the_blood_of_olympus_-_rick_riordan

‘No! Get out of here!’
‘Leo!’ Piper tried. ‘Please –’
‘Save your charmspeak, Pipes! I told you, I’ve got a plan. Now shoo!’
Jason took a last look at the splintering ship.
The Argo II had been their home for so long. Now they were abandoning it for good – and leaving
Leo behind.
Jason hated it, but he saw the determination in Leo’s eyes. Just like the visit with his father, Zeus,
there was no time for a proper goodbye.
Jason harnessed the winds, and he and Piper shot into the sky.
The ground wasn’t much less chaotic.
As they plummeted, Jason saw a vast army of monsters spread across the hills – cynocephali, twoheaded
men, wild centaurs, ogres and others he couldn’t even name – surrounding two tiny islands of
demigods. At the crest of Half-Blood Hill, gathered at the feet of the Athena Parthenos, was the main
force of Camp Half-Blood along with the First and Fifth Cohorts, rallied around the golden eagle of
the legion. The other three Roman cohorts were in a defensive formation several hundred yards away
and seemed to be taking the brunt of the attack.
Giant eagles circled Jason, screeching urgently, as if looking for orders.
Frank the grey dragon flew alongside with his passengers.
‘Hazel!’ Jason yelled. ‘Those three cohorts are in trouble! If they don’t merge with the rest of the
demigods –’
‘On it!’ Hazel said. ‘Go, Frank!’
Dragon Frank veered to the left with Annabeth in one claw yelling, ‘Let’s get ’em!’ and Percy in
the other claw screaming, ‘I hate flying!’
Piper and Jason veered right towards the summit of Half-Blood Hill.
Jason’s heart lifted when he saw Nico di Angelo on the front lines with the Greeks, slashing his
way through a crowd of two-headed men. A few feet away, Reyna sat astride a new pegasus, her
sword drawn. She shouted orders at the legion, and the Romans obeyed without question, as if she’d
never been away.
Jason didn’t see Octavian anywhere. Good. Neither did he see a colossal earth goddess laying
waste to the world. Very good. Perhaps Gaia had risen, taken one look at the modern world and
decided to go back to sleep. Jason wished they could be that lucky, but he doubted it.
He and Piper landed on the hill, their swords drawn, and a cheer went up from the Greeks and the
Romans.
‘About time!’ Reyna called. ‘Glad you could join us!’
With a start, Jason realized she was addressing Piper, not him.
Piper grinned. ‘We had some giants to kill!’
‘Excellent!’ Reyna returned the smile. ‘Help yourself to some barbarians.’
‘Why, thank you!’
The two girls launched into battle side by side.