Michael POV
"REEEEET!" The squeal echoed through upper Manhattan. Demigods and monsters alike froze in terror.
"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," Alex complained.
"Afraid so," Annabeth said. "The Clazmonian Sow. It terrorized Greek towns back in the day."
"Let me guess," I said. "Hercules beat it."
"Nope," Annabeth said. "As far as I know, no hero has ever beaten it."
"Perfect," Alex muttered.
The Titan's army was recovering from its shock. I guess they realized the pig wasn't after them. We 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." I grabbed a grappling hook from one of the Athena kids. "I'll take care of it. You guys hold the rest of the enemy. Push them back!"
"But, Michael," Grover said, "what if we can't?"
I saw how tired he was. The magic had really drained him. Annabeth didn't look much better from fighting with a bad shoulder wound. Alex looked beyond exhausted and a few of the Demeter kids were still passed out. I didn't know how the Hunters were doing, but the right flank of the enemy army was now between them and us.
I didn't want to leave my 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," I said. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Before I could change my mind, I swung the grappling hook like a lasso. When the sow came down for its next pass, I threw with all my strength. The hook wrapped around the base of the pig's wing. It squealed in rage and veered off, yanking the rope and me 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. My brilliant plan was to climb the rope and get on the pig's back. Unfortunately I was too busy swinging around dodging streetlamps and the sides of buildings.
Another thing I 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.
We zigzagged along several blocks and continued south on Park Avenue.
Boss! Hey, boss! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dusk, one of my adult Seraf Wolves, speeding along next to us, darting back and forth to avoid the pig's wings. His fur was as black as his wings.
"Watch out!" I told him.
Hop off that thing! Dusk barked. 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 I guess hadn't been activated because it was so high up. I was flying right toward him at the speed of demigod-smashing.
"Stay alert!" I told Dusk. "I've got an idea."
Does it involve that statue? I already hate your idea.
I swung outward with all my might. Instead of smashing into the Hermes statue, I whipped around it, circling the rope under its arms. I thought this would tether the pig, but I'd underestimated the momentum of a thirty-ton sow in flight. Just as the pig wrenched the statue loose from its pedestal, I let go. Hermes went for a ride, taking my place as the pig's passenger, and I free-fell toward the street.
Then a shadow swooped under me, and thump—I was on Dusk's back. It wasn't the most comfortable landing. In fact, when I yelled "OW!" my voice was an octave higher than usual.
Sorry, boss, Dusk whined.
"No problem," I 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, I could see fires here and there around the city. It looked like my friends were having a rough time. Kronos was attacking on several fronts. But at the moment, I 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 me.
"Get closer," I told Dusk.
He whined in protest.
"Just within shouting distance," I said. "I need to talk to the statue."
Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, Dusk said, but he did what I asked.
When I was close enough to see the statue's face clearly, I yelled, "Hey, 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.
I glanced down at the street. We were coming up on the main public library, with the big marble lions flanking the steps.
Suddenly I had a weird thought: Could stone statues be automatons too? It seemed like a long shot, but . . .
"Faster!" I told Dusk. "Get in front of the pig, Taunt him!"
Um, boss—
"Trust me," I said. "I can do this . . . probably."
Oh, sure. Mock the wolf.
Dusk burst through the air. He could fly pretty damn fast when he wanted to. He got in front of the pig, which now had a metal Hermes on its back.
Dusk barked, You smell like ham!
He kicked the pig in the snout with his back feet, slicing into its nose, and went into a steep dive. The pig screamed in rage and followed.
We barreled straight for the front steps of the library. Dusk slowed down just enough for me to hop off, then he kept flying toward the main doors.
I yelled out, "Lions! Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"
The lions stood up and looked at me. They probably thought I 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.
I drew Aura, but there wasn't much for me to do. The pig disintegrated before my eyes. I almost felt sorry for it. I 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," I told them, but they didn't seem to hear. They went charging down Park Avenue, and I imagined they would keep looking for flying pigs until someone deactivated them.
Hey, boss, said Dusk. Can we take a chicken break?
I wiped the sweat off my brow. "I wish, big guy, but the fight's still going on."
In fact, I could hear it getting closer. My friends needed help. I shifted into a Seraf Wolf, and we flew north toward the sound of explosions.
Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.
I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south.
Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building. We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area.
The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Beckendorf and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods.
The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and we'd be totally surrounded.
We have to land where they need us most, I whined.
That's everywhere, boss.
I spotted a familiar golden lyre banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Lee and two of his siblings were holding back a Hyperborean giant.
There! I told Dusk.
