ANOTHER DAY OF FIGHTING
Back at the Plaza, Thalia and Percy pulled her aside. "What did Prometheus show you?"
Reluctantly, she told them about the vision of May Castellan's house. Thalia rubbed her thigh like she was remembering the old wound.
"That was a bad night," she admitted, "Annabeth was so little, I don't think she really understood what she saw. She just knew Luke was upset."
Ariana looked out the hotel windows at Central Park. Small fires were still burning in the north, but otherwise the city seemed unnaturally peaceful. "Do you know what happened to May Castellan? I mean-"
"I know what you mean," Thalia said. "I never saw her have an, um, episode, but Luke told me about the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say. He made me promise never to tell. What caused it, I have no idea. If Luke knew, he never told me."
"Hermes knew," She said. "Something caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes understood what would happen how Luke would turn into Kronos."
Thalia frowned. "You can't be sure of that. Remember Prometheus was manipulating what you saw, Ariana, showing you what happened in the worst possible light. Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face. And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad."
"It's still not right," She insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."
Thalia shouldered her bow. Again it struck her how much stronger she looked now that she'd stopped aging. You could almost see a silvery glow around her the blessing of Artemis.
"Ariana," she said, "you can't start feeling sorry
for Luke. We all have tough things to deal with. All demigods do. Our parents are hardly ever around. But Luke made bad choices. Nobody forced him to do that. In fact-"
She glanced down the hall to make sure they were alone. "I'm worried about Annabeth. If she has to face Luke in battle, I don't know if she can do it. She's always had a soft spot for him."
Blood rose to Percy's face. "She'll do fine.."
"I don't know. After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time Grover found us and tried to get us to camp well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed. Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero. She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All I'm saying . . . don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him."
Ariana looked out at the fires in Harlem, wondering how many sleeping mortals were in danger right now because of Luke's bad choices.
"You're right," Ariana said.
Thalia patted her shoulder. "I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some more sleep before nightfall. You should crash too."
"The last thing I need is more dreams."
"I know, believe me."
Her dark expression made Ariana wonder what she'd been dreaming about. It was a common demigod problem: the more dangerous our situation became, the worse and more frequent our dreams got.
"But Ariana, there's no telling when you'll get another chance for rest. It's going to be a long night -maybe our last night."
She didn't like it, but Ariana knew she was right. She nodded wearily and gave her Pandora's jar. "Do me a favor. Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? I think I'm allergic to pithos."
Thalia smiled. "You got it."
"Ariana." Percy said when Thalia left. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know Percy. Nico is alright for now but Hades isn't coming so neither will Demeter or... Persephone."
"Your her child." Percy said. "That's what you were adressed when we visited Hudson and East. But how does that?"
Ariana sighed. "Percy. Gods don't have to you know to have children. Athena practically made Annabeth from her mind. My guess is that Persephone did some weird spell shit or something."
Percy had a weird look. "I'm starting to hate this place."
"Me too. I'm going to get some sleep."
Ariana found the nearest bed and passed out. But of course sleep only brought more nightmares.
She saw the undersea palace of Percy's father. The enemy army was close, entrenched only a few hundred yards outside the palace.
The fortress walls were completely destroyed. The temple Poseidon had used as his headquarters was burning with Greek fire.
Ariana zoomed in on the armory, where Percy's brother and some other Cyclopes were on lunch break, eating from huge jars of Skippy extra-chunky peanut butter (and don't ask her how it tasted underwater, because she doesn't want to know).
As she watched, the outer wall of the armory exploded. A Cyclops warrior stumbled inside, collapsing on the lunch table.
Tyson knelt down to help, but it was too late. The Cyclops dissolved into sea silt.
Enemy giants moved toward the breach, and Tyson picked up the fallen warrior's club.
He yelled something to his fellow blacksmiths probably "For Poseidon!"
but with his mouth full of peanut butter it sounded like "PUH PTEH BUN!" His brethren all grabbed hammers and chisels, yelled, "PEANUT BUTTER!" and charged behind Tyson into battle.
Then the scene shifted. She was with Ethan Nakamura at the enemy camp. What she saw made her shiver, partly because the army was so huge, partly because she recognized the place.
