Chapter 1

Callidora

It had been a few years since Percy Jackson's famous adventures. He was infamous at Camp Half Blood, as were Annabeth and Grover. I had met them, and loved them. After all, Annabeth was one of my half sisters and she was absolutely brilliant if you asked me. I could only hope to have journeys and quests that equaled hers. Yet, I doubted that. I was 15 and I had yet to have a single quest, while she had them when she and Percy were 12. I could still dream, however. I only hoped that I could please my mother, and Adonis, my best friend, could please his father Apollo. Adonis wanted that more than anything, after all Apollo was his only living parent. I knew pleasing Apollo, the god of the sun, medicine, music, poetry, archery, prophecy, truth and probably other things I'm forgetting was one of Adonis' biggest goals.

"Come on Calli! Stop daydreaming and come on I need your support!" Adonis called, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the forest.

Adonis was being as irrational as ever. One of the boys in Ares cabin, Alexander, had challenged him to an almost impossible task and of course Adonis didn't know how to say no. Sometimes it seemed my best friend thought that he could do anything. Sure, he was almost a prodigy when it came to music and of course he excelled in archery, but there were things he was still learning and might never be perfect at. This challenge was dangerous and probably wouldn't be allowed had Chiron or any of the adults known of it. Yet, Adonis could not be talked out of anything once he set his mind to it. I could only pray for some miracle to stop the challenge from occurring.

"Adonis, maybe this isn't such a good idea. It's dangerous and you don't even have a plan! You could get into some big trouble, Addy!" I stated, arguing my point softly. Addy was a nickname I had given Adonis since we traveled to the camp together. We were both full year campers and we had spent a lot of time together through the years. I was the only one who he allowed to call him that. His brothers and sisters weren't even allowed to use that nickname.

"Calli, I can't back down. That would be embarrassing. I accepted the challenge and I can do this. I know I can. You just have to trust me." He replied, stubbornly, his eyes boring into me.

"Fine, but at least let me help you come up with a strategy." I told him, sighing.

I could never say no to him when he looked at me with those beautiful grey eyes. I loved his eyes, and maybe I had a bit of a crush on my best friend, but I would never admit that to him or anyone else. He was my best friend and I would never let a little crush get in the way or ruin that. It was hard not to like Adonis, he was stubborn and yet he had a way with words. No one could blatantly deny him of anything. This was something I had learned within moments of meeting the boy back when I was nine years old. That had been six years ago. He was sixteen now, and he looked better than ever. I often got jealous of how the girls in the Aphrodite cabin seemed interested in him. Yet, he wasn't mine and probably never would be. We were best friends and that was it.

"Okay, fine." He agreed, smiling at me.

I lived for Adonis' smiles. He was a true son of Apollo. He had sandy blond hair, and icy blue-grey eyes. His eyes always held some emotion and yet seemed so distant. He was a hopeless dreamer and a true musician. He could play seven instruments and sing. He also wrote beautiful poetry, many about some girl or other, much to my dismay. He was also skilled in archery and healing. His father should be proud of all the traits he had acquired from him. Adonis' skin was also something I truly envied. He never got sunburn. His skin always looked perfectly sun kissed, never too tan or too pale. It was as if the sun god himself had made sure his son's skin remained perfect. Adonis almost always carried either one of his instruments or a bow and quiver with him. It was obvious where he fit in.

"Good, I already have an idea." I told him, smiling back at him.

I was quite the opposite of Adonis. I had long blond hair, but I usually kept mine in a tight braid so it was out of my way and out of my face. My eyes were the same grey that all of my siblings held. I was short, and skinny. I didn't seem intimidating at all. I was meek and quiet, and yet I could plan like there was no tomorrow. I also was often told I was wise beyond my years. I guess that came with being a daughter of the goddess of wisdom. I was also very good with battle planning. However, one of my hobbies was also art. I loved to draw and paint. I had also been told, by Adonis and many of my siblings that I was good at it.

"Adonis, your father is here and he would like to speak with you." A voice behind us said, interrupting Adonis when he was about to speak.

