Chapter 1.

I am kidnapped by a postman

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe what-ever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.

If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.

But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us.

And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

My name is Percy Jackson.

I'm thirteen years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.

Am I a troubled kid?

Yeah. You could say that.

I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when I got kicked out of my latest school- Yancy Academy.

It was bad- and it wasn't even my fault. One of the students there- Nancy Bobofit- had fallen off the safety rails and into a shark tank once, when the school was visiting a local aquarium. She told everyone I had pushed her off the edge, but that made no sense, because I was well away from her.

The only reason everyone- me included- believed her was because it was better than accepting the alternative.

I know what I saw.

Nancy was annoying me- nothing new there- but the whole time in the aquarium I was just silently thinking that it would be a good thing if Nancy somehow fell into one of the exhibits.

Preferably the one with the sharks.

The next thing I know, Nancy's in the water, and my classmates are shook.

"Did you see-"

"The water-"

"It grabbed her-"

Shortly after, I was sent off from the school. I know, it makes no sense. That's what I told my mom.

Sally Jackson, that's my mother by the way. She's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her.

She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him.

After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad. I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.

My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.

See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nick-named him Smelly Gabe.

I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts. Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. Which is why I could tell she was relieved to be away from him.

Oh yeah, we were on a trip right now. Once I had come back from school, my mom was already aware of what went on. She had a weird expression on her face- it was the closest I have ever seen her being hysterical- and she kept saying things like, Greek, Neptune and Lupa.

I wasn't sure of what those meant, but I was pretty sure I was in trouble.

"Hey,"

Mom looked down at me- she was still a few inches taller than I was- as if noticing me for the first time, which was weird. She usually always saw me a mile away.

"Hey Percy," she spoke softly, tiredly. "Pack up your things, we're going on a little field trip."

It was the first time getting expelled from school had gotten me a free trip, but I wasn't going to argue.

I quickly headed up to my room and packed my things- a couple change of clothes, my good-luck bracelet, some boring essentials I won't mention, and, of course, my stuffed Nightfury toy. It was from the movie How To Train Your Dragon- my favourite movie of all time.

See, I first watched it years back. Before I was called a 'troubled kid'. Before Gabe.

When it was just me and mom, enjoying each others' company, eating blue cookies and watching movies.

Everything about that reminded me of a small part of my life that had actually been semi-decent. I wasn't always in trouble. Gabe wasn't being a pain in the ass. And mom actually smiled once in a while.

Once we got into Gabe's old car, which had taken a lot of bribing from mom's part, we finally drove off.

"Where are we going, mom?"

"Sonoma valley, California."

Now while I wasn't the best at geography, I was pretty sure it took, like, 50 hours to get from New York to California.

"That's a long road trip, mom. I don't think the car will last that long."

She smiled. "Don't worry about that, it'll be taken care of. Now why don't you go sleep, you've had a long day."

I nodded. It had been a long day. Between being chased by bullies and smelly Gabe and expulsions- not to mention the worst, algebra homework, I did need a break. Besides, I had 50 hours to kill.

Not to mention that I was just glad my mother was taking the whole, well, expulsion-from-school-thing surprisingly well. For the sixth time.

I looked out the window, the sky was beginning to turn dark. The land whizzed by so fast I couldn't really make out much. There were trees and fences and grass on each side of the road- but that was just a blur of green and white. The pebbles on the road hit against the side of the car, making an annoying clanging noise.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and it began to drizzle.

Mom drove faster.

I don't know when I fell asleep exactly, but the next thing I know, I'm in a pub.

It looked pretty ordinary, with dark wooden paneling, dingy yellow lights, and plenty of drunk people.

At least, that's what I think normal pubs are like.

The only thing that stood out to me were the three people right in front of me.

Well, not people exactly.

There was a horse, an eagle, and a snake.

And they were all wearing business suits.

The eagle was shouting, "How much did you tell her?"

The horse sighed and rubbed its head. "Perhaps I slipped up. I told her that while the Camp was not ready for her at the moment, thanks to you, brother," he added with a glare, "she might seek the help of Lupa."

I didn't know how the eagle and horse were related, or who Lupa was, but I kept listening.

"YOU TOLD HER ABOUT OUR ROMAN COUNTERPARTS?" the eagle shouted and threw his beer. It clattered on the wooden floor, spilling over the drink, but somehow instantly vanished into thin air.

"What choice did I have?" the horse countered, angrily. "I will NOT see my son die."

The eagle stroked his ruffled feathers. "Fine- I will permit it. But you will not go unpunished- you are prohibited from meeting the boy unless I decide otherwise."

