Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
69
69
skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.
"Annabeth . . ." I choked up. She'd taken that knife for me. How could I have let that
happen?
"Poison on the dagger," she mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"
Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we
would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody
hand me some nectar."
I grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while I held Annabeth's
hand.
"Ow," she said. "Ow, ow!" She gripped my fingers so tight they turned purple, but she stayed
still, like Will asked. Silena muttered words of encouragement. Will put some silver paste over the
wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages
and stood up shakily.
The healing must've taken a lot of his energy. He looked almost as pale as Annabeth.
"That should do it," he said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies."
He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the
Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"
"I would," Travis volunteered.
Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an
emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."
Nobody disagreed. There was hardly a single demigod who hadn't already been wounded . .
. except me.
"Come on, guys," Travis Stoll said. "Let's give Annabeth some space. We've got a drugstore
to raid . . . I mean, visit."
The demigods shuffled back inside. Jake Mason grabbed my shoulder as he was leaving.
"We'll talk later, but it's under control. I'm using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The
enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why. We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."
"Thanks, man," I said.
He nodded. "Just take your time."
He closed the terrace doors behind him, leaving Silena, Annabeth, and me alone.
Silena pressed a cool cloth to Annabeth's forehead. "This is all my fault."
"No," Annabeth said weakly. "Silena, how is it your fault?"
"I've never been any good at camp," she murmured. "Not like you or Percy. If I was a better
fighter . . ."
Her mouth trembled. Ever since Beckendorf died she'd been getting worse, and every time I
looked at her, it made me angry about his death all over again. Her expression reminded me of
glass—like she might break any minute. I swore to myself that if I ever found the spy who'd cost her
boyfriend his life, I would give him to Mrs. O'Leary as a chew toy.
"You're a great camper," I told Silena. "You're the best pegasus rider we have. And you get
along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."
She stared at me like I'd just given her an idea. "That's it! We need the Ares cabin. I can talk
to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us."
"Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she
gets angry—"
"Please," Silena said. "I can take a pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp. Let me try."
I exchanged looks with Annabeth. She nodded slightly.
I didn't like the idea. I didn't think Silena stood a chance of convincing Clarisse to fight. On
the other hand, Silena was so distracted right now that she would just get herself hurt in battle.
Maybe sending her back to camp would give her something else to focus on.
"All right," I told her. "I can't think of anybody better to try."
Silena threw her arms around me. Then she pushed back awkwardly, glancing at Annabeth.
"Um, sorry. Thank you, Percy! I won't let you down!"
Once she was gone, I knelt next to Annabeth and felt her forehead. She was still burning up.
"You're cute when you're worried," she muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched
together."