Rick Riordan - The Son of Neptune

‘Percy!’ Frank yelled. ‘They can die now!’

Percy nodded understanding, but he looked worn out. His hurricane was slowing down. His strikes were getting slower. The entire ghostly army had him surrounded, gradually forcing him towards the edge of the glacier.

Frank drew his bow to help. Then he dropped it. Normal arrows from a hunting store in Seward wouldn’t do any good. Frank would have to use his gift.

He thought he understood his powers at last. Something about watching the firewood burn, smelling the acrid smoke of his own life, had made him feel strangely confident.

Is it fair your life burns so short and bright? Death had asked.

‘No such thing as fair,’ Frank told himself. ‘If I’m going to burn, it might as well be bright.’

He took one step towards Percy. Then, from across the camp, Hazel yelled in pain. Arion screamed as the giant got a lucky shot. His staff sent horse and rider tumbling over the ice, crashing into the ramparts.

‘Hazel!’ Frank glanced back at Percy, wishing he had his spear. If he could just summon Grey … but he couldn’t be in two places at once.

‘Go help her!’ Percy yelled, holding the golden eagle aloft. ‘I’ve got these guys!’

Percy didn’t have them. Frank knew that. The son of Poseidon was about to be overwhelmed, but Frank ran to Hazel’s aid.

She was half-buried in a collapsed pile of snow-bricks. Arion stood over her, trying to protect her, rearing and swatting at the giant with his front hooves.

The giant laughed. ‘Hello, little pony. You want to play?’

Alcyoneus raised his icy staff.

Frank was too far away to help … but he imagined himself rushing forward, his feet leaving the ground.

Be anything.

He remembered the bald eagles they’d seen on the train ride. His body became smaller and lighter. His arms stretched into wings, and his sight became a thousand times sharper. He soared upward, then dived at the giant with his talons extended, his razor-sharp claws raking across the giant’s eyes.

Alcyoneus bellowed in pain. He staggered backwards as Frank landed in front of Hazel and returned to his normal form.

‘Frank …’ She stared at him in amazement, a cap of snow dripping off her head. ‘What just … how did – ?’

‘Fool!’ Alcyoneus shouted. His face was slashed, black oil dripping into his eyes instead of blood, but the wounds were already closing. ‘I am immortal in my homeland, Frank Zhang! And thanks to your friend Hazel, my new homeland is Alaska. You cannot kill me here!’

‘We’ll see,’ Frank said. Power coursed through his arms and legs. ‘Hazel, get back on your horse.’

The giant charged, and Frank charged to meet him. He remembered the bear he’d met face to face when he was a child. As he ran, his body became heavier, thicker, rippling with muscles. He crashed into the giant as a full-grown grizzly, a thousand pounds of pure force. He was still small compared to Alcyoneus, but he slammed into the giant with such momentum that Alcyoneus toppled into an icy watchtower that collapsed on top of him.

Frank sprang at the giant’s head. A swipe of his claw was like a heavyweight fighter swinging a chain saw. Frank bashed the giant’s face back and forth until his metallic features began to dent.

‘Urgg,’ the giant mumbled in a stupor.

Frank changed to his regular form. His backpack was still with him. He grabbed the rope he’d bought in Seward, quickly made a noose and fastened it round the giant’s scaly dragon foot.

‘Hazel, here!’ He tossed her the other end of the rope. ‘I’ve got an idea, but we’ll have to -’

‘Kill – uh – you – uh …’ Alcyoneus muttered.

Frank ran to the giant’s head, picked up the nearest heavy object he could find – a legion shield – and slammed it into the giant’s nose.

The giant said, ‘Urgg.’

Frank looked back at Hazel. ‘How far can Arion pull this guy?’

Hazel just stared at him. ‘You – you were a bird. Then a bear. And -’

‘I’ll explain later,’ Frank said. ‘We need to drag this guy inland, as fast and far as we can.’

‘But Percy!’ Hazel said.

Frank cursed. How could he have forgotten?

Through the ruins of the camp, he saw Percy with his back to the edge of the cliff. His hurricane was gone. He held Riptide in one hand and the legion’s golden eagle in the other. The entire army of shades edged forward, their weapons bristling.

‘Percy!’ Frank yelled.

Percy glanced over. He saw the fallen giant and seemed to understand what was happening. He yelled something that was lost in the wind, probably: Go!

Then he slammed Riptide into the ice at his feet. The entire glacier shuddered. Ghosts fell to their knees. Behind Percy, a wave surged up from the bay – a wall of grey water even taller than the glacier. Water shot from the chasms and crevices in the ice. As the wave hit, the back half of the camp crumbled. The entire edge of the glacier peeled away, cascading into the void – carrying buildings, ghosts and Percy Jackson over the edge.

FRANK WAS SO STUNNED THAT Hazel had to yell his name a dozen times before he realized Alcyoneus was getting up again.

He slammed his shield into the giant’s nose until Alcyoneus began to snore. Meanwhile the glacier kept crumbling, the edge getting closer and closer.

Thanatos glided towards them on his black wings, his expression serene.

‘Ah, yes,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘There go some souls. Drowning, drowning. You’d best hurry, my friends, or you’ll drown, too.’

‘But Percy …’ Frank could barely speak his friend’s name. ‘Is he -?’

‘Too soon to tell. As for this one …’ Thanatos looked down at Alcyoneus with distaste. ‘You’ll never kill him here. You know what to do?’

Frank nodded numbly. ‘I think so.’

‘Then our business is complete.’

Frank and Hazel exchanged nervous looks.

‘Um …’ Hazel faltered. ‘You mean you won’t … you’re not going to -’

‘Claim your life?’ Thanatos asked. ‘Well, let’s see …’

He pulled a pure-black iPad from thin air. Death tapped the screen a few times, and all Frank could think was: Please don’t let there be an app for reaping souls.

‘I don’t see you on the list,’ Thanatos said. ‘Pluto gives me specific orders for escaped souls, you see. For some reason, he has not issued a warrant for yours. Perhaps he feels your life is not finished, or it could be an oversight. If you’d like me to call and ask -’

‘No!’ Hazel yelped. ‘That’s okay.’

‘Are you sure?’ Death asked helpfully. ‘I have video-conferencing enabled. I have his Skype address here somewhere …’

‘Really, no.’ Hazel looked as if several thousand pounds of worry had just been lifted from her shoulders. ‘Thank you.’

‘Urgg,’ Alcyoneus mumbled.

Frank hit him over the head again.

Death looked up from his iPad. ‘As for you, Frank Zhang, it isn’t your time, either. You’ve got a little fuel left to burn. But don’t think I’m doing either of you a favour. We will meet again under less pleasant circumstances.’

The cliff was still crumbling, the edge only twenty feet away now. Arion whinnied impatiently. Frank knew they had to leave, but there was one more question he had to ask.

‘What about the Doors of Death?’ he said. ‘Where are they? How do we close them?’

‘Ah, yes.’ A look of irritation flickered across Thanatos’s face. ‘The Doors of Me. Closing them would be good, but I fear it is beyond my power. How you would do it, I haven’t the faintest idea. I can’t tell you exactly where they are. The location isn’t … well, it’s not entirely a physical place. They must be located through questing. I can tell you to start your search in Rome. The original Rome. You will need a special guide. Only one sort of demigod can read the signs that will ultimately lead you to the Doors of Me.’