Prologue: My Friend Gets Blessed By A Mythical Goddess

"HIYAH!" I stab the manticore with Stygian iron and it disappears in a puff of dust.

"Annabeth! Percy! Over here! I found Thalia!" I yell as loud as possible. They obviously hear me because they run over.

Thalia is lying on the ground. She's surrounded by a sliver haze and looks like she got hit by a truck.

"That haze! The blessing of Artemis!" I realize.

"What was Thalia doing?! She knew she couldn't face the giants and win!" Annabeth turns to cry into Percy's shoulder.

"Maybe she thought by doing this we could have a better chance of defeating the giants," Percy suggests.

"Can you ask your dad? See if he can make sure Thalia comes back?" Annabeth asks me.

"I'll try," I say.

I close my eyes and turn to the West. The home of the dead.

Father? I need you to let Thalia come back. We can't win against the giants without her. I know, I know. No one can come back, but she's not dead yet! Can you make sure it stays that way?

Why was I praying to my dad for help in keeping Thalia alive? Well, he is Hades, the God of the Dead.

He can do stuff like that.

Suddenly a giant CRACK! resounds through the camp. We turn and see a HUGE giant come toward us.

Oh, crap.