THE DAY Magdalena Caelestis fell from the sky, the world held its breath.

There had never been such an experience to strike the world as it did that day, on a warm spring Sunday, as they saw a supernova illuminated the sky. A shooting star that brought fire and stardust raining from the sky in her wake, sending all of the world into a state of wonder at the supernatural phenomena that was the birth of Magdalena Caelestis.

There had always been rumors of a prophecy that entailed the birth of a star. The rise of a supernova that would produce life into the planet that they call Earth. Two stars would be chosen. One from each constellation. And from those stars, life would be born. A beating heart. Air-filled lungs. Luminous skin. Bright, shining, star-dust-speckled eyes. There would be timeless beauty in this life. A type of glimmer that no one else would posses.

Astraeus had chosen his children with careful consideration. The stars were all his creation; all his artwork, painting the sky with a combination of twinkling lights. He knew that he was to bring life into the world of half-bloods and gods and monsters. It was only fair, after all, that he bring his offspring to spread his glory and keep his honor strong. His children would be a reflection of his strength. A reflection of the fearless deity that he has always been.

These children would not be the same as his other offspring. The anemoi, wind spirits, were simply godly figures. Boreas presented himself as his own godliness and strength, patrolling his own realm of strength.

No, these children would not be the same as his others. Astraeus's children— one daughter, one son— would present ultimate power. They each would possess a particular range of power that flows within his realm of strength. And with time, these two godly beings would grow more powerful that their half-blood peers. And that is because his children— Magnus and Magdalena— are not simply demigods. In reality, they are not even fully human. But, they also are not a god. These children are a figment of Astraeus's creation. They are stars, melted and molded into a human being that was not born naturally.

The children of Astraeus are godly beings. They are not half-bloods. And they are not gods. They are neither Greek nor Roman. They posses the traits of all the gods' power. Whether that be Greek or Roman, it doesn't matter. Astraeus did not choose whether or not his children would grow to be a Greek demigod or Roman demigod— that would be decided from the path they choose to follow. They will not be aware of their strength until the time is right. That is Astraeus's plan.

His children will grow as all half-bloods in the godly world do. Train at Camp Half-Blood (as that is what their path has decided), grow strong, face battles, go on quests, make friends, avenge the fallen, take revenge on the guilty. It all will be as it should be, until the time is right.

Because Magnus and Magdalena are far from normal. And with time, that will show. But, for now, Astraeus will let them be as any kid should.

And so when Astraeus plucked his two shining stars from the sky, and sent them down into the fields of Camp Half-Blood, there was no question on what they were to become. Chiron himself saw the two infants laying cradled together in a cloud of stardust, their eyes bright and skin glowing— as if they still were adjusting to their new form.

There was no note. Instead, the god himself stood at Chiron's side. His form never seemed to change when he decided to show himself to the world. He was relatively tall, humble, with dark hair and eyes such a deep shade of blue you would think they were completely hollow. But they weren't. There were constellations that twinkled in his eyes, that illuminated the dusky blue that resided in them. His skin was a metallic copper, with not a single blemish or scar to tarnish it. He stared down at his children with a soft expression, but also calculating, as if he could already see their entire life flashing before his eyes.

"Are they to grow up here?" Chiron asked the god, not very taken back by the two infants that lay in front of him in a cloud of gray and blue stardust. They didn't cry, didn't scream. They just sat there, staring wondrously at the two figures looking down at them.

"No," Astraeus said, voice smooth like honey, but lightly accented. "They will live with a family. Separately. One in the city, the other upstate."

"Why have you brought them here?" Chiron said. "The rumors of a prophecy . . . "

"I am aware," the god said, leaning down to pick up his children, each of them going into an arm on either side of him. The babies instantly leaned into their father, as if they knew that he was their paternal father. They sensed comfort in his presence. "If the rumor's are true, it will not become reality until they are of age. They have time to learn strength."

Chiron looked at the babies, their innocence sending a sharp knife through his heart. Their future would be painful. It would bring anguish and terror for the both of them. No matter what happened, as a demigod, you cannot escape the pain of this world of gods and monsters. There's no easy way out, and there is no escape.

"Will they be safe?" Chiron asked. "On their own?"

"Their parents are young, and are aware of our world," Astraeus said firmly. "Magdalena's adopted father is a son of Ares. Magnus's mother is a daughter of Demeter. They will know of our world before they are forced into it."

This made Chiron sad. These poor children were being put into a world they don't deserve to be in. And they didn't have any other choice.

"Bring them to me before they are of age," Chiron said softly. "They must train early. That is the best way to keep them safe."

"They will come when they are ready," Astraeus affirmed. "Not a day will go by that isn't planned for the path their life is to take them on."

Chiron could only sigh deeply, taking another look at the two small children that were to grow and become a pair of the strongest demigods of their time. And they had absolutely no idea.

"I will see you soon, young ones," Chiron said to the babies, attempting a smile. And just as a shooting star crosses the sky, Astraeus was gone, his children along with him.

MAGDALENA CAELESTIS always told herself that she wasn't a violent person. And, most of time, she was right. She preferred to choose peace over violence in most situations, simply because she felt too lazy to fight with the opponent, and she didn't want to waste her time. But, she'd cover up the true reason with the false reason, claiming that she didn't want any violence. And despite her short tempter and hot-headed personality, Magdalena would always consider herself a peacemaker.

"Magnus, give it back!" Magdalena screamed across her living room, hair rollers pinned to her head as she sprinted through the main hallway. "Give me back my blow dryer!"

  Well, maybe she wasn't a peacemaker all the time.