They were in the backwoods of New Jersey, on a crumbling road lined with run-down businesses and tattered billboard signs.
A trampled fence ringed a big yard full of cement statuary. The sign above the warehouse was hard to read because it was in red cursive, but Ariana knew what it said: AUNTY EM'S GARDEN GNOME EMPORIUM.
She hadn't thought about the place in years. It was clearly abandoned. The statues were broken and spray-painted with graffiti. A cement satyr Grover's Uncle Ferdinand had lost his arm.
Part of the warehouse roof had caved in. A big yellow sign pasted on the door read: CONDEMNED
Hundreds of tents and fires surrounded the property. Mostly she saw monsters, but there were some human mercenaries in combat fatigues and demigods in armor, too.
A purple-and-black banner hung outside the emporium, guarded by two huge blue Hyperboreans.
Ethan was crouched at the nearest campfire. A couple of other demigods sat with him, sharpening their swords. The doors of the warehouse opened, and Prometheus stepped out.
"Nakamura," he called. "The master would like to speak to you."
Ethan stood up warily. "Something wrong?"
Prometheus smiled. "You'll have to ask him."
One of the other demigods snickered. "Nice knowing you."
Ethan readjusted his sword belt and headed into the warehouse. Except for the hole in the roof, the place was just as Ariana remembered. Statues of terrified people stood frozen in midscream.
In the snack bar area, the picnic tables had been moved aside. Right between the soda dispenser and pretzel warmer stood a golden throne.
Kronos lounged on it, his scythe across his lap.
He wore jeans and a T-shirt, and with his brooding expression he looked almost human like the younger version of Luke she had seen in the vision, pleading with Hermes to tell him his fate.
Then Luke saw Ethan, and his face contorted into a very inhuman smile. His golden eyes glowed.
"Well, Nakamura. What did you think of the diplomatic mission?"
Ethan hesitated. "I'm sure Lord Prometheus is better suited to speak-"
"But I asked you."
Ethan's good eye darted back and forth, noting the guards that stood around Kronos. "I . . . I don't think Parker will surrender. Ever."
Kronos nodded. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"
"N-no, sir."
"You look nervous, Ethan."
"No, sir. It's just ... I heard this was the lair of-"
"Medusa? Yes, quite true. Lovely place, eh? Unfortunately, Medusa hasn't re-formed since Parker and Jackson killed her, so you needn't worry about joining her collection. Besides, there are much more dangerous forces in this room."
Kronos looked over at a Laistrygonian giant who was munching noisily on some french fries. Kronos waved his hand and the giant froze. A french fry hung suspended in midair halfway between his hand and his mouth.
"Why turn them to stone," Kronos asked, "when you can freeze time itself?"
His golden eyes bored into Ethan's face. "Now, tell me one more thing. What happened last night on the Williamsburg Bridge?"
Ethan trembled. Beads of perspiration were popping up on his forehead. "I ... I don't know, sir."
"Yes, you do." Kronos rose from his seat. "When you attacked Jackson, something happened.
Something was not quite right. The girl, Annabeth, jumped in your way."
"She wanted to save him."
Suddenly the Titan lord winced. The giant in the corner unfroze and the french fry fell into his mouth.
Kronos stumbled backward and sank into his throne.
"My lord?" Ethan started forward.
"I-" The voice was weak, but just for a moment it was Luke's.
Then Kronos's expression hardened.
He raised his hand and flexed his fingers slowly as if forcing them to obey.
"It is nothing," he said, his voice steely and cold again. "A minor discomfort."
Ethan moistened his lips. "He's still fighting you, isn't he? Luke?"
"Nonsense," Kronos spat. "Repeat that lie, and I will cut out your tongue. The boy's soul has been crushed. I am simply adjusting to the limits of this form. It requires rest. It is annoying, but no more than a temporary inconvenience."
"As ...as you say, my lord."
"You!" Kronos pointed his scythe at a dracaena with green armor and a green crown. "Queen Sess, is it?"
"Yesssss, my lord."
"Is our little surprise ready to be unleashed?"
The dracaena queen bared her fangs. "Oh, yessss, my lord. Quite a lovely sssssurprissse."
"Excellent," Kronos said. "Tell my brother Hyperion to move our main force south into Central Park. The half-bloods will be in such disarray they will not be able to defend themselves. Go now, Ethan. Work on improving your memory. We will talk again when we have taken Manhattan."
Ethan bowed, and her dreams shifted one last time.
Ariana saw the Big House at camp, but it was a different era. The house was painted red instead of blue.
The campers down at the volleyball pit had early '90s hairstyles, which were probably good for keeping monsters away.
Chiron stood by the porch, talking to Hermes and a woman holding a baby. Chiron's hair was shorter and darker.
Hermes wore his usual jogging suit with his winged high-tops. The woman was tall and pretty. She had blond hair, shining eyes and a friendly smile.
The baby in her arms squirmed in his blue blanket like Camp Half-Blood was the last place he wanted to be.
"It's an honor to have you here," Chiron told the woman, though he sounded nervous. "It's been a long time since a mortal was allowed at camp."
"Don't encourage her," Hermes grumbled. "May, you can't do this."
With a shock, Ariana realised she was seeing May Castellan. She looked nothing like the old woman she'd met.
She seemed full of life the kind of person who could smile and make everyone around her feel good.
"Oh, don't worry so much," May said, rocking the baby, "you need an Oracle, don't you? The old one's been dead for, what, twenty years?"
"Longer," Chiron said gravely.
Hermes raised his arms in exasperation. "I didn't tell you that story so you could apply. It's dangerous. Chiron, tell her."
"It is," Chiron warned, "for many years, I have forbidden anyone from trying. We don't know exactly what's happened. Humanity seems to have lost the ability to host the Oracle."
"We've been through that," May said, "and I know I can do it. Hermes, this is my chance to do something good. I've been given the gift of sight for a reason."
Ariana wanted to yell at May Castellan to stop. She knew what was about to happen. She finally understood how her life had been destroyed. But Ariana couldn't move or speak.
Hermes looked more hurt than worried. "You couldn't marry if you became the Oracle," he complained. "You couldn't see me anymore."
May put her hand on his arm. "I can't have you forever, can I? You'll move on soon. You're immortal."
He started to protest, but she put her hand on his chest. "You know it's true! Don't try to spare my feelings. Besides, we have a wonderful child. I can still raise Luke if I'm the Oracle, right?"
Chiron coughed. "Yes, but in all fairness, I don't know how that will affect the spirit of the Oracle. A woman who has already borne a child as far as I know, this has never been done before. If the spirit does not take-"
"It will," May insisted.
No, Ariana wanted to shout. It won't.
May Castellan kissed her baby and handed the bundle to Hermes. "I'll be right back."
She gave them one last confident smile and climbed the steps. Chiron and Hermes paced in silence. The baby squirmed.
A green glow lit the windows of the house. The campers stopped playing volleyball and stared up at the attic. A cold wind rushed through the strawberry fields.
Hermes must've felt it too. He cried, "No! NO!"
He shoved the baby into Chiron's arms and ran for the porch. Before he reached the door, the sunny afternoon was shattered by May Castellan's terrified scream.
Ariana got up so fast she banged her head on somebody's shield.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, Ariana." Annabeth was standing over her. "I was just about to wake you."
She rubbed her head, trying to clear the disturbing visions. Suddenly a lot of things made sense to her.
May Castellan had tried to become the Oracle. She hadn't known about Hades's curse preventing the spirit of Delphi from taking another host.
Neither had Chiron or Hermes.
They hadn't realized that by trying to take the job, May would be driven mad, plagued with fits in which her eyes would glow green and she would have shattered glimpses of her child's future.
"Ariana?" Annabeth asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she lied.
"What. what are you doing in armor? You should be resting." Percy said from behind her, his arms on his hips. A frown was planted on his face.
"Oh, I'm fine," she said, though she still looked pale. She was barely moving her right arm. "That nectar and ambrosia fixed me up."
"Uh-huh. You can't seriously go out and fight." He said
She offered Ariana her good hand and helped her up. Her head was pounding. Outside, the sky was purple and red.
"You're going to need every person you have," she said, "I just looked in my shield. There's an.."
"Heading south into Central Park," Ariana said. "Yeah, I know."
