by Rick Riordan
Page 21
"Awwww!" the whole Hermes cabin complained.
"Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. "
"Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy. "
"No delays," I said. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think itll work. "
Six Aphrodite girls kissed me on the cheek in excitement.
"All right, enough!" I closed my eyes, trying to think of what Id forgotten. "The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever youve got. "
He grinned. "Gladly. Weve got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!"
The whole cabin roared in approval.
"The 59th Street Bridge," I said. "Clarisse—"
I faltered. Clarisse wasnt here. The whole Ares cabin, curse them, was sitting back at camp.
"Well take that," Annabeth stepped in, saving me from an embarrassing silence. She turned to her siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position. "
"You got it. "
"Ill go with Percy," she said. "Then well join you, or well go wherever were needed. "
Somebody in the back of the group said, "No detours, you two. "
There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.
"All right," I said. "Keep in touch with cell phones. "
"We dont have cell phones," Silena protested.
I reached down, picked up some snoring ladys BlackBerry, and tossed it to Silena. "You do now. You all know Annabeths number, right? If you need us, pick up a random phone and call us. Use it once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you. "
Everyone grinned as though they liked this idea.
Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone—"
"No, you cant keep it," I said.
"Aw, man. "
"Hold it, Percy," Jake Mason said. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel. "
I bit back a curse. He was right. A Sherman tank and a hundred monsters were marching through that tunnel right now, and Id positioned our forces everywhere else.
Then a girls voice called from across the street: "How about you leave that to us?"
Id never been happier to hear anyone in my life. A band of thirty adolescent girls crossed Fifth Avenue. They wore white shirts, silvery camouflage pants, and combat boots. They all had swords at their sides, quivers on their backs, and bows at the ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet, and many of the girls had hunting falcons on their arms.
The girl in the lead had spiky black hair and a black leather jacket. She wore a silver circlet on her head like a princesss tiara, which didnt match her skull earrings or her Death to Barbie T-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.
"Thalia!" Annabeth cried.
The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty. "
There were hugs and greetings all around . . . or at least Thalia was friendly. The other Hunters didnt like being around campers, especially boys, but they didnt shoot any of us, which for them was a pretty warm welcome.
"Where have you been the last year?" I asked Thalia. "Youve got like twice as many Hunters now!"
She laughed. "Long, long story. I bet my adventures were more dangerous than yours, Jackson. "
"Complete lie," I said.
"Well see," she promised. "After this is over, you, Annabeth, and me: cheeseburgers and fries at that hotel on West 57th. "
"Le Parker Meridien," I said. "Youre on. And Thalia, thanks. "
She shrugged. "Those monsters wont know what hit them. Hunters, move out!"
She slapped her silver bracelet, and the shield Aegis spiraled into full form. The golden head of Medusa molded in the center was so horrible, the campers all backed away. The Hunters took off down the avenue, followed by their wolves and falcons, and I had a feeling the Lincoln Tunnel would be safe for now.
"Thank the gods," Annabeth said. "But if we dont blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless. "
"Youre right," I said.
I looked at the campers, all of them grim and determined. I tried not to feel like this was the last time Id ever see them all together.
"Youre the greatest heroes of this millennium," I told them. "It doesnt matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win. " I raised Riptide and shouted, "FOR OLYMPUS!"
They shouted in response, and our forty voices echoed off the buildings of Midtown. For a moment it sounded brave, but it died quickly in the silence of ten million sleeping New Yorkers.
Annabeth and I wouldve had our pick of cars, but they were all wedged in bumper-to-bumper traffic. None of the engines were running, which was weird. It seemed the drivers had had time to turn off the ignition before they got too sleepy. Or maybe Morpheus had the power to put engines to sleep as well. Most of the drivers had apparently tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves passing out, but still the streets were too clogged to navigate.
Finally we found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall, still straddling his red Vespa. We dragged him off the scooter and laid him on the sidewalk.
"Sorry, dude," I said. With any luck, Id be able to bring his scooter back. If I didnt, it would hardly matter, because the city would be destroyed.
I drove with Annabeth behind me holding on to my waist. We zigzagged down Broadway with our engine buzzing through the eerie calm. The only sounds were occasional cell phones ringing—like they were calling out to each other, as if New York had turned into a giant electronic aviary.
