The Sun and The Sea

The Hunters and The Sun Chariot

"Um . . .Okay," Percy said after the news of hearing who Artemis was. 

That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!" 

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!" 

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out." 

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who... who are you people?" 

Artemis's expression softened.

"It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?" 

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. "Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..." 

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her. 

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth." 

"No one is saying you aren't," Finley spoke with a stoic expression. "You're a half-blood. One of your parents is a human and the other an Olympian."

"An Olympian... athlete?" 

"No," Zoe said, her accent was hard to place. "One of the gods." 

"Cool!" said Nico. 

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!" 

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagicgame, okay? There are no gods!" 

As anxious as Finley and Percy felt about Annabeth—all they wanted to do was search for her—they couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. They remembered what it was like for them when they first learned they were demigods. 

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's 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?" Percy asked hotly."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." 

"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 DC?" 

"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," Finley said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."