Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here. And I knew she would never want anything bad to happen to Grover. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so Annabeth and I had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons. Take my first class today: English. Sloan himself stood petrified in the middle of the court, watching in disbelief as balls of death flew around him.
I couldn't see what was chasing him, but I could hear it muttering and cursing. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Grover stumbled, whimpering in fear. He growled and turned toward the plate of barbecue. I was used to seeing him with two or three, but today he had like, half a dozen more, and I was pretty sure I'd never seen them before. No big deal, I told myself. We were making good time, pulling ahead of Ares, but Annabeth's chariot was way ahead of us.
Like it was my fault the gods had almost gotten into a civil war? She pointed to Thalia's tree. I could smell the thing—a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten meat and that weird sour body odor only monsters have, like a skunk that's been living off Mexican food. Tyson pushed me out of the way, but the explosion still blew me head over heels. I'd always had trouble looking directly at him, though I'd never quite understood why. The pine had been here ever since, strong and healthy. It shimmered, growing longer and heavier until I held the bronze sword Anaklusmos in my hands. Maybe the other kids saw Matt Sloan's thugs getting ready to toss Molotov cock-tails around.
Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece. When we got to the Big House, we found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags. The blacksmith god had always worked with Cyclopes in his forges, so Beckendorf took Tyson down to the armory to teach him metalworking. I ripped off a chunk of my tie-dyed T-shirt, which was already falling apart from all the burn marks, and used it to pick the eyeball off the floor. I can't just let the borders fail.
The Big House was still there with its blue gabled roof and its wraparound porch. He had been the first one to recognize I was a demigod. He was standing by the weight room door, clutching his gym clothes. They were bronze, the size of cannon balls, perforated like wiffle balls with fire bubbling out the holes. They just dissipate into smoke and dust, which saves heroes a lot of trouble cleaning up after a fight. I wanted to ask a million questions, but just then the kitchen clock chimed the half-hour.
Written By: Rick Riordan Narrated By: Jesse Bernstein Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Audiobook 2 Publisher: Listening Library Audio Duration: 7 hours 56 minutes Rick Riordan has not only made these characters instant classics, he also has woven an intricately layered story between a collision of world and cultures to create a sequel worthy of its predecessor. The old lady snatched it up, pushed it into her eye socket like somebody putting in a contact lens, and blinked. They dropped their weapons and ran as Bull Number Two closed in on Clarisse for the kill. I was still looking around, taking in the stalactite ceiling, the stench of sheep and goats, the growling and grumbling and bleating sounds that seemed to echo from behind a refrigerator-sized boul-der, which was blocking the room's only exit, as if there were a much larger cavern beyond it. He'd probably twisted the story around so that Tyson and I were the bloodthirsty cannibals.
Tyson had batted two of the balls back toward their owners and blasted them to ashes. Last summer, I fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. My mom was right, I should have been excited. That's kind of the way I felt seeing Camp Half-Blood again. The gym uniform at Meriwether is sky blue shorts and tie-dyed T-shirts.
They kind of follow Western Civilization around, living in the strongest countries, so like now they're in the U. Now, with its snout half gone and a huge gash in its side, it was trying to run in slow motion, going in circles like some kind of merry-go-round animal. Clarisse's own armor was charred. He muttered to himself, Have to get away. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group.
He didn't seem surprised or confused by what I was telling him, which surprised and confused me. In my dream, Grover was wearing a wedding dress. Anyway, Matt Sloan snuck up behind him and tried to give him a wedgie, and Tyson panicked. Her blond hair was pulled back in a bandanna. It was hard for me to make out the headline, but I had a pretty good guess what it said.
I had to promise to buy Tyson an extra peanut butter sandwich at lunch to get him to stop sobbing. The demon pigeons went nuts. The archers from Apollo's cabin brought out their bows and arrows, ready to slay the menace, but with so many campers mixed in with the birds, it wasn't safe to shoot. Standing in the smoke was my friend Annabeth. Only one more day to go.