❛012❜

"WE WILL NEVER make it," zoë said. "we are moving too slowly. but we cannot leave the ophiotaurus."

"mooo,"the ophiotaurus "bessie" said. he swam next to percy as they jogged along the waterfront. they'd left the shopping-centre pier far behind. they were heading towards the golden gate bridge, but it was a lot further than ivy had realized or remembered from when she used to live here. the sun was already dipping in the west.

"i don't get it," percy said. "why do we have to get there at sunset?"

"the hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," zoë 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."

or annabeth will be dead, ivy thought, but she didn't say that.

"we need a car," thalia said.

ivy looked around, inspecting the cars on the sidewalk. "i know how to pick a car lock."

"i'm not even going to ask how you know how to do that," percy shook his head. "but what about bessie?"

grover stopped in his tracks. "i've got an idea! the ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"well, yeah," the son of poseidon 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 percy," ivy said. "if he's 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."

ivy 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. sessie 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."

ivy 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. she'd seen plenty of evidence of that.

"dad," percy said, his eyes shut as he faced the sea. "help us. get the ophiotaurus and grover safely to camp. protect them at sea."

"a prayer like that needs a sacrifice," thalia said. "something big."

percy got a pensive look for a second, then he took off his coat.

"percy," grover said. "are you sure? that lion skin... that's really helpful. hercules used it!"

as soon as he said that, ivy realized something.

the daughter of aphrodite glanced at zoë, who was watching percy carefully. she realized she did know who zoë's hero had been; the one who'd ruined her life, got her kicked out of her family and never even mentioned how she'd helped him. hercules, a hero admired by all.

"if I'm going to survive," percy shared a look with ivy, both knowing who had wronged zoë. "it won't be because i've got a lion-skin cloak. i'm not hercules."

ivy watched as percy 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.

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," ivy 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. 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 ivy hoped poseidon's protection would extend to little things, like breathing.

"well, that is one problem addressed," zoë said. "but how can we get to my sisters' garden?"

"thalia's right," percy said. "we need a car. but there's nobody to help us here. unless we, uh, take ivy's offer of borrowing."

ivy looked around to try and come up with another solution other than stealing. sure, spending time with travis at camp since she couldn't go out of the premises made her pick up on a thing or two. but it was still bound to get them noticed. suddenly, her hand bag felt heavier than it previously was.

"wait," ivy said. she opened her hand bag, it was empty except for a piece of paper. she knew what it was without reading it. "i think there's someone in san francisco who can help up."

"who?" thalia asked.

the brunette unfolded the piece of paper and held it up. "professor chase. annabeth's dad."

after hearing annabeth gripe about her dad for seven years, ivy was expecting him to have devil horns and fangs. she 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 they all took a step back on the front porch.

"hello," he said in a friendly voice. "are you delivering my aeroplanes?"

ivy, percy, thalia and zoë looked at each other warily.

"um, no, sir," percy said.

"drat," he said. "i need three more sopwith camels."

"right," ivy said, though she had no clue what he was talking about. "we're friends of annabeth."

"annabeth?" he straightened as if he'd just given him an electric shock. "is she all right? has something happened?"

none of them answered, but their faces must've told him that something was very wrong. he took off his cap and goggles. he had sandy-coloured hair like annabeth and intense brown eyes. he was handsome for an older guy, 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.

"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.

"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!"

"okay, dad!"

dr chase turned to them. "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 them blankly.

"frederick," she chided. "you forgot to ask them their names?"

they introduced themselves a little uneasily, but mrs chase seemed really nice. she asked if they were hungry. they admitted they were, and she told them she'd bring them some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.

"dear," dr chase said. "they came about annabeth."

ivy 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 ivy and percy. "nice meeting, percy, ivy. i've heard a lot about you."

upstairs, they walked into dr chase's study and percy from beside her said, "whoa!"

the room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught ivy's 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.

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 aeroplane engine noises as he knocked down little german soldiers.

"oh, right," percy said. ivy knew annabeth's dad was a professor of military history. she'd never mentioned he played with toy soldiers.

zoë came over and studied the battlefield. "the german lines were further from the river."

dr chase stared at the hunter. "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. 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?"

"sir," ivy broke in. "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 they tried. meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. they were running out of time.

when they'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," zoë 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."

"whoa, you have an actual biplane?" percy 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."

dr chase frowned uncomfortably. "now wait a minute, young lady. annabeth is my daughter. dangerous or not, i... i can't just –"

"snacks," mrs chase announced. she pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jam sandwiches and cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey. thalia, ivy and percy inhaled a few cookies while zoë said, "i can drive, sir. i'm not as young as i look. i promise not to destroy your car."

mrs chase knitted 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.

ivy waited for mrs chase to say no. what mortal parent in their right mind would allow three underage teenagers to borrow their car? to her surprise, mrs chase nodded. "then they'd better get going."

"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. the keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."

"right!" dr chase said.

zoë grabbed a sandwich. "thank you both. we should go. now."

they hustled out the door and down the stairs, the chases right behind them.

