42. The Vice Principal Goes Down

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"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. Y/N was about to follow when a mob of girls got in his way. He maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time he was free, Annabeth had disappeared. He turned around, looking for her or Grover or Thalia. Instead, he saw something that chilled his blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards, left like a trail by Nico.

Y/N still couldn't see Annabeth, but he knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover. What was he to do?

He knew what was reasonable was waiting, trying to find Annabeth, Grover and Thalia. But here's the thing: a part of him didn't want to do that.

He had managed to survive until now, hadn't he? Falling from the Gateway Arch and from Olympus; Ares, the god of war himself; Kykhreides, the drakon of Salamis. None of these had got the better of him. So why should he wait for Little Zeus? There was absolutely no reason.

Annabeth had gone searching for Thalia; he had to go and help Percy get the di Angelos out of this evil castle. Yes. That was the right thing to do. He didn't need Miss Goth and her showing off. Besides, Percy would be with him. They knew monsters. Together they could handle this. It would be settled before Thalia could even see what Dr. Thorn looked like as a monster.

He clenched his fist on his ring and ran along the trading card trail.


The door led into a dark hallway. Y/N heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt.

His ring transformed into his gold-and-bronze sword. This boded well; it was in a good mood today, everything would be okay. He stepped forward, the curved blade reflecting a golden light on the rows of lockers as he passed by.

He jogged down the corridor. No one. He opened a door and found himself back in the main entry hall.

Okay, I went all around, he thought.

Dr. Thorn was nowhere to be seen, but the entrance door on the opposite side of the room was wide open, looking out into cold night.

Y/N advanced slowly, holding his sword ready, listening carefully to the faintest noise. No sign of life in here.

He went to the door.

In the snow that covered the doorstep, there were footprints. Three tracks left by normal people. The fourth left by another who, given the size of his feet, clearly was a monster. And he had a tail, apparently.

Y/N glanced behind. Annabeth, Grover and Thalia weren't there. There was no time to waste. He stepped out in the wind and followed the tracks.


The tracks first followed a snowy promenade lit by old-fashioned lamplights. The wind was so cold it pierced through Y/N's coat, and he began to regret not taking the extra sweater Percy's mom had offered. He waved his hand to try and deflect the wind away from him. Apparently he still needed to train his accuracy, because he just managed to freeze himself more.

The tracks led into woods. It became hard to walk. His feet constantly sunk into the powder snow, and soon his jeans were soaked. Why didn't I take some ski pants?

Out of nowhere, a voice rode the winds and came to his ears: "What ride? Where are you taking us?" A girl's voice—Bianca di Angelo's.

Another came—Thorn's, given the French accent: "Silence, you insufferable girl!"

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