The Second Jackson- Piper McLean book 1

Best Dog Ever

Percy

Four hours.

That's how long it took the fastest horse on the planet to get from Alaska to San Francisco Bay, heading straight over water down the Northwest Coast.

That's also how long it took for my memory to return completely. The process had started in Portland when I had drunk the gorgon's blood, but my past life had still been maddeningly fuzzy. Now, as we headed back into the Olympian gods' territory I remembered everything: the war with Kronos, my sixteenth birthday at Camp Half-Blood, my trainer Chiron the centaur, my best friend Grover, my brother Tyson, things I definitely need to talk to Lani about, and most of all Annabeth- two great memories of dating, and then BOOM. I'd been abducted by the alien known as Hera. Or Juno... whatever.

Eight months of my life stolen. Next time I saw the Queen of Olympus, I was defiantly going to give her a goddess-sized slap upside the head.

My friends and family must be going out of their minds. If Camp Jupiter was in such bad trouble, I could only guess what Camp Half-Blood must be facing without me or Lani.

Even worse: Saving both camps would be only the beginning. According to Alcyoneus, the real war would happen far away, in the homeland of the gods. The giants intended to attack the original Mount Olympus and destroy the gods forever.

I knew that giants couldn't die unless demigods and gods fought together. Nico had told me that. Annabeth had mentioned it too, back in August, when she'd speculated that the giants might be part of the new Great Prophecy- what the Romans called the Prophecy of Eight. (That was the downside of dating the smartest girl at camp: You learn stuff)

I understood Juno's plan: Unite the Roman and Greek demigods to create an elite team of heroes, then somehow convince the gods to fight alongside us. But first, we had to save Camp Jupiter.

The coastline began to look familiar. We raced past the Mendocino lighthouse. Shortly afterward, Mount Tam and the Marin headlands loomed out of the fog. Arion shot straight under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay.

We tore through Berkeley and into the Oakland Hills. When we reached the hilltop above the Caldecott Tunnel, Arion shuddered like a broken car and came to a stop, his chest heaving.

Hazel patted his sides lovingly. "You did great Arion"

The horse was too tired even to cuss: 'Of course I did great. What did you expect?'

Lani, Frank and I jumped off the chariot. I wished there's been comfortable seats or an in-flight meal. My legs were wobbly. My joints were so stiff, I could barely walk. If I went into battle like this, the enemy would call me Old Man Jackson.

Frank didn't look much better. He hobbled to the top of the hill and peered down at the camp. "Guys... you need to see this"

When Hazel, Lani and I joined him, my heart sank. The battle had begun, and it wasn't going well. The Twelfth Legion was arrayed on the Field of Mars, trying to protect the city. Scorpions fired into the ranks of the Earthborn. Hannibal the elephant plowed down monsters right and left, but the defenders were badly outnumbered.

On her Pegasus Scipio, Reyna flew around the giant Polybotes, trying to keep him occupied. The Lares had formed shimmering lines against a mob of black, vaporous shades in ancient armor. Veteran demigods from the city had joined the battle and were pushing their shield wall against an onslaught of wild centaurs. Giant eagles circled the battlefield, doing aerial combat with two snake-haired ladies in green Bargain Mart vests— Stheno and Euryale.

The legion itself was taking the brunt of the attack, but their formation was breaking. Each cohort was an island in a sea of enemies. The Cyclopes' siege tower shot glowing green cannonballs into the city, blasting craters in the forum, reducing houses to ruins. As I watched, a cannonball hit the Senate House and the dome partially collapsed.