RIDING A SUPERSONIC HORSE was a little like flying with Jason—mainly because it was absolutely terrifying and Camilla was certain she was going to die any second.
It seemed like only minutes before they zipped into a narrow bay. The water turned the consistence of shaved ice in blue sticky syrup. Arion came to a halt on a frozen turquoise slab.
A half a mile away stood Hubbard Glacier—at least, Camilla assumed it was Hubbard Glacier. Purple snowcapped mountains marched off in either direction, with clouds floating around their middles like fluffy belts. In a massive valley between two of the largest peaks, a ragged wall of ice rose out of the sea, filling the entire gorge. The glacier was blue and white with streaks of black, so that it looked like a hedge of dirty snow left behind on a sidewalk after a snowplow had gone by, only four million times as large.
As soon as Arion stopped, Camilla felt the temperature drop. All that ice was sending off waves of cold, turning the bay into the world's largest refrigerator. The eeriest thing was a sound like thunder that rolled across the water.
"What is that?" Frank gazed at the clouds above the glacier. "A storm?"
"No," Hazel said. "Ice cracking and shifting. Millions of tons of ice."
"You mean that thing is breaking up?" Frank asked.
As if on cue, a sheet of ice silently calved off the side of the glacier and crashed into the sea, spraying water and frozen shrapnel several stories high. A millisecond later, the sound hit them—a BOOM almost as jarring as Arion hitting the sound barrier.
"We can't get close to that thing!" Camilla yelped.
"We have to," Percy said. "The giant is at the top."
Arion nickered. Stop jabbering on like a bunch of scared little bitches and let's get moving! I'll get us to the top of this motherfucker!
"Jeez, Hazel," Percy said, "tell your horse to watch his language."
Hazel tried not to laugh. "What did he say?"
"The P.G. version?" Camilla said. "He said he can get us to the top."
Frank looked incredulous. "I thought the horse couldn't fly!"
Somebody tell this baby-man motherfucker to shut his gods-damn mouth before I boot him the fuck off my back! I swear to the gods I'll stomp this fucker to death with my supersonic hooves. Soon as Hazel gives me the word you fuckers'll see what I can do. I'm the fastest fucking horse in the world!
"Arion!" Camilla gasped.
"Dude," Percy told the horse, "I've gotten suspended for saying less than that. Hazel, he promises you'll see what he can do as soon as you give the word."
"Um, hold on, then, you guys," Hazel said nervously. "Arion, giddyup!"
Arion shot toward the glacier like a runaway rocket, barreling straight across the slush like he wanted to play chicken with the mountain of ice.
The air grew colder. The crackling of the ice grew louder. As Arion closed the distance, the glacier loomed so large, Camilla felt dizzy trying to take it all in. The side was riddled with crevices and caves, spiked with jagged ridges like ax blades. Pieces were constantly crumbling off—some no larger than snowballs, some the size of houses.
When they were about fifty yards from the base, a thunderclap rattled Camilla's bones, and a curtain of ice that would have covered Camp Jupiter calved away and fell toward them.
"Look out!" Frank shouted, which seemed a little unnecessary.
Arion was way ahead of him. Watch this, fuckers! In a burst of speed, he zigzagged through the debris, leaping over chunks of ice and clambering up the face of the glacier.
Camilla's scream was lost in the wind. Percy and Frank both cussed as bad as Arion and held on desperately, Camilla squished between them. If it kept her from flying, she didn't care.
Somehow, they managed not to fall off as Arion scaled the cliffs, jumping from foothold to foothold with impossible speed and agility. It was like falling down a mountain in reverse.
Then it was over. Arion stood proudly at the top of a ridge of ice that loomed over the void. The sea was now three hundred feet below them.
Arion whinnied a challenge that echoed off the mountains. Beat that, fuckers!
Then he turned and ran inland across the top of the glacier, leaping a chasm fifty feet across.
"There!" Percy pointed.
