I didn't sleep well that night. When I did sleep, I dreamt about Acacia Grace and the girl she had been with, or the woman I'd seen when I was talking to Mary, or the man with the stormy eyes, or the voice through the darkness. After waking up for the fourth time in a panic, it took a long while for me to calm down enough to slip back into a fitful sleep. Even then, it didn't last long. Eventually, I gave up completely.

Instead, I found myself thinking a lot about my family. My real family, I mean. Of course, I'd called Mary when I got back to the hotel, just like she'd asked me to. She kept asking if I was alright, and if there had been any trouble. I hated lying to her, but I couldn't help it. There was no way I could tell her that I'd been attacked by two hag ladies, and I was pretty sure I'd started to remember my old life.

The idea that my old life was coming back scared and excited me all at the same time. There was a sister, I knew there was. I'd had a sister. And the blonde woman . . . was that my mother? Just thinking about the two of them made my heart pound and my stomach turn.

The sound of someone hammering on my bedroom door made me start, shaking the thoughts of my family out of my head. I frowned, glancing sideways at the clock on the bedside table. It read three o'clock, am. Why would someone want to speak to me at three in the morning? Whoever it was knocked again, and I sighed heavily, swinging my legs off the side of the bed and stumbling to the door.

Outside, a woman I didn't recognise stood with something that looked like a tray of tea in her hands. She was wearing an odd combination of the hotel uniform and a thin leather jacket. Her name tag read Meg.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully, flashing a mouthful of yellowing, coffee stained teeth. "Can I offer you some tea?"

I blinked, shuffling slightly. "Erm, it's three in the morning."

"Yes?" she questioned, as though she didn't understand.

"Isn't it a little early for tea?" I grimaced.

"Not this tea, Miss," she chuckled in a sickly sweet voice that sent shudders down my spine. Before I could politely inform her that I didn't want any tea, she pushed me out of the way a little roughly and slipped past me. I blinked again, wide-eyed. "Do you take sugar and milk?"

"I don't want to sound rude," I started awkwardly.

"Then it's best you don't speak at all, Acacia Grace," Meg said, her sickly sweet voice slipping.

My blood suddenly ran cold at the mention of Acacia Grace. I wanted to say something to her, but my mouth was too dry. Instead, I watched her set the tea set on the side, before turning around to met my gaze. Her black eyes fixed on me coldly. "Now, how about we get to the point?"

"The point?" I questioned, my voice quivering.

"Don't treat me like a fool," she spat, her voice taking on a nasty edge that made me shiver on the spot. "I know who you are, Acacia Grace. Your dear father thought he could protect you by wiping your memory? Keeping that stupid son of Ares so close? Not to mention that ridiculous goddess of the hearth! What could they do to save you? Nothing!"

My mind was reeling. Son of Ares? Goddess of the Hearth? Why was it that of everything she said, the words that sounded the strangest were your father? She knew who he was? And why – how – could he have wiped my memory? What had I forgotten?

"I-I don't understand," I gulped, taking a few small steps backward.

"Of course you don't," Meg groaned, rolling her eyes at me. "You half-bloods never do at first. It just makes it all so much easier. Almost too easy." She sighed heavily, eyeing my guarded position as though she thought it was a waste of energy to bother. Then she shrugged. "Ah well. My master will be very pleased when I take you to him. Again."

I felt my jaw hang slightly. Outside, thunder rumbled across the sky, and all too suddenly, rain splattered against the window. Meg cackled loudly, rubbing her hands together as she stared out at the horrible weather. Looking between her and the window, I realised I was in trouble. Serious trouble. Again. Either this woman was insane, or . . . well, I didn't know. But what I did know was that I had to get out of here. Quickly.

She flashed another smile in my direction, turning her back to me to rummage for something on the tea tray behind her. The moment her eyes left me, I took my chance, bolting toward the door. In the same second, Meg shrieked and raced after me, catching me back the back of my t-shirt and yanking me back. I staggered with a yelp of surprise, falling down to the bottom of the wooden bed frame. Something in my spine cracked painful, and tears streaked down my cheeks.

