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Prometheus paled "I misspoke, my lord Your orders will be carried out" He turned to the armies and shouted, "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

The troops began to stir

Frory roar shook the city--the sound of a drakon waking The noise was so horrible it woke me, and I realized I could still hear it fro nervous "What was that?"

"They're co," I told him "And we're in trouble"

The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows Most of us had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar we didn't dare take any more

We had sixteen cahting shape The rest had taken refuge on Olyered and giggled and they all s the Coloradoans The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois The chances were pretty good the whole ar each other rather than the enemy

Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back I felt a twinge of annoyance because Chiron rarely gave anyone a ride, and never a hts, Percy," he said

Rachel blushed "Just sos I saw in my head"

"A drakon," Chiron said "A Lydian drakon, to be exact The oldest and erous kind"

I stared at her "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel admitted "But this drakon has a particular fate It will be killed by a child of Ares"

Annabeth crossed her arms "How can you possibly know that?"

"I just saw it I can't explain"

"Well, let's hope you're wrong," I said "Because we're a little short on children of Ares" A horrible thought occurred to me, and I cursed in Ancient Greek

"What?" Annabeth asked

"The spy," I told her "Kronos said, We know they cannot beat this drakon The spy has been keeping him updated Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill"

Thalia scowled "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry Maybe we could send another er to camp--"

"I've already done it," Chiron said "Blackjack is on his way But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able--"

A roar shook the ground It sounded very close

"Rachel," I said, "get inside the building"

"I want to stay"

A shadow blotted out the sun Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper It roared, and a thousand s shattered

"On second thought," Rachel said in a small voice, "I'll be inside"

Let ons, and then there are drakons

Drakons are several er They look like giant serpents Most don't have wings Most don't breathe fire (though so, with scales harder than titanium Their eyes can paralyze you; not the turn-you~to-stone Medusa-type paralysis, but the oh~~to~eat~me type of paralysis, which is just as bad

We have drakon-fighting classes at camp, but there is no way to prepare yourself for a two-hundred-foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its h to chew elephants

It al

Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue We'd done our best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for our enemies to approach The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encourageh and think about victory and root beer, but I figured any second they would panic and run

"I'll take the drakon" My voice came out as a timid squeak Then I yelled louder: "I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON! Everyone else, hold the line against the army!"

Annabeth stood next to me She had pulled her owl helmet low over her face, but I could tell her eyes were red

"Will you help me?" I asked

"That's what I do," she said miserably "I help my friends"

I felt like a complete jerk I wanted to pull her aside and explain that I didn't mean for Rachel to be here, that it wasn't my idea, but we had no time

"Go invisible," I said "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy Just be careful"

I whistled "Mrs O'Leary, heel!"

"ROOOF!" My hellhound leaped over a line of centaurs and gave me a kiss that smelled suspiciously of pepperoni pizza

I drew ed the monster