"I am the son of Hades," Nico insisted. "Begone!"
Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the lord of spirits! The gohst king!"
"No." Nico drew his sword. "I am."

Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me.
"Be careful, Seaweed Brain." She put on her hat and vanished.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "goodbye, sunshine."
"Hello, rocks," Tyson agreed.
And, together, the four of us descended into darkness.

Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to "clean" it, and suddenly you can't find anything? And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody's been looking through your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?

My name is Percy Jackson.
I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.
Am I a trouble kid?
Yeah. You could say that.

More lights glowed in the woods, and, weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of The Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I wondered if the spirit of Delphiwas roasting marshmallows up there or something.

The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before.
He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.
Artemis pleads for my help.
I am so cool."