The Last Olympian: Apollo's Daughter

Sacrifice of War

Percy's POV

The sound that shook the ground was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Rachel....get inside the building. It's the safest place for you,"

"I want to stay."

A shadow blotted out the sun. We all craned our necks to look up at the massive creature clung to the skyscrapers.

"On second thought," Rachel said in a small voice, "I'll be inside."

The drakon almost made me long for the flying pig we'd turned to bacon...

Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. We'd done our best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for our enemies to approach. The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously. Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encouragement to stand tough and think about victory and root beer, but I figured any second they would panic and run.

"We'll take the drakon..." My voice came out quite as I looked up at the massive snake. I cleaned my throat "WE'LL TAKE THE DRAKON! Everyone else, hold the line against the army!"

Annabeth stood next to me. She had pulled her owl helmet low over her face, but I could tell her eyes were red from crying.

"Will you help?" I asked.

"That's what I do," she said softly. "I help my family."

I turned my attention back to the drakon. "Go invisible," I said. "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy."

Annabeth shook her head, holding her cap out to me. "What?" I looked down at the Yankees cap.

"I won't be able to climb on that thing with my shoulder..." She mumbled.

"What was that I didn't quite hear you over me being right that you weren't in shape to fight."

"Oh shut it," She shoved my shoulder.

I took one last look at the drakon and cursed under my breath.

"Just be careful," Annabeth said quickly. "Skye would kill me if anything happened to you."

"You too, stay safe."

Annabeth rushed towards the drakon as I took a deep breath, pulling the Yankees cap onto my head. I didn't feel any different but I'd seen Annabeth do it enough that I knew I was invisible.

The drakon was three stories above, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up our forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear and I wanted to join them.

From the north, the enemy army crashed into the Party Ponies, and our lines broke. The drakon lashed out, swallowing three Californian centaurs in one gulp before we could even get close.

Mrs. O'Leary launched herself through the air, a deadly black shadow with teeth and claws. Normally, a pouncing hellhound is a terrifying sight, but next to the drakon, Mrs. O'Leary looked like a child's doll.

Her claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat but couldn't make a dent. Her weight, however, was enough to knock the drakon off the side of the building. It flailed awkwardly and crashed to the sidewalk, hellhound and serpent twisting and thrashing. The drakon tried to bite Mrs. O'Leary, but she was too close to the serpent's mouth. Poison spewed everywhere, melting centaurs into dust along with quite a few monsters, but Mrs. O'Leary weaved around the serpent's head, scratching and biting.

This is how I die, isn't it? I thought as I clambered onto the drakon, using its scales as handholds. It was honestly one of the hardest things I'd done... It was worse than holding onto a giant metal bull...

The drakon hissed and turned its attention to Annabeth who charged the monster.

The drakon followed her movements, hissing, and curling into a striking pose.