By Rick Riordan
Read in 8th Grade
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context
The fight against the Triumvirate gets ever harder. On Caligula's boat, Jason, Lester's half brother, dies saving him. To honor his death, Lester (formerly Apollo) and his master Meg take him to Camp Jupiter for his burial. But of course, they can't do even this without monsters attacking. Ghouls sent by Tarquin, an ancient Roman emperor allied with the Triumvirate, attack. They narrowly escape thanks to a legionnaire named Lavania, but not before Apollo is scratched. Due to his mortal state, he has just days to live before he becomes an undead himself. Meanwhile, Caligula and Commodus ride in their boats toward the camp, armed with killer machines. The only hope is to summon godly help, apparently possible with "the last breath of the silent god".
Lester, Meg, and Reyna follow clues to Sutro Tower in San Fransisco, and climb it, for Meg senses roses at the top. They get attacked by killer ravens, just another one of the creatures with grudges against Apollo. And when they reach the top, his condition has deteriorated, thanks to the ghoul wound and the ravens. There, they enter the box where the silent god has been imprisoned. It is Harpocrates, a forgotten Egyptian-Greek hybrid, who also hates Apollo. However, the trio is able to convince him that Apollo has changed, and is no longer the arrogant upstart he once was. Despite his animosity, Harpocrates lets go of his lingering existence, leaving "the silent god's last breath". They rush back to Camp Jupiter in rush hour traffic to find the Camp just barely hanging on, and Apollo summons his sister, Artemis. Unfortunately, she doesn't show. In a battle against the emperors, Frank Zhang burns his wood of life, taking Commodus and Caligula with him in a flash of flame. A sabotage team has managed to destroy the boats, and the emperors' forces retreat. But now, Tarquin leads his forces into New Rome from underground, in search of his Sibylline Books. At long last, Artemis shows up in her Roman form of Diana, and the fight is over. Now, Apollo need only defeat one last emperor and his worst enemy: Python.
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