The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal
expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was
mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally
disliked about Zoe, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.
"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.
Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her,
then? Be my guest."
Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."
Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit
at him, almost taking off his fingers.
"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I
think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules
again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."
I looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned
her head toward Luke. But all
I could do was stare at her. I hadn't noticed before, but something about her had
changed. Her blond hair was now streaked with gray.
"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight
should've killed her."
"I don't understand," I said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"
Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky
and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the
Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it
would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a
hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless
someone else takes it from you."
He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh?
Not much of a challenge."
"Fight us," I said. "And let's see."
"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly.
It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."
"So you're another coward," I said.
Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia.
"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."
"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as
if it were painful. If I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for Kim.
"Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"
He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black
marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. I could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more
I thought about it, the more I was sure I could hear Bessie mooing.
Don't think about him! Suddenly Grover's voice was inside my mind—the empathy link.
I could feel his emotions. He was on the verge of panic. I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts!
I tried to make my mind go blank. I tried to think about basketball players, skateboards,
the different kinds of candy in my mom's shop. Anything but Bessie.
"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the
gods."
"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"
"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods?
Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"
Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."
"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together.
Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…"
His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree.
Please."
I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed
that Luke was in danger.
His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it,
too.
"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."
Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at
camp. A sacrificial flame.
"Thalia," I said. "No."
Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist
all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful
palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.
"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was
hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are
not weak."
He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain,
from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and
Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't
even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more
than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes,
they would be here.
"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm
Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."
For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if
the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You
aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."
"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me… Don't make him destroy
you."
There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I
met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded.
I looked at Thalia and Zoe, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to
die fighting with friends like this.
"Now," I said.
Together, we charged.
Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragonwomen bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But
despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild
animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of
lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life, which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan
Lord Atlas.
He laughed as I approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted
into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!"
"Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!"
I knew what she was warning me about. Chiron had told me long ago: Immortals are
constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he
has the nerve. Once I attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his
might.
I swung my sword, and Atlas knocked me aside with the shaft of his javelin. I flew
through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising,
brick by brick. It was becoming real.
"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoe's arrows. "Did you think,
simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to me?"
The mention of Ares sent a jolt through me. I shook off my daze and charged again. If I
could get to that pool of water, I could double my strength.
The javelins point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Riptide, planning to cut off
his weapon at the shaft, but my arm felt like lead. My sword suddenly weighed a ton.
And I remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago:
When you need it most, your sword will fail you.
Not now! I pleaded. But it was no good. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in
the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I
looked up and found I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.
"Run, boy," she told me. "You must run!"
Atlas was taking his time coming toward me. My sword was gone. It had skittered away
over the edge of the cliff. It might reappear in my pocket—maybe in a few seconds—but it
didn't matter. I'd be dead by then. Luke and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning
crackling around them. Annabeth was on the ground, desperately struggling to free her hands.
"Die, little hero," Atlas said.
He raised his javelin to impale me.
"No!" Zoe yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's
armor.
"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.
I reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. I couldn't fight Atlas, even with a
sword. And then a chill went down my back. I remembered the words of the prophecy: The
Titan's curse must one withstand. I couldn't hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else
who might stand a chance.
"The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."
"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver.
"You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"
"Annabeth took it!"
"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long."
"I'll die anyway," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"
I didn't wait for her answer. I took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then I
stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee—holding up my hands—and touched the
cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together. It was the heaviest
thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out
from the pain, but I breathed deeply. I can do this.
Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.
Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't.
Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted
to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to
the ground, the sky's weight crushing me.
Fight back! Grover's voice said inside my head. Don't give up.
I concentrated on breathing. If I could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. I
thought about Bianca, who had given her life so we could get here. If she could do that, I
could hold the sky.
My vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. I caught glimpses of the battle,
but I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his
javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked
hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and
leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a
tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain. Zoe shot arrows at
her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark,
but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting.
Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia
pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated,
wincing and growling in frustration.
"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."
He bared his teeth. "Well see, my old friend."
Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed
with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrae in my spine were being welded together by a
blowtorch.
Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His
javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure
opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back
toward me.
Get ready, she spoke in my mind.
I was losing the ability to think through the pain. My response was something like
Agggghh-owwwwwwww.
"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."
He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming.
Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas
brought up his javelin tip for the kill.
"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow
straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in
rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black
rocks.
I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even
see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face.
Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her
and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending
him flying over her, I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen.
I loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let
myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he
managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky.
But it was too late.
"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning
up.
Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden
coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face
glistened with sweat.
He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his
hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.
For a moment, there was silence.
"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.
Thalia trembled with fury.
Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was
bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"
"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"
In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the
black rocks where Zoe had fallen.
"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."
"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To
please your dad?"
Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.
"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke
away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.
We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the Princess Andromeda had
stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how
much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was
impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.
One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"
Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave
of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas
as we passed.
"Artemis!" I yelled.
The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the
goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…
"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.
"Atlas poisoned her?" I asked.
"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."
She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the
dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She
had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.
"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."
"Nectar and ambrosia," I said. "Come on! We have to get her some."
No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even
Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom right there, but then I heard a
strange buzzing noise.
Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of
the sky.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to
life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into
scattering.
"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.
"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.
This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now
banking around for another strafe.
"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come, We must get Zoe away
from here."
She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of
Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering.
"Hang in there!" I told her. "It'll be all right!"
The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew
straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. I realized with
amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his
bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into
sulfurous yellow powder.
"That's… my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.
We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already
recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.
Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn
by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us.
"Get in," Artemis said.
Annabeth helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoe. We wrapped
Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain,
straight into the air.
"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," I murmured, still dazed with pain.
Artemis took time to look back at me. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you
think that legend came from?"
Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor
guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver
flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.
Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount
Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as
he struggled under the weight of the sky.