Ariana told them part of her dreams. She left out the vision of May Castellan, because it was too disturbing to talk about.
She also left out Ethan's speculation about Luke fighting Kronos inside his body. She didn't want to get Annabeth's hopes up.
"I'll bonk him on the head harder next time," Percy suggested. "Any idea what surprise Kronos was talking about?"
She shook her head. "I didn't see anything in the shield, but I don't like surprises."
"Agreed."
"So," she said, "are you going to argue about me coming along?"
"Nah. You'd just beat me up." Percy said.
Annabeth managed a laugh, which was good to hear. Ariana grabbed her sword, and they went to rally the troops.
Thalia and the head counselors were waiting for them at the Reservoir. The lights of the city were blinking on at twilight.
Ariana guessed a lot of them were on automatic timers. Streetlamps glowed around the shore of the lake, making the water and trees look even spookier.
"They're coming," Thalia confirmed, pointing north with a silver arrow. "One of my scouts just reported they've crossed the Harlem River. There was no way to hold them back. The army.." She
shrugged. "It's huge."
"We'll hold them at the park," Ariana said, "Grover, you ready?"
He nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. If my nature spirits can stop them anywhere, this is the place."
"Yes, we will!" said another voice.
A very old, fat satyr pushed through the crowd, stumbling over his own spear. He was dressed in wood-bark armor that only covered half of his belly.
"Leneus?" Percy said.
"Don't act so surprised," he huffed. "I am a leader of the Council, and you did tell me to find Grover.
Well, I found him, and I'm not going to let a mere outcast lead the satyrs without my help!"
Behind Leneus's back, Grover made gagging motions, but the old satyr grinned like he was the savior of the day. "Never fear! We'll show those Titans!"
Ariana didn't know whether to laugh or be angry, but she managed to keep a straight face. "Um... yeah. Well, Grover, you won't be alone. Annabeth and the Athena cabin will make their stand here. And me, and Percy and.. Thalia?"
She patted her on the shoulder. "Say no more. The Hunters are ready."
Ariana looked at the other counselors. "That leaves the rest of you with a job just as important. You have to guard the other entrances to Manhattan. You know how tricky Kronos is. He'll hope to distract us with this big army and sneak another force in somewhere else. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Has each cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?"
The counselors nodded grimly.
"Then let's do it," She said. "Good hunting, everybody!"
They heard the army before they saw it.
The noise was like a cannon barrage combined with a football stadium crowd like every Patriots fan in New England was charging us with bazookas.
At the north end of the reservoir, the enemy vanguard broke through the woods a warrior in golden armor leading a battalion of Laistrygonian giants with huge bronze axes. Hundreds of other monsters poured out behind them.
"Positions!" Annabeth yelled.
Her cabinmates scrambled. The idea was to make the enemy army break around the reservoir.
To get to them, they'd have to follow the trails, which meant they'd be marching in narrow columns on either side of the water.
At first, the plan seemed to work. The enemy divided and streamed toward us along the shore.
When they were halfway across, their defenses kicked in.
The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire, incinerating many of the monsters instantly.
Others flailed around, engulfed in green flames. Athena campers threw grappling hooks around the largest giants and pulled them to the ground.
In the woods on the right, the Hunters sent a volley of silver arrows into the enemy line, destroying twenty or thirty dracaenae, but more marched behind them.
A bolt of lightning crackled out of the sky and fried a Laistrygonian giant to ashes, and Ariana knew Thalia must be doing her daughter of Zeus thing.
Grover raised his pipes and played a quick tune. A roar went up from the woods on both sides as every tree, rock, and bush seemed to sprout a spirit.
Dryads and satyrs raised their clubs and charged. The trees wrapped around the monsters, strangling them. Grass grew around the feet of the enemy archers.
Stones flew up and hit dracaenae in the faces.
The enemy slogged forward. Giants smashed through the trees, and naiads faded as their life sources were destroyed.
Hellhounds lunged at the timber wolves, knocking them aside. Enemy archers returned fire, and a Hunter fell from a high branch.
"Percy!" Annabeth grabbed his arm and pointed at the reservoir.
