𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋¹ || 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈

✦ 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ✦

MYTHOLOGICALLY SPEAKING, if there's anything Percy hates worse than trios of old ladies, it's bulls. Last summer, he fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. This time what he saw up there was even worse: two bulls. And not just regular bulls – bronze ones the size of elephants. And even that wasn't bad enough. Naturally, they had to breathe fire, too.

As soon as Percy and Aurora exited the taxi, the Grey Sisters peeled out, heading back to New York, where life was safer. They didn't even wait for their extra three drachma payment. They just left them on the side of the road. Tyson and Percy were still in their burned-up tie-dyed gym clothes, Aurora, however, without hesitation, spun her ring, channelling her energy into it until it transformed into its sword form, gleaming in the sunlight.

"Oh, gods," said Aurora, looking at the battle raging on the hill.

Percy, Aurora, and Tyson stood transfixed, their eyes fixed on the unfolding battle in Camp Half-Blood. They were so absorbed in the chaos that they didn't even notice Annabeth's arrival. She ran alongside them, her gaze fixed on the fiery beasts as well, her expression filled with determination and confusion.

"What in Hades happened?" asked the blonde.

"What didn't happen?" Aurora muttered bitterly.

What worried Percy most weren't the bulls themselves. Or the ten heroes in full battle armor who were getting their bronze-plated booties whooped. What worried him was that the bulls were ranging all over the hill, even around the back side of the pine tree.

That shouldn't have been possible. The Camp's magic boundaries didn't allow monsters to cross past Thalia's tree. But the metal bulls were doing it anyway.

One of the heroes shouted, "Border patrol, to me!" A girl's voice – gruff and familiar.

Border patrol? Percy thought. The Camp didn't have a border patrol.

"It's Clarisse," Annabeth realized, looking just as confused as Percy.

"Come on, we have to help her," said Aurora.

Normally, rushing to Clarisse's aid would not have been high on Percy's 'to-do' list. She was one of the biggest bullies at Camp. The first time they'd met she tried to introduce his head to a toilet. She was also a daughter of Ares, and he'd had a very serious disagreement with her father last summer, so now the god of war and all his children basically hated Percy's guts.

Still, she was in trouble. Her fellow warriors were scattered, running in panic as the bulls charged. The grass was burning in huge swathes around the pine tree.

One hero screamed and waved his arms as he ran in circles, the horsehair plume on his helmet blazing like a fiery Mohawk. Clarisse's own armor was charred. She was fighting with a broken spear shaft, the other end embedded uselessly in the metal joint of one bull's shoulder.