This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―iv. naomi is offered an escape route

AFTER SEEING DR. THORN TURN INTO A MONSTER and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth, you'd think Naomi would be used to surprises. 

But finding out the twelve-year-old with eyes like the moon was the goddess Artemis still rendered her speechless. 

"Um.. okay," Percy said intelligently. 

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. She glared at the Hunters holding Naomi down until they let up, then grabbed Naomi's hand and hauled her to her feet. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!" 

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

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

Artemis's expression grew softer. "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. She could probably tell from their faces that they didn't believe her. 

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

Naomi stepped forward. "You guys are half-bloods," she explained gently, remembering when she'd been in Bianca's position—so sure she'd been an orphan, but being told she wasn't. It was more than just jarring—it was world-shattering. "I know it's a lot to take in, but it's the truth. One of your parents was mortal... the other is a god." 

"Cool!" Nico said. 

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

Nico danced around like he had ants in his pants. "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 Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!" 

Naomi couldn't help but feel sorry for the di Angelos.

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 and look for her?" Percy 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."

"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 reform over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear." 

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca shivered. "That explains... Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"