The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

seventeen

THE SNEEZE OF DEATH

Ariana was too surprised to speak. Otherwise she would have warned Percy what was about to happen.

Hellhounds are not fond of heights. When startled, they respond in a predictable way. The moment Percy's faithful pet landed on top of the moving Colossus, she yelped and proceeded to wee-wee on said Colossus's head.

The statue froze and looked up, no doubt wondering what was trickling down his imperial sideburns.

Percy leaped heroically from his mount and slipped in hellhound pee. He nearly slid off the statue's brow.

"What the - Mrs O'Leary, jeez!"

The hellhound bayed in apology. Austin flew their chariot to within shouting distance. "Percy!"

The son of Poseidon frowned across at them. "All right, who unleashed the giant bronze guy? Apollo, did you do this?"

"I am offended." Apollo cried. "I am only indirectly responsible for this! Also, I have a plan to fix it."

"Oh, yeah?" Percy glanced back at the destroyed dining pavilion. "How's that going?"

"If you could please just keep this Colossus from stomping the camp's hearth, that would be helpful. I need a few more minutes to enchant this arrow."

Apollo held up the talking arrow by mistake, then held up the bent arrow.

Percy sighed. "Of course you do!"

Mrs O'Leary barked in alarm. The Colossus was raising his hand to swat the trespassing finkler.
Percy grabbed one of the crown's sunray spikes.

He sliced it off at the base, then jabbed it into the Colossus's forehead. Ariana doubted the Colossus could feel pain, but it staggered, apparently surprised to suddenly have grown a unicorn horn.

Percy sliced off another one. "Hey, Ugly!" he called down. "You don't need all these pointy things, do you? I'm going to take one to the beach. Mrs O'Leary, fetch."

Percy tossed the spike like a javelin.

The hellhound barked excitedly. She leaped off the Colossus's head, vaporized into shadow and reappeared on the ground, bounding after her new bronze stick.

Percy raised his eyebrows at Apollo. "Well? Start enchanting."

He jumped from the statue's head to its shoulder. Then he leaped to the shaft of the rudder and slid down it like a fire pole all the way to the ground.

"Hey, Bronze Butt." he yelled again. "Come get me!"

The Colossus obliged, slowly turning and following Percy towards the beach. Apollo began to chant, invoking my old powers as the god of plagues. This time, the words came to him.

Below, more campers joined the parade to the beach. They ran ahead of the Colossus, jeering at him, throwing things and calling him Bronze Butt.

They made jokes about his new horn. They laughed at the hellhound pee trickling down his face.

Apollo finished chanting. Odious green mist now wreathed the arrow. If smelled faintly of fast-food deep fryers - a good sign that it carried some sort of horrible malady.

"I'm ready." Apollo told Austin. "Get me next to its ear."

"You got it." Austin turned to say something else, and a wisp of green fog passed under his nose.

His eyes watered. His nose swelled and began to run. He scrunched up his face and sneezed so hard he collapsed.

He lay on the floor of the chariot, groaning and twitching.