ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter eighteen

━━ "WE WILL NEVER make it," Zoë said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."

The serpent bull mooed, keeping in line with Percy as they jogged along the waterfront. They had left the shopping center far behind them, heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge. However, it was a lot farther than Elisa had anticipated; the sun was already starting to dip 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 explained. "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."

And if they didn't succeed, Bianca would've died for nothing, Elisa thought.

She couldn't let that happen.

"We need a car," Thalia said.

"But what about Bessie?" Percy asked.

Grover stopped dead in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"Well, yeah," Percy 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," Gover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

"But he was following me," the son of Poseidon pointed out. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"

Bessie mooed forlornly in the water.

"I ... I can show him," Gover said slowly. "I'll go with him."

"Grover," Elisa started. As far as she was aware, trying to swim with goat hooves wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. "Are you sure?"

"I'm the only one who can talk to him," the satyr said. "It makes sense."

He bent down and said something in the Ophiotaurus'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."

Elisa didn't see how it was possible to swim from San Francisco to Long Island in such a short amount of time, but if Poseidon was in a good mood, maybe it would've been possible.

"Dad," said the son of Poseidon. "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."

It was silent as everybody thought of something to offer to the God of the Sea. Elisa slowly touched the lion skin coat around her shoulders. She quickly unclasped it, tossing it to Percy.

"Offer that," she said. "It's rightly yours anyway."

"Elisa," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin ... that's really helpful! Hercules used it!"

Elisa glanced at Zoë from the corner of her eye. Zoë's face was passive, but her eyes told a story. Zoë had never outright said the name but Elisa had figured it out. By a stroke of luck by overanalyzing Zoë's words.

It seems Percy had caught on, too. He gripped the lion-skin coat tightly, his knuckles turning white. "If we're going to survive," he said, looking between Elisa and Zoë, "it won't because of this lion-skin cloak. None of us are Hercules."

He threw the coat into the bay. It turned golden and started flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, the seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water. The sea breeze picked up, carried by salty wind.

Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."

He jumped into the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.

"Be careful," Elisa said.

"We will," Grover promised. "Okay, um ... Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way." He took one arm off Bessie's next to point in the opposite direction of the setting sun.

Bessie mooed.

"Yes," Grover responded. "Long Island. It's this island. And ... it's long. Oh, let's just start."

Bessie mooed once last time and lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breathe underwater! Just thought I'd mention—"

Glub!

Under they went. Elisa watched, trying to not let her mind jump to the worst conclusions that could happen. She tried to think that Poseidon would take into consideration that Grover couldn't breathe underwater, that the god knew Grover and Bessie had to get back to camp and wouldn't let them get hurt along the way.

"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sister's garden?"

Elisa took a deep breath, turning her back to the bay. "We need a car; Thalia's right. But we don't know anyone here that would let us use one. And ... well, I don't think Zoë will let us—er—borrow one."

Zoë bristled. "No, I won't."

"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?" Percy asked.

Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad."

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Elisa didn't know what to expect from a man who had caught the attention of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Maybe she expected him to be wearing a full-on suit and tie in the comfort of his own home. Maybe with a briefcase filled to the brim of crumpled papers. Maybe with some glasses that made his eyes bulge.

She only got the bulging eye part right. Professor Chase had on an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. She leaned away from him, trying to not show her shock. It seemed no one was expecting it as they all took one step back on the front porch.

"Hello," Professor Chase said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"

The four on the front porch shared a weary look.

"Um, no, sir," Percy spoke first.

"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels.

"Right," Percy said, sounding confused. "We're friends of Annabeth."

"Annabeth?" Professor Chase repeated, his back straightening as if Percy had given him electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"

Their silence was all the father needed. He took off his cap and goggles. He had dark skin, black hair cropped close to his head, and intense brown eyes so dark they looked black. 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 better come in," he said, ushering them inside the home.

The house was cozy, cozier than any home Elisa had. 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, but happy kind of home.

A heavy feeling settled on Elisa's chest, realizing just how much she had missed out on with the mother and childhood she had.

"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, correcting his mistake, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Dr. Chase turned to the quest members. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."

"Honey?" a woman called. A pretty woman appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her black hair was highlighted with red, tied to the back of her head in a perfect bun. Elisa assumed she must've been Annabeth's stepmother.

