The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3)(118)

Hazel scowled. “A hydraulic screw. Excuse me for not knowing about that awesome achievement.”

“He also built a death ray made of mirrors that could burn enemy ships,” Leo said. “Is that awesome enough for you?”

“I saw something about that on TV,” Frank admitted. “They proved it didn’t work.”

“Ah, that’s just because modern mortals don’t know how to use Celestial bronze,” Leo said. “That’s the key. Archimedes also invented a massive claw that could swing on a crane and pluck enemy ships out of the water.”

“Okay, that’s cool,” Frank admitted. “I love grabber-arm games.”

“Well, there you go,” Leo said. “Anyway, all his inventions weren’t enough. The Romans destroyed his city. Archimedes was killed. According to legends, the Roman general was a big fan of his work, so he raided Archimedes’s workshop and carted a bunch of souvenirs back to Rome. They disappeared from history, except…” Leo waved his hands at the stuff on the tables. “Here they are.”

“Metal basketballs?” Hazel asked.

Leo couldn’t believe that they didn’t appreciate what they were looking at, but he tried to contain his irritation. “Guys, Archimedes constructed spheres. The Romans couldn’t figure them out. They thought they were just for telling time or following constellations, because they were covered with pictures of stars and planets. But that’s like finding a rifle and thinking it’s a walking stick.”

“Leo, the Romans were top-notch engineers,” Hazel reminded him. “They built aqueducts, roads—”

“Siege weapons,” Frank added. “Public sanitation.”

“Yeah, fine,” Leo said. “But Archimedes was in a class by himself. His spheres could do all sorts of things, only nobody is sure…”

Suddenly Leo got an idea so incredible that his nose burst into flames. He patted it out as quickly as possible. Man, it was embarrassing when that happened.

He ran to the row of cubbyholes and examined the markings on the scroll cases. “Oh, gods. This is it!”

He gingerly lifted out one of the scrolls. He wasn’t great at Ancient Greek, but he could tell the inscription on the case read On Building Spheres.

“Guys, this is the lost book!” His hands were shaking. “Archimedes wrote this, describing his construction methods, but all the copies were lost in ancient times. If I can translate this…”

The possibilities were endless. For Leo, the quest had now totally taken on a new dimension. Leo had to get the spheres and scrolls safely out of here. He had to protect this stuff until he could get it back to Bunker 9 and study it.

“The secrets of Archimedes,” he murmured. “Guys, this is bigger than Daedalus’s laptop. If there’s a Roman attack on Camp Half-Blood, these secrets could save the camp. They might even give us an edge over Gaea and the giants!”

Hazel and Frank glanced at each other skeptically.

“Okay,” Hazel said. “We didn’t come here for a scroll, but I guess we can take it with us.”

“Assuming,” Frank added, “that you don’t mind sharing its secrets with us stupid uncomplicated Romans.”

“What?” Leo stared at him blankly. “No. Look, I didn’t mean to insult— Ah, never mind. The point is this is good news!”

For the first time in days, Leo felt really hopeful.

Naturally, that’s when everything went wrong.

On the table next to Hazel and Frank, one of the orbs clicked and whirred. A row of spindly legs extended from its equator. The orb stood, and two bronze cables shot out of the top, hitting Hazel and Frank like Taser wires. Leo’s friends both crumpled to the floor.

Leo lunged to help them, but the two armored manikins that couldn’t possibly move did move. They drew their swords and stepped toward Leo.

The one on the left turned its crooked helmet, which was shaped like a wolf’s head. Despite the fact that it had no face or mouth, a familiar hollow voice spoke from behind its visor.

“You cannot escape us, Leo Valdez,” it said. “We do not like possessing machines, but they are better than tourists. You will not leave here alive.”

Chapter 39

Leo agreed with Nemesis about one thing: good luck was a sham. At least when it came to Leo’s luck.

Last winter he had watched in horror while a family of Cyclopes prepared to roast Jason and Piper with hot sauce. He’d schemed his way out of that one and saved his friends all by himself, but at least he’d had time to think.

Now, not so much. Hazel and Frank had been knocked out by the tendrils of a possessed steampunk bowling ball. Two suits of armor with bad attitudes were about to kill him.

Leo couldn’t blast them with fire. Suits of armor wouldn’t be hurt by that. Besides, Hazel and Frank were too close. He didn’t want to burn them, or accidentally hit the piece of firewood that controlled Frank’s life.

On Leo’s right, the suit of armor with a lion’s head helmet creaked its wiry neck and regarded Hazel and Frank, who were still lying unconscious.

“A male and female demigod,” said Lion Head. “These will do, if the others die.” Its hollow face mask turned back to Leo. “We do not need you, Leo Valdez.”

“Oh, hey!” Leo tried for a winning smile. “You always need Leo Valdez!”