Together Percy and I lunged forwards. Kelli was a lot faster than Tammi. She dodged Percy's first strike and rolled into the brass section, knocking over a row of trombones with a mighty crash. Rachel scrambled out of the way. I put myself between her and the empousa. I was still nervouse to let my arrow go if I didn't have a clean shot, despite what everyone said about mortals not getting hurt with celestial bronze. Also I had no idea what my capabilities were. I had never fought a monster before. Not like this.

Kelli circled us, her eyes going from me to the bow and arrow to Percy and his sword. I stood between Rachel and the monster while Percy stood between in front of me.

"Such a pretty little blade," she said. "What a shame it stands between us. And once I'm done with you...I can kill the girls behind you! I'm a cheerleader and they're a bunch of losers."

Her form shimmered; sometimes a demon, sometimes a pretty cheerleader. I tried to keep my mind focused, but it was really distracting. Percy looked like he was having a much harder time. I knew they were charm speakers, and it affected the guys a lot more then girls.

"Percy! Focus!" I warned him again.

"Poor dear." Kelli chuckled. "You don't even know what's happening, do you? Soon, your pretty little camp in flames, your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It would be merciful to end your life now, before you have to see that."

From down the hall, I heard voices. A tour group was approaching. A man was in the middle of his explanation about locker combinations.

The empousa's eyes lit up. "Excellent! We're about to have company!"

She picked up a tuba and threw it at us. Percy ducked. I shoved Rachel out of the way and we crashed into a row of clarinets. The tuba sailed over our heads and crashed through the window.

The voices in the hall died down.

"Percy!" Kelli shouted, pretending to be scared, "why did you throw that? Nora! Stop!" She threw a chair and it crashed into the metal music stands making a horrible racket.

I was too surprised to answer. Percy was frozen. Kelli picked up a music stand and swiped a row of clarinets and flutes. Chairs and musical instruments crashed to the floor.

"Stop it!" I said.

People were tromping down the hall now, coming in our direction.

"Time to greet our visitors!" Kelli bared her fangs and ran for the doors. Percy charged after her with Riptide. I charged after Percy. We had to stop her from hurting the mortals.

"Percy, Nora! Don't!" Rachel shouted. But I hadn't realized what Kelli was up to until it was too late.

Kelli flung open the doors. None other than my dad, Paul Blofis and a bunch of freshmen stepped back in shock. Percy raised his sword. My arrow was knocked and ready.

At the last second, the empousa turned toward us like a cowering victim. "Oh no, please! Please don't hurt me!" she cried. Percy couldn't stop his blade. It was already in motion. And my fingers let go of my arrow.

Just before the celestial bronze hit her, Kelli exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail. My arrow sailed safely through my dad's chest. Waves of fire splashed over everything. I'd never seen a monster do that before, but I didn't have time to wonder about it. I backed into the band room as the flames engulfed the doorway.

"Percy? Nora?" Dad looked completely stunned, staring back and forth between me and Percy, from across the fire. "What have you done?"

Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life.

In the chaos, Rachel tugged on my sleeve. "You guys have to get out of here!"

She was right. The school was in flames and Percy and I would be held responsible. Mortals couldn't see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like we'd just attacked a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses. There was no way we could explain it. I turned from dad, a deep ache in my chest and sprinted for the broken band room window.

Percy climbed out first, and then reached out and helped me through and then helped Rachel out the eindow. We all burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into a blond hair girl in an orange t shirt.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried.

"Hey, you're out early!" she laughed, grabbing his shoulders to keep him from tumbling into the street. "Watch where you're going, Seaweed Brain."

I stood awkwardly behind Percy, holding my arm, which was now slick with blood. For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace, the same shirt and necklace Percy wore on a regular basis. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her gray eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie, have a cool afternoon hanging out with her not yet boyfriend.

Then her eyes slid to me just as Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Percy, wait up!"

Annabeth's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at me and then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and ringing fire alarms.

She frowned at me. "What did you do this time? And who are these...girls?" She spat.

"Oh, Rachel- Annabeth. Annabeth- Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess." He turned to me.

"Oh Styx! Nora you're still bleeding!" He cried. "Annabeth? You got any nectar?"

"No! We were going to the movies not a quest." She said rather harshly.

