We could see the white flag from half a mile away. It was as big as a soccer field, carried by a thirty-foot-tall giant with bright blue skin and icy gray hair.

"A Hyperborean," Thalia signed. "The giants of the north. It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."

"You've met them?" I said.

She nodded, "There's a big colony in Alberta. You do not want to get into a snowball fight with those guys."

"Can they melt?" I asked, setting my one hand on fire. I grinned evilly at her. She snorted in amusement.

As the giant got closer, I could see three human-size envoys with him: a half-blood in armor, an empousa demon with a black dress and flaming hair, and a tall man in a tuxedo. I glanced at Percy, who raised an eyebrow at me. I exhaled slowly through my nose. The empousa held the tux dude's arm, so they looked like a couple on their way to a Broadway show or something-except for her flaming hair and fangs. The group walked leisurely toward the Heckscher Playground. The swings and ball courts were empty. 

Percy looked at Grover. "The tux dude is the Titan?" He asked, again his hands moved while he talked.

He nodded nervously. 

"He looks like a magician." I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "He doesn't look very scary." 

 "I hate magicians. They usually have rabbits." He visibly shuddered. 

I stared at him. "You're scared of bunnies?"

"Blah-hah-hah! They're big bullies. Always stealing celery from defenseless satyrs!"

Thalia coughed. I caught Thalia's eye and we had to look away because we both chocked on laughter.

"What?" Grover demanded.

"We'll have to work on your bunny phobia later," Percy said. "Here they come."

The man in the tux stepped forward. He was taller than an average human- about seven feet. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. Dark round glasses covered his eyes, but what really caught my attention was the skin on his face. It was covered in scratches, like he'd been attacked by a small animal- a really, really mad hamster, maybe.

"Percy Jackson," he said in a silky voice. "Eleanora Blofis, It's a great honor."

"Get out of my head!" I signed, my face twisted in anger. 

He stared blankly at me. 

"What is that, you are doing?" 

"I said OUT!" I signed angerly. Percy waved a hand and spoke and signed for me, "She's deaf, you will either sign or I'll speak for you. Or Thalia will." 

"No more mind games. You stay out of my head." 

The magician turned to look at Percy, who translated. His eyes turned back to me, regarding me. His lady friend, the empousa hissed at me and Percy. She'd probably heard how we destroyed two of her sisters last summer, and I vaporized a few more of them. 

"My dear," Tux Dude said to her, I watched his lips as he spoke to her, "Why don't you make yourself comfortable over there, eh?"

She released his arm and drifted over to a park bench. I glanced at the armed demigod behind Tux Dude. I hadn't recognized him in his new helmet, but it was our old backstabbing buddy, Ethan Nakamura. His nose looked like a squashed tomato from our fight on the Williamsburg Bridge. That made me feel better. 

"Hey, Ethan," I said. "You're looking good."

Ethan glared at me. 

"Got a new helmet, I see. Hope it saves you next time... though I doubt it, might just incinerate you now and be rid of you." He looked to Percy or Thalia for an interpretation, and when Thaila gave him my message he took a step forward, his hand going to the sword at his hip, like he wanted to slice me. I smirked, folding my arms across my armor. The magician in the tux held an arm out stopping him. He looked back to us.

"To business." Tux Dude extended his hand. "I am Prometheus." 

I kept my arms folded and glared at him, I saw Thalia signing the introduction for me. Percy looked shocked. Nothing shocked me anymore. 

"The fire-stealer guy? The chained-to-the-rock-with-the-vultures guy?" Percy asked, his hands were busy signing to shake the guys hand.

Prometheus winced. He touched the scratches on his face. He started to talk and I glanced to Thalia. "He says: Please, don't mention the vultures. But ya, he stole fire from the gods and gave it to our ancestors. In return, the ever merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."

"That doesn't sound quite right." I signed. 

"But-" Percy tried to interrupt.

"How did I get free?" I read his lips, but then I looked again to Thalia, she was a great interpreter. summed it up and her humor and distain for these guys matched mine. "He says, Hercules did that, long time ago. He says he has a soft spot for heroes. Some of us can be quite civilized."

"Eww." I wrinkled my nose at the titan dressed like a magician. 

