𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚔𝚒𝚍 - percy jackson x oc

038

XXXVIII - THE DEATH OF A HERO

SIXTEEN CAMPERS. That was how many were left. Nearly half of them wiped out and the battle was nowhere near finished. They had fifteen Hunters and half a dozen satyrs, but was it enough?

The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of them had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar they did not dare take any more. The Party Ponies—they looked rather silly in combat armor, but Valeria ignored that—tried to form ranks, but they staggered and giggled and they all smelled like root beer. The Texans were head-butting the Coloradoans. The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois. The chances were pretty good the whole army would end up fighting each other rather than the enemy.

Annabeth and Thalia had joined their little gathering outside the Plaza. The former briefly explained the state of the Athena cabin, which was not too good. She had left Malcom in charge while she discussed their current strategy. The latter was confident that her Hunters could win this, but their numbers were dwindling.

"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy," Chiron said, gesturing to Rachel.

Rachel blushed. "Just some things I saw in my head."

"A drakon," Chiron said. "A Lydian drakon, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."

"From Lydia, Antolia," Valeria stated with her arms crossed. "Killed by Damasen and..." She looked at Percy out of the corner of her eye. "Hercules."

"Of course," Percy muttered. "Always Hercules."

"This drakon has a particular fate," Rachel said, "It will be killed by a child of Ares."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "How can you possibly know that?"

"I just saw it. I can't explain."

"Well, let's hope you're wrong," Percy said. "Because we're a little short on children of Ares..." He trailed off and cursed in Ancient Greek.

"What?" Valeria asked.

"The spy," Percy told her. "Kronos said. We know they cannot beat this drakon. The spy has been keeping him updated. Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us. He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill."

Thalia scowled. "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry. Maybe we could send another messenger to camp— "

"I've already done it," Chiron said. "Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able— "

A roar shook the ground. It sounded close.

"Rachel," Percy said, "get inside the building."

"I want to stay."

A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.

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

Drakons were terrifying. Valeria had somehow managed to kill one last summer, but it was a weak one. And it had left her with an ugly scar, so there was that.

Someone at camp had thought it would be funny to put her in charge of the drakon defense class. How was she supposed to teach them about a colossal wingless serpent with poison and paralysis?

The drakon slithered down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

Simultaneously, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. They had all done their best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for their 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.