The Lost Hero

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

THALIA!!

"WOLVES," PIPER SAID. "THEY SOUND CLOSE."

Jason rose and summoned his sword. Vivian got her bow and arrows. Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet too. Piper tried, but black spots danced before her eyes.

"Stay there," Jason told her. "We'll protect you."

She gritted her teeth. She hated feeling helpless. She didn't want anyone to protect her. First the stupid ankle. Now stupid hypothermia. She wanted to be on her feet, with her dagger in her hand.

Then, just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, Vivian saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark.

Okay, she thought. Maybe a little protection is fine.

More wolves edged into the firelight—black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill.

Piper pulled her dagger out of its sheath.

Then Jason stepped forward and said something in Latin

Piper didn't think a dead language would have much effect on wild animals, but the alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo's hammer shook in his hand. "What'd you say, Jason?"

"And how do they understand Latin?" Vivian questined.

Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."

The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited—at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.

The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Hedge, they will rip you apart in seconds," Vivian told the crazy goat.

"Nah, I'm good."

Then Vivian saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.

"Stick together," Jason said. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."

Piper got a lump in her throat. She was the weak link in their "pack" right now. No doubt the wolves could smell her fear. She might as well be wearing a sign that said free lunch.

The wolves parted, and the man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur—wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others Vivian couldn't identify. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they weren't very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runners. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves'—and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.

"Ecce," he said, "filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge bellowed

The wolf man snarled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he'll be my first snack."

Vivian remembered that faun was the Roman name for satyr. Not exactly helpful information. Now, if Vivian could remember who this wolf guy was in Greek mythology, and how to defeat him, that she could use.