I followed Chiron back across the commons, headed for the Big House. Just about the only thing I could see was the lantern the centaur was carrying – the torches had been snuffed out for the night, and of course the stars were still gone. But despite the darkness surrounding me, there was still just enough light for me to see my breath freezing in the air.

Nope, I definitely hadn't been imagining that flurry of snow I mentioned before. Now that I was outdoors in the middle of it all, it felt more like I'd imagined the warmth and security of Cabin Six. I could hear frost crunching under my feet with every step I took, and beneath my flimsy camp T-shirt and shorts, I was shuddering with cold.

My numb, sleep-deprived brain was utterly failing to understand whatever was happening. Here it was, May eighth, in the middle of an unusually warm spring, but all of a sudden it felt like December. And why was Chiron calling me back to the Big House? That must mean that all of this was related to my quest – but how?

Compared to the suddenly bitter outdoors, the light and warmth of the Big House felt like another world. This time, Chiron steered me right past the den into his own office. As I settled into a comfortable chair, he promised me that he would be right back and cantered off down the hallway. This seemed kind of odd to me – considering that he'd practically knocked down the door of my cabin in the dead of night and had brought me here urgently, speaking of great danger. You'd think that our meeting would be pretty high on his list of priorities, right? I almost wondered if he was just giving me time to wake up and compose myself – which I needed – but then again, I wasn't too sure of anything at the moment.

Chiron's office was shiny metal from wall to wall, probably Celestial bronze like the tip of my spear, Strix. This would've rendered it just as blinding as the golden Apollo Cabin, but the room was so heavily decorated that only the occasional glint showed through the clutter.

There were several T-shirts hanging on the wall, all of them seemingly commemorating various "Party Ponies" conventions at different dates and places. Nearby was a poster-sized photo of a group of centaurs arm-in-arm. The majority looked like World Cup fans I'd seen on TV – face paint, colored afros, and oversized sunglasses. Chiron was at the end of the line, dressed like a college professor as usual and smiling so it looked more like a wince.

On the adjoining wall was a row of records and sleeves, all featuring classics like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis. My eyebrows shot up when I noticed a copy of the Beatles' Abbey Road album with no less than four signatures on it.

Once I'd torn my eyes away from the golden oldies, though, my attention was held by the most common decoration in the room: hundreds of photographs of demigods, clearly previous residents of Camp Half-Blood. There were photos on all four walls, their glossy surfaces reflecting the light even more than the bronze did.

The oldest were so blurred and faded that they could've dated back to the invention of photography. Among the most recent, I saw a few current camp residents – Annabeth, for one, together with a dark-haired, confident-looking guy I concluded was Percy Jackson. The other Jason was there, too, staring regally into the camera, next to two other photos – his psycho friend Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, and a pretty girl I vaguely recognized as Piper McLean, head counselor for Aphrodite.

Staring at them all, I wondered how many heroes had paced this office before me, waiting for Chiron to deliver dire news and wondering desperately if they'd survive the first thirty minutes of their quests. It was nice knowing I wasn't alone, but then again, I would hate to be the one who finally messed up the tradition. Dionysus would probably end up smiting my photo for target practice.

When Chiron returned after a few minutes, I was staring intently at one of the pictures about halfway up the wall. It didn't' seem much different from the others, but something had drawn me to it. Perhaps I was still half-dreaming, but it seemed like it was important somehow.

The photo showed a group of three, standing in the middle of the commons on an exceptionally sunny day – on the far right was a strikingly beautiful African-American girl, who seemed to be almost as tall as Biagio, and who was wearing a camouflage jacket and jeans. Somehow, the casual outfit looked extremely elegant on her. On the far left was another, far shorter girl with wildly curly wheat-colored hair and green eyes, who had a huge backpack slung across her shoulders. And the guy in between them had bright red hair, enough freckles for two people, and a look in his eyes that reminded me of Flint Greenbaum or Leo Valdez – the kind of look that said he was probably planning something crazy. All three had huge grins on their faces, like they'd been laughing hysterically a second before the picture was taken.

