CAMILLA WAS BONE-DRY when they emerged from the water, which was perfect, seeing as the air outside of the water was still chilly. She didn't want to have to deal with pneumonia or hypothermia at the moment.
Her cut had stopped bleeding in the water. According to Percy, it still looked a little gruesome—stark red against her cheek. He explained how water could heal minor wounds for children of Neptune/Poseidon.
As much as she did not like her father, at least he (finally) gave her some convenient powers.
They were standing at the edge of the glacier when Frank and Hazel arrived. Camilla leaned against the legion's standard, which was probably disrespectful, but she was too tired to care. It wasn't like there was anyone from the legion around to yell at her.
"Hey," Percy said as Hazel and Frank ran over to them, like they were just meeting up for a casual lunch.
Camilla waved with a small smile, wary of her cut.
"You're alive!" Frank marveled as Hazel hugged Camilla tightly.
Percy frowned. "The fall? That was nothing. I fell twice that far from the St. Louis Arch."
"You did what?" Hazel asked.
"Never mind. The important thing is—we didn't drown."
"So the prophecy was incomplete!" Hazel grinned. "It probably said something like: The children of Neptune shall drown a whole bunch of ghosts."
Percy shrugged. He looked at Frank like he was miffed. "I got a bone to pick with you, Zhang. You can turn into an eagle? And a bear?"
"And an elephant," Hazel said proudly.
"An elephant?" Camilla asked in wonder.
Percy shook his head in disbelief. "That's your family gift? You can change shape?"
Frank shuffled his feet. "Um... yeah. Periclymenus, my ancestor, the Argonaut—he could do that. He passed down the ability."
"And he got that gift from Poseidon," Percy said. "That's completely unfair. I can't turn into animals."
Frank started at him. "Unfair? You can breathe underwater and blow up glaciers and summon freaking hurricanes—and it's unfair that I can be an elephant?"
Camilla laughed. "He's got a point."
Percy sighed. "Okay. But next time I say you're totally beast—"
"Just shut up," Frank said. "Please."
Percy cracked a smile.
"If you guys are done," Hazel said, "we need to go. Camp Jupiter is under attack. They could use that gold eagle."
Percy nodded. "One thing first, though. Hazel, there's a ton of Imperial gold weapons and armor at the bottom of the bay now, plus a really nice chariot. I'm betting that stuff could come in handy..."
It took them a long time—too long—but they all knew the weapons could make the difference between victory and defeat if they got them back to camp in time.
Hazel used her abilities to levitate some items from the bottom of the sea. Camilla and Percy swam down and brought up more. Even Frank helped by turning into a seal, which was cool, though Percy claimed his breath smelled like fish.
It took all four of them to raise the chariot, but finally they'd managed to haul everything ashore to a black sand beach near the base of the glacier. They couldn't fit everything in the chariot, but they used Frank's rope to strap down most of the gold weapons and the best pieces of armor.
"It looks like Santa's sleigh," Frank said. "Can Arion even pull that much?"
Arion huffed. Of course I can, you dumbass motherfuckers! One more stupid fucking question and I'm gonna stomp this baby man's face into the ice! But I need food first—gimme some gold.
"Hazel," Percy said, "I am seriously going to wash your horse's mouth with soap. He says, yes, he can pull it, but he needs food."
Hazel picked up an old pugio. It was bent and dull, so it wouldn't be much good in a fight, but it looked like solid Imperial gold.
"Here you go, Arion," she said. "High-performance fuel."
Oh, fuck yeah. Arion took the dagger between his teeth and chewed it like an apple. A gourmet meal.
"I'm not doubting Arion's strength," Frank said carefully, "but will the chariot hold up? The last one—"
"This one has Imperial gold wheels and axle," Percy said. "It should hold."
"If not," Hazel said, "this is going to be one short trip. But we're out of time. Come on!"
Camilla, Frank, and Percy climbed into the chariot. Hazel swung up onto Arion's back.
"Giddyup!" she yelled.
The horse's sonic boom echoed across the bay. They sped south, avalanches tumbling down the mountains as they passed.
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Four hours.
That was how long it took the fastest horse in the world to get from Alaska to San Francisco Bay, heading straight over the water down the Northwest Coast.
Camilla really would have liked to take a short nap or at least rest her sore feet, but unfortunately, the chariot didn't come with seats.
Eventually, the coastline began to look familiar. They raced past the Mendocino lighthouse. Shortly after, Mount Tam and the Marin headlands loomed out of the fog. Arion shot straight under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay.
They tore through Berkeley and into the Oakland Hills. When they reached the hilltop above the Caldecott Tunnel, Arion shuddered like a broken car and came to a stop, his chest heaving.
