lacuna [connor stoll]

XXXVI. Giant Naked Statue's Head Falls Off

CHAPTER THRITY-SIX: GIANT NAKED STATUES HEAD FALLS OFF

The giant statue that was on its way to murder her and all of her family did not have good timing.

Because demigods never, and would never get lucky. Being able to get dropped off at the camp arch, where she could talk with Connor was simply too much to ask for to the gods. Most things were, she realized.

Being demigod was hard. Most of the time it was hard to catch a break. Some god or goddess always needed saving, always a mysterious dark force on the rise, always some danger that kept the Greek demigods from ever growing old. It was exhausting.

The giant statue, which Apollo had told them was supposed to look like him, was wading out of Long Island Sound onto the North Shore. In his hand is a ship's rudder—a blade the size of a stealth bomber, fixed to a fifty-foot-long pole—and the Colossus was raising the rudder to smash the crud out of Camp Half-Blood.

Lovely day for a relaxing walk on the beach.

All across the valley, campers screamed and ran for their weapons. Nico and Will were floundering in the lake, apparently having been capsized in the middle of a canoe ride. Chiron galloped through the dunes, harrying the Colossus with his arrows. He targeted the statue's joints and seams, yet his shots did not seem to bother the automaton at all. Already dozens of missiles stuck from the Colossus's armpits and neck like unruly hair.

"More quivers!" Chiron shouted. "Quickly!"

Rachel Dare stumbled from the armory carrying half a dozen, and she ran to resupply him.

The Colossus brought down his rudder to smash the dining pavilion, but his blade bounced off the camp's magical barrier, sparking as if it had hit solid metal. Mr. Gorgeous took another step inland, but the barrier resisted him, pushing him back with the force of a wind tunnel.

On Half-Blood Hill, a silver aura surrounded the Athena Parthenos. A beam of ultraviolet light shot from Athena's helmet like a search lamp, hitting the Colossus's chest and pushing back the invader. Next to her, in the tall pine tree, the Golden Fleece blazed with fiery energy. The dragon Peleus hissed and paced around the trunk, ready to defend his turf.

These were powerful forces, but Ellie knew they were only to be relied on temporarily. The camp's defensive barriers were designed to turn away the occasional stray monster, to confuse mortals and prevent them from detecting the valley, and to provide a first line of defense against invading forces. A hundred-foot-tall Celestial bronze giant was another thing entirely. Soon the Colossus would break through and destroy everything in its path.

"Apollo!" Kayla nudged the ex-god in the ribs. "What do we do?"

Flanking the demigods on either side, the soldier ants flew in formation, awaiting the queen's orders. The demigods watched Apollo anxiously, random bits of bandage fluff swirling from their bodies as they sped through the air.