𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter thirty-eight. ☄︎. *. ⋆

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LOOKING BACK ON IT, Annabeth's move was brilliant.

     Thorn herded us outside into the blizzard. I kept trying to get a glance over my shoulder at what kind of monster he was, but he would shoot a black blade past my cheek that forced me to look forward again. Whatever he was, he was fast. Faster than me—I doubted I could draw an arrow from my quiver, nock it in my bow, turn around, and shoot him before he slashed me in the heart with one of his daggers. Percy couldn't even draw his sword. We were trapped.

     He took us down a snowy path in the woods that was dimly lit by old-fashioned lanterns. It was freezing. The wind whipped at us so harshly that my fingers were turning blue.

     We reached a clearing past the woods—it was the edge of a cliff. I could hear waves churning at the bottom, but that had to have been over a hundred-foot drop. Thorn told us to stop. Percy glanced over his shoulder. I could tell he was debating jumping. Unfortunately, Thorn caught the same idea.

     He laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself. And while we're at it," he added, turning to me, "why don't you summon the sun, Daughter of Apollo? Hm? You two could save yourselves, leave the children to me—"

     "I'd rather shoot you," I admitted.

      "What did he call you?" Bianca murmured to me.

     "Long story," I said. "Tell you later."

     "You guys have a plan, right?"

     I glanced to Percy. His eyes were closed. With a shock, I remembered his empathy link with Grover—gods, I could only pray his messages went through to our satyr friend, because I couldn't see any way for us to get out of this without help. Curse Percy for not waiting for backup.

My eyes flickered to the cliff. Water at the bottom... if Percy could—

     "I would kill you before you even reached the water," Thorn said, almost thoughtfully. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

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

     "Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

     "Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

     "Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

     I felt a surge of anger. The di Angelos weren't brats. They were innocent demigods. My fingertips tingled, but I couldn't tell if it was numbness from the cold or my father offering a last-minute miracle.

     "Luke," Percy said. His lips were turning a faint shade of blue. "You work for Luke."

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

"The General?" Percy asked. Then I realized he'd said it with a French accent. "I mean... who's the General?"

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

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! And if you chose not to, well... there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."

"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly, glancing at Percy. He gave me a nod. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."

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

So, yeah. Remember when I told you Annabeth's move was brilliant? Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos, Percy, and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She sprints like there's no tomorrow and cries out a battle call like no other. She's like a little punk warrior in an AC/DC shirt. She uses this huge spear that expands from a collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it. Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me. I risked a glance in the sky—it was closing in. We didn't have much time.

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

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth exclaimed, now visible. Her Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into us.

"Who are you people?" Bianca demanded. Like me, her entire left side was covered in snow from Annabeth's rescue strategy. Unlike me, she wasn't shivering. She looked at Dr. Thorn fearfully. "What is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

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

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. I drew an arrow, but a deep part of me knew it was hopeless—Thorn was too strong. And not to mention the backup he had flying in, just a few moments until they landed... I swallowed, sure we were goners, but charged either way.

     Honestly, I could have gotten him with one shot, but Percy just had to call my name. Later, he told me he was trying to warn me of the poison-dart-blade that was flying my way, but all he did at the time was distract me. The black dagger caught me in the side.

     I staggered back, instant pain exploding from where the dagger had hit. I heard Thalia and Annabeth shouting my name, but all I could see was black spots clouding my vision. I stumbled into a tree. A soft pair of hands caught me, lying me down against the tree, trailing their fingers gently over the injury. I recognized a whisper from over my shoulder.

     I realized who had caught me when I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

     The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

     "No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

     His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

     "Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. I heard a faint shattering noise; the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two.

     Then the archers came out of the woods. My vision was woozy and uneven, but I could recognize my aunt's warriors from miles away. (And no, not my mortal aunt, Carrie.) They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

     I'm partially sure I blacked out, because one moment, Zoë Nightshade was standing to my left, and the next, the hunters were shooting an entire fleet of arrows at the manticore. Annabeth was hanging onto his back, her knife lodged in his spine.

I could only watch in paralyzed fear as the monster leapt from the cliffside and into the sea, hundreds of feet below, with my best friend clinging onto his back.