"Stupid girl!" she yelled at me, but my jaw locked. I was fed up of people treating me like I was stupid, tormenting me because I couldn't remember who I was or why I was here in the first place. For once in my life, I wasn't going to sit still and take it.

The moment she stepped forward, I slammed my foot into her chest and she squealed in pain. I didn't hang around to observe the result though. Scrambling to my feet, I raced up to the door and yanked it open, staggering out into the corridor.

And right into Daniel.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, catching me carefully and pulling me to my feet. "Hey, is everything okay? What's going on?"

Behind me, I could hear Meg stumbling after me, cursing in Greek. Daniel suddenly went rigid, his grip on my arms tightening. I opened my mouth to tell him to run, but instead, he pushed me gently into the wall to the side and unclipped something that looked like a silver chain from around his wrist. As I watched, the thing seemed to grow, elongating in his hands until he held a pointy, sharp spear.

"Oh my . . ." I breathed, but Daniel gave me a dismissive wave as Meg stepped outside of the room.

Her mouth split into a nasty grin when she saw Daniel. "Ah, so you found backup. How sweet."

"Acacia, go to my room and find my backpack," Daniel instructed calmly. The name Acacia made my chest tight, but I didn't argue. "Wait for me there."

"But-"

"Acacia, just go!"

Meg cackled, her head tilting back as thunder shook the building. "You heroes. Always so self-sacrificing. It's sickening, honestly."

Daniel glowered, spinning the spear around in his hands threateningly. My jaw dropped as he flicked his eyes toward me. "Go."

I didn't argue. Instead, I backed up a few steps, unwilling to leave him alone, yet with a sudden feeling that he could handle this himself. I watched for a second or two, then shook myself and ran down the corridor, my stomach twisting.

Finding Daniel's room, I shouldered my way inside and slammed the door shut behind me, trying to calm myself down as I searched the room for his backpack. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long for Daniel to return. The little time there was made me sick. He stumbled through the door, snapping the spear in half in one of his hands. I didn't even bother being surprised when it shrank back into a chain in his hands.

"Ready to leave?" he breathed.

I blinked. "Err, no. Dan, what's going on?"

"Not the place to discuss that," he dismissed quickly, pushing himself away from the door and snatching his backpack off the bed where I'd left it. "We need to leave, quickly. I didn't realise things were this bad."

I gulped hard, but refused to back down. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on," I said quietly. He blinked at me, raising an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Dan. I've been almost killed twice today! I want to know what's going on!"

For a moment, he looked as though he was about to say something. Then he shook himself and pulled the backpack over his shoulder. "I'll tell you soon, but we need to hit the road." I opened my mouth with a scowl, but he cut across me. "Acacia, please, just trust me."

My forehead almost exploded in pain. "Why do you keep calling me that?" I groaned, rubbing my head irritably. He didn't answer, taking my arm and pulling me to the door.

Nobody disturbed us as we made our way through the hotel, taking an elevator to the lobby and almost tearing out of the front door at full speed. The moment we stepped out on the street, lightning crashed again, and I flinched, still holding my head. Daniel didn't let go of me, starting down the street with confident strides.

I blinked, scanning the street a little nervously. "Dan, isn't it dangerous walking around New York at night?"

He stared at me, his lips tugging into a small smirk. "No one's going to mug you, Acacia. Besides, mortals are the least of our worries." My eyes widened, because I was pretty sure he'd said mortals as though . . . well, as though he wasn't one. I couldn't find my voice to ask.

We walked through the streets for about twenty minutes, and though I had no idea where we were, Daniel seemed to know his way. Eventually, we came to a building of apartments, which he let himself into and started toward the stairs.

"Daniel, where-"

"Trust me." He kept saying that, but I was finding it hard to keep it in mind.

Still, I followed him up the stairs without a word, wringing my hands together tightly and sinking my teeth into my bottom lip nervously as he came to one of the apartments. I expected him to knock on the door, but instead, he dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Blinking, I watched him pick one of the keys and unlock the door.

"Mum!" Daniel shouted as we stepped inside. Again, my jaw dropped in shock. Didn't Daniel live in Scotland, you know, where he went to school? "Hey, Mum!"

