The Demigod Diaries (The Heroes of Olympus)(33)

“Thank you, unbeliever!” Babette laughed. “Our frenzy makes us immune to fire, but it does tickle! Trixie, send the unbelievers a thank-you gift!”

Trixie skipped over to the pile of boulders. She grasped a rock the size of a refrigerator and lifted it over her head.

“Run!” Piper said.

“We are running!” Jason picked up the speed.

“Run better!” Leo shouted.

They reached the edge of the clearing when a shadow passed overhead.

“Veer left!” Leo yelled.

They dove into the trees as the boulder slammed next to them with a jaw-rattling thud, missing Leo by a few inches. They skidded down a ravine until Leo lost his footing. He plowed into Jason and Piper so they ended up rolling downhill like a demigod snowball. They crashed into Brooke’s stream at the bottom, helped each other up, and stumbled deeper into the woods. Behind them, Leo heard the Maenads laughing and shouting, urging Leo to come back so they could rip him to shreds.

For some reason, Leo wasn’t tempted.

Jason pulled them behind a massive oak tree, where they stood gasping for breath. Piper’s elbow was scraped up pretty badly. Jason’s left pants leg had ripped almost completely off, so it looked like his leg was wearing a denim cape. Somehow, they’d all made it down the hill without killing themselves with their own weapons, which was a miracle.

“How do we beat them?” Jason demanded. “They’re immune to fire. They’re superstrong.”

“We can’t kill them,” Piper said.

“There has to be a way,” Leo said.

“No. We can’t kill them,” Piper said. “Anyone who kills a Maenad is cursed by Dionysus. Haven’t you read the old stories? People who kill his followers go crazy or get morphed into animals or…well, bad stuff.”

“Worse than letting the Maenads rip us to shreds?” Jason asked.

Piper didn’t answer. Her face was so clammy, Leo decided not to ask for details.

“That’s just great,” Jason said. “So we have to stop them without killing them. Anyone got a really big piece of flypaper?”

“We’re outnumbered four to one,” Piper said. “Plus…” She grabbed Leo’s wrist and checked his watch. “We have twenty minutes until Bunker Nine explodes.”

“It’s impossible,” Jason summed up.

“We’re dead,” Piper agreed.

But Leo’s mind was spinning into overdrive. He did his best work when things were impossible.

Stopping the Maenads without killing them…Bunker 9…flypaper. An idea came together like one of his crazy contraptions, all the gears and pistons clicking into place perfectly.

“I’ve got it,” he said. “Jason, you’ll have to find Buford. You know which way he went. Circle back and find him, then bring him to the bunker, quick! Once you’re far enough from the Maenads, maybe you can control the winds again. Then you can fly.”

Jason frowned. “What about you two?”

“We’re going to lead the Maenads out of your way,” Leo said, “straight to Bunker Nine.”

Piper coughed. “Excuse me, but isn’t Bunker Nine about to explode?”

“Yes, but if I can get the Maenads inside, I have a way to take care of them.”

Jason looked skeptical. “Even if you can, I’ll still have to find Buford and get the syncopator back to you in twenty minutes, or you, Piper, and a dozen crazy nymphs will blow up.”

“Trust me,” Leo said. “And it’s nineteen minutes now.”

“I love this plan.” Piper leaned over and kissed Jason. “In case I explode. Please hurry.”

Jason didn’t even respond. He bolted into the woods.

“Come on,” Leo told Piper. “Let’s invite the Maenads over to my place.”

Leo had played games in the woods before—mostly capture-the-flag—but even Camp Half-Blood’s full combat version wasn’t nearly as dangerous as running from Maenads. Piper and he retraced their steps in the fading sunlight. Their breath steamed. Occasionally Leo would shout, “Party over here!” to let the Maenads know where they were. It was tricky, because Leo had to stay far enough ahead to avoid getting caught, but close enough so the Maenads wouldn’t lose their trail.

Occasionally he heard startled cries as the Maenads happened across some unfortunate monster or nature spirit. Once a blood-chilling shriek pierced the air, followed by a sound like a tree getting destroyed by an army of savage chipmunks. Leo was so scared that he could hardly keep his feet moving. He figured some poor dryad had just gotten her life source shredded to splinters. Leo knew nature spirits got reincarnated, but that death cry was still the most awful thing he’d ever heard.

“Unbelievers!” Babette shouted through the woods. “Come celebrate with us!”

She sounded much closer now. Leo’s instincts told him to just keep running. Forget Bunker 9. Maybe he and Piper could make it to the edge of the blast zone.

And then what…leave Jason to die? Let the Maenads blow up so Leo could suffer the curse of Dionysus? And would the explosion even kill Maenads? Leo had no idea. What if the Maenads survived and kept searching for Dionysus? Eventually they’d stumble across the cabins and the other campers. No, that wasn’t an option. Leo had to protect his friends. He could still save the Argo II.