Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
7
7
" What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. " Keep moving!" I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward. " It ' s my shoulder," I lied, trying to sound miserable, which wasn ' t hard. " It burns." " Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!" Thorn herded us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Grover ' s face. I focused on my feelings of fear and danger. Last summer, Grover had created an empathy link between us. He ' d sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when he was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I ' d never tried to contact Grover before. I didn ' t even know if it would work while Grover was awake.
Hey, Grover! I thought. Thorn ' s kidnapping us! He ' s a poisonous spike-throwing maniac!
Help!
Thorn inarched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that I felt like a Percysicle. " There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. " We will summon your ride." " What ride?" Bianca demanded. " Where are you taking us?" " Silence, you insufferable girl!" " Don ' t talk to my sister that way.'" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.
Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn ' t human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy— anything to get Grover ' s attention: Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat behind out here and bring some heavily armed friends! " Halt," Thorn said. The woods had opened up. We ' d reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness. Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me. " Thanks," I murmured. " What is he?" she whispered. " How do we fight him?" " I … I ' m working on it." " I ' m scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something— a little metal toy soldier of some kind. " Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. " Face me!" We turned. Thorn ' s two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, " The package— it is ready to deliver."
There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy— a monster using a mobile phone. I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was. Dr. Thorn laughed. " By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself." " What did he call you?" Bianca muttered. " I ' ll explain later," I said. " You do have a plan, right?" Grover! I thought desperately. Come to me! Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I ' d done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.
" I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. " You do not realize who I am, do you?"
A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn— like a catapult, but more flexible … almost like a tail.