The Blood of Olympus(34)
Leo guessed it would have been an open-air stadium back in the day – big enough for discus-throwing, javelin-catching, naked shot-put, or whatever else those crazy Greeks used to do to win a bunch of leaves.
‘Ghosts linger in this place,’ Hazel murmured. ‘A lot of pain is embedded in these stones.’
‘Please tell me you have a plan,’ Leo said. ‘Preferably one that doesn’t involve embedding my pain in the stones.’
Hazel’s eyes were stormy and distant, the way they’d been in the House of Hades – like she was peering into a different layer of reality. ‘This was the players’ entrance. Nike said we have five minutes to prepare. Then she’ll expect us to pass under this archway and begin the games. We won’t be allowed to leave that field until three of us are dead.’
Percy leaned on his sword. ‘I’m pretty sure death matches weren’t an Olympic sport.’
‘Well, they are today,’ Hazel warned. ‘But I might be able to give us an edge. When we pass through, I could raise some obstacles on the field – hiding places to buy us some time.’
Frank frowned. ‘You mean like on the Field of Mars – trenches, tunnels, that kind of thing? You can do that with the Mist?’
‘I think so,’ Hazel said. ‘Nike would probably like to see an obstacle course. I can play her expectations against her. But it would be more than that. I can use any subterranean gateway – even this arch – to access the Labyrinth. I can raise part of the Labyrinth to the surface.’
‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ Percy made a time-out sign. ‘The Labyrinth is bad. We discussed this.’
‘Hazel, he’s right.’ Leo remembered all too well how she’d led him through the illusionary maze in the House of Hades. They’d almost died about every six feet. ‘I mean, I know you’re good with magic. But we’ve already got four screaming Nikettes to worry about –’
‘You’ll have to trust me,’ she said. ‘We’ve only got a couple of minutes now. When we pass through the arch, I can at least manipulate the playing field to our advantage.’
Percy exhaled through his nose. ‘Twice now, I’ve been forced to fight in stadiums – once in Rome, and before that in the Labyrinth. I hate playing games for people’s amusement.’
‘We all do,’ Hazel said. ‘But we have to put Nike off guard. We’ll pretend to fight until we can neutralize those Nikettes – ugh, that’s an awful name. Then we subdue Nike, like Juno said.’
‘Makes sense,’ Frank agreed. ‘You felt how powerful Nike was, trying to put us at each other’s throats. If she’s sending out those vibes to all the Greeks and Romans, there’s no way we’ll be able to prevent a war. We’ve got to get her under control.’
‘And how do we do that?’ Percy asked. ‘Bonk her on the head and stuff her in a sack?’
Leo’s mental gears started to turn.
‘Actually,’ he said, ‘you’re not far off. Uncle Leo brought some toys for all you good little demigods.’
XII
Leo
TWO MINUTES WASN’T NEARLY ENOUGH TIME.
Leo hoped he’d given everybody the right gadgets and adequately explained what all the buttons did. Otherwise things would get ugly.
While he was lecturing Frank and Percy on Archimedean mechanics, Hazel stared at the stone archway and muttered under her breath.
Nothing seemed to change in the big grassy field beyond, but Leo was sure Hazel had some Mistalicious tricks up her sleeve.
He was just explaining to Frank how to avoid getting decapitated by his own Archimedes sphere when the sound of trumpets echoed through the stadium. Nike’s chariot appeared on the field, the Nikettes arrayed in front of her with their spears and laurels raised.
‘Begin!’ the goddess bellowed.
Percy and Leo sprinted through the archway. Immediately, the field shimmered and became a maze of brick walls and trenches. They ducked behind the nearest wall and ran to the left. Back at the archway, Frank yelled, ‘Uh, die, Graecus scum!’ A poorly aimed arrow sailed over Leo’s head.
‘More vicious!’ Nike yelled. ‘Kill like you mean it!’
Leo glanced at Percy. ‘Ready?’
Percy hefted a bronze grenade. ‘I hope you labelled these right.’ He yelled, ‘Die, Romans!’ and lobbed the grenade over the wall.
BOOM! Leo couldn’t see the explosion, but the smell of buttery popcorn filled the air.
‘Oh, no!’ Hazel wailed. ‘Popcorn! Our fatal weakness!’
Frank shot another arrow over their heads. Leo and Percy scrambled to the left, ducking through a maze of walls that seemed to shift and turn on their own. Leo could still see open sky above him, but claustrophobia started to set in, making it hard for him to breathe.