The Titan's Curse Read Online Free Page B

I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn’t as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.
    Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.
    â€œThe Hunters!” Annabeth cried.
    Next to me, Thalia muttered, “Oh, wonderful.”
    I didn’t have a chance to ask what she meant.
    One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. “Permission to kill, my lady?”
    I couldn’t tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.
    The monster wailed. “This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws.”
    â€œNot so,” another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. “The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast.” She looked at the older girl with the circlet. “Zoë, permission granted.”
    The manticore growled. “If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!”
    He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.
    â€œNo!” Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.
    â€œGet back, half-blood!” the girl with the circlet said. “Get out of the line of fire!”
    But Annabeth leaped onto the monster’s back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.
    â€œFire!” Zoë ordered.
    â€œNo!” I screamed.
    But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, “This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!”
    And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.
    â€œAnnabeth!” I yelled.
    I started to run after her, but our enemies weren’t done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.
    Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.
    â€œMortals,” she announced, “are not allowed to witness my hunt.”
    She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.
    The Hunters advanced on us.
    The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. “You,” she said with distaste.
    â€œZoë Nightshade.” Thalia’s voice trembled with anger. “Perfect timing, as usual.”
    Zoë scanned the rest of us. “Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady.”
    â€œYes,” the younger girl said. “Some of Chiron’s campers, I see.”
    â€œAnnabeth!” I yelled. “You have to let us save her!”
    The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. “I’m sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help.”
    I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.
    â€œYou are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs,” the auburn-haired girl said.
    â€œLet me go!” I demanded. “Who do you think you are?”
    Zoë stepped forward as if to smack me.
    â€œNo,” the other