ᥴꪮ𝘴ꪑꪮ𝘴 ➪ 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚢 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙾𝚕𝚢𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚜 [𝟷]

2

𝚒 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙
𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕:
𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚍𝚢
𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍
𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎 .

𝚍. 𝚓.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘀𝗶? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗱𝗲

"What was she thinking?" Annabeth said as they ran for the river.

Polaris had no clue, and she told them that, but based on Percy's expression it couldn't be good.

The traffic was horrible. Everybody was out on the streets gawking at the war zone damage. Police sirens wailed on every block. There was no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away. Polaris would've settled for some Party Ponies, but they had disappeared along with most of the root beer in Midtown. So they ran, pushing through mobs of dazed mortals that clogged the sidewalks.

"Get to the park," Polaris said. "I'll call Lecter."

"She'll never get through the defenses," Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her."

Polaris hadn't considered that. The Mist wouldn't fool Rachel like it would most people. She'd be able to find the camp no problem, but Polaris had been hoping the magical boundaries would just keep her out like a force field. It hadn't occurred to her that Peleus might attack.

"We've got to hurry." Percy glanced at Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses. We can't all fit on Lecter."

He wheezed as he ran. "So tired . . . couldn't summon a dog bone."

Finally they scrambled over the embankment to the shore, into a fairly empty area. Polaris let out an eerie whistle. She didn't know if Lecter would be able to get out of the city, but if all else failed, he'd be able to push through the crowds. The hard part would be convincing him not to eat the mortals.

In no time, Annabeth, Nico, Percyc and Polaris were all hanging on desperately. It was a tight fit, but Lecter was strong they We sped over the Throgs Neck Bridge and headed for Long Island.

It seemed like forever until they made it to camp. They thanked Lecter and allowed him to run off into the forest to hunt. Then, they ran into Argus. He stood in the sand with his arms crossed, his hundred eyes glaring at the demigods.

"Is she here?" Percy asked.

He nodded grimly.

"Is everything okay?" Annabeth said. Argus shook his head.

They followed him up the trail. It was surreal being back at camp, because everything looked so peaceful: no burning buildings, no wounded fighters. The cabins were bright in the sunshine, and the fields glittered with dew. But the place was mostly empty.