Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian - 05
control. I felt like I had another personal hurricane swirling around me. "Chiron, Rachel Dare," I said.
"Rachel, this is my teacher Chiron."
"Hello," Rachel said glumly. She didn't look at all surprised that Chiron was a centaur.
"You are not asleep, Miss Dare," he noticed. "And yet you are mortal?"
"I'm mortal," she agreed, like it was a depressing thought. "The pilot fell asleep as soon as
we passed the river. I don't know why I didn't. I just knew I had to be here, to warn Percy."
"Warn Percy?"
"She's been seeing things," I said. "Writing lines and making drawings."
Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Tell me."
She told him the same things she'd told me.
Chiron stroked his beard. "Miss Dare . . . perhaps we should talk."
"Chiron," I blurted. I had a sudden terrible image of Camp Half-Blood in the 1990s, and May
Castellan's scream coming from that attic. "You . . . you'll help Rachel, right? I mean, you'll warn her
that she's got to be careful with this stuff. Not go too far."
His tail flicked like it does when he's anxious. "Yes, Percy. I will do my best to understand
what is happening and advise Miss Dare, but this may take some time. Meanwhile, you should rest.
We've moved your parents' car to safety. The enemy seems to be staying put for now. We've set up
bunks in the Empire State Building. Get some sleep."
"Everybody keeps telling me to sleep," I grumbled. "I don't need sleep."
Chiron managed a smile. "Have you looked at yourself recently, Percy?"
I glanced down at my clothes, which were scorched, burned, sliced, and tattered from my
night of constant battles. "I look like death," I admitted. "But you think I can sleep after what just
happened?"
"You may be invulnerable in combat," Chiron chided, "but that only makes your body tire
faster. I remember Achilles. Whenever that lad wasn't fighting, he was sleeping. He must’ve taken
twenty naps a day. You, Percy, need your rest. You may be our only hope."
I wanted to complain that I wasn't their only hope, According to Rachel, I wasn't even the
hero. But the look in Chiron's eyes made it clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Sure," I grumbled. "Talk."
I trudged toward the Empire State Building. When I glanced back, Rachel and Chiron were
walking together in earnest conversation, like they were discussing funeral arrangements.
Inside the lobby, I found an empty bunk and collapsed, sure that I would never be able to
sleep. A second later, my eyes closed.
In my dreams, I was back in Hades's garden. The lord of the dead paced up and down,
holding his ears while Nico followed him, waving his arms.
"You have to!" Nico insisted.
Demeter and Persephone sat behind them at the breakfast table. Both of the goddesses
looked bored. Demeter poured shredded wheat into four huge bowls. Persephone was magically
changing the flower arrangement on the table, turning the blossoms from red to yellow to polka-
dotted.
"I don't have to do anything!" Hades s eyes blazed. "I'm a god!"
"Father," Nico said, "if Olympus falls, your own palace's safety doesn't matter. You'll fade
too."
"I am not an Olympian!" he growled. "My family has made that quite clear."
"You are,'' Nico said. "Whether you like it or not."
"You saw what they did to your mother," Hades said. "Zeus killed her. And you would have
me help them? They deserve what they get!"
Persephone sighed. She walked her fingers across the table, absently turning the silverware
into roses. "Could we please not talk about that woman?"
"You know what would help this boy?" Demeter mused. "Farming."
Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother—"
"Six months behind a plow. Excellent character building."
Nico stepped in front of his father, forcing Hades to face him. "My mother understood about
family. That's why she didn't want to leave us. You can't just abandon your family because they did
98