessie said forlornly. "I… I can show him," Grover said. "I'll go with him."

"That's very brave of you." Annabeth told him.

"Someone had to go and I was the least powerful of everyone." Grover said. "Plus I was the only one who could talk to the Ophiotaurus."

"Yeah. It would be kind of hard to direct without being able to talk to it." Will said.

"Well, it could understand us. We just couldn't understand in return." Percy pointed out.

"Still difficult." Nico stated.

I stared at him. Grover was no fan of the water. He'd almost drowned last summer in the Sea of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves. "I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense." He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound. "The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."

Zeus glared at his brother. He did not want such power in his brother's domain. Poseidon caught the look and rolled his eyes.

I didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to Long Island from California. Then again, monsters didn't travel the same way as humans. I'd seen plenty evidence of that. I tried to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide. "Dad," I said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."

"I'm sure I will." Poseidon smiled.

"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big." I thought for a second. Then I took off my coat. "Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin… that's really helpful.

"Yeah. It's already saved your life at least twice." Apollo said.

"True but it had done its job. Plus we had nothing else to give as a sacrifice." Percy shrugged.

Hercules used it!" As soon as he said that, I realized something. I glanced at Zoe, who was watching me carefully. I realized I did know who Zoe's hero had been—the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even mentioned how she'd helped him: Hercules, a hero I'd admired all my life.

"Definitely don't anymore." Percy muttered. Jason frowned. He'd always thought it was cool that Hercules was his half-brother but now that didn't sound like such a good thing.

"If I'm going to survive," I said, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules." I threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.

"So what happened to it?" Percy wondered.

"It would simply dissolve and not exist anymore until the next hero kills the Nemean Lion." Poseidon told his son. "There is power in sacrifice so the item is essentially 'used up' when given in sacrifice." He tried to explain it in terms the mortals could understand. Percy nodded. It sort of made sense.

The sea breeze picked up. Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose." He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck. "Be careful," I told them. "We will," Grover said. "Okay, um… Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way." "Moooo?" Bessie said. "Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And… it's long.

"Great description, Grover." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"We got there in the end." Grover grinned sheepishly.

Oh, let's just start." "Mooo!" Bessie lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breathe underwater! Just thought I'd mention—" Glub! Under they went, and I hoped my father's protection would extend to little things, like breathing.

Poseidon chuckled.

"It would." Triton stated, looking amused. "Father wouldn't exactly be protecting them if he let your friend drown."

"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoe said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?" "Thalia's right," I said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, uh, borrowed one." I didn't like that option. I mean, sure this was a life-or-death situation, but still, it was stealing, and it was bound to get us noticed.

"Not necessarily. Depends where you stole from." Piper said.

"You know this from experience?" Connor asked excitedly. Piper blushed.

"No. Of course not." She said, sounding very unconvincing. Connor and Travis exchanged gleeful looks that Piper did not like at all.

"Wait," Thalia said. She started rifling through her backpack. "There is somebody in San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere." "Who?" I asked. Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad."

"I can't believe you went to my dad." Annabeth muttered.

"We needed help." Thalia shrugged.

"I can't believe you were so close." Jason sighed, looking at his sister. They had been in the same city for hours.

"Me either." Thalia murmured. She gave Jason a sideways hug.

After hearing Annabeth gripe about her dad for two years, I was expecting him to have devil horns and fangs.

"Really, Percy?" Annabeth giggled.

"Hey, you weren't exactly flattering when you spoke about him." Percy shrugged. Annabeth nodded, admitting this was true.

I was not expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all took a step back on the front porch.

A few people chuckled while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Does he wear that a lot?" Beckendorf asked.

"Yeah." She sighed.

"Hello," he said in a friendly voice, "Are you delivering my airplanes?" Thalia, Zoe, and I looked at each other warily. "Um, no, sir," I said. "Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels." "Right," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We're friends of Annabeth." "Annabeth?" He straightened as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"

Annabeth smiled slightly. She knew her dad did care but it was nice to know he did actually show it sometimes. Even if he didn't actually show it to her.

None of us answered, but our faces must've told him that something was very wrong. He took off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Annabeth and intense brown eyes. He was handsome, I guess, for an older guy,

Annabeth gave Percy a weird look while Apollo grinned.

but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher than the other side.

"Of course it was." Annabeth rolled her eyes again while most people laughed quietly.

"Your dad sounds pretty cool." Leo grinned.

"Because he can't dress himself properly?" She asked in exasperation.

"Yeah." Leo nodded.

