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Outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, they saw a pair of red, glowing eyes. More wolves edged into the firelight-black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill.
Alex took out her daggger, but Jason stepped forward and said something in latin. The alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark.
"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo voiced Alex's thoughts, "What'd you say, Jason?"
Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."
The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited-at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.
The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."
"Coach, they'll rip you apart," Piper pointed out.
"Nah, I'm good.
Then Alex saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.
"Stick together," Jason said. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."
The wolves parted, and the man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur-wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others Alex couldn't identify. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they weren't very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner's. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves'-and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.
"Ecce," he said, "filli Romani."
"Speak English, wolf man!" Alex said trying to appear braver than she felt.
The wolf man snarled. "Daughter of the sea, mind your tongue. Or you'll be my first meal"
Alex made a disgusted expression which Leo already had.
The wolf man studied their little group. His nostrils twitched. "So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A child of Poseidon. A faun. And a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting."
"You were told about us?" Jason asked. "By whom?"
The man snarled-perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry."
The wolves snarled in the darkness.
Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Leo put up his hammer and slip something else from his tool belt-a glass bottle full of clear liquid.
Lycaon glared at Jason's sword. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but Jason's blade moved with him.
"Leave," Jason ordered. "There's no food for you here."
"Unless you want tofu burgers," Leo offered and Alex almost laughed.
Lycaon bared his fangs. Apparently he wasn't a tofu fan.
"If I had my way," Lycaon said with regret, "I'd kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts ."
"Ha," Coach Hedge said. "For good reason!"
Jason glanced over his shoulder. "Coach, you know this clown?"
"I do," Piper answered. "Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner. But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged-"
"And killed my sons!" Lycaon howled. The wolves behind him howled too.
"Dude that's messed up" Alex shook her head.
"So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Piper said. "They call... they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf."
"The king of wolves," Coach Hedge finished. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt."
Lycaon growled. "I will tear you apart, faun!"
"Oh, you want some goat, buddy? 'Cause I'll give you goat."
"Stop it," Jason said. "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but...?"
"Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one"-he waggled his claws at Piper-"has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you and the daughter of Poseidon."
"Who?" Alex asked.
The wolf king snickered. "Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice about challenging my pack."
Piper struggled to her feet and Alex appeared by her side to help her stand.
"You're going to leave now," Piper said, "before we destroy you."
Lycaon's red eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only the son of Jupiter is needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner."
Alex didn't want to die, but she'd rather do it next to Leo, Piper and Leo. Her grip on her dagger tightened.
Jason took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, wolf man. Not without going through me."
Lycaon howled and extended his claws. Jason slashed at him, but his golden sword passed straight through as if the wolf king wasn't there.
Lycaon laughed. "Gold, bronze, steel-none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter."
"Silver!" Piper cried. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"
"We don't have any silver!" Alex reminded her.
Wolves leaped into the firelight. Hedge charged forward with an elated "Woot!"
But Leo struck first. He threw his glass bottle and it shattered on the ground, splattering liquid all over the wolves-the unmistakable smell of gasoline. He shot a burst of fire at the puddle, and a wall of flames erupted.
Wolves yelped and retreated. Several caught fire and had to run back into the snow. Even Lycaon looked uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.
"Aw, c'mon," Coach Hedge complained. "I can't hit them if they're way over there."
But Alex looked at him in admiration and a slight smile.
Every time a wolf came closer, Leo shot a new wave of fire from his hands, but each effort seemed to make him a little more tired, and the gasoline was already dying down. "I can't summon any more gas!" Leo warned. Then his face turned red. "Wow, that came out wrong. I mean the burning kind. Gonna take the tool belt a while to recharge. What you got?"
"Nothing," Jason said. "Not even a weapon that works."
"Lightning?" Piper asked.
Jason concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something.
"Unleash the venti!" Alex suggested.
"Then we'll have nothing to give Aeolus," Jason said. "We'll have come all this way for nothing."
Lycaon laughed. "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me."
The flames began to sputter out. Jason cursed and dropped his sword. He crouched like he was ready to go hand-to-hand. Leo pulled his hammer out of his pack. Alex raised her dagger. Coach Hedge hefted his club, and he was the only one who looked excited about dying.
Then a ripping sound cut through the wind-like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouted from the neck of the nearest wolf-the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhed and fell, melting into a puddle of shadow.
More arrows. More wolves fell. The pack broke in confusion. An arrow flashed toward Lycaon, but the wolf king caught it in midair. Then he yelled in pain. When he dropped the arrow, it left a charred, smoking gash across his palm. Another arrow caught him in the shoulder, and the wolf king staggered.
"Curse them!" Lycaon yelled. He growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and ran. Lycaon fixed Jason with those glowing red eyes. "This isn't over, boy."
The wolf king disappeared into the night and Alex sighed in relief.
Seconds later, they heard more wolves baying, but the sound was different-less threatening, more like hunting dogs on the scent. A smaller white wolf burst into the cave, followed by two more.
Hedge said, "Kill it?"
"No!" Piper said. "Wait."
The wolves tilted their heads and studied the campers with huge golden eyes.
A heartbeat later, their masters appeared: a troop of hunters in white-and-gray winter camouflage, at least half a dozen. All of them carried bows, with quivers of glowing silver arrows on their backs.
Their faces were covered with parka hoods, but clearly they were all girls. One, a little taller than the rest, crouched in the firelight and snatched up the arrow that had wounded Lycaon's hand.
"So close." She turned to her companions. "Phoebe, stay with me. Watch the entrance. The rest of you, follow Lycaon. We can't lose him now. I'll catch up with you."
The other hunters mumbled agreement and disappeared, heading after Lycaon's pack.
The girl in white turned toward them, her face still hidden in her parka hood. "We've been following that demon's trail for over a week. Is everyone all right? No one got bit?"
Jason stood frozen, staring at the girl. Alex realized something about her voice sounded familiar. It was hard to pin down, but the way she spoke, the way she formed her words, reminded her of Jason.
"You're her," Piper guessed. "You're Thalia."
The girl tensed and Alex realised who she was. Thalia pulled down her parka hood. Her hair was spiky black, with a silver tiara across her brow. Her face had a super-healthy glow to it, as if she were a little more than human, and her eyes were brilliant blue. She was the girl from Jason's photograph.
"Do I know you?" Thalia asked.
Alex took a breath. "This might be a shock, but-"
"Thalia." Jason stepped forward, his voice trembling. "I'm Jason, your brother."