Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward her, exposing the unprotected back of his

legs. I charged and stabbed him behind the knee.

 

"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I

mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where I'd stabbed him,

cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled

in a mountain of blue shards.

 

"Thanks." Annabeth winced, trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"

 

"Pork chops," I said.

 

"Good." She flexed her shoulder. Obviously, the wound was still bothering her,

but she saw my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Percy. Come on! We've

got plenty of enemies left."

 

She was right. The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before —

wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every

strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many

I defeated, more took their place.

 

Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too

many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

 

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot