Prologue

I hate my name. Who wants a name like Alexandria Exardius Demitruis…? I don't even have a last name, for crying out loud! My mom and dad must've had fun naming me, not that Hades, Lord of the Dead and Royal Pain in My Neck, has fun. Having a dad who controls the dead, fights in wars, and steals my friend Percy's mom would be awkward, if I ever saw him enough to talk about it. No, Lord Hades has other problems, worse, more important problems than remembering that he has a daughter.

I've lived on my own for about six years, after I ran away from my adoptive parents. They were great, but they just couldn't deal with a kid who could raise the dead, so I left. I've talked to my dad twice. The first time, he tells me how the Olympian gods are real, how monsters will kill me, and how he's my dad. That conversation was weird, but I figured he was my dad, but that he didn't care. That one conversation showed that I was right about him. He is self-absorbed, egotistical, and uninterested in me. I mean, I don't expect him to hug me or give me fourteen years worth of birthday presents or anything, but seriously, if you show up when your kid is trying to sneak out of a store with food in her pocket, the least you can do is give her some time to rant about abandonment, right?

Wrong.

The second time, he shows up saying, "Alexandria, it is time for you to go to Camp Half-Blood. It has come to my attention that Kronos and the Titans are gaining power; all children of the Big Three must be kept safe or killed. Zeus and Poseidon have broken the oath, so I can reveal that I have, too. You will travel to New York and from their, a satyr will help you." Then he leaves. When you send your daughter to New York to go to some camp to be safe from Kronos, you should send her with some money, maybe food, or a weapon or two, right? She should get free transportation, right?

Wrong.

Instead I get a "Hey, sorry I abandoned you for fourteen years and then sent you to some camp so I don't have to deal with you." and a "I can tell my brothers I have a kid now, too. Yay." from a dad who doesn't care.

So he tells me this, and I end up going to my home, an abandoned apartment building that's been marked as a demolition site for two years. I get my beaten up backpack, my leather jacket, my extra pair of clothes, and my weapons. Now, you may be thinking, Where did she get this stuff?, but I don't like how I got my stuff.

I stole it, okay? I needed it, I took it. The only thing I didn't absolutely need was the leather jacket but, come on, what is a Daughter of Hades without a good leather jacket? Nothing. I got my weapons from various monsters I've defeated over the years. I only use knives. I killed this lady with snakes for legs and she had these two great knives. They're really long, but they shrink down and turn into two silver rings. I have two other throwing knives that fit into my tall black boots. That's it. That's all I have, I put it all in my bag, and I set off for New York.

Your probably wondering, How does she know where New York is? It doesn't sound like you got much schooling. I did. I go to Fellmont Jr. High, in Missouri. I'm actually a pretty good student, when I show up. C average. Going to school helped me learn some things to fight monsters, too. I was part of the Gymnastics Club and the Jiujutsu Club. I have street smarts, too. I may not be a genius, but I know my way around. I walk to the bus stop and pull out my money. I don't like it, but I'm a pickpocket. I'm good, but that doesn't make me feel happy about it.

The bus pulls up, I get in, hand the fat guy my money, and take a seat in the back. It's one of those big tour bus ones, filled with old people playing BINGO and watching the Three Stooges or something. The bus should get me to St. Louis, where I can hitch-hike to Chicago. With my destination in my head, I put my feet up, lean back, and shut my eyes. I'm so not playing BINGO.

I do not like water, nightmares, or big cruise ships. When I dream about all three, it gives me a headache. In this particular nightmare, I see a huge white ship being tossed around on the open sea. Something doesn't seem right about the ship to me; as it come closer to my dream-self, I see why. The ship is filled to the brim with monsters and demi-gods. They're all suited up for battle. I walk through the halls until I enter this huge room. It was dimly lit, but I wasn't focusing on how it looked, I was focusing on who was there. A guy about late high-school age with sandy-blond hair was standing in there, a sword strapped to his hip, talking to a coffin. He had a large, jagged scar under his eye.

