𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter eighty-five. ☄︎. *. ⋆

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NEVER EVER TELL ARGUS anything that would make him roll his eyes, because that was what he did when we told him the gods wouldn't be helping us, and considering the fact that he had eyes all over his body... it wasn't a pretty sight.

     "You'd better get back to camp," Percy told him. "Guard it as best you can."

     He pointed at Percy and raised his eyebrow quizzically.

    "I'm staying," he said.

    Argus nodded, like this answer satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

     "Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

    "For what?" Percy asked.

    Argus rummaged around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard issue—the same kind of round shield we always used in capture the flag. But when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty—which wasn't anywhere close to us.

    "Whoa," I said. "A video shield."

    "One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth said. "I had Beckendorf make this before—" She glanced at Silena. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. Look."

     We crowded around as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, so I got motion sickness just watching it. We were in the Central Park Zoo, then zooming down East 60th, past Bloomingdale's, then turning on Third Avenue.

     Annabeth passed her hand in front of the shield, and another scene popped up: FDR Drive, looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.

    "This will let us see what's going on across the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp... someday."

    Argus grunted. He gave us a look that clearly meant Good luck; you'll need it, then climbed into his van. He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.

    Percy whistled for Mrs. O'Leary, and the friendly hellhound came bounding over.

    "Hey, girl," Percy said. "You remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?"

    "WOOF!"

    "I need you to find him. Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that? Find Grover!"

     Mrs. O'Leary gave him a sloppy wet kiss, which seemed kind of unnecessary. Then she raced off north.

    Pollux crouched next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

    "This is a huge spell," Silena said. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

    I creased my brow at her. "When did you learn so much about magic?"

    She blushed. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe."

    "Hey, guys," Annabeth called. She was still looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

    The bronze image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat was packed with demigods in full Greek armor. At the back of the lead boat, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped in the night wind. I'd never seen that design before, but it wasn't hard to figure out: the battle flag of Kronos.

    "Scan the perimeter of the island," Percy said. "Quick."

    Annabeth shifted the scene south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry was plowing through the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and a whole pack of hellhounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of marine mammals. At first I thought they were dolphins. Then I saw their doglike faces and the swords strapped to their waists, and I realized they were telkhines—sea demons.

     I shivered. I didn't have a good history with them.

    The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic: giants with clubs, rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons, and just to rub it in, a World War II–era tank, pushing cars out of its way as it rumbled into the tunnel.

    "What's happening with the mortals outside Manhattan?" I asked Annabeth. "Is the whole state asleep?"

    She frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

    She showed us another scene—a New Jersey highway. It was Saturday evening, so the traffic wasn't as bad as it might've been on a weekday. The drivers looked awake, but the cars were moving at about one mile per hour. Birds flew overhead in slow motion.

    "Kronos," Percy deducted. "He's slowing time."

     "Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner suggested. "Look how the cars are all veering away from the Manhattan exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."

    "I don't know." Annabeth sounded really frustrated. She hated not knowing. "But somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

    "Like flies in amber," Michael murmured.

    Annabeth nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help coming in."

    I turned to my friends. They looked stunned and scared, and I couldn't blame them. The shield had shown us at least three hundred enemies on the way. There were forty of us. And we were alone—no godly help, or anything.

    "All right," Percy said. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

    Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."

    "We are going to hold it," he said. "We have to."

    "He's right," I agreed. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

    "They have boats," Michael pointed out.

     "I'll take care of the boats," Percy said. "Just leave it to me. We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Conner, take half of Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging! Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens– Midtown Tunnel."

    "Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."

    "No delays," Percy said. "Well... the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."

    Six girls kissed him on the cheek in excitement. I pursed my lips and felt my cheeks warm up.

     "Theo," Annabeth muttered to me. "You're flickering."

     I looked down at my hands. Annabeth was right—my body was going berserk like a lightbulb in a thunderstorm.

    "All right, enough," Percy called, though he was beet red. "The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."

    He grinned. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!"

    The whole cabin roared in approval.

    "The 59th Street Bridge," Percy said. "Clarisse—"

     He faltered. Clarisse wasn't here. The whole Ares cabin was sitting back at camp.

    "We'll take that," Annabeth stepped in, saving him from an embarrassing silence. She turned to her siblings. "Malcolm, we'll split the Athena cabin. Activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

    "You got it."

    "I'll go with Percy," I said, finally. I nodded to Michael. "I'll join you somewhere along the way."

    Somebody in the back of the group said, "Remember, no delays, you two."

    There were some giggles, but Percy and I decided to let it pass.

"All right," he said. "Keep in touch with cell phones."

    "We don't have cell phones," Silena protested.

    Percy reached down, picked up some snoring lady's BlackBerry and tossed it to Silena. "You do now. You all know Annabeth's number, right? If you need us, pick up a random phone and call us. Use it once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."

    Everyone grinned as though they liked this idea.

    Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone—"

    "No, you can't keep it," I said.

    "Aw, man."

    "Hold it, Percy," Jake Mason said. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

     Percy's lips twisted to the side. Jake was right. A Sherman tank and a hundred monsters were marching through that tunnel right now, and I'd positioned our forces everywhere else.

    Then a girl's voice called from across the street: "How about you leave that to us?"

     I'd never been happier to hear anyone in my life. A band of thirty adolescent girls crossed Fifth Avenue. They wore white shirts, silvery camouflage pants, and combat boots. They all had swords at their sides, quivers on their backs, and bows at the ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet, and many of the girls had hunting falcons on their arms.

At the front of the crew was a familiar face—untamed black hair, leather jacket and fingerless gloves, crazy-good eyeliner skills: Thalia Grace had returned.

"Thalia!" Annabeth cried.

The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

There were hugs and greetings all around. Or at least, Thalia was friendly. The other Hunters didn't like being around campers, especially boys, but they didn't shoot any of our guys, which for them was a pretty warm welcome.

"Where have you been the last year?" I asked Thalia. "You've got, like, twice as many Hunters now."

She laughed. "Long, long story. I bet my adventures were more dangerous than yours and Jackson's combined."

"Complete lie," I said, giving Percy a knowing look.

"We'll see," she promised. "After this is over, you, Annabeth, Percy, and me: cheeseburgers and fries at that hotel on West 57th."

"Sounds like a date," Percy agreed. "You're on. And.. Thalia, thanks."

"Don't mention it." She gave me and Percy a smile, then turned to face her hunters. "Move out!"

She slapped her silver bracelet, and the shield Aegis spiraled into full form. The golden head of Medusa molded in the center was so horrible, the campers all backed away. The Hunters took off down the avenue, followed by their wolves and falcons, and I had a feeling the Lincoln Tunnel would be safe for now.

"Thank the gods," Annabeth said. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

"You're right," Percy said.

He and I looked at the campers, all of them grim and determined. I tried not to feel like this was the last time we'd ever see them all together.

"You're the greatest heroes of this millennium," Percy told them. "It doesn't matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win." He raised Riptide and shouted, "For Olympus!"