"No no...it's fine. Just let me sit in the sun for a few minutes...it helps."

"Annabeth, help me with her!" Percy cried, just as I stumbled, I could feel my head spinning and my eyes fluttering. Percy caught me as my knees gave out. With a glare and her teeth grinding the blond haired girl took my other side and helped me over to the nearest wall that had a small patch of sun. They set me down and I leaned my head back, my eyes closed.

"Hey! Hey Nora! Wake up! Don't close your eyes." Percy cried, shaking me.

"Man. Brothers can be over protective. I'm fine," I waved my hand, shooing him away, "your Wise Girl looks like she's ready to murder me or you. Or both."

Percy stood up. Annabeth had her arms crossed tight and her food was tapping. Her grey eyes flashed. I knew that look in girls.

Percy shoved his hands in his pockets, "Annabeth this is Nora, my...future step sister."

Her eyes popped open in surprise. "The guy your mom was dating had a daughter?"

"Ya, long and complicated." I interjected."

"But she's a daughter of Apollo!"

"Yes."

"But...her dad is mortal." She frowned.

"Step dad." I sighed.

The sun had definitely helped. I felt the skin already stitching together just sitting in the sun. I used the wall and pushed myself to stand up.

"Step dad." She said flatly.

I groaned. "Look, it's complicated and I just learned about it. But yes. My mom hooked up with Apollo. He ditched. Paul came into the picture. My mom died during child birth, my DAD adopted me, legally. So yes, my dad is mortal, Apollo was the sperm donor thank you. So back off." I crossed my arms and glared right back at the girl.

It was at this moment Rachel butted into the conversation.

"You two are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"

Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive.

"Percy," Annabeth said coldly. "We should go."

"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods."

She grabbed my marker that was sticking out of my pocket, grabbed Percy's doodled on hand, my arm, and wrote a phone number on his hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."

"Eww." I wrinkled my nose. "How about no and you back off."

"Excuse me?"

"How about I call you and explain things and you leave Percy and Annabeth alone?"

"But-"

"No." I crossed my arms.

She rolled her eyes, looking like she wanted to strangle me. "Whatever, someone better explain what's going on. I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

She ran back toward the school, leaving us in the street.

"Hey!" Percy jogged after Annabeth, she had spun on her heel and stormed down the street, away from the school. "There were these two empousai," he tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and-"

"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" She snapped, "and failed to mention a sister." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I tried calling you, remember?" He protested, "you kept saying your were busy with some project! I tried! Also, the mortal can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did."

"So you told her the truth?"

"She recognized me from Hoover Dam, so-"

"You've met her before?" Annabeth gasped.

"Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her."

"She's kinda cute."

"I-I never thought about it." Percy stammered.

"Holy Hera, Percy is terrible at this!" I muttered. I clipped the bow back to the chain and it was instantly a small little pendant on my chain again. I sped up and slid up on Annabeth's other side.

"Look, Annabeth?" I said quietly. I could feel the coldness from her.

"Percy is a brother. Nothing more. It's gross. His mom and my dad, nope, wouldn't dream of it. Also, within the first conversation he was blushing and gushing over you. Also Rachel is eww. He's got zero clue about her. Trust me."

Her grey eyes looked at me hard. I looked right back.

"Are you sure you're not a daughter of Aphrodite? She likes to manipulate love lives."

"So I've heard. But nope. Look, bloody arm is all healed because of the sun. And I doodle, his arm? That was me. I left paper at home, and as a brother he let me draw on his hand when I got anxious. Apollo also showed up in my kitchen. It was weird."

I could see her eyes soften slightly.

"Look, Annabeth, we'll deal with the school," Percy said with some anxiety in his voice making it tight. "Honest, it'll be fine."

Annabeth wouldn't even look at him. "I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you guys out of here, now that the police will be searching for you."

Behind us, smoke billowed up from Goode High School. In the dark column of ashes, I thought I could almost see a face- she-demon with red eyes, laughing at me.

"What did she mean your pretty little camp in flames?" Percy asked me as Annabeth sped up and walked ahead. "Your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time."

I shrugged, "I'm brand new to this world. I have as much understanding as this red hair floozy named Rachel."

He groaned, "is that why she's mad?"