When I talk about coffins, I usually know what I'm talking about. I'm a daughter of Hades, I know about this stuff, so when I saw this thing, I was blown away. The thing was about ten feet long, was on a dais, and was covered with black and gold scenes of death. Over the years, I've gotten used to death, but these were pictures of painful death. Giant guys riding around in chariots, riding over people. Ouch. I listened to what the guy was telling the coffin.

"…will be unable to trust Chiron. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw."

"Good. Atlas should be able to keep to the plan. Artemis will take the sky and the Ophiotaurus will be sacrificed on…Wait, someone is here."

Theguy turned and whipped out his sword: an evil looking thing that was grey/gold in color. His frown deepened when he saw me and he advanced on me, sword at the ready.

"Enough, Luke. She knows not what she sees. You will learn more about the part she plays later, but for now, I think the time has come for her to leave." the deep, cold voice said.

"But, master, she could tell Jackson about our plans and…" the boy, Luke, started to say, but he was cut off.

"Enough. She knows nothing of Jackson or the others. She will be instrumental in our plan." I felt the consciousness turn and direct it's attention onto me. "Alexandria, it is not good to eavesdrop. You might hear something…dangerous, and I cannot have you getting into trouble with my brothers or monsters so soon. Goodbye, until we meet again."

And the world turned black. I woke up covered in sweat and shaking. I sat up, and noticed that the bus had stopped at a McDonald's on the outskirts of St. Louis. I sighed. I decided to get off the bus, stretch my legs, and see if I could get something to eat. Getting off the bus, I noticed how late it was, how dark. Usually, the dark helps me out; I can sneak around, get food, kill monsters and whatnot. Tonight, it was just creepy.

I walked into the restaurant and saw all the people getting burgers and chicken wraps. I pulled out my last couple dollar bills and looked at the menu. While deciding if I should get a burger or chicken nuggets, I felt eyes on me. I turned, and saw this weird lady staring at me. She had a really long green skirt on, a baggy grey sweater, and her eyes were bright green. There was something off about her, but before I could think about it, a musical voice called to me.

"Come here, my dear. You look hungry, I have some food. Would you like some?"

My head clouded and my limbs grew heavy, her voice wound its way through my head. I shuffled toward her.

"That's right, hero. It's out back, by my car. Come along, dear. Out back."

I know, I know. Why were you going out to her car? Stalkers always try that first! Snap out of it! the truth is, even if I wanted to snap out of it, I couldn't. her voice was like poison, a wonderful, calming, soothing poison. It creeped through my veins, keeping me subdued. I followed her out to the back of the restaurant. She turned.

"Hey," I muttered, "Where's my food?"

"Ha, hero. You get no food! I get my food!" her voice had turned high and scratchy. She grew taller and thinner, hissing and cackling all the time. Her clothes fell of, revealing that she was a monster. She was a huge snake from the waist down, and wild red hair flew in different directions off her head. Her eyes, I noticed, were to big for her head; they never blinked.

I twisted my two rings and my long hunter knives appeared in my hands.

"Ha, mortal, I am Lamia, you cannot challenge me!"

"Lamia? I've never heard of you."

That shut her up. She glared. "Of course not. I am a disgrace to my family. I used to be a beautiful Daughter of Poseidon; so beautiful, in fact, that Zeus fell in love with me. We lived happily for a few years, had children, but then Hera came along!" She lunged at me, I dodged. "She couldn't stand that we were happy together!" she shrieked.

Her tail whipped at me while she and I circled each other. I stepped away and concentrated on the shadows behind her. I disappeared and reappeared behind the monster. I blinked, a bit tired because of the shadow travel but I was happy because she didn't look behind her. She looked in the shadows for me, but couldn't find me. In an attempt to draw me out, she continued with her story.

"As revenge, Hera turned me into a monster that ate human flesh! Now, all this talk has made me hungry! Time to come out and die, half-blood!"

She turned, whipped her tail, lunged, and coiled. I ran, dodged, and even did a bit of a flip, but Lamia kept coming. She tripped me and hoisted me into the air with her tail, making me drop my swords; her mouth opened and she came closer, closer. Quick as a flash, I pulled a knife out of my boot and stabbed her in the heart. She disintegrated, letting me fall head-first into monster dust.

