“Of course, most mortals can't see magic clearly, so I'm not sure what they thought they saw as we passed overhead. No doubt it caused many of them to adjust their medication.”

“How could music cause so many lives to veer off course?”

“so mortals tend to see only what they can understand.”

“I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters.”

“Zia turned toward us, her expression grim. “I will show you to your quarters. In the morning, your testing begins. We will see what magic you know, and how you know it.”I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I exchanged an uneasy look with Sadie.“Sounds fun,” Sadie ventured. “And it we fail this test?”Zia regarded her coldly. “This is not the sort of test you fail, Sadie Kane. You pass or you die.”

“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.”

“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-”