Y/n's Pov:
"Eurytion, tie them up over there," Geryon said, pointing at a spot on the corner.
Eurytion did as told with a grunt. He grabbed some ropes and tied us up like rodeo animals.
The ropes burned into my skin as he did the knot.
"Oi!" I called. "Be careful!"
"Sorry," Eurytion apologized.
"Eurytion!" Geryon called. "Set up the table! Mr Jackson won't come successful. We have to throw a party!"
Eurytion grunted before going to set the table.
"Well," Grayson sighed. "This is unfortunate."
"No," I said sarcastically. "Really? Hadn't noticed."
"This would've never happened if you didn't offer to help," Nico groaned. "I almost had a deal!"
"You're welcome, by the way," said Grayson.
"For what?"
"For helping you."
"I don't need your pity help. I don't need you."
"We're not pitying you," said Annabeth. "We want to help you."
Nico rolled his eyes. "And why would you possibly want to help me?"
"Because we care about you," I told him.
"Bullshit!" Nico dismissed.
"Language!" Annabeth scolded.
"Nico, it's not bullshit," Grayson said. "We really do care."
"Gods, Grayson, language!" Annabeth scolded once more.
"You don't care," Nico spat. "None of you care. You only want me back because I'm the son of Hades!"
"That's not true," I told him. "We want you back at camp because you'll be safe there."
Nico looked like he wanted to believe me.
"I'm safer on my own," he said.
"Sure," I said sarcastically. "With Mr Goldie Hands, everyone's safe."
"He's become of great help to bring her back!"
"Nico - "
"Oh, my Gods!" Geryon said, before flipping a hamburger. "Eurytion, gag them! I can't take all of this talkin'! I can't concentrate!"
Eurytion grunted. He grabbed six gags and put them over our mouths. We tried to scream, but it was too late. The gag was already over our mouths.
~
They set the deck up for a party.
Streamers and balloons decorated the railing. Geryon was flipping burgers on a huge barbecue cooker made from an oil drum. Eurytion lounged at a picnic table, picking his fingernails with a knife. The two-headed dog sniffed the ribs and burgers that were frying on the grill.
Suddenly, I heard a horse neigh.
A part of me felt happy. Percy had done it! Nico could come with us!
Another part of me worried. What if the horses ate him?
Percy burst through the door, sweat drops on his forehead. We made eye contact.
"Let them go!" he yelled, out of breath. "I cleaned the stables!"
Geryon turned. He wore an apron on each chest, with one word on each, so together they spelt out: KISS—THE—CHEF. "Did you, now? How'd you manage it?"
Percy told us everything. About the naiad, the shells, and how he'd managed to make water out of his own will.
"Very ingenious. It would've been better if you'd poisoned that pesky naiad, but no matter."
"Let my friends go," Percy said. "We had a deal."
"Ah, I've been thinking about that. The problem is, if I let them go, I don't get paid."
"You promised!"
Geryon made a tsk-tsk noise. "But did you make me swear on the River Styx? No, you didn't. So it's not binding. When you're conducting business, sonny, you should always get a binding oath."
Percy drew his sword. Orthus growled. One head leaned down next to Grover's ear and bared its fangs.
"Eurytion," Geryon said, "the boy is starting to annoy me. Kill him."
Eurytion studied Percy.
"Kill him yourself," Eurytion said.
Geryon raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Eurytion grumbled. "You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason, and I'm getting tired of dying for you. You want to fight the kid, do it yourself."
It was the most un-Ares-like thing I'd ever heard a son of Ares say.
Geryon threw down his spatula. "You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!"
"And who'd take care of your cattle? Orthus, heel."
The dog immediately stopped growling at Grover and came to sit by the cowherd's feet.
"Fine!"Geryon snarled. "I'll deal with you later after the boy is dead!"
He picked up two carving knives and threw them at Percy. I deflected one with my sword. The other impaled itself on the picnic table a meter away from Eurytion's hand.
Percy went on the attack. Geryon parried Percy's first strike with a pair of red-hot tongs and lunged at my face with a barbecue fork. Percy got inside Geryon's next thrust and stabbed him right through the middle chest.
"Aghhh!" He crumpled to his knees. I waited for him to disintegrate, the way monsters usually do. But instead, he just grimaced and started to stand up. The wound in his chef's apron started to heal.
"Nice try, sonny," he said. "Thing is, I have three hearts. The perfect backup system."
He tipped over the barbecue, and coals spilt everywhere. One landed next to my face, and I let out a muffled scream. Tyson strained against his bonds, but even his strength wasn't enough to break them. I had to end this fight before my friends got hurt.
Percy jabbed Geryon in the left chest, but he only laughed. Percy stuck him in the right stomach. No good. He might as well have been sticking a sword in a teddy bear for all the reaction he showed.
Three hearts. The perfect backup system.
Percy ran into the house.
"Coward!" Geryon cried. "Come back and die right!"
