Theo's POV
I never knew that flying a Pegasus could be so exhilarating, but here we are.
While in the air, Percy told me about the "sea cow" he freed, and that he and Nico saw that one of the Hunters, Phoebe, was bedridden because of a T-shirt sprayed in centaur blood. Despite this, Zoe was adamant that they leave with only four, despite Bianca insisting that I go with them, given that Artemis is my mother.
Percy also told me that he promised Nico that he'd keep Bianca safe. I hoped he could keep that promise, but given the fact that two of the five would die, I didn't like the odds.
The thing about flying on a pegasus during the daytime is that if you're not careful, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. Percy and I had to keep Blackjack and Casablanca (my Pegasus) up in the clouds, which were, fortunately, pretty low in the winter. We darted around, trying to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. And if it was cold on the ground, it was seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging my skin.
We lost the van twice, but I had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again.
Traffic was bad with the holidays and all. It was mid morning before they got into the city. We landed Blackjack and Casablanca near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp van, thinking it would pull into the bus station, but it just kept driving.
Theo: Where the hell is Argus taking them?
Casablanca neighed.
Percy: Which girl?
Blackjack neighed.
Percy: Zoe?
Blackjack neighed in response.
Theo: What about Zoe?
Percy: She's the one driving the van.
Theo: What?!
Meanwhile, the van kept snaking its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to me that Zoe could drive. I mean, she didn't look sixteen. Then again, she was immortal. I wondered if she had a New York license, and if so, what her birth date said.
Theo: Screw it. Let's go after them.
We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Casablanca whinnied in alarm and
almost threw me. Something was curling around my leg like a snake. I reached for my sword, but when I looked down, there was no snake. Vines—grape vines—had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Casablanca's and Blackjack's legs, lashing down mine and Percy's ankles so we couldn't move.
???: Going somewhere?
Mr. D was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.
Blackjack and Casablanca whinnied in fear.
Mr. D: (sighs) The next person, or horse, who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!
Percy: Mr. D. What do you want?
Mr. D: Oh, what do I want? You both thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice the two of you leaving without permission?
Theo: Yeah.
Mr. D: I should throw you both off this building, minus the flying horses, and see how heroic you sound on the way down. Would that show you how much bite I got, Keller?
I balled my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill us or haul us back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea.
Theo: Why do you hate us so much? What did we ever do to you?
Mr. D: You're heroes. I need no other reason.
Percy: We have to go on this quest! We've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!
Casablanca neighed nervously.
The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight.
Mr. D: Did I ever tell you about Ariadne? Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth. And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?
The answer I wanted to give was I don't care! But I didn't figure that would make Mr. D finish his story any faster.
Theo: They got married. The end.
Mr. D: Not quite. Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he...What's the word you mortals use today? He dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal.
Theo: That's wrong. But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with us?
Mr. D: I fell in love with Ariadne, boy. I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp.
Percy: You're...you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph—
Mr. D: My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So, you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoe Nightshade.
Percy: What do you mean, ask Zoe?
He waved his hand dismissively.
Mr. D: Go. Follow your silly friends.
The vines uncurled around my legs and Percy's.
Theo: You're letting us go? Just like that?
Mr. D: The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be those two. But mark my words, Son of Poseidon and Son of Artemis, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes.
With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a pop and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind.
Blackjack whinnied, and Percy nodded.
Percy: Come on, Blackjack. I'll buy you and Casablanca some donuts in New Jersey.
Timeskip
New Jersey
We didn't get any donuts in New Jersey. Zoe drove south like a lunatic, and we were into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop. Blackjack and Casablanca darn near tumbled out of the sky, they were so tired.
Percy and I got off the Pegasi as they panted.
Theo: You did good, Casablanca.
Casablanca rubbed her face on mine and neighed.
Percy: She says thank you.
Theo: (pats Casablanca's head) Don't mention. Stay here. I'm gonna scout.
I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too, because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me.
I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had a little change in my pocket. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate problem, when my whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out of the store.
Thalia: Grover, are you sure?
Grover: Well...pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent.
Bianca: And you did this with acorns?
Grover: It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right.
Bianca: D.C. is about sixty miles from here. Nico and I...We used to live there. That's... that's strange. I'd forgotten.
Zoe: I dislike this. We should go straight west. The prophecy said west.
Thalia: Oh, like your tracking skills are any better?
Zoe: You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!
Thalia: Oh, scullion. You're calling me a scullion? What the fuck is a scullion?
Grover: Whoa, you two. Come on. Not again!
Bianca: Grover's right. D.C. is our best bet.
Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly.
Zoe: Very well. Let us keep moving.
Thalia: You're going to get us arrested, driving. I look closer to sixteen than you do. We should've let Theo come with us, he's the better driver out of all of us.
Zoe: Perhaps. But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go.
As Blackjack, Casablanca, Percy and I continued south, following the van, I wondered whether Zoe had been kidding. I'm pretty sure automobiles were first invented in 1885 or something like that.
How old was Zoe? And what had Mr. D been talking about? What bad experience had she had with heroes?
As we got closer to Washington, Blackjack and Casablanca started slowing down and dropping altitude. They were breathing heavily.
Percy: You two okay?
Blackjack whinnied.
Percy: You don't sound so good.
Theo: I can tell they're not. Let's hope they stop soon.
Timeskip
Washington, D.C.
Fortunately, they started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. I started thinking about air patrols and missiles and stuff like that. I didn't know exactly how all those defenses worked and I wasn't sure if Pegasi even showed up on your typical military radar, but I didn't want to find out by getting shot out of the sky.
Theo: Let's set down over there. That's close enough.
Blackjack and Casablanca dropped toward the Washington Monument and set us on the grass.
The van was only a few blocks away. Zoe had parked at the curb.
Theo: The van's gonna get towed.
Percy: Yep. (turns to Blackjack) I want you both to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. We'll be fine.
Blackjack and Casablanca tilted their heads.,
Percy: You've done enough already. We'll be fine. And thanks a ton.
Casablanca nudged me with her head before she and Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds.
Percy and I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind.
We started to follow. But then we froze.
A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.
The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear and started walking down the Mall in the direction of our friends.
The worst of it: was when he turned toward me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.
Theo: Percy, you find the others. I'll follow Thorn.
Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding. If he had survived that fall from the cliff, then Annabeth must have too. My dreams had been right. She was alive and being held prisoner, along with Artemis and David.
Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.
Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! I always wanted to come here.
Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.
Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.
Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. The sign said CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT.
I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.
Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten me killed.
I was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae.
But that wasn't the worst of it. Standing between the snake women—I could swear he was looking straight down at me—was my old enemy Luke. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost gray as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.
Next to him on either side were two men. One was standing up, and one was sitting down so that the shadows covered him. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.
But I easily recognized the other man. It was the asshole that took David.
Man in Chair: Well?
His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream—not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.
Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent:
Dr. Thorn: They are here, General, Lieutenant.
General: I know that, you fool. But where?
Dr. Thorn: In the rocket museum.
Luke: The Air and Space Museum.
Dr. Thorn glared at Luke.
Dr. Thorn: As you say, sir.
I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call him sir.
Luke: How many?
Thorn pretended not to hear.
Lieutenant: How many?
Dr. Thorn: Four, General. The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say—punk clothes and the horrible shield.
Luke: Thalia.
Dr. Thorn: And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet.
General: That one I know.
Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.
General: (to the Lieutenant) I suppose you were wrong, my friend. It seems that Theodorus was not chosen.
Lieutenant: Oh, he'll come. He cannot resist, not while knowing whose lives are at stake.
Luke: (to the General) Let me take them. We have more than enough—
General: Patience. They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied.
Luke: But—
General: We cannot risk you, my boy.
Dr. Thorn: (smiles) Yes, boy. You are much too fragile to risk. Let me finish them off.
General: (gets up) No.
He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.
Played by: John Cena
General: You have already failed me, Thorn.
Dr. Thorn: But, General—
General: No excuses!
Thorn flinched. I'd thought Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.
General: I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of Athena.
Dr. Thorn: But you promised me revenge. A command of my own!
General: I am Lord Kronos's senior commander, and I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you.
Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.
General: (to Luke) Now, my boy. The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her.
Luke: The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of. Zoe Nightshade—
General: DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME!
