The Tyrant's Tomb

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The hearse lurched as if we’d been hitched to a trailer full of scrap metal.Above my head, two foot-shaped impressions appeared in the upholsteredceiling.“Something just landed on the roof,” Meg deduced.“Thank you, Sherlock McCaffrey! Can you get it off?”“Me? How?”That was an annoyingly fair question. Meg could turn the rings on hermiddle fingers into wicked gold swords, but if she summoned them in closequarters, like the interior of the hearse, she a) wouldn’t have room to wieldthem, and b) might end up impaling me and/or herself.CREAK. CREAK. The footprint impressions deepened as the thingadjusted its weight like a surfer on a board. It must have been immenselyheavy to sink into the metal roof.A whimper bubbled in my throat. My hands trembled on the steeringwheel. I yearned for my bow and quiver in the backseat, but I couldn’t haveused them. DWSPW, driving while shooting projectile weapons, is a big nono,kids.“Maybe you can open the window,” I said to Meg. “Lean out and tell itto go away.”“Um, no.” (Gods, she was stubborn.) “What if you try to shake it off?”Before I could explain that this was a terrible idea while traveling fiftymiles an hour on a highway, I heard a sound like a pop-top aluminum canopening—the crisp, pneumatic hiss of air through metal. A claw puncturedthe ceiling—a grimy white talon the size of a drill bit. Then another. Andanother. And another, until the upholstery was studded with ten pointy whitespikes—just the right number for two very large hands.“Meg?” I yelped. “Could you—?”I don’t know how I might have finished that sentence. Protect me? Killthat thing? Check in the back to see if I have any spare undies?I was rudely interrupted by the creature ripping open our roof like wewere a birthday present.Staring down at me through the ragged hole was a withered, ghoulishhumanoid, its blue-black hide glistening like the skin of a housefly, its eyesfilmy white orbs, its bared teeth dripping saliva. Around its torso fluttered aloincloth of greasy black feathers. The smell coming off it was more putridthan any dumpster—and believe me, I’d fallen into a few.“FOOD!” it howled.
“Kill it!” I yelled at Meg.“Swerve!” she countered.One of the many annoying things about being incarcerated in my punymortal body: I was Meg McCaffrey’s servant. I was bound to obey her directcommands. So when she yelled “Swerve,” I yanked the steering wheel hardto the right. The hearse handled beautifully. It careened across three lanes oftraffic, barreled straight through the guardrail, and plummeted into thecanyon below.
Page 2 and 3: Also by Rick RiordanPERCY JACKSON A
Page 6 and 7: Copyright © 2019 by Rick RiordanCo
Page 8 and 9: CONTENTSTitle PageCopyrightDedicati
Page 10 and 11: The Dark ProphecyThe words that mem
Page 12 and 13: That turned out to be a good call.
Page 14 and 15: Meg reclined in her seat, propped h
Page 18 and 19: Dude, this isn’t coolDude just tr
Page 20 and 21: The ghoul hesitated. I’ve always
Page 22 and 23: much alive. Perhaps if I managed tw
Page 24 and 25: Lavinia gulped. “Yeah. Let’s ge
Page 26 and 27: Lavinia’s face turned terra-cotta
Page 28 and 29: Lavinia snorted. “You guys should
Page 30 and 31: hair. The glow of Meg’s swords th
Page 32 and 33: Ukulele song?No need to remove my g
Page 34 and 35: The eurynomos screamed and lurched
Page 36 and 37: “Hazel?” Lavinia called into th
Page 38 and 39: looked normal—the gleaming white
Page 40 and 41: Hi, everybody,Here’s a little tun
Page 42 and 43: really supposed to be here?That fee
Page 44 and 45: explain the many months of horrifyi
Page 46 and 47: Sailing north to warWith my Shirley
Page 48 and 49: “We’ve discussed this.” Calig
Page 50 and 51: more comfortable. (Yes, I am sure.
