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xxxvii<br />
Reyna<br />
‘TURN BACK!’<br />
Reyna wasn’t keen to give orders to Pegasus, <strong>the</strong> Lord <strong>of</strong> Flying Horses, but she was even less<br />
keen to get shot out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sky.<br />
As <strong>the</strong>y approached Camp Half-Blood in <strong>the</strong> predawn hours <strong>of</strong> 1 August, she spotted six Roman<br />
onagers. Even in <strong>the</strong> dark, <strong>the</strong>ir Imperial gold plating glinted. Their massive throwing arms bent back<br />
like ship masts listing in a storm. Crews <strong>of</strong> artillerists scurried around <strong>the</strong> machines, loading <strong>the</strong><br />
slings, checking <strong>the</strong> torsion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ropes.<br />
‘What are those?’ Nico called.<br />
He flew about twenty feet to her left on <strong>the</strong> dark pegasus Blackjack.<br />
‘Siege weapons,’ Reyna said. ‘If we get any closer, <strong>the</strong>y can shoot us out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sky.’<br />
‘From this high up?’<br />
On her right, Coach Hedge shouted from <strong>the</strong> back <strong>of</strong> his steed, Guido, ‘Those are onagers, kid!<br />
Those things can kick higher than Bruce Lee!’<br />
‘Lord Pegasus,’ Reyna said, resting her hand on <strong>the</strong> stallion’s neck, ‘we need a safe place to land.’<br />
Pegasus seemed to understand. He wheeled to <strong>the</strong> left. The o<strong>the</strong>r flying horses followed –<br />
Blackjack, Guido and six o<strong>the</strong>rs who were towing <strong>the</strong> A<strong>the</strong>na Par<strong>the</strong>nos beneath <strong>the</strong>m on cables.<br />
As <strong>the</strong>y skirted <strong>the</strong> western edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> camp, Reyna took in <strong>the</strong> scene. The legion lined <strong>the</strong> base <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> eastern hills, ready for a dawn attack. The onagers were arrayed behind <strong>the</strong>m in a loose<br />
semicircle at three-hundred-yard intervals. Judging from <strong>the</strong> size <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> weapons, Reyna calculated<br />
that Octavian had enough firepower to destroy every living thing in <strong>the</strong> valley.<br />
But that was only part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> threat. Encamped along <strong>the</strong> legion’s flanks were hundreds <strong>of</strong> auxilia<br />
forces. Reyna couldn’t see well in <strong>the</strong> dark, but she spotted at least one tribe <strong>of</strong> wild centaurs and an<br />
army <strong>of</strong> cynocephali, <strong>the</strong> dog-headed men who’d made an uneasy truce with <strong>the</strong> legion centuries ago.<br />
The Romans were badly outnumbered, surrounded by a sea <strong>of</strong> unreliable allies.<br />
‘There.’ Nico pointed towards Long Island Sound, where <strong>the</strong> lights <strong>of</strong> a large yacht gleamed a<br />
quarter <strong>of</strong> a mile <strong>of</strong>fshore. ‘We could land on <strong>the</strong> deck <strong>of</strong> that ship. The Greeks control <strong>the</strong> sea.’<br />
Reyna wasn’t sure <strong>the</strong> Greeks would be any friendlier than <strong>the</strong> Romans, but Pegasus seemed to like<br />
<strong>the</strong> idea. He banked towards <strong>the</strong> dark waters <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Sound.<br />
The ship was a white pleasure craft a hundred feet long, with sleek lines and dark tinted portals.<br />
Painted on <strong>the</strong> bow in red letters was <strong>the</strong> name MI AMOR. On <strong>the</strong> forward deck was a helipad big<br />
enough for <strong>the</strong> A<strong>the</strong>na Par<strong>the</strong>nos.<br />
Reyna saw no crew. She guessed <strong>the</strong> ship was a regular mortal vessel anchored for <strong>the</strong> night, but if