"Daniel!" a woman gasped, stumbling out of her room as she wrapped a dressing gown around herself tightly. She was a tall, athletic woman with bleach blonde hair and an attractive tan. She beamed when she saw Dan, hurrying forward and hauling him into a hug. "I didn't expect you back so soon!"

"I told you I'd call in, Mum," Daniel muttered, pulling himself out of his mother's grasp with a reluctant expression.

"Yes, but it's four in the morning," she breathed, her eyes scanning his appearance. Then she caught sight of me and her eyes widened. "Oh, you must be Acacia Grace!"

I grimaced, refraining from flinching again. "That's what I'm thinking."

She didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in my voice, taking my shoulders gently and taking me through to the living room, setting me cautiously on the end of the sofa as though she thought I might break. "You look shattered," she told me, scolding me like Mary sometimes did.

My throat tightened. "I'm fine," I lied.

"Mum, I just need to pick up some stuff," Daniel said. "Then we need to leave."

She glanced back at her son, her eyes glistening. "Can't it wait until morning, Dan?" she said hopefully. "Look at the poor girl!" I wanted to argue with her, but I knew I looked a wreck.

"Mum, you know camp is the best place for her," he moaned with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, she isn't going to feel any better until she gets some answers."

"Fine," she said, pushing herself abruptly to her feet. "Then you answer some of her questions, and I'll get her some fresh clothes. I'm sure your sister won't mind her borrowing a few things."

Daniel frowned. "Mum-"

"No, Dan, no arguing," she interrupted. "The poor girl looks scared out of her mind! She's still in her pyjamas!" He flicked his eyes to me uncertainly, and I found myself wishing I was invisible, staring down at my checked pyjama trousers. Pulling a face, he sighed heavily.

"Okay," he said, slumping into the chair opposite me. "I'll answer your questions. But only some of them! There's a limit to the amount of those things the two of us can deal with, and the more you know, the quicker they all find you." His mother beamed, patting my hand delicately and hurrying through the one of the back bedrooms.

I pursed my lips. "That's your Mum?"

He snorted. "All of the questions you have, and that's the one you ask first?" I didn't reply, and he sighed. "Yes. That's my Mum. Her name's Sarah."

"I thought you lived in Scotland?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "No. I was there for you."

That made me pause and rethink my next question. Everything that had happened for the past few days raced around my head; the women in the museum, Percy Jackson, the strange dreams, the hotel worker Meg, and a best friend that had a chain that turned into a spear when he took it off.

Then I tried to remember if there was any time in the past couple of days that I might have hit my head. There wasn't.

I shuffled. "Are you sure your sister won't mind me borrowing her clothes?"

Daniel laughed. "Seriously, Acacia, you really need to sort out your priorities. But no, Ilsa won't mind. And she's only my half-sister really. Her dad, Derek . . . well, it's a little awkward. He doesn't really like me very much."

"Because you're a son of Ares, you mean?"

The words had blurted out before I could stop them, and Daniel immediately went rigid on the spot, staring up at me with a blank expression. My stomach squirmed and for a second, I thought – even hoped – that he'd tell me I was being ridiculous. Ares was a Greek god, a myth. He couldn't have a son, not really.

Instead, he straightened out very slowly, his eyebrows tightening a fraction. "How did you know that?" he questioned, his voice so low it almost scared me.

I felt my heart sink. It was true . . . how could that be possible?

"Tell me what's going on," I demanded, somehow sounding an awful lot braver than I felt. Daniel's eyes narrowed. "You're dragging me away to some . . . camp I don't know – away from Mary and Felicity – and I think I ought to know why."

"The idea of monsters chasing you until you're dead isn't enough?" he asked, a little harshly.

I flinched. "No, actually, it isn't. I want to know the truth. Why are they after me? What camp do you mean? And why did that hotel worker say that my father had wiped my memory?"

I watched as he physically sank to the ground, leaning back on the sofa with his face pale and his eyes shut tight, cursing in what I thought was Ancient Greek quietly. "Gods, how much did that thing tell you?" he groaned, rubbing his face wearily.

I shifted uncomfortably at his sudden change, unable to stop myself realising that – despite he was apparently the son of a war god – I was the one making demands. Pursing my lips, I lowered myself down opposite him with shaking hands. "I-I don't really know," I mumbled honestly. "She mentioned something about the goddess of the hearth . . . isn't that Hestia in Greek myth?"

