“Frank,” Percy said, “it’s up to you. Can you help them?”
Annabeth didn’t understand how Frank could do that all by himself, but he swallowed nervously.
“Oh, gods,” he murmured. “Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now.”
Percy and Annabeth lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob.
They began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Annabeth’s head. An explosion almost knocked her off the ladder. Halfway up, she heard a roar below and glanced down.
Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum—a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard’s and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper and Jason, grabbed them with its front claws, and vaulted into the air.
“Is that… ?” Annabeth couldn’t even put the thought into words.
“Frank,” Percy confirmed, a few feet above her. “He has a few special talents.”
“Understatement,” Annabeth muttered. “Keep climbing!”

The Mark of Athena, Chapter IV