by Rick Riordan
PFFFFFFT! Like a balloon with a leak.
I looked down where I had thrown the shell. A tiny spout of water was shooting out of the muck.
‘No way,’ I muttered.
Hesitantly, I stepped towards the fence. ‘Get bigger,’ I told the waterspout.
SPOOOOOOOSH!
Water shot a metre into the air and kept bubbling. It was impossible, but there it was. A couple of horses came over to check it out. One put his mouth to the spring and recoiled.
Yuck! he said. Salty!
It was seawater in the middle of a Texas ranch. I scooped up another handful of dirt and picked out the shell fossils. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I ran around the length of the stable, throwing shells into the dung piles. Everywhere a shell hit, a saltwater spring erupted.
Stop! The horses cried. Meat is good! Baths are bad!
Then I noticed the water wasn’t running out of the stables or flowing downhill like water normally would. It simply bubbled around each spring and sank into the ground, taking the dung with it. The horse poop dissolved in the saltwater, leaving regular old wet earth.
‘More!’ I yelled.
There was a tugging sensation in my gut, and the waterspouts exploded like the world’s largest carwash. Salt water shot six metres into the air. The horses went crazy, running back and forth as the geysers sprayed them from all directions. Mountains of poop began to melt like ice.
The tugging sensation became more intense, painful even, but there was something exhilarating about seeing all that salt water. I had made this. I had brought the ocean to this hillside.
Stop, lord! a horse cried. Stop, please!
Water was sloshing everywhere now. The horses were drenched, and some were panicking and slipping in the mud. The poop was completely gone, tons of it just dissolved into the earth, and the water was now starting to pool, trickling out of the stable, making a hundred little streams down towards the river.
‘Stop,’ I told the water.
Nothing happened. The pain in my gut was building. If I didn’t shut off the geysers soon, the salt water would run into the river and poison the fish and plants.
‘Stop!’ I concentrated all my might on shutting off the force of the sea.
Suddenly the geysers shut down. I collapsed to my knees, exhausted. In front of me was a shiny, clean horse stable, a field of wet, salty mud and fifty horses that had been scoured so thoroughly, their coats gleamed. Even the meat scraps between their teeth had been washed out.
We won’t eat you! The horses wailed. Please, lord! No more salty baths!
‘On one condition,’ I said. ‘You only eat the food your handlers give you from now on. Not people. Or I’ll be back with more seashells!’
The horses whinnied and made me a whole lot of promises that they would be good flesh-eating horses from now on, but I didn’t stick around to chat. The sun was going down. I turned and ran full speed towards the ranch house.
I smelled barbecue before I reached the house, and that made me madder than ever, because I really love barbecue.
The deck was set up for a party. Streamers and balloons decorated the railing. Geryon was flipping burgers on a huge barbecue cooker made from an oil drum. Eurytion lounged at a picnic table, picking his fingernails with a knife. The two-headed dog sniffed the ribs and burgers that were frying on the grill. And then I saw my friends: Tyson, Grover, Annabeth and Nico all tossed in a corner, tied up like rodeo animals, with their ankles and wrists roped together and their mouths gagged.
‘Let them go!’ I yelled, still out of breath from running up the steps. ‘I cleaned the stables!’
Geryon turned. He wore an apron on each chest, with one word on each, so together they spelled out: KISS – THE – CHEF. ‘Did you, now? How’d you manage it?’
I was pretty impatient, but I told him.
He nodded appreciatively. ‘Very ingenious. It would’ve been better if you’d poisoned that pesky naiad, but no matter.’
‘Let my friends go,’ I said. ‘We had a deal.’
‘Ah, I’ve been thinking about that. The problem is, if I let them go, I don’t get paid.’
‘You promised!’
Geryon made a tsk~tsk noise. ‘But did you make me swear on the River Styx? No you didn’t. So it’s not binding. When you’re conducting business, sonny, you should always get a binding oath.’
I drew my sword. Orthus growled. One head leaned down next to Grover’s ear and bared its fangs.
‘Eurytion,’ Geryon said, ‘the boy is starting to annoy me. Kill nim.’
Eurytion studied me. I didn’t like my odds against him and that huge club.
‘Kill him yourself,’ Eurytion said.
Geryon raised his eyebrows. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard me,’ Eurytion grumbled. ‘You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason, and I’m tired of dying for you. You want to fight the kid, do it yourself.’
It was the most un-Ares-like thing I’d ever heard a son of Ares say.
Geryon threw down his spatula. ‘You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!’
‘And who’d take care of your cattle? Orthus, heel.’
The dog immediately stopped growling at Grover and came to sit by the cowherd’s feet.
‘Fine!’ Geryon snarled. ‘I’ll deal with you later, after the boy is dead!’
He picked up two carving knives and threw them at me. I deflected one with my sword. The other impaled itself in the picnic table, a millimetre from Eurytion’s hand.
I went on the attack. Geryon parried my first strike with a pair of red-hot tongs and lunged at my face with a barbecue fork. I got inside his next thrust and stabbed him right through the middle chest.
‘Aghhh!’ He crumpled to his knees. I waited for him to disintegrate, the way monsters usually do. But instead he just grimaced and began to stand up. The bleeding slice through his chef’s apron started to heal.
‘Nice try, sonny,’ he said. ‘Thing is, I have three hearts. The perfect backup system.’
He tipped over the barbecue, and coals spilled everywhere. One landed next to Annabeth’s face, and she let out a muffled scream. Tyson strained against his bonds, but even his strength wasn’t enough to break them. I had to end this fight before my friends got hurt.
I jabbed Geryon in the left chest, but he only laughed. I stuck him in the right stomach. No good. I might as well have been sticking a sword in a teddy bear for all the reaction he showed.
Three hearts. The perfect backup system. Stabbing one at a time was no good…
I ran into the house.
‘Coward!’ he cried. ‘Come back and die right!’
The living-room walls were decorated with a bunch of gruesome hunting trophies – stuffed deer and dragon heads, a gun case, a sword display and a bow with a quiver.
Geryon threw his barbecue fork, and it thudded into the wall right next to my head. He drew two swords from the wall display. ‘Your head’s gonna go right there, Jackson! Next to the grizzly bear!’
I had a crazy idea. I dropped Riptide and grabbed the bow off the wall.
I was the worst archery shot in the world. I couldn’t hit the targets at camp, much less a bull’s eye. But I had no choice. I couldn’t win this fight with a sword. I prayed to Artemis and Apollo, the twin archers, hoping they might take pity on me for once. Please, guys. Just one shot. Please.
I notched an arrow.
Geryon laughed. ‘You fool! One arrow is no better than one sword.’
He raised his swords and charged. I dived sideways. Before he could turn, I shot my arrow into the side of his right chest. I heard THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, as the arrow passed clean through each of his chests and flew out his left side, embedding itself in the forehead of the grizzly bear trophy.
Geryon dropped his swords. He turned and stared at me. ‘You can’t shoot. They told me you couldn’t…’
His face turned a sickly shade of green. He co
llapsed to his knees and began crumbling into sand, until all that was left were three cooking aprons and an oversized pair of cowboy boots.
I got my friends untied. Eurytion didn’t try to stop me. Then I stoked up the barbecue and threw the food into the flames as a burnt offering to Artemis and Apollo.
‘Thanks, guys,’ I said. ‘I owe you one.’
The sky thundered in the distance, so I figured maybe the burgers smelled okay.
‘Yay for Percy!’ Tyson said.
‘Can we tie up this cowherd now?’ Nico asked.
‘Yeah!’ Grover agreed. ‘And that dog almost killed me!’
I looked at Eurytion, who was still sitting, relaxed, at the picnic table. Orthus had both his heads on the cowherd’s knees.
‘How long will it take Geryon to re-form?’ I asked him.
Eurytion shrugged. ‘Hundred years? He’s not one of those fast re-formers, thank the gods. You’ve done me a favour.’
‘You said you’d died for him before,’ I remembered. ‘How?’
‘I’ve worked for that creep for thousands of years. Started as a regular half-blood, but I chose immortality when my dad offered it. Worst mistake I ever made. Now I’m stuck here at this ranch. I can’t leave. I can’t quit. I just tend the cows and fight Geryon’s fights. We’re kinda tied together.’