I hadn't heard Chiron approaching, abut now he spoke up from the doorway. "As you can see, Jason," he told me, "I have trained many, many heroes over the years. From the old days of your namesake, Jason captain of the Argo, up to the present day, I have been a constant presence, guiding and encouraging."

He wheeled over to his desk and settled himself into place, while I returned to my chair. "Throughout countless centuries, I have been able to advise demigods based on the lives and deeds of their predecessors," the centaur continued. "And therefore, in some ways, my immortality has proved to be my greatest strength. Cycles and patterns are everywhere in this world of ours, Jason. History repeats itself, and I am here to remember, guiding and warning half-bloods to echo past successes and avert old failures." Then he frowned. "UNTIL NOW …"

"Oh, great," I mumbled, feeling like my blood had frozen. Unfortunately, Chiron had a tremendous gift for theatrics, and he could make me feel this nervous seemingly without effort. "Um, what changed?"

Though he no longer looked as nervous as he had been when he summoned me to the Big House, Chiron was clearly still shaken. "Well now, I'm afraid that's where I'm uncertain. Certainly, you've arrived at camp in the midst of…interesting times. I will simply have to tell you all I know and see if you can make more sense of it than I can."

Chiron reached behind his desk and clicked a button on his boom box. Muted Italian opera filled the air, and the centaur looked at me intently. "During our last meeting, I spoke of the Second Great Prophecy."

"The one about the Doors of Death," I remembered.

He nodded. "In circumstances like these, I may as well be candid. The gods are now threatened by an army of giants – the same monstrosities that challenged Olympus' rule in ancient times. The giants aim to awaken Gaea, the First Goddess, and plunge Western civilization into chaos."

Memories stirred in the back of my mind. I remembered the twin giants I'd encountered years ago in Philadelphia, and Annabaeth asking me if I recognized the name Gaea. "Okay. So Krios joined them, or something?"

Chiron gazed thoughtfully into the distance, not that there was all that much "distance" in the small office. "That's what I'm not sure about. Somehow, Krios' appearance doesn't seem to fit in with the pattern of the Prophecy, which could be cause for concern. An isolated Titan reappearing after his brethren have been defeated…" Chiron shook his head, looking mystified. "At any rate, I doubt that he is acting alone. Like most Titans, the Lord of the South is well-known as a proud and impulsive being. But if some unknown ally suggested a plan of action to him..."

I finally couldn't stand it anymore. I try to be a patient person, but curiosity had been burning away at me ever since Chiron had called me to his office. And when Chiron explains something, he has a tendency to take the long route.

"Listen," I spoke up, "sorry, but I have to know what's going on. Why is it snowing outside all of a sudden?"

Chiron sighed. "As it would happen, Khione the snow-goddess has allied herself with the giants. Initially I assumed that she had caused this, or perhaps that one of the wind gods had betrayed Olympus – until I received word from Olympus half an hour ago."

Behind Chiron, a loud baritone wail issued from the boom box; clearly, someone in the opera was pretty upset. The singer held the note longer than I would've thought possible, but finally his lungs failed him and Chiron delivered the news that was about to change my life.

"I'm afraid," he said, "That Krios has kidnapped the goddess Persephone."

Whenever I recall that moment now, I always wonder why I wasn't utterly terrified.

I mean, seriously. Pause, if you will, to consider the situation. Here I'd just been told that an army of giants was preparing to attack the gods, and that the Titan I had to deal with was powerful enough to steal a mighty Olympian away. That's not exactly reassuring news, is it?

But apparently these things take a while to sink in. It's all very well to talk about giant, malevolent Titans, but if you've only seen such a being in a dream, the danger just doesn't feel real at first. So, at the moment, I was more confused than anything.

"Kidnapped … Persephone?" I mumbled. Chiron nodded grimly.

