The Heroes of Olympus, #5
The Blood of Olympus
by Rick Riordan
Contents
XLVI
Overview
Nico’s sabotage team reaches Camp Half-Blood’s onagers amid Lou Ellen’s Mist-born distraction. They recalibrate two siege engines to fire on Roman lines, but resistance stiffens.
Nico overextends himself raising skeletons as Will keeps him going, just before Octavian arrives with the First Cohort, Jacob’s eagle, and cynocephali to execute them.
Summary
Nico leads Lou Ellen, Will, and Cecil to the first onager as chaos erupts down the Roman line: centaurs and two-headed men surge through the Fifth Cohort. Using the Mist, they slip past distracted guards. At Nico’s direction, Cecil recalibrates the onager to target other siege lines instead of using Greek fire.
At the second onager, the Mist falters and guards spot them. Will sprints off as a decoy, drawing six Romans away. Lou Ellen hurls a magic “pig ball,” turning the remaining guards into squealing piglets, while Nico incapacitates Will’s pursuers without killing them. Cecil signals the second machine is sabotaged.
Moving on the third onager, alert defenders confront them. Nico raises five skeletons from the earth to disrupt the guards, nearly collapsing from the strain until Will holds him up and forces him to chew a medicinal gum to keep him functional. Lou Ellen and Cecil finish tangling the Roman guards in bones and ropes.
Their success draws the full attention of the Roman command. The First Cohort advances in formation with leveled spears. Octavian, crowned in laurels, marches in front with standard-bearer Jacob holding the golden eagle and six sword-wielding cynocephali. Octavian identifies them as Greek saboteurs and orders the dog-headed warriors to tear them apart.
Who Appears
- Nico di AngeloLeads the sabotage; avoids lethal force; raises skeletons despite exhaustion; relies on Will’s support.
- Will SolaceCreates a risky diversion; forbids Nico’s Underworld magic; administers medicinal gum and supports Nico.
- Lou EllenCasts Mist illusions; throws a magic ball that turns guards into piglets; helps subdue onager defenders.
- CecilExpertly recalibrates onagers to misfire into Roman lines; assists in the fights.
- OctavianLeads the First Cohort with laurels; orders cynocephali to kill the saboteurs.
- JacobRoman standard-bearer carrying the legion’s golden eagle beside Octavian.
- CynocephaliSix dog-headed warriors with glowing swords, advancing to execute Octavian’s order.