I shouldn't have been surprised when Will Solace climbed through my window from the fire escape and handed me a pamphlet. After the incident with the Empousai Girl Scouts in November, everyone who came to visit from camp entered via the fire escape, it was safer for them and our neighbours. But I was surprised, because Will gave me a pamphlet.

"What?" I stared at the pamphlet. It had a cartoon boy on it holding a sword and showing off the red Band-Aid on his arm. "What's this for?"

Will climbed all the way into my room and pointed at the pamphlet. "We're doing a blood drive tomorrow. Can you come?"

Will had taken over running the infirmary last summer after his brother Lee had been killed during the Battle of the Labyrinth. Michael Yew was the head counselor of the Apollo cabin but I'd heard during head counselor meetings that he'd begged Will to run the infirmary so that he could focus on the war. Maybe he'd gotten some sort of Apollo kid vision and seen that we'd be planning and going on missions all year. Most campers who didn't live in and around Long Island hadn't bothered to go home.

"We have blood drives?" I asked. "Since when?"

"Since we had a major battle last summer and people died because we didn't have blood to give them." Will sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "We can't fix everything with nectar and ambrosia and, well, your birthday is coming up."

I winced. There had been too many bodies to burn last summer and we all knew something was going to happen before I turned sixteen that could risk more campers dying. "I'll be there."

Will thanked me and climbed back out the window.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Read the pamphlet," Will said. "We'll take care of everything else."

I told my mom about the blood drive at dinner. She frowned. I'd told her about the Battle of the Labyrinth. She knew how many people we lost.

"That sounds like a good idea," Mom said. "Is there anything else the infirmary needs? Medical supplies?"

"I think Will's been ordering supplies in bulk," I said. "I'll make sure to ask though."

Mom nodded. She picked up our empty plates and kissed my forehead. "You're a good kid. IM me if you won't be home for dinner."

"I will," I promised.

Blackjack had taken to hanging around near our apartment building, probably looking like a flock of seagulls to any mortals. He appeared on the sidewalk in front of me almost as soon as I whistled for him. "Where to, Boss?"

"Camp," I said as I climbed onto his back. "And don't call me 'Boss'."

"You got it, Boss."

Yeah, he's never going to stop calling me boss, is he?

It was a short flight from Manhattan to Camp Half-Blood. When Blackjack touched down next to the Big House, there was a line stretching from the door of the infirmary to the canoe lake. I asked the Hermes girl at the front of the line if she was waiting to donate blood.

"Yup," she said. "Back of the line's that way."

If you've never seen eighty ADHD demigods standing in line, you have never been truly confused. There were battles going on every ten feet over if someone had lost their place in line when they got bored and went to do something else. Another one of Hermes's kids was taking requests on who to pickpocket next, which also usually ended in a fight when their victim noticed their wallet was missing. A basketball game was going on in the part of the line that crossed the basketball court. Near the end of the line there was a five-person cat's cradle in progress.

I joined the back of the line. After three hours, seven sword fights and four rounds in a tournament of H.O.R.S.E. I was two people away from the front of the line. Probably. There might have been another person or two in front of me who'd disappeared for some reason or another.

Will's little brother Austin opened the door. "Next two people. Sherman, get lost, you've already donated."

"I can give way more blood," Sherman argued.

"No, you can't," Austin said. "Leave."

Watching Austin and Sherman glare at each other was an interesting experience. Sherman was a son of Ares and if a fight started it would usually have been a pretty safe bet that he'd win. Then Austin reached out and poked Sherman's arm with one finger. Sherman fell over. Austin continued glaring at him.

"Okay, fine," Sherman grumbled. He tried to get to his feet and fell over again. Miranda and I stepped around him to get to the door.

Inside the infirmary, all but two of the beds were occupied. The Apollo kids were walking around checking on the people donating blood and making notes on the contents of the shiny new refrigeration unit in the far corner.

"Hey, Percy, Miranda," Will said. "Give us a minute to get ready. Do you know your blood types?"

"B-positive," Miranda said.

I shook my head. I'd never needed to know my blood type. Will told me to get Kayla to stab me and find out.

After Kayla squeezed four drops of blood out of my finger and figured out my blood type was O-negative, I sat on the remaining bed and waited for Will to finish taping down the medical tubing that led from the needle in Miranda's arm to the bag slowly filling with her blood.

"So, we don't have the best setup here since Chiron wouldn't let me buy blood donation chairs, but you're not going to die or get an infection or anything," Will said.

Funny how I wasn't worried about any of that until he mentioned it was an option. There was a small part of me that didn't expect to live to sixteen, but I really didn't want an infection to be what took me out. That would be embarrassing.

Will cleaned my arm with rubbing alcohol. It took him less than a second to find a vein and stab me with the needle. A short, sharp pain shot up my arm. After that my arm was just itchy.

"You'll want to lie down," Will said. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

I gave him a thumbs up.

The tube leading from my arm to the blood bag hanging on the side of the bed was warm. It wouldn't have looked like the blood was moving if it weren't for the thin ribbons of gold that travelled along with it. Ichor, the blood of the gods. I'd never seen it in my own blood before. There probably wasn't enough to be noticeable under normal conditions. Demigods are anything but immortal.

I lay back on the bed. T minus five months until my birthday. Five months until I saved the world or destroyed it. Right that minute I felt like it would be a piece of cake, but that was probably the blood loss talking.