Rick Riordan

“I survive all those battles," she growled, "and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock!”

“Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking...young.""Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance.""I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." He glanced at me with distaste. "As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on - it is that you were a TERRIBLE father.”

“Nico strode forward. The enemy army fell back before him like he radiated death, which of course he did.Through the face guard of his skull-shaped helmet, he smiled. "Got your message. Is it too late to join the party?""Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?""Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me.""I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."Nico drew his sword-three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree.”

“Percy," Grover said, "the gods really don't appreciate people sitting in their thrones. I mean like turn-you-into-a-pile-of-ashes don't appreciate it.”

“There's no point in defending camp if you guys die. All our friends are here.”

“You know what would help this boy?" Demeter mused. "Farming."Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother-""Six months behind a plow. Excellent character building.”

“I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."I feel so wanted. Thanks.”

“You Titans are about as bright as my gym socks.”

“This belonged to my sister-in-law," Prometheus explained. "Pandora."A lump formed in my throat. "As in Pandora's box?"Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it.”

“You're cute when you're worried," she muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," I said. "Why did you take that knife?"You would've done the same for me.”

“Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?"Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right.”

“Just for you non-sea-god types out there, don't go swimming in New York Harbor. It may not be as filthy as it was in my mom's day, but that water will still probably make you grow a third eye or have mutant children when you grow up.”

“Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel."Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy.”

“Different elevator music was playing since my last visit-that old disco song "Stayin' Alive." A terrifying image flashed through my mind of Apollo in bell-bottom pants and a slinky silk shirt.”

“It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well."You mean I'll have a bad heel?" I said. "Couldn't I just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense.”

“Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that."Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out.”

“The older lady harrumphed. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate.""Mother-""And get stuck in the Underworld!""Mother, please-""And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?""DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house.""Oh, a house is it?" she said. "You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp-""I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me.""Excuse me," I broke in. "But if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?”

“We need music," Nico said. "How's your singing?""Um, no. Can't you just, like, tell it to open? You're the son of Hades and all.""It's not so easy. We need music."I was pretty sure if I tried to sing, all I would cause was an avalanche.”

“Not all powers are spectacular." Hestia looked at me. "Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding.”

“It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!”

“Poseidon put his weathered hand on my shoulder. “Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names…well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son.”

“I couldn’t miss Percy’s fifteenth birthday,” Poseidon said. “Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!”"That’s true,” Paul said. “I used to teach ancient history.”Poseidon’s eyes twinkled. “That’s me. Ancient history.”

“Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. “Blowfish, did you say?”"Ah, no. Blofis, actually.”"Oh, I see,” Poseidon said. “A shame. I quite like blowfish. I am Poseidon.”"Poseidon? That’s an interesting name.”"Yes, I like it. I’ve gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon.”"Like the god of the sea.”"Very much like that, yes.”

“I held out a lead figurine of Hades—the little Mythomagic statue Nico had abandoned when he fled camp last winter.Nico hesitated. "I don’t play that game anymore. It’s for kids.""It’s got four thousand attack power," I coaxed."Five thousand," Nico corrected. "But only if your opponent attacks first."I smiled. "Maybe it’s okay to still be a kid once in a while.”

“The god of wine looked around at the assembled crowd. “Miss me?”The satyrs fell over themselves nodding and bowing. “Oh, yes, very much, sire!”“Well, I did not miss this place!” Dionysus snapped. “I bear bad news, my friends. Evil news. The minor gods are changing sides. Morpheus has gone over to the enemy. Hecate, Janus, and Nemesis, as well. Zeus knows how many more.”Thunder rumbled in the distance.“Strike that,” Dionysus said. “Even Zeus doesn’t know.”

“Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you.”

“Don’t judge someone until you’ve stood at his forge and worked with his hammer, eh?”

“I slashed a wide arc with Riptide and vaporized the entire front row of monsters.Back off!” I yelled at the rest, trying to sound fierce. Behind them stood their instructor—a six-foot-tall telekhine with Doberman fangs snarling at me. I did my best to stare him down.New lesson, class,” I announced. “Most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. This change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you right now if you don’t BACK OFF!”

“Hephaestus glowered up at us. “I didn’t make you, did I?”Uh,” Annabeth said, “no, sir.”Good,” the god grumbled. “Shoddy workmanship.”

“I lost hope when I saw the horses’ teeth.As I got closer to the fence, I held my shirt over my nose to block the smell. One stallion waded through the muck and whinnied angrily at me. He bared his teeth, which were pointed like a bear’s.I tried to talk to him in my mind. I can do that with most horses.Hi, I told him. I’m going to clean your stables. Won’t that be great?Yes! The horse said. Come inside! Eat you! Tasty half-blood!But I’m Poseidon’s son, I protested. He created horses.Usually this gets me VIP treatment in the equestrian world, but not this time.Yes! The horse agreed enthusiastically. Poseidon can come in, too! We will eat you both! Seafood!”

“Percy!” he bellowed. He dropped his broom and ran at me. If you’ve never been charged by an enthusiastic Cyclops wearing a flowered apron and rubber cleaning gloves, I’m telling you, it’ll wake you up quick.”

“She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly—our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter."So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And… I think I owe you a dance."She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain."So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.”

“The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed.”

“My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.A feeling of panic seized me. "Annabeth," I said under my breath. "Don't."She frowned at me. "What?"Look, I need to tell you something," I continued. The words came stumbling out of me. "I couldn't stand it if… I don't want you to—"Percy?" she said. "You look like you're going to be sick."And that's how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn't move because of the fear in my stomach”

“I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."Don't call me sis! I will reward them.”

“Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and me. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—""Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits.""Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well.”

“I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry.”

“And there, shimmering in the Mist right next to us, was the last person I wanted to see: Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?"Where's Chiron!" I shouted.How rude." Mr. D took a swig from a jug of grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"Hello," I amended. "We're about to die! Where's Chiron?”

“Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he burst out of the water.A whole bunch of tourists went, "Whoa!"I managed to wave at the crowd. Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco.”

“Now, if you have never been hit by a flying burrito, count yourself lucky. In terms of deadly projectiles, it's right up there with grenades and cannonballs.”

“But who are you?"Percy—" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!"What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?”

“There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it.”

“Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."We stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.The naiads had left with a lot of grumbling—not in words I could understand, but it was obvious they hated this dam blocking up their nice river. Our canoes floated back downstream, swirling in the wake from the dam's discharge vents."Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s.""Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.Graver sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."Zoe stared at us. "How do you know all that?""Annabeth," I said. "She liked architecture.""She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said."Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying.""I wish she were here," I said.”

“I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. "Don't be stupid."That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear—"No, no," I said. "That's cool. It's just… the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?”

“We should go straight west. The prophecy said west.""Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!""Oh, scullion. You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?”

“I uncapped the blade, flung open the door, and found myself face-to-face with a black pegasus.Whoa, boss! Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!”

“I know you'll do what's best for Annabeth.""How can you be sure?""Because she'd do the same for you.”

“Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should've sent Poseidon that seashell pattern tie for Father's Day after all.”

“Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.Yes, Lord Dionysus."Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on.”

“Argh!" Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs."Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.I stood up. "Yeah," I growled. "I didn't mean to, either."Thalia was breathing heavily."Enough!" Chiron ordered.But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"Somehow, it was okay when Annabeth called me that — at least, I'd gotten used to it — but hearing it from Thalia was not cool."Bring it on, Pinecone Face!”