Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian - 05
I will slice Percy Jackson into a thousand pieces."
"Thrice you've fought him," Prometheus pointed out. "And yet you've always said it is
beneath the dignity of a Titan to fight a mere mortal. I wonder if your mortal host is influencing you,
weakening your judgment."
Kronos turned his golden eyes on the other Titan. "You call me weak?"
"No, my lord. I only meant—"
"Are your loyalties divided?" Kronos asked. "Perhaps you miss your old friends, the gods.
Would you like to join them?"
Prometheus paled. "I misspoke, my lord. Your orders will be carried out." He turned to the
armies and shouted, "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"
The troops began to stir.
From somewhere behind the UN compound, an angry roar shook the city—the sound of a
drakon waking. The noise was so horrible it woke me, and I realized I could still hear it from a mile
away.
Grover stood next to me, looking nervous. "What was that?"
"They're coming," I told him. "And we're in trouble."
The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were
scrounging for arrows. Most of us had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar we didn't dare
take any more.
We had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The
rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies 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.
Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back. I felt a twinge of annoyance because Chiron rarely
gave anyone a ride, and never a mortal.
"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy," he said.
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."
I stared at her. "How did you know that?"
"I'm not sure," Rachel admitted. "But this drakon has a particular fate. 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," I said. "Because we're a little short on children of Ares. . . ." A
horrible thought occurred to me, and I cursed in Ancient Greek.
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"The spy," I 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 very close.
"Rachel," I said, "get inside the building."
"I w ant 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."
* * *
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
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