The Blood of Olympus(64)

Reyna had always thought of Jason Grace as the all-American boy. Thalia looked more like the girl who robbed all-American boys at knifepoint in an alley.

‘I hope he’s still well,’ Thalia mused. ‘A few nights ago I dreamed about our mother. It … wasn’t pleasant. Then I got Nico’s message in my dreams – about Orion hunting you. That was even less pleasant.’

‘That’s why you’re here. You got Nico’s message.’

‘Well, we didn’t rush to Puerto Rico for a vacation. This is one of the Amazons’ most secure strongholds. We took a gamble that we’d be able to intercept you.’

‘Intercept us … how? And why?’

In front of them, Phoebe stopped. The corridor dead-ended at a set of metal doors. Phoebe tapped on them with the butt of her knife – a complicated series of knocks like Morse code.

Thalia rubbed her bruised ribs. ‘I’ll have to leave you here. The Hunters are patrolling the old city, keeping a lookout for Orion. I need to get back to the front lines.’ She held out her hand expectantly. ‘My knife, please?’

Reyna handed it back. ‘What about my own weapons?’

‘They’ll be returned when you leave. I know it seems silly – the kidnapping and blindfolding and whatnot – but the Amazons take their security seriously. Last month they had an incident at their main centre in Seattle. Maybe you heard about it. A girl named Hazel Levesque stole a horse.’

The Hunter Celyn grinned. ‘Naomi and I saw the security footage. Legendary.’

‘Epic,’ agreed the third Hunter.

‘At any rate,’ Thalia said, ‘we’re keeping an eye on Nico and the satyr. Unauthorized males aren’t allowed anywhere near this place, but we left them a note so they wouldn’t worry.’

From her belt, Thalia unfolded a piece of paper. She handed it to Reyna. It was a photocopy of a handwritten note:

IOU one Roman praetor.

She will be returned safely.

Sit tight.

Otherwise you’ll be killed.

XOX, the Hunters of Artemis



Reyna handed back the letter. ‘Right. That won’t worry them at all.’

Phoebe grinned. ‘It’s cool. I covered your Athena Parthenos with this new camouflage netting I designed. It should keep monsters – even Orion – from finding it. Besides, if my guess is right, Orion isn’t tracking the statue as much as he’s tracking you.’

Reyna felt like she’d been punched between the eyes. ‘How could you know that?’

‘Phoebe is my best tracker,’ Thalia said. ‘And my best healer. And … well, she’s generally right about most things.’

‘Most things?’ Phoebe protested.

Thalia raised her hands in an I give up gesture. ‘As for why we intercepted you, I’ll let the Amazons explain. Phoebe, Celyn, Naomi – accompany Reyna inside. I have to see to our defences.’

‘You’re expecting a fight,’ Reyna noted. ‘But you said this place was secret and secure.’

Thalia sheathed her knife. ‘You don’t know Orion. I wish we had more time, Praetor. I’d like to hear about your camp and how you ended up there. You remind me so much of your sister, and yet –’

‘You know Hylla?’ Reyna asked. ‘Is she safe?’

Thalia tilted her head. ‘None of us are safe these days, Praetor, so I really must go. Good hunting!’

Thalia disappeared down the corridor.

The metal doors creaked open. The three Hunters led Reyna through.

After the claustrophobic tunnels, the size of the warehouse took Reyna’s breath away. An aerie of giant eagles could’ve done manoeuvres under the vast ceiling. Three-storey-tall rows of shelves stretched into the distance. Robotic forklifts zipped through the aisles retrieving boxes. Half a dozen young women in black trouser suits stood nearby, comparing notes on their tablet computers. In front of them were crates labelled: EXPLOSIVE ARROWS AND GREEK FIRE (16 OZ. EZ-OPEN PACK) and GRYPHON FILLETS (FREE-RANGE ORGANIC).

Directly in front of Reyna, behind a conference table piled high with reports and bladed weapons, sat a familiar figure.

‘Baby sister.’ Hylla rose. ‘Here we are, home again. Facing certain death again. We have to stop meeting like this.’





XXIII


Reyna


REYNA’S FEELINGS WEREN’T SO MUCH MIXED.

They were thrown into a blender with gravel and ice.

Every time she saw her sister, she didn’t know whether to hug her, cry or walk away. Of course she loved Hylla. Reyna would have been dead many times over if not for her sister.

But their past together was beyond complicated.

Hylla walked around the table. She looked good in her black leather trousers and black vest top. Around her waist glittered a cord of gold Labyrinthine links – the belt of the Amazon queen. She was twenty-two now, but she could’ve been mistaken for Reyna’s twin. They had the same long dark hair, the same brown eyes. They even wore the same silver ring with the torch-and-spear emblem of their mother, Bellona. The most obvious difference between them was the long white scar on Hylla’s forehead. It had faded over the last four years. Anyone who didn’t know better might’ve mistaken it for a worry line. But Reyna remembered the day Hylla got that scar in a duel on board the pirate ship.