"Unlike the company you keep," Percy signed, also looking at the guys Prometheus had brought with him.

Percy and I were both looking at Ethan, but Prometheus apparently thought he meant the empousa.

"Oh, demons aren't so bad," he said. "You just have to keep them well fed. Now, Percy Jackson, Eleanora Blofis, let us parley."

He waved me toward a picnic table and we sat down. Thalia and Grover stood behind us.

The blue giant propped his white flag against a tree and began absently playing on the playground. He stepped on the monkey bars and crushed them, but he didn't seem angry. He just frowned. I imagined him saying in a slow kind of dumb voice, "uh-oh!" Then he stepped in the fountain and broke the concrete bowl in half. "Uh-oh." The water froze where his foot touched it. A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt—the huge kind you get for grand prizes at an arcade. He reminded me of Tyson, and the idea of fighting him made me sad.

Prometheus sat forward and laced his fingers. I ripped my eyes away from the giant and looked back at the titan in front of me. He looked earnest, kindly, and wise.  

"Percy, Nora. Your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."

"We'll see." Percy said and signed. I nodded in agreement. 

Prometheus looked pained, like he really cared what happened to me. "I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."

Grover tapped my shoulder, I looked around, "Also the Titan of crafty counsel. Emphasis on crafty." 

I agreed. I knew when I was being lied to, and I had a strange feeling, he wasn't telling the whole truth. So he was up to something. 

Prometheus shrugged. I looked to Thalia who had slid to my side and was interpreting the guy's words for me. 

"Dude says, true enough, satyr. He supported the gods in the last war. He told Kronos: 'You don't have the strength. You'll lose.' And he was right. He seems to think that's reason enough to  know how to pick the winning side. He says this time, he's backing Kronos."

"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," I guessed. Percy face was blank, but I had to bit my lip, he knew how to play the dumb card and poke the others into giving information or showing their cards. It was something I had to learn from him. He knew how to play them. 

"Partly, yes. He says he wants revenge. But that's not the only reason he's supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. He's here because he thought you might listen to reason."

"Then he doesn't know me very well. I don't listen. I hardly take suggestions." 

Percy nodded thoughtfully at what I said. Prometheus looked confused, but when Thalia spoke what I said he blinked a few times and frowned at me. He looked back at Percy and then he drew a map on the table with his finger. Wherever he touched, golden lines appeared, glowing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"Get out of my fucken head!" I screamed. My veins became warm, and I started to glow with a heat. I hated when these guys just thought it was okay to enter my mind. Sure it was easier to communicate with, but I hated how it was only Titans who wanted to destroy me that could talk to me. 

"Your spy has been keeping you posted," Percy guessed.

Prometheus smiled apologetically at Percy. He looked back at me and staring me in the eye spoke in my head again, as he spoke out loud for the others. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."

I thought about the picture Rachel had drawn in my dreams—an army at the base of the Empire State Building. I remembered the words of the young girl Oracle in my dream: I foresee the future. I cannot change it. Prometheus spoke with such certainty it was hard not to believe him.

"We won't let it happen," I signed. I refused to acknowledge him in my head. Percy nodded in agreement, "Never."

Prometheus brushed a speck off his tux lapel. "Understand, Percy and Nora. You are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. The only difference is, this time you are defending. You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?"

"So he's going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building?" I asked Percy. 

Percy cracked a small crocked smile. "Good luck."

Prometheus smiled, he had no idea what we signed. Or maybe he did and was just playing with us, but I knew he would be lying, he genially had no idea what we were saying. 

"Troy was completely destroyed. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the gods."

"Right," Percy said. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."

"Right? He wont spare me, he's already trying to get his nasty hands on me to use me, no way I'm stepping aside."

"All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked. And You Nora, you saw how frail and...unstable Helios became when he was no longer on the seat of power."

I winced, remembering how old and decrepit Helios was when I found him last year in the garden party. He babbled like a child. Percy also winced, I guess he was remembering what Poseidon looked like when I crashed their family reunion. 

"Yes," Prometheus said sadly. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier. Fewer lives lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

"Great. I'm an Heir of a Titan. So maybe I'll-" 

I stopped and slammed a hand over my mouth. My eyes went wide. I felt the panic in my chest. My heart was slamming hard, my lungs felt like claws suddenly were squeezing them. I had to clamp my hands hard. Prometheus was regarding me with cool collectiveness as I now understood what Kronos wanted from me. 

