They sped up, so Drako could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell into hills, and they were zipping over along over farmland and towns and highways.
Grover played his pipes to pass the time. Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as they flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store—and the passed dozens of them—she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour.
Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. She muttered herself a lot, like she was praying. Bianca holds herself close to Drako, afraid of falling off his arms.
......…
"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked after a while.
Right now, they have already reached San Francisco. Without a doubt, it was the most beautiful city Drako had ever seen: kind of like a smaller, cleaner Manhattan, if Manhattan had been surrounded by green hills and fog. There were a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. He felt like he should take a picture or something.
"There," Zoe suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."
"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Hank and I can blend in with the pigeons."
They all looked at him.
"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humour?"
As it turned out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning, and not many people were around. They freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when they landed. He screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off, yelling something about metal angels from Mars.
They said their good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends.
Then, they realized that they have no idea what they were going to do next.
They'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere, and Annabeth too.
But neither of them had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did they have any clue what monster Artemis had been hunting. It was supposed to find them on the quest, but Drako hasn't seen it. It was supposed to "show the trail", but it never had. Now they were stuck on the ferry dock with not much money, no friends, and no luck.
After a brief discussion, they agreed that they needed to figure out just what this mystery monster was.
"But how?" Percy asked.
"Nereus," Drako said.
Percy looked at him. "What?"
"I had a brief conversation with Apollo, he told me to find Nereus. The Old Man of the Sea might know what this monster is. But, how do I find him?"
Zoe made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"
"You know him?" Thalia asked.
"My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know him. Unfortunately, he is never tough to find. Just follow the smell."
"What do you mean?" Drako asked.
"Come," she said without enthusiasm. "I will show thee."
Five minutes later, Zoe had Drako outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat.
"Oh, yeah," Grover said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely inconspicuous now."
Zoe nodded with satisfaction. "A typical male vagrant."
"Thanks?" Drako grumble. "Why am I doing this?"
"I told thee. To blend in."
She led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, Zoe finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless guys were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.
"He will be down there somewhere," Zoe said. "He never travels very far from the water. He likes to sun himself during the day."
"How do I know which one is him?"
"Sneak up," she said. "Act homeless. You will know him. He will smell… different."
"Great.��� Drako didn't doubt that he could find this guy. "And once I find him?"
"Grab him," she said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about the monster."
"We've got your back," Thalia said. She picked something off the back of Drako's shirt—a big clump of fuzz that came from who-knows-where. "Eww. On second thought… I don't want your back. But we'll be rooting for you."
Grover gave me a big thumbs-up. Percy nodded towards the dragon.
Drako shrugged, he doesn't need their help. He just needed to grab an old man, nothing complicated.
Drako headed toward the dock, stealth activated. He pulled his hat down and stumbled like he was about to pass out. He passed their homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.
He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell… different. Drako kept walking.
Drako had a different way to search for Nereus. He can use Inspect Status on every homeless guy.
A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats pass by Drako's side, they didn't notice him because he was using stealth. They weren't they old man Drako was searching, so he just ignored them.
At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a patch of sunlight. He wore pyjamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat, with a white beard that had turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.
And his smell?
Drako froze. He was a Drako, so his senses were enhanced compared to a human. Even from a distance, he could smell that ocean bad smell. Like hot seaweed and dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side… this guy was it.
Drako near him. Santa opened one eye suspiciously, confirming Drako's thoughts. He was still using stealth, but this guy had detected him. Drako could feel the old man staring at him, but he didn't look.
Santa Claus went back to sleep.
Without a doubt, Drako jumped towards Santa.
"Ahhhh!" he screamed. Drako had grabbed him. "Help me!" he screamed as he tried to escape from Drako's grip.
"That's a crime!" one of the other homeless guys yelled. "Kid rolling an old man like that!"
"Fuck off," Drako said. He leaked his aura, scaring to death the homeless guys who were trying to defend Santa.
"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but Drako locked him to the floor. His rotten fish smell was awful, but he held on.
"I don't want money," Drako said with calm. "I just want the answer to a question."
That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"
"Because you know everything!"
The rest ran towards Drako.
"You got him!" Zoe said.
"You don't have to sound so amazed," Drako said.
"He really smells awful," Bianca said, her face reflects disgust she was feeling right now.
Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"
"I've got more than one question," Drako said.
"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."
Drako looked at the rest.
This wasn't good. They needed to find Artemis, and they needed to figure out what the doomsday creature was. There was also Annabeth. Even if Drako didn't give her much importance, it wasn't the same for the three campers. How could he ask all that in one question?
Making up his mind, Drako sighed. "All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."
The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth.
"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."
Nereus pointed to the water.
"Where?" Drako asked.
"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.
"You tricked me!" Drako yelled. He was angry right now.
"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is that?"
"MOOOOOOO!"
Drako looked down, and there was the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock.
Wait, why didn't he feel that cow's presence?
"Ah, Bessie," Percy said. "Not now."
"Mooo!"
Grover gasped. "He says his name isn't Bessie."
"You can understand her… er, him?"