"Shut up, Lena!" Magnus snapped back from guest bathroom. "I need to dry my hair."

Magdalena, with clenched fists and a deep scowl, rushed into the guest bathroom, her eyes narrowing at her brother. "I don't care," she said hardly. "It's mine. I need it first!"

Magnus shrugged as he plugged in the blow dryer, his wet hair dripping onto his clothes. "Not my problem," he said. "I grabbed it first, so I get to use it first."

"That is definitely not how it works," Magdalena said, hands on her hips. "Give it to me."

"No," Magnus laughed out, then looked at her through the mirror and laughed harder. "I cannot take you seriously with those things in your hair."

Lena, with a glare so murderous it probably would've scared away a god, reached forward and ripped the blow dryer cord from the outlet and yanked it out of Magnus's hands. "Asshole," she snapped, and proceeded to turn around and walk back to her bathroom, blow dryer in hand.

"Hey!" She heard Magnus screech, and within two seconds she heard heavy footsteps trailing after her. Within an instant, Magdalena was sprinting at full speed back to her room, her feet tripping on the stairs as she went.

"Get back here, Lena!" Magnus yelled, his pace matching her's.

But just before Magnus reached her, she made it to her bathroom and slammed the door in his face, locking it before he could slip past.

"Suck it, Magnus!" Magdalena yelled. "You can use it when I'm done."

There was no response, which meant that Magnus was probably muttering to himself about how much he wanted to wrangle his sister. This was a common occurrence between the two siblings— fighting and then within five minutes everything is back to how it usually was.

Magnus and Magdalena were not biological siblings. They were half-siblings, only on the godly side. But, sinceMagnus lived in upstate New York while Magdalena lived in the Upper East Side in a high-rise, they didn't really see each other much throughout the year. But recently, both of them had gotten a call from Annabeth that she was coming back to camp at once because of dreams she'd been having. The siblings of Astraeus had been having similar visions, and both decided that they'd meet Annabeth in the city. Magnus had gotten to her house yesterday in preparation. And needless to say, Magdalena thanked her father everyday for not putting them with the same adopted family.

  She'd left school early to make sure she was ready for whenever they met Annabeth in the city. Her mother was away on work, and her father was across the country for military work. This was normal for her parents— never being home— so that meant Magdalena was usually home alone. But, she preferred it that way. Her adopted mother did her best to be there for Magdalena, but with her job requiring her to be gone so much, it was hard to form a close relationship. Her adopted father had his moments, but he too was also away from home for the most part.

  It had been close to a year since she'd last seen her best friend, Annabeth Chase, due to bad timing and quests, so she was more than ready to leave home. She hadn't been back go to camp for close to a year, which had felt like a lifetime. 

It took another twenty minutes before Magdalena and Magnus were ready, the two thirteen-year-olds dressed in simple attire— jeans and a t-shirt for both.

"Ready?" Magnus asked, his brown hair dry and dark eyes glinting happily. They hadn't been back at camp since last year, the two of them being away on a quest when Annabeth went on her first quest with Percy Jackson and Grover Underwood. And, by the time they had gotten back, it was already time to return home. So, needless to say the two siblings were happy to be going back.

Magdalena nodded. "Annabeth said to meet her at Merriwether College Prep."

Magnus's eyebrows furrowed. "Why at a preparatory school?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. But, you know Annabeth."

Magnus just sighed and shook his head, shouldering his backpack. "Unfortunately, I do," he muttered. He opened the front door and turned to his sister. "I really hope she's not up to something."

HIS HOPES failed him.

Magnus and Magdalena ended up outside of Meriwether Prep, clueless and confused, before Annabeth Chase popped out of nowhere from in front of them and pulled them aside, looking a little manic and a little concerning.

"Annie!" Magdalena grinned, pulling the girl into a hug. "I've missed you!"

Annabeth reluctantly hugged her back, looking just as relieved to see the two, but her concern was outweighing her happiness. "I missed you guys too, trust me, but we've got other things to worry about."

Magnus frowned. "What?"

Magdalena started to notice that Annabeth looked a little worse for wear. She had a cut on her chin, with twigs and grass tangled in her hair, looking like she'd slept for a few nights out in the wild. There were slashes in her jeans that looked like claw marks.

"What have you been doing?" Magdalena asked suspiciously.

Annabeth shook her head. "Long story. I've been having horrible dreams about camp, like I told you on the phone. The magical barriers outside our camp . . . There's something wrong. We have to get back. Now."

"Totally agree," Magnus said. "So why are we at a preparatory school instead?"

Annabeth pursed her lips, giving him a look. "I was hoping your sarcasm would've left when you turned thirteen," she grumbled. "We're here to pick up Percy. He's also in trouble."

"Percy Jackson?" Magdalena asked. "The kid you went on a quest with last year?"

Annabeth nodded. "That's the one," she said. "I think there's been monsters following him around school. And, with everything going on at camp, I figured we'd need his help."

Magnus shrugged. "Can't hurt to have a son of Poseidon with us."

Annabeth pondered this. "You'd be surprised," she muttered. Then she sighed and grabbed her Yankees cap. "I'm going to turn invisible so that he doesn't notice me. Percy doesn't know who you guys are, so just follow my lead."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Follow you? You're going to be invisible, dummy."

Annabeth stared at him. The two demigods always had a rocky friendship ever since they met when Annabeth arrived at camp with Luke and Thalia. They always bickered. Always. And most times they were wanted to chuck the other off a cliff-side. But, still, they considered themselves . . . Friends.