We plunged toward the battle. I soared towards the giant's head and howled. When the giant looked up, I flew down at his face, slashing at his nose on the way down with my claws.
"RAWWWR!' The giant staggered backward, blue blood trickling from his nostrils. I hit the pavement running. The Hyperborean breathed a cloud of white mist, and the temperature dropped. The spot where I'd landed was now coated with ice, and I was covered in frost like a sugar donut.
"Hey, ugly!" Lee yelled. I hoped he was talking to the giant, not me, but I couldn't tell. Lee flashed with a bright light. Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward him, exposing the unprotected back of his legs. Dusk charged in and ripped out the back of his knee with his teeth before bouncing away.
"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where Dusk had bit him, cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled in a mountain of blue shards.
"Thanks." Lee winced, trying to catch his breath. "The pig?" I shook off the snow and shifted back to human.
"Pork chops," I said.
"Good." He flexed his shoulder. There was a wound on him, but he saw my expression and rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Michael. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."
He was right. The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.
Dusk and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.
As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction.
At one point Maddie was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with her cudgel. Then she disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Then it was Luke, slashing through monsters with Backbiter. He jumped into the fray and it was Alex, panting but not a scratch on him. Dusk and I worked as a team, taking on monster after monster. But it still wasn't enough.
"Hold your lines!" Katie shouted, somewhere off to my left. The problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.
I slashed and hacked, destroying everything in my path, but even I was getting tired, and I couldn't be everywhere at once.
Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I thought it was the sunrise. Then I realized Kronos was riding toward us on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners.
The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me wear myself down.
Percy appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"
He was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn. It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.
I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned. "Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."
"Then who?"
The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching. I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed.
Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy. Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward. I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.
A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.
"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!" A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.
"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled. The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX. Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.
"Alex!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs. He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction. "Sorry we're late!"
"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!" He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.
"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"
Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"
"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.
It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.
"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!" That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.
We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"
It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.
"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."
"But the enemy—"
"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."
I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right. I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.
We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island, thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.
"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER. "That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"
"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"
Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."
"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.
Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug.
"Chiron, thanks," Alex said. "Talk about saving the day."
He shrugged. "I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."
"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.
"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."
"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.
Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."
I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.
"And Typhon?" Alex asked.
Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians. No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia. He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"
"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."
"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter." She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.
"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."
I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth, Alex, and me alone. I walked off to find my wife, leaving the two alone.
When I found her, she was binding a wound on Nico's arm.
"You two okay?" I asked as I sat next to them.
"For the most part, yeah," Nico winced as Bianca suddenly tightened the bandage. "Not dead yet. How about you? I heard you took down a sow."
"It wasn't easy," I said with a small smile. That smile fell quickly. "We can't do this. It's impossible now."
"Nothing is impossible, Michael," Bianca said. She finished up Nico's bandage and took my hand. She was covered in dirt and blood, and her hair was cut in odd places, but she still looked beautiful. "We won't go down without a fight."
"I don't want anyone else to go down at all," I said.
"I have an idea," Nico suddenly proposed. "Bianca, you and I should go down and see dad. Convince him and Persephone to fight. He'll listen to us."
"I don't know," Bianca said, looking at me.
"Go," I told her. "We need all the help we can get."
"Alright," She said. "Just stay alive." I kissed her cheek and stood up.
"I will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of us had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar we didn't dare take any more.
We had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The rest had taken refuge on Olympus.
The Party Ponies tried to form ranks, but they staggered and giggled and they all smelled like root beer. The Texans were head-butting the Coloradoans. The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois. The chances were pretty good the whole army would end up fighting each other rather than the enemy.
A roar suddenly shook the ground. It sounded very close.
"Shit," I swore. Lee gave me a scared look.
"What was that?" He asked.
A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.
"Oh," he said in a small voice. "That looks like fun."
Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons.
Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, and much larger. They look like giant serpents. Most don't have wings. Most don't breathe fire (though some do). All are poisonous. All are immensely strong, with scales harder than titanium. Their eyes can paralyze you; not the turn-you~to-stone Medusatype paralysis, but the oh~my~gods~that~big~snake~is~going~to~eat~me type of paralysis, which is just as bad.
We have drakon-fighting classes at camp, but there is no way to prepare yourself for a two-hundred foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth big enough to chew elephants. It almost made me long for the flying pig.
Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. We'd done our best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for our enemies to approach.
The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously. Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encouragement to stand tough and think about victory and root beer, but I figured any second they would panic and run.
"I'll take the drakon." My voice came out as a timid squeak. Then I yelled louder: "I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON! Everyone else, hold the line against the army!" Lee stood next to me. He had pulled a golden helmet low over his face, but I could tell his eyes were wide. "Will you help me?" I asked.
