"You look funny."

I looked down at Paul's youngest niece. "Uh, thanks?"

She giggled. "I'm Tillie."

"Fantastic."

"Why aren't you dancing with Uncle Paul and Aunt Sally?"

I sighed. "I don't dance."

The music changed to the Electric Slide. Tillie started jumping up and down and tugging on my sleeve. "C'mon, c'mon! Everyone knows this song. Come dance with me!"

"Sorry, kiddo." I pulled my arm away.

She pouted for a second, then ran off to join the group. I felt bad for a second, but then I remembered I was a son of Poseidon, and it wasn't very smart for me to jump into a lightning-themed line dance, if you know what I mean.

It felt kind of weird, knowing my mom was suddenly remarried. Mr. Blowfish was a nice guy and all, but after Smelly Gabe, I don't think I'll ever really trust stepfathers. And anyway, she was happy for once, and she deserved that.

I caught a glimpse of her as the line turned back toward me. The blue roses on her white, poofy skirt flashed for a second. She was laughing like she didn't have a care in the world.

In spite of myself, I smiled. I would really miss her this year.

I'd be going back to camp in the morning. Hardly anyone else would be there for another week, but I really needed to talk to Chiron.

The night of my 15th birthday, Nico di Angelo had appeared on my windowsill, telling me of this thing that might be able to stop Kronos. "I don't know what it is," he said, "But it's strong. Really strong."

"Where did you find it?" I'd asked.

"Tartarus. But it's not dead or alive. I need to do more exploring before I can give you any more information."

Now, anything that's not dead and living in Tartarus is an interesting bit of gossip as it is, but if it might have the power to defeat the Lord of Time, that needed to be discussed with my buddy the centaur. I'd thought about talking to Annabeth about it, but I never emailed her. Ever since Kronos returned in the body of her old best friend, Luke, his defeat was a touchy subject with her.

"Percy?"

I looked up. The music had apparently ended for the time being, and Paul suddenly pulling up the chair next to me. "Uh, hi." I said.

"You look upset."

"Do I?" I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm not. Just tired."

He looked at me skeptically.

I sighed. "Plus I got a lot of things on my mind."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you have plenty to think about. But," his face turned serious, "You're not, you know, worried about your mom and I, are you?"

"Oh, no, no!" I assured him, "It's great that you guys are together. Really."

He smiled, relieved. "Great. Do you think a little dancing would help you think a little clearer?"

I bit my lip. The Chicken Dance was playing. Through all the applause, I decided chickens weren't quiet as Zeus related. "Sure. Let's go!"

-0-0-0-

We didn't get home until well after midnight. I felt bad about keeping them away from honeymoon time, but they assured me they'd rather see me safely to camp first. I'd packed what few things I needed the night before, so I was all ready to go.

I got out of my ridiculous rented penguin suit and pulled on pajamas, collapsing onto my bed. A good night's rest would do me some good.

Just my luck that I wouldn't get one.

I dreamt I was in a huge room made of black, gleaming stone. I drifted beside a boy I thought I recognized, but wasn't sure where. A brown satchel swung at his right hip as we walked up a wide staircase. At the top stood a tall woman who would have rivaled Aphrodite's beauty if she'd gotten a little more sun. Her blonde hair tumbled down her back in limp curls, and her pale green eyes watched the boy nervously.

"How did you get in here?" she whispered.

"I have a job to do, my lady." He was beside her now. "Unfortunately, you're in the way."

"What do you --" she started, then screamed as the boy opened the bag and a huge snake slithered out. She tried to run, but the serpent was too fast, biting her in the ankle and tripping her with a resounding crack. It rose up and struck her again and again, on the arms, neck, face, anywhere. Her tears ran with blood.

It was hard to watch. I wanted to help her, to fight the kid, to do something, anything, but I couldn't. I could only stand by and listen to her sobbing.

Suddenly the boy looked behind him and swore. He said something in Greek that I barely caught as "Come", and the snake stopped its attack. It slithered back over to him and he stuffed it into the brown bag. Then he was darting down the black hallway and out of sight.

The woman was shivering violently, trying to get up. Blood ran like a waterfall down the staircase.

I started to shiver myself. Someone else had entered the room, someone resonating power. Heavy footsteps echoed in the room, getting faster and faster.

The man was in shadow, so I couldn't make out a face. But the voice was vaguely familiar, now strangled and grief-stricken:

"NO!"

I woke up on my hands and knees, trembling and crying.

You didn't have to be a genius to figure this one out: something bad was going to happen, and it would happen very soon.

Please review, hope this first chapter wasn't too bad.