The horse paled- by that I mean it went from dark brown, to, well, more whitish brown- "N-not at all?"

The eagle smiled cruelly and nodded. "That should be a sufficient lesson for you."

The horse snarled, revealing the teeth of a sea monster. "Fine, then. But I warn you- if anything happens to the boy, you will feel the wrath of the sea."

The the horse disappeared into a pile of mist, which blew away.

The eagle sighed, and turned to the snake. "Hermes, take the boy to Lupa. And return his mother home. And make sure to collect some pretzels on the way back- the sweet kind, not the savoury."

Hermes- I think that was the snake- nodded. "Yes, father."

Before I could figure out how an eagle could give birth to a snake, a brilliant white light flashed in front of me.

I woke up.

"Shit."

That was the first time I'd heard my mother say anything close to a cuss word, but I didn't blame her.

Lightning bolts danced around our car, and my mom had been forced to stop the car in place. Brilliant white bolts of pure electricity arced around the car, not allowing us to move forward or back. The lightning scorched the road, turning the stones black.

I didn't want to know what would happen if it hit the car.

"Zeus must have figured it out," I heard her mutter under her breath.

"Zeus? Figure out what mom?" I asked, confused. Before she could answer, there was a bright yellow flash outside the car.

When I looked out, I saw a postman.

No literally- he had a postman's outfit, complete with a cap. He had dusky brown eyes, and a well-trimmed beard. He was even carrying a parcel that read, Insert Pretzels here or something like that. The only thing weird about him was the fact that he held a stick on one hand, which had two live snakes coiled around it.

Oh, and he also had wings attached to his feet.

"He-oh gods, quick Percy, get out of the car!"

My mother's panicked voice drew my attention back to what was going on, and though it didn't make sense, I unlocked the door and stepped out of the car.

The rain immediately pelted against my face, comforting me.

It had always been that way.

For some reason, water always calmed me. It felt like home. It made me stronger, faster, lifted my mood. I always remember the first instructions my mother had ever given me, near Montauk beach. It had been years ago, but I could never forget how serious she was, when she told me that I would have a difficult life, but I would rise to the challenges. It was more inspiring than that but I've never been the best at speeches. What I remember most though, was what she told me in the end.

"Go into the water, Percy. Whenever you're in danger. Go into the water. It will protect you."

I had no idea what that meant at that time. I still don't.

But I couldn't deny the fact that water felt unique to me. It felt like…home.

Mother took a couple of stuttering steps towards the postman, before falling to her knees.

"Lord Hermes. Please, help my son. He has discovered his powers, and I know I do not have long with him."

The postman- Hermes- nodded. "I have been ordered to do so. And you, Sally Jackson, favored by Poseidon, return to your home. I will take Percy where he must go."

She looked up. "To Rome? To Lupa?"

Hermes' eyes hardened. "You forced Zeus into a decision he was not ready to make. While you are protected by Poseidon, he is forced to endure the wrath of Zeus. And I am close enough to my uncle that I feel it is a shame for him to suffer so, over a mere boy."

Here's the thing about mothers- you don't diss their babies.

Even if you are a god.

My mom rose to her feet, scowling. "Don't you dare talk about my son that way. He is powerful- more so than any demigod that you know. And he is special. I know it."

I mean, I know all mothers think their children are special and all, but I get the feeling she meant more than that. Like I had a greater purpose, or higher calling, or something like that.

It made me feel a bit queasy. My stomach twisted uneasily.

Hermes scoffed. "I have nothing more to say to you. You are under my uncle's protection. I will take the child now."

"His name is Percy."

"I will take Percy with me. Now."

Mom quickly rushed towards me and gave me a hug. Somehow, I knew this would be the last time I would see her in a while, and I hugged her tight, a few tears falling down my cheeks, mixing with the rain.

She smelt of brownies and cookies and a few cans of beer- remnants of Gabe's stench- but most of all, she reminded me of the only place I could call close to home.

And now she was letting me go.

"You know you have to go with him, Percy."

I nodded. I couldn't explain how, but something in my gut told me this was what was supposed to happen.

"I love you, my son. Know that. And I know that you will fulfill whatever you are destined to do. Be great, Perseus. Be the greatest of them all. But stay true to what you hold here," she said, making her hand into a fist and resting it over my heart.

I nodded, too choked by sobs to say anything.

"Take care of him, please, Lord Hermes."

Hermes' face softened, and he nodded. I gripped my bag and moved closer to him.

"Hang on tight, kid," he said, speaking gruffly. "This is going to hurt."

I felt a force compressing me, pushing me into a hole in the ground.

Then everything went black.