— seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps

you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

 

He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"

 

A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was

covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of

Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer, and in return, the

little punk had helped Kronos come back to life.

 

"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."

 

He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles

Beckendorf between them.

 

My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face

and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly tom off.

 

"No!" I yelled.

 

Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me

something. His watch.

 

They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the

explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.