"I have Percy's schedule, so you'll know where to go," Annabeth said, handing Magdalena a piece of paper with his class schedule printed on it.

"How did you get his schedule?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth shrugged. "I told the office I was from another school shadowing Percy for the day."

"Huh," Magnus hummed, eyebrows raised in slight bewilderment.

  "Smart," Magdalena commented, shrugging. "But what about us? We won't be invisible like you, and the teacher will probably notice two random kids sitting like creeps in the back of their classroom."

  Annabeth just smirked. "Let me handle that," she said. "The mist will veil you from mortal eyes. You'll basically be invisible, like me."

  Magnus grinned. "Awesome."

  Magdalena just sighed, her stomach twisting a little with nerves as she stared at the doors of the school. She'd heard a couple of things about Percy Jackson since being back from her quest. She knew he was a forbidden child— like Thalia— a child of the Big Three. A son of Poseidon. She knew that he'd single-handedly defeated a Minotaur the night he arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and had been given a quest within weeks. She'd never met the kid, or even seen his face, but he'd sort of become a celebrity ever since getting to camp.

  "Ready?" Annabeth asked, looking between the two siblings with her calculating gray eyes.

  Magdalena just nodded, swallowing her fear. "Let's do this."

THEIR MORNING started in English class. Then they went to math, and history, which clearly bored Percy. Magdalena had spotted him quite easily— the dark hair and sea green eyes sort of gave it away. He was a little scrawny and definitely sassy by the way he talked back to some of the idiots that were teasing him and some other kid named Tyson. It was clear to her he was a demigod simply by his mannerisms— bouncing leg, fiddling fingers, dozing off— all signs of ADHD. She wouldn't be surprised if he had dyslexia either.

  Magnus and Magdalena had done pretty well to be quiet in each of Percy's classes. That was, until Magnus fell asleep in history class to a lecture on the Cold War, and started snoring. She felt every single pair of eyes turn to where they were sitting, and she had to clench her teeth in order to not cuss her brother out. She heard Annaberh grumble a Greek insult to herself— definitely directed at Magnus.

  She ended up elbowing him hard enough to snap him out of his nap, and he didn't make another sound for the rest of the class.

  After lunch, they lost Percy. They knew that he had gym class after, but they'd never been at this school before. Which meant they had absolutely no idea where they were going.

  "How does this place not have a map?" Magnus demanded with annoyance as they sped-walked through the empty hallway. Annabeth had taken off her Yankees cap since they were alone, her eyes hardened as they hopelessly navigated through the school.

  "It's not a museum, Magnus," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "It's a school. Obviously there's not going to be arrows directing you everywhere you need to be."

  Magnus just huffed, muttering something slightly vulgar under his breath about Annabeth.

  It took them a while, but right before they were about to accept defeat and ask the front desk, they heard a loud wail, and the sound of something crashing through cement echo down the hallway to the left. There were screams echoing all around them.

  Annabeth, Magnus, and Magdalena all turned to each other, eyes wide. A cold shiver ran down Lena's back— a feeling she got every time she was about to stand in the face of danger.

  "Something's wrong," Annabeth said, her voice laced with concern. "I knew it. I knew there were monsters here!"

  "Well!" They heard a rumbling voice bellow. "I'm the final contestant! I'm going to have enough meat to bring back Babycakes a doggie bag!"

  "Giants," Magnus murmured, taking a silver band off his middle finger, and flicking it into a gleaming sword.

  There was another bellow, and the three demigods simultaneously started sprinting towards the gym.

  "Enough!" Percy yelled. "It's me who you want!"

  The three demigods burst into the gymnasium as the giant grinned. "Ah, so you wish to die first, little godling?"

  There was Percy Jackson, standing face to face with a full size Laistrygonian in the school gymnasium. There was fire scattered across the room, with burn holes in every wall. It looked like a volcanic eruption had taken place right in the middle of the indoor court.

  Percy seemed to be looking her something, since his eyes kept trailing around the room desperately. Then he set his eyes on a pair of smoking clothes by the giant's legs. Then he charged.

  The Laistrygonian laughed. "My meal approaches." He lifted his hand, looking like he was about to throw a giant flaming bronze basketball at Percy. Percy braced himself.

  Then, almost in slow motion, the giant's body stiffened. His face morphed from prideful to surprised. Where his belly button would've been, his shirt ripped open and out the front of it grew something like a horn— nope, not a horn— the shining silvery tip of a blade.

  The flaming sphere fell from his hand. The giant stared down at the sword that was sticking out the other side of him from behind.

  He mumbled. "Ouch," and exploded into a cloud of green fire.

  Standing in the haze was someone who Percy didn't recognize. She looked to be around his age— thirteen, maybe a little older— with thick brown hair and startling blue eyes. Her skin was fair and freckled, her clothes simple, and lips pulled into a grimace. She was gripping a long, sleek sword that seemed to be made of silver, but not exactly. It was more vibrant than silver, and it seemed to glow in a hazy white light, like the stars that glinted in the night sky.

  Next to her was Annabeth Chase, his friend, and another person he didn't recognize. The boy had hair similar to the girls— except a little shaggier. His eyes were dark and his skin was tan. He held a similar sword to that of the girl in front of him, and he also wore a similar expression.

  Needless to say, Percy was a little confused to why the audience that was there was standing in front of him.

  The bully who'd been harassing Percy all day was standing there dumbfounded, seemingly that way the entire time. Then he seemed to get to his senses. He blinked at the three of them. "You just . . . How did— "

  The unfamiliar girl punched him in the nose and knocked him straight on his back. "And you," she told him. "Lay off my friend."

