In the backyard, Lilly looked around to see if anyone was watching us. She whistled twice. Two horses appeared out of a patch of trees near the house. As they got closer, I realized they had wings.

"Whoa," I said. "That's so cool."

"I know," Lilly agreed. "There are pegasi."

"Like flying unicorns?"

The pegasi grunted and stomped their hooves.

"Guido and Porkpie don't like being compared to unicorns," Lilly said. "They say that they're just horses who tape horns to their heads for attention."

I stared at her. "Uh-huh... How do you know what they're saying?"

She was about to say something but one of the pegasi interupted her. "Porkpie senses more monsters. We better get out of here."

I nodded in agreement. We hopped on the pegasi and literally shot straight up into the air. I screamed and put my arms around my pegasus' neck. My face mustive been pretty good because I heard Lilly laugh.

"How do you drive this thing!?" I yelled over the wind.

"Just hold on tight! They know where they're going!" she shouted back.

I looked down at the beautiful landscape below me. I saw the nearby snow peaks of the Rocky Mountains and the frost covered rooves of houses. Soon, we were going so fast, I could only see ripples of color. We must've been going 500, 600 miles an hour easily.

Before I knew it, I was looking down at an enormous valley with a huge forest. The smell of pine filled the air. There was a beach that overlooked the ocean and there was a few dozen cabins strangly shaped in an upside down "U." A greek omega. I remembered learning about it in history class. There was also a huge four-story house, painted a cute color of blue. A group of people stared up at us from the ground. I really hoped they were used to seeing two girls riding flying horses one thousand feet in the air.

We landed on the bay. A bunch of people gathered around us, all of then wearing orange T-shirts. Lilly and I hopped off the pegasi. Everyone stared at me in awe, as if they hadn't seen a thirteen year old girl before. They made way as we made our way through the crowd. Some people murmered stuff and pointed at me. As I passed two boys, I heard one of then say, "She's their daughter?"

I looked at them, but they quickly looked away. I fast walked so I could get closer to Lilly. She led me to the big house I'd seen before. There, a man in a wheelchair waited for us on the porch. He had a whispy brown beard, and a blanket was placed over his legs.

"Lilly!" the man exclaimed. "I'm glad to see you've returned safely." He looked at me. "Is this her?"

"Yep," Lilly said. "This is April and Nico's daughter."

The man examined me, doing laps around me with his wheelchair. I just stood there, feeling uncomfortable. He stopped in front of me. "You certainly are their daughter. You have your mother's beauty."

"You knew my mother?" I asked.

He looked at Lilly. "You haven't told her?"

"I was getting to it," she insisted.

"Wait. Tell me what?" I asked.

So many questions were going through my head. Where was my mother? What was this place? Why did that empousa thing attack me?

The man stroked his beard. "Please. Come inside."

He got up from his wheelchair. (Which I didn't think was possible since he was in a wheelchair in the first place) He began to grow taller and wider. Soon, I saw that his bottom half was a white horse. I gasped.

"Maria, this is Chiron," Lilly said. "He's the camp's activities director."

"Hey," I said. I couldn't stop staring at his horse half.

The centar smiled at me. "Come."

I followed him and Lilly inside. The living room was cute and cozy. There was a tiny couch up against the wall, a table, and a head of a leapord on the wall. The leapord's eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," Chiron said.

I took off my tennis shoes and winter coat and sat down on the couch. "Now, tell me what's going on," I demanded.

Lilly looked at Chiron. He nodded. She sighed and looked at me. "The Greek gods of mythology are real. They have moved to America such as they did to Rome. Sometimes they come down to earth and mate with mortals. Their children are called demigods. This place is called Camp Half-Blood. It's where demigods train to fight monsters and strengthen their powers."

I let her words sink in. Greek gods were real, they moved to Ameirca and had kids with mortals. Yep. That was a lot to take in.

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked. "My parents are both mortals aren't they? Nico and April don't exactly sound like god names."

"You aren't the offspring of a god," Chiron told me. "But your parents are."

I left out a small chuckle. "My parents are kids of the all-powerful, legendary Greek gods? You've got to be joking."

"Maria, this is serious," Lilly told me. "Your parents are demigods, and very powerful demigods at that. Your dad is the son of Hades, lord of the dead. One of the Big Three gods. And your mom is the daughter of Pan, god of nature. The only child of Pan that's ever been discovered."

"This is so confusing," I said. "Why am I here if I'm not a demigod?"

"You're a very rare mix," she explained. "It's not normal for a child to have the mixed powers of Hades and Pan. Let's just say...bad stuff can happen."

"What kind of bad stuff?"

She was about to say something but Chiron interupted her. "We're not sure."

"What about Mom?" I asked. "Who took her?"

Chiron and Lilly exchanged looks.

"It's a long story," Lilly said. "You see, twenty-two years ago, the Titan lord Kronos came up from Taturus, a large pit of darkness in the Underworld. He led his army against Mount Olympus in Manhattan. My parents and your dad fought valiantly, and they defeated him. Kronos was gone...but his followers weren't."

"What do you mean?"

"His former supporters began a rebellion the year you were born," Chiron explained. "Their numbers are in the thousands, probably in the millions. Western civilization is beginning to crumble under our feet."

"The rebels built a Labyrinth in the exact same place the original one was," Lilly added. "That's where their main headquarters is. Your dad was sent to scope out the Labyrinth, but we haven't heard from him in years. Now, no one dares to go in."

I sat there is disbelief. "You mean Dad left me and Mom to save the world and he might be dead? After all this time I thought..."

My eyes began to fill with tears. Lilly sat next to me and gave me a hug. "I know how you feel. My parents go on quests for months at a time and I never know if they're okay. I know you have some mixed feelings about Nico. But believe me Maria, it broke his heart to leave you and your mom."

I sniffled. I couldn't believe this. I always thought my father hated me, but he was risking his life to safe the world, including myself. How could I have been so cruel? 'It would put her at risk,' Mom had said. Now I knew what she meant. I should've listened to her. I began to cry.

"How come nobody told me?" I asked through my tears.

"You don't know how much power you hold, Maria," Chiron said. "Knowing would put you in more danger. The Olympian council decided when you were born that you were not to know of your heritage until you turned sixteen. Then, you would be able to come to camp and start training."

I stood. "Let's start training now! I want to find my parents!"

Lilly stood as well. "I'm sorry, Maria. But with the rebellion and all..you're just too young to fight."

"How old were you when you started fighting?"

She looked a bit embarrassed. "Eleven. But I've been training all my life. You still have a bunch of learning to do. Now, go and take a look around."

"But..."

"Go," Chiron insisted. "Lunch will be at noon."

I looked at Lilly. "What about you?"

"I'll catch up. Chiron and I have to talk."

She walked me out of the house and shut the door behind me.

A/N Hi guys! What do you think so far? Please review! It means a lot! :)