CHAPTER ONE

Everyone around me sang campfire songs quietly, not really in the mood for singing. The campfire was low and a dark purple. Yeah, I said dark purple. It's a magical fire that reflects the mood of the campers around it.

My name is Tina Gonzalez, the daughter of Poseidon. I know that sounds crazy, that the mythological gods are real and all, but it's true. And not only am I a child of a god, but so is everyone else sitting around me.

So, why are we all so sad? Archer Mason, a son of Apollo and my boyfriend, and Ben Troy, a son of Mars, had been kidnapped by someone who we had once called a friend. The story leading up to their abduction is a very long one, so I'll tell you the short version.

I arrived at Camp Half-Blood with my friend, Tamara Hope, a week ago, when Archer saved us from a sphinx attack. The very day we arrived at camp, I was claimed during a game of capture the flag. Tamara, however, was discovered to be the daughter of the Egyptian god Horus, and Dakota Storm, an Egyptian, took her to a training facility in Brooklyn.

While she was away, I learned how to fight with a sword while my half-brother, Percy Jackson, taught me how to control my water powers. The second day I was at camp, our Oracle announced to the whole camp that Zeus had been taken by an unknown person. She issued a prophecy of a quest to save Zeus. A son of arrows, a daughter of the sea, and a princess of war would go on the quest. Archer and I were the first two people,and Tamara happened to be the third. So we set out to find Zeus, Dakota tagging along to help Tamara if her unbelievable powers got out of control.

We traveled from New York to Texas to the Underworld in Mexico and all the way to Hawaii. There in Hawaii, we found Zeus and his captors. It happened to be Tamara's father, Horus, and his mother, Isis. After an epic battle, with all of us nearly dying, we discovered that Horus was being controlled by a demon that Isis had planted in him. Isis had been behind the whole plan all along, trying to claw her way to being the ultimate queen of all the gods. Horus had banished her, and I had thought we would have at least a few weeks of peace. We didn't even get a day. The very night we got back to Camp Half-Blood, Archer had taken me for a walk in the strawberry fields. There, we had shared our first kiss and he had asked me to be his girlfriend. I, of course, had said yes and had been the happiest girl on earth. But when I woke up the next morning, Archer and Ben were both gone, and all that was left was a note from Dakota.

I felt tears fill my eyes again. Every time I thought about it. . . . We had thought Dakota was our friend, Tamara and I both. But now he had decided to work for Isis, all because Tamara had chosen to be with Ben over him.

Someone touched my shoulder, and I looked up from staring at the dark purple flames. Tamara stood there, her eyes and nose red. She had been crying, probably thinking about how she had gained and lost Ben in less than twenty-four hours.

"Hey," I said, my voice hoarse.

"Hi," she said back.

I scooted over in my seat so she could sit down.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Not great. You?"

"Not so good either."

Okay, I know. Obviously we felt terrible, but we asked anyway. We both sat there, staring into the flames and trying to keep tears down.

So, now you ask the question, "Why aren't you out there looking for them?"

We had been. Tamara and I and a bunch of other people had gone out on a huge search for two whole days. We had sent people all over the United States, but we couldn't find Archer and Ben. And after a group of demigods were attacked and nearly killed by a dragon, our camp director had called us back and said no more search parties.

I felt anger coarse through me. How could Chiron say that! One of his campers was missing and he had declared no more searches! At least the Egyptian magicians were still looking, searching for Dakota, who happened to be their leader's son.

"Alright everyone!" Chiron said. He was in centaur form, his white stallion body reflecting the purple fire's flames. "Everyone go back to your cabins. It's late and we all have training in the morning." Our director looked at me and Tamara.

I glared at him. Tamara next to me, started radiating heat. I mean literally. She had unbelievable powers, being the daughter of Horus. A child of an Egyptian god had been unheard of until she came along, and she had inherited some powers from her father. She could summon a fifteen-foot avatar and smash anyone in her way. Not only that, but she had inborn magician powers as well. She was an elementalist, meaning she could control water, earth, fire, and air. And even that wasn't enough. On top of that, she had received a blessing from her grandfather, Zeus, only a few days ago, and had been given powers over rain and lightning. Several times a day, a random gray cloud would hover over Tamara's head and rain softly as she cried. When she got angry, it was best to stay away from her. She either lost control of her powers and she turned into a golden glowing giant who smashed everything, or there was a lightning storm. When Chiron had told us that there would be no more search parties, she had gotten so angry a huge bolt of lightning had struck the Big House roof and blown it to bits. It was kind of scary, having a friend who was that powerful. I mean, Percy was a very powerful demigod, and I had only touched the tip of the iceberg when using my powers. But Tamara was like me and Percy combined.

Tamara and I got up from our seats and started walking with the rest of the campers along the trail leading away from the amphitheater. We reached a fork in the path, one way leading to the Big House, where Tamara was staying, and one way leading to the cabins. We gave each other watery smiles as we parted ways and I turned down my path. I froze at what I saw. Standing in the middle of the path, staring at me with bright-yellow eyes, was a black jaguar. It would have blended into the dark of the night, had it not been for its eyes. It just stared at me, like it was waiting for me to make the first move. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see if Tamara had noticed. She hadn't. I looked back at the jaguar, and it was gone, like it had never been there.

