"I don't know." Annabeth sounded really frustrated. She hated not knowing. "But

somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might

not even realize something is wrong.

 

Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know

what's happening."

 

"Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.

 

Annabeth nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help coming in."

 

I turned to my friends. They looked stunned and scared, and I couldn't blame

them. The shield had shown us at least three hundred enemies on the way. There

were forty of us. And we were alone.

 

"All right," I said. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

 

Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."

 

"We are going to hold it," I said. "We have to."

 

"He's right," Annabeth said. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces

away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the

entrances to the island."