"That's what I do," he said miserably. "I help my friends."
"Get high up," I said. "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy. Just be careful." Dusk appeared at my side, but even he seemed nervous at the sight of the monster in front of us. I drew my sword and we charged the monster.
The drakon was three stories above us, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up our forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear. From the north, the enemy army crashed into the Party Ponies, and our lines broke. The drakon lashed out, swallowing three Californian centaurs in one gulp before I could even get close.
"YAAAH!" I plunged Aura deep into the monster's left eye. The spotlight went dark. The drakon hissed and reared back to strike, but I rolled aside. It bit a swimming-pool-size chunk out of the pavement. It turned toward me with its good eye, and I focused on its teeth so I wouldn't get paralyzed.
The rest of the battle wasn't going well. The centaurs had panicked under the onslaught of giants and demons. An occasional orange camp T-shirt appeared in the sea of fighting, but quickly disappeared. Arrows screamed. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was moving across the street to the entrance of the Empire State Building.
We were losing ground. Suddenly Lee materialized on the drakon's back. He ripped his helmet fell off as he drove a gold painted bronze knife between a chink in the serpent's scales.
The drakon roared. It coiled around, knocking Lee off its back. I reached him just as he hit the ground. I dragged him out of the way as the serpent rolled, crushing a lamppost right where she'd been.
"Thanks," he said. "I told you to be careful!"
"Yeah, well, DUCK!" It was his turn to save me. He tackled me as the monster's teeth snapped above my head. Dusk, five feet bigger than before, body-slammed the drakon's face to get its attention, and we rolled out of the way.
Meanwhile our allies had retreated to the doors of the Empire State Building. The entire enemy army was surrounding them. We were out of options. No more help was coming. Lee and I would have to retreat before we were cut off from Mount Olympus.
A girl's voice suddenly yelled, "ARES!" And a dozen war chariots charged into battle from the south. Each flew a red banner with the symbol of the wild boar's head. Each was pulled by a team of skeletal horses with manes of fire. A total of thirty fresh warriors, armor gleaming and eyes full of hate, lowered their lances as one—making a bristling wall of death.
"The children of Ares!" Lee said in amazement. "Where did they disappear to?"
I didn't have an answer. But leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armor, her face covered by a boar's-head helm. She held aloft a spear that crackled with electricity.
Clarisse herself had come to the rescue. While half her chariots charged the monster army, Clarisse led the other six straight for the drakon. The serpent reared back and managed to throw off Dusk. My poor friend hit the side of the building with a yelp. I ran to help him, but the serpent had already zeroed in on the new threat. Even with only one eye, its glare was enough to paralyze two chariot drivers. They veered into a line of cars.
The other four chariots kept charging. The monster bared its fangs to strike and got a mouthful of Celestial bronze javelins.
"EEESSSSS!!!!!" it screamed, which is probably drakon for OWWWW!
"Ares, to me!" Clarisse screamed.
Across the street, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies new hope. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building, and the enemy army was momentarily thrown into confusion.
Meanwhile, Clarisse's chariots circled the drakon. Lances broke against the monster's skin. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the warriors simply leaped to their feet, drew their swords, and went to work. They hacked at chinks in the creature's scales. They dodged poison spray like they'd been training for this all their lives, which of course they had.
No one could say the Ares campers weren't brave. Clarisse was right there in front, stabbing her spear at the drakon's face, trying to put out its other eye. But as I watched, things started to go wrong.
The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp. It knocked aside another and sprayed poison on a third, who retreated in a panic, his armor melting.
"We have to help," Lee said.
He was right. I'd just been standing there frozen in amazement.
Lee and I jumped onto the monster's back and ran toward its head, trying to draw its attention away from Clarisse. Her cabinmates threw javelins, most of which broke, but some lodged in the monster's teeth. It snapped its jaws together until its mouth was a mess of green blood, yellow foamy poison, and splintered weapons.
"You can do it!" I screamed at Clarisse.
Through her war helmet, I could only see her eyes, and they looked pissed.
"ARES!" she shouted. She threw a spear at the drakon and rolled to the side. It lodged in its other eye, blinding it.
I drove Aura between two of the creature's scales and managed to turn its attention on me. I got thrown but I landed on my feet.
"C'MON, you stupid worm! Look at me!" For the next several minutes, all I saw were teeth. I retreated and dodged poison, but I couldn't hurt the thing.
"YOU WANT DEATH?" Clarisse screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!" She grabbed her electric spear from her back and charged.