"Who are our guests?" she asked. She eyed them and their dirty clothes. Elisa figured none of them looked too great after traveling cross-country in a matter of days, chased by monsters the whole way.

"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is ..." He stared at them blankly.

"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"

With some unease, they introduced themselves, but Mrs. Chase did seem nice enough. She asked if they were hungry, and told them that she would bring them some cookies, sandwiches, and sodas when they admitted that they were.

"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."

She pursed her lips, looking concerned. "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food." She looked over to Percy, smiling at him. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I've heard a lot about you."

Upstairs, Elisa walked into Professor Chase's study after Percy, who gasped loudly.

She wasn't nearly as impressed as Percy seemed. The room was wall-to-wall with books, but there was a large table in the middle of the room filled with war figurines; miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue-painted river, with hills and fake trees as decorations to set the scene properly. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceilings, titled at crazy angles like they were in the heat of battle.

Dr. Chase smiled at Percy, catching on to how fascinated the boy was. "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."

Whatever any of that meant. But Elisa could see how he caught the eye of Athena. Her eyes widened as the professor plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down miniature German soldiers.

"Oh, right," Percy said, glancing at Elisa; the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards but were trying to keep her face impassive.

Zoë came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river," she corrected.

Dr. Chase stared at her, the airplane in his hand lying limply by his side. "How do you know that?"

"I was there," the Hunter said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way moral men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."

Dr. Chase's mouth dropped open in shock. "You—?"

"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia spoke up. "But that's now why we're here. We need—"

"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase asked. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"

"Sir," Elisa snapped. "We don't have time to waste here. And—you know—your daughter's in danger."

That got his attention. He set down the biplane. "Of course," he sighed. "Tell me everything."

It wasn't easy, but they tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. They were running out of time—and quickly.

After the story was told to the best of their abilities ( albeit, leaving out some details to spare the man's sanity ), the father collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands together. "My poor, brave Annabeth. We must hurry."

"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," said Zoë. "And we need it immediately."

"I'll drive you," Dr. Chase offered. "Hm, it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."

"Whoa," Percy said, "you have an actual biplane?"

"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. Let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"

"Sir," Elisa said with gritted teeth. "A simple car will do."

Thalia sent Elisa a look. "And it would be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."

Dr. Chase shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Now, wait a minute, young ladies. 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-jelly sandwiches, Cokes, and cookies fresh out of the oven, with the chocolate chips still gooey. Thalia and Percy inhaled some cookies as Elisa took small bites, her stomach feeling as if it was doing jumping jacks she was so nervous.

Zoë promised the father, "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?" she asked.

"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but ... apparently, it's no place for mortals."

Elisa waited for Mrs. Chase to say no. Let's be honest, what mortal parent would just let some teenagers take their car? Especially some teenagers talking about going to a place that's going to be dangerous.

But, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then, they'd better get going."

"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped to his feet and started patting his pockets. "My keys ..." he mumbled.

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!"

Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now."

They hustled out the door and down the stairs, Annabeth's parents right behind them.

"Percy," Mrs. Chase called as Elisa jumped off the last step, "tell Annabeth ... Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."

Elisa glanced at Percy, who was looking around the home one last time. He seemed conflicted with pinched eyebrows and brewing sea-green eyes. Finally, he nodded.

"I'll tell her," he promised.

Elisa took one last look around the messy but loving-looking home; Annabeth's half-brothers spilling LEGOs across the ground and bickering, and the smell of cookies filling the air. It was the opposite of what Elisa had; a small, unfamiliar apartment filled with the stench of alcohol and puke.

The girl knew nothing of Annabeth's home life, but if the home was anything to judge by, it didn't seem bad. But some people are great at hiding what they are truly like.

She turned on her heels, the last of the four to run out of the house. Zoë was pulling open the driver's door to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. Thalia was sitting down in the passenger seat. Percy was pulling open the back door, sliding over so Elisa could sit beside him.

As Elisa slammed the door shut behind her, she caught a glimpse of the setting sun, which was almost completely set.

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Zoë weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. Elisa held her stomach, watching the sunset. She sat back, leaning her head on the headrest behind her.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.

Zoë glared at her harshly for a moment, before gluing her eyes back on the road. "I cannot control traffic," she said.