Page 52 and 53: Judging from the angle of the sun,
Page 54 and 55: Nice stroll into townHappy birthday
Page 56 and 57: “It’s the only way,” he agree
Page 58 and 59: “Terminus,” I protested, “you
Page 60 and 61: break. Don’t judge us.)When I was
Page 62 and 63: It was too much. I put my hand agai
Page 64 and 65: I liked. His gentle big brown eye a
Page 66 and 67:
gleamed under an LED magnifying lam
Page 68 and 69:
“Thanks,” I grumbled.Frank shif
Page 70 and 71:
“Yep, yep,” said Ella. “No re
Page 72 and 73:
his life force to a small piece of
Page 74 and 75:
Aha.“Come, my friends,” I said.
Page 76 and 77:
demigods. Iris-messages failed. Let
Page 78 and 79:
Sing it with me: Who’sAfraid of t
Page 80 and 81:
But, of course, I knew the answer.
Page 82 and 83:
“Thank you.” I looked up, but L
Page 84 and 85:
Dirt and bubble gumLavinia brought
Page 86 and 87:
out of mind? How could I have been
Page 88 and 89:
I blinked, still groggy, the smell
Page 90 and 91:
rose petals in her wake as she twir
Page 92 and 93:
I now have a planTo make a plan con
Page 94 and 95:
is on April eighth, yep. Farmer’s
Page 96 and 97:
unbelievable. On the other hand, no
Page 98 and 99:
“Ohhhh.” Several Lares nodded i
Page 100 and 101:
Romance disasterI’m poison for gu
Page 102 and 103:
“It’s always dark underground,
Page 104 and 105:
I remembered the day we had sat tog
Page 106 and 107:
curse, I couldn’t have taken it b
Page 108 and 109:
Reluctant arrowGrant me this boon:
Page 110 and 111:
Bless him, Frank managed to maintai
Page 112 and 113:
“Shouldn’t that stick be locked
Page 114 and 115:
Nightmare carouselTotally let your
Page 116 and 117:
“Better,” I said, though I was
Page 118 and 119:
The carousel was topped by a tan do
Page 120 and 121:
“What?” she demanded. “I got
Page 122 and 123:
I glanced back at Meg and Lavinia.
Page 124 and 125:
and see us. Or smell us. Oh, human
Page 126 and 127:
Caelius whimpered. “Yes, my king.
Page 128 and 129:
Imperial gold bolt hit the zombie b
Page 130 and 131:
eventually, once the poison took ho
Page 132 and 133:
trunk of the tree. The root chute s
Page 134 and 135:
Cooking with PranjalChickweed and u
Page 136 and 137:
faces. One belonged to a handsome y
Page 138 and 139:
Before meeting the praetors, she to
Page 140 and 141:
“That can’t be right,” I said
Page 142 and 143:
“We’re doomed,” I wailed. “
Page 144 and 145:
“One way to find out,” Meg said
Page 146 and 147:
Reyna regarded her colleague. “Wh
Page 148 and 149:
she meant.“You’re talking about
Page 150 and 151:
it were actually true. I had someon
Page 152 and 153:
“Yes, yes,” Caligula said. “I
Page 154 and 155:
“Oh, my gods, Thomas!” Lavinia
Page 156 and 157:
See this right here, kids?This is h
Page 158 and 159:
“Gotta think in new ways if you w
Page 160 and 161:
Lavinia shrugged. “Maybe, but the
Page 162 and 163:
With that happy news, Lavinia and D
Page 164 and 165:
I wanted to ask Lavinia what was go
Page 166 and 167:
The song quickly morphed, however.
Page 168 and 169:
“Let’s get you back to camp,”
Page 170 and 171:
In my pickup truckWith my dogs and
Page 172 and 173:
“Ready,” Hazel said. “If Tarq
Page 174 and 175:
“Can’t be sure, obviously. But
Page 176 and 177:
“I know what rhetorical means.”
Page 178 and 179:
“But does Meg?” I imagined my y
Page 180 and 181:
Up ahead, I heard Meg romping throu
Page 182 and 183:
“Oh…my…gods,” she wheezed.
Page 184 and 185:
Frozen in terrorLike a god in the h
Page 186 and 187:
“You’ve seen him?”“Just sen
Page 188 and 189:
I wondered if she was trying to mak
Page 190 and 191:
“A flock of ravens.” Meg sounde
Page 192 and 193:
“Well, can you un-create them?”