The horse stopped. Ahead of them stood a frozen Roman camp like a giant-sized ghastly replica of Camp Jupiter. The trenches bristled with ice spikes. The snow-brick ramparts glared blinding white. Hanging from the guard towers, banners of frozen blue cloth shimmered in the arctic sun.
There was no sign of life. The gates stood wide open. No sentries walked the walls. Still, there was an oppressive sense of malice. It felt as if the earth were trying to wake up and consume everything—as if the mountains on either side wanted to crush them and the entire glacier to pieces.
Arion trotted skittishly. Oh, yell yeah, bring it on, bitch!
"Frank, Milla," Percy said, "how about we go on foot from here?"
Camilla nodded. "No argument here."
Frank sighed with relief. "Thought you'd never ask."
The three dismounted and took some tentative steps. The ice seemed stable, covered with a fine carpet of snow so that it wasn't too slippery.
Hazel urged Arion forward. Percy and Camilla walked on one side, Frank on the other, swords and bow ready. They approached the gates without being challenged. Camilla had been trained to spot pits, snares, trip lines, and all sorts of other traps Roman legions had faced for eons in enemy territory, but she saw nothing—just the yawning icy gates and the frozen banners crackling in the wind.
She could see straight down to the Via Praetoria. At the crossroads, in front of the snow-brick principia, a tall, dark-robed figure stood, bound in icy chains.
"Thanatos," Hazel murmured.
She almost fell off of Arion, but Frank caught her and propped her up.
"We've got you," he promised. "Nobody's taking you away."
"I'm all right," Hazel said, though Camilla doubted that was entirely true.
Percy looked around uneasily. "No defenders? No giant? This has to a trap."
"Obviously," Frank said. "But I don't think we have a choice."
Before anyone could change their minds, Hazel urged Arion through the gates.
The layout was so familiar—cohort barracks, baths, armory. It was an exact replica of Camp Jupiter, except three times as big. Camilla felt more tiny and invisible and unimportant than ever.
They stopped ten feet from the robed figure.
Arion cantered back and forth, sensing Hazel's unease.
"Hello?" Hazel managed. "Mr. Death?"
The hooded figure raised his head.
Instantly, the whole camp stirred to life. Figures in Roman armor emerged from the barracks, the principia, the armory, and the canteen, but they weren't human. Their bodies weren't much more than wisps of black vapor, but they managed to hold together sets of scale armor, greaves, and helmets. Frost-covered swords were strapped to their waists. Pila and dented shields floated in their smoky hands. The plumes on the centurions' helmets were frozen and ragged. Most of the shades were on foot, but two soldiers burst out of the stables in a golden chariot pulled by ghostly black steeds.
When Arion saw the horses, he stamped the ground in outrage. The fuck is this? Who the fuck are these assholes?
Frank gripped his bow. "Yep, here's the trap."
The ghosts formed ranks and encircled the crossroads. There were about a hundred in all—not an entire legion, but more than a cohort. Some carried the tattered lightning bold banners of the Twelfth Legion, Fifth Cohort—Michael Varus's doomed expedition from the 1980s. Others carried standards and insignia Camilla didn't recognize, as if they'd died at different times, on different quests—maybe not even from Camp Jupiter.
Most were armed with Imperial gold weapons—more Imperial gold than the entire Twelfth Legion possessed.
"Thanatos!" Hazel turned to the robed figure. "We're here to rescue you. If you control these shades, tell them—"
Hazel's voice faltered. Camilla saw why.
The god's hood fell away and his robes dropped off as he spread his wings, leaving him in only a sleeveless black tunic belted at the waist. He was the most beautiful man Camilla had ever seen.
His skin was the color of teakwood, dark and glistening. His eyes were as honey gold as Hazel's. He was lean and muscular, with a regal face and black hair flowing down his shoulders. His wings glimmered in shades of blue, black, and purple.
Camilla had to remind herself to breathe.
Beautiful was the only way to describe the god of death. He was beautiful the way an angel was beautiful—timeless, perfect, remote.
