"It's Greek fire!" Percy yelled as the mermen around him began to panic, running in all directions to escape the green blaze that had been ignited seemingly everywhere. "We have to work together—"
Escaping individually was not an option. As Percy watched grimly, several dozen warriors tried to dodge a geyser of the flame and instantly disintegrated. If they didn't work together, the mythological weapon would engulf everyone.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone.
"Such a party trick is not allowed to kill my honorable warriors!" Poseidon roared. He flicked his wrist, and his regular weapon—the golden sister of Aśimi—appeared in his hand. A blue energy shot forth from the tips, extinguishing any Greek fire with which it came in contact.
". . . That seems very handy," Percy commented.
"What, you thought even the gods had no defense against this trick? A superior fire requires superior water to extinguish. My kingdom has been attacked with his many times—but this is the wrong weapon to be used against me."
Percy had to admit, he'd never thought about how the Greek fire that'd lit up every corner of Camp after the Second Titan War had been extinguished. He'd just thought it ran out of things to burn. A blaze this easy to take care of shouldn't have killed so many of his comrades.
For the two-hundredth time in my life, I've learned that the gods don't value us, Percy thought. How can such lazy beings be so superior?
But through his dealings with Poseidon, he realized that maybe "superior beings" was a title tacked on by the Olympians. Because what he saw in their behavior was not unlike a toddler having way too much power over their surroundings.
Still, that didn't mean they didn't have some positives. "You stay here and help out the warriors," Poseidon said. His blue beams had taken out most Greek fire looming around the outpost, but some mermen were still in trouble.
"And how am I supposed to do that? Wave my hands around and beg?" Percy asked sarcastically.
Poseidon's eyes flared with anger at the young man's tone. But Percy didn't care. This defiance paled in comparison to what the god had put him through.
Poseidon tapped his weapon against Percy's, and Asími glowed blue with the same light. "Woah," Percy gasped. Copying Posiedon, he tried zapping some fire—and jumped back in surprise when it actually worked. "This is just like zapping mosquitos back in Montauk!" "Don't get too excited. You still have a job to do."
"Right. Where are you going?"
"I need to help my people." Poseidon looked determined. "There's no doubt that this attack was to draw me out of Atlantis—but who would do such a thing?"
"I'm coming with you, Dad. Whoever this was, they have a solid plan. We need all the power on our side."
"Percy, didn't I tell you to focus on the outpost?" Poseidon was annoyed now. He spun around. "Your job is important as well—"
His voice died in his throat as he looked for the Greek fire plaguing the place below him—or rather, the lack of it.
"But there isn't any more work I have to do," Percy said innocently.
Within the few minutes that the god hadn't been looking, Percy had successfully extinguished every fire. Normally, he wasn't the one you wanted on duty with ranged weapons. But firing off lasers with Asími felt . . . natural.
"Maybe I should use a bow," he muttered, looking at his hands in awe.
Poseidon's mouth hung wide open. "It took me years to overcome the curse and master that technique. How in the world . . ." He closed his mouth and cleared his throat, catching himself. "Impressive. Let's go to Atlantis, shall we?"
~~~
One blink later, they were back at the gate of Atlantis. The guards, to Percy's relief, were nowhere to be found.
To Percy's dismay, however, there lay a lump of melted metal five feet to his right. And where the gate was supposed to be was air.
Poseidon let loose an impressive string of curses. "How can he be this fast?" he muttered to himself.
Percy eyed him suspiciously. "You seem to know who is attacking us."
"I had my suspicions . . . but after seeing the gate, now I know. We need to get to my palace this instant."
"Can't you just teleport us there?"
"Atlantis is on lockdown mode. No one can teleport in or out—not even me."
"Great," Percy said sarcastically. "All I needed after a surprise monster attack was jogging a marathon—with lives at stake."
"I've let Atlantis grow too large," Poseidon agreed begrudgingly.
The two set off, with Poseidon setting the pace. He ran with the speed of an Olympic sprinter and the stamina of a triathlon athlete, but Percy had no trouble keeping up. His water powers prevented him from growing fatigued.
As they ran deeper into the city, the buildings became more prominent—wood to stone to marble capped with coral. One thing was similar between them, though . . .
Most of them had been reduced to rubble. Merpeople ran everywhere, trying to evade falling stones as more buildings collapsed.
Percy and Poseidon slowed down, and a nearby guard saluted to them. His trident was covered in monster blood, and his armor was basically reduced to scraps of celestial bronze. "How's everything?" Poseidon asked.
"The city's in a mess, Your Highness," the guard said gravely. "We . . . were caught off guard. Monsters are attacking residents as we speak. There's also an onslaught of magical barrages from an invisible opponent. "
Above them, a meteor the size of the Pentagon crashed into the water and pushed toward Atlantis at a horrifying speed. Without looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the meteor and zapped it—turning it into a harmless rock powder. "I apologize for being late. There's no reason to fear them now. Your lord is back."
Percy stepped forward. There was something peculiar about the attack, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I haven't seen any monsters, though."
"We've been getting reports of them more in the center of the city," the guard said annoyedly—he still hadn't fully accepted Percy as an ally. "The entire of the Atlantean Guard has been summoned there. I was making my way there as well."
Poseidon and Percy shared a worried glance. "The throne room," they said in unison.
Without any more words, Poseidon raised his trident, and the water whisked them toward the city's center. Percy's feet moved so fast that he could barely feel the cobblestone road under him.
While his body sprinted as fast as the Flash, his brain worked even more intensely. "If it's the throne room they're after, there must be something important in there."
"My seat of power," Poseidon said gravely as buildings turned into a blur on either side of him. "If someone destroys it, they will gain enough power to effortlessly take over the sea."
"Seems like a major flaw. So if we fail to stop this guy, does that mean I can blame you?"
"It isn't as simple as you think, Percy." Poseidon sighed, and he seemed to grow a few decades older. "Our bodies continuously generate energy to regenerate our powers—but they can only hold so much. My throne functions as a storage device where I can store excess energy and harness it in desperate situations."
"So . . . a throne is kind of like a thumb drive for the Olympians."
"What's a thumb drive?"
"Never mind," Percy said, remembering that technology wasn't the strong suit of Greek gods. "Can't you just release the energy from your throne and call it a day?"
"That would destroy the entire Western world," Poseidon said flatly. "Not to mention, my power would be on par with my nieces and nephews—and then Zeus would not hesitate to kick me off the Council."
". . . Forget what I said," Percy said suddenly, sweating. "Let's go destroy this dude."
"It's not going to be that easy if it's truly who I think it is." They rounded a corner, and Poseidon's palace came into view. It was as magnificent as Percy remembered it—as if the attacker was especially careful not to damage it. "We'll first prioritize getting to the throne room—"
A scream sounded through the air, and the duo slid to a stop. One street over, a group of merpeople were evacuating a fancy-looking skyscraper. Looks like a five-star hotel. Do you think they'd allow me in for a night after I save this place?
Right now, however, the hotel looked like a death trap. Warriors surrounded the place. Given their armor and straight postures, Percy first thought they were mermen, but upon closer inspection, he realized he was wrong. They reminded him of the Kraken. Their bodies were covered with slime, with tentacles instead of limbs. Their faces were horrifying—two indents for beady-looking eyes and a mouth full of sharp, tall teeth that looked like they could pulverize steel.
Upon seeing them, Poseidon tensed. "They're krakoi. Minions of the Kraken."
"Shouldn't they have disappeared when I killed the Kraken?" Percy straightened up. "Or . . . did I not finish it off?"
"You definitely did," Poseidon said, and Percy sighed in relief. "The appearance of the krakoi means . . . he's definitely here."
"Who?" Percy asked, sick of asking the same question several times. Why couldn't gods be less dramatic?
"The master of the kraken."
Just then, another huge explosion rattled the ground. This time, it came from within the palace.
"We've got to go," Poseidon said urgently.
But Percy's gaze was still fixated on the hotel. "You go on ahead. I'll help these people first."
"You can't! These are special krakoi! They're each as powerful as Ares. We need to kill him—and then they'll disappear."
"I think you're forgetting something," Percy said. "I might've been a mess for the past few months, but I'm still Percy Jackson. A dozen stupid-looking warriors won't kill me."
Poseidon sighed. "There's no stopping you, is there?"
"I'll see you later, Dad." Then he charged into battle.