The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo #5) - Rick Riordan Page 0,75
to—”
“I’ve got it covered,” Lu said. “Don’t worry. Besides, we Celts lost most of our gods long ago. I’m not going to stand by while another deity dies.”
“But you’re not—”
I stopped myself. I was about to say immortal. Then I considered how many centuries Lu had been alive. Would the leontocephaline accept her life as payment?
My eyes filled with tears. “No,” I said. “Meg can’t lose you.”
Lu snorted. “I won’t get myself killed if I can help it. I have a plan, but you need to move. Meg is in danger. Her room is six floors up. Southeast corner. Follow the stairs at the end of the hall.”
I started to protest, but the Arrow of Dodona buzzed in warning. I needed to trust Lu. I needed to cede the battle to the better warrior.
“Fine,” I relented. “Can I at least tape a sword to your arm?”
“No time,” she said. “Too unwieldy. Wait, actually. That dagger over there. Unsheathe it and put the blade between my teeth.”
“How will that help?”
“Probably won’t,” she admitted. “But it’ll look cool.”
I did as she asked.
Now she stood before me as LuBeard the Pirate, cutlery-wielding terror of the Seven Seas.
“Ood ruhk,” she mumbled around the blade. Then she turned and raced away.
“What just happened?” I asked.
THOU HAST MADE A FRIEND, the arrow said. NOW REFILLEST THY QUIVERS SO THOU SHALT NOT SHOOT WITH ME.
“Right.” With shaky hands, I scavenged as many intact arrows as I could find in the prisoners’ storeroom and added them to my arsenal. Alarms kept blaring. The bloodred light was not helping my anxiety level.
I started down the hall. I’d barely made it halfway when the Arrow of Dodona buzzed, LOOK OUT!
A mortal security guard in tactical riot gear rounded the corner, barreling toward me with his handgun raised. Not being well prepared, I screamed and threw Gunther’s sword at him. By some miracle, the hilt hit him in the face and knocked him down.
THAT IS NOT NORMALLY HOW ONE USETH A SWORD, the arrow said.
“Always a critic,” I grumbled.
MEG IS IN PERIL, he said.
“Meg is in peril,” I agreed. I stepped over the mortal guard, now curled on the floor and groaning. “Terribly sorry.” I kicked him in the face. He stopped moving and began to snore. I ran on.
I burst into the stairwell and took the concrete steps two at a time. The Arrow of Dodona remained clutched in my hand. I probably should have put it away and readied my bow with normal missiles, but to my surprise, I found that its running Shakespearean commentary boosted my shaky morale.
From the floor above me, two Germani rushed into the stairwell and charged me with spears leveled.
Now lacking even Gunther’s sword, I thrust out my free hand, shut my eyes, and screamed as if this would make them go away, or at least make my death less painful.
My fingers burned. Flames roared. The two Germani yelled in terror, then were silent.
When I opened my eyes, my hand was smoking but unharmed. Flames licked at the peeling paint on the walls. On the steps above me were two piles of ash where the Germani had been.
THOU SHOULDST DO THAT MORE OFTEN, the arrow advised.
The idea made me sick to my stomach. Once, I would have been delighted to summon the power to blowtorch my enemies. But now, after knowing Lu, I wondered how many of these Germani really wanted to serve Nero, and how many had been conscripted into his service with no choice. Enough people had died. My grudge was with only one person, Nero, and one reptile, Python.
HURRY, the arrow said with new urgency. I SENSE…YES. NERO HAS SENT GUARDS TO FETCH MEG.
I wasn’t sure how it had gleaned this information—if it was monitoring the building’s security system or eavesdropping on Nero’s personal psychic hotline—but the news made me clench my teeth.
“There will be no Meg-fetching on my watch,” I growled.
I slid the Arrow of Dodona into one of my quivers and drew a missile of the non-Shakespearean variety.
I bounded up the stairs.
I worried about Luguselwa, who must have been facing the leontocephaline by now. I worried about Nico, Will, and Rachel, whom I hadn’t seen any sign of in my dreams. I worried about the forces of Camp Half-Blood, who might be charging into a suicidal rescue mission at this very moment. Most of all, I worried about Meg.
To find her, I would fight the entire tower by myself if I had to.