The Blood of Olympus(35)

Somewhere behind them, Nike yelled, ‘Try harder! That popcorn was not fatal!’

From the rumble of her chariot wheels, Leo guessed she was circling the perimeter of the field – Victory taking a victory lap.

Another grenade exploded over Percy’s and Leo’s heads. They dived into a trench as the green starburst of Greek fire singed Leo’s hair. Fortunately, Frank had aimed high enough that the blast only looked impressive.

‘Better,’ Nike called out, ‘but where is your aim? Don’t you want this circlet of leaves?’

‘I wish the river was closer,’ Percy muttered. ‘I want to drown her.’

‘Be patient, water boy.’

‘Don’t call me water boy.’

Leo pointed across the field. The walls had shifted, revealing one of the Nikettes about thirty yards away, standing with her back to them. Hazel must be doing her thing – manipulating the maze to isolate their targets.

‘I distract,’ Leo said, ‘you attack. Ready?’

Percy nodded. ‘Go.’

He dashed to the left as Leo pulled a ball-peen hammer from his tool belt and yelled, ‘Hey, Bronze Butt!’

The Nikette turned as Leo threw. His hammer clanged harmlessly off the metal lady’s chest, but she must have been annoyed. She marched towards him, raising her barbed-wire laurel wreath.

‘Oops.’ Leo ducked as the metal circlet spun over his head. The wreath hit a wall behind him, punching a hole straight through the bricks, then arced backwards through the air like a boomerang. As the Nikette raised her hand to catch it, Percy emerged from the trench behind her and slashed with Riptide, cutting the Nikette in half at the waist. The metal wreath shot past him and embedded in a marble column.

‘Foul!’ the victory goddess cried. The walls shifted and Leo saw her barrelling towards them in her chariot. ‘You don’t attack the Nikai unless you wish to die!’

A trench appeared in the goddess’s path, causing her horses to balk. Leo and Percy ran for cover. Out of the corner of his eye, maybe fifty feet away, Leo saw Frank the grizzly bear jump from the top of a wall and flatten another Nikette. Two Bronze Butts down, two more to go.

‘No!’ Nike screamed in outrage. ‘No, no, no! Your lives are forfeit! Nikai, attack!’

Leo and Percy leaped behind a wall. They lay there for a second, trying to catch their breath.

Leo had trouble getting his bearings, but he guessed that was part of Hazel’s plan. She was causing the terrain to shift around them – opening new trenches, changing the slope of the land, throwing up new walls and columns. With luck, she would make it harder for the Nikettes to find them. Travelling just twenty feet might take them several minutes.

Still, Leo hated being disoriented. It reminded him of his helplessness in the House of Hades – the way Clytius had smothered him in darkness, snuffing out his fire, possessing his voice. It reminded him of Khione, plucking him off the deck of the Argo II with a gust of wind and shooting him halfway across the Mediterranean.

It was bad enough being scrawny and weak. If Leo couldn’t control his own senses, his own voice, his own body … that didn’t leave him much to rely on.

‘Hey,’ Percy said, ‘if we don’t make it out of this –’

‘Shut up, man. We’re going to make it.’

‘If we don’t, I want you to know – I feel bad about Calypso. I failed her.’

Leo stared at him, dumbfounded. ‘You know about me and –’

‘The Argo II is a small ship.’ Percy grimaced. ‘Word got around. I just … well, when I was in Tartarus, I was reminded that I hadn’t followed through on my promise to Calypso. I asked the gods to free her and then … I just assumed they would. With me getting amnesia and getting sent to Camp Jupiter and all, I didn’t think about Calypso much after that. I’m not making excuses. I should have made sure the gods kept their promise. Anyway, I’m glad you found her. You promised to find a way back to her, and I just wanted to say, if we do survive all this, I’ll do anything I can to help you. That’s a promise I will keep.’

Leo was speechless. Here they were, hiding behind a wall in the middle of a magical war zone, with grenades and grizzly bears and Bronze Butt Nikettes to worry about, and Percy pulls this on him.

‘Man, what is your problem?’ Leo grumbled.

Percy blinked. ‘So … I guess we’re not cool?’

‘Of course we’re not cool! You’re as bad as Jason! I’m trying to resent you for being all perfect and hero-y and whatnot. Then you go and act like a standup guy. How am I supposed to hate you if you apologize and promise to help and stuff?’