Heir of a Titan - Book 2 PJO

Chapter 43: Coulda' Fooled Me

Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons.

Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, and much larger. They look like giant serpents. Most don't have wings. Most don't breathe fire (though some do). All are poisonous. All are immensely strong, with scales harder than titanium. Their eyes can paralyze you; not the turn-you-to-stone Medusa-type paralysis, but the oh-my-gods-that-big-snake-is-going-to-eat-me type of paralysis, which is just as bad.

We have drakon-fighting classes at camp, but there is no way to prepare yourself for a two-hundred-foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth big enough to chew elephants.

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.

I turned my head and looked at Percy, he was white as a ghost, but he nodded, pulling his trusty riptide out of his pocket, letting it grow into a sword. I pulled my bow off. Beside me, Raph slammed his helmet on. I saw his mouth moving.

"I'll take the drakon."  

He closed it, and cleared his throat.  Then he clearly yelled the same thing: "I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON!"

Percy turned to look at the few remaining campers we had. "Everyone else, hold the line against the army!" 

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

Raph bumped my shoulder, making me look around to him, "Will you help me?" He sighed with difficulty, he was holding a shield and sword in his hands.

 I nodded, "Of course. Percy and I are right beside you. And probably Annabeth as well, despite her being upset at Percy, she'll have his back, and I have yours." 

Just as I said that, Annabeth and Percy came over. 

"Annabeth will go invisible," Percy said. "Look for weak links in its armor while Nora and I keep it busy. Raph...sorry man, it's up to you to kill it. Nora and I will do our best to wound it enough for you to kill. Everyone... just be careful."

Percy whistled. I saw Miss O'Leary come bounding over. "Mrs. O'Leary, heel!"

"ROOOF!" Our hellhound leaped over a line of centaurs and gave me a kiss that smelled suspiciously of pepperoni pizza. Then she turned to Percy and gave him a big slobbery kiss. The four of us glanced at each other, nodded lifted our weapons and we charged the monster.

🔆

The drakon was three stories above us, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up our forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear.

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 I 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 night-night doll. Her claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat but couldn't make a dent. I threw my arm back, already setting it ablaze, and then threw a ball of fire, as big and hot as I could muster. It hit the drakon's side. The fireball and Miss O'Leary's weight threw the monster from 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.