"You'd better come in," he said. It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of home—the kind of place that had been lived in forever.

"Yeah. Ella works pretty fast." Annabeth nodded.

"It was a nice house." Thalia smiled.

"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!" "Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots." "I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!" "Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Are they like that a lot?" Percy asked.

"Yep."

"Does your dad often get their names wrong?"

"Yep." Annabeth sighed.

"Okay, Dad!" Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way." "Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun. "Who are our guests?" she asked. "Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is…" He stared at us blankly. "Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"

A few people laughed.

We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.

"Those were some good cookies." Percy said. "Not as good as blue ones but definitely good."

"They were awesome." Thalia agreed.

"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth." I half expected Mrs. Chase to turn into a raving lunatic at the mention of her stepdaughter, but she just pursed her lips and looked concerned. "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled at me. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I've heard a lot about you."

Annabeth and Percy both went red.

"She did not need to say that." Annabeth complained.

"So you talk a lot about Percy but not about me? I'm hurt." Thalia pouted.

"I hadn't really seen them since you came back. We were at school." Annabeth pointed out.

"Excuses, excuses." Thalia sniffed.

Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study and I said, "Whoa!" The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught my attention were the war toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.

"That sounds pretty cool." Clarisse said grudgingly.

"It was definitely...interesting." Percy said warily.

Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for." He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.

"Oh gods." Annabeth groaned.

"Oh, right," I said. I knew Annabeth's dad was a professor of military history. She'd never mentioned he played with toy soldiers. Zoe came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river." Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?" "I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other.

"Oh yes, because an immortal war is so pretty." Thalia said sarcastically, not having been able to do so then.

And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste." Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You—" "She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need—" "You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"

"You're running out of time." Apollo grumbled.

"Yes, you need to hurry this up." Athena agreed. Any other time she would have enjoyed hearing about one of the mortals who would catch her attention in the future. He certainly sounded interesting, if a little absent minded. But right now, she just wanted to hear about them finding her daughter safe and well.

"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger." That got his attention. He set the biplane down. "Of course," he said. "Tell me everything." It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were running out of time.

"I'm not sure he needed to know everything. The cliff notes version would have done." Hermes said.

When we'd finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry." "Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoe said. "And we need it immediately." "I'll drive you. Hmm. it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."

"That would have been pretty cool." Percy said.

"No it would not." Thalia firmly disagreed.

"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" I said. "Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—" "Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous.".

"Definitely. Mount Othrys is not a place for a mortal." Athena agreed.

Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I… I can't just—"

Annabeth smiled, recalling what her dad had done instead of coming with Percy, Thalia and Zoe.

"I agree with Leo. Your dad is pretty cool." Piper smiled slightly.

"Yeah. He is." Annabeth agreed.

"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey.

"The best kind." Percy said.

"Now I want cookies." Leo complained.

"Me too." Frank agreed.

"We will take a short break after this chapter and you can get some snacks." Chiron said, rolling his eyes.

Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies while Zoe said, "I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car." Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?" "Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but… apparently it's no place for mortals." It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.

"Well, it can't be easy for him to hear his daughter is in danger and he can't do anything about it." Apollo said fairly, glancing over at Will.

"I can definitely vouch for the fact that it is awful." Poseidon stated grimly. "It is the worst feeling, being unable to help." He looked at his son sitting beside him.

I waited for Mrs. Chase to say no. I mean, what mortal parent would allow three underage teenagers to borrow their car? To my surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow in surprise. Her dad she could sort of understand. She did know he loved her even if he didn't show it well. Her stepmom however, that was weird.

"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys…" His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat.

"She's not wrong." Annabeth confirmed. Athena frowned.

The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door." "Right!" Dr. Chase said. Zoe grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now" We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us. "Percy," Mrs. Chase called as I was leaving, "tell Annabeth… Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that." I took one last look at the messy living room, Annabeth's half-brothers spilling LEGOs and arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. Not a bad place, I thought.

Percy and Annabeth smiled at each other.

"Glad you went back?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I'll tell her," I promised. We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. I figured we had less than an hour to save Annabeth. "Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded. Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control traffic." "You both sound like my mother," I said. "Shut up!" they said in unison. Zoe weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway. The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoe didn't slow down at all. "Why does everything smell like cough drops?" I asked. "Eucalyptus." Zoe pointed to the huge trees all around us. "The stuff koala bears eat?"

"I'm impressed you actually knew that much." Thalia laughed.

"I have no idea how I knew that." Percy grinned.

"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons." "Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?" "Believe me," Zoe said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too." I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of us loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but it looked plenty huge as we were driving toward it. "So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I asked. "Yes," Zoe said tightly. "Why do they call it that?" She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."