  They were definitely not friends, but Percy instantly felt a sense of respect towards the girl as soon as he saw her land her fist in Matt Sloan's face.

  The gymnasium was completely up in flames. There were kids running around in fear. Sirens wailed outside and there was a muffled voice over the intercom. Percy could see the headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, wrestling with the lock to the gym through the glass windows, a pile of teachers crowding behind him.

  "Annabeth . . . " Percy stuttered. "How did you . . . How long have you . . . "

  "All morning, for the most part." She sheathed her bronze knife that she'd been holding. "I've been trying to talk to you all morning, but there's been no time. You were never alone."

  "Neither are you," Percy said, looking towards the two people standing beside Annabeth. He assumed they were siblings from their similar features. He looked at them curiously, and they stared back, their faces softening into friendly expressions to try and ease the mood.

  "Oh, these are my friends," Annabeth said, gesturing to the two demigods. "Magnus and Magdalena. They go to Camp Half-Blood."

  "Just call me Lena," the girl said, giving a quick smile.

  Magnus threw up a peace sign, sheathing his sword back into a ring and slipping it onto his finger. "Sup," he greeted.

  "Percy," Percy said dumbly, pointing to himself. He was still a little muddled in the head. "Wait . . . The shadow I saw this morning— that was—" Percy's mouth dropped. "You were looking through my bedroom window?"

  "I don't have time to explain!" She snapped, looking a little embarrassed herself. "I didn't want to— "

  "There!" A woman shrieked. The gym doors burst open and all the teachers flooded in.

  "Meet us outside," Annabeth told Percy. "Him too." She gestured to Tyson, who was leaning against the wall, still dazed. Annabeth stared at him with disgust, which confused Percy. "He needs to come with us."

  "What?"

  "No time to explain," Magdalena shrugged, patting Percy on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile. "You'll be fine!"

  Annabeth turned invisible and Magdalena and Magnus fizzled into the Mist, disappearing.

  THE THREE demigods were waiting for Percy and Tyson in a random alleyway off Church Street. Annabeth pulled the both of them off the sidewalk just as a firetruck blew past on its way to Meriwether Prep.

  "Where did you find him?" Annabeth demanded, her finger pointing at him.

  Under normal circumstances, Percy would've been happy to see the daughter of Athena. They'd reconciled their differences last summer, and now considered each other friends.

  But, he'd just been brutally ambushed by cannibal giants, Tyson had rescued him from death multiple times, and all Annabeth could seem to do was stare at him like he was the problem.

  "Tyson's a friend," Percy said.

  "Is he homeless?"

  "What does that have to do with anything? He has ears, Annabeth. Why can't you ask him yourself?"

  Annabeth's looked a little stunned. "He can speak?"

  "I talk," Tyson admitted. "You are pretty." He turned to Magdalena. "You are also pretty."

  "No! Gross!" Annabeth backed away from the big guy.

  Percy was stunned at how rude she was being. He examined Tyson's hands— which he assumed would've been badly burned by the flaming balls he'd been throwing. But they looked perfectly fine. They were grimy and scarred, and abnormally large, but that wasn't unusual. "Tyson," Percy muttered disbelievingly. "Your hands aren't burned at all."

  Magdalena shook her head. "Of course they aren't," she said quietly. "I'm surprised the Laistrygonians had the balls to attack you with him around."

  Tyson seemed to be fascinated by Annabeth's blonde hair. He reached out to touch it, but she slapped his hand away.

  "Magdalena," Percy said, "what do you mean? Laistry-what?"

  "Laistrygonians," Magnus said. "Those were the giants in the gym. It's a race of cannibalistic giants who live off in the north."

  "Odysseus came across them once," Annabeth added. "But . . . I never would've thought to see them as far south as New York."

  "Laistry— Okay, I can't even pronounce that. What would they be called in English?"

  Magdalena stared at him. "Canadians," she settled on.

  Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now, come on. We need to leave."

  "The police are going to come after me."

  "That's the least of our problems," Magnus said, his voice dropping. He glanced at Percy. "Trust me."

  "He's right," Annabeth agreed, which shocked both Magnus and Magdalena. They never agreed on anything. "Percy, have you been having the dreams?"

  "Dreams . . . You mean about Grover?"

Annabeth's face paled. "Grover? No, I haven't. What about him?"

Percy explained the dream he had. "Why? What were your dreams about?"

Annabeth's grey eyes turned stormy, the way they always did when her mind was running at a thousand miles an hour.

"Camp," she finally said. "There's big trouble at camp."

"My mom said the same thing! But, what sort of trouble?"

"We're not sure," Annabeth admitted, referring to Magdalena and Magnus as well. "But there's something wrong. We need to get there immediately. Monsters have been on my back since Virginia, trying to stop me. Have you been getting attacked more recently?"

Percy shook his head. "Nothing at all this entire year . . . Until now."

"Nothing? But how . . . " She looked at Tyson. "Oh."

"What does 'oh' mean?"

Tyson raised his hand like he was in class. "Canadians in the gym said Percy was something weird . . . Son of the Sea God?"

The four demigods exchanged looks.

"Big guy," Percy said reluctantly, "you ever hear old stories about the Greek gods? Y'know, Zeus, Aphrodite, Poseidon— "

"Yes," Tyson said.

"Uh, well . . . Those gods exist, and are still alive. The follow Western Civilization, existing in the most powerful countries. So, they are currently in the U.S. And, occasionally they'll have children with mortals. Those kids are called half-bloods."

