JAWBREAKER

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚

It had been almost ten minutes and Warren was tired of waiting.

Just as she decided she was going barge into the building, axe blazing, the front door burst open. Percy ripped off the invisibility cap, his eyes wild and face pale.

He grabbed Warren by the hand and shouted, "Run!"

"What happened?!"

"Luke", "Skeletons", and "Bad" were all the words she could understand as they barreled across the Mall. A few more yards and they charged into the admissions area of the Air and Space museum.

The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so people could look at the exhibits from all different heights. It wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips.

"We've got to find Grover and Thalia," Percy said. "We need to warn them."

They barreled up the ramp to the top-floor balcony. "They could be any-oof!" Warren ran into someone, slamming them into an Apollo space capsule. She staggered. "I'm sorry— wait...Thalia?"

Grover yelped in surprise. Before Warren could regain her balance, Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched; one trained on Percy, the other on her. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.

When Zoe realized who they were, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"

"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."

Zoe glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh. You and Warren aren't supposed to be here!"

"Luke," Percy said, trying to catch his breath. "He's here."

The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

Percy told them all about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.

"The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."

"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"

"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"

"Twelve," he said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."

Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.

"We were following Artemis's trail," Grover said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent... She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet."

"Zoe," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General—"

"It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris message or some other illusion."