"Ugh, gross." I said, wiping my weapons clean of blood and dust. After checking Lamia's clothes, I found a pouch of drachmas, seventy bucks in cash, and a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. Shrugging, I popped a piece in my mouth; I was still hungry. Grabbing the money and my weapons, I headed back into the McDonald's. All the old people were gone. "Δεκάρα!" I cursed. I ran out of the restaurant and discovered that the bus was gone. After kicking a wall or two, I walked down the block for a while.

I walked for about an hour but by then, my legs were aching and I was dead on my feet. I sat on a bench next to some homeless guy and hugged my knees to my chest. It was going to be a long night. I was about to doze off when a voice said "Hello. Lost?"

Jolting out of my trance, I looked to where the voice had come from and saw the homeless guy. I relaxed and answered, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. How about you? Are you lost?"

"No, I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

"Oh, well, ok."

"Where're you headed?"

"New York."

"Well, long way to go. Why ya headed there?"

"My dad sent me there. He wants me to go to some camp so he doesn't have to deal with me. Unless you can tell a girl how to get to New York without flying and with just seventy bucks, I'm never gonna get there."

"There's a train station a couple of blocks away. There's a train line that is pretty cheap and fast. It's called the Sun West Line. Train right to Cincinnati, it leaves at nine thirty."

"Wow, that's awfully convenient," I said with skepticism in my voice. "Who are you anyway?"

"Just a guy named Fred."

"Well, Fred, I think I'll go to the train station. Here," I said rummaging around in my pack. I held up a twenty dollar bill at him. "If this company is as cheap as you say, I can make it with less money, thanks for your help."

"My pleasure, little lady. Good luck at your camp,"

"Thanks again, Fred," and with those parting words, I ran down the block, where lights illuminated train tracks and a small station.

When I stepped into the station, I was wary. How did I know Fred wasn't a monster or a demon trying to kill me. I stayed in the shadows, creeping up to the desk. When the clerk turned, I almost gave him heart failure.

"I'm so sorry, miss! You scared me, I didn't hear you come in."

I would like to buy a ticket to Cincinnati, please. Sun West Line."

"Umm, ma'am, Sun West Line delivers cars and lamps to big cities. It isn't a passenger train. Can I interest you in an Amtrak ticket?"

"No, thanks. I was just misinformed." I was excited; I could just sneak on and get a ride to Cincinnati. From there I might be able to Shadow Travel to New York; hopefully the distance wasn't that far, or Shadow Traveling there might put me in a coma.

I left the station and walked across the street to a convenience store. The station's clock had read nine fifteen, so I planned to buy ten dollars worth of food and sneak onto the train.

After paying the cashier, getting my bag of Gatorade and beer nuts, water, donuts, and green apples, (which I absolutely adore), and walking back to the station, I saw the train. It was huge and orange. There was nobody around it, and I snuck onto the back car. I settled down in a compartment filled with lamps, and ate some food. Another long night awaited me.

I woke up minutes, maybe hours later. My back ached, my head pounded, and my fingers were frozen. The train had stopped; I could feel it. I stood, stretching, and peered out the back of the train. A few men were emptying one of the front cars, but they had their backs to me. I ran to the other side of the train and I was home free. I headed for the line of buildings I could see in the distance. "Thank you. Fred," I said as I ran. Was it my imagination, or did the sun just get a bit warmer?

When I reached the city line, I stopped and walked. The people around me were hustling around, running about their mortal lives.

If only I had known then that I was heading right to my doom, and everyone else's', too.

I decided to try Shadow Travel now that I was closer to New York, but first I had to rest. If I did it now, while I was half-starved and tired, it would probably kill me. I sighed. A shower, some food, and a bed; that's what I needed. I wouldn't get it tonight. I curled up in an ally by a dumpster and pulled some cardboard over my head. Whatever happens will happen, but not until tomorrow. I ate a granola bar and a candy bar, then fell asleep.

I woke up to bright sunlight and an awful smell. It was me. I got up and stretched out.

I walked around a bit and saw a community pool, but that was not an option. I hated water, especially deep, blue, and populated with any creature, even if it's with mortals. Even puddles make me nervous. It took me two years to stop freaking out in the shower; five to learn to swim. I needed a cheap motel or a water park. I asked the closest person where the nearest hotel was. He pointed back the way I cam and I noticed a small white building that said "Cracked Flagon Inn" in large green letters. I walked up to the run-down shop, and stared. It looked like it was infested with bugs, mice, or monsters. I plucked up my courage and entered.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I asked the empty room. I walked around the shabby room; there was nowhere for a person to hide. What kind of person leaves a hotel empty in downtown Cincinnati? "A stupid one," I thought as I walked into a room behind the vacant counter. In the room, I saw a table, three chairs, a painting of some lady with a weird nose, and a large green safe. I sat at the table in a rickety wooden chair, pulling out my Gatorade and an apple. I put my feet up, grabbed a knife out of my boot, and started skinning my apple.

I must admit, watching me eat an apple is like watching a circus or a freak show. I twirl the apple in my hand, the peel corkscrews down my arm, I toss it in the air, roll it down my arm, make it dance across the backs of my fingers; I probably look like an idiot, but it's my ritual. I'm so involved in this, I don't hear talons scraping across the floor until to late.

The griffin screeches and tosses me out of my chair, raking it's claws down my back and throwing me up against the wall. I swallowed a scream and tried to think while I stood up and drew my swords. "Griffins are guardians, they guard treasures, kings, lands, but what is there of value around here?" The griffin came at me again, roaring and yelping. I sidestepped and deflected one of the claws. I didn't want to kill it. Griffins were noble creatures, favored by the gods, mostly by one god in particular…but who?

It slashed and I leaped over it's leg, my back protesting at every movement. I had to get out of there, the griffin would stay and guard whatever was of value. I ran to the door, but the giant lion leg lashed out. I rolled between the legs, grabbed my pack, and ran like a scared child out the door. The monster roared, and came after me. "WHAT? GRIFFINS GUARD, THEY DON'T CHASE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS THING?"

I zigzagged across the sidewalk, dodging and whirling, trying to get away. I swung one of my swords to try and maim the thing, but it backed up. A mortal screamed, "THAT GIRL'S GOT A GUN! CALL THE COPS! TERRORIST! TERRORIST!" I would've rolled my eyes if I wasn't running for my life. I had one chance. I closed my eyes and thought with all my might, "Empire State Building, right out front next to a satyr!"

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Black eyes stared at the spot where she'd been, but a dark mist came out of the noble creature's head and vanished. The griffin blinked. What had he been doing? Where was he? Why was there blood on his talons and why, in the name of the gods, did he have such a bad headache?

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Grover Underwood had had a rough time since the Ophiotaurus incident, and that had been just a few weeks ago. He had a meeting with the Council of Cloven Elders coming up to discuss his searchers license and his Pan dreams. He sighed. What he wouldn't give to be at camp with Juniper, eating tin cans and Cheese-Whiz, playing in the snow…but he was here. In the cold. Camped out, waiting for a Half-Blood that might never show up. He'd been here two weeks already, he was running low of fake feet and Coke. Chiron had told him a demi-god was showing up, that he had been told by a god that it was important they be protected and delivered to camp safely and alive. He leaned against the side of the Empire State Building. He might as well daydream. Today was going to be the same as every other day. Standing around, bleating and bored, waiting for another son of Apollo, or Ares, or Aphrodite. He shut his eyes. About ten or fifteen minutes later he was crushed by a 100 pound girl. "BLLAHHH!"

"Ugh," was all that escaped the girl on top of him.

"Hello? How did you get here? Are you the Half-Blood Chiron told me to wait for?" He got up, pushing the girl off him. When he removed his hands, they were coated in red blood, then he noticed her back. There were several long claw marks that ran down her back. They were fresh and bleeding like crazy.

"Oh, gods! Umm, hello? I'm Grover, can you hear me? Are you conscious?"

"Barely," came her reply.

"Oh, ok. Umm, are there monsters chasing you? Can you fight them or…" But he never got to finish his sentence; several women slammed into him. At a second glance, he realized they were dracenae. With nets and spears, they nearly gave him an aneurism. They hurtled at the girl, and she weakly drew a knife. She tried to stab one, but the lose of blood slowed her reflexes; she was disarmed and hit across the face. The monsters started to pick her up, but Grover picked up the girls fallen knife and stabbed one in the back. Her two sisters dropped the girl. And hissed at him.

"You should not have interfered, satyr, our Master has plans for this one. He needs her alive. He said nothing about killing a meddling satyr." The monsters lunged. Grover had never been a good fighter with a knife. He panted and swung wildly. The dracenae tried to poke him with their spears, but he backed up. They circled. One demon stepped to close and he cut her hand off. She melted, but the other one had closed in when he was distracted. He had no time to defend himself; the dracenae raised her spear to skewer him. Just as she was about to turn him into a Grover-kabob, a knife appeared in her back. As she disintegrated, he noticed that the girl had thrown the knife with deadly accuracy right between the chink of the monster's armor. He stooped and picked up the two small knives and gave them to the girl. She tucked them in her boot.

"Thanks, umm,…"

"Alexandria, but my dad's a jerk to name me that, so call me Alex." she mumbled, still half-conscious.

"Well, Alex, I'm Grover. That was a great throw, by the way. By the way you aren't freaking out, I take it you know it's all real?"

"MmmHmm."

"Well then, let's get you out of here. There are probably more monsters around, your blood and power will be bound to attract some."

"M'k. I can't really walk, though."

"Here," Grover said, pulling one of her arms over his shoulder and heaving her up. She swooned a bit, but shook her head and started to limp down the sidewalk.

"Thanks. How far is this camp? You're right, monsters will be following me like crazy, and I don't think I can last much longer."

"Just a thirty minute walk."

"Oh, well, Just a thirty minute walk when you can't walk isn't that bad."

"You'll make it, you've got to. You are a survivor. Not many monsters can attack between here and camp."

"You underestimate how many monsters are on my tail, Grover." She managed a weak laugh. "We will definitely meet more in thirty minutes."

"Well, we better get moving then." Grover was worried about the factual tone she said all this. Despite his confident words, he was worried that she wouldn't make it. The wounds on her back were still bleeding and she walked with a slight limp. If she was right, he needed help. He was no monster fighter, she couldn't defend herself. All they could do was run.

The two heroes walked down West 34th Street. Alex stumbled a bit. "The mortals must think I'm drunk." she thought with a snort. "Is there a faster way to get to camp?"

"Yeah, but we will still have to walk about fifteen minutes. Think you can handle it, Alex? It's the Gray Sisters Taxi."

"I can handle anything you can dish out, goat-boy. I just wanna get to this camp. My dad is probably sitting on his throne screaming, "What is taking that girl so long to do my bidding? Blah, blah , blah. Monsters, monsters, monsters."

Grover took out a drachma. He held the ancient coin out over the street and shouted, "Anakoche Harma epitribeios!" or "Stop, Chariot of Damnation!" A large gray taxi rose out of the middle of the street. The window rolled down and though my vision was swimming, I could make out a grizzled old hag with no eye but one mossy green tooth.

"Passage? Passage?" she hissed at Grover.

"Two to Camp Half-Blood. As fast as you can, monsters are after us."

"One speed only."

"Three more drachmas on arrival then, Anger! We need to go!"

"Done! Get in."

Grover dragged me into the back seat. I was semi-conscious, so I only heard three voice screaming.

"Anger, give me the tooth, I want to bite it!"

"You had it five minutes ago, Wasp! Give it to me!"

"Only if Tempest gives me the eye!"

"Atch, turn left here. LEFT!"

"Wasp, give me the eye, I'm driving! AAHHHGGG! Old lady in the street! OLD LADY!"

"Give me the tooth, Anger!"

The whole time the cab lurched and rolled around, tossing me and Grover in the back seat. I wanted it to stop, I hurt all over…

"Things can not get any worse!" Grover almost shouted. "I have a dieing half-blood, three fighting sisters, and we are still fifteen minutes from camp!"

"If you think things can't get worse, it's probably only because you lack sufficient imagination." I muttered, half-awake.

Grover let out a weak laugh. "That was funny, I wonder if that's a trait from your godly parent or your mortal one. Who is your godly parent anyway? Chiron never found out."