The Titan in the gold armor wasn't waiting for his forces to advance around the sides. He was charging toward them, walking straight over the top of the lake.
A Greek firebomb exploded right on top of him, but he raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.
"Hyperion," Annabeth said in awe. "The lord of light. Titan of the east."
"Bad?" He guessed.
"Next to Atlas, he's the greatest Titan warrior. In the old days, four Titans controlled the four corners of the world. Hyperion was the east the most powerful. He was the father of Helios, the first sun god." Ariana said.
"I'll keep him busy," he promised.
"Percy, even you can't-"
"Just keep our forces together."
They'd set up at the reservoir for good reason. Percy concentrated on the water and felt its power surging through him.
For some strange reason, Ariana felt a tug from inside of her. She tried to ignore it.
Ariana advanced toward Hyperion, running over the top of the water. Yeah, buddy. Two can play that game.
Twenty feet away, Hyperion raised his sword. His eyes were just like she had seen in her dream as gold as Kronos's but brighter, like miniature suns.
"The sea god's brat and the underworld one," he mused. "You're the one who trapped Atlas beneath the sky again?"
"It wasn't hard," Ariana said. "You Titans are about as bright as Percy's gym socks."
Hyperion snarled. "You want bright?"
His body ignited in a column of light and heat. Ariana looked away, but she was still blinded.
Instinctively she raised her swords just in time. Hyperion's blade slammed against her. The shock wave sent a ten-foot ring of water across the surface of the lake.
Her eyes still burned. She had to shut off his light.
The tugging sensation increased. Ariana and Percy concentrated on the tidal wave and forced it to reverse.
She didn't know if she was actually doing anything but the tugging kept increasing. Just before impact, they jumped upward on a jet of water.
"АНННHH!" The waves smashed into Hyperion and he went under, his light extinguished.
Ariana landed on the lake's surface just as Hyperion struggled to his feet. His golden armor was dripping wet. His eyes no longer blazed, but they still looked murderous.
"You will burn, Parker!" he roared.
Their swords met again and the air charged with ozone. The battle still raged around them. On the right flank, Annabeth was leading an assault with her siblings.
On the left flank, Grover and his nature spirits were regrouping, entangling the enemies with bushes and weeds.
"Enough games," Hyperion told her. "We fight on land."
She was about to make some clever comment, like "No," when the Titan yelled. A wall of force slammed her through the air- just like the trick Kronos had pulled on the bridge.
She sailed backward about three hundred yards and smashed into the ground.
If it hadn't been for her new invulnerability, she would've broken every bone in her body.
She got to my feet, groaning. "I really hate it when you Titans do that."
Hyperion closed on her with blinding speed.
She concentrated on the shadows, drawing strength from it.
Hyperion attacked. He was powerful and fast, but he couldn't seem to land a blow. The ground around his feet kept erupting in flames, but Percy kept dousing it just as quickly.
"Stop it!" the Titan roared. "Stop that wind!"
Ariana wasn't sure what he meant. She was too busy fighting.
Hyperion stumbled like he was being pushed away. Water sprayed his face, stinging his eyes. The wind picked up, and Hyperion staggered backward.
"Ariana!" Grover called in amazement. "How are you doing that?"
Doing what? She thought.
Then she looked down, and she realized she was standing in the middle of my own personal shadow hurricane.
Clouds of shadows swirled around her, winds so powerful they buffeted Hyperion and flattened the grass in a twenty-yard radius.
Enemy warriors threw javelins at her, but the storm knocked them aside.
"Sweet." She muttered. "But a little more!"
Lightning flickered around her. The clouds darkened and the shadows swirled faster. Ariana closed in on Hyperion and blew him off his feet.
"Ariana!" Percy called. "Bring him over here!"
Ariana slashed and jabbed, letting her reflexes take over, Hyperion could barely defend himself. His eyes kept trying to ignite, but the hurricane quenched his flames.
She couldn't keep up a storm like this forever, though. She could feel her powers weakening.
With one last effort, she propelled Hyperion across the field, straight to where Grover was waiting.
"I will not be toyed with!" Hyperion bellowed.
He managed to get to his feet again, but Grover put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play.
Leneus joined him.