I would not have believed that statement if Chiron had not been the one delivering it. It was rare, if ever, that a god or goddess visited Camp Halfblood. Usually it meant that something big was occurring or going to occur. It made me nervous. Adonis seemed to sense my nerves because within a moment he had grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I couldn't help but blush. Adonis was holding my hand that in itself was a rarity.

"I'll meet you back at your cabin when I'm done speaking with my father, alright?" He questioned, giving my hand one last squeeze before releasing it.

I simply nodded and watched him walk away, following Chiron. There wasn't much else I could do. I knew that waiting would be torture, but I hadn't been invited to go with him. Plus, meeting his father was something he had to do alone. He would tell me everything when he returned. He always did. It was nice knowing that someone relied on me. Adonis was my best friend, and the one person who I knew needed me just as much as I needed him. We had become each other's family since we met in our adventure to get to Camp Half Blood.

I headed back to my cabin since that was where he said he'd meet me. Yet, I couldn't go inside. I was way too anxious to sit down inside. I decided to pace outside as I waited. Pacing eliminated some nervous energy. I couldn't help but wonder and worry. None of the gods came to the camp on a normal basis. Usually it meant something big and usually something bad. At least that's what it seemed like in the time I had been at Camp Half Blood. After all, the last time I remembered seeing a god at the camp had been just before the war, and now that my sister was doing all the architecture and designing needed to rebuild Olympus, most of the gods seemed too busy elsewhere. So, the fact that Adonis' father was here made me nervous. I couldn't help but feel that something had to be wrong.

It seemed like I had waited for hours when I finally spied Adonis walking toward me. He looked excited. Maybe my suspicions had been wrong. Maybe his father had come just to see him or to visit the camp. I had heard it wasn't fully uncommon. It was just hard to associate a god visiting with anything good after everything that had occurred. However, judging by Adonis smile I could only suspect this had been a good visit.

"So, what happened?" I questioned, walking over to fall into step beside Adonis as we headed for his cabin.

"We have a quest." He answered, smiling.

"What? Really?" I asked. My excitement was building. We had both been waiting for a quest for so long. I had not expected to get one, let alone for Adonis' father of all people to give us a quest. I couldn't help but wonder what it was. Most of the time quests were dangerous. At least they had been before the war.

"Yes, and we have quite a large quest at that. I was surprised that we were the ones chosen for this." Adonis responded, smirking.

"Well, what is it? Are you going to leave me hanging all day?" I inquired.

"An unknown threat has been brought to my father's attention by an archangel. We are to go seek three half angels and with their help figure out what this threat is. All that's known is that the threat is both from someone believed to be an ally of Olympus." Adonis told me.

I stared at him, wondering if he was joking. Apollo had spoken to an archangel, was that even possible? I knew that Greek gods and goddesses were real. After all, if they weren't I wouldn't even exist. Yet, archangels and half angels couldn't be real too, could they? I had been raised by a Catholic father before coming to Camp Half Blood, I knew all about the archangels and angels. Yet, after learning that all the Greek myths were reality I had always thought that the current religions were the true myths. Could that suspicion be wrong? How? Yet, if Adonis was serious then I was about to meet the children of angels, half angels. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. The other half of what Adonis said also bothered me. Someone on Olympus was becoming a threat? Who? Who would possibly turn on Olympus after all that had occurred?

"Are you serious? Why do we need the half angels help?" I asked.

"My father told me that whoever has betrayed Olympus has teamed up with Lucifer. That is why the archangel knows of the threat. The angels themselves are not allowed to interfere in human affairs, but the children they have with mortals can. I don't know much more than that since that's all my father told me, but I have the names and an address of where we can find the half angels who are going to help us." Adonis told me.

"When do we leave?" I questioned, wanting to begin the quest as soon as I could. There were so many questions I needed answers to, especially in regards to the half angels. What were they like? Were they similar to demigods? How could angels and Greek gods and goddesses both be real? How was any of this possible? I could only hope that the half angels we were going to meet would be able to answer these questions since Adonis could not.

"As soon as we're ready." He replied, smiling at me and walking into his cabin to pack.