Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
99
99
"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight
into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept
aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.
I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even see
where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis
seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she
pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over
her, I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen. I loosened my grip on
the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out of the way
and rolled for all I was worth.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed
to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too
late.
"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning up.
Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin.
Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened
with sweat.
He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his
hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.
For a moment, there was silence.
"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.
Thalia trembled with fury.
Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised
and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"
"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"
In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the black
rocks where Zoe had fallen.
"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."
"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To
please your dad?"
Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.
"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He
lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.
We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the Princess Andromeda had stopped
in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much I hated
him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible. The fall
was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.
One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"
Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave of
javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as we
passed.
"Artemis!" I yelled.
The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the
goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…
"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.
"Atlas poisoned her?" I asked.
"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."
She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the
dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She had
charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.