I tried to close the distance to help, but Clarisse was faster. She leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. Then she jumped onto the creature's head. As it reared up, she drove her electric spear into its good eye with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the magic weapon's power.
Electricity arced across the creature's head, causing its whole body to shudder.
Clarisse jumped free, rolling safely to the sidewalk as smoke boiled from the drakon's mouth. The drakon's flesh dissolved, and it collapsed into a hollow scaly tunnel of armor. The rest of us stared at Clarisse in awe.
I had never seen anyone take down such a huge monster single-handedly. But Clarisse didn't seem to care.
The battle still raged along Fifth Avenue, but I had to get one of the injured Ares campers to the building. I grabbed him and threw him over my shoulder and ran.
I got him in and seen to by a medic before checking out the lobby. The doorman had disappeared from the lobby. His book was facedown on the desk and his chair was empty. The rest of the lobby, however, was jam-packed with wounded campers, Hunters, and satyrs.
Connor and Travis met me by the elevators.
"Right," Travis mumbled. "Listen, we figure the Titan's army will have trouble getting up the elevator. They'll have to go up a few at a time. And the giants won't be able to fit at all."
"That's our biggest advantage," I said. "Any way to disable the elevator?"
"It's magic," Travis said. "Usually you need a key card, but the doorman vanished. That means the defenses are crumbling. Anyone can walk into the elevator now and head straight up."
"Then we have to keep them away from the doors," I said. "We'll bottle them up in the lobby."
"We need reinforcements," Travis said. "They'll just keep coming. Eventually they'll overwhelm us."
"There are no reinforcements," Connor complained.
I shook my head. "That's not true," I said. I looked to the side and saw Dusk laying on the ground. His paw was bandaged but he would still be able to do enough. "Be right back."
I went over and put a hand on his muzzle. His fur was matted with mud, leaves, pizza slices, and dried monster blood.
"Hey, Dusk." I tried to sound upbeat. "I know you're tired, but I've got one more big favor to ask you."
What is it boss? He asked tiredly.
I leaned next to him and whispered in his ear. He nodded his head and disappeared.
By the time I got to the street, it was too late.
Campers and Hunters lay wounded on the ground. Clarisse must've lost a fight with a Hyperborean giant, because she and her chariot were frozen in a block of ice. The centaurs were nowhere to be seen. Either they'd panicked and ran or they'd been disintegrated.
The Titan army ringed the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos's vanguard was in the lead: Theodoric, that traitor, the dracaena queen in her green armor, and two Hyperboreans. But Kronos himself stood right in front with his scythe in hand. The only thing standing in his way was . . .
"Chiron," Annabeth said, her voice trembling.
If Chiron heard us, he didn't answer. He had an arrow notched, aimed straight at Kronos's face. As soon as Kronos saw me, his gold eyes flared. Every muscle in my body froze. Then the Titan lord turned his attention back to Chiron.
"Step aside, little son." Hearing Lace call Chiron his son was weird enough, but Kronos put contempt in his voice, like son was the worst word he could think of.
"I'm afraid not." Chiron's tone was steely calm, the way he gets when he's really angry. I tried to move, but my feet felt like concrete. Annabeth, Grover, Alex, and Thalia were straining too, like they were just as stuck.
"Chiron!" Annabeth said. "Look out!"
The dracaena queen became impatient and charged. Chiron's arrow flew straight between her eyes and she vaporized on the spot, her empty armor clattering to the asphalt.
Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. He dropped the bow and drew his sword. I knew he hated fighting with a sword. It was never his favorite weapon.
Kronos chuckled. He advanced a step, and Chiron's horse-half skittered nervously. His tail flicked back and forth.
"You're a teacher," Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."
"Lace was a hero," Chiron said. "He was a good one, until you corrupted him."
"FOOL!" Kronos's voice shook the city. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!"
"Me," Chiron noticed. "You said me."
Kronos looked confused, and in that moment, Chiron struck. It was a good maneuver—a feint followed by a strike to the face. I couldn't have done better myself, but Kronos was quick. He had all of Lacee's fighting skill, which was a lot.
He knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!" A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of the building with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.
"No!" Annabeth wailed. The freezing spell broke. We ran toward our teacher, but there was no sign of him. Thalia and I pulled helplessly at the bricks while a ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan's army.
"YOU!" Annabeth turned on Lace. "To think that I . . . that I thought—" She drew her knife.
"Annabeth, don't." Alex tried to take her arm, but she shook him off. She attacked Kronos, and his smug smile faded.
Perhaps some part of Lace remembered that he used to like this girl, used to take care of her when she was little. She plunged her knife between the straps of his armor, right at his collar bone. The blade should've sunk into his chest.
