The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5)(32)

‘One Nikette left,’ Percy said. ‘I wonder –’

Somewhere close by, Hazel cried out in pain.

Instantly, Leo was on his feet.

‘Dude, wait!’ Percy called, but Leo plunged through the maze, his heart pounding.

The walls fell away on either side. Leo found himself in an open stretch of field. Frank stood at the far end of the stadium, shooting flaming arrows at Nike’s chariot as the goddess bellowed insults and tried to find a path to him across the shifting network of trenches.

Hazel was closer – maybe sixty feet away. The fourth Nikette had obviously sneaked up on her. Hazel was limping away from her attacker, her jeans ripped, her left leg bleeding. She parried the metal lady’s spear with her huge cavalry sword, but she was about to be overpowered. All around her, the Mist flickered like a dying strobe light. She was losing control of the magic maze.

‘I’ll help her,’ Percy said. ‘You stick to the plan. Get Nike’s chariot.’

‘But the plan was to eliminate all four Nikettes first!’

‘So change the plan and then stick to it!’

‘That doesn’t even make sense, but go! Help her!’

Percy rushed to Hazel’s defence. Leo darted towards Nike, yelling, ‘Hey! I want a participation award!’

‘Gah!’ The goddess pulled the reins and turned her chariot in his direction. ‘I will destroy you!’

‘Good!’ Leo yelled. ‘Losing is way better than winning!’

‘WHAT?’ Nike threw her mighty spear, but her aim was off with the rocking of the chariot. Her weapon skittered into the grass. Sadly, a new one appeared in her hands.

She urged her horses to a full gallop. The trenches disappeared, leaving an open field, perfect for running down small Latino demigods.

‘Hey!’ Frank yelled from across the stadium. ‘I want a participation award, too! Everybody wins!’

He shot a well-aimed arrow that landed in the back of Nike’s chariot and began to burn. Nike ignored it. Her eyes were fixed on Leo.

‘Percy … ?’ Leo’s voice sounded like a hamster’s squeak. From his tool belt, he fished out an Archimedes sphere and set the concentric circles to arm the device.

Percy was still sparring with the last metal lady. Leo couldn’t wait.

He threw the sphere in the chariot’s path. It hit the ground and burrowed in, but he needed Percy to spring the trap. If Nike sensed any threat, she apparently didn’t think much of it. She kept charging at Leo.

The chariot was twenty feet from the grenade. Fifteen feet.

‘Percy!’ Leo yelled. ‘Operation Water Balloon!’

Unfortunately, Percy was a little busy getting smacked around. The Nikette thumped him backwards with the butt of her spear. She threw her wreath with such force it knocked Percy’s sword from his grip. Percy stumbled. The metallic lady moved in for the kill.

Leo howled. He knew the distance was too far. He knew that if he didn’t jump out of the way now Nike would run him over. But that didn’t matter. His friends were about to be skewered. He thrust out his hand and shot a white-hot bolt of fire straight at the Nikette.

It literally melted her face. The Nikette staggered, her spear still raised. Before she could regain her balance, Hazel thrust her spatha and impaled the metal lady through the chest. The Nikette crashed into the grass.

Percy turned towards the victory goddess’s chariot. Just as those huge white horses were about to turn Leo into roadkill, the carriage passed over Leo’s sunken grenade, which exploded in a high-pressure geyser. Water blasted upward, flipping the chariot – horses, carriage, goddess and all.

Back in Houston, Leo used to live with his mom in an apartment right off the Gulf Freeway. He heard car crashes at least once a week, but this sound was worse – Celestial bronze crumpling, wood splintering, stallions screaming and a goddess wailing in two distinct voices, both of them very surprised.

Hazel collapsed. Percy caught her. Frank ran towards them from across the field.

Leo was on his own as the goddess Nike disentangled herself from the wreckage and rose to face him. Her braided hairdo now resembled a stepped-on cow pat. A laurel wreath was stuck around her left ankle. Her horses got to their hooves and galloped away in a panic, dragging the soaked, half-burning wreckage of the chariot behind them.

‘YOU!’ Nike glared at Leo, her eyes hotter and brighter than her metal wings. ‘You dare?’

Leo didn’t feel very courageous, but he forced a smile. ‘I know, right? I’m awesome! Do I win a leaf hat now?’

‘You will die!’ The goddess raised her spear.

‘Hold that thought!’ Leo dug around in his tool belt. ‘You haven’t seen my best trick yet. I have a weapon guaranteed to win any contest!’

Nike hesitated. ‘What weapon? What do you mean?’

‘My ultimate zap-o-matic!’ He pulled out a second Archimedes sphere – the one he’d spent a whole thirty seconds modifying before they entered the stadium. ‘How many laurel wreaths have you got? Because I’m gonna win them all.’

He fiddled with dials, hoping he’d done his calculations right.

Leo had got better at making spheres, but they still weren’t completely reliable. More like twenty percent reliable.

It would’ve been nice to have Calypso’s help weaving the Celestial bronze filaments. She was an ace at weaving. Or Annabeth: she was no slouch. But Leo had done his best, rewiring the sphere to carry out two completely different functions.