"Yes," Tyson repeated, as if he was waiting for Percy to get to the point.

Percy cleared his throat. "The four of us are half-bloods," he said. "We're like . . . Heroes-in-training. We also have a scent, and whenever monsters pick it up, they attack us. That's why those giants were in the gym. They're monsters."

"Yes."

Percy stared at him. Tyson didn't seem shocked or confused by what he was telling him. That shocked and confused Percy. "So . . . You believe me?"

Tyson nodded. "And you are . . . Son of the Sea God?"

"Um, yeah," Percy said. "My dad's Poseidon."

Tyson frowned. He now looked confused. "But then . . . "

Sirens wailed in the distance. A cop car sped past their hiding place.

"We don't have time for this," Lena said. "We can talk in the taxi."

"A taxi? All the way to camp?" Percy said skeptically. "Do you understand how much money— "

"Yeah, I get it, Shark Boy. Trust me on this."

Percy blinked. "Excuse me?"

Magdalena ignored his baffled retort and began to converse with Annabeth on the plan.

Percy then spoke up again, slightly hesitant. "What about Tyson?"

The group was silent as Percy thought over their options. He wasn't sure how the demigods at camp would react to his giant friend. But, on the other hand, the cops are out for the two of them.

"We can't leave him behind," Percy decided. "He's in just as much trouble as I am."

"Yeah." Annabeth's face was grim. "We need to take him. Now let's go."

She said it as if he was a big disease that needed to be sent to the hospital immediately, but Percy followed her and the two siblings anyway. Together, the four of them sneaked through side streets and alleyways through downtown while giant streaks of smoke rose from the school gymnasium behind them.

ANNABETH STOPPED them at the corner of Thomas and Trimble. She dug through her backpack. "I hope I have one left," she muttered.

"One left of what?" Percy asked.

Sirens wailed all around them. It wouldn't be long before the cops started searching for juvenile delinquent gym-bombers. Matt Sloan had probably already given a statement by now, twisting the story so that Percy and Tyson were the bloodthirsty cannibals.

"Found one." Annabeth said in relief, pulling out a golden drachma.

"Annabeth," Percy said, "New York taxis don't normally take Olympian currency."

Magnus looked just as confused. Magdalena just stood there with a zoned-out look on her face.

Percy stared at her for a little longer than he should've as they waited for Annabeth's next move. Magdalena was probably a couple inches taller than both Percy and her brother, which annoyed him, because now that meant Annabeth and her were taller than him. Her hair was long and healthy, blowing gently in the wind. If Annabeth hadn't told him that they were friends of her's, he would've assumed she was older from how mature she looked. Not physically, really, more so in attitude and expression. Her eyes held an aged look to them, as if she'd been walking this Earth for centuries.

"Stêthi," Annabeth shouted, blinking Percy out of thought. "Ô hárma diabolês!"

In Magdalena's head, she translated the Ancient Greek. She said: Stop, Chariot of Damnation!

"Oh, no," Magnus complained, giving Annabeth a look of annoyance. "Seriously?"

Annabeth ignored him, per usual, and through the drachma into the road. Instead of it falling on the asphalt, it sank through the ground and disappeared.

Nothing happened for a moment.

But then, where the coin fell, the ground darkened. It dissolved into a square pool the size of a parking space— bubbling red colored liquid, like blood. A car erupted from the boils.

It was definitely a taxi, but not like a New York taxi. It was foggy gray, not yellow. It literally looked like it was made out of smoke. There were words on the door, but Magdalena's dyslexia made it hard to read.

The passenger window rolled down, and a wrinkly old woman popped her heard out. There was a pile of grizzled hair covering her eyes, and she talked in a mumble, like she'd just taken a shot of Novocain. "Passage? Passage?"

"Five to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said. She opened the door to the smoky cab and waved at them to get in, like it was totally normal.

Magdalena didn't seem bothered by the situation and followed Annabeth into the cab without a thought, leaving Tyson, Magnus, and Percy outside.

"Eek!" The woman screeched. "We don't take that kind!"

She poked a long finger towards Tyson.

Gods, was it Pick-on-Big-and-Ugly-Kids Day?

"We will pay extra," Lena said, leaning up in her seat. "Three more drachma at arrival."

"Done!" The woman yelped.

Percy got in the cab with reluctance after Lena told him to, deciding to trust the girls' judgment. Magnus just rolled his eyes and shook his head, squeezing into the backseat. But, he somehow ended up plopped on his sister's lap after Tyson managed to squeeze himself into the car, pushing Annabeth against the door and Percy tight between Tyson and Magdalena.

"Magnus," Lena said hardly, sucking in a deep breath as his body sat on her's. "Get off of me."

"And go where?" Magnus snapped, sarcastically looking around the cramped backseat. "Do you see any extra space?"

"Yeah, the roof."

"You know what— "

"Shut up," Annabeth snapped at the two of them before a cat-fight broke out, not looking pleased at the situation either. Percy was squished so tight to Magdalena he could smell her shampoo if he turned his nose toward her. She smelled like citrus.

The interior was also gray, but a little more solid. When Magdalena looked up, she saw not just one lady. There were three, all cramped up in the front seat, all with stringy hair, wrinkly hands. And a sack for a dress.

The one that was driving said, "Long Island! Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!"

She punched the gas, and Percy's head slammed against the back window. Magdalena yelped, and Percy assumed Magnus's head had done something similar to Percy's, except it hit her face instead of glass.

A recorder-voice came over a speaker in the back: Hello, Ganymede speaking. I am cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I make sure to always buckle up!