"You both sound like my mother," Percy said.

"Shut up!" both yelled in unison.

Percy noticed how Elisa's hand clung to her side, her knuckles turning white she was holding on so tight.

"You okay?" he asked.

Elisa gave a feeble nod. "I guess. I can't tell if I'm just nervous or motion sick."

Percy tried to smile. "Zoë's driving is that bad," he said.

Zoë took the time to glare at him with the rearview mirror.

Elisa tried to smile back. "I've always gotten car sick," she explained.

The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forest and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. But never once did Zoë slow down. Elisa kept her eyes glued to the back of Thalia's head, closing them every once in a while.

"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" Percy asked suddenly.

Elisa hadn't noticed the smell, too busy trying to not puke up the small bites of cookies she had, but the smell of mint had filled the air.

"Eucalyptus." Zoë nodded to the huge trees all around them.

"The stuff koala bears eat?" he asked.

"And monsters," added Zoë. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."

"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"

"You've never heard of 'dragon breath?'" Elisa asked.

Zoë nodded. "Dragon breath is just as bad as it is portrayed as. If you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus, too."

Elisa made the risk of watching Mount Tamalpais loom closer. Growing up in Colorado, she knew just how gigantic mountains could be, but Mount Tam didn't hold a candle to any of those in her home state. Nonetheless, it looked plenty huge.

Percy asked another question: "So that's the Mountain of Despair?"

It seemed he was the type to talk a lot when he was nervous.

"Yes," Zoë said tightly.

"Why do they call it that?"

And he seemed like the type to not connect clues very well, either.

"Because despairing shit happens there," Elisa snapped. "Why else would it be called Mountain of Despair?"

Percy glared at Elisa. "Can I not ask?"

Elisa made a face at him.

Zoë was silent for almost a mile after that. Then she said, "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 around Mount Tam's peak, as though the mountain was drawing the clouds in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?"

But Zoë didn't answer this time, not even after another mile. However, Elisa got the feeling that Zoë knew exactly what was happening up there. And if Elisa was thinking of the right Titan, she was pretty sure she knew, as well.

"We have to concentrate," Thalia spoke up. "The Mist is strong up here."

"The magical kind or the natural kind?"

"Both."

The grey clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, but they kept heading straight for them. They were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs, grass, rocks, and heavy fog.

Elisa jumped at Percy's hand that appeared in front of her face. He was pointing out the window and down to the sea below. The yellow car was passing by a curve, giving Elisa a perfect view of a pearly white cruise ship.

"Look!" he said quickly. But they passed through the curve before Thalia or Zoë could look.

"What?" the daughter of Zeus asked.

"A big white ship," Elisa answered. "Like a cruise ship. It was docked near the beach."

Thalia's eyes widened. "Luke's ship?" she asked.

Elisa shrugged, looking to Percy. The son of Poseidon nodded. "Or—I think so."

"What is Luke's ship?" Elisa asked.

Percy looked behind him, like he was trying to get one last glimpse of the ship. "Luke, that guy Grover and I was telling you about, has this cruise ship that holds a bunch of monsters that are on Kronos's side."

"I'm gonna take a guess and say all monsters are on Kronos's side," Elisa muttered.

Percy gave a small shrug. "Maybe," he admitted. "But the ship's called Princess Andromeda. It ... last summer, Annabeth, Grover, and me—" He stopped, looking between Zoë and Thalia, looking to the road in front of them. "I'll tell you everything later," he promised.

Elisa stayed silent, swallowing the bile in her throat. She leaned back in her seat, wondering just how much had happened for Percy to say that.

"Then," Zoë said grimly, "we will have company. Kronos's army."

Suddenly, the hairs on Elisa's arms stood up on end. Thalia's eyes widened, shouting, "Stop the car. Now!"

Zoë must have sensed something was wrong too, 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 barked.

Elisa didn't need to be told twice, she ripped the seatbelt off, opened the car door, and rolled out. She rolled across the pavement, as a loud boom echoed around.

Lightning flashed brightly, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a yellow grenade. Elisa put her arms over her head, ducking down. Not that would've protected her. What protected her most was Thalia's shield, which appeared over her and Percy.

Elisa watched with a rapidly beating heart as wreckage fell around them. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself on the asphalt. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of canary-yellow metal were strewn across the road.

