I STILL COULDN'T DECIDE if this was the best or worst day of my life.
First, I find out my mean principle was really a creepy principle which turned out to be a creepy monster which then turned out to be a creepy man-lion. There goes my love for the Lion King.
Second, he falls off a cliff carrying Percy’s best friend like a back pack.
And third, I JUST MET A MANTICORE OH MY GOSH.
I get back into focus only to see the dark haired girl pulling Grover up to his feet. “We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!” Grover yanked his arm away and frowned at her.
“Whoa,” Bianca says, “Hold up. Time out.” Everybody turns to her. “Who… who are you people?” She pulled me closer to her, as if to protect me. Artemis’s’ expression softened. Wow, is it really her? I stare at her in awe.
“It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?” I felt Bianca look down at me. I pretend that I didn’t hear her words.
“Our parents are dead,” Bianca said hoarsely. “We’re orphans. There’s a bank trust that pays for our school but...” She stopped talking. “What? I’m telling the truth.” I blink and look back at my sister, who was frowning. Her bottom lip quivered, but she only closed her eyes tight.
She’d always do this when she was about to cry.
“You are a half-blood.” Zoe crosses her arms. She had an unrecognizable accent. “One of thy parents is mortal. The other was an Olympian.”
“An Olympian… Athlete?”
“No,” Zoe said, “One of the Gods.”
“Cool!” I cry, clapping my hands together. I jump up and down in excitement.
“No!” Bianca’s voice quavered. “That is not cool!”
I danced around, shooting questions at her. “Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do 600 damage? Does he get extra movement points for-”
“Nico, shut up!” My sister snapped, putting her face in her hands. “This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no Gods!”
“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 can get a bit dangerous.” The dark haired girl said.
“Dangerous,” Bianca repeats. “Like the girl who fell?”
The teen turned and looked at the cliff sadly.
“Do not despair for Annabeth.” Artemis says, “She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her.”
“Then why don’t you let us go look for her?” Percy asked, voice desperate.
“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.”
Percy looked like he still wants to jump off and save her, but he kept still.
“Oo!” I rose my hand, still not done with my questions. “What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome, how you shot him with those 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.” The dark haired girl says.
“That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?”
