"Amanda... Amanda Rain Jackson!" I heard a blurry voice shout. "Grover can't 'cha do anything? Amanda! Oh gods..." I opened my eyes, trying to adjust to the harsh light.
My brother was a few feet away looking away solemn. He had a lions pelt on and I wanted to laugh so hard. He looked stupid.
"What in the name of Hades is brother dear groaning about? And what the Hephaestus are you wearing, Macklemore?" I mutter rubbing my head.
"AMANDA!" Percy shouted.
"Hello brother." I tried to sit up, but two hands pushed me back down.
"Gods, Thalia, I'm fine. I was just exhausted. Happens every time I shadow travel. This has happened before. It will happen again. Grover! Tell them I'm fine!" Grover turned around startled.
"Oh...uh. She's done this before. It scared the living day lights out of me!" Grover muttered.
"See?" I said trying to prove my point. I looked around at everyone and noticed Zoe. "Oh, hello Zoe. How are you?"
"I just lost thou sister and friend. How do you think I am?"
"Oh, right." I said straightening myself. I hadn't really thought about Bianca's death. I knew what I had to do. I didn't realise that I have just been handed over the last Di Angelo.
Oh my gods, what is Nico gonna say? Did Chiron tell him? I'm in deep hellhound crap.
Even though we were fighting, I'm gonna miss Bianca.
--page break--
We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then we straggled back toward the dam.
It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.
Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Smart girl. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but I knew he smelled monsters.
"How close are they?" Percy asked him.
He shook his head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us... the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like that."
I didn't either. It was Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and they still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters,
"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.
"You've been here before?" Percy asked.
"Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues.
They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.
"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."
Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be rubbing at the statues' feet. Annabeth said something about this once.
"What are they doing?" Percy asked.
"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."
"Why?"
She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."
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Fanfiction"My life was okay. I lived at camp half-blood, had awesome friends, and I was freaky good in training (what? I'm only 7 and I can beat a 13 year old in sword fighting )." Meet Amanda. An unclaimed orphan demigod who hides in the shadows most of the...