Percy looked up to Thalia, saying, "You saved our lives."

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," she muttered quietly. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"

It took Elisa a second to realize Thalia was talking about her father, Zeus. She knew Zeus was a cruel and merciless god, more likely to save his ego than the human race, but it didn't seem likely it was him. Zeus had listened to Thalia's prayers only hours before, prayers that were asking him to save her. It just didn't make sense to try and kill Thalia now after saving her hours before.

It seemed Percy believed the same thing as he said, "Oh, hey, that couldn't have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."

"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Zoë said Kronos's name. Maybe he—"

Thalia shook her head, looking angrier than Elisa had ever seen before. "No. That wasn't it."

"Wait," Elisa said, scrambling off the floor. Her hands and arms were scrapped from the asphalt. "Where's Zoë? Zoë!"

The two followed after Elisa's lead and searched frantically for the Hunter. Elisa searched around the wreckage, wishing to every god that would listen that she would find the Hunter alive. She watched with shaking hands as Percy shook his head after looking over the cliff. She looked down either side of the road, squinting past the fog.

"Zoë!" Percy shouted again.

Then the Hunter appeared right beside him, grabbing his arm tightly. "Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?"

Elisa felt some of the weight lift off her shoulders. "We're here?" she asked.

"Very close." Zoë nodded. "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. Elisa shared a look with Percy as Thalia stopped behind them.

"Concentrate on Zoë," Thalia advised the two. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind."

"Wait, Thalia," Percy spoke up. "About what happened back on the pier ... I mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice—"

"I don't want to talk about it." Thalia's voice was sharp

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

But Thalia hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all."

Elisa frowned, reading into Thalia's reaction. "Zeus didn't send that lightning bolt. He wouldn't have saved us back at Hoover Dam to just try and kill us now."

Percy nodded fervently. "It was Kronos," he insisted. "He's trying to manipulate you, make you angry at your dad."

Which, it seems like she already is, Elisa thought.

Thalia took a deep breath. "I get that you guys are trying to make me feel better. So thanks, but come on. We need to go."

She stepped into the fog, into the Mist, and Elisa followed after her.

When the fog cleared, Elisa was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt instead. The grass was thicker, looking healthier. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer than ever before, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of Elisa. And it lead through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like she had seen in her dreams back on the freight train.

However beautiful the garden of twilight was, the enormous dragon ruined the beauty. 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—but true golden apples.

"The apples of immortality," Thalia said, noticing how both Elisa and Percy were staring at them. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

If there was anything to know about the gods, it was to know that they never settled for anything less than the best. But that wasn't hard to believe, they could have practically anything they wanted. If you could get the best, why not?

Elisa had seen dragons in movies, but those movies did not do the real thing justice. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than Elisa could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He 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 Elisa began to move. She flinched backward, running into Percy. There was beautiful but eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Percy was reaching for Riptide, but Zoë stopped him.

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. The Hesperides. They looked just like Zoë—gorgeous, and surely very dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoë greeted.

"We do not see any sisters," one of the girls said coldly. "We see three half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."

Elisa understood what it was like to not like family, and wanting to give them the cold shoulder. Hell, if she could get away with never talking to Dionysus again, she would. But the Hesperides took the cold shoulder to a whole new level, pretending that Zoë wasn't their family.

"You've got it wrong." Percy stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."

The girls studied him. 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."

Let him start asking questions, and maybe then he'll annoy you to death, Elisa thought.

"Who said I was a threat?" he asked.

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." She pointed to Thalia.

"Tempting sometimes," admitted Thalia. "But no thanks. He's my friend."

"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."

"Tough crowd," Elisa muttered. "But we can't—not without what we came here for."

"We must approach the mountain," said Zoë.

"You know he will kill thee," one of Zoë's sisters said. "You are no match for him."

"Artemis must be freed," insisted Zoë. "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," said Zoë.

"No?" Zoë's sister raised her eyebrows. "And what about thy so-called friends?"

Elisa knew she wouldn't have been able to fight a whole dragon. She glanced at Zoë wearily, trying to see what she would do—

"Ladon! Wake!" Zoë shouted.

The dragon stirred, glittering like a mound of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl hissed to Zoë, "Are you mad?"

