The Sons of Light and Dark

A Refreshing Swim

Percy POV

A couple months later, Alex, Killian, and I were found by Kasey, the son of Janus. Kasey had apparently proposed an idea to Alex. One that even the son of Poseidon was not very willing to do.

"Kasey, I don't know," Alex said. "It seems pretty extreme."

"You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week?" Kasey said. "Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

"Typhon is free?" Killian asked, fear written all over his face.

I nodded to Alex and he gathered water from a nearby pond.

"Killian, fire." I said. He nodded and lit his hand on fire. Alex raised the water over the fire and mist started to billow upwards. I fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat."

The mist shimmered. We saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano—Mount St. Helens. As we watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "—even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done."

I knew all about last year's eruption. Killian had caused it. But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States.

The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing.

"It's him," Kasey said gravely. "Typhon."

I simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."

I waved my hand and the image changed. We saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path—ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.

"Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm I could see the giant—just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird—a monstrous owl—dived in to attack the giant.

"Are those . . . the gods?" Alex said.

"Yes, Alex," I said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward—toward New York. Toward Olympus."

"How long until he gets here?"

"Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."

"But then who's guarding Olympus?"

Kasey shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."