Chapter Two

~Percy~

The whole school year last year, all I could think about was Camp Half-Blood. It was senior year, no more school for practically the rest of my life, which to me was a miracle. Annabeth and I made plans to spend the summer enjoying being a camper, and then next summer we would be counselors. Weird thought.

Ever since the Titan War ended, my life had been so perfect I thought the gods were playing with me. Me and Annabeth were happily together, I was getting pretty okay grades in school, monster attacks weren't that frequent, I even spent my junior and senior year in the same school, which had never happened before. I was pretty happy.

The minute school ended I booked it for home. When I got home I grabbed the backpack I'd packed the night before, kissed my Mom goodbye and shook hands with Paul, then made a beeline for my car. I sped to Annabeth's apartment and we drove to the one place a demigod can be safe. I had no idea how much my life would change that summer.

We'd been there for roughly 4 hours when the trouble started. Me and Annabeth were sitting on my cabin's bench (my cabin being made of only me) watching the surf. She laced her fingers through mine and smiled.

"I'm so happy school's over." She said. "We could stay here all year if we wanted to."

I smiled too. "That would be so cool. I really want to see this place during Halloween."

"It's weird, that's for sure." She laughed.

"And we could spend the whole year together." I added.

"That's a bonus."

She put her head on her my shoulder. "You remember what happened on this bench right?"

I thought for a minute. "I ate a really bad sandwich here last summer?"

She punched my arm. "No you idiot, think back to the Titan War."

Then I realized what she was talking about and smiled. "Oh yeah. You brought me a cake and then we kissed. And then we got dumped into the lake. That was the best birthday ever."

She laughed and kissed me. "Yeah, because of me."

As we kissed, a voice yelled for us. I looked over my shoulder, annoyed at being interrupted, and saw Grover's slightly panicked face. My stomach dropped. We just barely got here, what could go wrong that fast?

"What's wrong?" Annabeth yelled.

"I don't know. Chiron just told me to get you as fast as I could. I think something's wrong, he looked worried." He yelled back.

We ran to the Big House to find Chiron standing in front of the fire with a worried face. He looked up as we came in.

"Ah, Percy. I've just received some important news concerning you from Hestia."

"Hestia?" I asked. "She came to you directly?" Gods don't usually make house calls.

"Yes. It really is quite important, I suggest you sit down." He motioned to the couch.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "It's that bad?"

"Not necessarily bad, but it is startling. Sit."

We did as he commanded and stared at him expectantly. He seemed to be trying to find the right words. Had someone died?

"I assume you remember the vow that Zeus, Poseidon and Hades made to never again father mortal heroes? And that both Poseidon and Zeus broke that vow?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm alive right now." I said obviously.

"Well, it seems that the vow has been broken once again." Chiron said grimly.

Annabeth looked startled. "Another child of the Big Three?"

"Was it Hades?" Grover asked.

"No, it wasn't the Lord of the Dead. This is the part that may come as a shock."

"Zeus?" I guessed.

"Guess again."

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. "Poseidon had another kid?" Chiron nodded. I had another sibling besides Tyson?

Annabeth gasped and Grover bleated in surprise. "Percy has another sibling?"

"Yes. A girl, the age of 17. She lives in California."

At first I was mad. How dare he cheat on my mother? This girl was only a year younger than me, he'd just barely left my mother when he left for her mother. How could he do that with the thought of her and me with Smelly Gabe? But, that's the kind of thing that gods do, and my father is no exception. And then there was Tyson, my half-brother who was a cyclops. But this was different.

I thought of what he'd said to me two years ago, right after the Titan War, I suppose this means I can claim all those other sons and daughters of mine and send you some siblings next summer. At the time I thought he was kidding. But I guess he was serious. I tried to think positive. Maybe having a sister would be fun. We'd be able to relate to each other, that's for sure. I get along great with Tyson. Maybe she'd be the same. Then another thought struck me.

"17? And she hasn't come to Camp Half-Blood in all that time? How is she still alive?"

"Her guardian was a daughter of Hecate. She and her sisters, who she lived with, were able to put up protection spells around your sister and her friends. Monsters have ignored them for years."

"Okay, now I have more questions." I said. "Who are her friends, and why did you say she was a daughter of Hecate?"

"A son of Apollo and a son of Hermes. All three of them lived with the sisters because all of their mothers have died. And I said she was a daughter of Hecate because she's recently deceased. All of the sisters were killed two weeks ago, by the Fur-Kindly Ones."

My heart fell for my half-sister. Her mother dies, and then the woman who took care of her is murdered. And I thought I had bad luck.

Chiron continued. "Of course, the mortal police have found a rational explanation for it. They say it was a freak serial killing. But it's obviously an attack by the Kindly Ones."

"So none of them know how the sisters were really killed?" Grover asked.

"No."

"Do they even know they're demigods?" I asked.

"Not until about 15 minutes ago. They were attacked by the Kindly Ones while having their blood drawn. Hestia saved them and they are now having their lineage explained to them. That's why Hestia contacted me. She told me that she would give them directions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Shouldn't we send a satyr to help them?" Grover asked, a little shocked. "They've just barely found out they're demigods. They don't have any experience or weapons and they're on the other side of the country. They won't last a day."

"Hestia told me she wants them to prove themselves." Chiron said. He looked defeated, and I could tell he believed the same thing. "We can send no help."

After a few moments of silence Annabeth spoke up. "Shouldn't Poseidon, Apollo and Hermes have claimed them by now?"

Two years ago, at the end of the Titan War, I made all the gods promise that they would claim their children by the age of 13. My sister and her friends were way past 13. Annabeth was right, the gods should've claimed them immediately after the Titan War since they were 15. They should've been at Camp Half-Blood.

"Yeah, they should've. Why didn't they?" I asked. "They swore on the River Styx."

"Hestia said that the three gods knew that the sisters were taking care of them, and had entrusted them with the task of telling them. But, now that they're dead, all three have been claimed."

"When will they be here?" Grover asked.

"Soon, if they can stay alive."

I sat deep in thought about my new sibling. I couldn't help thinking that we would probably be as different as night and day. I'd seen that in a lot of brothers and sisters. I really wasn't looking forward to the fights I saw with my friends and their sisters. But I had no idea how close we would become in the coming weeks.