‘Maybe you can change things,’ I said.
Eurytion narrowed his eyes. ‘How?’
‘Be nice to the animals. Take care of them. Stop selling them for food. And stop dealing with the Titans.’
Eurytion thought about that. ‘That’d be all right.’
‘Get the animals on your side, and they’ll help you. Once Geryon gets back, maybe he’ll be working for you this time.’
Eurytion grinned. ‘Now that I could live with.’
‘You won’t try to stop us leaving?’
‘Shoot, no.’
Annabeth rubbed her bruised wrists. She was still looking at Eurytion suspiciously. ‘Your boss said that somebody paid for our safe passage. Who?’
The cowherd shrugged. ‘Maybe he was just saying that to fool you.’
‘What about the Titans?’ I asked. ‘Did you Iris-message them about Nico yet?’
‘Nope. Geryon was waiting until after the barbecue. They don’t know anything about him.’
Nico was glaring at me. I wasn’t sure what to do about him. I doubted he would agree to come with us. On the other hand, I couldn’t just let him roam around on his own.
‘You could stay here until we’re done with our quest,’ I told him. ‘It would be safe.’
‘Safe?’ Nico said. ‘What do you care if I’m safe? You got my sister killed!’
‘Nico,’ Annabeth said, ‘that wasn’t Percy’s fault. And Geryon wasn’t lying about Kronos wanting to capture you. If he knew who you were, he’d do anything to get you on his side.’
‘I’m not on anyone’s side. And I’m not afraid!’
‘You should be,’ Annabeth said. ‘Your sister wouldn’t want –’
‘If you cared for my sister, you’d help me bring her back!’
‘A soul for a soul?’ I said.
‘Yes!’
‘But if you didn’t want my soul –’
‘I’m not explaining anything to you!’ He blinked tears out of his eyes. ‘And I will bring her back.’
‘Bianca wouldn’t want to be brought back,’ I said. ‘Not like that.’
‘You didn’t know her!’ he shouted. ‘How do you know what she’d want?’
I stared at the flames in the barbecue pit. I thought about the line in Annabeth’s prophecy: You shall rise or fall by the ghost king’s hand. That had to be Minos, and I had to convince Nico not to listen to him. ‘Let’s ask Bianca.’
The sky seemed to grow darker all of a sudden.
‘I’ve tried,’ Nico said miserably. ‘She won’t answer.’
‘Try again. I’ve got a feeling she’ll answer, with me here.’
‘Why would she?’
‘Because she’s been sending me Iris-messages,’ I said, suddenly sure of it. ‘She’s been trying to warn me what you’re up to, so I can protect you.’
Nico shook his head. ‘That’s impossible.’
‘One way to find out. You said you’re not afraid.’ I turned to Eurytion. ‘We’re going to need a pit, like a grave. And food and drinks.’
‘Percy,’ Annabeth warned. ‘I don’t think this is a good –’
‘All right,’ Nico said. ‘I’ll try.’
Eurytion scratched his beard. ‘There’s a hole dug out back for a septic tank. We could use that. Cyclops boy, fetch my ice chest from the kitchen. I hope the dead like root beer.’
10 We Play The Game Show of Death
We did our summons after dark, at a seven-metre-long pit in front of the septic tank. The tank was bright yellow, with a smiley face and red words painted on the side: HAPPY FLUSH DISPOSAL CO. It didn’t quite go with the mood of summoning the dead.
The moon was full. Silver clouds drifted across the sky.
‘Minos should be here by now,’ Nico said, frowning. ‘It’s full dark.’
‘Maybe he got lost,’ I said hopefully.
Nico poured root beer and tossed barbecue into the pit, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. Immediately, the bugs in the woods stopped chirping. In my pocket, the Stygian ice dog whistle started to grow colder, freezing against the side of my leg.
‘Make him stop,’ Tyson whispered to me.
Part of me agreed. This was unnatural. The night air felt cold and menacing. But before I could say anything, the first spirits appeared. Sulphurous mist seeped out of the ground. Shadows thickened into human forms. One blue shade drifted to the edge of the pit and knelt to drink.
