Chapter 1
A.J.'s POV
Times Square, New York, New York
As Dallas and I walked down the sidewalk, each holding something to drink, I never thought that the first time I got to see him alone – well, without the whole camp – would go wrong. It was perfect. The sky was clear except for the tiny white clouds that barely looked like anything. The crowd wasn't paying us any attention. It was almost how I pictured it in my head, well, almost.
I was in a pair of jeans with them pulled over my cowboy boots. I had a Crimson Tide National Championship that I waited four hours to buy. My curly hair was pulled up in a ponytail and my black nails were holding my Mocha Frappuccino. Dallas had on his usual sleeveless shirt that was black, jeans, and Nikes. He's the son of Hephaestus, kind of shy around girls, and great with building things. It didn't matter what it was, he could build it or fix it.
I'm the daughter of Hermes, but when I first came to camp, everyone thought I was the daughter of Aphrodite. Being the daughter of Hermes has its downsides: One, I'm one of the three girls in that cabin even though there are twenty campers that live there, and two, I always can tell when someone lying, and I can tell that a lot. That's probably why I don't have many friends.
Dallas had bought us coffee from Starbucks. He had got a regular coffee. I wasn't thinking about how his arms looked great in the sleeveless shirt or how he looked like he wanted to say something but was nervous; of course not. Do you know how Aphrodite that would be of me?
"So," he said, "I was, uh, wondering if you would, um, like to go to the fireworks with me."
I smiled. It took him long enough! I've only been crushing on him since last summer!
"Sure," I said, "considering its July third."
He grinned and rolled his eyes, laughing a little. Gods, his laugh and grin were cute. The only reason Chiron let us out of camp was because we had to get information from Zeus. No doubt Jason was jealous, but after the fit I pitched, I think Chiron had to let me and Dallas go. All I can say is that Chiron promised me I would get to go on the next quest, and then I find out that he went and asked Jason to do that. I was mad! When I came out of there, Dallas was cracking up at me. I figured he'd been listening in.
I slipped my hand in his. I could've sworn I saw him blush. The sky all of the sudden got dark, kind of purple and black. Lighting crackled the sky. I looked up and immediately reached for my sword, Blood and Honor. Dallas reached for his sword, Fireball. I let go of his hand and tapped the bracelet he'd gave me for my birthday. It changed into a bronze shield.
Lightning struck the green road to our right and concrete flew everywhere. I shielded myself and Dallas and let out a yelp. A piece of concrete slammed into the shield and I cursed. My arm throbbed and I pulled the shield down, holding my arm. Dallas stood straight and looked at the hole the lightning had made.
That's when I noticed all of the mortals were gone. One boy, about our age, was slumped over across the street just a few feet from where the lightning hit. He had blood trickling from his head and he looked like he'd been slammed against the wall. The lightning had made a crater and I had wondered what the mortals would think when they saw this. New York must have a lot of "gas explosions" because of us demigods.
The sky cleared, and the streets stayed that way. Me and Dallas ran towards him. The boy moaned when we got there. He tried to sit up, but his eyes went cross-eyed and he held his forehead.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa; slowdown," I said, easing him back down. He looked at me like I was insane, but I get that a lot. "What's your name?"
"Toby," he mumbled, his eyes squeezed tight in pain, "Toby Henderson."
Right when he said that, the symbol of Apollo, the lyre, appeared above his head. He glanced up, and his eyes got the size of half-dollars.
"W-what's that?" he asked, his voice going into squeak mode.
Dallas sighed. "That's Apollo, the god of sun, music, and medicine, claiming you."
Toby glanced at me and Dallas in shock. "H-h-how do you k-know t-t-that?"
"I'm A.J., daughter of Hermes," I said. "He's Dallas, son of Hephaestus. You're a demigod."
I thought he was about to pass out, but he just gulped. Toby waved his hand through it, but it didn't disappear. Dallas broke a piece of ambrosia out and handed it to Toby. Toby reluctantly ate it and his head healed. I heard something move from the crater and instantly mine and Dallas's swords were out and ready to hurt something.
Dallas helped Toby up as I stood up and tapped my bracelet.
Whatever it was, it was going to die.
