~One~

The only thing good about my stepdad is his taste in cars. Other than that, he can rot in Tartarus. The '67 Chevy Impala that I "acquired" from him turns the corner with a purr as I pull into the parking lot. Grover cringes in the passenger seat.

"Why can't you mortals use bikes? They're greener."

Two things about Grover: he's what you'd call an "environmentalist nut" and he's not human. He said "mortals" because he's a satyr; it's not some new street insult. Satyrs are basically people from the waist up, but with two furry legs and hooves to match.

"You can't outrun gods and monsters with bikes. Not unless you happen to be a god or monster."

He shrugs and smiles a little

"Whatever you say, man."

We get out of the car and carry our Styrofoam containers of Chow Mein and Kung-Pow Chicken into our motel room. When we open the door, Annabeth looks up from her laptop.

"It took you guys long enough. Or did you have to fight Gorgons just to get some Panda Palace take-out?" She laughs.

"Don't look at me; he's the one who insisted he had to find something without meat off of a menu full of nothing but meat." I reply, jerking my thumb at Grover.

He blushes, taking off his shoes. He clicks his hooves together and grabs a box. Annabeth and I do the same and she fills us in on our latest hunting job.

The three of us are one of many teams of hunters that go around the country protecting people from the dangers of immortal life. Grover and I have known each other since grade school, but when I came face to face with a Harpy, he told me I had to come with him to see a man named Chiron. Chiron, a centaur, told me about how I was a demigod, the son of a Greek god and a human. My mother, a mortal, had died not long before he told me this. He also told me about how demigods (also known as half-bloods) are the only humans able to see the monsters that threaten everyday life for both mortals and immortals, which is why they are the only humans to hunt them. Some gods, like Zeus, don't like the idea of mortals doing the work of gods, but seeing how gods don't do it that well anyway; they sort of let it slide.

My dad happens to be Poseidon, god of the seas. He's pretty cool with the hunting thing, and the one time j met him, he said I wasn't half bad. That's pretty much the best compliment you can muster from a prideful, immortal man. My stepdad, on the other hand... Let's just say, if he weren't a human being (or at least, if it were legal), I wouldn't hesitate to hunt him down. At least I stole his car. My mom only married him to protect me, because his human scent masked my demigod one so well that monsters couldn't seek me out.

Grover and Annabeth are talking about the minor god wreaking havoc in town when, all of a sudden, a deep voice says

"Hello, everyone."

I jump off of my spot on the bed and my chopsticks go flying across the room. The newcomer laughs and walks out of the shadows.

"Sorry, that corner was dark and I couldn't resist."

Nico De Angelo is red in the face from laughing as he sits on the adjacent bed. Nico is a son of Hades, which means he can appear out of nowhere, granted there's a shadow. He travels from place to place by walking through some weird dimension via the Underworld, ergo the shadow stuff.

"Cripes, Percy, you look like you've seen a ghost." He smirks.

I glare at him, but can't help but smile as I pick my egg roll up off the floor. For the son of the biggest pessimist in history, he's a pretty funny guy.

"Hey, Nico." Annabeth waves from the floor. "What's new in the Underworld?"

"Ah, you know, a little dark, a little gloomy, and as always, full of dead people. What are you gonna do?" He smirks.

Annabeth laughs at the quote and keeps eating her orange chicken.

"Anyway, I came to tell you guys about that god your hunting. I got a lead on what it really is, and it's no minor god. It's one of my dad's demons."

Grover chokes on his pot sticker.

"A demon? Why's Hades sending out demons all of a sudden?"

"That's the thing," Nico picks up a chopstick, inspecting it. "he isn't."

Annabeth's eyebrows knit together in confusion as she looks at him.

"It escaped from the Fields."