Percy looked down, and instead of a seat belt found a thick black chain. He decided he wasn't that desperate . . . Yet.

  The taxi blew around West Broadway, and the little gray woman sitting in the middle yelped, "Watch out! Turn left!"

  "Well, if you'd ever hand over the eye, Tempest, I would be able to see that!" The woman in the driver seat protested.

  Pause. Did she say, Give her the eye?

  There was no time to ask questions because the driver veered to move around an oncoming FedEx truck, blew through a curb with an earth-shattering thump, and flung the car into the next street.

  "Wasp!" The other lady said. "Give me the coin! I want to bite on it."

  "No! You got to bite it last time, Anger!" The lady driving, Wasp, said. "Now it's my turn!"

  "No way!" Yelled Anger.

  Tempest screamed, "Red light!"

  "Brake!" Anger screeched.

  Apparently, Wasp heard floor it, instead, because she slammed the accelerator and drove over the curb, swerving around the corner, managing to knock over a newspaper box in the process.

  "Pardon me," Percy said, looking a little green. "But . . . Can you see?"

  "No!" Screamed Wasp.

  "No!" Screamed Tempest.

   "Obviously!" Screamed Anger.

  Percy turned to Magdalena with a paralyzed expression. "They're blind?"

  "Partially," Magdalena explained. "They have an eye."

  "One eye?"

  "Yeah."

  "Each?"

  "Nope. One eye total, Shark Boy."

  Tyson grumbled and gripped the seat. "Don't feel good."

  "Oh, gods," Percy said. He didn't want to think about the last time Tyson had gotten sick on a school field trip. "Stay strong, big guy. Uh, anyone happen to have a barf bag on them?"

  The three ladies in the front paid no attention to him, too busy arguing to hear anything. Percy glanced over at Magdalena, who seemed to be more annoyed that Magnus was sitting on her over the fact that they were trapped in a death-car. Percy saw Annabeth holding onto the door for dear life and shot her a why-did-you-do-this-to-me look.

  Annabeth caught it. "Don't give me that. Gray Sisters Taxi is the quickest way to get to camp."

"Then why didn't you catch a ride on it from Virginia?"

"It's outside their range of service," she responded, as if it was obvious. "They range from Greater New York and neighboring communities."

"We have had many famous names in this taxi!" Anger said proudly. "Jason! Remember him?"

"Gods, don't remind me!" Wasp cried. "And we didn't have a cab back then, you old bat. That was three thousand years ago!"

"Give me the tooth!" Anger attempted to snatch at Wasp's mouth, but the other Gray Lady slapped her away.

"Tempest, give me the eye then!"

"No!" Tempest screeched. "It was yours yesterday!"

"I'm driving, you old hag! I need it more!"

"I only hear excuses! You just missed the turn!"

Wasp veered fast onto Delancey Street, Magdalena's elbow darting harshly into Percy's groin. Percy choked out a sound of pain, clenching his teeth.

"Keep your elbows to yourself, Lena," Percy gritted out, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and now in pain, inside the tight car.

"I'm sorry you're inconvenienced, Shark Boy," Magdalena snapped. "Why don't I have Magnus sit your lap to make you feel better?"

"Shut up, Lena! Gods!" Magnus cried out.

Annabeth looked like she wanted to chuck herself out of the window.

The car shot up the Williamsburg Bridge going eighty miles per hour, the three sisters in front really fighting now. They slapped each other as Anger reached for Wasp's face and Wasp grappled for Tempest's. With their hair flying in every direction, mouth's open screaming at each other, Percy realized only Wasp had teeth out of the sisters. Instead of eyes, they had closed, sunken eyelids, besides Anger, who had a bloodshot eye that stared everything down hungrily.

At once, Anger, who had the sight advantage, yanked the tooth from her sister's mouth. Wasp got so angered she swerved toward the edge of the bridge, screaming, "'Ivit back! 'Ivit back!"

Tyson groaned and reached for his stomach.

"Uh, if anybody's interested," Percy commented. "We're all about to die!"

"You ever ridden the Hulk before? At Universal?" Magdalena asked. "Feels just like this!"

"Not sure I'll get the chance now," Percy said, feeling a deep pit form in his stomach.

"Nothing to worry about," Annabeth informed the group, sounding pretty worried. "The Gray Sisters are really very wise. They know what they're doing."

Hearing this from the daughter of Athena should've reassured Percy, but it didn't exactly do the job. They were riding the edge of a bridge a hundred and thirty feet over the East River.

"Wise, yes!" Anger smiled into the rearview mirror, her new tooth showing off in her mouth. "We know many things!"

"All the streets of Manhattan!" Wasp boasted, continuing to slap her sister. "The capital of Nepal!"

"The location that you seek!" Tempest commented.

At once, her sisters destroyed her from either said, yelling, "Shut up! Shut up! He hasn't even asked yet!"

"Pardon?" Percy said. "Location? I'm not seeking any— "

"Nothing!" Tempest said. "As you said, boy. It's nothing!"

"Tell me."

"No!" They screamed in unison.

"The last time we told, chaos struck!" Tempest said. "It was horrible!"

"Eye checked in a river!" Anger quipped.

"Took years to find!" Wasp cried. "Speaking of which— give it back!"

"No!" Anger screamed.

"Eye!" Wasp yelled. "Give!"

She pummeled her sister hard on her back. Magdalena heard a disturbing pop! and something popped out of Anger's face. Anger tussled for the eye, trying to save it, but she only batted it with her backhand. The slimy ball sailed over into the backseat, straight into Percy's lap.

Magnus screamed. Percy jumped so hard his head hit the ceiling and the eye flew away.

"Ow, Percy!" Magdalena screamed. "You're breaking my hand with your butt!"

"I'm sorry I just had an eyeball on me!" Percy retorted loudly, still feeling disgusted.

"Oh, you poor thing," Magdalena mocked. "Now get off my hand!"

"I'm blind!" The three sisters wailed.

"Give me the eye!" Wasp cried.

"Give her the fucking eye!" Magnus screamed.

"I lost it!" Percy said.

"It's by your foot," Annabeth said. "Grab it! Don't step on it!"

"I'm not touching that thing!"

The cab jolted into the guardrail, a sickening grinding noice screeching across the car. The entire taxi shuddered, gray smoke billowing like it was about to explode from strain.

"About to throw up!" Tyson wanted.

"Annabeth," Percy yelled. "Give me your backpack!"

"Like hell! Get the eye!"

Wasp turned the wheel, the cab swerving away from the guardrail. They flew down the bridge, the sisters screeching and pummeling each other as they cried for their eye.

Finally, Percy gained courage. He ripped off a piece of his T-shirt, which was already falling apart from all the burn marks, and used it to grab the eye off the floor.

"Good boy!" Anger yelled, like she somehow knew he had it. "Give me!"

"It's mine until you explain," Percy told her. "What did you mean earlier, about the location I seek?"

"No time!" Tempest cried. "Getting faster!"

It was true. They were already out of Brooklyn, soaring through the middle of Long Island.

"Percy," Magdalena warned, "they can't get to our destination without that eye. We will keep accelerating until we explode into a million pieces."

"Percy, grow some balls and give that thing her eye!" Magnus cried, reaching for it.

Percy retracted his arm out of reach so he couldn't grab it. "They need to tell me first," Percy said. "Or this eye's getting thrown into oncoming traffic."

"No!" The sisters screeched. "Too dangerous!"

"Why?" Percy said. "You don't make any sense!"

"30, 31, 75, 12!" Anger screamed. "That's it! Now give us the eye! Almost at camp!"

They weren't on the highway anymore, now in the countryside of northern Long Island. Half-Blood Hill loomed ahead of them— Thalia's tree at the crest, which held the life force of a fallen hero.

"Percy!" Annabeth urged. "Give them the eye. Now!"

Percy decided not to argue. He chucked the eye into Wasp's lap.

She scooped it up, pushing it into her socket and blinked. "Wow!"

She slammed the brakes. The cab swerved around five times in a plume of smoke and screeched to a halt right outside camp.

Tyson belched. "Better."

"All right," Percy said to the Gray Sisters. "Now spill. What do those numbers mean?"

"We have no time!" Magdalena shoved Magnus onto the ground outside the car as Annabeth got out. "We have to go now!"

Percy almost asked why, then he looked up at Half-Blood Hill and understood.

And the crest was a group of campers. And they were under attack.

"WELL, THIS is bad."

Magdalena turned to her brother, her face blank. "That's reassuring."

All the four teenagers had to their name was Annabeth with nothing but a backpack and a knife, Magdalena and Magnus in good shape, and Tyson and Percy still in their burned-up tie-dyed gym clothes.

"Oh, man," Annabeth muttered, gazing at the battle above them.

What Magdalena saw was two bulls— and not just regular bulls— bronze bulls the size of elephants. And that wasn't even the worst part. Naturally, they had to breathe fire, too.

But the bulls themselves wasn't what worried Magdalena most. What worried her was that the bulls were prowling all around the hill, even around the backside of Thalia's tree. That wasn't possible. Camp Half-Blood's magic corsets didn't allow monsters to enter past the tree. But the bulls seemed to be doing just fine.

One of the heroes shouted, "Border patrol, to me!" Clarisse's voice. Magdalena recognized it instantly.

"Clarisse," Annabeth said. "Let's go, we need to help her."

Percy, in normal circumstances, wouldn't have put rushing to Clarisse's need very high on his "to do" list. She was one of his biggest enemies at camp, no doubt. She'd shoved his head in a toilet his first day, and she was a daughter of Ares. He'd had a rough disagreement with her father last summer, so now the god of war and his spawn basically hated his guts.

Regardless, she was in trouble. Her companions were dropping, running in fear as the bulls progressed. Grass was burning, trees aflame. It was chaos.

  Percy uncapped his ballpoint pen. It shimmered and grew until he held a bronze sword, Anaklusmos, in his hands. "Tyson, don't come with. I don't want you to take any more chances."

  "No!" Annabeth said. "We're going to need him."

  Percy turned to her. "He's mortal. With the dodgeballs, he got lucky. He can't— "

  "Do you know what those are up there, Percy?" Magdalena asked.

  "Uh . . . "

  "Colchis bulls, made by Hephaestus himself. We can't defeat them ourselves."

  "Not without Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50,000," Annabeth interjected. "We'll burn to a crisp."

  "Medea's what?"

  Annabeth cursed and reached through her backpack. "I had some of the tropical coconut scent on my nightstand. I should've brought it!"

  Magnus quirked an eyebrow. "I might have some SPF 30,00 in my bag. Ocean breeze scented?"

  Annabeth glared at him. Percy learned long ago to simply not question Annabeth. It just confused him. "Look, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but there's no way I'm letting Tyson get deep-fried."

  "Percy— "

  "Tyson, stay here." Percy leveled Riptide. "I'm going in."

  Tyson argued, but Percy was already gone.

  Magdalena turned to Annabeth. "I believe you now."

