Chapter 1

Sirens wailed in the streets of New York as police and people crowded a curious scene. Laying in an alley was a teenage boy, maybe 17 years old, with a five-year-old girl standing over him, tears streaming down her face. The boy's stomach had been clawed open, his face also scratched beyond recognition.

When the police asked around, no one was quite sure of what had happened. Some said it was an escaped lion and the teen had grabbed a baseball bat and attempted to protect the girl. Others claimed the boy had a gun and had tried to mug a man, who had, in an act of self-defense, grabbed a knife from his coat pocket and slashed the boy before running off.

The girl herself was not helping. She refused to talk about the events of that day. She would mutter things in her sleep, though. Things like, "Stop, Percy, stop. No! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him! Please, don't hurt my big brother."

She didn't even tell the officers her name.

Finally, after several days, the police determined the teen's identity. A headline went out in the newspaper that very morning:

RECORD-BREAKING SWIM CAPTAIN FOUND DEAD

Goode High School, the home of the state's top Swim Team and the only school Percy Jackson had yet to be kicked out of was quite loud. Students who had been gone for the summer were filling classrooms, reuniting with old friends, and meeting new teachers. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the start of a new day and a new year.

Students found their desks and teachers called attendance. In an English class, Paul Blofis glanced down his attendance chart, marking Percy Jackson absent. Percy, a demigod son of Poseidon, had been gone on a quest for the past few days and had yet to return.

He stood up in front of the class and began with calling role.

"Justin Anderson?"

"Here."

"Wyatt Bjorn?"

"Here."

"Annabeth Chase?"

"Hello, Pa-Mr. Blofis," replied the blonde daughter of Athena.

Paul continued to take role, skipping Percy's name when he got to it. He submitted the attendance through an online software the school had installed over the summer and stood up to teach.

"Good morning students! My name is Mr. Blofis. Welcome to your English class. You will be expected to read four books this year."

A sudden screech interrupted Paul's introduction as the principal began to speak over the PA system.

"Students and faculty, please pardon the interruption. It is with my deepest regrets and apologies that I must inform you," the voice paused for a minute, and a muffled noise came over the speaker. "It is with my regrets that I must inform you that one of our own has passed away."

The class, most of whom had their heads on the desks, suddenly looked up with rapt attention. Paul cocked his head, curious.

"It is a tragedy when one of our dear members passes away, and today, the man who has left us… is…" There were more muffled sobs. "Percy Jackson was found dead, mutilated in an alley three days ago."

There was silence. It was as if the entire world had gone silent. Two wails, two cries of anguish, arose from the well of silence. An English teacher who had just gotten used to his step-son's life, and a blonde bookworm who had lost the same boy for eight months suddenly collapsed. As they broke down, the rest of the school did, as well. Close friends of Percy's—the swim team, his demigod friends, his mortal friends—began to cry as well. Some of the girls who didn't know him well were crying, and many of the guys who had admired and were jealous of him in the past choked up.

Percy Jackson, swim captain of Goode High School, was dead.

Paul left as soon as he could collect himself from his desk, taking Annabeth with him. As soon as he explained his relationship to Percy, as well as Annabeth's, the school allowed them to rush home to Sally's apartment, where they found her sitting on the couch in shock.

"Sally?" Paul asked hesitantly.

Sally turned to look at her husband. Before a word could be said, Annabeth rushed to Sally and hugged her like a girl would her mother, crying into her shoulder.

"Sally, is it true?"

Sally nodded numbly. "I… I think it is."

Annabeth looked up at her, tears staining her eyes. "How could this happen?"

Sally shook her head. "I don't know." Then she broke into tears, as well. Paul walked over to them and wrapped his arms around the girls, trying to comfort them.

The doorbell rang and, letting the girls have their moment, Paul answered it. Standing outside was a police officer and a little girl.

"Excuse me, is this the Blofis residence?"

Paul nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss, sir, but I do have a young girl here who insists that Percy Jackson was her brother."

Paul looked at the girl. "I've nev-" Paul was about to tell the officer that he didn't know the girl when Sally appeared at his shoulder.

"Julie! Where have you been! I've been worried sick about you!"

The girl looked up at Sally and visibly relaxed.

"Come inside, Julie! We've missed you!" Sally ushered the girl inside and Paul thanked the officer before closing the door.

"Sally, who is this?"

"I don't know, but it's the girl that Percy was with when he was killed. What's your name, sweetie?"

The girl sat down on the couch. "I'm Lanie."

"Is that a nickname, Lanie?"

"I think Mommy said it means Atalanta."

Annabeth smiled a bit and Sally nodded before responding, "That's a lovely name, Atalanta. I have one more question for you. Do you know Percy Jackson?"

Lanie nodded gravely. "Percy saved me." She got visibly upset. "H-he said he was going to take me somewhere safe, but a big dog found us when we were hiding in one of the alleys. His pen became a sword and he fought the dog, but the other dog got him. He killed it before it could hurt me, and now… Now my brother is dead!"

"Your brother?"

"He said that he would be my big brother and that we could live together and that he would find me a new mommy! But now, he's dead!"

"What happened to your mother?"

"Daddy… Daddy hurt her and one day, she wouldn't wake up. I was so scared that I ran away, and Percy found me. He said I could be part of his family, but Daddy's looking for me now, so that's why we were hiding."

"Atalanta, I'll be your new mommy. I am-was… Percy's mommy, so I'll gladly be yours."

"Do you make blue food?" she asked excitedly.

Sally laughed a bit. "Of course I do! I'll make blue pancakes tomorrow, okay, Lanie?" Lanie nodded. "Great! You can sleep with me and Paul tonight, but tomorrow, we are working on getting you a room set up, okay?"

Lanie grinned. "Thanks, Mommy! You are going to be super cool!"

Sally smiled, though pain flashed in her eyes, mirrored in the eyes of Annabeth and Paul as they thought of Percy and how much Lanie reminded them of him.