Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian - 05
That afternoon we had an assembly at the campfire to burn Beckendorf's burial shroud and
say our good-byes. Even the Ares and Apollo cabins called a temporary truce to attend.
Beckendorf's shroud was made out of metal links, like chain mail. I didn't see how it would
burn, but the Fates must've been helping out. The metal melted in the fire and turned to golden
smoke, which rose into the sky. The campfire flames always reflected the campers' moods, and
today they burned black.
I hoped Beckendorf's spirit would end up in Elysium. Maybe he'd even choose to be reborn
and try for Elysium in three different lifetimes so he could reach the Isles of the Blest, which was like
the Underworld's ultimate party headquarters. If anyone deserved it, Beckendorf did.
Annabeth left without a word to me. Most of the other campers drifted off to their afternoon
activities. I just stood there staring at the dying fire. Silena sat nearby crying, while Clarisse and her
boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, tried to comfort her.
Finally I got up the nerve to walk over. "Hey, Silena, I'm really sorry."
She sniffled. Clarisse glared at me, but she always glares at everyone. Chris would barely
look at me. He'd been one of Luke's men until Clarisse rescued him from the Labyrinth last summer,
and I guess he still felt guilty about it.
I cleared my throat. "Silena, you know Beckendorf carried your picture. He looked at it right
before we went into battle. You meant a lot to him. You made the last year the best of his life."
Silena sobbed.
"Good work, Percy," Clarisse muttered.
"No, it's all right," Silena said. "Thank . . . thank you, Percy. I should go."
"You want company?" Clarisse asked.
Silena shook her head and ran off.
"She's stronger than she looks," Clarisse muttered, almost to herself. "She'll survive."
"You could help with that," I suggested. "You could honor Beckendorf's memory by fighting
with us."
Clarisse went for her knife, but it wasn't there anymore. She'd thrown it on the Ping-Pong
table in the Big House.
"Not my problem," she growled. "My cabin doesn't get honor, I don't fight."
I noticed she wasn't speaking in rhymes. Maybe she hadn't been around when her
cabinmates got cursed, or maybe she had a way of breaking the spell. With a chill, I wondered if
Clarisse could be Kronos's spy at camp. Was that why she was keeping her cabin out of the fight?
But as much as I disliked Clarisse, spying for the Titans didn't seem like her style.
"All right," I told her. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you owe me one. You'd be rotting in a
Cyclops's cave in the Sea of Monsters if it wasn't for me."
She clenched her jaw. "Any other favor, Percy. Not this. The Ares cabin has been dissed too
many times. And don't think I don't know what people say about me behind my back."
I wanted to say, Well, it's true. But I bit my tongue.
"So, what—you're just going to let Kronos crush us?" I asked.
"If you want my help so bad, tell Apollo to give us the chariot."
"You're such a big baby."
She charged me, but Chris got between us. "Whoa, guys," he said. "Clarisse, you know,
maybe he's got a point."
She sneered at him. "Not you too!" She trudged off with Chris at her heels.
"Hey, wait! I just meant—Clarisse, wait!"
I watched the last sparks from Beckendorf's fire curl into the afternoon sky. Then I headed
toward the sword-fighting arena. I needed a break, and I wanted to see an old friend.
Chapter Five
I Drive My Dog Into A Tree
Mrs. O'Leary saw me before I saw her, which was a pretty good trick considering she's the
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