THEY WERE, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the strangest reinforcements
in Roman military history. Hazel rode Arion, who had
recovered enough to carry one person at normal horse
speed, though he cursed about his aching hooves all the
way downhill.
Frank transformed into a bald eagle – which Percy still
found totally unfair – and soared above them. Tyson ran
down the hill, waving his club and yelling, ‘Bad pony-men!
BOO!’ while Ella fluttered around him, reciting facts from
the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
As for Percy, he rode Mrs O’Leary into battle with a
chariot full of Imperial gold equipment clanking and
clinking behind, the golden eagle standard of the Twelfth
Legion raised high above him.
They skirted the perimeter of the camp and took the
northernmost bridge over the Little Tiber, charging onto
the Field of Mars at the western edge of the battle. A
horde of Cyclopes was hammering away at the campers
of the Fifth Cohort, who were trying to keep their shields
locked just to stay alive.
Seeing them in trouble, Percy felt a surge of protective
rage. These were the kids who’d taken him in. This was his
family.
He shouted, ‘Fifth Cohort!’ and slammed into the
nearest Cyclops. The last things the poor monster saw
were Mrs O’Leary’s teeth.
After the Cyclops disintegrated – and stayed
disintegrated, thanks to Death – Percy leaped off his
hellhound and slashed wildly through the other monsters.
Tyson charged at the Cyclops leader, Ma Gasket, her
chain-mail dress spattered with mud and decorated with
broken spears.
She gawked at Tyson and started to say, ‘Who – ?’
Tyson hit her in the head so hard she spun in a circle
and landed on her rump.
‘Bad Cyclops Lady!’ he bellowed. ‘General Tyson says
GO AWAY!’
He hit her again, and Ma Gasket broke into dust.
Meanwhile Hazel charged around on Arion, slicing her
spatha through one Cyclops after another, while Frank
blinded the enemies with his talons.
Once every Cyclops within fifty yards had been reduced
to ashes, Frank landed in front of his troops and
transformed into a human. His centurion’s badge and
Mural Crown gleamed on his winter jacket.
‘Fifth Cohort!’ he bellowed. ‘Get your Imperial gold
weapons right here!’
The campers recovered from their shock and mobbed
the chariot. Percy did his best to hand out equipment
quickly.
‘Let’s go, let’s go!’ Dakota urged, grinning like a
madman as he swigged red Kool-Aid from his flask. ‘Our
comrades need help!’
Soon the Fifth Cohort was equipped with new weapons
and shields and helmets. They weren’t exactly consistent.
In fact they looked like they’d been shopping at a King
Midas clearance sale. But they were suddenly the most
powerful cohort in the legion.
‘Follow the eagle!’ Frank ordered. ‘To battle!’
The campers cheered. As Percy and Mrs O’Leary
charged onward, the entire cohort followed – forty
extremely shiny gold-plated warriors screaming for blood.
They slammed into a herd of wild centaurs that were
attacking the Third Cohort. When the campers of the
Third saw the eagle standard, they shouted insanely and
fought with renewed effort.
The centaurs didn’t stand a chance. The two cohorts
crushed them like a vice. Soon there was nothing left but
piles of dust and assorted hooves and horns. Percy
hoped Chiron would forgive him, but these centaurs
weren’t like the Party Ponies he’d met before. They were
some other breed. They had to be defeated.
‘Form ranks!’ the centurions shouted. The two cohorts
came together, their military training kicking in. Shields
locked, they marched into battle against the Earthborn.
Frank shouted, ‘Pila!’
A hundred spears bristled. When Frank yelled, ‘Fire!’
they sailed through the air – a wave of death cutting
through the six-armed monsters. The campers drew
swords and advanced towards the centre of the battle.
At the base of the aqueduct, the First and Second
Cohorts were trying to encircle Polybotes, but they were
taking a pounding. The remaining Earthborn threw
barrage after barrage of stone and mud. Karpoi grain
spirits – those horrible little piranha Cupids – were rushing
through the tall grass abducting campers at random,
pulling them away from the line. The giant himself kept
shaking basilisks out of his hair. Every time one landed,
the Romans panicked and ran. Judging from their
corroded shields and the smoking plumes on their
helmets, they’d already learned about the basilisks’
poison and fire.
