ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｔａｎｓ　ｃｕｒｓｅ

LUCIA HAD DECIDED THAT whatever Dr thorn was it was anything but human that much was obvious from the sharp spikes coming out of him, the glowing eyes and now how fast he was.

"Could you slow down" Lucia groaned as she sped walk next to Bianca and Nico, her hand wrapped around the latter's in a way to comfort him, Percy made his way behind them.

Lucia would look behind her from time to time to see how he was doing. She was concerned after the graze to his shoulder. he faltered for a moment shutting his eyes causing Lucia to stop completely, Nico who still held her hand gripped on tighter as she stepped towards Percy

"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"

he opened his eyes and lumbered forward. "It's my shoulder," He groaned "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

"Poison?" Lucia questioned, "What the hell kind of vice principal are you!"

Thorn herded them outside into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. Lucia shivered at the feeling of the harsh air hitting her. there were a lot of things Lucia could handle. the cold was not one of them.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but Lucia was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Lucia's neck, it hit her just how serious this had become. she wasn't just getting in trouble for using her iPod in school anymore she was being kidnapped by a freak of a principal with spikes and glowing eyes.

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. They'd reached a cliff overlooking who knows what. all that could be seen was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge. Percy stumbled, but Lucia was quick on her feet to catch him.

"Thanks," He murmured.

"What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I...I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—one of his Mythomagic figurines

Bianca stepped forward holding on to Nico's other hand "It's okay. you're going to be okay."

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. a phone?. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."

"oh my god! we're getting human trafficked!" Lucia gasped, her hand falling to her chest in shock

"What!" Nico asked his innocent eyes going wide

"Nothing Nico!" Bianca whispered before glaring at Lucia

"My bad" she mumbled

Lucia saw Percy glance behind them as Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered

"Son of who?" Lucia asked

"I'll explain later," He said.

"Yeah, you sure have a lot of things to explain Percy." Lucia frowned

He turned to look at her, his gaze burnt her cheeks but she made sure to keep looking forward avoiding the depth of his eyes like a plague.

"You do have a plan, right?" Bianca asked pressing herself closer to Lucia

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, quite randomly if you ask Lucia. who even brought up water? "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to Percy that it nicked his ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible... almost like a tail.

"oh, that's gross." Lucia wrinkled her nose

"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise, you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"yeah! and I can assure you my step mom would rather spend her money on botox than save my life so so sorry to you doc! but I think you got the wrong kids."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," Percy said. "You work for Luke."

"Well, who the fuck is Luke!"

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste ignoring the teenage girl "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson."

"that makes all of us."

"I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asked. "I mean...who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

They all turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then they heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

shove it up your ass!

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well...there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Lucias asked more confused than ever

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to the two teenagers next to her. "He's completely nuts."

"a fucking psycho if you ask me"

"We have to jump off the cliff," Percy told them quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, great. You're completely psycho, too."Lucia squeaked "I can't swim!"

They never got the chance to argue, because suddenly a force pushed them all to the ground

For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave a girl with raven black hair and electrifying blue eyes and another random boy a chance to advance from behind. The girl wielded a shield with the face of what Lucia assumed was medusa, no doubt meant to frighten her enemies. The girl moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

"Is this a cult?" Lucia mumbled from her space on the ground watching as the girl jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted her spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against the girl's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for it, she would've been sliced like a loaf of bread "I think I'm on drugs."

Zeus girl managed to roll backward and land on her feet. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind them. Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at the girl, and this time she could see how he did it. His tail—a leathery, scorpion-like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off the shield, but the force of their impact knocked the girl down.

The other boy sprang forward. He put some reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him. Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was another creature altogether—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" A blonde girl gasped, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh, I think I'm insane now!" Lucia yelled.

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

"Not the time Neeks!"

The manticore clawed the boy's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl.

"Get down!" The blonde pushed the siblings and Lucia flat into the snow. she whined at the cold hitting her skin

"fucking hell" Lucia cursed

"do you have to curse so much!" Bianca squealed

"Well Sorry! We almost got kidnapped by a were-lion I think I'm allowed to curse a little!"

"Manticore!" Nico corrected

At the last second, Percy hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. She then heard a yelp, and a boy landed next to her with a thud. she squinted a little before her mouth fell agape

  "Grover?" She asked.

She pulled him into her lap. A gash of blood cut across his forehead from where the manticore's tail made contact. he smiled weakly up to her "Hey Lucia"

"Yield!" the monster roared. "Never!" The girl yelled from across the field. She charged at the monster. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs.

It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The searchlights blinded the brave girl, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Percy ran out to help her. He parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. He raised his shield over them

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes." They were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. They had no chance. Then they heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods. The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—" His sentence was cut short when something shot past Percy and the girl like a streak of moonlight.

A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried.

He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked.

He dodged his attack and slammed his tail into the shield, knocking him aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest looked maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" The blonde girl cried.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery-colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery-yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made her catch her breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. Lucia couldn't help but be intrigued.

"The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" He lunged at Percy and the raven-haired girl, knowing they were weak and dazed.

"Percy!" Lucia yelled shooting up from the ground

"No!" The blonde girl yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!" But she leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane.

The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as she hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No! dont! She's still on there!" Lucia screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with the girl still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. He started to run after her, but their enemies weren't done with them. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Lucia threw herself over Nico guarding him in case of any stray bullets while cradling a hurt Grover with her free arm

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

"I'm definitely going to juvie this time" Lucia whined

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw the raven-haired girl. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade." Zeus girl's voice trembled with anger.

"Perfect timing, as usual." Zoe scanned the rest of them. "Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said.

"Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."

He tried to struggle to his feet, but a couple of the girls held him down. "You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.

"Let me go!" He demanded.

"Who do you think you are?" Zoe stepped forward as if to smack him.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand." The young girl looked at him, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon.

"I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."

"Great. it is a cult"