Chapter 2

Meeting New Deities

It was Bianca and Nico's first day of training. Bianca nervously shifted from foot to foot while Luke went to find weapons for them. Nico was practically vibrating with excitement. He was rambling on about something—probably how cool this was—but Bianca wasn't listening. She was still thinking about all of the bizarre things she had learned the night before. The Greek gods were real. Her father was alive, or as alive as the god of death could get. She and Nico were in an army that was trying to overthrow Olympus.

Everything that she had known before was a lie. Yesterday she had been an orphan. Today she was a demigod. It was almost too much to take in.

They were on a mountain all the way in California. She had never been that far west in her life. The General had said that it was their base, and that they were going to wait for someone there. She didn't know what he meant, but something told her that it wouldn't be a friendly meeting.

Bianca yawned, still tired from their long flight. Maybe it was because she and Nico had never been on a plane before, but they were too nervous to even rest their eyes. It cost them several hours of sleep.

She looked around at her surroundings. They were standing on a grassy section of the mountain. At the top of the mountain were black ruins and a vortex of storm clouds. The lower part had a much more welcoming garden, but Luke had bitterly forbidden them from going there. Of course, they couldn't really go anywhere with the snake women always guarding them (like they were at the moment). Bianca sighed.

Luke came jogging back with two more snake women behind him. They laid some swords and shields on the grass before Luke told them to return to their duties. Then he helped Bianca and Nico figure out which blades worked best for them. Nico was barely able to lift any of the swords, so he had to make do with the lightest one.

Luke decided to work with Bianca first, since she was the oldest. "You were pretty good with that knife last night," he told her, "but it can't hurt to learn how to use swords, too. We'll start with stabbing."

Twenty minutes later, Bianca was allowed to take a break. She was bruised; Luke wasn't exactly easy on beginners. She sat on the grass and watched him teach an eager Nico. It was kind of cute seeing her little brother try to hit someone twice his age. She had probably looked just as ridiculous, though.

She suddenly felt a presence behind her. She turned around to find four older girls standing behind her. They wore white Greek chitons. They had silky black hair and caramel-colored skin. Their eyes were black, like volcanic rock.

"So these are the children of Hades," one of the girls said. She had an old-fashioned accent, like the actors in that Shakespeare play Bianca vaguely remembered watching when she was little. "They do not look like much."

Bianca knew that she shouldn't care what strangers thought of her, but she still felt inadequate. She wished that she still had her green hat, so that she could hide the blush on her face. She stood up. "Who are you?"

"We are the Hesperides, Bianca di Angelo," said another girl. "We live in the garden, near the tree bearing the apples of immortality."

"Speaking of which," said Luke, "shouldn't you be guarding it?"

" 'Tis not far away. Ladon can watch the tree for a few minutes," the third girl said. "He was able to stop thee."

Luke was silent. Bianca couldn't see his face, since he was behind her, but she figured that he was either too angry to speak or he couldn't come up with a witty comeback.

"Besides," said the last girl, "we had to see the new recruits that everyone is so excited about."

"Well, now you've seen them," Luke said coldly. "So go away. We have training to do."

"As you wish," the first girl said mockingly. They promptly turned into shadows. Bianca didn't think that she would ever get used to these things.

"Who's Ladon?" asked Nico. "I don't have his figurine."

Luke just gripped his sword so hard that his knuckles turned white.

He was more aggressive after that. By the time the session was over, Bianca barely had the energy to swing her sword.

/\-/\-/\-/\-/\

Percy climbed out of Apollo's bus, which Thalia had just crashed into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake. He was surprised to see that, despite the magic climate control, the camp was covered in snow.

He turned to Annabeth. "What's up with the snow?"

"It feels more like Christmas," she said, like it was obvious.

"Oh. Well, we'd better go talk to Chiron. Zoë, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoë said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoë rolled her eyes, but Percy figured that there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after them. He winked at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, he hopped back into the bus. "Later Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"

He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he took off in his sun chariot, leaving the lake steaming.

They walked to the Big House. It was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D and Chiron were playing a game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron smiled at them. "Percy! Annabeth! Thalia! Did you succeed?"

The looks on their faces must have told him, because his smile melted. "What happened?"