Reyna soared above the giant, diving in with her javelin
whenever he turned his attention to the ground troops. Her
purple cloak snapped in the wind. Her golden armour
gleamed. Polybotes jabbed his trident and swung his
weighted net, but Scipio was almost as nimble as Arion.
Then Reyna noticed the Fifth Cohort marching to their
aid with the eagle. She was so stunned that the giant
almost swatted her out of the air, but Scipio dodged.
Reyna locked eyes with Percy and gave him a huge
smile.
‘Romans!’ Her voice boomed across the fields. ‘Rally to
the eagle!’
Demigods and monsters alike turned and gawked as
Percy bounded forward on his hellhound.
‘What is this?’ Polybotes demanded. ‘What is this?’
Percy felt a rush of power coursing through the
standard’s staff. He raised the eagle and shouted, ‘Twelfth
Legion Fulminata!’
Thunder shook the valley. The eagle let loose a
blinding flash, and a thousand tendrils of lightning
exploded from its golden wings – arcing in front of Percy
like the branches of an enormous deadly tree, connecting
with the nearest monsters, leaping from one to another,
completely ignoring the Roman forces.
When the lightning stopped, the First and Second
Cohorts were facing one surprised-looking giant and
several hundred smoking piles of ash. The enemy’s
centre line had been charred to oblivion.
The look on Octavian’s face was priceless. The
centurion stared at Percy with shock, then outrage. Then,
when his own troops started to cheer, he had no choice
except to join the shouting: ‘Rome! Rome!’
The giant Polybotes backed up uncertainly, but Percy
knew the battle wasn’t over.
The Fourth Cohort was still surrounded by Cyclopes.
Even Hannibal the elephant was having a hard time
wading through so many monsters. His black Kevlar
armour was ripped so that his label just said ANT.
The veterans and Lares on the eastern flank were being
pushed towards the city. The monsters’ siege tower was
still hurling explosive green fireballs into the streets. The
gorgons had disabled the giant eagles and now flew
unchallenged over the giant’s remaining centaurs and the
Earthborn, trying to rally them.
‘Stand your ground!’ Stheno yelled. ‘I’ve got free
samples!’
Polybotes bellowed. A dozen fresh basilisks fell out of
his hair, turning the grass to poison yellow. ‘You think this
changes anything, Percy Jackson? I cannot be destroyed!
Come forward, son of Neptune. I will break you!’
Percy dismounted. He handed Dakota the standard.
‘You are the cohort’s senior centurion. Take care of this.’
Dakota blinked, then he straightened with pride. He
dropped his Kool-Aid flask and took the eagle. ‘I will carry
it with honour.’
‘Frank, Hazel, Tyson,’ Percy said, ‘help the Fourth
Cohort. I’ve got a giant to kill.’
He raised Riptide, but before he could advance, horns
blew in the northern hills. Another army appeared on the
ridge – hundreds of warriors in black-and-grey
camouflage, armed with spears and shields. Interspersed
among their ranks were a dozen battle forklifts, their
sharpened tines gleaming in the sunset and flaming bolts
nocked in their crossbows.
‘Amazons,’ Frank said. ‘Great.’
Polybotes laughed. ‘You see? Our reinforcements have
arrived! Rome will fall today!’
The Amazons lowered their spears and charged down
the hill. Their forklifts barrelled into battle. The giant’s
army cheered – until the Amazons changed course and
headed straight for the monsters’ intact eastern flank.
‘Amazons, forward!’ On the largest forklift stood a girl
who looked like an older version of Reyna, in black
combat armour with a glittering gold belt round her waist.
‘Queen Hylla!’ said Hazel. ‘She survived!’
The Amazon queen shouted: ‘To my sister’s aid!
Destroy the monsters!’
‘Destroy!’ Her troops’ cry echoed through the valley.
Reyna wheeled her pegasus towards Percy. Her eyes
gleamed. Her expression said: I could hug you right now.
She shouted, ‘Romans! Advance!’
The battlefield descended into absolute chaos.
