THINGS WENT WRONG almost immediately, but Ophelia had come to expect that by now. Nothing so far had worked out in their favor so far—not in the beginning, anyway. She just had to hope it all worked out in the end.
And maybe send up an extra prayer to whatever gods were paying attention.
As Piper scrambled along the ridge, trying to keep her head down and stay out of sight, her friends walked straight into the clearing. Ophelia summoned her sword as Jason flipped his coin, his lance springing to life as he caught it.
He brandished the weapon over his head and yelled, "Giant!"
Enceladus stopped chanting at the flames. He turned toward them and grinned, revealing fangs like a saber-toothed tiger's.
"Well," the giant rumbled, his voice like an earthquake. "What a nice surprise."
Leo stepped sideways, edging his way toward the bulldozer. Ophelia figured—more like hoped—he had some sort of plan with the construction equipment, so she focused on keeping the giant's focus away from him and Piper.
Coach Hedge shouted, "Let the movie star go, you big ugly cupcake! Or I'm gonna plant my hoof right up your—"
"Coach," Jason said. "Shut up."
Enceladus roared with laughter. "I've forgotten how funny satyrs are. When we rule the world, I think I'll keep your kind around. You can entertain me while I eat all the other mortals."
"Was that a compliment?" Hedge frowned at Ophelia. "I don't think that was a compliment."
Enceladus opened his mouth wide, and his teeth began to glow.
"Scatter!" Leo yelled.
Jason, Ophelia, and Hedge dove to the left as the giant blew fire. She could see Leo on the other side of the giant's flame, running between the construction equipment.
Jason was the first one up, charging at the giant. Ophelia was close behind as Coach Hedge ripped off his smoking canary yellow jacket.
"I liked that outfit!" the satyr shouted. Then he raised his club and charged, too, rearing to avenge his tacky blazar.
Before they could get far, though, Enceladus slammed his spear against the ground, and the entire mountain shook. It sent all of them sprawling, Ophelia ending up several yards from the giant. Other than getting the wind knocked out of her, she landed without injury. She saw Jason on the other side of the giant, staggering to his feet. A few feet away, Coach Hedge was knocked out cold, his furry hindquarters sticking straight up.
Gross.
The giant bellowed, "I see you, Piper McLean!" He turned and blew fire at a line of bushes to Leo's right. Piper ran into the clearing like a flushed quail, the underbrush burning behind her.
Enceladus laughed. "I'm happy you've arrived. And you brought me my prizes!"
Ophelia's chest tightened. This was it—the moment Piper had warned them about. They'd walked right into the giant's trap.
Leo looked like he was thinking the same thing, and the giant laughed again at the sight of his expression. "That's right, son of Hephaestus. I didn't expect you all to stay alive this long, but it doesn't matter. By bringing you here, Piper McLean has sealed the deal. If she betrays you, I'm as good as my word. She can take her father and go. What do I care about a movie star?"
Piper's dad didn't look so good, even from where Ophelia was standing several yards away. She could see that he wasn't completely unconscious, because he lifted his head. There was a nasty cut down the side of his face, and he looked thin and sickly.
"Dad!" Piper yelled.
Ophelia heard Mr. McLean say, "Pipes...? Where...?"
Piper drew her dagger and faced Enceladus. "Let him go!"
"Of course, dear," the giant rumbled. "Swear your loyalty to me, and we have no problem. Only these others must die."
Piper looked back and forth between her friends and her dad. Ophelia tried to ignore the dread that settled heavy in her stomach. If she chose her dad, could Ophelia really blame her? Why would Piper be loyal to them over her father? She didn't even know Ophelia and Jason—not the way she thought she did.
Why would she choose them over her flesh and blood?
"He'll kill you," Leo warned. "Don't trust him!"
"Oh, come on," Enceladus bellowed. "You know I was born to fight Athena herself? Mother Gaea made each of us giants with a specific purpose, designed to fight and destroy a particular god. I was Athena's nemesis, the anti-Athena, you might say. Compared to some of my brethren—I am small! But I am clever. And I keep my bargain with you, Piper McLean. It's part of my plan!"
Ophelia's breath caught in her throat, remembering Trivia's warning. Be careful of wisdom's bane.
Yeah, she thought cynically. Because I really needed a reminder to be careful of the thirty-foot-tall fire-breathing giant.
Ophelia could see Jason getting to his feet now, lance ready; but before he could act, Enceladus roared—a call so loud it echoed down the valley and was probably heard all the way in San Francisco.
At the edge of the woods, half a dozen orge-like creatures rose up, straight from the earth. They were small compared to Enceladus, about seven feet tall, with six arms each. They wore only only ragged leather loincloths, and even across an entire clearing, they smelled horrific.
"What—what are those?" Leo asked Piper.
"Gegenees," she answered.
"In English?" Leo asked.
"The Earthborn," Piper said. "Six-armed giants who fought Jason—the first Jason."
"Very good, my dear!" Enceladus sounded delighted. "They used to live on a miserable place in Greece called Bear Mountain. Mount Diablo is much nicer! They are lesser children of Mother Earth, but they serve their purpose. They're good with construction equipment—"
"Vroom, vroom!" one of the Earthborn bellowed, and the others took up the chant, each moving his six hands as though driving a car, as if it were some kind of weird religious ritual. "Vroom, vroom!"