Daniel gulped. "What else did she say?" he persisted, ignoring my question.

"That my f-father thought he could protect me by keeping you around and wiping my memory." My voice broke slightly on the word father. The idea that he was out there, that he knew I had no memory, no family and no life made my eyes burn.

Daniel seemed to realise that the topic hit too close to home. He shuffled awkwardly on the spot. "Look, as hard as it is to see right now, your father went to extreme measures to keep you safe, measures that he shouldn't have even considered, let alone put into action. He angered a lot of other . . . people by doing so."

I scanned his expression. "You know who he is?"

He grimaced, shaking his head a little reluctantly. "No. Hestia does, but she'd never tell you. In fact, if she's heard about what happened back at your place, she's probably already gone. Her job's done, now it's my turn. I have to get you to that camp, Acacia. It's called Camp Half-Blood. You'll find all the answers you're looking for there."

"Half-blood . . . what's that mean?" I looked up and met his gaze again, and he stared back at me with a hard look, as though waiting for me to figure it out.

But I already had. I just didn't want to admit it.

"Guess we'd better leave," I muttered, pushing myself up off the ground. He grimaced at me, clambering to his feet as his Mum, Sarah, stepped into the room. She was holding a backpack, a pair of jeans and a red polo shirt.

"Isla's a little younger than you," she said slowly, holding out the jeans in front of her as though measuring me with her eyes. "But she's about your size. Here you go. There's a bathroom just down the hall on the left."

"Thanks," I said with a tight smile.

"Hey, take this too," Daniel insisted, dipping his hand into the backpack and pulling out a small chain out of the front pocket. I held out my hand, but he grimaced, his hand hovering over mine. "Really don't want to do this," he muttered. "But there's no other option, so they'll have to deal with it."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked slowly, but he ignored the question and dropped the chain into my palm. I glanced down to see a small, golden locket sprawled out across my skin.

"Put that on," he instructed. "And if any of the Apollo kids ask you about it, you had no choice, I forced you, you don't know what it is, and you're very, very sorry."

"What?" I breathed.

He opened his mouth like he was going to answer, then thought better of it. "Actually, it'll be easier if you don't really know why you're not supposed to wear it."

Without thinking, I dropped it and flinched back. Immediately, Daniel cursed loudly in Ancient Greek again. Behind him, Sarah blinked, paling a fraction.

Outside, thunder rumbled angrily.

"I'm sorry!" I winced, clamping my hands over my mouth. "You just said I'm not supposed to wear it, and I freaked out!"

"Why?" Daniel blinked, astounded.

"Weird women keep trying to kill me!" I replied shakily. "And then you go all . . . weird, what did you expect! I'm freaking out over here, Dan!"

He sighed heavily, quickly stooping to snatch the locket back up. He took my hand and dropped it onto my palm again. "Calm down, Acacia," he instructed. "Trust me."

Pursing my lips, I turned the locket over in my hand. The golden metal glistened brightly, despite the fact the only light in the room came from a tiny lamp in the corner. On its front, a bow and arrow had been engraved across the gold. On the back, the Greek name Ἀπόλλων labelled the back.

"Apollo," I translated out loud, a little surprised I'd managed it, but more surprised that I wasn't entirely shocked I could in the first place.

Daniel grimaced. "Yeah, not exactly perfect, all things considered, but it'll have to do for now. But when we get to camp, don't tell any of them you've used it. They're a little touchy about it, though no one exactly knows why."

I gulped hard, but nodded slowly and headed toward the bathroom Sarah had pointed out. Inside, I leant against the door heavily, trying to regulate my breathing. All this talk of gods, half-bloods and monsters was making my head spin. It all sounded so . . . well, false. The Greek gods were a myth . . . weren't they? They were supposed to be, but Daniel seemed to think he was the son of the war god, and he spoke about the goddess Hestia as though he'd already met her. Oh, and I now seemed to be in the possession of a locket belonging to the god of . . . prophecy, was it? Or music? And music? I couldn't remember. All I did know was that everyone seemed to believe the myth of the Greek gods wasn't really a myth at all . . . and I was in danger.

