The Titan's Curse

hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They’re immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well . . . Our lives are dangerous.”
    “Dangerous,” Bianca said, “like the girl who fell.”
    Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.
    “Do not despair for Annabeth,” the goddess said. “She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her.”
    “Then why won’t you let us go look for her?” I asked.
    “She is gone. Can’t you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished.”
    I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she’d been down there in the sea, I thought, I’d be able to feel her presence.
    “Oo!” Nico raised his hand. “What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?”
    “He was a manticore,” Artemis said. “Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear.”
    “Or they’ll hunt us,” Thalia said.
    Bianca di Angelo shivered. “That explains . . . Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?”
    “And that bus driver,” Nico said. “The one with the ram’s horns. I told you that was real.”
    “That’s why Grover has been watching you,” I said. “To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods.”
    “Grover?” Bianca stared at him. “You’re a demigod?”
    “Well, a satyr, actually.” He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.
    “Grover, put your shoes back on,” Thalia said. “You’re freaking her out.”
    “Hey, my hooves are clean!”
    “Bianca,” I said, “we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won’t be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp.”
    “Camp?” she asked.
    “Camp Half-Blood,” I said. “It’s where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like.”
    “Sweet, let’s go!” said Nico.
    “Wait.” Bianca shook her head. “I don’t—”
    “There is another option,” Zoë said.
    “No, there isn’t!” Thalia said.
    Thalia and Zoë glared at each other. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.
    “We’ve burdened these children enough,” Artemis announced. “Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests’ belongings from the school.”
    “Yes, my lady.”
    “And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you.”
    “What about me?” Nico asked.
    Artemis considered the boy. “Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I’m sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while . . . as a favor to me?”
    Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. “You bet! Come on, Nico!”
    Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
    Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.
    As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. “The nerve of those Hunters! They think they’re so . . . Argh!”
    “I’m with you,” I said. “I don’t trust—”
    “Oh, you’re with me?” Thalia turned on me furiously. “What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You’d take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself ? You knew he was a monster!”
    “I—”
    “If we’d stuck together, we could’ve taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?”
    My jaw clenched. I thought of some harsh things to say, and I might’ve said them too, but then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth’s New York Yankees baseball cap.
    Thalia didn’t say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow.
    * * *
    The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one