I cast my mind back to the Greek myths I remembered. I knew that Persephone – although I'd had no idea how to pronounce her name until now – had been a happy, carefree goddess of flowers and nature, the daughter of Demeter. But then … h'm … oh, yeah! Hades had taken a fancy to her and stolen her, down into the Underworld to be his bride.

"But – didn't that already happen?" I asked Chiron, puzzled. "A long time ago?"

He nodded in pleased acknowledgement, as though I'd just gotten an answer right in class. "You're thinking of the original myth of Hades and Persephone, are you not? Ironically, she has now been kidnapped from Hades. As you might remember, Persephone visits her mother during the summer months. With the Doors of Death open – " he shoved a hand away from his chest, his fingers curled like claws, in a sign I'd seen campers make before – "and what with this being the end of spring, it must have been easy to abduct her as she left her husband's realm for the world above."

I digested this new information, wondering how it would affect my quest. While it certainly wasn't good news, Krios hadn't seemed anything like harmless in my dreams. So I supposed I should have expected something like this to happen sooner or later.

"So…I guess we're on a rescue mission now?" I hazarded after a while.

I hadn't been expecting Chiron's reaction. He actually gasped, a shocked expression on his face, as though this was the very last thing he'd expected me to say.

"Di Immortales, Jason!" he exclaimed, a hint of reproach in his tone. "I would have thought you'd realize how much more dangerous this makes the situation. In her grief at the loss of her daughter, Demeter has allowed the world to fall into winter, just as she does during Persephone's time with Hades in the second half of every year. This winter will be far harsher, however, and crops around the world will be in danger if Persephone is not recovered."

I was going to speak up, again, but Chiron cut me off. "While the effects of Persephone's abduction on the mortal world will be severe," he continued, sounding more agitated by the second, "they will be nothing compared to the repercussions on Olympus. Zeus has been mistrustful of heroes lately. As you may have heard, Queen Hera was kidnapped by Gaea and the giants last winter, and I had hoped that her rescue by Jason, Piper, and Leo would persuade him to change his mind. But a second such incident" – he shuddered – "could throw off the balance of the Olympians entirely. And with her daughter gone, Demeter will be in no mood to act her usual role as peacemaker. There could be chaos, recriminations, the taking of sides – and all at the worst possible time."

I fidgeted in my chair. Now things were starting to sink in. Not only would I be in extreme danger on this quest myself, apparently there was going to be a lot riding on my actions, and I'd have to do the whole thing without messing anything up. And that was a shame, because messing things up is kind of my specialty.

That mindset – terrified, but resigned to what I'd have to face – was what made Chiron's next words so surprising.

"And so," he told me with a sigh, "that is why I am releasing you from your quest."

All I could come up with was a very stunned "WHAT?"

The centaur nodded sadly. "When you agreed to track Krios down earlier, neither of us had any idea how much danger would be involved. I won't ask you to face something you aren't prepared for. Some of our senior campers can take the quest in your absence."

For all of half a second, that sounded like an immense relief. The whole drastic situation could just seemingly disappear, no longer my problem. Someone else could be sent to defuse the situation, and I'd just stay at camp, living my life like normal.

But then, with a feeling of dread settling unnervingly in my stomach, I somehow understood that that wouldn't be possible. I want to point out that I was not being "heroic" or anything similar – it was like it was just in my DNA not to accept the easy way out, as clear a fact as "My name is Jason Williams" or "Last spring, Biagio somehow managed to get four prom dates for one prom."

"Um, thanks," I told Chiron, wondering how I was going to make my position clear, "but I don't think I can just…not do this, all of a sudden. I already agreed to take the quest, and it would, like, feel wrong to just walk away. You can send anyone you want who's actually competent along with me, but …" my voice trailed off. I couldn't really express the way it seemed obvious to me that I had to do this quest.

But somehow there was an understanding look in the old centaur's eyes, like he'd seen this happen before. "Well spoken," he told me. "Most heroes would feel the same way. Very well, if you are resolved, the quest is still yours."