"Oh," Hazel said in a small voice.
The god's wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor. His feet were bare, shackled around the ankles and also chained.
"Whoa," Camilla breathed.
"It's Cupid," Frank said.
"A really hot Cupid," Percy agreed.
"You compliment me," Thanatos said. His voice was as gorgeous as he was—deep and melodious. If this was what would happen when she died... Camilla wouldn't be all that upset. "I am frequently mistaken for the god of love. Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine. But I am Death. I assure you."
"We're—we're here to save you," Hazel said. "Where's Alcyoneus?"
"Save me...?" Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand what you are saying, Hazel Levesque? Do you understand what that will mean?"
Percy stepped forward. "We're wasting time."
He swung his sword at the god's chains. Celestial bronze rang against the ice, but Riptide stuck to the chain like glue. Frost began creeping up the blade. Percy pulled frantically. Frank ran to help. Together, they managed to yank Riptide free before the frost reached their hands.
"That won't work," Thanatos said simply. "As for the giant, he is close. These shades are not mine. They are his."
Thanatos's eyes scanned the ghost soldiers. They shifted uncomfortably, as if an arctic wind were rattling through their ranks.
"So how do we get you out?" Hazel demanded.
Thanatos turned his attention back to her. "Daughter of Pluto, child of my master, you of all people should not wish me released.
"Don't you think I know that?" Hazel looked like she wanted to cry, but she straightened her spine. "Listen, Death." She drew her cavalry sword. "I didn't come back from the Underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that I'm stupid for setting you free. If I die, I die. I'll fight this whole army if I have to. Just tell us how to break your chains."
Camilla stared at her, wondering how she could be this brave in the face of almost certain death. Camilla wasn't sure she could ever be that strong.
Thanatos studied Hazel for a heartbeat. "Interesting. You do understand that these shades were once demigods like you. They fought for Rome. They died without completing their heroic quests. Like you, they were sent to Asphodel. Now Gaea has promised them a second life if they fight for her today. Of course, if you release me and defeat them, they will have to return to the Underworld where they belong. For treason against the gods, they will face eternal punishment. They are not so different from you, Hazel Levesque. Are you sure you want to release me and damn these souls forever?"
Frank clenched his fists. "That's not fair! Do you want to be freed or not?"
"Fair..." Death mused. "You'd be amazed how often I hear that word, Frank Zhang, and how meaningless it is. Is it fair that your life will burn so short and bright? Was it fair when I guided your mother to the Underworld?"
Frank staggered like he'd been punched.
"No," Death said sadly. "Not fair. And yet it was her time. There is no fairness in Death. If you free me, I will do my duty. But of course these shades will try to stop you."
"So if we let you go," Percy summed up, "we get mobbed by a bunch of black vapor dudes with gold swords. Fine. How do we break those chains?"
Thanatos smiled. "Only the fire of life can melt the chains of death."
"Without the riddles, please?" Percy asked.
Frank drew a shaky breath. "It isn't a riddle."
"Frank, no," Hazel said weakly. "There's got to be another way."
Laughter boomed across the glacier. A rumbling voice said: "My friends. I've waited so long!"
Standing at the gates of the camp was a giant even larger than the giant Polybotes they'd seen in California. He had metallic golden skin, armor made from platinum links, and an iron staff the size of a totem pole. His rust-red dragon legs pounded against the ice as he entered the camp. Precious stones glinted in his red braided hair.
The giant approached, grinning at Hazel with solid silver teeth.
"Ah, Hazel Levesque," he said, "you cost me dearly! If not for you, I would have risen decades ago, and this world would already be Gaea's. But no matter!"
He spread his hands, showing off the ranks of ghostly soldiers. "Welcome, Percy Jackson. Welcome, Frank Zhang. Welcome, Camilla Warren. I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto, the new master of Death. And this is your new legion."
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...may or may not have realized as i was editing this that i forgot to update last saturday... i blame finals week :/
BUT to make up for it, double update coming atcha! <3