"Yes, thank you, boys," Enceladus said. "They also have a score to settle with heroes. Especially anyone named Jason."
"Yay-son!" the Earthborn screamed. They all picked up clumps of earth, which solidified in their hands, turning to nasty pointed stones. "Where's Yay-son? Kill Yay-son!"
Enceladus smiled. "You see, Piper, you have a choice. Save your father, or ah, try to save your friends and face certain death."
Piper stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with such rage, even the Earthborn backed away. She radiated power and beauty, but it had nothing to do with her clothes or her makeup.
She looked every bit like a hero.
"You will not take the people I love," Piper said. "None of them."
Her words rippled across the clearing with such force, the Earthborn muttered, "Okay. Okay, sorry," and began to retreat.
"Stand your ground, fools!" Enceladus bellowed. He snarled at Piper. "This is why we wanted you alive, my dear. You could have been so useful to us. But as you wish. Earthborn! I will show you Jason."
Ophelia tensed, tightening her grip on her sword. But the giant didn't point at Jason—he pointed to the other side of the bonfire, where Tristan McLean sat helpless and half-conscious.
"There is Jason," Enceladus said with pleasure. "Tear him apart!"
It took one look from Jason, and everyone knew the game plan.
Jason and Ophelia charged at Enceladus from opposite sides. Piper rushed to her father, and Leo dashed for the tree harvester, which stood between Mr. McLean and the Earthborn.
As Leo took out the Earthborn and Piper freed her father, Ophelia and Jason fought with practiced ease. It was as if she knew every move he would make seconds before he made it, and she was there to cover or distract or attack with him, and the opposite was true, too. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, dodging Enceladus's spear and blasts of fire breath like they'd been trained for this.
Maybe they had been.
They knew instinctively how to use the giant's size to their advantage—the bigger the foe, the slower they tended to moved, so they just had to be quicker. Ophelia was faster than ever, easily dodging the jabs Enceladus tried to level at her. She managed to get a few strikes in at the giant's legs, though most of her energy was focused on the dodging.
No matter how well she and Jason fought together, though, it was a losing game. They could hear Leo and Piper in the distance fighting the six-armed giants, but Ophelia knew she couldn't think about them. She had to trust them to fight their own battle and focus on her own.
Jason barely managed to dodge another of Enceladus's jabs. The ground was sticking to their feet—Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he wasn't dumb. Even in the two-on-one fight, Enceladus was beginning to anticipate their moves. Their attacks were only annoying him, making him more and more enraged.
"I'm no minor monster," Enceladus bellowed. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little gold toothpick can't kill me, boy."
Jason didn't waste energy replying.
Ophelia made a move to strike the giant's calf, but Enceladus anticipated it, and he kicked her several yards away, knocking the wind out of her once again.
She groaned, her sword still clutched in her hand. It would have been so easy to stay down, to sit there and catch her breath for just a moment. But there was no time for that. She couldn't afford to be weak—not now, not ever.
She got back to her feet.
She saw Jason raise his javelin to block the giant's next strike, and she knew instantly it was a mistake. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and he staggered back.
Ophelia ran.
Jason was retreating, and she could see that he was trying to lure the giant to the edge of the clearing. Enceladus must have sensed his weariness because he smiled, baring his fangs.
"The mighty Jason Grace," he taunted. "Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne."
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked.
Enceladus breathed fire, and Ophelia just managed to tackle him out of the way. The blast missed them, but they hit the ground hard, their clothes smoldering.
Ophelia got back up in an instant, launching herself at the giant. They had to keep Enceladus's attention fixed on them while their friends dealt with the Earthborn and rescued Piper's dad.
They couldn't afford to fail.
As she jumped at Enceladus, she managed to shove her sword into his thigh, but it didn't go as deep into his reptilian flesh as she'd hoped. The giant goared, more with annoyance than actual pain, and swiped at her, and she only just managed to duck.
The giant yanked her sword out of his leg, throwing it off of the mountain like a star shooting through the night sky. Ophelia didn't have a chance to wonder where it had gone or how she'd get it back—even weaponless, she had to keep fighting. She didn't have a choice.
"Lupus Interfectorem," Enceladus said, spitting the nickname like it tasted like tar in his mouth. "I'll admit, I thought you would be more impressive. Then again, your fight was always with the demigods in the Titan army—you never even saw Krios, did you? No, you were too busy fighting that girl. It's all too easy to kill your own kind, isn't it? You could never stand a chance against my lesser brothers, much less me."
Ophelia didn't know what he was talking about, but the giant's words made her heart ache with phantom pain, feeding off of a memory that Ophelia couldn't conjure up. She didn't get a chance to dwell on it, though—Enceladus roared with anger, and his fiery breath bore down on her.
She managed to roll out of the way just in time to avoid the full blast, but she could feel the heat of the flames on her skin, singing the hairs on her arms.
As quick as she was, she wasn't quick enough in getting up or scrambling away.
Enceladus hovered over her, blocking out the light from the sun. She heard someone yell her name, but it was muffled to her ears.
Mortem occumbere pro patria, whispered a long-lost memory.
"You should have known a battlefield was no place for a little girl," Enceladus sneered.
His spear caught her in the side, and her scream echoed.
❖
oop... so that happened 😶
it's shorter than usual but i'm a sucker for cliffhangers. see y'all monday!