𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter eighty-six. ☄︎. *. ⋆

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I KNEW WE WERE IN DEEP SHIT when my brother called and begged for our help. But Percy was currently at the bottom of the New York Harbor, trying to reason with the gods of the river. We needed protection from all sides, and we could only hope the minor gods would start to step up and give us a hand. Percy had had a brilliant idea to try and negotiate with the gods of both the Hudson and the East to try and get them to sink Luke's ships.

But since I wasn't the daughter of Poseidon, I was stuck on the shore, waiting impatiently for Percy to emerge from the disgusting waters he had dunked into ten minutes ago. I'd just gotten off the phone with Michael when Percy reappeared, not even wet.

"It worked," he told me. "The rivers are safe."

"Good thing," I said, tucking my phone into my back pocket. "Because Michael just called. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg. My siblings need help. Are you in?"

Wasting no time, Percy whistled, calling for his pegasus friend. When we heard the thumping of big horse wings coming in the distance, Percy looked back to me and said, "Of course I'm in."

When Blackjack landed in front of us, Percy began chatting with it, as he could do with pegasi. (Weird, man.)

"Thanks for coming, Blackjack," he said to the horse. "We need to get to the Williamsburg Bridge."

The pegasus lowered his neck and whinnied something I obviously couldn't understand. Percy looked back at me and nodded to the horse, telling me it was okay to start boarding.

On the way to the bridge, a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. My siblings weren't many. We had lost most of our strongest fighters in the battle last summer. If the stakes were as bad as Michael claimed over the phone, they were in a lot of trouble. I only hoped Percy and I could be strong enough to save them.

We saw the battle before we were close enough to make out individual fighters. It was well after midnight now, but the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning. Arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

We came in for a low pass, and I saw my siblings retreating. It was a tactic we had learned together. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a hole in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of one of my brothers and dragged him away. I didn't see what happened to him next. I didn't want to know. Jeremiah was gone.

Leading the entire parade was a monster who should have been burning in the deepest pits of Tartarus: The Minotaur. Percy had killed him a few years ago, and he should have been dead for a much longer time than this.

From the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear—a kiltlike apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. As soon as he saw Percy and me circling overhead (or sniffed us, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine.

"Blackjack, dive!" Percy yelled.

We were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward us, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. Blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. The limo sailed over our heads, missing by maybe two inches. It cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the East River.

Monsters jeered and shouted at us, and the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," Percy told Blackjack. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

The pegasus swooped down behind an overturned school bus where a couple of campers were hiding. Percy and I leaped off as soon as Blackjack's hooves touched the pavement. Then the horse soared away into the night sky.

Michael ran up to us as soon as we were on solid ground. He had a bandaged cut on his arm. His face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," I said.

"Then we're dead."

"You still have your flying chariot?" Percy asked.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

"Least you tried," Percy said.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew. When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said.

I gazed at the spot where it had landed. "No way! You had some? I've always wanted to try those!"

"Gift from Apollo.",Michael grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

Sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back," Michael said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Percy said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

Percy just drew his sword.

"Percy," I said, "I'm coming with you."

"Too dangerous," he said. "Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

Percy kept his eyes on me.

Finally I nodded reluctantly. I guess he had a point; I would work better with my siblings than anywhere else. "All right. Get moving."

Percy caught me by the arm and spun me back to face him. He was smiling. "Don't I get a kiss for good luck? It's kind of tradition, right?"

     I rolled my eyes but leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. When I pulled back, his lips were parted and brow scrunched in offense. I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

     "A real kiss."

I just shook my head, holding back a laugh. "There's a time and a place, Aquaman. This is neither."

     Percy shrugged, unsheathing his sword casually and twirling it over his knuckles into a battle grip. He shot me a smile. "I'll just have to make time, then. See you in a few."

     And he darted off into battle, a fighter quicker than a bullet with the power of an entire army. I almost felt bad for the monsters.