𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲; 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗁 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗌𝖾

Surprise

They found Argus freaking out in his own way, and Percy told him to go guard camp.

Argus pointed at him and raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"I'm staying," The boy said.

Argus nodded, like that answer satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

"Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

"For what?" Ivy asked.

Argus rummaged around in the back of his van, brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard, but when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty-which wasn't anywhere close to them.

"Woah" Percy said.

"A video shield?" Ivy guessed.

"One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth said. "I had Beckendorf make this before-" She glanced at Silena. "Um, anyway, 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."

The campers crowded around them Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, making her dizzy at first. They watched Central Park Zoo, then zoomed down East 60th, past
Bloomingdale's, then turned 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 Gardner scolded while Ivy fought back a laugh. She sounded just like her mother, Demeter. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

"Sorry," Connor muttered, not sounding 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 on across the city," She said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp . . . someday."

Argus grunted. He gave them a look that clearly meant Good luck; you'll need it, then climbed into his van and swerved away.

Ivy whistled for Mrs. O'Leary, and she came bounding over.

"Hey, girl," She said. "You remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?"

"WOOF!"

"I need you to find him. Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that? Find Grover!"

Mrs. O'Leary gave her a sloppy wet kiss, then raced off north.

Pollux crouched next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena said. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

Percy stared at her. "When did you learn so much about magic?"

Silena blushed. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe."

"V, Percy," Annabeth called, still looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

It showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the water toward Manhattan, each packed with demigods in full Greek armor.