The Blood of Olympus(66)

Reyna understood that. She thought back to a conversation she’d had with the goddess Aphrodite two years ago in Charleston …

‘If he’s such a problem,’ Reyna said, ‘why doesn’t Artemis simply slay him again?’

Phoebe grimaced. ‘Easier said than done. Orion is sneaky. Whenever Artemis is with us, he stays far away. Whenever we Hunters are on our own, like we are now … he strikes without warning and disappears again. Our last lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade, spent centuries trying to track him down and kill him.’

‘The Amazons have also tried,’ Hylla said. ‘Orion doesn’t distinguish between us and the Hunters. I think we all remind him too much of Artemis. He sabotages our warehouses, disrupts our distribution centres, kills our warriors –’

‘In other words,’ Reyna said dryly, ‘he’s getting in the way of your plans for world domination.’

Hylla shrugged. ‘Exactly.’

‘That’s why you rushed here to intercept me,’ Reyna said. ‘You knew Orion would be right behind me. You’re setting up an ambush. I’m the bait.’

The other girls all found somewhere else to look besides Reyna’s face.

‘Oh, please,’ Reyna chided, ‘don’t develop a guilty conscience now. It’s a good plan. How do we proceed?’

Hylla gave her comrades a lopsided smile. ‘I told you my sister was tough. Phoebe, you want to explain the details?’

The Hunter shouldered her bow. ‘Like I said, I believe Orion is tracking you, not the Athena Parthenos. He seems especially good at sensing the presence of female demigods. I guess you’d say that we’re his natural prey.’

‘Charming,’ Reyna said. ‘So my friends, Nico and Gleeson Hedge – are they safe?’

‘I still don’t see why you travel with males,’ Phoebe grumbled, ‘but my guess is that they are safer without you around. I did my best to camouflage your statue. With luck, Orion will follow you here, straight into our line of defences.’

‘And then?’ Reyna asked.

Hylla gave her the sort of cold smile that used to make Blackbeard’s pirates nervous. ‘Thalia and most of her Hunters are scouting the perimeter of Viejo San Juan. As soon as Orion gets close, we’ll know. We’ve set traps at every approach. I have my best fighters on alert. We’ll snare the giant. Then, one way or another, we’ll send him back to Tartarus.’

‘Can he be killed?’ Reyna asked. ‘I thought most giants could only be destroyed by a god and demigod working together.’

‘We intend to find out,’ Hylla said. ‘Once Orion is taken down, your quest will be much easier. We’ll send you on your way with our blessings.’

‘We could use more than your blessings,’ Reyna said. ‘Amazons ship things all around the world. Why not provide safe transport for the Athena Parthenos? Get us to Camp Half-Blood before August first –’

‘I can’t,’ Hylla said. ‘If I could, sister, I would, but surely you’ve felt the anger radiating from the statue. We Amazons are honorary daughters of Ares. The Athena Parthenos would never tolerate our interference. Besides, you know how the Fates operate. For your quest to succeed, you have to deliver the statue personally.’

Reyna must’ve looked crestfallen.

Phoebe shoulder-bumped her like an over-friendly cat. ‘Hey, not so glum. We’ll help you as much as we can. The Amazon service department has repaired those metal dogs of yours. And we have some cool parting gifts!’

Celyn handed Phoebe a leather satchel.

Phoebe rummaged inside. ‘Let’s see … healing potions. Tranquilizer darts like the ones we used on you. Hmm, what else? Oh, yeah!’ Phoebe triumphantly produced a rectangle of folded silvery cloth.

‘A handkerchief?’ Reyna asked.

‘Better. Back up a little.’ Phoebe tossed the cloth on the floor. Instantly it expanded into a ten-by-ten camping tent.

‘It’s air-conditioned,’ Phoebe said. ‘Sleeps four. It has a buffet table and sleeping bags inside. Whatever extra gear you put in it will collapse with the tent. Um, within reason … don’t try to stick your giant statue in there.’

Celyn snickered. ‘If your male travelling companions get annoying, you could always leave them inside.’

Naomi frowned. ‘That wouldn’t work … would it?’

‘Anyway,’ Phoebe said, ‘these tents are great. I have one just like it; use it all the time. When you’re ready to close it up, the command word is actaeon.’

The tent collapsed into a tiny rectangle. Phoebe picked it up, stuffed it into the satchel and handed the bag to Reyna.