"He deserved worse." Zeus grumbled.

"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?" Zoe didn't answer. I got the feeling she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't like it. "We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here." "The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.

"Both." Artemis said.

"Both." The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog. I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, and I saw something that made me jump out of my seat. "Look!" But we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills. "What?" Thalia asked. "A big white ship," I said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."

"Luke's ship is already there?" Hermes asked weakly. "That's not good."

"That means there is likely to be a lot of monsters around." Apollo bit his lip in concern.

Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?" I wanted to say I wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But I knew better. The Princess Andromeda, Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship all the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East Coast to California. "We will have company, then," Zoe said grimly. "Kronos's army." I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!" Zoe must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff. "Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The next second: BOOOM! Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade.

Everyone looked towards Zeus. Hera in delight, everyone else in disgust or horror. Zeus himself was frozen. He could not believe that his future self would harm Thalia. He had already sent those statues to save her. He had turned her into a tree to prevent her from dying. Why on Olympus would he suddenly change his mind? Unless that stunt with the Ophiotaurus had shaken his belief in Thalia. Maybe he decided that she couldn't be trusted. Right now, he knew she could but in the future...Who knew. He cringed. He did not want to think he had tried to kill Thalia.

"You would kill your daughter?" Hermes asked in confusion.

"That makes no sense. If father wanted Thalia dead he wouldn't have sent the statues to save them earlier. No. This is a trick to turn Thalia against father." Apollo said slowly.

"Also, if he wanted to kill them he would have done it before now." Athena added.

"Well that's comforting." Percy muttered.

I probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over me.

Poseidon made a choking sound.

"Thank you." He said to Thalia.

"No problem." She grinned. "I owed Percy."

"You still owe me one." Percy told her with a smirk.

"I do not."

"Yeah. You owed me two."

"I think saving your life covers both of those."

"No. You asked me to speak to an upset Zoe. That's risking my life." Percy told her.

I heard a sound like metal ram, and when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road. I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia. "You saved my life." "One shall perish by a parent's hand" she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?" It took me a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."

Zeus looked at his nephew in surprise. After the amount of times he had tried to kill the boy, he defended him to his daughter?

"Well, Percy would know. He has experience in that department." Connor joked. Poseidon and Apollo both glared at him.

"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded. "I don't know. Zoe said Kronos's name. Maybe he—" Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it." "Wait," I said. "Where's Zoe? Zoe!" We both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction down the road. I looked down the cliff. No sign of her.

Artemis stiffened. Had that been Atlas' lightning bolt. She had assumed the prophecy meant killed by his hand literally...in combat. Maybe this was it?

"Zoe!" I shouted. Then she was standing right next to me, pulling me by my arm. "Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?"

The Goddess let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, being quiet would be good." Clarisse nodded.

"They knew we were coming." Percy shrugged.

"No need to let them know you had arrived though." Apollo pointed out.

"You mean we're here?" "Very close," she said. "Follow me." Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoe stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and I looked at each other. "Concentrate on Zoe," Thalia advised. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind." "Wait, Thalia. About what happened back on the pier… I mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice—" "I don't want to talk about it." "You wouldn't actually have… you know?" She hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all." "Zeus didn't send that lightning bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate you, make you angry at your dad."

"You really pick interesting moments to have these conversations." Annabeth told him.

"I didn't want her facing Atlas, and Luke, being angry at Zeus." Percy said. "Otherwise, I thought Luke might be able to convince her."

"You thought I would give in?" Thalia looked angry.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you weren't exactly convincing with the Ophiotaurus." Percy pointed out. "With the lightning bolt as well and Luke being your old friend, I just wanted to make sure." She nodded. It made sense.

She took a deep breath. "Percy, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Thanks. But come on. We need to go." She stepped into the fog, into the Mist, and I followed. When the fog cleared, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like I'd seen in my dream. If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and I don't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. I mean real golden apples.

"It was a beautiful place." Thalia agreed.

I can't describe why they were so appealing, but as soon as I smelled their fragrance, I knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted. "The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus." I wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree.

"That wouldn't be a good idea. Dragon or no." Poseidon told his son.

"Yeah." Percy sighed. "I guess they were enchanted." The sea God nodded.

Now, I don't know what you think of when I say dragon.

Leo sighed sadly. He missed Festus. While it was going to be cool having him as the figurehead of the Argo II, it wasn't the same.

Whatever it is, it's not scary enough. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than I could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep.

