Luke's fatal flaw is excessive vengeance!
and here is the next chap.

Plz review!

and would you like me to continue it like Tia's POV or like how I usually do it, Review what you think below!


The suspense was almost worse than an attack.

Part of me was tempted to knock out the old man with my golf club and feed him to his drapes. Then at least he couldn't help the monsters lure any more demigods to their deaths. But I couldn't make myself do it. Hal was so frail and pathetic. Besides, his curse wasn't his fault. He'd been trapped in this room for decades, forced to depend on monsters for his voice and his survival, forced to watch other demigods die, all because he'd saved a girl's life. What kind of justice was that?

I was still angry with Hal for luring us here, but I could understand why he'd lost hope after so many years. If anybody deserved a golf club across the head, it was Apollo—and all the other deadbeat parent Olympian gods, for that matter.

We took inventory of Hal's prison apartment. The bookshelves were stuffed with everything from ancient history to thriller novels.

You're welcome to read anything, Hal typed on his computer. Just please not my diary. It's personal.

Tia promised him that we wouldn't read his diary without his permission as he put his hand protectively on a battered green leather book next to his keyboard.

"No problem," I said. I doubted any of the books would help us, and I couldn't imagine Hal had anything interesting to write about in his diary, being stuck in this room most of his life.

He showed us the computer's Internet browser. Great. We could order pizza and watch the monsters eat the delivery guy. Not very helpful. I suppose we could've e-mailed someone for help, except we didn't have anyone to contact, and I'd never used e-mail. We didn't even carry phones. We'd found out the hard way that when demigods use technology, it attracts monsters like blood attracts sharks.

We moved on to the bathroom. It was pretty clean considering how long Hal had lived here. He had two spare sets of snakeskin clothes, apparently just hand-washed, hanging from the rod above the bathtub. Tia touched them, curious on how they would feel, only to recoil from disgust when she felt the scaly fabric.

His medicine cabinet was stocked with scavenged supplies—toiletries, medicines, toothbrushes, first-aid gear, ambrosia, and nectar. I tried not to think about where all this had come from as I searched but didn't see anything that could defeat the leucrotae.

Thalia slammed a drawer shut in frustration. "I don't understand! Why did Amaltheia bring me here? Did the other demigods come here because of the goat?"

Tia put her hand on Thalia's shoulder and Thalia unconsciously relaxed a little.

Hal frowned. He motioned for us to follow him back to his computer. He hunched over the keyboard and typed: What goat?

I didn't see any point in keeping it a secret. I told him how we'd followed Zeus's glowing Pepsi-dispensing goat into Richmond, and how she had pointed us to this house.

Hal looked baffled. He typed: I've heard of Amaltheia, but don't know why she would bring you here. The other demigods were attracted to the mansion because of the treasure. I assumed you were, too.

"Treasure?" Thalia asked.

Hal got up and showed us his walk-in closet. It was full of more supplies collected from unfortunate demigods—coats much too small for Hal, some old-fashioned wood-and-pitch torches, dented pieces of armor, and a few Celestial bronze swords that were bent and broken. Such a waste. I needed another sword.

" Wow, " Tia said as she gently picked up two things, The first was a bracelet with and puzzle piece charm that,when she pulled it, turned into a sharp celestial bronze dagger. She gently put it on her wrist like she knew she would need it later.

The second thing was simply a charm in the shape of an phoenix, and it also turned into a celestial bronze dagger. Tia turned it back into a charm and attached it to her necklace.

I frowned " Why do you need two daggers? I said, but even as I said it, I knew. Demigods were always losing weapons, and if one broke during a battle, she could use the extra one.

Tia looked at me with a face that was like seriously?

" I might need the extra" She said in a duh tone,

Hal rearranged boxes of books, shoes, a few bars of gold, and a small basket full of diamonds that he didn't seem interested in. He unearthed a two-foot-square metal floor safe and gestured at it like: Ta-da.

"Can you open it?" I asked.

Hal shook his head.

"Do you know what's inside?" Thalia asked.

Again, Hal shook his head.

"It's trapped," I guessed.

Hal nodded emphatically, then traced a finger across his neck.

I knelt next to the safe. I didn't touch it, but I held my hands close to the combination lock. My fingers tingled with warmth as if the box were a hot oven. I concentrated until I could sense the mechanisms inside. I didn't like what I found.

"This thing is bad news," I muttered. "Whatever's inside must be important."

Thalia knelt next to me. "Luke, this is why we're here." Her voice was full of excitement. "Zeus wanted me to find this."
Tia nodded with such force I was worried her head might come off. I still looked at them skeptically. I didn't know how they could have such faith in their dad. Zeus hadn't treated her any better than Hermes treated me. Besides, a lot of demigods had been led here. All of them were dead.

Still, when Thalia fixed me with those intense blue eyes, and I knew this was another time Thalia would get her way.

I sighed. "You're going to ask me to open it, aren't you?"

"Can you?"

I chewed my lip. Maybe next time I teamed up with someone, I should choose someone I didn't like so much. I just couldn't say no to Thalia.

"People have tried to open this before," I warned. "There's a curse on the handle. I'm guessing whoever touches it gets burned to a pile of ashes."

I looked up at Hal. His face turned as gray as his hair. I took that as a confirmation.

"Can you bypass the curse?" Thalia asked me.

"I think so," I said. "But it's the second trap I'm worried about."

"The second trap?" Tia asked.

"Nobody's managed to trigger the combination," I said. "I know that because there's a poison canister ready to break as soon as you hit the third number. It's never been activated."

Judging from Hal's wide eyes, this was news to him.

"I can try to disable it," I said, "but if I mess up, this whole apartment is going to fill with gas. We'll die."

Thalia swallowed. "We trust you. Just…don't mess up."

I turned to the old man. "You could maybe hide in the bathtub. Put some wet towels over your face. It might protect you."

Hal shifted uneasily. The snakeskin fabric of his suit rippled as if it were still alive, trying to swallow something unpleasant. Emotions played across his face—fear, doubt, but mostly shame. I guess he couldn't stand the idea of cowering in a bathtub while three kids risked their lives. Or maybe there was a little demigod spirit left in him after all. He gestured at the safe like: Go ahead.

I touched the combination lock. I concentrated so hard I felt like I was dead-lifting five hundred pounds. My pulse quickened. A line of sweat trickled down my nose. Finally I felt gears turning. Metal groaned, tumblers clicked, and the bolts popped back. Carefully avoiding the handle, I pried open the door with my fingertips and extracted an unbroken vial of green liquid.

"Awesome" Tia whispered

Hal exhaled.

Thalia kissed me on the cheek, which she probably shouldn't have done while I was holding a tube of deadly poison.

"You are so good," she said.

Tia smirked devilishly and wolf whistled before singing

" Luke and Thalia sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First come love then comes mar- ugh!"

Thalia had slapped a hand over Tia's mouth, Her face resembling a tomato.

Did Thalia's kiss make the risk worth it? Yeah, pretty much. Even with Tia's song.

I looked into the safe, and some of my enthusiasm faded. "That's it?"

Thalia reached in and pulled out a bracelet.

It didn't look like much, just a row of polished silver links.

Thalia latched it around her wrist. Nothing happened.

She scowled. "It should do something. If Zeus sent me here—"

Hal clapped his hands to get our attention. Suddenly his eyes looked almost as crazy as his hair. He gesticulated wildly, but I had no idea what he was trying to say. Finally he stamped his snakeskin boot in frustration and led us back to the main room.

He sat at his computer and started to type. I glanced at the clock on his desk. Maybe time traveled faster in the house, or maybe time just flies when you're waiting to die, but it was already past noon. Our day was half over.

Hal showed us the short novel he'd written: You're the ones! You actually got the treasure! I can't believe it! That safe has been sealed since before I was born! Apollo told me my curse would end when the owner of the treasure claimed it! If you're the owner—

There was more, with plenty more exclamation points, but before I could finish reading, Thalia said, "Hold it. I've never seen this bracelet. How could I be the owner? And if your curse is supposed to end now, does that mean the monsters are gone?"

Tia looked worried. If Tia, Who we could count on to stay calm in a crisis was panicking, Then We were screwed.

A clack, clack, clack from the hallway answered Thalia's question.

I frowned at Hal. "Do you have your voice back?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His shoulders slumped.

"Maybe Apollo meant we're going to rescue you," Tia said, hopefully.

Hal typed a new sentence: Or maybe I die today.

"Thank you, Mr. Cheerful," I said. "I thought you could tell the future. You don't know what will happen?"

Tia bopped me on the head and gave me a look that said Not Helping!

Hal typed: I can't look. It's too dangerous. You can see what happened to me last time I tried to use my powers.

"Sure," I grumbled. "Don't take the risk. You might mess up this nice life you've got here."

Tia glared at me but I could tell she knew I was right, she looked Like she agreed, if only slightly.

I knew that was mean. But the old man's cowardice annoyed me. He'd let the gods use him as a punching bag for too long. It was time he fought back, preferably before Thalia, Tia and I became the leucrotae's next meal.

Hal lowered his head. His chest was shaking, and I realized he was crying silently.

Thalia shot me an irritated look. "It's okay, Hal. We're not giving up. This bracelet must be the answer. It's got to have a special power."

Hal took a shaky breath. He turned to his keyboard and typed: It's silver. Even if it turns into a weapon, the monsters can't be hurt by any metal.

They both turned to me with a silent plea in their eyes, like: Your turn for a helpful idea.

I studied the empty enclosure, the metal panel through which the monsters had exited. If the apartment door wouldn't open again, and the window was covered by man-eating acid drapes, then that panel might be our only exit. We couldn't use metal weapons. I had a vial of poison, but if I was right about that stuff, it would kill everyone in the room as soon as it dispersed. I ran through another dozen ideas in my head, quickly rejecting them all.

"We'll have to find a different kind of weapon," I decided. "Hal, let me borrow your computer."

Hal looked doubtful, but he gave me his seat.

I stared at the screen. Honestly, I'd never used computers much. Like I said, technology attracts monsters. But Hermes was the god of communication, roadways, and commerce. Maybe that meant he had some power over the Internet. I could really use a divine Google hit right about now.

"Just once," I muttered to the screen, "cut me some slack. Show me there's an upside to being your son."

"What, Luke?" Tia asked.

"Nothing," I said.

I opened the Web browser and started typing. I looked up leucrotae, hoping to find their weaknesses. The Internet had almost nothing on them, except that they were legendary animals that lured their prey by imitating human voices.

I searched for "Greek weapons." I found some great images of swords, spears, and catapults, but I doubted we could kill monsters with low-resolution JPEGs. I typed in a list of things we had in the room—torches, Celestial bronze, poison, Snickers bars, golf club—hoping that some sort of magic formula would pop up for a leucrota death ray. No such luck. I typed in "Help me kill leucrotae." The closest hit I got was Help me cure leukemia.

Tia facepalmed when she saw I had added the golf club, though.

My head was throbbing. I didn't have any concept of how long I'd been searching until I looked at the clock: four in the afternoon. How was that possible?

Meanwhile, Thalia had been trying to activate her new bracelet, with no luck. She'd twisted it, tapped it, shaken it, worn it on her ankle, thrown it against the wall, and swung it over her head yelling "Zeus!" Nothing happened. Well, Nothing other than Tia rolling on the ground because she was laughing so hard.

We looked at each other, and I knew we were all out of ideas. I thought about what Hal Green had told us. All demigods started off hopeful. All of them had ideas for escape. All of them failed.

I couldn't let that happen. We had survived too much to give up now. But for the life of me (and I mean that literally) I couldn't think of anything else to try.

Hal walked over and gestured at the keyboard.

"Go ahead," I said dejectedly.

We changed places.

Running out of time, he typed. I'll try to read the future.

Tia frowned. "I thought you said that was too dangerous."

It doesn't matter, Hal typed. Luke is right. I'm a cowardly old man, but Apollo can't punish me any worse than he already has. Perhaps I'll see something that will help you. Thalia, give me your hands.

He turned to her.

Thalia hesitated.

Outside the apartment, the leucrotae growled and scraped against the corridor. They sounded hungry.

Thalia placed her hands in Halcyon Green's. The old man closed his eyes and concentrated, the same way I do when I'm reading a complicated lock.

He winced, then took a shaky breath. He looked up at Thalia with an expression of sympathy. He turned to the keyboard and hesitated a long time before starting to type.

You are destined to survive today, Hal typed.

"That's—that's good, right?" she asked. "Why do you look so sad?"

Hal stared at the blinking cursor. He typed, Someday soon, you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends. I see things that are…hard to describe. Years of solitude, protecting a sleeping sister. You will stand tall and still, alive but sleeping. You will change once, and then change again. Your path will be..different. But in due time, you will separate from your sister.

Thalia clenched her fists. She started to speak, then paced the room. Finally she slammed her palm against the bookshelves. "That doesn't make any sense. I'll sacrifice myself, but I'll live. Changing, sleeping? You call that a future? I—I just have Tia. There's no way we will separate."

Hal pursed his lips. He typed, I'm sorry. I don't control what I see.

"It's nothing," she said at last. "Forget it. Hal's fortune-telling skills are rusty."

I'm pretty sure not even Thalia believed that.

"Hal," I said, "there's got to be more. You told us that Thalia will survive. How? Did you see anything about the bracelet? Or the goat? We need something that will help."

He shook his head sadly. He typed, I saw nothing about the bracelet. I'm sorry. I know a little about Amaltheia the goat, but I doubt it will help. The goat nursed Zeus when he was a baby. Later, Zeus slew her and used her skin to make his shield—the aegis.

I scratched my chin. I was pretty sure that was the story I'd been trying to remember earlier about the goat's hide. It seemed important, though I couldn't figure out why. "So Zeus killed his own mama goat. Typical god thing to do. Thalia, you know anything about the shield?"

She nodded, clearly relieved to change the subject. "Athena put the head of Medusa on the front of it and had the whole thing covered in Celestial bronze. She and Zeus took turns using it in battle. It would frighten away their enemies."

I didn't see how the information could help. Obviously, the goat Amaltheia had come back to life. That happened a lot with mythological monsters—they eventually re-formed from the pit of Tartarus. But why had Amaltheia led us here?

A bad thought occurred to me. If I'd been skinned by Zeus, I definitely wouldn't be interested in helping him anymore. In fact, I might have a vendetta against Zeus's children. Maybe that's why Amaltheia had brought us to the mansion.

Hal held out his hands to Tia. Her expression was strong, but underneath that, I could see she was afraid.

Don't, Tia," Thalia said

Tia looked back and forth, Her expression conflicted. Finally she put her hands in Hal's. Hal closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply.

After a minute his eyes opened again, he looked concerned at Tia.

" I saw something similar for you, It's hard but i'll try to explain. You will sacrifice yourself alongside your sister to save your friends. but you sleep, then for many years you will change, Your change shall be different than your sister's... It shall be... fiery, that is the only way to describe it. then you will separate from your sister. But you will be happy." He typed.

Tia floated up to the ceiling after Hal had told her that, her expression thoughtful.

Hal Green held out his hands to grim expression told me it was my turn for a fortune-telling.

A wave of dread washed over me. After hearing Both Tia's and Thalia's future, I didn't want to know mine. What if she survived, and I didn't? What if we both survived, but Thalia sacrificed herself to save me somewhere down the line, like Hal had mentioned? I couldn't bear that.

"Don't, Luke," Thalia said bitterly. "The gods were right. Hal's prophecies don't help anybody."

The old man blinked his watery eyes. His hands were so frail, it was hard to believe he carried the blood of an immortal god. He had told us his curse would end today, one way or another. He'd foreseen Thalia surviving. If he saw anything in my future that would help, I had to try.

I gave him my hands.

Hal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His snakeskin jacket glistened as if it were trying to shed. I forced myself to stay calm.

I could feel Hal's pulse in my fingers—one, two, three.

His eyes flew open. He yanked his hands away and stared at me in terror.

"Okay," I said. My tongue felt like sandpaper. "I'm guessing you didn't see anything good."

Hal turned to his computer. He stared at the screen so long I thought he'd gone into a trance.

Finally he typed, Fire. I saw fire.

Tia frowned. "Fire? You mean today? Is that going to help us?"

Hal looked up miserably. He nodded.

"There's more," I pressed. "What scared you so badly?"

He avoided my eyes. Reluctantly he typed, Hard to be sure. Luke, I also saw a sacrifice in your future. A choice. But also a betrayal.

I waited. Hal didn't elaborate.

"A betrayal," Thalia said. Her tone was dangerous. "You mean someone betrays Luke? Because Luke would never betray anyone."

Hal typed, His path is hard to see. But if he survives today, he will betray—

Thalia grabbed the keyboard. "Enough! You lure demigods here, then you take away their hope with your horrible predictions? No wonder the others gave up—just like you gave up. You're pathetic!"

Tia floated down, her normally calm expression twisted up with an unidentifiable emotion.

Anger kindled in Hal's eyes. I didn't think the old man had it in him, but he rose to his feet. For a moment, I thought he might lunge at Thalia.

"Go ahead," Thalia growled. "Take a swing, old man. You have any fire left?"

Tia looked shocked " Thalia, please" She said softly.

"Stop it!" I ordered. Hal Green immediately backed down. I could swear the old man was terrified of me now, but I didn't want to know what he saw in his visions. Whatever nightmares were in my future, I had to survive today first.

"Fire," Tia said. "You mentioned fire."

He nodded, then spread his hands to indicate he had no further details.

An idea buzzed in the back of my head. Fire. Greek weapons. Some of the supplies we had in this apartment…the list I'd put into the search engine, hoping for a magic formula.

"What is it?" Thalia asked. "I know that look. You're on to something."

"Let me see the keyboard." I sat at the computer and did a new Web search.

An article popped up immediately.

Thalia peered over my shoulder. "Luke, that would be perfect! But I thought that stuff was just a legend."

Tia looked over my other shoulder, "Yeah," She said " I thought so too."

"I don't know," I admitted. "If it's real, how do we make it? There's no recipe here."

Hal rapped his knuckles on the desk to get our attention. His face was animated. He pointed at his bookshelves.

"Ancient history books," Tia said. "Hal's right. A lot of those are really old. They probably have information that wouldn't be on the Internet."

All four of us ran to the shelves. We started pulling out books. Soon Hal's library looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, but the old man didn't seem to care. He tossed titles and flipped through pages as fast as we did. In fact, without him, we never would've found the answer. After lots of fruitless searching, he came racing over, tapping a page in an old leather-bound book.

I scanned the list of ingredients, and my excitement built. "This is it. The recipe for Greek fire."

How had I known to search for it? Perhaps my dad, Hermes, the jack-of-all-trades god, was guiding me, since he's got a way with potions and alchemy. Perhaps I'd seen the recipe somewhere before, and searching the apartment had triggered that memory.

Everything we needed was in this room. I'd seen all of the ingredients when we'd gone through the supplies from defeated demigods: pitch from the old torches, a bottle of godly nectar, alcohol from Hal's first-aid kit…

Actually, I shouldn't write down the whole recipe, even in this diary. If someone came across it and learned the secret of Greek fire…well, I don't want to be responsible for burning down the mortal world.

I read to the end of the list. There was only one thing missing.

"A catalyst." I looked at Thalia. "We need lightning."

Her eyes widened. "Luke, I can't. Last time—"

Hal dragged us to the computer and typed, You can summon lightning?

"Sometimes," Thalia admitted. "It's a Zeus thing."

Tia facepalmed, before saying " It's HER Zeus thing, mine is flying"

Thalia huffed and continued as if she had never been interrupted

"But I can't do it indoors. And even if we were outside, I'd have trouble controlling the strike. Last time, I almost killed Luke."

The hairs on my neck stood up as I remembered that accident.

"It'll be fine." I tried to sound confident. "I'll prepare the mixture. When it's ready, there's an outlet under the computer. You can call down a lightning strike on the house and blast it through the electrical wiring."

"And set the house on fire," Thalia added.

Hal typed, You'll do that anyway if you succeed. You do understand how dangerous Greek fire is?

I swallowed. "Yeah. It's magical fire. Whatever it touches, it burns. You can't put it out with water, or a fire extinguisher, or anything else. But if we can make enough for some kind of bomb and throw it at the leucrotae—"

"They'll burn." Tia glanced at the old man. "Please tell me the monsters aren't immune to fire."

Hal knit his eyebrows. I don't think so, he typed. But Greek fire will turn this room into an inferno. It will spread through the entire house in a matter of seconds.

I looked at the empty enclosure. According to Hal's clock, we had roughly an hour before sunset. When those bars rose and the leucrotae attacked, we might have a chance—if we could surprise the monsters with an explosion, and if we could somehow get around them and reach the escape panel at the back of the cage without getting eaten or burned alive. Too many ifs.

My mind ran through a dozen different strategies, but I kept coming back to what Hal had said about sacrifice. I couldn't escape the feeling there was no way all four of us could get out alive.

"Let's make the Greek fire," I said. "Then we'll figure out the rest."

Thalia and Hal helped me gather the things we needed. We started Hal's stovetop and did some extremely dangerous cooking. Time passed too quickly. Outside in the hallway, the leucrotae growled and clacked their jaws.

The drapes on the window blocked out all sunlight, but the clock told us we were almost out of time.

My face beaded with sweat as I mixed the ingredients. Every time I blinked, I remembered Hal's words on that computer screen, as if they'd been burned onto the back of my eyes: A sacrifice in your future. A choice. But also a betrayal.

What did he mean? I was sure he hadn't told me everything. But one thing was clear: My future terrified him.

I tried to focus on my work. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I had no choice. Maybe Hermes was watching out for me, lending me some of his alchemy know-how. Or maybe I just got lucky. Finally I had a pot full of goopy black gunk, which I poured into an old glass jelly jar. I sealed the lid.

"There." I handed the jar to Thalia. "Can you zap it? The glass should keep it from exploding until we break the jar."

Thalia didn't look thrilled. "I'll try. I'll have to expose some wiring in the wall. And to summon the lightning, that'll take a few minutes of concentration. You guys should probably step back, in case…you know, I explode or something."

She grabbed a screwdriver from Hal's kitchen drawer, crawled under the computer desk, and stared tinkering with the outlet. Tia crouched beside her, trying to help.

Hal picked up his green leather diary. He gestured for me to follow him. We walked to the closet doorway, where Hal took a pen from his jacket and flipped through the book. I saw pages and pages of neat, cramped handwriting. Finally Hal found an empty page and scribbled something.

He handed the book to me.

The note read, Luke, I want you to take this diary. It has my predictions, my notes about the future, my thoughts about where I went wrong. I think it might help you.

I shook my head. "Hal, this is yours. Keep it."

He took back the book and wrote, You have an important future. Your choices will change the world. You can learn from my mistakes, continue the diary. It might help you with your decisions.

"What decisions?" I asked. "What did you see that scared you so badly?"

His pen hovered over the page for a long time. I think I finally understand why I was cursed, he wrote. Apollo was right. Sometimes the future really is better left a mystery.

"Hal, your father was a jerk. You didn't deserve—"

Hal tapped the page insistently. He scribbled, Just promise me you'll keep up with the diary. If I'd started recording my thoughts earlier in my life, I might have avoided some stupid mistakes. And one more thing—

He set the pen in his diary and unclipped the Celestial bronze dagger from his belt. He offered it to me.

"I can't," I told him. "I mean, I appreciate it, but I'm more of a sword guy. And besides, you're coming with us. You'll need that weapon."

He shook his head and put the dagger into my hands. He returned to writing: That blade was a gift from the girl I saved. She promised me it would always protect its owner.

Hal took a shaky breath. He must've known how bitterly ironic that promise sounded, given his curse. He wrote, A dagger doesn't have the power or reach of a sword, but it can be an excellent weapon in the right hands. I'll feel better knowing you have it.

He met my eyes, and I finally understood what he was planning. "Don't," I said. "We can all make it out." Hal pursed his lips. He wrote, We both know that's impossible. I can communicate with the leucrotae. I am the logical choice for bait. You, Thalia and Tia wait in the closet. I'll lure the monsters into the bathroom. I'll buy you a few seconds to reach the exit panel before I set off the explosion. It's the only way you'll have time.

"No," I said.

But his expression was grim and determined. He didn't look like a cowardly old man anymore. He looked like a demigod, ready to go out fighting.

I couldn't believe he was offering to sacrifice his life for threemkids he'd just met, especially after he'd suffered for so many years. And yet, I didn't need pen and paper to see what he was thinking. This was his chance at redemption. He would do one last heroic thing, and his curse would end today, just as Apollo had foreseen.

He scribbled something and handed me the diary. The last word read: Promise.

I took a deep breath, and closed the book. "Yeah. I promise."

Thunder shook the house. We both jumped. Over at the computer desk, something went ZZZAP-POP! White smoke billowed from the computer, and a smell like burning tires filled the room.

Thalia sat up grinning. The wall behind her was blistered and blackened. The electrical outlet had completely melted, but in her hands, the jelly jar of Greek fire was now glowing green.

"Someone order a magic bomb?" she asked.

Just then, the clock registered 7:03. The enclosure's bars began to rise, and the panel at the back started to open.

We were out of time.

The old man held out his hand.

"Thalia," I said. "Give Hal the Greek fire."

She looked back and forth between us. "But—"

"He has to." My voice sounded more gravelly than usual. "He's going to help us escape."

As the meaning of my words dawned on her, her face blanched.

"Luke, no." Tia had gone shockingly pale, " There HAS to be another way" She begged.

The bars had risen halfway to the ceiling. The trapdoor ground open slowly. A red hoof thrust its way through the crack. Inside the chute, the leucrotae growled and clacked their jaws.

"There's no time," I warned. "Come on!"

Hal took the jar of fire from Thalia. He gave her a brave smile, then nodded to me. I remembered the final word he'd written: Promise.

I slipped his diary and dagger into my pack. Then I pulled Thalia and Tia into the closet with me.

A split second later, we heard the leucrotae burst into the room. All three of the monsters hissed and growled and trampled across the furniture, anxious to feed.

"In here!" Hal's voice called. It must've been one of the monsters speaking for him, but his words sound brave and confident. "I've got them trapped in the bathroom! Come on, you ugly mutts!"

It was strange hearing a leucrota insult itself, but the ploy seemed to work. The creatures galloped toward the bathroom.

I gripped Thalia's and Tia's hand. "Now."

We burst out of the closet and sprinted for the enclosure. Inside, the panel was already closing. One of the leucrotae snarled in surprise and turned to follow us, but I didn't dare look back. We scrambled into the cage. I lunged for the exit panel, wedging it open with my golf club.

"Go, go, go!" I yelled.

Thalia and Tia wriggled through as the metal plate started to bend the golf club.

From the bathroom, Hal's voice yelled, "You know what this is, you Tartarus scum dogs? This is your last meal!"

The leucrota landed on me. I twisted, screaming, as its bony mouth snapped at the air where my face had just been.

I managed to punch its snout, but it was like hitting a bag of wet cement.

Then something grabbed my arm. Thalia pulled me into the chute. The panel closed, snapping my golf club.

We crawled through a metal duct into another bedroom and stumbled for the door.

I heard Halcyon Green, shouting a battle cry: "For Apollo!"

And the mansion shook with a massive explosion.

We burst into the hallway, which was already on fire. Flames licked the wallpaper and the carpet steamed. Hal's bedroom door had been blown off its hinges, and fire was pouring out like an avalanche, vaporizing everything in its path.

We reached the stairs. The smoke was so thick, I couldn't see the bottom. We stumbled and coughed, the heat searing my eyes and my lungs. We got to the base of the stairs, and I was beginning to think we'd reach the door, when the leucrota pounced, knocking me flat on my back.

It must have been the one that followed us into the enclosure. I suppose it had been far enough away from the explosion to survive the initial blast and had somehow escaped the bedroom, though it didn't look like it had enjoyed the experience. Its red fur was singed black. Its pointed ears were on fire, and one of its glowing red eyes was swollen shut.

"Luke!" Thalia screamed. She grabbed her spear, which had been lying on the ballroom floor all day, and rammed the point against the monster's ribs, but that only annoyed the leucrota.

It snapped its bone-plated jaws at her, keeping one hoof planted on my chest. I couldn't move, and I knew the beast could crush my chest by applying even the slightest extra pressure.

My eyes stung from the smoke. I could hardly breathe. I saw Tia trying to stab the monster with her new dagger, Thalia was also using her spear again,and a flash of metal caught my eye—the silver bracelet.

Something finally clicked in my mind: the story of Amaltheia the goat, who'd led us here. Thalia had been destined to find that treasure. It belonged to the child of Zeus.

"Thalia!" I gasped. "The shield! What was it called?"

"What shield?" she cried.

"Zeus's shield!" I suddenly remembered. "Aegis. Thalia, the bracelet—it's got a code word!"

It was a desperate guess. Thank the gods—or thank blind luck—Thalia understood. She tapped the bracelet, but this time she yelled, "Aegis!"

Instantly the bracelet expanded, flattening into a wide bronze disk—a shield with intricate designs hammered around the rim. In the center, pressed into the metal like a death mask, was a face so hideous I would've run from it if I could've. I looked away, but the afterimage burned in my mind—snaky hair, glaring eyes, and a mouth with bared fangs.

Tia sharply drew her breath as she saw it.

Thalia thrust the shield toward the leucrota. The monster yelped like a puppy and retreated, freeing me from the weight of its hoof. Through the smoke, I watched the terrified leucrota run straight into the nearest drapes, which turned into glistening black tongues and engulfed the monster. The monster steamed. It began yelling, "Help!" in a dozen voices, probably the voices of its past victims, until finally it disintegrated in the dark oily folds.

I would've lain there stunned and horrified until the fiery ceiling collapsed on me, but Thalia grabbed my arm and yelled, "Hurry!", Tia was floating. whether on purpose or by instinct I will never know.

We bolted for the front door. I was wondering how we'd open it, when the avalanche of fire poured down the staircase and caught us. The building exploded.

I can't remember how we got out. I can only assume that the shockwave blasted the front door open and pushed us outside.

The next thing I knew, I was sprawled in the traffic circle, coughing and gasping as a tower of fire roared into the evening sky. My throat burned. My eyes felt like they'd been splashed with acid. I looked for Thalia or Tia and instead found myself staring at the bronze face of Medusa. I screamed, somehow found the energy to stand, and ran. I didn't stop until I was cowering behind the statue of Robert E. Lee.

Yeah, I know. It sounds comical now. But it's a miracle I didn't have a heart attack or get hit by a car. Finally Thalia caught up to me, her spear back in Mace canister form, her shield reduced to a silver bracelet.

Tia was behind her, laughing her butt off. Thankfully, her bracelet and charms still seemed intact.

Together we stood and watched the mansion burn. Bricks crumbled. Black draperies burst into sheets of red fire. The roof collapsed and smoke billowed into the sky.

Thalia let loose a sob. A tear etched through the soot on her face.

"He sacrificed himself," she said. "Why did he save us?"

I hugged my knapsack. I felt the diary and bronze dagger inside—the only remnants of Halcyon Green's life.

My chest was tight, as if the leucrota was still standing on it. I'd criticized for Hal for being a coward, but in the end, he'd been braver than me. The gods had cursed him. He'd spent most of his life imprisoned with monsters. It would've been easy for him to let us die like all the other demigods before us. Yet he'd chosen to go out a hero.

I felt guilty that I couldn't save the old man. I wished I could've talked to him longer. What had he seen in my future that scared him so much?

Your choices will change the world, he'd warned.

I didn't like the sound of it.

The sound of sirens brought me to my senses.

Being runaway minors, Thalia, Tia and I had learned to distrust the police and anybody else with authority. The mortals would want to question us, maybe put us in juvie hall or foster care. We couldn't let that happen.

"Come on," I told them.

We ran through the streets of Richmond until we found a small park. We cleaned up in the public restrooms as best we could. Then we lay low until full dark.

We didn't talk about what had happened. We wandered in a daze through neighborhoods and industrial areas. We had no plan, no glowing goat to follow anymore. We were bone tired, but neither of us felt like sleeping or stopping. I wanted to get as far as possible from that burning mansion.

It wasn't the first time we'd barely escaped with our lives, but we'd never succeeded at the expense of another demigod's life. I couldn't shake my grief.

Promise, Halcyon Green had written.

I promise, Hal, I thought. I will learn from your mistakes. If the gods ever treat me that badly, I will fight back.

Okay, I know that sounds like crazy talk. But I was feeling bitter and angry. If that makes the dudes up on Mount Olympus unhappy, tough. They can come down here and tell me to my face.

We stopped for a rest near an old warehouse. In the dim light of the moon, I could see a name painted on the side of the red brick building: RICHMOND IRON WORKS. Most of the windows were broken.

Thalia shivered. "We could head to our old camp," Tia suggested. "On the James River. We've got plenty of supplies down there."

I nodded apathetically. It would take at least a day to get there, but it was as good a plan as any.

I split my ham sandwich with Thalia and Tia. We ate in silence. The food tasted like cardboard. I'd just swallowed the last bite when I heard a faint metal ping from a nearby alley. My ears started tingling. We weren't alone.

"Someone's close by," I said. "Not a regular mortal."

Thalia tensed.

"How can you be sure?" Tia asked

I didn't have an answer, but I rose to my feet. I pulled out Hal's dagger, mostly for the glow of the Celestial bronze. Thalia grabbed her spear and summoned Aegis. Tia pulled her charm and her dagger appeared. This time I knew better than to look at the face of Medusa, but its presence still made my skin crawl. I didn't know if this shield was the aegis, or a replica made for heroes—but either way, it radiated power. I understood why Amaltheia had wanted Thalia to claim it.

We crept along the wall of the warehouse.

We turned into a dark alleyway that dead-ended at a loading dock piled with old scrap metal.

I pointed at the platform.

Thalia frowned. She whispered, "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Something's down there. I sense it."

Just then there was a loud CLANG. A sheet of corrugated tin quivered on the dock. Something—someone—was underneath.

We crept toward the loading bay until we stood over the pile of metal. Thalia readied her spear. Tia had her dagger at her side. I gestured for them to hold back. I reached for the piece of corrugated metal and mouthed, One, two, three!

As soon as I lifted the sheet of tin, something flew at Tia—a blur of flannel and blond hair. A hammer hurtled straight at her face.

Things could've gone very wrong. Fortunately her reflexes were good from years of fighting.

She shouted, "Whoa!" and dodged the hammer, then grabbed the little girl's wrist. The hammer went skidding across the pavement.

The little girl struggled. She couldn't have been more than seven years old.

"No more monsters!" she screamed, kicking me in the legs. "Go away!"

"It's okay!" Tia tried her best to hold her, but it was like holding a wildcat. Thalia looked too stunned to move. She still had her spear and shield ready.

"Thalia," I said, "put your shield away! You're scaring her!"

Thalia unfroze. She touched the shield and it shrank back into a bracelet. She dropped her spear.

"Hey, little girl," she said, sounding more gentle than I'd ever heard. "It's all right. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Tia, That's Luke."

"Monsters!" she wailed.

"No," She promised. The poor thing wasn't fighting as hard, but she was shivering like crazy, terrified of us. "But we know about monsters," I said. "We fight them too."

She held her, more to comfort than restrain now. Eventually she stopped kicking. She looked cold. Her ribs were showing though her dirty flannel pyjamas.

Despite her fear, she looked at Tia with large eyes. They were startlingly gray, beautiful and intelligent. A demigod—no doubt about it. I got the feeling she was powerful—or she would be, if she survived.

"You're like me?" she asked, still suspicious, but she sounded a little hopeful, too.

"Yeah," Tia promised. "We're…" She hesitated, not sure if she understood what she was, or if she'd ever heard the word demigod. I knew she didn't want to scare her even worse. "Well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

The little girl's expression turned hard and angry. Her chin trembled. "My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."

My heart felt like it was cracking into pieces. She had such pain in her voice—familiar pain. I looked at Thalia and Tia and we made a silent decision right there. We would take care of this kid. After what had happened with Halcyon Green…well, it seemed like fate. We'd watched one demigod die for us. Now we'd found this little girl. It was almost like a second chance.

Thalia knelt next to me. She put her hand on the little girl's shoulder. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Annabeth."

I couldn't help smiling. I'd never heard that name before, but it was pretty, and it seemed to fit her. "Nice name," I told her. "I tell you what, Annabeth. You're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

Her eyes widened. "You could?"

"Oh, yeah," I said earnestly. Then a sudden thought struck me. I reached for Hal's dagger and pulled it from my belt. It will protect its owner, Hal had said. He had gotten it from the little girl he had saved. Now fate had given us the chance to save another little girl.

"How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon?" I asked her. "This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

Annabeth took the dagger and studied it in awe. I know…she was seven years old at most. What was I thinking giving her a weapon? But she was a demigod. We have to defend ourselves. Hercules was only a baby when he strangled two snakes in his cradle. By the time I was nine, I'd fought for my life a dozen times. Annabeth could use a weapon.

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," I told her. My voice caught as I remembered Hal Green, and how he'd died to save us. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Annabeth beamed at me, and for that instant, all my problems seemed to melt. I felt as if I'd done one thing right. I swore to myself I would never let this girl come to harm.

"I am clever!" she said.

Thalia laughed and tousled Annabeth's hair. Just like that—we had a new companion.

"We'd better get going, Annabeth," Thalia said. "We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

Annabeth's smile wavered. For a moment, she got that wild look in her eyes again. "You're…you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"

I swallowed the lump out of my throat. Annabeth was so young, but she'd learned a hard lesson, just like Thalia and I had. Our parents had failed us. The gods were harsh and cruel and aloof. Demigods had only each other.

I put my hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You're part of our family now. And I promise I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

"Deal!" she said happily, clutching her new dagger.

Thalia picked up her spear. She smiled at me with approval. "Now, come on. We can't stay put for long!"

So here I am on guard duty, writing in Halcyon Green's diary—my diary, now.

We're camping in the woods south of Richmond. Tomorrow, we'll press on to the James River and restock our supplies. After that…I don't know. I keep thinking about Hal Green's predictions. An ominous feeling weighs on my chest. There's something dark in my future. It may be a long way off, but it feels like a thunderstorm on the horizon, supercharging the air. I just hope I have the strength to take care of my friends.

Looking at Thalia, Tia and Annabeth asleep by the fire, I'm amazed how peaceful their faces are. If I'm going to be the "dad" of this bunch, I've got to be worthy of their trust. None of us has had good luck with our dads. I have to be better than that. I may be only fourteen, but that's no excuse. I have to keep my new family together.

I look toward the north. I imagine how long it would take to get to my mom's house in Westport, Connecticut, from here. I wonder what my mom is doing right now. She was in such a bad state of mind when I left.…

But I can't feel guilty about leaving her. I had to. If I ever meet my dad, we're going to have a conversation about that.

For now, I'll just have to survive day to day. I'll write in this diary as I have the chance, though I doubt anyone will ever read it.

Thalia is stirring. It's her turn on guard duty. Wow, my hand hurts. I haven't written this much in forever. I'd better sleep, and hope for no dreams.


What is Annabeth's fatal flaw?

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