It was horribly silent in the park. Nico spun around as terror rose in him.
Then a sharp pain pierced him between his eyes, so intense he almost dropped his blade. He saw stars. His heart felt like it was beating deep inside his brain.
“What is this?” he said, his voice slurring.
I’m so sorry, Nico, said Semele.I was afraid of this.We eidolons, when we possess, we take over a mind.
I know that, he thought.But I gave you consent.
Even so, your mind is fighting back, she said.If I don’t leave you soon, your identity may be consumed by mine, and I do not want that. If Idoleave you, your mind will be exposed and vulnerable. The Mist is so strong here, you might be permanently damaged.
Nico clenched his fists, though the pain of his chafed palms made him nauseated. He was only twenty feet from the twin gods…so close. But now Will was alone, and his eidolon lifeline had turned into a noose. He was out of options. He had no idea what to do.
Hazel’s brain ached as it tried to process what she was seeing.
A large Ferris wheel loomed to her right, flashing with cheerful multicolored lights as it spun. Kids giggled and shrieked with joy as they ran to a booth selling funnel cake. She could evensmellit. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her how long it had been since she’d last had a meal.
“Hazel!” cried Quinoa.
When she looked for the source of the voice, all she saw was a large stick of pink cotton candy abandoned on the sidewalk.
“Hazel, on your feet!” the cotton candy screeched. “Pirithous is getting away!”
No,he isn’t, she thought.I will not disappoint my friends!
Hazel reached out with her senses, pushing against the Mist, though every breath hurt her lungs.
She needed to workwiththe Mist, she reminded herself—to find the currents and use them. Fortunately, the currents in the park were now like class-six whitewater rapids. She caught them and channeled them—blasting them outward.
The cotton candy became her karpos friend Quinoa. The Ferris wheel melted into clear blue sky. The kids at the funnel cake booth morphed into the Stymphalian bird collective Gregory, who was swarming around one of Pirithous’s Cyclops guards.
And there was Pirithous himself, climbing into Camp Jupiter’s Chevy minivan. One of his skeletal guardians was behind the wheel. The motor was already revving. Were skeletons allowed to drive in San Francisco? She watched as the van began to make a U-turn.
Hazel let loose an anguished howl. She’d felt like this before, years and years ago, when she was in Gaea’s cavern in Alaska—a helpless pawn in someone else’s violent plan. She refused to fail like that again.
She pressed her hands against the ground. She called out silently, with all her willpower, reaching past the Mist, beyond all the chaos in the park.
“Hazel, are you okay?” Quinoa’s voice was tight with worry.
“Calling a friend,” she muttered.
She didn’t know if this would work. The Chevy was already pulling away from the park.
Then she felt a rumble in the cement beneath her fingers—the rhythmic beat of something runningfast. And the stallion Arion materialized before her in a cloud of dust.
“Holy horse!” yelped Quinoa.
Hazel grinned. Just seeing her old companion filled her with new hope. “Come on, Quinoa!” She launched herself onto Arion’s back and patted his neck. “Thank you for coming, my friend.”
Quinoa edged away nervously. “Uh, does that horse eat quinoa?”
“He prefers chunks of gold,” Hazel said.
The karpos perked up. “Well, in that case, ride ’em, cowboy!” He fluttered onto Hazel’s shoulder. She raised her spatha, and they charged after the retreating van.
Whoosh!
Another gust of Mist knocked Nico breathless, but at least it made the searing pain in his head subside. For a moment, he saw clearly through the shifting illusions, and what he saw gave him hope: the statues were gone. Will sat right next to him, clearly trying to stay calm and stay put, the way you’re supposed to if you’re lost in the wilderness. And at the far end of the plaza, Asterion was leading hundreds of mythics to safety. All was not lost. Itcouldn’tbe.