Amazon and Roman lines swung towards the enemy like
the Doors of Death themselves.
But Percy had only one goal. He pointed at the giant.
‘You. Me. To the finish.’
They met by the aqueduct, which had somehow survived
the battle so far. Polybotes fixed that. He swiped his
trident and smashed the nearest brick arch, unleashing a
waterfall.
‘Go on, then, son of Neptune!’ Polybotes taunted. ‘Let
me see your power! Does water do your bidding? Does it
heal you? But I am born to oppose Neptune.’
The giant thrust his hand under the water. As the torrent
passed through his fingers it turned dark green. He flung
some at Percy, who instinctively deflected it with his will.
The liquid splattered the ground in front of him. With a
nasty hiss, the grass withered and smoked.
‘My touch turns water to poison,’ Polybotes said. ‘Let’s
see what it does to your blood!’
He threw his net at Percy, but Percy rolled out of the
way. He diverted the waterfall straight into the giant’s face.
While Polybotes was blinded, Percy charged. He plunged
Riptide into the giant’s belly then withdrew it and vaulted
away, leaving the giant roaring in pain.
The strike would have dissolved any lesser monster,
but Polybotes just staggered and looked down at the
golden ichor – the blood of immortals – spilling from his
wound. The cut was already closing.
‘Good try, demigod,’ he snarled. ‘But I will break you
still.’
‘Gotta catch me first,’ Percy said.
He turned and bolted towards the city.
‘What?’ the giant yelled incredulously. ‘You run,
coward? Stand still and die!’
Percy had no intention of doing that. He knew he
couldn’t kill Polybotes alone. But he did have a plan.
He passed Mrs O’Leary, who looked up curiously with a
gorgon wriggling in her mouth.
‘I’m fine!’ Percy yelled as he ran by, followed by a giant
screaming bloody murder.
He jumped over a burning scorpion and ducked as
hannibal threw a Cyclops across his path. Out of the
corner of his eye, he saw Tyson pounding the Earthborn
into the ground like a game of whack-a-mole. Ella was
fluttering above him, dodging missiles and calling out
advice: ‘The groin. The Earthborn’s groin is sensitive.’
SMASH!
‘Good. Yes. Tyson found its groin.’
‘Percy needs help?’ Tyson called.
‘I’m good!’
‘Die!’ Polybotes yelled, closing fast. Percy kept running.
In the distance, he saw Hazel and Arion galloping
across the battlefield, cutting down centaurs and karpoi.
One grain spirit yelled, ‘Wheat! I’ll give you wheat!’ but
Arion stomped him into a pile of breakfast cereal. Queen
Hylla and Reyna joined forces, forklift and pegasus riding
together, scattering the dark shades of fallen warriors.
Frank turned himself into an elephant and stomped
through some Cyclopes, and Dakota held the golden
eagle high, blasting lightning at any monsters that dared
to challenge the Fifth Cohort.
All that was great, but Percy needed a different kind of
help. He needed a god.
He glanced back and saw the giant almost within arm’s
reach. To buy some time, Percy ducked behind one of the
aqueduct’s columns. The giant swung his trident. When
the column crumbled, Percy used the unleashed water to
guide the collapse – bringing down several tons of bricks
on the giant’s head.
Percy bolted for the city limits.
‘Terminus!’ he yelled.
The nearest statue of the god was about sixty feet
ahead. His stone eyes snapped open as Percy ran
towards him.
‘Completely unacceptable!’ he complained. ‘Buildings
on fire! Invaders! Get them out of here, Percy Jackson!’
‘I’m trying,’ he said. ‘But there’s this giant, Polybotes.’
‘Yes, I know! Wait – Excuse me a moment.’ Terminus
closed his eyes in concentration. A flaming green
cannonball sailed overhead and suddenly vaporized. ‘I
can’t stop all the missiles,’ Terminus complained. ‘Why
can’t they be civilized and attack more slowly? I’m only
one god.’
‘Help me kill the giant,’ Percy said, ‘and this will all be
over. A god and demigod working together – that’s the
only way to kill him.’
Terminus sniffed. ‘I guard borders. I don’t kill giants. It’s
not in my job description.’
