Hey, boss, said Blackjack. Can we take a donut break?

 

I wiped the sweat off my brow. "I wish, big guy, but the fight's still going

on."

 

In fact, I could hear it getting closer. My friends needed help. I jumped on

Blackjack, and we flew north toward the sound of explosions.

 

FIFTEEN

 

CHIRON THROWS A PARTY

 

Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was

ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the

Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound

with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of

dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

 

I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that

the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy

was closing in on the Empire State Building.

 

We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive

line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue,

Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues