The Last Olympian Read Free Page A

mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell.
    I didn’t care—as long as I got the monsters away from the engine room and gave Beckendorf more time.
    As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down.
    He looked like he’d just woken up from a nap. His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, “Kronos!” but he sounded more scared than angry. He couldn’t have been more than twelve—about the same age I was when I first went to Camp Half-Blood.
    That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brain-washed—trained to hate the gods and lash out because he’d been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.
    No way was I going to hurt him. I didn’t need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand.
    Then I did something I hadn’t planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn’t help it.
    “If you want to live,” I told him, “get off this ship now . Tell the other demigods.” Then I shoved him downstairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor.
    I kept climbing.
    Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit.
    I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.
    All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad—our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We’d jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we’d detonate the charges from a quarter mile away.
    I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. “You’re late, Percy.”
    Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold.
    “We’ve been expecting you for days.” At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body like he’d just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful—the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. “Come, bow before me.”
    “Yeah, that’ll happen,” I muttered.
    Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they’d been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there’s no way they could’ve gotten into position so fast unless they’d known I was coming.
    I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn’t know if Luke’s consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn’t matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.
    A voice in my head said: I have to fight him eventually. Why not now?
    According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I’d fought monsters and gods before.
    As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was Kronos . I had to remember that.
    “Come forward,” he said. “If you dare.”
    The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let