"Oh dear," said Mr. D said in a bored voice. "Not another two lost."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"

Grover trotted into the room, a black eye and a slap mark on his face. He was grinning like crazy. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

"The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about. Perhaps you should sit down and tell me the story."

When they were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for the di Angelos immediately."

"I'll go," Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

They started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. The fire in his eyes suggested that it would be a good idea to shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "you have already failed at this escapade. The possibility is very great that Nick and Brittany—"

"Nico and Bianca," Percy corrected.

"Yes, yes," he said. "The possibility is very great that they have already been turned against the gods. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue."

Percy wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair that Zeus had sent him there to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of them.

"They may not be dedicated to the army yet," said Chiron, but Percy could tell he was having trouble trying to sound upbeat. They had lost a lost a lot of campers in the last couple of months.

"Yeah," Grover spoke up. "Nico and Bianca are good kids. They wouldn't work for Luke."

"I don't think they have much of a choice," Thalia said grimly.

"In either case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid that they're on their own."

That made Percy even angrier. Those kids were in danger, and Mr. D wasn't even pretending to care. He started to get up from the table, but Annabeth grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. Both she and Chiron gave him warning looks.

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and the others go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

"Run along now," said Mr. D, picking up his cards. "I have a game to win."

/\-/\-/\-/\-/\

As usual, Bianca found herself scolding Nico. She didn't enjoy doing it, but someone had to stop him from doing stupid things. That included telling the snake women that they only had four hundred attack points. They had looked like they would've shown him exactly how much attack power they had, if the General wasn't so concerned with keeping her and Nico alive. He obviously had something special planned for them. Bianca just hoped that it wouldn't involve anything too unpleasant, like their deaths.

The trouble was that Nico didn't understand what was going on. He was too young.

"But it's true! I don't see what the big deal is," he protested.

Sometimes she thought that Mythomagic would be the death of her.

"It's rude, Nico," she told him. Then she lowered her voice, knowing that they were being watched. "You shouldn't make these… these people angry. They didn't kidnap us so that they could be our friends."

Nico must have seen how serious she was, because he actually listened to her for once. "Okay, Bianca. I won't talk about Mythomagic in front of the dracanae." Bianca figured that he meant the snake women.

"Or the General," she added. He didn't exactly seem like the patient type.

"Him too."

"Demigods," called a booming voice. Speak of the devil…

The General was walking toward them. Now that he wasn't hidden by the shadows, she could see that he had light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He had a fancy brown suit, but he was way too muscular to be a businessman. He looked more like a soldier—a general. Bianca wondered if she should salute him, like they did to the teachers at Westover.

Luke walked behind him. Judging from the look on his face, he was still in a bad mood from their encounter with the Hesperides. The fact that he was carrying chains didn't make him look any more pleasant.

"Come with us," said the General. "It is nearly sunset, which means that our guest will arrive soon. We have to greet her, of course."

The siblings obediently followed them down the mountain, past where they had trained earlier. They stopped outside the Hesperides' garden.

"Stand back," the General ordered. "She'll be here any minute."

Bianca had no idea who he was talking about, but she figured that this wasn't the time to ask questions.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone arrived. It was an auburn-haired girl wearing a silver dress. She looked about Bianca's age, but the hunting knives in her hands suggested otherwise. So did the grim look on her face.

She looked at them with eyes the color of the moon. When they landed on the General, her expression changed to shock.

"Impossible!"

The General smiled. "Are you surprised to see me, goddess? I've been expecting you all day."

He pulled a tree out of the ground, with the effort a normal person would use to pick a flower, and hurled it at the girl. She was barely able to dodge it in time. The General's suit turned into armor. A javelin appeared in his hands. He charged at the girl, slashing at her, but she blocked him.

Then they really started fighting. The girl was graceful, but the General was strong—an unstoppable force—and kept her on the defensive. She was cut in several places, and Bianca was surprised to see that she had golden blood. One of the General's blows knocked her off balance. Before she could recover, he whacked her in the head with the javelin's shaft.

CRACK!

The girl fell to the ground, unconscious.

Their battle had lasted less than five minutes.

"Quickly, Luke, bring the chains. Help me bind her," the General ordered. He turned to her and Nico. "You two are very lucky. You have just witnessed my defeat of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt."