The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)(58)

Hylla ran her thumbs along her golden belt. ‘Orion is a problem. Unlike the other giants, Orion has been walking the earth for centuries. He takes a special interest in killing Amazons, or Hunters, or any female who dares to be strong.’

‘Why would he want that?’

A ripple of dread seemed to pass through the girls around her.

Hylla looked at Phoebe. ‘Do you want to explain? You were there.’

The Hunter’s smile faded. ‘In the ancient times, Orion joined the Hunters. He was Lady Artemis’s best friend. He had no rivals at the bow – except for the goddess herself, and perhaps her brother, Apollo.’

Reyna shivered. Phoebe looked no older than fourteen. To think that she knew Orion three or four thousand years ago …

‘What went wrong?’ she asked.

Phoebe’s ears reddened. ‘Orion crossed the line. He fell in love with Artemis.’

Hylla sniffed. ‘Always happens with men. They promise friendship. They promise to treat you as an equal. In the end, all they want is to possess you.’

Phoebe picked at her thumbnail. Behind her, the other two Hunters, Naomi and Celyn, shifted uneasily.

‘Lady Artemis rebuffed him, of course,’ Phoebe said. ‘Orion became bitter. He started going on longer and longer trips by himself in the wilderness. Finally … I’m not sure what happened. One day Artemis came back to camp and told us Orion had been killed. She refused to speak of it.’

Hylla frowned, which accentuated the white scar across her brow. ‘Whatever the case, when Orion rose again from Tartarus, he was Artemis’s bitterest enemy. No one can hate you with more intensity than someone who used to love you.’

Reyna understood that. She thought back to a conversation she’d had with the goddess Aphrodite two years ago in Charleston …

‘If he’s such a problem,’ Reyna said, ‘why doesn’t Artemis simply slay him again?’

Phoebe grimaced. ‘Easier said than done. Orion is sneaky. Whenever Artemis is with us, he stays far away. Whenever we Hunters are on our own, like we are now … he strikes without warning and disappears again. Our last lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade, spent centuries trying to track him down and kill him.’

‘The Amazons have also tried,’ Hylla said. ‘Orion doesn’t distinguish between us and the Hunters. I think we all remind him too much of Artemis. He sabotages our warehouses, disrupts our distribution centres, kills our warriors –’

‘In other words,’ Reyna said dryly, ‘he’s getting in the way of your plans for world domination.’

Hylla shrugged. ‘Exactly.’

‘That’s why you rushed here to intercept me,’ Reyna said. ‘You knew Orion would be right behind me. You’re setting up an ambush. I’m the bait.’

The other girls all found somewhere else to look besides Reyna’s face.

‘Oh, please,’ Reyna chided, ‘don’t develop a guilty conscience now. It’s a good plan. How do we proceed?’

Hylla gave her comrades a lopsided smile. ‘I told you my sister was tough. Phoebe, you want to explain the details?’

The Hunter shouldered her bow. ‘Like I said, I believe Orion is tracking you, not the Athena Parthenos. He seems especially good at sensing the presence of female demigods. I guess you’d say that we’re his natural prey.’

‘Charming,’ Reyna said. ‘So my friends, Nico and Gleeson Hedge – are they safe?’

‘I still don’t see why you travel with males,’ Phoebe grumbled, ‘but my guess is that they are safer without you around. I did my best to camouflage your statue. With luck, Orion will follow you here, straight into our line of defences.’

‘And then?’ Reyna asked.

Hylla gave her the sort of cold smile that used to make Blackbeard’s pirates nervous. ‘Thalia and most of her Hunters are scouting the perimeter of Viejo San Juan. As soon as Orion gets close, we’ll know. We’ve set traps at every approach. I have my best fighters on alert. We’ll snare the giant. Then, one way or another, we’ll send him back to Tartarus.’

‘Can he be killed?’ Reyna asked. ‘I thought most giants could only be destroyed by a god and demigod working together.’

‘We intend to find out,’ Hylla said. ‘Once Orion is taken down, your quest will be much easier. We’ll send you on your way with our blessings.’

‘We could use more than your blessings,’ Reyna said. ‘Amazons ship things all around the world. Why not provide safe transport for the Athena Parthenos? Get us to Camp Half-Blood before August first –’

‘I can’t,’ Hylla said. ‘If I could, sister, I would, but surely you’ve felt the anger radiating from the statue. We Amazons are honorary daughters of Ares. The Athena Parthenos would never tolerate our interference. Besides, you know how the Fates operate. For your quest to succeed, you have to deliver the statue personally.’

Reyna must’ve looked crestfallen.

Phoebe shoulder-bumped her like an over-friendly cat. ‘Hey, not so glum. We’ll help you as much as we can. The Amazon service department has repaired those metal dogs of yours. And we have some cool parting gifts!’

Celyn handed Phoebe a leather satchel.

Phoebe rummaged inside. ‘Let’s see … healing potions. Tranquilizer darts like the ones we used on you. Hmm, what else? Oh, yeah!’ Phoebe triumphantly produced a rectangle of folded silvery cloth.