Chapter 1

5 years after Blood of Olympus

Kala Williams strolled along the endless road, as she had the night before, and the night before, and every night since her father left; so basically forever. A man who claimed to be her father was next to her, as he had been the night before, and the night before and- well, you get the picture. He had silver hair and a tiny beard growing. He was in a dark purple cloak that looked like it hadn't been washed in ages. He had a kind face but there was something about his eyes that made you worry. Kala had never met her father in person, only in dreams. That's how it worked for most demigods. He was saying something, and it was only then that she realized she wasn't paying attention.

"Kala, are you listening?"

"Nope, not really. You're kind of a dream." Her dad sighed.

"Kala, I can't explain it to you now, but someday you shall realize who I am."

"My 'dad' who only shows up in dreams? Listen, sir, I appreciate you haunting my dreams for the past fifteen years, but it's not like you're really my dad."

Then the ground shook. A lightning bolt shot across the sky, followed by monstrous thunder. Kala looked at the man standing next to her, as if he were the source of the storm.

"I must leave." The man ran off, and Kala awoke with a start.

"You fell asleep again." Her band instructor was staring at Kala.

"I'm really sorry." Early morning band practices were Kala's nightmare- she could never stay awake so early in the morning, especially today; Kala had been studying all night for her language arts and math tests that both happened to be on the same day. The tests were about forty percent of her grade.

"Measure thirty three." Her band instructor raised her arms as a sign for everyone to raise their instruments. Kala raised her flute to her lips and began to play. Every once in a while she would misplay; good thing some of the louder flutes covered up her mishaps!

Hitting the high notes with ease, Kala glanced at her friend Amy with a you ready? look. Amy responded with a short nod and together (after a measure of rest) they played a duet. Kala misplayed a few notes, but Amy's insane trumpet skills blocked it all out. Amy played so amazingly that Kala's mistakes weren't noticed by the strict instructor, Ms. Kro

After seven measures of Amy and Kala playing alone, the rest of the band joined in and finished the song with only a few mistakes- but then again it was Monday morning, so no one except for Amy could play perfectly. Amy was a musical master, and her long, dirty-blonde hair had such a natural beauty about it; her face was gorgeous too. Aside from her physical appearance, she was the greatest best friend in the world. Amy would listen when you wanted to talk, but silence herself when you just needed the quiet. Amy was a shoulder to cry on, but also had the will to pick you up when you've fallen. Amy would laugh even when the joke wasn't funny, and stand by your side even when you didn't ask for it. Amy was the best friend everyone wants, and luck for Kala, Amy was her best friend.

Ms. Kro dismissed them and the students gathered their things and headed out the door to their first period classes.

"Nice job Amy." Kala said.

"Oh thanks, you too." Amy stuffed her umbrella into her backpack.

"Uh, you do know it's the middle of winter, right? What do you need an umbrella for?"

"You never know." Amy giggled uneasily, then they took the right turn that they took everyday to get to first period. Walking through the classroom door, Kala noticed the only kid in the room Rick, who was early to every class. Rick was the guy nobody could hate, even though he wasn't that popular. There was always a smile on his face, and he could cheer up anyone in a bad mood. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, and his peach-colored was dotted was with freckles. Kala took her seat with Amy next to her and Rick behind her. As other kids joined the class, some making it just after the bell rang, Mr. Robins entered and sat at his computer to take attendance. Rick seized his chance to impress the girls.

"So guys, wanna see a magic trick?"

"Sure Mr. Abracadabra." Amy replied.

"Yeah Rick, show us your 'magic' trick." Kala continued.

"You're gonna like this one!"

"Get on with it, Hokus Pokus!" added Anthony from behind Amy.

"Have you been listening the whole time?" Anthony smirked at Amy. Once again, the girls rolled their eyes. Anthony was probably the most popular out of their group, but he didn't like hanging out with the popular kids. He thought most of them were shallow, which they were, and he had tried to avoid his popularity for as long as Kala had known him, but he seemed to be naturally cool. His skin was a cocoa brown and his hair was black, and it had some imperfect perfection about it. This was Kala's usual squad. They'd been together since elementary, and they were still great friends in their freshman year of high school. Mr. Robins yelled for the class' attention before Rick could reveal his trick.

"Class! Today we will be starting on our unit on ancient Greece." Mr. Robins eyes darted to Kala and then he quickly looked away.

"I hope you all enjoyed Ancient Egypt, but I want you to pay extra close attention to this unit." Again Mr. Robins glanced at Kala- what was his deal today?

"First we shall learn of the beast known as the Griffin." A kid in the back of class raised his hand.

"Yes?" Mr. Robins pointed him.

"Well, the griffins aren't in the textbook. The first chapter is actually on-"

"The information is essential and I would like you to know the information." Mr Robins' tone showed the class that the argument was over.

"The griffin has the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. It even has wings on its back like a pegasus. It is a wise creature full of pride and honor, so it is usually used as symbols and emblems for knights and warriors. Although it is a very famous mythical creature, it is not referred to directly in myths. We do know that they pulled Apollo's chariot."

"Sir, who is Apple-what?" Kala asked.

"May I explain?" Amy added. Mr Robins nodded and winked at Amy.

"The Ancient Greeks believed in Greek gods, and twelve of them were the major rulers of Greece and Olympus."

"Of course there are lots of other minor gods too, even if they aren't as recognized." Anthony added.

"Anyway, Apollo was one of the twelve major gods. He was the god of prophecy and oracles, healing, plague and disease, music, song and poetry, and archery. He's also the god of the sun, give or take, but that's a little complicated."

"Alright, I would like you all to read page thirty four through forty five. Tomorrow we can discuss the myths involving Apollo. Alright, so you have the next," Mr. Robins glanced at the clock "twenty minutes to start reading."

After reading the assigned pages, there were a few minutes left in class so Kala passed some notes with Amy, Anthony, and Rick. After a minute of that, the class ended and the bell rang. The rest of the class ran out of there class.

When they spotted a teacher they started walking to there next class.

Heading to ninth period, Kala thought she heard her friends around the corner. She was about to stop by and say hey, but she heard her name and decided to stop and listen.

"Rick, that was too close. If she saw your magic, she would totally suspect something." It was Amy. Rick spoke next.

"Sorry, I just wanted to show her a little something awesome, but she would have thought it was a trick. And stop getting mad at me! You're the one with your umbrella weapon in the winter! Maybe you could come up with a better disguise than an umbrella."

"We don't have enough time for a change. It took long enough replicating Riptide's magic and figuring out how to turn weapons into everyday items. But on a more serious note," Amy paused and began to whisper "did we find the griffin?" Kala looked around the corner. She saw Anthony shaking his head.

"Mr. Robins has narrowed it down to either Ms. Kro, the band teacher, or Mr. Weldon, the language arts teacher." Anthony then added "and this morning I spied on Kro. Turning invisible does come in handy. I didn't find anything interesting." The three looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's get to class." They headed in different directions and Kala ran off to her class. It wasn't that she wanted to be late, it was the fact that her friends thought monsters were real and that they could become invisible. What was happening that she didn't know about?