Annabeth Chase And the Titan's Curse

Chapter 3: Bianca Di Angelo Makes A Choice

After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Percy, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um....okay."

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. Percy 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 sister, 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."

"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian....athlete?"

"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nica.

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

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

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

As anxious as I felt about Percy—all I wanted to do was search for her—I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigod.

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 boy who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

"Do not despair for Percy," the goddess said. "He was a brave child," Artemis said with an endearing smile. "If he can be found, I shall find him."

"Then why won't you let us go look for him?" I asked.

"He is gone. Can't you sense it, Daughter 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 him, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Percy was gone. If he'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able to feel his presence.

"Oo!" Nica raised her 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."