Rick Riordan

“They sped by a pack of sea lions lounging on the docks, and she swore she saw an old homeless guy sitting among them. From across the water the old man pointed a bony finger at Percy and mouthed something like 'Don't even think about it.'"Did you see that?" Hazel asked. Percy's face was red in the sunset. "Yeah. I've been here before. I...I don't know. I think I was looking for my girlfriend.""Annabeth," Frank said. "You mean, on your way to Camp Jupiter?"Percy frowned. "No. Before that.”

“Frank stared at her. "But you throw Ding Dongs at monsters."Iris looked horrified. "Oh, they're not Ding Dongs."She rummaged under the counter and brought out a package of chocolate covered cakes that looked exactly like Ding Dongs. "These are gluten-free, no-sugar-added, vitamin-enriched, soy-free, goat-milk-and-seaweed-based cupcake simulations.""All natural!" Fleecy chimed in."I stand corrected." Frank suddenly felt as queasy as Percy.”

“Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?”

“Nothing like ADHD and a good fight to the death to make time fly”

“Um...is that thing tame?" Frank said.The horse whinnied angrily."I don't think so," Percy guessed. "He just said, 'I will trample you to death, silly Chinese Canadian baby man'.”

“Your mom is a rainbow goddess?""You got a problem with that?""No, no. Rainbows. Very macho.”

“And of course I'm in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me; Into thin air, up in the air,Gone with the wind-”

“Piper gripped his hand and followed him, “If I fall, you’re catching me.” “Uh, sure.” Jason hoped he wasn’t blushing.Leo stepped out next. “You’re catching me, too, Superman. But I ain’t holding your hand.”

“Sometimes, it takes us a while to appreciate something new, something that might change us for the better.”

“Now, sorry about that kill-on-sight business.”

“Felix believed that the answer to every problem involved penguins; but it wasn't fair to birds, and I was getting tired of teleporting them back home. Somewhere in Antarctica, a whole flock of Magellanic penguins were undergoing psychotherapy.”

“Sadie," he said forlornly, "when you become a parent, you may understand this. One of my hardest jobs as a father, one of my greatest duties, was to realize that my own dreams, my own goals and wishes, are secondary to my children's.”

“All I could think to say was, "The Lakers are my home team!”

“But yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us.”

“He slung off his backpack. He'd managed to grab a lot of supplies at the Napa Bargain Mart: a portable GPS, duct tape, lighter, superglue, water bottle, camping roll, a Comfy Panda Pillow Pet (as seen on TV), and a Swiss army knife—pretty much every tool a modern demigod could want.”

“I should’ve been very cross with Anubis. Kissing me without permission—the nerve!”

“I’m sorry I can’t do more. But happy birthday, Sadie.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.”

“Damien Vesper Didn't plan on killing anyone today”

“Leo scratched his head. “Well I dunno about Enchiladas—”“Enceladus,” Piper corrected.“Whatever. But Old Potty Face mentioned another name. Porpoise Fear, or something?”“Porphyrion?” Piper asked. ”He was the giant king, I think.”

“Gaea?” Leo shook his head. “Isn’t that Mother Nature? She’s supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and dear and rabbits doing her laundry.”“Leo, that’s Snow White,” Piper said.”

“Now-what’s our game plan?” Coach Hedge belched. He’d already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would’ve eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand. “Climb the mountain,” Hedge said. “Kill everything except Piper’s dad. Leave.” “Thank you General Eisenhower,” Jason grumbles.”

“Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history.""Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed.”

“I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side.”

“She stared at me. "Fly, ;ole, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, AND carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?""Yeah," I said. "Pretty much exactly like that.”

“Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests."You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesman.”

“I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat.”

“We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.”

“Are you kidding?" She looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red."What's the problem now?" I demanded."Me, go with you to the...the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?""Who's going to see you?" But my face was burning now, too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated. "Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up.”

“How does Galdoila know about the reward?" i asked."He reads the signs," Grover said. "Duh.""Of course," I said. "Silly me.”

“Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!""Roooaaarrr!""Maybe not," Grover corrected.”

“Spontaneous combustion IS a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.”

“And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?""Bad?" I guessed."Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus amd Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight.""Bad," I repeated.”

“We only have a few hours, so listen carefully.If you’re hearing this story, you’re already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance.Go to the school. Find the locker. I won’t tell you which school or which locker, because if you’re the right person, you’ll find it. The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you’ll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we’re about to tell you isn’t complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.The most important thing: when you open the package and find what’s inside, don’t keep it longer than a week. Sure, it’ll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you. Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.”

“A Half-Blood of the eldest gods, Shall reach sixteen against all odds And see the world in endless sleepThe Hero's soul, cursed blade shall reapA single choice shall end his daysOlympus to preserve or raze.”

“Humor was a good way to hide the pain.”

“Don't dwell on things. Don't stay in one place too long. It was the only way to stay ahead of sadness.”

“You see?" Damien leaned over his desk and spread out half a dozen charcoal sketches. "These are only quick studies of course. But my agent in Florence tells me this artist, Leonardo, is a master and also quite an inventor of mechanical devices--which, as you know, are my passion. Leonardo just completed a portrait of Lisa de Giocondo. He calls it the Mona Lisa. I thought I might commission him to do a portrait of me, and while he's here, I can pick his mind for mechanical secrets. How does that sound?""Expensive," Gideon murmured.”

“Rainbows. Very Macho! ~Leo Valdez”

“She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling gray,like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight. She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hand, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a Minotaur! or Wow you're so awesome! or something like that. Instead she said, "you drool when you sleep." Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.”

“glancing back I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine-bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear-I mean, bright white fruit of the Looms.”

“Los cíclopes jóvenes crece solos en las calle, por eso aprenden a hacer cosas con chatarra, aprende a sobrevivir -¡Es una gran crueldad! Tyson meneó la cabeza con gran seriedad. -No.Hace que apreciemos más cualquier bendición, y que no seamos glotones, mezquinos y gordos como Polifemo...”

“He remembered his home now, and that gave him new determination to succeed. He was fighting for two camps now -- two families.”

“lightning thief was good but the sea of monsters is better and has more action!”

“You're a stalker with hooves.""I am not! I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing.”

“If you've seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size.”

“The telkine growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on uglyface.com”

“I don't care what your nose says! The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meatloaf sandwich!""Meatloaf sandwiches are good! But this is a half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!""Bah, your brain isn't on board!”

“Good luck, boss. Don't let'em turn you into horse meat! (Blackjack)”

“Kronos would be 10 times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this he will empower the other Titans. They are weak, compared to what they soon will become, unless you can stop them, the world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine.”

“Curse us eh/I'll make you pay!/I don't want to rhyme all day!”