"Yes! Man, your dense. She's ticked because you come stumbling out into the street with two girls she doesn't know on the day of your first date and now it's cancelled because we blew a school up."

"You're right," he sighed. I saw his face and body sag. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now. I guess I get to take you to camp instead of Miles."

"Ya...I have a feeling if I stay around Imma get eaten or something."

"Probably."

"Thanks." I rolled my eyes.

🔆

Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with a not-quite-a- couple having a spat over a misunderstanding.

I tried to talk to Annabeth. He answers were short and snappy. Percy tried talking to her too, but she was acting like he'd just punched her grandmother. All he managed to get out of her was that she'd had a monster-infested spring in San Francisco; she'd come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn't tell us why.

Which seemed to tick Percy off.

"You didn't even tell me you were in New York!"

And Annabeth apparently learned nothing about the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo, who was apparently a young demi god who went missing last year after his sister died in a quest. Annabeth and Percy both went quiet when I asked and the tension filled the taxi.

Percy used Annabeth's phone to call his mom and explain as best he could what happened and asked if she could explain everything to Paul. I leaned my forehead against the window and watched the city fade away. I heard a whispered conversation between Percy and Annabeth. It was tense and in hushed strained voices. Percy must have forgotten I have super hearing.

"Any word on Luke?"

"No."

I raked my brain trying to remember what Percy had said about a guy named Luke. Percy's voice came rattling through my brain.

Percy had thrown himself onto my bed frowning after he tried calling Annabeth and there was no answer. He let it all vent out.

"Luke is was a touchy subject for her. Annabeth had always admired Luke. He's the former head counselor for Hermes who had betrayed us and joined the evil Titan Lord Kronos. She wouldn’t ever admit it, but I know she still likes him...in which way, I dunno... But the guys a creep! He tried to kill me my first year there trying to send me into Tartarus and then he showed me Backbiter, his new sword, which can kill both monsters and mortals! Luke then summons this like pit scorpion to poison me! And she still thinks there's good in this scum bag!

When we’d fought Luke on Mount Tamalpais last winter, he somehow survived a fifty-foot fall off a cliff, I dunno how Nora, it was crazy! Now, as far as I knew, he was still sailing around on his demon-infested cruise ship while his chopped-up Lord Kronos re-formed, bit by bit, in a golden sarcophagus, biding his time until he has enough power to challenge the Olympian gods. In demigod-speak, Nora... we call this a “problem.”"

"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth was saying. "I didn’t dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."

That seemed kinda sketchy to me, how would she know, but whatever. I didn't know any of these people. I kept my mouth shut and just listened.

"What about Grover?"

"He’s at camp,” she said. "We’ll see him today."

"Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?"

Annabeth fingered her bead necklace. "You’ll see," she said. But she didn’t explain.

The rest of the taxi ride was quiet and tense.

🔆

The taxi exited on Route 25A. We headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on our left. Annabeth told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

The driver frowned. "There ain’t nothing here, miss. You sure you want out?"

"Yes, please," Annabeth handed him a roll of mortal cash, and the driver decided not to argue.

We hiked from the highway and up a huge hill. The were big trees all over, it was quiet and peaceful. But Annabeth and Percy kept glancing around nervously like they were expecting something. Percy even had his sword in his hand, still in pen form. I frowned, still trying to understand their nervousness. But I kept closer to my brother and my hand clasped the bow pendant.

We got to the crest of the hill, and I froze.  There was a little dragon coiled around a pine tree, he was dozing, but he lifted his coppery head as we approached and let Annabeth scratch under his chin. Steam hissed out his nostrils like from a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.

"Hey, Peleus," Annabeth said. "Keeping everything safe?"

My eyes were wide in shock and disbelief.
Above the dragon's head, on the lowest branch of the pine tree, "is that...?" I asked and pointed.

"The Golden Fleece, Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, Clare's and I brought back that helped save my cousin, Thalia and now helps protect the camp’s borders from invasion? Yes, yes it is."

"Whoa." I whispered.

"Come on, Nora. Let me show you camo Half-Blood." Percy grinned at me. And stepped through the faint shimmering boarer.

I took a deep breath, my stomach fluttering in excitement and anticipation and nerves. I held my breath and took a big step and followed Percy through the border.

🔆