The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

monster army across the chasm.
    Frank’s forces began to take control of their side of the cavern. One of the stone bridges collapsed, but more monsters kept pouring over the other one. Frank would have to stop that.
    ‘Jason,’ he called, ‘can you fly a few legionnaires across the pit? The enemy’s left flank is weak – see? Take it!’
    Jason smiled. ‘With pleasure.’
    Three dead Romans rose into the air and flew across the chasm. Then three more joined them. Finally Jason flew himself across and his squad began cutting through somevery surprised-looking telkhines, spreading fear through the enemy’s ranks.
    ‘Nico,’ Frank said, ‘keep trying to raise the dead. We need more numbers.’
    ‘On it.’ Nico lifted the sceptre of Diocletian, which glowed even darker purple. More ghostly Romans seeped from the walls to join the fight.
    Across the chasm,
empousai
shouted commands in a language Frank didn’t know, but the gist was obvious. They were trying to shore up their allies and keep them charging across the bridge.
    ‘Piper!’ Frank yelled. ‘Counter those
empousai
! We need some chaos.’
    ‘Thought you’d never ask.’ She started catcalling at the female demons: ‘Your makeup is smeared! Your friend called you ugly! That one is making a face behind your back!’ Soon the vampire ladies were too busy fighting one another to shout any commands.
    The legionnaires moved forward, keeping up the pressure. They had to take the bridge before Jason got overwhelmed.
    ‘Time to lead from the front,’ Frank decided. He raised his borrowed sword and called for a charge.

LXVIII
     

FRANK
     
    F RANK DIDN’T NOTICE THAT HE WAS GLOWING. Later Jason told him that the blessing of Mars had shrouded him in red light, like it had in Venice. Javelins couldn’t touch him. Rocks somehow got deflected. Even with an arrow sticking out of his left biceps, Frank had never felt so full of energy.
    The first Cyclops he met went down so quickly it was almost a joke. Frank sliced him in half from shoulder to waist. The big guy exploded into dust. The next Cyclops backed up nervously, so Frank cut his legs out from under him and sent him into the pit.
    The remaining monsters on their side of the chasm tried to retreat, but the legion cut them down.
    ‘Testudo formation!’ Frank shouted. ‘Single file, advance!’
    Frank was the first one across the bridge. The dead followed, their shields locked on either side and over their heads, deflecting all attacks. As the last of the zombiescrossed, the stone bridge crumbled into the darkness, but by then it didn’t matter.
    Nico kept summoning more legionnaires to join the fight. Over the history of the empire, thousands of Romans had served and died in Greece. Now they were back, answering the call of Diocletian’s sceptre.
    Frank waded forward, destroying everything in his path.
    ‘I will burn you!’ a telkhine squeaked, desperately waving a vial of Greek fire. ‘I have fire!’
    Frank took him down. As the vial dropped towards the ground, Frank kicked it over the cliff before it could explode.
    An
empousa
raked her claws across Frank’s chest, but Frank felt nothing. He sliced the demon into dust and kept moving. Pain was unimportant. Failure was unthinkable.
    He was a leader of the legion now, doing what he was born to do – fighting the enemies of Rome, upholding its legacy, protecting the lives of his friends and comrades. He was Praetor Frank Zhang.
    His forces swept the enemy away, breaking their every attempt to regroup. Jason and Piper fought at his side, yelling defiantly. Nico waded through the last group of Earthborn, slashing them into mounds of wet clay with his black Stygian sword.
    Before Frank knew it, the battle was over. Piper chopped through the last
empousa
, who vaporized with an anguished wail.
    ‘Frank,’ Jason said, ‘you’re on fire.’
    He looked down. A few drops of oil must have splatteredon his trousers, because they were starting to smoulder. Frank batted at them until they stopped smoking, but he wasn’t particularly worried. Thanks to Leo, he no longer had to fear fire.
    Nico cleared his throat. ‘Uh … you also have an arrow sticking through your arm.’
    ‘I know.’ Frank snapped off the point of the arrow and pulled out the shaft by the tail. He felt only a warm tugging sensation. ‘I’ll be fine.’
    Piper made him eat a piece of ambrosia. As she bandaged his wound, she said, ‘Frank, you were amazing. Completely