The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5)(92)

Tyson frowned. He was small for a Cyclops, still a child, really – a little over six feet tall, his messy brown hair crusted with salt water, his big single eye the colour of maple syrup. He wore only a swimsuit and a flannel pyjama shirt, like he couldn’t decide whether to go swimming or go to sleep. He exuded a strong smell of peanut butter.

‘They are not bad?’ he asked.

‘No,’ Reyna said. ‘They were following bad orders. I think they’re sorry for that. Aren’t you, Dakota?’

Dakota put his arms up so fast he looked like Superman about to take off. ‘Reyna, I was trying to clue you in! Leila and I planned to switch sides and help you take down Michael.’

‘That’s right!’ Leila almost fell backwards over the railing. ‘But, before we could, the Cyclops did it for us!’

Coach Hedge snorted. ‘A likely story!’

Tyson sneezed. ‘Sorry. Goat fur. Itchy nose. Do we trust Romans?’

‘I do,’ Reyna said. ‘Dakota, Leila, you understand what our mission is?’

Leila nodded. ‘You want to return that statue to the Greeks as a peace offering. Let us help.’

‘Yeah.’ Dakota nodded vigorously. ‘The legion’s not nearly as united as Michael claimed. We don’t trust all the auxilia forces Octavian has gathered.’

Nico laughed bitterly. ‘A little late for doubts. You’re surrounded. As soon as Camp Half-Blood is destroyed, those allies will turn on you.’

‘So what do we do?’ asked Dakota. ‘We have an hour at most until sunrise.’

‘Five fifty-two a.m.,’ said Ella, still perched on the boathouse. ‘Sunrise, Eastern seaboard, August first. Timetables for Naval Meteorology. One hour and twelve minutes is more than one hour.’

Dakota’s eye ticked. ‘I stand corrected.’

Coach Hedge looked at Tyson. ‘Can we get into Camp Half-Blood safely? Is Mellie all right?’

Tyson scratched his chin thoughtfully. ‘She is very round.’

‘But she’s okay?’ Hedge persisted. ‘She hasn’t given birth yet?’

‘ “Delivery occurs at the end of the third trimester”,’ Ella advised. ‘Page forty-three, The New Mother’s Guide to –’

‘I gotta get over there!’ Hedge looked like he was ready to jump overboard and swim.

Reyna put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Coach, we’ll get you to your wife, but let’s do it right. Tyson, how did you and Ella get out to this ship?’

‘Rainbow!’

‘You … took a rainbow?’

‘He is my fish pony friend.’

‘A hippocampus,’ Nico advised.

‘I see.’ Reyna thought for a moment. ‘Could you and Ella escort the coach back to Camp Half-Blood safely?’

‘Yes!’ Tyson said. ‘We can do that!’

‘Good. Coach, go see your wife. Tell the campers I plan to fly the Athena Parthenos to Half-Blood Hill at sunrise. It’s a gift from Rome to Greece, to heal our divisions. If they could refrain from shooting me out of the sky, I’d be grateful.’

‘You got it,’ Hedge said. ‘But what about the Roman legion?’

‘That’s a problem,’ Leila said gravely. ‘Those onagers will blast you out of the sky.’

‘We’ll need a distraction,’ Reyna said. ‘Something to delay the attack on Camp Half-Blood and preferably put those weapons out of commission. Dakota, Leila, will your cohorts follow you?’

‘I – I think so, yes,’ Dakota said. ‘But if we ask them to commit treason –’

‘It isn’t treason,’ Leila said. ‘Not if we’re acting on direct orders from our praetor. And Reyna is still praetor.’

Reyna turned to Nico. ‘I need you to go with Dakota and Leila. While they’re stirring trouble in the ranks, trying to delay the attack, you have to find a way to sabotage those onagers.’

Nico’s smile made Reyna glad he was on her side. ‘My pleasure. We’ll buy you time to deliver the Athena Parthenos.’

‘Um …’ Dakota shuffled his feet. ‘Even if you get the statue to the hill, what’s to stop Octavian from destroying it once it’s in place? He’s got lots of firepower, even without the onagers.’

Reyna peered up at the ivory face of Athena, veiled beneath camouflage netting. ‘Once the statue is returned to the Greeks … I think it will be difficult to destroy. It has great magic. It has simply chosen not to use it yet.’

Leila bent down slowly and retrieved her sword, keeping her eyes on the Athena Parthenos. ‘I’ll take your word for it. What do we do with Michael?’

Reyna regarded the snoring mountain of Hawaiian demigod. ‘Put him in your boat. Don’t hurt him or bind him. I have a feeling Michael’s heart is in the right place. He just had the bad luck of being sponsored by the wrong person.’

Nico sheathed his black sword. ‘You sure about this, Reyna? I don’t like leaving you alone.’

Blackjack whinnied and licked the side of Nico’s face.

‘Gah! Okay, I’m sorry.’ Nico wiped off the horse spit. ‘Reyna’s not alone. She’s got a herd of excellent pegasi.’

Reyna couldn’t help but smile. ‘I’ll be fine. With luck, we’ll all meet again soon enough. We’ll fight side by side against Gaia’s forces. Be careful, and Ave Romae!’