The Titan's Curse

mean, um, gosh. You’re not supposed to be here!”
    “Luke,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “He’s here.”
    The anger in Thalia’s eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. “Where?”
    I told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.
    “The General is here ?” Zoë looked stunned. “That is impossible! You lie.”
    “Why would I lie? Look, there’s no time. Skeleton warriors—”
    “What?” Thalia demanded. “How many?”
    “Twelve,” I said. “And that’s not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a ‘playmate,’ to distract you over here. A monster.”
    Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.
    “We were following Artemis’s trail,” Grover said. “I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent . . . She must’ve stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven’t found anything yet.”
    “Zoë,” Bianca said nervously, “if it is the General—”
    “It cannot be!” Zoë snapped. “Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion.”
    “Illusions don’t crack marble floors,” I told her.
    Zoë took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn’t know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this General guy, but I figured now wasn’t the time to ask.
    “If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors,” she said, “we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible . . . We must leave now.”
    “Good idea,” I said.
    “I was not including thee, boy,” Zoë said. “You are not part of this quest.”
    “Hey, I’m trying to save your lives!”
    “You shouldn’t have come, Percy,” Thalia said grimly. “But you’re here now. Come on. Let’s get back to the van.”
    “That is not thy decision!” Zoë snapped.
    Thalia scowled at her. “You’re not the boss here, Zoë. I don’t care how old you are! You’re still a conceited little brat!”
    “You never had any wisdom when it came to boys,” Zoë growled. “You never could leave them behind!”
    Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoë. Then everyone froze. I heard a growl so loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.
    Below us, a few adults screamed. A little kid’s voice screeched with delight: “Kitty!”
    Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. I’d seen this monster once before. Two years ago, I’d glimpsed it briefly from a train. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.
    “The Nemean Lion,” Thalia said. “Don’t move.”
    The lion roared so loud it parted my hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.
    “Separate on my mark,” Zoë said. “Try to keep it distracted.”
    “Until when?” Grover asked.
    “Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!”
    I uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left. Arrows whistled past me, and Grover played a sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes. I turned and saw Zoë and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion’s metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. “ROOOAAAR!”
    “Hi-yah!” Thalia said. “Back!”
    The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.
    For a second, I thought Thalia had it under control. Then I saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. I’d seen enough cat fights in the alleys around my apartment in New York. I knew the lion was going to pounce.
    “Hey!” I yelled. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I charged the beast. I just wanted to get it away from my friends. I slashed with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should’ve cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.
    The lion raked me with its claws, ripping off a chunk of my coat. I backed against the railing. It sprang at me, one thousand pounds of monster, and I had no choice but to turn and jump.
    I landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled me to the floor, three stories below.
    An arrow whizzed past my head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the