Grover nodded. "It's an ancient form of animal speech. But he says his name is the Ophiotaurus."
"The Ophi-what?"
Drako had a chill for a moment when Grover mentioned Ophi-, since its really similar to Ophis. If the Infinite Dragon was the enemy of the Olympus, Drako didn't want to fight.
"It means Serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"
"Moooooooo!"
"He says Percy is his protector," Grover announced.
"And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close."
Drako was wondering how did he get all that out of a single mooooo.
"Wait," Zoe said, looking at Percy. "You know this cow?"
"Is the cow important?" Bianca asked.
Percy told them the story about how he saved the cow (chapter 186).
Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"
"Well… yeah."
"I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly. "I know this story!"
"What story?" Percy asked.
"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My… my father told me this tale, thousands of years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."
"Bessie?" Percy looked down at the bull serpent. "But… he's too cute. He couldn't destroy the world."
"That is how we were wrong," Zoe said. "We've been anticipating a huge, dangerous monster, but the Ophiotaurus doesn't bring down the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."
"MMMM," Bessie lowed.
"I don't think he likes that word," Grover said.
Percy patted Bessie on the head, trying to calm him down.
"How could anyone hurt him?" Drako said. "He's harmless."
Zoe nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence. Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy aeons ago when this creature was born. They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed it entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods."
"MMMMMM!"
"Um," Grover said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about entrails, too."
Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods… how? I mean, what would happen?"
"No one knows," Zoe said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."
Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie went right to her. Thalia placed her hand on his head.
"We have to protect him," Percy told her. "If Luke gets hold of him—"
"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's… that's huge."
"Yes, it is, my dear," said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power you shall unleash."
The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.
Standing behind them, his two-colour eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore himself.
"This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.
He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically, he didn't look much better than the guys down at the soup kitchen.
"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honour me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"
On either side of him stood two security guys, mortal mercenaries. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case they tried to escape that way. There were tourists all around—walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above them—but they knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.
"Where… where are the skeletons?" Percy asked.
He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"
"We beat you once before."
"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas… that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now."
Zoe notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either side of them raised their guns.
"Wait!" Percy said. "Zoe, don't!"
The manticore smiled. "The boy is right, Zoe Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."
"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.
"Surely it's clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteen birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."
"Shut up."
After those two words, no one spoke.
The manticore fell silent and didn't dare to open his mouth. He could feel the cold iron on his neck. It was for a moment, then he shouted. "Fire!"
Percy and the rest prepared themselves to die, but no gun was fired.
"What's happening?" the manticore asked.
"You talk too much, weakling. Now they are all dead," Drako spoke form behind the manticore.
From the moment he sensed the manticore on the distance, Drako used stealth to hide from everyone. His level of stealth was so high that only Zoe noticed that Drako has disappeared, and she kept it silence because she knew that Drako has his own motives to do it.
The manticore face was deadly pale, he knew that he had fucked it up. Now, The General was going to send him to Tartarus.
"Percy, come with me. We can save the Ophiotaurus before anything bad happens to it."
"What do you mean?"
"Call your father," Drako said. "Grover, you understand this cow, don't you? Guide it towards Long Island. Percy, pray for their safety to your father."
"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too."
The Ophiotaurus can jump between bodies of water, Drako had observed that. From Long Island to the Hoover Dam, now in San Francisco. It was obviously following Percy, but now he needs a guide. Grover is the only one who can understand it, so he was the chosen one.
"Dad," Percy said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."
"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."
Something big… they didn't really have anything like that.
"Take this."
Drako took of the Nemean Lion fur, and he gave it to Percy.
He glanced at Zoe, who was watching him carefully. Drako realized some time ago who Zoe's hero had been—the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even mentioned how she'd helped him.
"I'll only rely upon myself to achieve everything," Drako said. "If I'm going to conquer the world, I'm not going to depend on the lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules."
When the coat touched the water, it turned back into a golden lion skin. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into the sunlight on the water.
The sea breeze picked up.
Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."
He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.
"Be careful," they told them.
"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um… Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."
"Moooo?" Bessie said.
"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And… it's long. Oh, let's just start."
"Mooo!"
Bessie lurched forward. He started to submerge, and Grover said, "I can't breathe underwater! Just thought I'd mention—" Glub!
"Well, that is one problem addressed," Drako said with a sigh.
"Hmm, Drako, what are you going to do with Dr. Thorn," Bianca asked.
"Well, I thought that we could use him to get where Artemis. But he is not useful now."
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked.
"Oh, you can ask Zoe," Drako said. "She knows perfectly where we have to go now."
All of them looked at the huntress. "You know where to go?"
Her face was the same colour as the fog in San Francisco. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer.
"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."
Drako nodded.
"Now, Mr nobody," he said to the manticore. "Just die in silence, thanks."
He pierced his throat with a single trust.
[910 experience points have been obtained.]
[Because of the effects of Title Skill [Walking Egg]. Another 910 experience points were obtained.]
[The level of [Nephilim Dragon] raised from 106 to 107.]
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