Luke: S-Sorry, General. I just—
The General silenced him with a wave of his hand.
General: Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down.
He pointed to a guard on the ground level.
General: Do you have the teeth?
The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot.
Guard: Yes, General!
General: Plant them!
In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.
The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands.
Guard: Ready, General!
General: Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey.
The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.
The soil began to bubble.
General: (to Luke) Soon, I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant.
Luke: I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—
General: HA! I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—
I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that.
General: —but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines.
The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.
In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said: "Mew?"
It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there was a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.
Everyone stared at them in disbelief.
General: WHAT IS THIS?! CUTE CUDDLY KITTENS?! WHERE DID YOU FIND THOSE TEETH?!
The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. Three of some kittens jumped off the dirt and walked in separate directions...AND ONE OF THEM IS WALKING STRAIGHT TOWARDS ME!
Guard: From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—
General: No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus!
The kitten stopped just three feet in front of me and looked me dead in the eye. I don't know whether it not it can see me, but I was hoping it would turn around and leave.
But it didn't leave. Instead, it jumped and landed ON MY LEFT SHOULDER!
General: Gather up those...those infernal fuzzy—
He stopped and looked at me...or more specifically, the kitten sitting on my shoulder, and everyone else looked as well. To them, it was sitting on air.
Shit.
I turned around and ran for the door, with the tiger cub still sitting on my shoulder.
General: INTRUDER! ONE CLOAKED IN DARKNESS! SEAL THEM!
Luke: It's either Jackson or Miller! It has to be!
I sprinted for the exit but heard a ripping sound and realized that someone had taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, the Lieutenant was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.
And then I ran.
I tore across the mall, not daring to look behind me. I burst into the Air and Space Museum and took off my invisibility cap once I was through the admissions area.
The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. I wanted to yell at them all to leave, but I figured that would only get me arrested. I had to find Percy, Thalia, Grover, and the Hunters. Any minute, museum would get raided.
I ran into Thalia—literally. I was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.
Grover yelped in surprise, and Percy jumped.
Before I could regain my balance, Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at my chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.
Immediately, I took off the cap and shimmered into visibility in front of them.
Zoe: You! First, Jackson, now thee?!
Theo: Give me shit about it later.
Once Thalia saw me, her face brightened.
Thalia: Theo! (chuckles) Should've known you'd sneak out of camp.
Theo: Not right now. Luke. He's here.
Percy: Wait, you're serious?
Theo: Yes!
Thalia's smile immediately dropped. She put her hand on her silver bracelet.
Thalia: Where?
I told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, the Lieutenant, and the General.
Zoe: The General is here? That is impossible! You lie.
Theo: Why the hell would I lie about something like this? There's no time, we've got incoming.
Thalia: How many?
Theo: I don't know. But that's not it. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster.
Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.
Grover: It wouldn't happen be that kitten on your shoulder, would it?
Theo: No. It's definitely something else.
Grover: Then why is it here?
Theo: Little guy wouldn't leave me alone. What about you guys?
Grover: We were following Artemis's trail. I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent... She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet.
Bianca: (to Zoe) Zoe...If it is the General...
Zoe: It cannot be! Theo must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion.
Theo: I know what I saw, and it was an illusion. I can tell you that much.
Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this General guy, but I figured now wasn't the time to ask.
Zoe: If Theo is telling the truth, we have no time to argue. We must leave now.
Theo: I agree.
Percy: Alright, let's go.
Zoe: I was not including thee. You are not part of this quest.
Theo: I'm trying to save your lives here!
Thalia: Look, I'm happy to see you, Theo. Not as much as Percy, but neither of you should have come here. But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van.
Zoe: That is not thy decision!
Thalia: You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!
Zoe: You never had any wisdom when it came to boys. You never could leave them behind!
Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze, I heard a growl so loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.
Below us, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight...
???: KITTY!
Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur.
Thalia: The Nemean Lion. Don't move.
The lion roared so loud it parted my hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.
Zoe: Separate on my mark. Try to keep it distracted.
Grover: Until when?
Zoe: Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!
Zoe, Bianca, and I started climbing the Apollo capsule. Percy uncapped Riptide and dove to the left.