Instead it bounced off. Annabeth doubled over, clutching her arm to her stomach. The jolt might've been enough to dislocate her bad shoulder. Alex yanked her back as Kronos swung his scythe, slicing the air where she'd been standing.
She fought Alex and screamed, "I HATE you!"
I wasn't sure who she was talking to—Alex or Lace or Kronos. Tears streaked the dust on her face.
"I have to fight him," Alex told her.
"It's my fight too, Alex!"
Kronos laughed. "So much spirit. I can see why Lace wanted to spare you. Unfortunately, that won't be possible."
He raised his scythe. I got ready to defend, but before Kronos could strike, a wolf's howl pierced the air somewhere behind the Titan's army.
"Arroooooooooo!"
It was too much to hope, but I called, "Dusk?" The enemy forces stirred uneasily. Then the strangest thing happened.
Winged wolves began flying over the enemy. They were in their smaller form, but there were hundreds of them. They circled in the air and changed into attack form. Their claws looked vicious and they all looked ready to fight.
Then the army began to part, clearing a path through the street like something behind them was forcing them to.
Soon there was a free aisle down the center of Fifth Avenue. Standing at the end of the block was my lieutenant, and a small figure in black armor.
"Nico?" I called.
Nico strode forward. The enemy army fell back before him like he radiated death, which of course he did.
Through the face guard of his skull-shaped helmet, he smiled. "Got your message through. Is it too late to join the party?"
"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"
"Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me."
"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."
Nico drew his sword—three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree."
The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared in the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."
The sky turned dark and cold. Shadows thickened. A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue. It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. The chariot was inlaid with obsidian and gold, decorated with scenes of painful death. Holding the reins was Hades himself, Lord of the Dead, with Persephone and Bianca riding behind him.
Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood. On top of his pale head was the helm of darkness: a crown that radiated pure terror. It changed shape as I watched—from a dragon's head to a circle of black flames to a wreath of human bones.
But that wasn't the scary part. The helm reached into my mind and ignited my worst nightmares, my most secret fears. I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, and I could tell the enemy army felt the same way. Only Kronos's power and authority kept his ranks from fleeing.
Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking . . . young."
"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."
"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son and daughter here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." He glanced at me with a smirk. "As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on—it is that you were a TERRIBLE father." Hades drew his sword, a double-edged Stygian blade etched with silver. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."
"I don't have time for this," Kronos snarled. He struck the ground with his scythe. A crack spread in both directions, circling the Empire State Building. A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos's vanguard, my friends, and me from the bulk of the two armies.
"What's he doing?" Alex muttered.
"Sealing us in," Thalia said. "He's collapsing the magic barriers around Manhattan—cutting off just the building, and us."
Sure enough, outside the barrier, car engines revved to life. Pedestrians woke up and stared uncomprehendingly at the monsters and zombies all around them. No telling what they saw through the Mist, but I'm sure it was plenty scary.
Fortunately, Hades caused a distraction. He charged at the wall of force, but his chariot crashed against it and overturned. He got to his feet, cursing, and blasted the wall with black energy. The barrier held.
"ATTACK!" he roared. The armies of the dead and wolves clashed with the Titan's monsters. Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute chaos. Mortals screamed and ran for cover. Persephone changed the dracaenae's spears into sunflowers.
Nico slashed and hacked his way through the enemy, trying to protect the pedestrians as best he could. Bianca stood with him, lashing out with her dark powers from Nyx.
"Theodoric," Kronos said. "Attend me. Giants—deal with them." He pointed at my friends and me. Then he ducked into the lobby.
For a second I was stunned. I'd been expecting a fight, but Kronos completely ignored us like we weren't worth the trouble.
That made me mad. The first Hyperborean giant smashed at me with his club. I rolled between his legs and stabbed Aura into his backside. He shattered into a pile of ice shards.
The second giant breathed frost at Annabeth, who was barely able to stand, but Grover pulled her out of the way while Thalia went to work. She sprinted up the giant's back like a gazelle, sliced her hunting knives across his monstrous blue neck, and created the world's largest headless ice sculpture.
I glanced outside the magic barrier. Bianca and Nico were now standing side by side. I concentrated and shadow traveled outside the barrier. When I was outside, I almost fell from exhaustion, but Bianca was there, pulling me up.
"Michael!" Alex screamed. "What are you doing?"
"You need to get up there!" I shouted. "Only you can defeat Kronos!"
"Yes," Nico agreed, "we'll handle the army. You have to get Kronos!"
"Come on, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth said. Alex nodded. Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, and he raced for the elevators, leaving the rest of us to fight like never before.