"My godly parent is-Ahhrr" I never got to finish my sentence because something crashed into the cab.

Grover cursed as he looked out of the smoky gray window. "It's the Ismenian Drakon. It was killed by Cadmus, a son of Ares." He looked at me. "You wouldn't happen to be a Daughter of Ares, would you?"

I shook my head.

"Drive, Tempest, drive!"

"I'm trying, Anger!"

"We won't get paid if the heroes die!" shouted Wasp.

That put Tempest in gear. She laid on the gas pedal and we shot forward. She swerved around the drakon. I was thrown into Grover. I looked back at the monster and froze. It was huge! The thing was about thirty feet long and had black scales, but that wasn't what scared me. It's eyes were a vivid, poisonous green and the teeth were dagger sharp. They were like swords, jutting out of the drakon's mouth.

"Faster," Grover shouted, "the thing is going to chase us to camp!"

I groaned. I couldn't run from this monster, I was in to much pain. Grover couldn't carry me. The poor guy looked sick. I figured that he had a lot riding on me getting to camp safely. He looked like he was going to cry. I put my hand on his arm. He looked at me.

"We'll get there, we'll be fine, and we'll kill this thing."

"It will not be killed!" screamed Wasp. "You are wounded, he is not strong enough! Faster, Tempest!" she added.

"Then we will die." Grover said miserably.

I said. He looked at me like I was insane.

"We will be heroes, Grover. All your friends will think you were so brave, so strong. They'll think it was my fault for forcing you into danger, but they will respect me for fighting alongside you. Me, a girl they don't even know. If I could choose, that would be the way to go."

"Then, we will fight," Grover said. His face transformed from scared and desperate to one of firm resolve and bravery.

"Camp Half-Blood coming up!" shouted Anger.

"Pay now! We won't stay!" commanded Wasp.

"Three drachmas, now!" Tempest held out her hand. Grover threw a pouch of money at her and the cab stopped.

"Out!" the sisters screamed.

Grover leapt out and dragged me after him. The cab vanished. I looked up as we started running. The drakon was half a mile away, but it was coming fast.

"Run! It's coming!" Grover put my arm over his shoulder and we started running. There was a tall hill about two hundred feet away; I could see a tree at the top and a dragon wrapped around it. I hobbled to the hill but by then, the drakon was to close. About three hundred yards away and closing fast.

"Here." I gave Grover my two knives from my boot and twisted my rings. My two friends sprang forward from there disguise and shone in the sunlight. This was it, the last time I'd use them.

We kept backing up the hill. Grover was shaking, but he gripped the knives with acceptance. The drakon was upon us. I couldn't feel pain anymore. It was all adrenaline now.

The monster hissed and swung it's head. It went for Grover but he dodged. I leapt and slashed my swords against it's side. They didn't even leave a mark; the drakon did turn it's head toward me, though. That's what I wanted.

Green poison was coming out of the monster's mouth. I stabbed one of my swords into it's nose and it shrieked. It rammed it's head into my chest and threw me back about fifty feet up the hill. I heard shouting, but I was up again in an instant. The drakon kept coming. Grover was on it's back trying to stab between scales. My other sword still in hand, I sprinted at the giant snake. It opened it's mouth and spat poison at me; I leapt into the air and landed on my hands, going down into a graceful somersault.

"Nice move, Alex!"

"Thanks! Get it's eye, Grover. I'll get the mouth!"

Grover slid down the left side of the monster's head and stabbed out one of it's eyes. The creature screamed, but I took advantage of the distraction and jumped on the nose, brought my sword up, and stabbed downward; right through it's skull and into it's mouth. It screamed and tossed it's head. I slid off the side. Poison foamed out of it's mouth as it fell, dead, onto it's side, and onto my arm.

The pain was coming back, my ribs, my arm, my back; it all hurt. I heard voices shouting, felt arms dragging me, heard Grover telling someone I was hurt badly. I couldn't concentrate. The last thing I remember is muttering "There are some defeats more triumphant than victories," and Grover squeezing my hand, whispering, "But not this one, Alex. Not this one"