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ONCE THEY descended back to New York (Anya's breathing had subsided to abnormal pattern after they landed back to safety on the ground floor), they found a very happy Mrs. O'Leary feasting on an upturned hot dog stand, the vendor fast asleep. They all met with Argus, who Percy told to return to camp, before they had a very strange conversation that Anya wasn't paying much attention to.
"I hope my mom's okay," Katie worried. "She's not anywhere in Manhattan right now, but she was on her way from a relative visit."
Anya placed a comforting hand on her half sister's shoulder. "It's okay, Katie. We can find her after the battle. I'm sure she's fine."
She nodded, still visibly disturbed.
"Whoa, look at that," someone said, grabbing Anya and Katie's attention away from sleeping mortals and the dream god. Annabeth was holding a bronze shield, which didn't look that exciting at first, but then once Anya focused on the reflection of the polished metal, she saw it flicker from showing the sky, to buildings, to the Statue of Liberty— which wasn't close to where they were. At all.
"A video shield," breathed Percy.
"One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth explained. "I had Beckendorf make it before—" she glanced at Silena. "Um, anyways, 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."
Everyone crowded around as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, which made Anya blink slightly to adjust to the motion. The reflection showed Central Park Zoo, then it was flashing down East 60th, past Bloomingdale's, then turning up on Third Avenue.
"Whoa," Connor said. "Back up. Zoom in right there."
"What?" Annabeth said nervously. "You see invaders?"
"No— right there. Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And everyone is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Connor!" Katie scolded. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"
"Sorry," Connor muttered, but he didn't sound very ashamed.
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 around the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp. . . someday."
Argus grunted in acknowledgement of Annabeth's words, and then climbed into his van. He swerved away, the two harpy drivers weaving behind him, around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.
Percy whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary eagerly bounded over. "Hey girl. Remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?" Mrs O'Leary gave a loud WOOF! in response. "I need you to find him for me. Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that? Find Grover."
