Rick Riordan
The Titan’s Curse - 03
"Believe me," Zoe said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."
I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of us
loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but it looked plenty
huge as we were driving toward it.
"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I asked.
"Yes," Zoe said tightly.
"Why do they call it that?"
She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and the
gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown
into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the
summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."
"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain
was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?"
Zoe didn't answer. I got the feeing she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't
like it.
"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."
"The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.
"Both."
The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward
them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.
I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, and I saw something
that made me jump out of my seat.
"Look!" But we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.
"What?" Thalia asked.
"A big white ship," I said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."
Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"
I wanted to say I wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But I knew better. The Princess
Andromeda, Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship all
the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East Coast to California.
"We will have company, then," Zoe said grimly. "Kronos's army."
I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Thalia
shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"
Zoe must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without
question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.
"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The
next second: BOOOM!
Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. I
probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over me. I
heard a sound like metal ram, and when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by wreckage. Part
of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles.
Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.
I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia. "You saved my life."
"One shall perish by a parent's hand" she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"
It took me a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't have
been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."
"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.
"I don't know. Zoe said Kronos's name. Maybe he—"
Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."
"Wait," I said. "Where's Zoe? Zoe!"
We both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction
down the road. I looked down the cliff. No sign of her.
"Zoe!" I shouted.
Then she was standing right next to me, pulling me by my arm. "Silence, fool! Do you want
to wake Ladon?"
"You mean we're here?"
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