I took out my bow and quiver and started shooting the lion along with Zoe and Bianca, but the arrows just shatter against its metallic fur.
Grover played a frantic, horrible tune with his reed pipes, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled.
Thalia: GET BACK!
The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.
For a second, I thought Thalia had it under control. Then I saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. I'd seen enough cat fights in the alleys around my apartment in New York. I knew the lion was going to pounce.
Percy: HEY!
Percy charged the beast. He slashed with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into pieces, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.
The lion raked Percy with its claws, ripping off a chunk of his coat. Percy backed against the railing. It sprang at him, one thousand pounds of monster, and he had no choice but to turn and jump.
Percy landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled him to the floor, three stories below.
The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the plane began to groan.
The lion swiped at him, but Percy jumped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter.
The lion roared.
Percy: THEO! ZOE! TARGET THE MOUTH!
The monster lunged. I shot an arrow at it, but it missed.
Percy dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. He slid down Russia and dropped off the equator.
The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the model earth's North Pole.
Theo: GROVER, CLEAR THE AREA!
Groups of kids were running around screaming. Grover tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from Percy, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded them both, trying to decide which of them to kill first.
Theo: GET IT TO OPEN ITS MOUTH! WE CAN'T GET A CLEAR SHOT!
The lion snarled from the top of the globe.
Percy looked around until his eyes landed on the gift shop.
Percy: THALIA, KEEP IT OCCUPIED!
Thalia nodded as she pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping the lion in the tail.
The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding up Aegis to keep the monster at bay, and Percy ran for the gift shop.
Zoe: THIS IS NO TIME FOR SOUVENIRS, BOY!
Bianca, Zoe, and I still stood on the Apollo capsule, shooting the lion, but nothing was working.
Zoe: What is he doing?
Theo: I don't know, but we're gonna have to trust him.
Thalia kept the lion busy, dodging its swipes until Percy came out of the gift shop...with silver food packets?
Thalia: PERCY, WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA DO—
The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.
Percy: HEY!
He hurled Riptide like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's attention. It turned toward him and snarled.
He charged, and as the lion leaped to intercept him, he chucked one of the packets into the lion's maw.
The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged like a cat with a hairball. That's when I realized that the packets were space food.
Percy: GET READY!
I could hear people screaming. Grover was playing another horrible song on his pipes.
The lion managed to choke down the space food packet and looked at Percy with pure hate.
Percy: SNACK TIME!
Percy got another packet in its throat. Before it could stop gagging, he threw two more packets.
The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying to get away from Percy.
Percy: NOW!
Bianca, Zoe, and I shot as many arrows as possible into the lion's mouth. The lion thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.
Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on.
Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoe, Bianca, and I dropped from the balcony and landed next to Percy.
Zoe: That was... an interesting strategy.
Percy: Hey, it worked.
Theo: How'd you know the space food would make it want to throw up?
Percy: I came here with my mom a while ago. I tried the food for myself...It was disgusting.
Theo: Huh. Cool.
The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes, until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a normal lion's pelt.
Zoe: (to Percy) Take it.
Percy: What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?
Zoe: It is a spoil of war. It is rightfully thine.
Percy: You killed it.
Theo: Nah, I'm pretty sure it was the ice cream sandwich that did it.
Zoe: (chuckles) Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur.
As Percy picked it up, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.
Percy: Not exactly my style.
Grover: We have to get out of here. The security guards won't stay confused for long.
I noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest us. They were scrambling in all directions except ours, like they were madly searching for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.
Theo: Did you do that?
Grover: (nods) A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds.
Theo: Nice.
We fist bumped each other.
Zoe: The security guards are not our biggest worry. Look.
Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes, but I could feel their gaze aimed straight at me.
Percy: Go. I'll hold them off.
Theo: What? No. They're after me.
Percy: That's exactly why you have to go.
Zoe: No. We go together.
Percy: But you said—
Zoe: You are part of this quest now. I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind. As for Theo...I am certain he will follow us no matter how much we attempt to stop him.
Theo: You're damn right about that.
Then, the saber-toothed tiger cub jumped on my shoulder and purred.
Theo: Alright, I guess you're coming too, buddy.
The cub meowed contently.