The Last Olympian

to be me.” She glared at her siblings. “And NONE of you noticed?”
    The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their combat boots.
    “Don’t blame them,” Silena said. “They wanted to . . . to believe I was you.”
    “You stupid Aphrodite girl,” Clarisse sobbed. “You charged a drakon? Why ?”
    “All my fault,” Silena said, a tear streaking the side of her face. “The drakon, Charlie’s death . . . camp endangered—”
    “Stop it!” Clarisse said. “That’s not true.”
    Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm, the mark of Kronos.
    A cold fist closed around my heart. “You were the spy.”
    Silena tried to nod. “Before . . . before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so . . . charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised . . . he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn’t hurt . . . Charlie. He lied to me.”
    I met Annabeth’s eyes. Her face was chalky. She looked like somebody had just yanked the world out from under her feet.
    Behind us, the battle raged.
    Clarisse scowled at her cabinmates. “Go, help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!”
    They scrambled off to join to fight.
    Silena took a heavy, painful breath. “Forgive me.”
    “You’re not dying,” Clarisse insisted.
    “Charlie . . .” Silena’s eyes were a million miles away. “See Charlie . . .”
    She didn’t speak again.
    Clarisse held her and wept. Chris put a hand on her shoulder.
    Finally Annabeth closed Silena’s eyes.
    “We have to fight.” Annabeth’s voice was brittle. “She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her.”
    Clarisse sniffled and wiped her nose. “She was a hero, understand? A hero.”
    I nodded. “Come on, Clarisse.”
    She picked up a sword from one of her fallen siblings. “Kronos is going to pay.”
     
    * * *
     
    I’d like to say I drove the enemy away from the Empire State Building. The truth was Clarisse did all the work. Even without her armor or spear, she was a demon. She rode her chariot straight into the Titan’s army and crushed everything in her path.
    She was so inspiring, even the panicked centaurs started to rally. The Hunters scrounged arrows from the fallen and launched volley after volley into the enemy. The Ares cabin slashed and hacked, which was their favorite thing. The monsters retreated toward 35th Street.
    Clarisse drove to the drakon’s carcass and looped a grappling line through its eye sockets. She lashed her horses and took off, dragging the drakon behind the chariot like a Chinese New Year dragon. She charged after the enemy, yelling insults and daring them to cross her. As she rode, I realized she was literally glowing. An aura of red fire flickered around her.
    “The blessing of Ares,” Thalia said. “I’ve never seen it in person before.”
    For the moment, Clarisse was as invincible as I was. The enemy threw spears and arrows, but nothing hit her.
    “I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON-SLAYER!” she yelled. “I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?”
    “Clarisse!” I yelled. “Stop it. Withdraw!”
    “What’s the matter, Titan lord?” she yelled. “BRING IT ON!”
    There was no answer from the enemy. Slowly, they began to fall back behind a dracaenae shield wall, while Clarisse drove in circles around Fifth Avenue, daring anyone to cross her path. The two-hundred-foot-long drakon carcass made a hollow scraping noise against the pavement, like a thousand knives.
    Meanwhile, we tended our wounded, bringing them inside the lobby. Long after the enemy had retreated from sight, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue with her horrible trophy, demanding that Kronos meet her battle.
    Chris said, “I’ll watch her. She’ll get tired eventually. I’ll make sure she comes inside.”
    “What about the camp?” I asked. “Is anybody left there?”
    Chris shook his head. “Only Argus and the nature spirits. Peleus the dragon’s still guarding the tree.”
    “They won’t last long,” I said. “But I’m glad you came.”
    Chris nodded sadly. “I’m sorry it took so long. I tried to reason with Clarisse. I said there’s no point in defending camp if you guys die. All our friends are here. I’m sorry it took Silena . . .”
    “My Hunters will help you stand guard,” Thalia said. “Annabeth and Percy, you should go to Olympus. I have a feeling they’ll need you up