claimed |PERCY JACKSON| [book 5]

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SELENA GRABBED WILL SOLACE  from the Apollo cabin while Percy told the rest of his siblings and Kasey to keep searching for Michael Yew. They borrowed a Yamaha FZI from a sleeping biker and drove to the Plaza Hotel at speeds that they wouldn't even consider unless it was important. Selena clung onto Percy, wondering how he learned to drive a motorcycle.

Along the way, she noticed a lot of empty pedestals that usually held statues. Plan twenty-three seemed to be working. Selena didn't know if that was good or bad.

It only took them five minutes to reach the Plaza—an old-fashioned white stone hotel with a gabled blue roof, sitting at the southeast corner of Central Park.

Tactically speaking, the Plaza wasn't the best place for a headquarters. It wasn't the tallest building in town, or the most centrally located. But it had old-school style and had attracted a lot of famous demigods over the years, like the Beatles and Alfred Hitchcock, so Selena figured they were in good company.

Percy gunned the Yamaha over the curb and swerved to a stop at the fountain outside the hotel. The three of them hopped off. The statue at the top of the fountain called down, "Oh, fine. I suppose you want me to watch your bike too!"

She was a life-size bronze standing in the middle of a granite bowl. She wore only a bronze sheet around her legs, and she was holding a basket of metal fruit. 

"Are you supposed to be Demeter?" Percy asked.

A bronze apple sailed over his head.

"Everyone thinks I'm Demeter.'" she complained. "I'm Pompona, the Roman Goddess of Plenty, but why should you care? Nobody cares about the minor Gods. If you cared about the minor gods, you wouldn't be losing this war! Three cheers for Morpheus and Hecate, I say!"

"Way to piss of another god, Jackson." Selena rolled her eyes before walking inside.

She'd never actually been inside the Plaza. The lobby was impressive, with the crystal chandeliers and the passed-out rich people, but Selena didn't pay much attention. A couple of Hunters gave them directions to the elevators, and they rode up to the penthouse suites.

Demigods had completely taken over the top floors. Campers and Hunters were crashed out on sofas, washing up in the bathrooms, ripping silk draperies to bandage their wounds, and helping themselves to snacks and sodas from the minibars. A couple of timber wolves were drinking out of the toilets. Selena was relieved to see that so many of the campers had made it through the night alive, but everybody looked beat up.

"Percy!" Jake Mason clapped him on the shoulder. "We're getting reports—"

"Later," Percy said. "Where's Annabeth?"

"The terrace. She's alive, man, but-"

Selena pushed past him and the other two followed.

Under different circumstances, Selena would've loved the view from the terrace. It looked straight down onto Central Park. The morning was clear and bright—perfect for a picnic or a hike, or pretty much anything except fighting monsters.

Annabeth lay on a lounge chair. Her face was pale and beaded with sweat. Even though she was covered in blankets, she shivered. Silena Beauregard was wiping her forehead with a cool cloth.

The three of them pushed through a crowd of Athena kids. Will unwrapped Annabeth's bandages to examine the wound, and Selena wanted to faint. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.

"Annabeth ..." Selena choked up and Percy squeezed her shoulder,

"Poison on the dagger," she mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

Percy grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while Selena held Annabeth's hand.

"Ow," she said. "Ow, ow!" She gripped Selena's fingers so tight they turned purple, but she stayed still, like Will asked. Silena muttered words of encouragement. Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily.

The healing must've taken a lot of his energy. He looked almost as pale as Annabeth.

"That should do it," he said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies."

He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat.

Nobody disagreed. There was hardly a single demigod who hadn't already been wounded . . . except Percy.

"Come on, guys," Travis Stoll said. "Let's give Annabeth some space. We've got a drugstore to raid . . . I mean, visit."

The demigods shuffled back inside. Jake Mason grabbed Percy's shoulder as he was leaving. "We'll talk later, but it's under control. I'm using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why. We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

"Thanks, man," Percy said before he left with the Hephaestus child to discuss more.  They closed the terrace doors behind them, leaving Silena, Annabeth, and Selena alone.

Silena pressed a cool cloth to Annabeth's forehead. "This is all my fault."

"No," Annabeth said weakly. "Silena, how is it your fault?"

"I've never been any good at camp," she murmured. "Not like you, or Selena, or Percy. If I was a better fighter . . ."

Her mouth trembled. Ever since Beckendorf died she'd been getting worse, and every time Selena looked at her, it made her angry about his death all over again. Her expression reminded Selena of glass—like she might break any minute. Selena swore to herself that if she ever found the spy who'd cost her boyfriend his life, she would give him to Mrs. O'Leary as a chew toy.

"You're a great camper," Selena told Silena, laying her hand on her shoulder, "You're the best pegasus rider we have. And you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."

She stared at Selena like she'd just given her an idea. "That's it! We need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us."

"Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry—"

"Please," Silena said. "I can take a pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp. Let me try."

Selena exchanged looks with Annabeth. She nodded slightly.

She didn't like the idea. Selena didn't think Silena stood a chance of convincing Clarisse to fight. On the other hand, Silena was so distracted right now that she would just get herself hurt in battle. Maybe sending her back to camp would give her something else to focus on.

"All right," Selena told her. "I can't think of anybody better to try."

Silena threw her arms around the girl. "Thank you, S! I won't let you or Percy down!"