Around the grove, every satyr took up the song an eerie melody, like a creek flowing over stones. The ground erupted at Hyperion's feet. Gnarled roots wrapped around his legs.
"What's this?" he protested.
He tried to shake off the roots, but he was still weak. The roots thickened until he looked like he was wearing wooden boots.
"Stop this!" he shouted. "Your woodland magic is no match for a Titan!"
But the more he struggled, the faster the roots grew. They curled about his body, thickening and hardening into bark.
His golden armor melted into the wood, becoming part of a large trunk.
The music continued. Hyperion's forces backed up in astonishment as their leader was absorbed.
He stretched out his arms and they became branches, from which smaller branches shot out and grew leaves.
The tree grew taller and thicker, until only the Titan's face was visible in the middle of the trunk.
"You cannot imprison me!" he bellowed. "I am Hyperion! I am-"
The bark closed over his face.
Grover took his pipes from his mouth. "You are a very nice maple tree."
Several of the other satyrs passed out from exhaustion, but they'd done their job well. The Titan lord was completely encased in an enormous maple.
The trunk was at least twenty feet in diameter, with branches as tall as any in the park. The tree might've stood there for centuries.
The Titan's army started to retreat. A cheer went up from the Athena cabin, but their victory was short- lived.
Because just then Kronos unleashed his surprise.
"REEEEET!"
The squeal echoed through upper Manhattan. Demigods and monsters alike froze in terror.
Grover shot Ariana a panicked look. "Why does that sound like. ..It can't be!"
Ariana knew what he was thinking. Two years ago they'd gotten a "gift" from Pan a huge boar that carried them across the Southwest (after it tried to kill us.
The boar had a similar squeal, but what they were hearing now seemed higher pitched, shriller, almost like . .. like if the boar had an angry girlfriend.
"REEEEEET!" A huge pink creature soared over the reservoir- a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade nightmare blimp with wings.
"A sow!" Annabeth cried. "Take cover!"
The demigods scattered as the winged lady pig swooped down.
Her wings were pink like a flamingo's, which matched her skin beautifully, but it was hard to think of her as cute when her hooves slammed into the ground, barely missing one of Annabeth's siblings.
The pig stomped around and tore down half an acre of trees, belching a cloud of noxious gas. Then it took off again, circling around for another strike.
"Don't tell me that thing is from Greek mythology," Percy complained.
"Afraid so," Ariana said. "The Clazmonian Sow. It terrorized Greek towns back in the day."
"Let me guess," Percy said. "Hercules beat it."
"Nope," Annabeth said. "As far as I know, no hero has ever beaten it."
"Perfect," Ariana muttered.
The Titan's army was recovering from its shock. Ariana guessed they realized the pig wasn't after them.
They only had seconds before they were ready to fight, and our forces were still in a panic. Every time the sow belched, Grover's nature spirits yelped and faded back into their trees.
"That pig has to go." She grabbed a grappling hook from one of Annabeth's siblings. "I'll take care of it. You guys hold the rest of the enemy. Push them back!"
"But, Ariana," Grover said, "what if we can't?"
She saw how tired he was. The magic had really drained him. Annabeth didn't look much better from fighting with a bad shoulder wound.
Percy looked tired and she didn't know how the Hunters were doing, but the right flank of the enemy army was now between them and them.
Ariana didn't want to leave her friends in such bad shape, but that sow was the biggest threat. It would destroy everything: buildings, trees, sleeping mortals. It had to be stopped.
"Retreat if you need to," Ariana said. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Before she could change her mind, shw swung the grappling hook like a lasso. When the sow came down for its next pass, Ariana threw with all her strength.
The hook wrapped around the base of the pig's wing. It squealed in rage and veered off, yanking the rope and her into the sky.
If you're heading downtown from Central Park, my advice is to take the subway. Flying pigs are faster, but way more dangerous.
The sow soared past the Plaza Hotel, straight into the canyon of Fifth Avenue. Her brilliant plan was to climb the rope and get on the pig's back.
Unfortunately she was too busy swinging around dodging streetlamps and the sides of buildings.
Another thing she learned: it's one thing to climb a rope in gym class.
It's a completely different thing to climb a rope attached to a moving pig's wing while you're flying at a hundred miles an hour.