I shook the thoughts away. Whatever was going on here, panicking wasn't going to do any good. Pursing my lips tightly, I changed as quickly as I could, hesitating when I came to the locket. The gold was still shining too brightly, and a sudden urge to hide it and leave it alone swept through me, so strong I almost did just that. But I was being stupid. It was just a locket. How much damage could it go?

Shaking myself, I snatched it up and hurriedly clipped it around my neck. The moment the metal touched my skin, a shudder ran down my spine and my stomach twisted so violently, I choked out loud.

"Acacia!" Daniel called loudly. "You alright?"

I gulped, hurrying out of the bathroom and smiling at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," I dismissed, unable to stop my fingers running softly over the chain. "Let's just . . . go, right?"

He hesitated, frowning at the locket for a moment. "Right," he agreed slowly, jerking his head to the door. "Come on then."

Sarah sniffed. "Be careful. The two of you." I grimaced at her, but Daniel allowed her to give him a quick hug.

"I'll be back at the end of the summer," he told her with a stern nod, before pushing the front door open and letting me out.

Neither of us spoke as we hurried back outside. Daniel hailed a taxi, as good as shoving me into the back seat before clambering in beside me and mumbling an address at the driver. The only words I could catch were 'Long Island', and the driver didn't seem particularly impressed.

"Kid, if you're messing me about," he warned. "There's nothing out there."

"I didn't ask for an opinion, I asked you to drive," Daniel replied coolly. The driver's face contorted in irritation and his eyes flashed in anger. I could see Daniel getting steadily more annoyed at the man, and keeping in mind that this guy was supposed to be part-war god, I snatched a few notes of money out Daniel's hand and shoved them at the driver.

"Does it really matter to you?" I asked carefully. "All you have to do is drive us there, and leave. We are still paying you."

He frowned at me, scoffing. "You should let your little girlfriend do the talking, kid," he snapped back at Daniel. "More people skills."

Daniel's fist clenched, but I shook my head at him pleadingly as the driver pulled away from the curb. I slipped into the corner of the seat, pursing my lips tightly and folding my arms over my chest to stop myself throwing up.

I wanted to go to sleep, but I was scared of what I'd see. My sister? Glancing sideways at Daniel, I almost asked him if he knew about my family. He'd been sent to Scotland to keep an eye on me, so someone must have realised that I was in danger. Did that mean she was too? Had anyone told her? The questions longed to blurt from my mouth, but I was worried about what else might follow. I figured my best chance for answers was to wait, like Daniel had said. Usually, that wouldn't have been a problem. But today, I was so impatient, my fingers kept drumming on my knees anxiously.

It took longer than I thought it should have done for the car to reach its destination. It pulled up at the bottom of a large hill, on top of which I thought I could make out a huge pine tree standing boldly against the moon in the midnight sky. As I pushed the door open, the driver turned back around to face Daniel with a smug smile.

"See? Nothing," he declared.

"Thanks," Daniel scowled through gritted teeth, throwing more money at him and slamming the door shut as he stepped outside. The driver scoffed, but pulled away and turned back to the road. Rolling his eyes, Daniel jerked his head toward the hill. "Come on. It's just over here."

I was about to ask if he was sure, because it looked to me like he was lost. But I clamped my mouth shut and followed him up the hill ominously. It wasn't until we reached the top that I realised he'd been right all along. At the bottom of the hill in front of us, a large valley was nestled at the side of a large forest. Directly at the base of the hill, a tall building stood proudly, with lights shining brightly in some of its windows.

"This is Camp Half-Blood?" I clarified in a quiet voice. Daniel tore his eyes off the pine tree to the left, nodding mutely without meeting my gaze. Just as I was about to ask what was wrong, something behind us crashed loudly.

I spun on my heel, Daniel automatically flinching in front of me and grabbing the chain on his wrist. But whatever had made the noise, I couldn't see it. I bit my bottom lip, trying desperately to see through the darkness, but it was useless.

"You think there's someone down there?" I asked Daniel carefully.

He frowned. "Bad timing if there is."