Okay, I thought. You were just imagining things. You've just reached your emotional breaking point, that's all.

I started walking again, trying to push the jaguar out of my head, when I saw it again. Its body was facing the direction of the forest, but its head was turned back to me. It stared at me with its yellow eyes, and I got the weird feeling that it wanted me to follow it. I turned my head to see where Tamara was. She was almost to the porch of the Big House.

"Tamara!" I hissed quietly. "Tamara, come here!"

She turned her head to look at me and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I waved her over and after a few seconds of hesitation, she finally jogged over.

"Tina, what's wrong?" she asked me.

I pointed a finger over to where the jaguar stood. Tamara stared in the direction I was pointing, but didn't seem to see anything.

"Tina, there's nothing over there. Are you. . . ." Her words died off.

The jaguar had turned back to look at us yet again and then started walking quickly into the forest.

"Is that a jaguar?" Tamara asked.

"Yes, and I think it wants us to follow it."

Tamara looked at me. "Um, it's just a jaguar. I'm concerned as to why it's in the camp, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't care if we follow it or not."

But I had a gut feeling. The way the cat had looked at me with its eyes, as though it had something important to tell me, made me certain that I needed to follow it.

I started jogging after the cat.

"Tina, really?" Tamara asked. "You're really going to follow that thing into the forest? At night? You know that this is the time when the monsters come out!"

"Exactly!" I said over my shoulder. "Which is the very reason why you should come with me, in case I'm attacked."

Tamara sighed loudly but ran after me. "But I don't have my sword!"

I laughed dryly. "Tamara, we both know you don't need it. We'll be fine."

We ran down the hill, trying to catch up with the cat. It had stopped walking at the edge of the forest and was looking at us, waiting. When we got within five-feet of it, it started walking again, entering the dark trees.

Tamara and I looked at each other before stepping into the forest. As soon as we did, it was like the whole world had gone black. I pulled my hairpin out of my pocket and pressed the tiny pearl that was embedded in it. My bronze sword appeared in my hand, a gift from my father. The faint glow of the blade offered a little bit of light. Next to me, Tamara muttered something in Egyptian and a golden orb of light appeared in her hand.

We followed the cat through the forest, remaining quiet so no monsters would detect us. Dry leaves crunched under our feet and twigs snapped. I cringed every time one of us stepped on a twig, expecting some nasty monster to come out at us. Thankfully, no monsters came, and we followed the cat deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Where do you think it's leading us?" Tamara whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back, feeling a nervous knot form in my stomach. What if the cat turned out to be some huge monster in disguise? Or worse. What if. . . .

"Tamara, you don't think that jaguar is working for Isis, do you?"

Tamara stopped walking and thought. In the light of her orb, her red hair looked like it was on fire.

"No, I don't think so. Isis can't get into the camp without permission, which will never be given to her. And a jaguar isn't one of her symbols. But, if you want to turn back, I'd be happy to. I still think that this is a really bad idea."

I shook my head. If Tamara didn't think the jaguar was working for Isis, then I wanted to keep going. This cat was definitely leading us somewhere for a reason.

We kept walking and the trees started changing around us. They were getting older and older. Dead leaves were in piles all around us. Something moved in a bush and we froze, but it was only a squirrel scampering to a tree.

Finally, the black cat stopped walking. It turned and looked at us. We slowly walked up to it. It brushed its head against my hand, and I tentatively ran my hand across its head.

"Where are we?" Tamara asked.

The cat had led us to a clearing in the forest. Younger looking trees made a circle around us. Under our feet was green grass instead of dead leaves and a small stream of water cut through the grass like a blue snake. In the middle of the clearing was a gigantic tree. It was so tall that I could barely see the top of it. The the trunk was so big around that I imagined you could fit at least twenty, maybe thirty demigods in it. It was so peaceful and calm.

"Where have you taken us?" I asked the jaguar. It had plopped down by my feet and was grooming its fur.

"Ah, he was following my request," a silky woman's voice said.

Tamara and I whirled around to look at the huge tree. A woman in a pure white dress was leaning against it. She was barefoot, her nails painted a light pink. Her skin was flawless. No wrinkles, no red spots, nothing. It looked like she had popped out of a fashion magazine, except her flawless face didn't look like the result of plastic surgery. Her skin itself was pale, with a slight tint of pink in it. Her lips were full and red, her eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors, changing from blue, to green, to hazel, to brown. Her hair seemed to change color and length too. One moment it was short and brown and then long and blond. She was like a forever morphing person, always changing her looks, all of which were gorgeous and flawless.

"Who are you?" Tamara asked.

The woman smiled a dazzling smile. "A friend who is very interested in both of your lives."

Tamara sighed next to me. I knew what she was thinking. The woman hadn't answered Tamara's question.

The woman laughed quietly at our frustration and held out her hand. The jaguar at my feet stood up and walked over to the woman, rubbing its head affectionately on her legs.

"Really," I said. "who are you?"

The woman turned and looked at us, her eyes staying a piercing shade of blue.

My name is Aphrodite, the goddess of love."