Hazel patted his sides lovingly. "You did great, Arion."
The horse was too tired to even cuss: Of course I did great. What did you expect?
Camilla, Percy, and Frank jumped off the chariot. Camilla's legs were wobbly, her joints so stiff they ached.
Frank hobbled to the top of the hill and peered down at the camp. "Guys... you need to see this."
When they joined him, Camilla's heart sank. The battle had begun, and it wasn't going well. The Twelfth Legion was arrayed on the Field of Mars, trying to protect the city. Scorpions fired into the ranks of the Earthborn. Hannibal the elephant plowed down monsters right and left, but the defenders were badly outnumbered.
On her pegasus, Scipio, Reyna flew around the giant Polybotes, trying to keep him occupied. The Lares had formed shimmering purple lines against a mob of black, vaporous shades in ancient armor. Veteran demigods from the city had joined the battle, and were pushing their shield wall against an onslaught of wild centaurs. Giant eagles circled the battlefield, doing aerial combat with two snake-haired ladies in green vests—the gorgon sisters.
The legion itself was taking the brunt of the attack, but their formation was breaking. Each cohort was an island in a sea of enemies. The Cyclopes' siege tower shot glowing green cannonballs into the city, blasting craters in the forum, reducing houses to ruins. As Camilla watched, a cannonball hit the Senate House and the dome partially collapsed.
"We're too late," Hazel said.
"We can't be," Camilla insisted.
"They're still fighting," Percy said. "We can do this."
"Where's Lupa?" Frank asked, desperation creeping into his voice. "She and the wolves... they should be here."
Camilla bit her lip. Wolves weren't frontline fighters. They only attacked when they had vastly superior numbers, and usually under the cover of darkness. And Lupa's first rule was self-sufficiency. She would help her pups as much as she could, train them to fight—but in the end, they were either predator or prey. Romans had to fight for themselves. They had to prove their worth or die. That was Lupa's way.
"She did what she could," Percy said. "She slowed down the army on its way south. Now it's up to us. We've got to get the gold eagle and these weapons to the legion."
"But Arion is out of steam!" Hazel said. "We can't haul this stuff ourselves."
"Maybe we don't have to." Percy scanned the hilltops, then whistled so loud, it hurt Camilla's ears.
Shadows ripped in the trees. A huge black shape bounded out of nowhere—a mastiff the size of an SUV, with a Cyclops and a harpy on her back.
"Hellhound!" Frank scrambled backward.
"It's okay!" Percy grinned. "These are friends."
"Brother!" The Cyclops climbed off and ran toward Percy. He slammed into him and smothered him in a hug. After a few seconds, he let go and laughed with delight.
"You are not dead!" the Cyclops exclaimed. "I like it when you are not dead!"
Ella fluttered to the ground and began preening her feathers. "Ella found a dog," she announced. "A large dog. And a Cyclops."
Was she blushing? Before Camilla could decide, the hellhound pounced on Percy, knocking him to the ground and barking so loudly that even Arion backed up. Oh, fuck that.
"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said. "Yeah, I love you too, girl. Good dog."
Hazel made a squeaking sound. "You have a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary?"
"Long story." Percy managed to get to his feet and wipe off the dog slobber. "You can ask your brother..."
His voice wavered when he saw Hazel's crestfallen expression. Camilla had almost forgotten about Nico.
Hazel had told them what Thanatos had said about searching for the Doors of Death in Rome, where they would find Nico—alive, hopefully.
"Sorry," Percy said. "But yeah, this is my dog, Mrs. O'Leary. Tyson—these are my friends, Frank and Hazel, and this is our sister, Camilla."
"Sister!" Before Camilla could register what was going on, she was airborne in a tight bear hug. She laughed, returning the hug happily.
Tyson set her back on her feet, which had been suspended a good two feet above the ground.
Percy turned to Ella, who was counting all the barbs in one of her feathers. "Are you okay?" he asked. "We were worried about you."
"Ella is not strong," she said. "Cyclopes are strong. Tyson found Ella. Tyson took care of Ella."
Percy raised his eyebrows. Camilla stifled a giggle—Ella was blushing.
"Tyson," Percy said, "you big charmer, you."
Tyson turned the same color as Ella's plumage. "Um... No." He leaned down and whispered nervously, loud enough for the others to hear: "She is pretty."
Frank tapped his head like he was afraid his brain had short-circuited. "Anyway, there's this battle happening."
"Right," Percy agreed. "Tyson, where's Annabeth? Is any other help coming?"
Tyson pouted. His big brown eye got misty. "The big ship is not ready. Leo says tomorrow, maybe two days. Then they will come."