The two of us waited, staring at the bottom of the hill as though we were expecting a stampede. Honestly, I think Daniel was. Before long, I could feel gazes burning my back, and I glanced over to see three kids, two of them not much older than me, standing to the bottom of the hill and staring up at us like we were mad. I could just about make out one girl with blonde hair, a guy with sandy hair and surfer look, and another, older guy with a stern expression.

"Erm, Daniel?" I started, nudging him.

"You're right," he said, and I blinked. I hadn't realised I'd made a statement. "There's someone down there."

My stomach dropped through the ground, and I followed his gaze to see three tiny figures. The middle one seemed to be unconscious, and the others were dragging it up the hill desperately. Before I could question out loud what had happened to them, something roared in the distance – a low rumbling sound that made my chest clench.

"We have to help them," I said, starting forward.

Daniel caught my arm tightly, just as someone behind us yelled. "Hey, what in the name of the gods are you guys doing?"

I met Daniel's gaze, frowning as I yanked my arm back irritably. "We can't just leave them." He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden snarling met my ears.

Daniel immediately dragged me behind him, spear in hand once again. My own hand flinched toward my neck, but I held myself back, staring in mixture of amazement and fear. Four beastly hounds, all the size of rhinos, were creeping along the floor toward us, their eyes like lava and fangs like daggers.

Gritting my teeth, I prized the locket open and staggered with a gasp as something wrapped tightly around my chest. Something heavy felt like it had been weighted on my back, and it took me a few seconds to realise it had. A bow and quiver had replaced the light locket, and it suddenly struck me that having a weapon was all well and good, but if you didn't know how to use it, it was pointless.

"Don't think about it," Daniel instructed over his shoulder, reading my expression. I nodded in a determination I didn't quite understand, pulling the bow off my shoulders. "You can do this," he told me sternly.

"You have more faith than I do," I muttered back, somehow managing to string the bow and slip an arrow into position with very little thought. That gave me a bit more courage, but as the hounds neared, it dwindled drastically.

Spinning his spear, Daniel jerked forward as the first hound leapt into the air with a snarl. One of the kids behind me yelped in surprise, and I heard them scrambling to help, but the second had already turned on me.

Before I could think too much about it, I took aim with a deep breath, releasing almost instantly. It snarled and leapt at my throat, just as the arrow slammed into its chest. With a shocked squeal, it exploded into a cloud of yellow dust.

I couldn't move for a moment, staring at the spot it had just vanished from. This was actually happening . . . I'd just shot a hound with an arrow and killed it . . .

"ACACIA!" Daniel yelled, and I shook myself with a gasp as I watched him drop to the ground and jab his spear at one of the hounds at it leapt through the air. Just like mine had, it blew up into a cloud of dust.

Gulping hard, I aimed quickly and shot another arrow at the nearest hound, not bothering to see if it hit before I clamped a hand around Daniel's shoulder, pulling him back. The two of us staggered back, but there was still two left. The quicker I got rid of both of them, the better.

Taking yet another deep breath, I steeled myself and pulled the arrow back, taking aim. The first slipped within biting distance, just as I released it. The arrow whistled through the air and slammed straight into the beast's mouth. It's eyes wide and a shrill whine just managed to slip it's lip before it burst into dust.

The only problem was, through the dust, I didn't see the other lunging for me.

It's front paws collided heavily with my shoulders, and I crashed to the ground, my head bouncing back up painfully. A yelp of shocked pain tore from my throat, and agonised tears slipped down my cheeks. The beast's hot breath ran across my skin, the power of its jump sending it flying over my head. Without even thinking about the agony racing down my neck, I rolled over onto my knees, arming yet another arrow and firing. This time, it slammed into the beast's head, right between the eyes.

I sighed heavily as silence fell around me, my eyelids drooping dangerously. "Acacia!" Daniel exclaimed, bolting toward me and catching me before I collapsed to the ground.

"Acacia?" another stunned voice came as the three kids finally reached the top of the hill.

Behind me, I heard another loud rumble, just like the first – loud and dangerous. "Hey, there's more kids down there," a different voice came.

"Hey, is that girl wearing our locket?" the last asked, stunned.

I didn't have time to defend myself. I could feel blood trickling down the back of my neck, and before I knew what was happening, black spots appeared in front of my eyes and I slipped out of consciousness.