Our progress was slow. Every so often wed come across pedestrians whod fallen asleep right in front of a car, and wed move them just to be safe. Once we stopped to extinguish a pretzel vendors cart that had caught on fire. A few minutes later we had to rescue a baby carriage that was rolling aimlessly down the street. It turned out there was no baby in it—just somebodys sleeping poodle. Go figure. We parked it safely in a doorway and kept riding.
We were passing Madison Square Park when Annabeth said, "Pull over. "
I stopped in the middle of East 23rd. Annabeth jumped off and ran toward the park. By the time I caught up with her, she was staring at a bronze statue on a red marble pedestal. Id probably passed it a million times but never really looked at it.
The dude was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. He wore an old-fashioned suit—Abraham Lincoln style—with a bow tie and long coattails and stuff. A bunch of bronze books were piled under his chair. He held a writing quill in one hand and a big metal sheet of parchment in the other.
"Why do we care about . . . " I squinted at the name on the pedestal. "William H. Steward?"
"Seward," Annabeth corrected. "He was a New York governor. Minor demigod—son of Hebe, I think. But thats not important. Its the statue I care about. "
She climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue.
"Dont tell me hes an automaton," I said.
Annabeth smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army. "
"To attack Olympus or defend it?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Either one. That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. Its dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are. "
"Uh-huh," I said. Wed had our share of bad experiences with them. "Youre seriously thinking about activating it?"
"I have Daedaluss notes," she said. "I think I can . . . Ah, here we go. "
She pressed the tip of Sewards boot, and the statue stood up, its quill and paper ready.
"Whats he going to do?" I muttered. "Tak
e a memo?"
"Shh," Annabeth. "Hello, William. "
"Bill," I suggested.
"Bill . . . Oh, shut up," Annabeth told me. The statue tilted its head, looking at us with blank metal eyes.
Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hello, er, Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation. "
Seward jumped off his pedestal. He hit the ground so hard his shoes cracked the sidewalk. Then he went clanking off toward the east.
"Hes probably going to wake up Confucius," Annabeth guessed.
"What?" I said.
"Another statue, on Division. The point is, theyll keep waking each other up until theyre all activated. "
"And then?"
"Hopefully, they defend Manhattan. "
"Do they know that were not the enemy?"
"I think so. "
"Thats reassuring. " I thought about all the bronze statues in the parks, plazas, and buildings of New York. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands.
Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky. Greek fire, somewhere over the East River.
"We have to hurry," I said. And we ran for the Vespa.
We parked outside Battery Park, at the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East Rivers came together and emptied into the bay.
"Wait here," I told Annabeth.
"Percy, you shouldnt go alone. "
"Well, unless you can breathe underwater . . . "
She sighed. "You are so annoying sometimes. "
"Like when Im right? Trust me, Ill be fine. Ive got the curse of Achilles now. Ill all invincible and stuff. "
Annabeth didnt look convinced. "Just be careful. I dont want anything to happen to you. I mean, because we need you for the battle. "
I grinned. "Back in a flash. "
I clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.
Just for you non-sea-god types out there, dont go swimming in New York Harbor. It may not be as filthy as it was in my moms day, but that water will still probably make you grow a third eye or have mutant children when you grow up.
I dove into the murk and sank to the bottom. I tried to find the spot where the two rivers currents seemed equal—where they met to form the bay. I figured that was the best place to get their attention.
"HEY!" I shouted in my best underwater voice. The sound echoed in the darkness. "I heard you guys are so polluted youre embarrassed to show your faces. Is that true?"
A cold current rippled through the bay, churning up plumes of garbage and silt.
"I heard the East River is more toxic," I continued, "but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way around?"
The water shimmered. Something powerful and angry was watching me now. I could sense its presence . . . or maybe two presences.
I was afraid Id miscalculated with the insults. What if they just blasted me without showing themselves? But these were New York river gods. I figured their instinct would be to get in my face.
Sure enough, two giant forms appeared in front of me. At first they were just dark brown columns of silt, denser than the water around them. Then they grew legs, arms, and scowling faces.