Geryon threw his barbecue fork, and it thudded into the wall right next to my head. He drew two swords from the wall display.
"Your head's gonna go right there, Jackson! Next to the grizzly bear!"
Percy seemed to stop. He dropped Riptide and grabbed the bow off the wall.
What the Tartarus?
Percy was the worst archery shot in the world. He couldn't hit the targets at camp, much less a bull's eye.
Percy closed his eyes. He muttered what seemed like a prayer.
Good. He'll need it.
Shut up, me.
Percy notched an arrow.
Geryon laughed. "You fool! One arrow is no better than one sword."
Not in my experience.
He raised his swords and charged. Percy dove sideways. Before he could turn, Percy shot his arrow into the side of Geryon's right chest. I heard THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, as the arrow passed clean through each of his chests and flew out his left side, embedding itself in the forehead of the grizzly bear trophy.
I've got to admit. That was hot.
Geryon dropped his swords. He turned and stared at Percy. "You can't shoot. They told me only she could..."
His face turned a sickly shade of green. He collapsed to his knees and began crumbling into sand until all that was left were three cooking aprons and an oversized pair of cowboy boots.
~
Percy got us untied. Eurytion didn't try to stop him. Then he stoked up the barbecue and threw the food into the flames as a burnt offering for Artemis and Apollo.
"Thanks, guys," Percy said. "I owe you one."
"You owe us like, ten," I told him. "But the 'thanks' is appreciated."
The sky thundered in the distance, so I figured maybe the burgers smelled okay.
"Yay for Percy!" Tyson said.
"Can we tie up this cowherd now?" Nico asked.
"Yeah!"Grover agreed. "And that dog almost killed me!"
I looked at Eurytion, who still was sitting relaxed at the picnic table. Orthus had both his heads on the cowherd's knees.
"How long will it take Geryon to re-form?" Grayson asked him.
Eurytion shrugged. "Hundred years? He's not one of those fast re-formers, thank the gods. You've done me a favour."
"You said you'd died for him before," Percy remembered. "How?"
"I've worked for that creep for thousands of years. Started as a regular half-blood, but I chose immortality when my dad offered it. Worst mistake I ever made. Now I'm stuck here at this ranch. I can't leave. I can't quit. I just tend the cows and fight Geryon's fights. We're kinda tied together."
"Maybe you can change things," I said.
Eurytion narrowed his eyes."How?"
"Be nice to the animals. Take care of them. Stop selling them for food. And stop dealing with the Titans."
Eurytion thought about that. "That'd be all right."
"Get the animals on your side, and they'll help you. Once Geryon gets back, maybe he'll be working for you this time."
Eurytion grinned. "Now, that I could live with."
"You won't try to stop us from leaving?"
"Shoot, no."
Annabeth rubbed her bruised wrists. She was still looking at Eurytion suspiciously. "Your boss said somebody paid for our safe passage. Who?"
The cowherd shrugged. "Maybe he was just saying that to fool you."
"What about the Titans?" Grayson asked. "Did you Iris message them about Nico yet?"
"Nope. Geryon was waiting until after the barbecue. They don't know about him."
Nico was glaring at Percy. I wasn't sure what to do about him. I doubted he would agree to come with us. On the other hand, I couldn't just let him roam around on his own.
"You could stay here until we're done with our quest," Percy told Nico. "It would be safe."
"Safe?" Nico said. "What do you care if I'm safe? You got my sister killed!"
"Nico," I said, "that wasn't Percy's fault. And Geryon wasn't lying about Kronos wanting to capture you. If he knew who you were, he'd do anything to get you on his side."
"I'm not on anyone's side. And I'm not afraid."
"You should be," Annabeth said. "Your sister wouldn't want—"
"If you cared for my sister, you'd help me bring her back!"
"A soul for a soul?" I said.
"Yes!"
"But if you didn't want Percy's soul—"
"I'm not explaining anything to you!" He blinked tears out of his eyes. "And I will bring her back."
"Bianca wouldn't want to be brought back," I said. "Not like that."
"You didn't know her as well as I did!" he shouted. "How do you know what she'd want?"
I stared at the flames in the barbecue pit. I thought about the line in my prophecy: You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand. That had to be Minos, and I had to convince Nico not to listen to him. "Let's ask Bianca."
The sky seemed to grow darker all of a sudden.
"I've tried," Nico said miserably. "She won't answer."
"Try again. I've got a feeling she'll answer with me here."
"Why would she?"
"Because she's visited me in a dream," I said, suddenly sure of it. "She's been trying to warn me what you're up to, so I can protect you."
Nico shook his head. "That's impossible."
"One way to find out. You said you're not afraid." I turned to Eurytion. "We're going to need a pit, like a grave. And food and drinks."
"Y/n," Annabeth warned. "I don't think this is a good—"
"All right," Nico said. "I'll try."
Eurytion scratched his beard. "There's a hole dug out back for a septic tank. We could use that. Cyclops boy, fetch my ice chest from the kitchen. I hope the dead like root beer."