‘Stop him!’ Nico said, momentarily breaking his chant. ‘Only Bianca may drink!’
I drew Riptide. The ghosts retreated with a collective hiss at the sight of my celestial bronze blade. But it was too late to stop the first spirit. He had already solidified into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circlet of gold wreathed his head, and even in death his eyes were alive with malice.
‘Minos!’ Nico said. ‘What are you doing?’
‘My apologies, master,’ the ghost said, though he didn’t sound very sorry. ‘The sacrifice smelled so good, I couldn’t resist.’ He examined his own hands and smiled. ‘It is good to see myself again. Almost in solid form –’
‘You are disrupting the ritual!’ Nico protested. ‘Get –’
The spirits of the dead began shimmering dangerously bright, and Nico had to take up the chant again to keep them at bay.
‘Yes, quite right, master,’ Minos said with amusement. ‘You keep chanting. I’ve only come to protect you from these liars who would deceive you.’
He turned to me as if I were some kind of cockroach. ‘Percy Jackson… my, my. The sons of Poseidon haven’t improved over the centuries, have they?’
I wanted to punch him, but I figured my fist would go right through his face. ‘We’re looking for Bianca di Angelo,’ I said. ‘Get lost.’
The ghost chuckled. ‘I understand you once killed my Minotaur with your bare hands. But worse things await you in the maze. Do you really believe Daedalus will help you?’
The other spirits stirred in agitation. Annabeth drew her knife and helped me keep them away from the pit. Grover got so nervous he clung to Tyson’s shoulder.
‘Daedalus cares nothing for you, half-bloods,’ Minos warned. ‘You can’t trust him. He is old beyond counting, and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods.’
‘The guilt of murder?’ I asked. ‘Who did he kill?’
‘Do not change the subject!’ the ghost growled. ‘You are hindering Nico. You try to persuade him to give up his goal. I would make him a lord!’
‘Enough, Minos,’ Nico commanded.
The ghost sneered. ‘Master, these are your enemies. You must not listen to them! Let me protect you. I
will turn their minds to madness, as I did the others.’
‘The others?’ Annabeth gasped. ‘You mean Chris Rodriguez? That was you?’
‘The maze is my property,’ the ghost said, ‘not Daedalus’s! Those who intrude deserve madness.’
‘Begone, Minos!’ Nico demanded. ‘I want to see my sister!’
The ghost bit back his rage. ‘As you wish, master. But I warn you. You cannot trust these heroes.’
With that, he faded into mist.
Other spirits rushed forward, but Annabeth and I kept them back.
‘Bianca, appear!’ Nico intoned. He started chanting faster, and the spirits shifted restlessly.
‘Any time now,’ Grover muttered.
Then a silvery light flickered in the trees – a spirit that seemed brighter and stronger than the others. It came closer, and something told me to let it pass. It knelt to drink at the pit. When it arose, it was the ghostly form of Bianca di Angelo.
Nico’s chanting faltered. I lowered my sword. The other spirits started to crowd forward, but Bianca raised her arms and they retreated into the woods.
‘Hello, Percy,’ she said.
She looked the same as she had in life: a green cap set sideways on her thick black hair, dark eyes and olive skin like her brother. She wore jeans and a silvery jacket, the outfit of a Hunter of Artemis. A bow was slung over her shoulder. She smiled faintly, and her whole form flickered.
‘Bianca,’ I said. My voice was thick. I’d felt guilty about her death for a long time, but seeing her in front of me was five times as bad, like her death was fresh and new. I remembered searching through the wreckage of the giant bronze warrior she’d sacrificed her life to defeat, and not finding any sign of her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said.
‘You have nothing to apologize for, Percy. I made my own choice. I don’t regret it.’
‘Bianca!’ Nico stumbled forward like he was just coming out of a daze.
She turned towards her brother. Her expression was sad, as if she’d been dreading this moment. ‘Hello, Nico. You’ve got so tall.’
‘Why didn’t you answer me sooner?’ he cried. ‘I’ve been trying for months!’