[1] 𝐼𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑠 - 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝐽𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛

3.07

-

FORTUNATELY, BLACKJACK WAS ON DUTY.

He and one of his friends were there and they took the three of them to Williamsburg Bridge.

A knot started forming in Cassiopeia's stomach. She knew the Minotaur was one of the first monsters Percy had ever faced, and it nearly killed his mom. But if he could defeat it at age twelve, with no training, she knew he could do it now. But she also knew he wouldn't see it that way.

They saw the battle before they were close enough to make out individual fighters. It was well after midnight now, but the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning. Arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

They came in for a low pass, and she saw the Apollo campers retreating. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away.

"There!" Annabeth called from the back of her and Cass's pegasus.

Sure enough, in the middle of the invading legion was Old Beefhead himself.

From the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear—a kilt like apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. He seemed to be ten feet tall - at least. A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. As soon as he saw them circling overhead (or sniffed Percy, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine.

"Blackjack, dive!" Percy yelled.

They were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward them, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. Porkpie swerved madly to the left, while Blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. The limo sailed over Percy's head, missing by maybe two inches. It cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the East River.

Monsters jeered and shouted, and the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," Percy told Blackjack. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"