"He won't be for long." Artemis warned.

The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed. Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. I reached for Riptide, but Zoe stopped my hand. Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoe. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. It was strange, but I'd never realized how beautiful Zoe was until I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

"Yep." Apollo nodded.

"Definitely dangerous." Hermes agreed. "You do not want to annoy those girls."

"What did you do?" Ares asked eagerly.

"Nothing." Hermes said, a little too quickly.

"Sisters," Zoe said. "We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die." "You've got it wrong." I stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die." The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black. "Perseus Jackson," one of them said. "Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat."

"You clearly haven't seen him angry." Thalia muttered.

"Or just seen him fight." Annabeth added.

"Who said I was a threat?" The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee. They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee."

"It's been pretty tempting sometimes but I wouldn't do that." Thalia laughed.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to." Percy told her.

"Of course I…"

"Enough. Dakota, keep reading or we'll be here all day." Annabeth cut across Thalia's reply. He quickly obliged.

She pointed at Thalia.

"To be honest she could have meant Zoe as well." Jason said.

"True." Percy nodded.

"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. He's my friend." "There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back." "Not without Annabeth," Thalia said. "And Artemis," Zoe said. "We must approach the mountain."

"Somehow I don't think they are going to let you pass." Katie sighed.

"That would be too easy." Will agreed.

"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him." "Artemis must be freed," Zoe insisted. "Let us pass." The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake." "He will not hurt me," Zoe said.

Thalia and Percy exchanged sad smiles. Ladon might not have killed Zoe but he had certainly hurt her enough for Atlas to do so.

"No? And what about thy so-called friends?" Then Zoe did the last thing I expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"

"Why would you wake a dragon up?" Reyna asked.

"To get the Hesperides to leave. They were too afraid of Ladon." Percy said grimly.

The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoe, "Are you mad?"

"I think so." Gwen muttered. Who deliberately woke a dragon up?

"You never had any courage, sister," Zoe said. "That is thy problem." The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoe took a step forward, her arms raised. "Zoe, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you." "Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoe said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."

"You forget you have Percy in the group." Annabeth said warily. "His luck usually means the monster wants to eat him anyway."

"No my luck acted up later." Percy said. Poseidon and Apollo both groaned and resigned themselves to another heart attack inducing chapter.

"Should," I said. "Not exactly reassuring."

"No but it's the best plan you guys have." Clarisse pointed out.

"It's actually quite a Percy style plan." Travis noted.

"It is the only way," she said. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him." Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down my back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my eyes burn, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. I remembered the time a rat had died inside our apartment wall in New York in the middle of the summer. This stench was like that, except a hundred times stronger, and mixed with the smell of chewed eucalyptus. I promised myself right then that I would never ask a school nurse for another cough drop.

"That sounds awful." Piper wrinkled her nose.

"It was truly disgusting." Thalia agreed.

"Better or worse than Nereus?" Leo asked curiously. Percy considered.

"Hmm, they were both gross. Ladon was probably worse though."

I wanted to draw my sword. But then I remembered my dream of Zoe and Hercules, and how Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. I decided to trust Zoe's judgment.

"Good idea." Apollo nodded.

Thalia went left. I went right. Zoe walked straight toward the monster. "It's me, my little dragon," Zoe said. "Zoe has come back." Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."

"She is braver than any of you." Artemis hissed angrily.

"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoe continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?" The dragon's eyes glinted. Thalia and I were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world. We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's mood shift.

"He probably realised Zoe is no longer a Hesperid." Artemis said sadly. "He was confused because he recognized her voice at first but now he knows her only as an enemy."

"Poor Zoe." Piper said. It sounded like Zoe had really loved that dragon and now he considered her an enemy. Her dislike for Heracles grew, as did her sympathy for Zoe Nightshade.

Maybe Zoe got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged at Zoe. Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath. I drew Riptide to help.

"That won't help. It'll just get you killed." Poseidon said in concern.

"It's ok. I listened to Zoe." Percy assured his dad.

"No!" Zoe panted. "Run!" The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoe cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoe sprinted past us up the mountain, and we followed. The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but I guess he was well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off even by the tasty prospect of eating some heroes.

"Good." Beckendorf said. "You really don't need a dragon on top of Kronos' army."

"And Atlas himself." Nico added.

We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind us. The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now—more like the sound track for a funeral.

Percy, Thalia, Artemis and Annabeth all grimaced sadly. Artemis briefly considered that this was another prophetic thought from the son of Poseidon but got distracted by the thought that Zoe would die soon.

At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted. "The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe. "Yes," Zoe said. "It was not here before. This is bad." "What's Mount Othrys?" I asked, feeling like a fool as usual. "The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoe said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was—" She winced and held her side. "You're hurt," I said. "Let me see."

"That's not good. Is the dragon poisonous?" Will asked.

"Yes." Apollo answered his son gravely.

"No! It is nothing. I was saying… in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces." "But… how is it here?" Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good." "Why?" "This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe said. "Where he holds—" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."

"How are you planning on getting him back under the sky? I doubt he will go willingly." Clarisse wondered.

"You'll have to wait and see." Percy grinned.

"In other words, you didn't have a plan at all?" Connor asked.

"Pretty much." Thalia nodded.

We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains.

Apollo ground his teeth in both anger and concern. Zeus was also frowning in worry at the state of his daughter.

This is what I had seen in my dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world. "My lady!" Zoe rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

"That's not going to happen." Grover said.

"I know." Artemis sighed.

Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.

Percy glanced at Apollo who was practically vibrating with rage. He tentatively put his hand on the God's arm and squeezed it. Apollo was always so good at making him feel better he wanted to return the favour but he wasn't sure how. Percy was relieved when the God gave him a small smile.

Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains. A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching." We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth stood at Luke's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to her throat.

Athena hissed out several angry curses while Hermes sunk down in his seat once more.

"At least there doesn't seem to be that many monsters around." Connor pointed out.

"They could be hiding." Clarisse suggested.

"I was trying to look on the bright side." Connor told her.

"And I'm being realistic." She shot back.

I met her eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she was sending me, though: RUN.

"You should know that was never going to happen." Percy told her.

"I just didn't want you or Thalia getting hurt." Annabeth sighed.

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go." Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again." Thalia spat at him. The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you." "Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."

Poseidon suddenly looked at Percy who was grimacing. He bit back a groan and once again reminded himself that his son was somehow still alive.

"Wait a second," I said. "You're Atlas?"

"You hadn't realised that?" Athena asked scornfully.

"I had other stuff on my mind." Percy grumbled.

The General glanced at me. "So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl." "You're not going to hurt Zoe" I said. "I won't let you."

Artemis smiled sadly. She appreciated the boy's willingness to protect her Lieutenant but you could not stop prophecy.

The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter." I frowned. "A family matter?" "Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

"Who cares. I don't judge people on who their parents are." Percy shrugged.

"Chapter's done." Dakota said.

"Ok, let's have a quick break." Chiron stated. Everyone jumped out of their seats and headed to the dining hall. Percy hung back and grabbed Apollo.

"You ok?" He asked. The sun God heaved out a huge sigh.

"Yeah. I just hate hearing Arty in danger and being able to do nothing." He admitted. "She should have taken me with her and let me help."

"Who knows. You might have been captured too. Then who would have helped us get the train?" Percy asked. "Maybe you were where you needed to be to help Artemis. You helped us."

"Maybe." Apollo agreed slowly. Percy did have a point. It didn't feel like anything close to enough but at least he had done something. "Thanks." He smiled at the demigod. He wondered when he should talk to Percy about his feelings. Naturally he wanted to do it as soon as possible but he simply wasn't sure enough about Percy's feelings. Apollo wasn't one to be shy but he did not want to screw this up. He could wait until it was the perfect time. Which wasn't now. That conversation would require a much longer break. Still, he reached out and pulled Percy into a hug. "Maybe Thalia is right. You do have some kind of superpower."

"Oh shut up." Percy laughed against his chest and Apollo didn't want to let him go. Unfortunately he had to. He pulled away.

"Come on. Let's go and get some food before we run out of time. I fancy cookies now too." Apollo mused. Percy nodded and they headed off to the dining hall.

Artemis watched her brother and the son of Poseidon from a distance. She had suspected something for a while and she was concerned for her brother. His record with mortals was not good and she did not want either of them getting hurt. She was surprised to find, she was actually a little concerned for Percy too. He was definitely her favourite male demigod, which wasn't difficult, and she respected him. The son of Poseidon had done a lot for her Hunters. She resolved to speak with Apollo when they finished for the night.

Everyone was back in the throne room only twenty minutes after they stopped reading. It was at the part of the book that everyone just wanted to get out of the way. They knew there was another death coming and Zeus was rather concerned. He knew that he didn't kill Thalia because she was here, but it bothered him she thought he would. They had already spoken about this but that didn't mean he had to like reading about it.

"I think it's Dionysus' turn to read." Poseidon stated. The wine God grumbled but picked the book up and began reading in a bored tone.