“I don’t leave her speechless very often. I have to enjoy those rare moments.”

“You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes.”

“I thought she'd make some comment about the bloodthirsty gods chasing us, but when she finally found her voice, she said, "That boy kissed you!"Leave it to Liz to have her priorities straight.”

“Sadie got up and kissed Amos on the forehead. “Leave it to us, Uncle. I’ve got a plan.”“That,” I said, “sounds like very bad news.”

“Athena stood in the middle of the road with her arms crossed and a look on her face that made me think Uh-oh. She'd changed out of her armor, into jeans and a white blouse, but she didn't look any less warlike. Her gray eyes blazed."Well, Percy," she said. "You will stay mortal.""Um, yes, ma'am.""I would know your reasons.""I want to be a regular guy. I want to grow up. Have, you know, a regular high school experience.""And my daughter?""I couldn't leave her," I admitted, my throat dry. "Or Grover," I added quickly. "Or-""Spare me." Athena stepped close to me, and I could feel her aura of power making my skin itch. "I once warned you, Percy Jackson, that to save a friend you would destroy the world. Perhaps I was mistaken. You seem to have saved both your friends and the world. But think very carefully about how you proceed from here. I have given you the benefit of the doubt. Don't mess up."Just to prove her point, she erupted in a column of flame, charring the front of my shirt.”

“I hoped they couldn't run very fast with those stubby little legs and flippers, but they waddled along pretty well.”

“You both passed out,” Percy said. “I don’t know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were…sharing?”“Sharing,” Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn’t look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. “Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts.”Percy scratched his head. “Yeah…we’ve been having conversations like that all night. I still don’t know what she’s talking about.”