Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3
The Titan's Curse
by Rick Riordan
Contents
2. The Vice Principal Gets A Missile Launcher
Overview
Percy’s attempt to save Bianca and Nico escalates into a confrontation with Dr. Thorn, who reveals himself as a manticore serving a mysterious General amid a wider awakening of monsters. Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover arrive to rescue the captives, but the fight turns disastrous when Annabeth falls over a cliff with Thorn.
The sudden arrival of Artemis and her Hunters saves the remaining heroes from both Thorn and the gunship, while introducing a powerful new faction with tense ties to Thalia. Annabeth’s apparent loss immediately raises the stakes and shifts the quest from rescue to grief, danger, and divine involvement.
Summary
Dr. Thorn marches Percy, Bianca, and Nico through the snowy woods toward a cliff above the sea. Percy, weakened by Thorn’s poison, tries to use his empathy link with Grover to call for help while pretending to obey. At the cliff, Thorn contacts someone by phone and prepares to hand the captives over to a helicopter approaching from the darkness.
Thorn reveals that Percy is wanted alive and that his employer is not Luke but someone called the General. Thorn says Bianca and Nico may join a great army, or else become food for monsters, and he describes a “Great Stirring” in which ancient monsters are awakening, including one that could help destroy Olympus. Percy considers jumping into the sea with the di Angelos, but Thorn anticipates the plan and threatens to kill them first.
Annabeth, wearing her invisibility cap, suddenly tackles Percy and the di Angelos out of Thorn’s line of fire. Thalia and Grover attack from behind: Thalia charges with Aegis and her spear, while Grover uses his reed pipes to summon weeds from under the snow. Thorn reveals his true form as a manticore, a lion-bodied monster with a human face and a deadly spike-shooting tail, then breaks free and overpowers the rescuers.
The arriving gunship traps the heroes between mortal weapons and the manticore. Thalia is blinded by the helicopter’s searchlights and knocked down, and Percy shields her as Thorn demands surrender. A hunting horn sounds from the woods, and a group of silver-clad girl archers, the Hunters, attacks with impossible accuracy.
The Hunters’ leader, Zoë Nightshade, asks permission to kill the manticore, and a younger auburn-haired girl grants it. As the Hunters prepare to shoot, Annabeth leaps onto the manticore’s back and stabs him, but the arrows still fly. Wounded, Thorn jumps over the cliff with Annabeth still clinging to him, and both disappear into the darkness below.
When the helicopter opens fire, the auburn-haired girl calmly declares that mortals may not witness her hunt and turns the gunship into a flock of ravens. Percy tries to go after Annabeth, but the Hunters restrain him. The girl tells Percy that Annabeth is beyond help, then identifies herself as Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.
Who Appears
- Percy JacksonPoisoned captive who calls for help, fights Thorn, and is devastated by Annabeth’s fall.
- Dr. ThornVice principal revealed as a manticore serving the General and abducting half-bloods.
- Annabeth ChaseInvisible rescuer who attacks Thorn, then falls over the cliff with the monster.
- Thalia GraceCharges Thorn with Aegis and her spear, but is overpowered near the cliff.
- Grover UnderwoodResponds to Percy’s link and uses reed-pipe magic to restrain Thorn.
- Bianca di AngeloAbducted half-blood who protects Nico and challenges Thorn despite her fear.
- Nico di AngeloAbducted half-blood whose game knowledge frames Thorn as a manticore.
- ArtemisGoddess of the Hunt who leads the Hunters, destroys the gunship, and identifies herself.
- Zoë NightshadeHunter lieutenant who commands the archers and shows immediate hostility toward Thalia.
- The HuntersSilver-clad archers who intervene against the manticore with extraordinary precision.