All right, I'll admit that my first thought was what have I done? But I wasn't about to take my words back now.

"I take it you know who you'll be choosing to accompany you on the quest?" Chiron asked me. "Strong and trustworthy allies are going to be essential if you're to succeed."

I nodded uncertainly. "I think I have a pretty good idea, actually."

Behind Chiron, the opera song suddenly ended. He stroked his beard in a thoughtful way. "My final piece of advice," he said after a while, "is to trust your instincts. Frequently, children of Athena rely on logic and planning alone, but a hero's heart will often lead him well, even if his reason fails."

Clearly, our conversation was over. As I stood, I was suddenly amazed how long I'd managed to stay awake – my mind was utterly scrambled, and I felt like if I tried to say anything more, it would just be exhausted gibberish.

But as I stumbled out of the cluttered office, Titans and goddesses chasing each other through my brain, my eyes fell on the photo I'd seen on my way in, the grinning trio of half-bloods. I wasn't sure how, but the snapshot still felt important.

Trust your instincts, Chiron had said. Well, I mused, perhaps this was a good place to start.

"Um. Who are these three?" I asked him, pointing to the photo.

Chiron wheeled his way over to that particular wall and squinted at the trio in the picture. "Oh, yes," he said slowly, and I somehow got the feeling that he was wishing I hadn't asked. "Hannah, Jamie, and Selene were their names. They lived at camp in the late 1990's, and this photo was taken just before they left on a quest."

Somehow, that wasn't enough for my curiosity. "And?" I prompted, despite the feeling I was getting that Chiron didn't want to say any more.

His next words made it clear why I'd gotten that impression. "I'm afraid," he sighed, "that they were never heard from again."

I left the Big House on that happy note, quite certain that I wasn't going to be able to sleep for a second. Fortunately, though, by the time I returned to Cabin Six, the many late hours I'd spent studying for my upcoming quest were beginning to take their toll. Suddenly seeming to need tremendous amounts of energy just to stay on my feet, I stumbled through the door and crashed down onto my bunk. That was the last thing I would remember for what felt like just about forever.

By the time I slowly drifted back to consciousness the next morning, I'd forgotten all about Chiron's grim midnight warnings, and the seemingly impossible quest I was facing. For a few delicious seconds it was just another day at camp, and I was wondering only about ordinary things, like whether the pegasi would be available for flying, and whether I'd see Melanie Adams that morning.

The name stirred up a vague uneasiness from the depths of my brain. I'd promised Melanie something yesterday, hadn't I? I'd promised to explain about…

"Oh, gods," I mumbled as everything came crashing back, like a waterfall of memories. Although Cabin Six was as crowded as usual, I suddenly felt immensely alone. I was leaving it all behind today. I was heading out into America, a defenseless geek of a teenager without so much as a driver's license, to track down a homicidal, goddess-kidnapping Titan. The whole idea of "adventure," I had to admit, wasn't looking quite as exciting up close. There was tragedy ahead, I could just tell, and as likely as not, it had my name on it.

For a second or two, tears of shock and fear stung at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away furiously. Now was not the best of times to be emotionally unstable, after all; I'd need to have my wits about me now more than ever before.

That conviction was just strong enough to get me to change clothes rapidly, grab Strix and head outside. The first thing I'd have to do would be to get two companions for my quest. I hadn't just been bluffing when I'd told Chiron that I knew who I was choosing—I was following an impulse as he'd recommended, but nonetheless, I had a feeling that my decision was sound.

I certainly hoped it was, at least. All things considered, I had decided that it would be best if I came back from this quest alive.

The camp was filled with demigods wandering around aimlessly, trying to make sense of the sudden, violent change in the weather. Only now, in full daylight, could I see how extensive the curse of Demeter had been. Everywhere I looked, the grass was silvery with frost—even close to ten in the morning—and many of the pine trees in the forest had already turned rusty orange.

And as for the deciduous trees, forget that—they were all skeletons coated in shriveled brown leaves, without a hint of green visible anywhere.

As I watched, a pair of grim-looking Apollo campers emerged from the woods, carrying a stretcher between them. On it was someone I had only seen in a dream before: Heather the dryad, Ashley's protector, who appeared to be deeply asleep, her face pale.

"Whatever happened last night, it was pretty tough on the nature spirits," the nearer Apollo guy informed me. "Dryads' life forces are tied to their trees, and with all the trees in such bad shape, well…" he shrugged helplessly. "They've mostly gone comatose like Heather here. We're doing what we can for them at the Big House."

I mumbled something indistinct but sympathetic and kept walking. The more I saw—the frozen ruins of the strawberry field, the giant pine tree on Half-Blood Hill with half of its needles missing, the thatched roof of the Demeter Cabin totally collapsed—the more terrible I felt. Maybe the state of the camp wasn't my fault, exactly, but it was my job to resolve the situation, which in a way meant it all came back to Jason Williams in the end. Talking about what had happened with Chiron had been one thing, but seeing the consequences for real was a thousand times worse.

I finally found Biagio on the shore of the lake—about the same spot where I'd shot myself with the arrow, actually. He was staring out over the water and standing extremely still, which was hardly typical for him, and he looked pretty gray, which was even more unusual for such a vibrant character.

Then again, he was blending in pretty well. A good deal of the environment was gray that day: the sky was clouded over, and was the general hue of frozen iron, and much the same could be said of the lake. I'd almost expected Biagio to stand out boldly from the drab surroundings, what with his golden tux and neon teeth and everything, but instead, it seemed that all of the color had been drained out of him, as well. It was really kind of depressing.

He listened patiently while I explained about the quest and—you guessed it—invited him along, but the more I kept talking, the more his frown deepened.

"Listen, Jason," he said eventually, with a lengthy sigh. "I know that I'm a pretty funny guy most of the time, and suave, and charismatic, and the life of the party, and…"

"But?" I supplied, guessing that he could go on in this vein for quite a while if I didn't cut him off.

"But, the point is that all of that's just a mask!" snapped Biagio. "I act all cool and confident because, well, that's who I am, it's what I do, but I can barely hold down a steady girlfriend, much less be a hero!"

The Italian was speaking in italics. I started to respond, but he cut me off with a wild gesture; clearly, he was on a roll now.

"You remember me falling out of the van on the way to camp, right? All I would do is slow you down." He paused momentarily, closing his eyes in exasperation. "Look, you know, I appreciate the bonds of friendship or whatever that made you ask me, but seriously, get someone who actually knows what they're doing."

This wasn't good. I hadn't been having recurring visions of Biagio for my health (and trust me, I see quite enough of him in my waking hours). All of my instincts were insisting that he was meant to be on this quest—some force might have brought us to camp together for that very reason. And here he was now, totally refusing.

"Look, none of us know what we're doing here," I shot back. "Don't forget, I'm a total geek who shot himself in the eye right here, not too long ago, and they chose me to lead the darn thing. I don't think being a hero just comes naturally to anyone here. All of your confidence, and, well…and everything else you mentioned are why we need you on this quest. You're the one who never lets anything get you down, no matter…" I'd been about to say "no matter how deranged your ideas are," but fortunately stopped myself—"no matter what happens. And without you on this quest, we probably would just give up before too long."

Biagio was silent for several moments, his face unreadable. I wondered if all I'd accomplished was getting him mad at me. He was acting so unlike the Biagio I knew that I really had no idea what I should be saying.

"Oh, all right," he said suddenly.

I grinned, a feeling of immense relief sweeping through me. "Seriously?"

Slowly but surely, he was starting to look like his old self again. "Well, I guess someone is going to have to tag along to save this thing from certain disaster. Titan kidnapped a goddess? No problem. He's going to wish he never met me. I'll go pack."

I shook his hand gratefully. "Well, I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but welcome aboard."

Biagio started to head back towards the cabins, then turned back, a sly expression on his face. "Wait a minute…if I remember correctly, you're allowed to take three people on a quest, and you kept using plural pronouns. May I ask who else is going to be joining us?"

I rolled my eyes; he'd picked up on that even more quickly than I'd expected. "Oh, I'll let you find out for yourself later—especially since once you do, you'll never let me hear the end of it anyway."

The final member of the quest was, at least, much easier to find than Biagio had been. After all, even with no sunlight to reflect off of it, it was pretty hard to miss the golden Apollo Cabin.

I quickly began to feel nervous as I slowly approached the cabin door. Asking Biagio to join me for the quest was one thing, but asking someone I barely even knew was definitely another. Remembering some of the comments Biagio had made on our first night at camp certainly wasn't helping, either.

Well, it's not like this is romantic or anything, I told myself. You're just asking her to help you save the world from Krios and whoever he's working for. I mean, that's pretty platonic, right?

In any case, I really didn't feel like I had any choice in the matter. I was still following that strange combination of instinct and the dreams I'd been having, but I was certain that if anyone but the three people I had in mind went on this quest, it would all end in disaster.

That was a cheery thought. All in all, it took a little more bravery than I'd been expecting just to take the final few steps and knock on the door.

Will Solace, wearing an obviously borrowed Camp Half-Blood T-shirt that was way too big for him (I guessed his own clothes were still drying), opened the door. "Oh, hey, Jason. How's your eye?"

"Fine," I told him, although I was no longer really concentrating on the conversation. I'd never seen the inside of the Apollo Cabin before, and there was a lot to process.

Thankfully, the whole interior wasn't gold like the outside—the walls were largely marble, with an impressive mosaic of the sun chariot covering the entire ceiling. I'd heard before that Apollo was the largest cabin at camp, and it was easy to see that was true—the place was as spacious as it was completely packed.

A tall, orange-haired guy seemed to be reciting a sonnet in one corner. On either side of his head were huge archery targets attached to the wall, and two other demigods were shooting at them, often forcing the poet to duck suddenly.

A cluster of small photographs was taped to the opposite wall—which reminded me of Chiron's office—but these depicted what looked like two suns in the sky over the New York skyline. Five or six campers were clustered around the display, having a fierce argument.

And in addition to all of the noise that the thirty-odd campers were making, there was music everywhere. Apparently, just because they were all children of the god of music didn't mean that the Apollo kids all had the same taste—there were MP3 players everywhere, blasting everything from Beethoven to Elvis to ZZ Top.

I felt like I would need a lifetime to take it all in, but I couldn't afford to waste too much time. Besides, I still had a massive swarm of butterflies in my stomach, and the clashing music was threatening to drive me totally insane.

"Um, is Ashley Summers around?" I asked Will, speaking quickly so I wouldn't lose my nerve. "I kind of need to talk to her."

To my surprise, he didn't immediately start trying to suppress laughter or shoot me "knowing" looks, but just answered my question as efficiently as possible (i.e. turning around and yelling "ASHLEY!").

A moment or two later, Ashley appeared from somewhere in the general chaos of the cabin. She looked kind of surprised to see me, but smiled and waved. "Hi, Jason. What's going on?"

I launched into the whole explanation again (I was getting a lot of practice at it), and rather awkwardly asked Ashley to join Biagio and me on the quest. For a while she didn't respond at all, but stared at the floor, clearly deep in thought.

"Go for it," Will advised enthusiastically. "It's a real honor for the cabin to have someone chosen for a quest, and you've been doing really well with archery and everything since you got here. Really, I'd be proud to have you representing us."

Ashley bit her lip, looking indecisive, then suddenly turned to me. "All right. If you're sure about this, I'll come along." She sounded like she was kind of surprised to hear herself saying it.

"Not that I'm not grateful to you for asking me along," Ashley told me some time later, as we were leaving the cabin, "but why me? I mean, sure, we kind of know each other, but it's not like I'm all that special or anything. You probably could've chosen…"

"I know," I interrupted, having heard this speech from Biagio already. "Don't ask me how, but it just kind of felt right, like an impulse I had that you had to be on this quest."