"ivy," mrs chase called as she was leaving, "tell annabeth... tell her she still has a home here, will you? remind her of that."

the brunette 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, she thought.

"i'll tell her," she promised.

they ran out to the yellow vw convertible parked in the driveway. the sun was going down. ivy figured they had less than an hour to save annabeth.

"can't this thing go any faster?" thalia demanded.

zoë glared at her. "i cannot control traffic."

"you both sound like my mother," percy said. ivy rolled her eyes.

"shut up!" the girls sitting on the front seats said in unison.

zoë weaved in and out of traffic on the golden gate bridge. the sun was sinking on the horizon when they finally got into marin county and exited the highway.

the roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and round the edges of steep ravines. zoë didn't slow down at all.

"why does everything smell like cough drops?" percy asked.

"eucalyptus." ivy pointed to the huge trees all around them. she recognized the smell from sydney's oil therapy.

percy turned to look at his left, where ivy was sitting next to him. "the stuff koala bears eat?"

"and monsters," zoe said. "they love chewing the leaves. especially dragons."

"dragons chew eucalyptus leaves." percy said flatly.

"believe me," zoë said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus, too."

ivy didn't question her, but she did keep her eyes peeled as they drove. ahead of them loomed mount tamalpais. she guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but it looked plenty huge as they were driving towards it.

"so that's the mountain of despair?" percy asked.

"yes," zoë said tightly.

"why do they call it that?"

the hunter 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."

"the general," percy said. clouds seemed to be swirling round its peak, as though the mountain were drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "what's going on up there? a storm?"

zoë didn't answer. ivy got the feeling she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't like it.

"we have to concentrate," ivy said. "the mist is really strong here."

"the magical kind or the natural kind?" percy asked.

"both," thalia answered.

the grey clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and they kept driving straight towards them. they were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.

ivy happened to glance down at the ocean as they passed a scenic curve, and she saw something that made her jump out of her seat.

"look!" but they turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.

"what?" percy asked.

"a big white ship," ivy said. "docked near the beach. it looked like a cruise ship."

thalia's eyes widened. "luke's ship?"

ivy wanted to say she wasn't sure. it might be a coincidence. but she 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," zoë said grimly. "kronos's army."

ivy was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. thalia shouted, "stop the car. now!"

zoë 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 ordered, jumping out the passenger door. ivy was about to open the door in her side when percy grabbed her hand, pulling her with him out the door. they both rolled onto the pavement. the next second: boom!

lightning flashed, and dr chase's volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. ivy created a shield of pink light around them on impulse, they would've been killed by shrapnel otherwise. she heard a sound like metal rain, and when she opened her eyes, they were surrounded by wreckage. one of the vw's doors had impaled itself in the street. the smoking bonnet was spinning in circles. pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.

lastly, ivy realized she was on percy. like, on top of him. he seemed to noticed too, since he stared at her with wide eyes and blushed cheeks. she would've mimicked his reaction, but now that there were hopes of her feelings being returned, the usual ivy seemed to come out.

without moving away, ivy tilted her head to the side and gave him a sultry smile. "you look pretty like this."

percy swallowed, his adam's apple moving up and down. being so close to his face, ivy noticed how the color of his eyes was almost gone with how dilated his pupils were. "uh um gah."

the brunette would've loved to tease him all day, but there were more important manners. she stood up while chuckling, offering her hand to percy. "come on, let's look for the others."

the son of poseidon nodded dumbly.

they found thalia pacing by herself just a few feet away. "one shall perish by a parent's hand," she muttered. "curse him. he would destroy me? me?"

it took ivy a second to realize she was talking about her dad.

"oh, hey," percy interrupted after getting his wits back. "that couldn't have been zeus's lightning bolt. no fucking way."

"whose, then?" thalia demanded.

"i don't know. zoë said kronos's name. maybe he–" ivy tried to reason.

thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "no. that wasn't it."

"wait," percy said. "where's zoë? zoë!"

the three ran round the blasted vw. nothing inside. nothing either direction down the road. ivy looked down the cliff. no sign of her.

"zoë!" percy shouted.

then she was standing right next to ivy, pulling percy by his arm. "silence, fool! do you want to wake ladon?"

"you mean we're here?"

"very close," she said. "follow me."

sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. zoë stepped into one of them, and, when the fog passed, she was no longer there. thalia, percy and ivy looked at each other.

"concentrate on zoë," thalia advised. "we are following her. go straight into the fog and keep that in mind."

"wait, thalia," percy stopped her from stepping into the fog. "about what happened back on the pier... i mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice –"

"i don't want to talk about it," thalia said tightly.

"you wouldn't actually have... you know?"

the daughter of zeus hesitated. "i was just shocked. that's all."

"zeus didn't send that lightning bolt at the car," ivy told her. "it was kronos. he's trying to manipulate you, make you angry at your dad."

she took a deep breath. "guys, i know you're trying to make me feel better. thanks. but come on. we need to go."

thalia stepped into the fog, into the mist. ivy was about to follow her when percy stopped her, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together.

"you have a thing for detours and give half a heart attack everytime so," percy held up their link hands. "security reasons."

ivy scoffed, but didn't complain as they stepped into the mist together.

when the fog cleared, ivy was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. the grass was thicker. the sunset made a blood-red 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 them. and it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like she'd seen in her dream.

if it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place ivy had ever seen. the grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colours they almost glowed in the dark. stepping stones of polished black marble led round either side of a five-storey-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and she didn't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. she means real golden apples. ivy can't describe why they were so appealing, but, as soon as she smelled their fragrance, she knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.

"the apples of immortality," thalia said. "hera's wedding gift from zeus."

ivy wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled round the tree.

the dragon's serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. it had more heads than she could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. it appeared to be asleep. the heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.

then the shadows in front of them began to move. there was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. percy reached for riptide, but zoë stopped his hand. four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like zoë. they all wore white greek chitons. their skin was like caramel. silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. it was strange, but ivy had never realized how beautiful zoë was until she saw her siblings, the hesperides. they looked just like zoë – gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

"sisters," zoë said.

"we do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "we see three demigods and a hunter. all of whom shall soon die."

"you've got it wrong." percy stepped forward. "nobody is going to die."

the girls studied the son of poseidon. 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."

"who said i was a threat?"

the first hesperid glanced behind her, towards the top of the mountain. "they fear thee. they are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee."

she pointed at thalia.

"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," ivy said.

"and artemis," zoë said. "we must approach the mountain."

"you know he will kill thee," the girl said. "you are no match for him."

"artemis must be freed," zoë insisted. "let us pass."

the girl shook her head. "you have no rights here any more. we have only to raise our voices and ladon will wake."

"he will not hurt me," zoë said.

"no? and what about thy so-called friends?"

then zoë did the last thing ivy expected. she shouted, "ladon! wake!"

the dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. the hesperides yelped and scattered. the lead girl said to zoë, "are you mad?"

"you never had any courage, sister," zoë said. "that is thy problem."

the dragon ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. zoë took a step forward, her arms raised.

"zoë, don't," ivy said. "you're not a hesperid any more. he'll kill you."

"ladon is trained to protect the tree," zoë said. "skirt round the edges of the garden. go up the mountain. as long as i am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."

"should," percy said. "not exactly reassuring."

"it is the only way," the hunter 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 her spine, and that was before his breath hit me. the smell was like acid. it made her eyes burn and her skin crawl. .

thalia went left. ivy and percy went right. zoë walked straight towards the monster.

"it's me, my little dragon," zoë said. "zoë 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."

"i used to feed thee by hand," zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped towards the golden tree. "do you still like lamb's meat?"

the dragon's eyes glinted.

the three demigods were about halfway round the garden. ahead, ivy 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.

they had almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. ivy felt the dragon's mood shift. maybe zoë got too close. maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. whatever the reason, he lunged at zoë.

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 their direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath.

percy drew riptide. ivy drew her knife, wanting to help.

"no!" zoë panted. "run!"

the dragon snapped at her side, and zoë cried out. thalia uncovered aegis and the dragon hissed in pain. in his moment of indecision, zoë sprinted past them up the mountain, and they 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.

they ran up the mountain as the hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind them. the music didn't sound so beautiful to her now – more like the soundtrack for a funeral. which was depressing, ivy wanted to listen to highway to hell.

at the top of the 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," ivy whispered in awe.

"yes," zoë said. "it was not here before. this is bad."

"what's mount othrys?" percy asked.

"the mountain fortress of the titans," zoë 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," ivy said. "let me see."

"no! it is nothing. i was saying... in the first war, othrys was blasted to pieces."

"but... how is it here?" percy said.

thalia looked around cautiously as they picked their 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," zoë said. "where he holds –" she froze. her voice was ragged with despair. "where he used to hold up the sky."

they had reached the summit. a few meters ahead of them, grey 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. this is what ivy had seen in her dream. it hadn't been a cavern roof that artemis was forced to hold. it was the roof of the world.

"my lady!" zoë rushed forward, but artemis said, "stop! it is a trap. you must leave now."

her voice was strained. she was drenched in sweat. ivy had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for artemis.

zoë was crying. she ran forward despite artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.

a booming voice spoke behind us: "ah, how touching."

they 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.

ivy met her eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. there was just one message she was sending her, though: run!

"luke," thalia snarled. "let her go."

luke's smile was weak and pale. "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, zoë. 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."

"wait a second," percy said. "you're atlas?"

the general glanced at percy. "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 zoë," ivy said. "i won't let you."

the general sneered. "you have no right to interfere, little hero. this is a family matter."

percy frowned. "a family matter?"

"yes," zoë said bleakly. "atlas is my father."

a speaks!

this chapter is so boring and...for what?
anyway ivy back at it with the flirting

thoughts???