They zigzagged along several blocks and continued south on Park Avenue.
Boss! Hey, boss! Out of the corner of my eye, Ariana saw Blackjack speeding along next to them, darting back and forth to avoid the pig's wings.
"Watch out!" She told him.
Hop on! Blackjack whinnied. I can catch you ... probably.
That wasn't very reassuring. Grand Central lay dead ahead. Above the main entrance stood the giant statue of Hermes, which Ariana guessed hadn't been activated because it was so high up. She was flying right toward him at the speed of demigod-smashing.
"Stay alert!" She told Blackjack. "I've got an idea."
Ariana swung outward with all her might. Instead of smashing into the Hermes statue, she whipped around it, circling the rope under its arms.
Ariana thought this would tether the pig, but she had underestimated the momentum of a thirty-ton sow in flight.
Just as the pig wrenched the statue loose from its pedestal, Ariana let go. Hermes went for a ride, taking my place as the pig's passenger, and she free-fell toward the street.
Then a shadow swooped under her, and thump she was on Blackjack's back. It wasn't the most comfortable landing.
In fact, when she yelled "OW!" Her voice was an octave higher than usual.
Sorry, boss, Blackjack murmured.
"No problem," she squeaked. "Follow that pig!"
The porker had taken a right at East 42nd and was flying back toward Fifth Avenue. When it flew above the rooftops, Ariana could see fires here and there around the city.
It looked like her friends were having a rough time. Kronos was attacking on several fronts. But at the moment, she had my own problems.
The Hermes statue was still on its leash. It kept bonking into buildings and spinning around. The pig swooped over an office building, and Hermes plowed into a water tower on the roof, blasting water and wood everywhere.
Then something occurred to her.
"Get closer," she told Blackjack.
He whinnied in protest.
"Just within shouting distance," Ariana said. "I need to talk to the statue."
Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, Blackjack said, but he did what she asked.
When Ariana was close enough to see the statue's face clearly, she yelled, "Hello, Hermes! Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"
Immediately the statue moved its legs. It seemed confused to find that it was no longer on top of Grand Central Terminal. It was, instead, being given a sky-ride on the end of a rope by a large winged sow.
It smashed through the side of a brick building, which I think made it a little mad. It shook its head and began to climb the rope.
Ariana glanced down at the street. They were coming up on the main public library, with the big marble lions flanking the steps.
Suddenly she had a weird thought: Could stone statues be automatons too? It seemed like a long shot.
"Faster!" She told Blackjack. "Get in front of the pig, Taunt him!"
Um, boss-
"Trust me," Ariana said. "I can do this ... probably."
Oh, sure. Mock the horse.
Blackjack burst through the air. He could fly pretty darned fast when he wanted to. He got in front of the pig, which now had a metal Hermes on its back.
Blackjack whinnied, You smell like ham!
He kicked the pig in the snout with his back hooves and went into a steep dive. The pig screamed in rage and followed.
They barrelled straight for the front steps of the library. Blackjack slowed down just enough for her to hop off, then he kept flying toward the main doors.
Ariana yelled out, "Lions! Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"
The lions stood up and looked at her. They probably thought she was teasing them. But just then:
"REEEEEET!"
The massive pink pork monster landed with a thud, cracking the sidewalk. The lions stared at it, not believing their luck, and pounced.
At the same time, a very beat-up Hermes statue leaped onto the pig's head and started banging it mercilessly with a caduceus. Those lions had some nasty claws.
Ariana drew her swords , but there wasn't much for her to do. The pig disintegrated before her eyes.
She almost felt sorry for it. She hoped it got to meet the boar of its dreams down in Tartarus.
When the monster had completely turned to dust, the lions and the Hermes statue looked around in confusion.
"You can defend Manhattan now," Ariana told them, but they didn't seem to hear.
They went charging down Park Avenue, and she imagined they would keep looking for flying pigs until someone deactivated them.
Hey, boss, said Blackjack. Can we take a donut break?
Ariana wiped the sweat off her brow. "I wish, big guy, but the fight's still going on."
In fact, she could hear it getting closer. Her friends needed help. She jumped on Blackjack, and they flew north toward the sound of explosions.