‘Terminus, come on!’ Percy took another step forward,
and the god shrieked indignantly.
‘Stop right there, young man! No weapons inside the
Pomerian Line!’
‘But we’re under attack.’
‘I don’t care! Rules are rules. When people don’t follow
the rules, I get very, very angry.’
Percy smiled. ‘Hold that thought.’
He sprinted back towards the giant. ‘Hey, ugly!’
‘Rarrr!’ Polybotes burst from the ruins of the aqueduct.
The water was still pouring over him, turning to poison and
creating a steaming marsh around his feet.
‘You … you will die slowly,’ the giant promised. He
picked up his trident, now dripping with green venom.
All around them, the battle was winding down. As the
last monsters were mopped up, Percy’s friends started
gathering, forming a ring around the giant.
‘I will take you prisoner, Percy Jackson,’ Polybotes
snarled. ‘I will torture you under the sea. Every day the
water will heal you, and every day I will bring you closer to
death.’
‘Great offer,’ Percy said. ‘But I think I’ll just kill you
instead.’
Polybotes bellowed in rage. He shook his head, and
more basilisks flew from his hair.
‘Get back!’ Frank warned.
Fresh chaos spread through the ranks. Hazel spurred
Arion and put herself between the basilisks and the
campers. Frank changed form – shrinking into something
lean and furry … a weasel? Percy thought Frank had lost
his mind, but when Frank charged the basilisks, they
absolutely freaked out. They slithered away with Frank
chasing after them in hot weasely pursuit.
Polybotes pointed his trident and ran towards Percy. As
the giant reached the Pomerian Line, Percy jumped aside
like a bullfighter. Polybotes barrelled across the city
limits.
‘THAT’S IT!’ Terminus cried. ‘That’s AGAINST THE
RULES!’
Polybotes frowned, obviously confused that he was
being told off by a statue. ‘What are you?’ he growled.
‘Shut up!’
He pushed the statue over and turned back to Percy.
‘Now I’m MAD!’ Terminus shrieked. ‘I’m strangling you.
Feel that? Those are my hands round your neck, you big
bully. Get over here! I’m going to head-butt you so hard –’
‘Enough!’ The giant stepped on the statue and broke
Terminus in three pieces – pedestal, body and head.
‘You DIDN’T!’ shouted Terminus. ‘Percy Jackson,
you’ve got yourself a deal! Let’s kill this upstart.’
The giant laughed so hard that he didn’t realize Percy
was charging until it was too late. Percy jumped up,
vaulting off the giant’s knee, and drove Riptide straight
through one of the metal mouths on Polybotes’s
breastplate, sinking the Celestial bronze hilt-deep in his
chest. The giant stumbled backwards, tripping over
Terminus’s pedestal and crashing to the ground. While he
was trying to get up, clawing at the sword in his chest,
Percy hefted the head of the statue.
‘You’ll never win!’ the giant groaned. ‘You cannot defeat
me alone.’
‘I’m not alone.’ Percy raised the stone head above the
giant’s face. ‘I’d like you to meet my friend Terminus. He’s
a god!’
Too late, awareness and fear dawned in the giant’s face.
Percy smashed the god’s head as hard as he could into
Polybotes’s nose, and the giant dissolved, crumbling into
a steaming heap of seaweed, reptile skin and poisonous
muck.
Percy staggered away, completely exhausted.
‘Ha!’ said the head of Terminus. ‘That will teach him to
obey the rules of Rome.’
For a moment, the battlefield was silent except for a few
fires burning, and a few retreating monsters screaming in
panic.
A ragged circle of Romans and Amazons stood around
Percy. Tyson, Ella and Mrs O’Leary were there. Frank and
Hazel were grinning at him with pride. Arion was nibbling
contentedly on a golden shield.
The Romans began to chant, ‘Percy! Percy!’
They mobbed him. Before he knew it, they were raising
him on a shield. The cry changed to, ‘Praetor! Praetor!’
Among the chanters was Reyna herself, who held up
her hand and grasped Percy’s in congratulation. Then the
mob of cheering Romans carried him around the
Pomerian Line, carefully avoiding Terminus’s borders,
and escorted him back home to Camp
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