"Ahh. I believe you finally understand that Kronos doesn't want you for your body anymore to host him. He has...other plans for you." 

"Percy!" I signed. My hands were shaking. I felt Percy's hand grip my knee hard. He was trying to catch my eye and see if I was okay. He had stiffened and I could feel his concern, but I didn't want to discuss this new understanding when Thalia and Grover ere around. I really needed Nico. Thalia misunderstood my sudden shaken response as me giving in, because she Thalia pounded her fist on the table. 

"I serve Artemis. The Hunters will fight to our last breath. Nora! You're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

I figured Prometheus was going to blast her, but he just smiled, Thaila was to busy glaring at him I had to lip read. "Your courage does you credit, Thalia Grace."

Thalia stiffened. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."

"As you wish," Prometheus said casually, but I could tell he'd gotten under her skin. I'd never even heard Thalia's last name before. Somehow it made her seem almost normal. Less mysterious and powerful.

"At any rate," the Titan said, "you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of mankind."

"That's a load of Minotaur dung," Thalia said, and continued signing again. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods, you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because you cared about us." 

Ahh, there it was, I knew there was something missing. No one ever wanted to help because they cared. It was always to tick off the gods or the titans or whatever and mortals were caught in the middle, either being blamed or forced to clean up after everyone. 

Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature."

I had to force myself to not roll my eyes. A wiggling lump of clay appeared in his hands. He fashioned it into a little doll with legs and arms. The lump man didn't have any eyes, but it groped around the table, stumbling over Prometheus's fingers. 

"He says he's been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of our existence." Thalia's face showed her distain for the tux titan. " He says he represents our curiosity, our sense of exploration, our inventiveness. Help me save you. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift- a new revelation that will move us as far forward as fire did. He says we can't make this kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. But this could be a new golden age for us. Or..." He made a fist and smashed the clay man into a pancake.

The blue giant rumbled, I felt the ground ruble when he opened his big lopsided mouth. Over at the park bench, the empousa bared her fangs in a smile. 

"Percy. You know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad," Prometheus said. "You've met Calypso. You're half father, Nora was a Titan."

I saw Percy's face go pink. I narrowed my eyes at the titan. "That's different." I signed. Thalia translated.

"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas's daughter. Helios was booted off the chair the moment Apollo was old enough to take over the wheel. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We offer you peace."

Percy looked at Ethan Nakamura. "You must hate this."

"I don't know what you mean." I had to read his lips to understand.

"If we took this deal," Percy continued, "you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

His good eye flared. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognized?" 

"Oh yes, I see how much these titans respect you." I signed with an eye roll. 

"Your mom's the goddess of revenge," Percy told Ethan. "We should respect that?"

"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

"Which is why she took your eye?" I asked, and pointed to the cloth tied around his head. 

"He says it was payment," Thalia signed for me. "it was an exchange, she swore to him that one day he would tip the balance of power. He would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

"Great mom." I snorted, rolling my eyes again. 

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts—good or evil."

"Yeah," Percy countered with a twisted look of anger on his face, his sea green eyes flashed dangerously. "So Nora and I saved your life, and you repaid us by raising Kronos." 

"That's fair." I added, my veins glowing in anger now, the white dark magic scars on my wrists glowed a white, and it made me even more angry. 

"I saved your life and you hand me over to Kronos to be locked in a cage and burnt with magic." 

"No demi god should be that powerful" He spat at me after Percy translated what I said. 

"You sound just like gods. How you you any different you tarator." 

Ethan grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Prometheus stopped him. "Now, now," the Titan said, I had to read his lips. "We're on a diplomatic mission."

Prometheus studied me as if trying to understand my anger, then flicked to Percy, seeing his matching expression. Then he nodded like he'd just picked a thought from Percy's brain. 

"I bothers you what happened to Luke," he decided. I had to force the anger down so I could understand what his mouth was saying. "Hestia didn't show you the full story. Perhaps if you understood . . ."

The Titan reached out with both hands.

Thalia cried a warning, but before I could react, Prometheus's index finger touched my forehead.