Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 45

But while Cressida's powers had distracted the hydra, the head that spat acid had bitten the head Cressida drove mad, the acid burning through its skin before its head went limp and the other seven were able to focus on their task of killing Percy.

"I know!" Ephialtes cried out happily. "We can start with explosions along the Via Labicana! We can't keep our audience waiting forever."

Percy scrambled behind the easel and turned it toward Ephialtes. He didn't have Leo's skill with machines, but he knew how to aim a weapon. The hydra barrelled toward him, blocking his view of the giant. Percy hoped this contraption would have enough firepower to take down two targets at once. He tugged at the lever. It didn't budge. All eight hydra heads loomed over him, ready to melt him into a pool of sludge. He yanked the lever again. This time the easel shook, and the weapons began to hiss. "Duck and cover!" Percy yelled, hoping his friends got the message.

Percy leapt to one side as the easel fired. The sound was like a fiesta in the middle of an exploding gunpowder factory. The hydra vaporized instantly. Unfortunately, the recoil knocked the easel sideways and sent more projectiles shooting all over the room. A chunk of the ceiling collapsed and crushed a waterwheel. More cages snapped off their chains, unleashing two zebras and a pack of hyenas. A grenade exploded over Ephialtes's head, but it only blasted him off his feet. The control board didn't even look damaged. Across the room, sandbags rained down around Piper and Nico. Piper tried to pull Nico to safety, but one of the bags caught her shoulder and knocked her down.

"Piper!" Jason cried. He ran toward her, completely forgetting about Otis, who aimed his spear at Jason's back.

"Look out!" Percy yelled.

Jason had fast reflexes. As Otis threw, Jason rolled. The point sailed over him and Jason flicked his hand, summoning a gust of wind that changed the spear's direction. It flew across the room and skewered Ephialtes through his side just as he was getting to his feet.

"Otis!" Ephialtes stumbled away from his control board, clutching the spear as he began to crumble into monster dust. "Will you please stop killing me!"

"Not my fault!"

Otis had barely finished speaking when Percy's missile-launching contraption spit out one last sphere of Roman candle fire. The fiery pink ball of death (naturally it had to be pink) hit the ceiling above Otis and exploded in a beautiful shower of light. Colourful sparks pirouetted gracefully around the giant. Then a ten-foot section of roof collapsed and crushed him flat.

Jason ran to Piper's side. She yelped when he touched her arm. Her shoulder looked unnaturally bent, but she muttered, "Fine. I'm fine."

Next to her, Nico sat up, looking around him in bewilderment as if just realizing he'd missed a battle as Cressida appeared at his side, feeding him a regular square of ambrosia from her pocket, the ziploc back that was covered in water droplets from the nymphs.

Sadly, the Giants weren't finished. Ephialtes was already re-forming, his head and shoulders rising from the mound of dust. He tugged his arms free and glowered at Percy.

Across the room, the pile of rubble shifted, and Otis busted out. His head was slightly caved in. All the firecrackers in his hair had popped, and his braids were smoking. His leotard was in tatters, which was just about the only way it could've looked less attractive on him.

"Papa! Anytime now would be good!" Cressida screamed at the ceiling again.

"Percy!" Jason shouted. "The controls!"

Percy unfroze. He found Riptide in his pocket again, uncapped his sword, and lunged for the switchboard. He slashed his blade across the top, decapitating the controls in a shower of bronze sparks. And for good measure, Cressida sent her spear flying straight through the centre of it, a small explosion of sparks coming from it.

"No!" Ephialtes wailed. "You've ruined the spectacle!" Percy turned too slowly. Ephialtes swung his spear like a bat and smacked him across the chest. He fell to his knees, the pain turning his stomach to lava.

"If anything, we made it better!" Cressida cried as she somehow launched herself onto the giant's shoulders, driving her spear right through his head as he began to crumble again.

She landed in a somersault roll before moving over to where Percy and Jason stood together, prepared to face Otis. Over by the dais, Piper was still on the floor, unable to get up. Nico was barely conscious. The giants were healing, getting stronger by the minute. And they weren't going to last much longer as exhaustion ate away at them.

Ephialtes was almost completely reformed.

"Papa," Cressida whispered to the ceiling. "Papa, please."

Ephialtes smiled apologetically. "Tired, young demigods? As I said, you cannot kill us. So I guess we're at an impasse. Oh, wait...no we're not! Because we can kill you!"

"That," Otis grumbled, picking up his fallen spear, "is the first thing sensible thing you've said all day, brother."

The giants pointed their weapons, ready to turn the trio into a demigod-kabob.

"We're not dead yet," Cressida growled.

"And we won't give up," Jason growled. "We'll cut you into pieces like Jupiter did to Saturn."

"That's right," Percy said. "You're both dead. I don't care if we have a god on our side or not."

"Well, that's a shame," said a new voice and Cressida could've cried in relief.

To their right, another platform was lowered from the ceiling. Leaning casually on a pinecone-topped staff was a man in a purple camp shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals with white socks. He raised his broad-brimmed hat, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "I'd hate to think I made a special trip for nothing."

Bacchus had arrived.