Page 194 and 195:
They swarmed—pecking, scratching,
Page 196 and 197:
her exposed chest and arms. Her lon
Page 198 and 199:
Let’s play guess the god.Starts w
Page 200 and 201:
meant to stay there.“Any ideas?
Page 202 and 203:
which is most likely why he couldn
Page 204 and 205:
“What do you call climbing Sutro
Page 206 and 207:
We all need a handOn our shoulder s
Page 208 and 209:
“Never underestimate the power of
Page 210 and 211:
Reyna shrugged. “Prophecies never
Page 212 and 213:
He could not do otherwise. I recall
Page 214 and 215:
the fasces, he would have already b
Page 216 and 217:
knew I would feel obligated to help
Page 218 and 219:
The god plucked the glass jar from
Page 220 and 221:
As faint and muffled as her voice w
Page 222 and 223:
Then he exhaled deeply. We watched,
Page 224 and 225:
O, blood moon risingTake a rain che
Page 226 and 227:
From one of her gardening-belt pouc
Page 228 and 229:
were trying to protect me…”The
Page 230 and 231:
The scroll burst into flames, which
Page 232 and 233:
Reyna shouted, “Apollo, take the
Page 234 and 235:
at bay. A young woman in maroon and
Page 236 and 237:
Lotoya—who must have been a redwo
Page 238 and 239:
“Stop right there,” she warned,
Page 240 and 241:
hands. Fire trucks were parked alon
Page 242 and 243:
Somewhere overhead, an explosion sh
Page 244 and 245:
surrounded, but our advance had dis
Page 246 and 247:
“What?” Hazel looked personally
Page 248 and 249:
O insert name herePlease hear us an
Page 250 and 251:
The most powerful of the Olympians.
Page 252 and 253:
Jupiter were holding its breath, wa
Page 254 and 255:
Such a deal for youTwo-for-one sing
Page 256 and 257:
The emperors obviously wanted to se
Page 258 and 259:
“Wait,” Caligula snapped. He re
Page 260 and 261:
He clapped me on my back and let me
Page 262 and 263:
leaving a trail of bloody footprint
Page 264 and 265:
A reckless, terrible anger possesse
Page 266 and 267:
My line of vision was reduced to a
Page 268 and 269:
I didn’t do it.Explosion? I don
Page 270 and 271:
a flare gun going off nearby. A ten
Page 272 and 273:
Now Coast Guard vessels joined the
Page 274 and 275:
Got two words for you:Swiss Army un
Page 276 and 277:
Just hearing his name made my gut c
Page 278 and 279:
zombie mob. They never had a chance
Page 280 and 281:
die for collapsing my throne room o
Page 282 and 283:
Captain UnderpantsDoes not appear i
Page 284 and 285:
“BAHM! BAHM! BAHM!” I continued
Page 286 and 287:
“It worked, then!” I grinned at
Page 288 and 289:
Lavinia looked offended. “Well, y
Page 290 and 291:
completely burned away except for h
Page 292 and 293:
“I don’t think so,” I said.
Page 294 and 295:
told me some prophecy lines, just f
Page 296 and 297:
My eyes were too blurry to see prop
Page 298 and 299:
seemed to recognize that Reyna was
Page 300 and 301:
reduced that the entire legion and
Page 302 and 303:
Life is uncertainAccept presents, a
Page 304 and 305:
looked as if she’d been given a n
Page 306 and 307:
or Reyna or Frank, not to mention a
Page 308 and 309:
adventures, and wish Apollo and Meg
Page 310 and 311:
When Meg and I left the café for t
Page 312 and 313:
“Oh, as in Oh, no.” I remembere
Page 314 and 315:
ab urbe condita Latin for from the
Page 316 and 317:
clunis Latin for buttockscohort gro
Page 318 and 319:
Germani bodyguards for the Roman Em
Page 320 and 321:
lictor an officer who carried a fas
Page 322 and 323:
Pompeii a Roman city that was destr
Page 324:
Three Graces the three charities: B
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The Tyrant's Tomb

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