"We don't have two minutes," Percy said. "Okay, here's the plan."
As quickly as possible, Percy pointed out which were the good guys and the bad guys on the battlefield. Tyson was alarmed to learn that bad Cyclopes and bad centaurs were in the giant's army. "I have to hit pony-men?"
"Just scare them away," Percy promised.
"Um, Percy?" Frank looked at Tyson with trepidation. "I just... don't want our friend here getting hurt. Is Tyson a fighter?"
Percy smiled. "Is he a fighter? Frank, you're looking at General Tyson of the Cyclops army. And by the way, Tyson, Frank is a descendant of Poseidon."
"Brother!" Tyson crushed Frank in a hug.
Percy stifled a laugh. "Actually he's more like a great-great-... Oh, never mind. Yeah, he's your brother."
"Thanks," Frank mumbled through a mouthful of flannel. "But if the legion mistakes Tyson for an enemy—"
"I've got it!" Hazel ran to the chariot and dug out the biggest Roman helmet she could find, plus an old Roman banner embroidered with SPQR.
She handed them to Tyson. "Put those on, big guy. Then our friends will know you're on our team."
"Yay!" Tyson said. "I'm on your team!"
The helmet was ridiculously small, and he put the cape on backward, like a SPQR baby bib.
"It'll do," Percy said. "Ella, just stay here. Stay safe."
"Safe," Ella repeated. "Ella likes being safe. Safety in numbers. Safety deposit boxes. Ella will go with Tyson."
"What?" Percy said. "Oh... fine. Whatever. Just don't get hurt. And Mrs. O'Leary—"
"ROOF!"
"How do you feel about pulling a chariot?"
◈
They were, without a doubt, the strangest reinforcements in Roman military history. Hazel rode Arion, who had recovered enough to carry one person at normal horse speed, though he cursed about his aching hooves all the way downhill.
Frank transformed into a bald eagle and soared above them. Tyson ran down the hill, waving his club and yelling, "Bad pony-men! BOO!" while Ella fluttered around him, reciting facts from the Old Farmer's Almanac.
As for Camilla and Percy, they rode Mrs. O'Leary into battle with a chariot full of Imperial gold equipment clanking and clinking behind them. Camilla raised the golden eagle standard of the Twelfth Legion high above her.
They skirted the perimeter of the camp and took the northernmost bridge over the Little Tiber, charging onto the Field of Mars at the western edge of the battle. A horde of Cyclopes was hammering away at the campers of the Fifth Cohort, who were trying to keep their shields locked just to stay alive.
Seeing them in trouble, Camilla felt a surge of protective rage. This was her family—the only family that mattered. Maybe they never really knew who she was, or particularly cared, but when push came to shove, they were still a team.
And even if they weren't—they needed help. Badly.
"Hold on," Percy warned Camilla. Then, he shouted, "Fifth Cohort!" and slammed into the nearest Cyclops. The last thing the poor monster saw were Mrs. O'Leary's teeth.
After the Cyclops disintegrated—and stayed disintegrated, thanks to Death—Percy and Camilla leaped off of the hellhound's back and surged into battle.
Tyson charged at the Cyclops leader, Ma Gasket, her chainmail dress spattered with mud and decorated with broken spears.
She gawked at Tyson and started to say, "Who—?"
Tyson hit her in the head so hard, she spun in a circle and landed on her rump.
"Bad Cyclops Lady!" he bellowed. "General Tyson says GO AWAY!"
He hit her again, and Ma Gasket broke into dust.
Meanwhile Hazel charged around on Arion, slicing her spatha through one Cyclops after another, while Frank blinded the enemies with his talons.
Once every Cyclops within fifty yards had been reduced, Frank landed in front of his troops and transformed into a human. His centurion's badge and Mural Crown gleamed on his winter jacket.
"Fifth Cohort!" he bellowed. "Get your Imperial gold weapons right here!"
The campers recovered from their shock and mobbed the chariot. Percy and Camilla did their best to hand out equipment quickly.
"Let's go, let's go!" Dakota urged, grinning like a madman as he swigged red Kool-Aid from his flask. "Our comrades need help!
Soon the Fifth Cohort was equipped with new weapons and shields and helmets. They weren't exactly consistent. In fact, they looked like they'd been shopping at a King Midas clearance sale. But they were suddenly the most powerful cohort in the legion.
Percy swung up onto Mrs. O'Leary's back and pulled Camilla up behind him. She raised the eagle for everyone to see.
"Follow the eagle!" Frank ordered. "To battle!"
The campers cheered. As Percy, Camilla, and Mrs. O'Leary charged onward, the entire cohort followed—forty extremely shiny gold-plated warriors screaming for blood.
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