"You never had any courage, sister," said Zoë. "That is thy problem."

And how thin the line between bravery and stupidity was.

The dragon 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," Elisa hissed. "He may not recognize you. You left, like, two thousand years ago."

"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoë said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."

"Should," Percy noticed. "Not exactly reassuring."

"It is the only way," the Hunter insisted. "Even the four of us cannot fight him."

See, Elisa already knew that, but hearing the fact from Zoë's mouth only made her more nervous.

Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down Elisa's back, and that was she smelled his breath. The smell was like acid. It made her eyes burn, her skin crawl, and her hair stand on end. Elisa mentioned 'dragon breath' before, and thought she had smelled something like it, but whatever she smelt before was nothing.

Elisa swallowed nervously, trusting Zoë would know what to do best. Hercules had failed his head-on attack, and that was Hercules, what would Elisa compare?

Thalia went left. Elisa and Percy ran right. Zoë walked straight toward the monster.

"It's me, my little dragon," Zoë said with a soothing voice. "Zoë has come back."

Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."

"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoë continued as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"

The dragon's eyes glinted.

The three half-bloods were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, Elisa could see a singly 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 of the whole world.

They had almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. Elisa felt like she could feel Ladon's mood shift. Maybe Zoë had gotten too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Or maybe Ladon was planning all along for Zoë to get close and for him to attack. Whatever the reason was, he lunged for Zoë.

Two thousand years of training and surviving 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.

Elisa had pulled out Acantha to help but Zoë yelled, "No! Run!"

The dragon snapped at Zoë's side and she cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoë sprinted past Elisa and Percy, up the mountain. Elisa decided if Ladon could attack Zoë, someone who had fed him by hand, it would be best if she followed Zoë.

Elisa ran after Percy, Thalia right behind her. The dragon didn't try and pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but Zoë was right, he had been trained to guard the tree. Not even the prospect of eating three half-bloods and a Hunter could break his training.

They ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their son in the shadows behind them. The music didn't sound as beautiful as before—it seemed to be a funeral march now.

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," Thalia whispered in awe.

"Yes," Zoë said. "It was not here before. This is bad."

"What's Mount Othrys?" Percy asked.

Elisa licked her cracked and split lips. "The mountain fortress of the Titans. During the first war, Mount Olympus and Mount Othrys were two rival capitals of the world. See, Othrys was—"

Her eyes snapped over to Zoë who had winced and grabbed her side.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She eyed the wound at Zoë's side. "You're hurt," she said. "Let me see it."

"No!" Zoë shook her head. "It's nothing." She was quick to say, "Othrys was destroyed in the first war. Blasted to pieces."

She was saying that to take the attention away from her wound. Elisa knew that, biting the inside of her cheek.

Percy was watching Zoë nervously, seeming like he wanted to ask about the bite. But he asked instead, "But ... how is it here?"

Thalia looked around cautiously as they picked their way through the rubble. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilizations. But the fact it is here, on this mountain, is not good."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"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 yards 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. Elisa realized with a chill up her spine that what Percy had seen in his dreams wasn't a cave ceiling; the Goddess of the Hunt was holding the roof to the world.

"My lady!" Zoë rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

The goddess's voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat.

Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, tugging at the chains.

A booming voice spoke behind Elisa: "Ah, how touching."

The girl spun around. The General was standing there in his brown suit. At his side were Luke and a half dozen dracaenae bearing a golden sarcophagus. Annabeth stood at a blond guy's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and the guy was holding the point of his sword to her throat.

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go." She nodded to Annabeth.

It felt like the air in Elisa's lungs got sucked out without warning. It felt like someone had just sucker-punched her straight in the gut. Across Luke's pale face was a long jagged scar. He had blond hair that looked ghostly grey.

It seems Percy and Grover forgot to mention this Luke that sided with Kronos was Luke Castellan, someone Elisa had met. Maybe Elisa should've been able to connect the dots, and she should have before. How many Lukes could be on Kronos's side?

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 him. "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."

Elisa scowled. "You're not gonna hurt her. I won't let you."

The General sneered at her. "You have no right to interfere, little girl. This is a family matter."

Percy frowned. "A family matter?"

"Yes," Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

👑 AUG. 11TH, 2022 /  anyways, it'll be explained how elisa knows luke later