Page 32 (1/2)

"Chiron's s the sweat off her face "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out We need to regroup"

"But the enereed "But the dawn is coht so back, but I knew she was right I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the E

We set up a two-block peri Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two frohly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER "That was as!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back "You did well, et careless Kronos should never be underestiet some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer"

"Root beer!" They alalloped off

Chiron s, and Mrs O'Leary licked his face

"Ack," he grulad to see you too"

"Chiron, thanks," I said "Talk about saving the day"

He shrugged "I' Centaurs travel fast, as you know We can bend distance as we ride Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task The Party Ponies are not exactly organized"

"How'd you get through the ic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended etting in the way of his great victory"

"So h," I said hopefully

Chiron stroked his beard "Perhaps, though tiain Without the element of surprise on our side"

I understood what heshot I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better He'd be back, tonight at the latest

"And Typhon?" I asked

Chiron's face darkened "The gods are tiring Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday Typhon sod went down somewhere in the Appalachians No one has seen him since Hephaestus is out of action as well He was thrown froinia He will heal, but not soon enough to help The others still fight They've ed to slow Typhon's approach But the monster can not be stopped He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow Once he and Kronos combine forces--"

"Then what chance do we have?" I said "We can't hold out another day"

"We'll have to," Thalia said "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter"

She looked exhausted Her jacket was set to her feet and stagger off

"I will help her," Chiron decided "I should o too overboard with the root beer"

I thought "too overboard" pretty much su Annabeth and me alone

She cleaned the monster slime off her knife I'd seen her do that hundreds of tiht about why she cared so much about the blade

"At least yourTyphon okay" She locked eyes withto think--"

"I know" I had a bad feeling this ht be our last chance to talk, and I felt like there were a s I hadn't told her "Listen, there were somesome visions Hestia showed me"

"You uess, but I got the feeling Annabeth knehat I'd been holding back Maybe she'd been having dreams of her own

"Yeah," I said "You and Thalia and Luke The first time you met And the time you met Hermes"

Annabeth slipped her knife back into its sheath "Luke proet hurt He saidhe said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his"

Her eyes rery, scared, desperate for a friend

"Thalia talked to me earlier," I said "She's afraid--"

"That I can't face Luke," she saidelse you should know Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body,Kronos for control"

Annabeth tried to hide it, but I could al to hope

"I didn't want to tell you," I ad "Percy, for so , all the time I didn't have anyone I could rely on"

I nodded That was soods could understand