SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

71 - dropping friends

BRIAR DIDN'T KNOW what she was feeling as Coach Hedge exploded the parking lot below them.

On one hand, she felt a prickle on her neck, almost — like something bad was about to happen. On the other hand, when she saw Percy lean over the railing and yell out, grinning, she was happy that Annabeth was actually alive.

She and the other demigods went down the rope ladder to meet up with Annabeth. The first thing Briar noticed was her leg.

"Your leg." Briar knelt next to Annabeth and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"

Annabeth started to explain. As the story continued, Briar felt more and more amazed at what her friend had just accomplished.

"Gods of Olympus," Reyna marveled. "You did all that alone. With a broken ankle."

"Well . . . some of it with a broken ankle."

Percy grinned. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera — Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"

Everyone gazed at the statue.

"What do we do with her?" Frank asked. "She's huge."

"We'll have to take her with us to Greece," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."

"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," Hazel quoted. "Won with pain from a woven jail." She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."

Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. "Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."

Briar imagined the Athena Parthenos jutting from their trireme with a sign across her pedestal that read: WIDE LOAD. She nearly snorted.

"What about you guys?" Annabeth asked. "What happened with the giants?"

Percy told her about rescuing Nico, the appearance of Bacchus, and the fight with the twins in the Colosseum. He explained what Nico had found out about the Doors of Death, and how they had to be closed on both sides. Even with sunlight streaming in from above, the news made the cavern seem dark again.

"So the mortal side is in Epirus," Annabeth said. "At least that's somewhere we can reach."

Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."

The word seemed to echo through the chamber. The pit behind them exhaled a cold blast of air.

Percy said, "Bacchus mentioned something about my voyage being harder than I expected. Not sure why—"

The chamber groaned. The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on one of Arachne's support cables, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling.

"Secure it!" Annabeth cried.

The crew understood immediately.

"Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get me to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."

Frank transformed into a giant eagle, and the two of them soared toward the ship.

Jason wrapped his arms around Briar and Reyna. He turned to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and they flew back to the ship.

Briar didn't know what had happened after they got the statue on board, but when the chaos was finally over, Nico and Hazel were hanging onto the rope ladder, Percy and Annabeth nowhere to be seen.