She gave me an intense look, her green eyes shining. "You, too? Seriously, I get feelings like that all the time." She smiled wryly. "I guess that's why I'm not too surprised about all of this happening—it's like I already knew it was coming."

We weren't going to be left pondering the complexities of fate any longer, though, as at this point a third voice unexpectedly broke in. "Helloooo, you two!"

I knew that Italian accent. Sure enough, it was Biagio, leaning against a basketball hoop only a few paces away. The son of Aphrodite looked subtly different than usual—there was a fancy shoulder bag slung over his left arm, and he looked just a little more serious than normal.

I was seriously starting to wonder if the guy just materialized whenever he felt that the universe had a need for his presence. "How did you even know I was here?" I demanded, feeling a little weirded out.

He gave me a truly infuriating "Older-and-wiser" kind of look. "Oh, Jason, subtlety is not among your gifts. So, it's to be the three of us on this quest, then? I'm honored, Ashley—Biagio d'Amore." He shook her hand, as suave as ever.

Ashley gave him a dubious look, possibly remembering his falling into the lake on our first night, but managed a "Yeah, great to meet you."

"I'm happy to say that I've prepared for this occasion," Biagio continued, in what almost sounded like a prepared speech. "Check this out!"

And with that, he reached for a scabbard at his belt that I somehow hadn't even noticed and drew a sword. "The Hephaestus cabin does good work, eh? I only asked them yesterday morning, and they get me something this totally wicked by the next afternoon!"

I had to admit, it was a very Biagio-like weapon. It couldn't just be your typical absurdly sharp Celestial bronze blade, no, that wasn't good enough. Naturally, it also had to be studded with opals, both in the hilt and carved to fit the base of the blade. The whole thing shone blindingly even in the weak sunlight, leaving a searing afterimage in front of my eyes.

Biagio sheathed the sword again, with a fancy flourish that almost relieved him of one of his ears. "I call it…Heartbreaker," he announced in a ridiculous dramatic voice.

I rolled my eyes. "And you say I'm not subtle?"

I took a long look at him and Ashley: two phenomenally different personalities, but both of them had agreed to follow me out into the wilderness to hunt down a Titan. Saving Persephone was going to be up to the three of us, and somehow or other, I had to be the leader.

Rule no.1 of effective leadership: Don't let everyone else see how totally freaked out you really are. "Okay," I said, after taking an immensely deep breath. "We've got an Oracle to meet."

Hi from Maecenas! Been a while.

I have a little explaining to do this time around. Despite the long time since I last updated a chapter, I was actually writing for the majority of my "absence." The catch was that I wasn't exactly sure where one chapter ended and the next began, so I just kept going, so I ended up writing three new chapters in a row. As such, I am now in an unprecedented position, one that needs capital letters for emphasis: YOU CAN NOW EXPECT A NEW CHAPTER IN ONE OR THE OTHER OF MY STORIES ON THE SATURDAY, EVERY SATURDAY, for at least the next four weeks. You may now rejoice, for one of the site's greatest procrastinators is actually starting a regular update schedule! We'll see how this goes…

Congrats to those who guessed Ashley and Biagio for the quest. I'll think of a new poll question to put up as soon as I can, but I'm not there yet. I would also congratulate those who guessed about Krios kidnapping Persephone, but that was no one. Oh, well, I suppose staying mysterious isn't too bad! The Khione reference was a guess at least one reader made as of the last chapter, and the flurry of snow was what we in the biz call a "Red Herring." Really, it was a symptom of a deeper problem: Winter everywhere. And trust me, that's only the beginning...

Tune in next Saturday for Romans, Romance, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare! The really fun part of this quest is starting to unfold.

Oh, and incidentally, a little challenge: there's a cross-continuity reference in this chapter to The Kane Chronicles (Rick Riordan's other mythology series, for those who don't know). Find it!

Maecenas out.