The Blood of Olympus

The four demigods gather at Olympia. Percy and Leo skirt the topic of Calypso, whom Percy left behind during a quest in an earlier book. Frank gives them a tour of the site. When they arrive at the Temple of Zeus, Frank mentions a statue of Zeus that had graced the interior. Leo suddenly remembers the remains of a statue of Nike that they saw in a museum. He and Percy agree that this would be a good spot for her to appear, and she does, brandishing a spear and shouting that they’ll die.

Nike confronts the demigods, demanding that they need a winner. When they ask which manifestation she is, Greek Nike or Roman Victoria, she grips her head and screams in agony, splitting into two flickering images. Greek Nike bemoans the loss of the honor she received from all the Greek city-states when she presided over the Olympic Games, while Roman Victoria dismisses games as “irrelevant” compared to victory in battle (89). Leo interjects that “the real war is against Gaea” (90). Victoria scolds Frank for allowing the Greeks to live and insists that the demigods battle to the death in teams, Greeks versus Romans; only one demigod can survive (90).

The demigods struggle to resist the effects of Victoria’s competitive aura. Frank tells the goddess that she should help them fight the giants. She agrees—but only for the victor; the other three must die. Her golden wings sprout four Nikai, metal replicas of Nike, and herd the demigods into the stadium. There, Hazel senses ghosts and pain. She ponders strategy using her underworld power, and Leo reveals that he has brought some gadgets of his own.

The demigods pretend to fight, spurred on by Nike. Hazel manipulates the terrain, distracting the Nikai and allowing Frank and Percy to destroy two of them, enraging Nike, who charges toward them in her chariot. Worried that they won’t survive, Percy confesses to Leo that he let Calypso down by not ensuring that the gods had freed her, clearing the air between them. Meanwhile, Hazel and Frank take out another Nikai, but Hazel is injured and pursued by the final Nikai. Percy rushes to her aid, while Leo distracts Nike by demanding a participation award, infuriating the goddess. Percy and Hazel finish off the Nikai, and one of Leo’s explosives erupts into a geyser, flipping Nike’s chariot over, horses and all. She prepares to kill him but pauses when he offers to show her his unbeatable weapon. Leo unleashes the Archimedes sphere he modified and traps the goddess’ two forms in a celestial bronze net from which she can’t escape.

The demigods agree to take the goddess to the Argo II and stash her in a horse stall. The offended goddess warns them that one of them is fated to die fighting Gaea. Hazel demands answers, but Nike only reiterates that “the physician’s cure” (103) won’t save them. When she begins to curse them in ancient Greek, Frank stuffs his sweat sock into her mouth, and Leo tapes it shut; both resolve to find the physician’s cure.