  Annabeth looked confused. "About what?"

  "Percy fighting Ares," Magdalena said. "He really is stupid enough to fight a god."

   Clarisse was shouting at her team to get into phalanx formation. The couple of campers who listened lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, shields locked to form a wall, their spears overtop.

  It wasn't enough, though. The three demigods ran forward to help. Annabeth lured one of the bulls toward her, running as he chased her, turning invisible as she went. That confused the monster. The other bull charged Clarisse's line.

  The bull moved dangerously fast for its size. Its body had fist-sized rubies for eyes, horns silver. When it roared, a plume of white-hot fire burst out.

  "Hold your line!" Clarisse ordered.

  Say what you want about Clarisse, she was brave. Unfortunately, at that moment, the second bull became unconcerned with Annabeth. It wheeled around Clarisse on her weak side.

  "Behind you!" Percy yelled. "Watch out!"

  Percy should've kept his mouth shut— all he did was startle her. Clarisse flew backward, landing in a smoldering patch of grass. The bull charged past, blasting the other heroes with flames. Their shields melted like butter. They ran as Bull Number Two closed in for the kill on Clarisse.

  Percy ran forward, grabbing Clarisse by her armor. He lugged her away just as the bull blew past. He gave it a swipe with Riptide, cutting a gash in its flank, but the monster was hardly affected.

  "Get off me!" Clarisse pummeled his hand. "Curse you, Percy!"

  "You're welcome," Percy said sarcastically, dropping her next to the pine tree as he turned to face the other bulls.

  Magnus and Magdalena raced through the troops, helping them set into formation as Annabeth yelled orders to keep the bulls distracted.

  Percy knew he couldn't fight both monsters at once. He'd have to cut the head off Bull Number Two before Number One came back. But he was already tired. He realized how out of practice he was. How long it'd been since he'd used Riptide.

  Percy lunged as the bull shot flames at him. All the r oxygen blew from his lungs. His foot caught on something— maybe a tree root— and pain shot up his ankle. He still managed to swipe his sword at the monster and knock part of his snout off. It galloped away, disoriented and uncontrollable. Percy tried to stand, but his leg buckled. His ankle was sprained, broken maybe.

  Magdalena saw him struggling and rushed over as Bull Number One charged him. "Percy!"

  Lena pulled him out of the way just in the nick of time. The bull ran straight into a tree, its horns getting stuck in the trunk.

  "You're hurt?" She asked, gesturing to his ankle.

  "Uh, no," Percy blew off, his voice strained. Magdalena saw straight through him, and he knew that. "Well, maybe a little."

  Magdalena shook her head, setting him on the ground as she said to herself, "We need Tyson!"

  Annabeth shouted: "Tyson, help them!"

  Somewhere in the distance, Tyson cried, "Can't—get—through!"

  "I, Annabeth Chase, allow you permission into camp!"

  Thunder boomed, and Tyson was there, charging toward Percy. "Percy needs help!"

  Percy didn't even have time to protest before he dove into the bull as it unleashed a nuclear firestorm.

  "Tyson!" Percy yelled.

All they could see was his silhouette as the blast surrounded him. Percy stomach felt like lead as he knew with horror that his friend had just saved his life to be turned into ashes.

But to Percy's surprise, Tyson was still standing there when the fire died. Not a scratch on him. The bull seemed to share Percy's surprise, but before he could attack again, Tyson clenched his fists and slammed them into the bull's snout. "BAD COW!"

The bull was toast.

"Down!" Tyson roared as the bull crumbled into something that reminded Percy of aluminum foil.

Annabeth ran over to assess Percy and Lena once the bull was destroyed, staggering down the hill as smoke steamed from its ears.

She gave Percy nectar to drink, and he started to feel better. There was a burning smell in the air that Percy later discovered was from him. The hair on his arms was completely singed off.

"Bull Number Two?" Percy asked.

Annabeth pointed over the hill. Clarisse had taken care of that issue. It had a spear through its back leg, its snout half gone and a gash in its side. The bull was trying to run, but it more-so looked like some merry-go-round character, running in slow circles.

Magnus jogged up to the three demigods, checking over his sister first to make sure she was okay, before looking at the others.

"That was certainly a warm welcome," Magnus said, crouching beside the group.

Percy just shook his head, dazed and disoriented at what had just happened.

Clarisse tugged off her helmet and stormed toward them. "You—ruin—everything!" She yelled at Percy. "It was all under control with me!"

Percy was too stunned to speak. Annabeth grumbled, "Nice to see you too, Clarisse."

"Ugh!" Clarisse cried. "Don't ever, EVER, try to save me again!"

"You have wounded campers, Clare," Magdalena said hardly. Her eyes stared directly into the daughter of Ares'.

Clarisse stared at Magdalena, then at Magnus, like she was just now registering their presence. They'd been gone from camp for two summers now. They looked different from when she'd last seen them.

Despite that realization, Lena's words got Clarisse sobered up. Even she cared about the heroes she commanded.

"This isn't over," she said lowly, and walked off to do damage control.

Percy turned toward Tyson. "You aren't dead."

Tyson looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Percy. Came to help. Disobeyed you."

"It's not your fault," Annabeth said. "There wasn't another way. Tyson needed to cross the boundary line to save you and Lena. You would've died otherwise."

"Let him across the boundary?" Percy asked. "But— "

"Percy," Magdalena said, "look at Tyson. I mean, really look at him. Ignore the Mist, and look him in the eye."

Percy did as he was told. It was slightly hard. He'd never been able to look as him directly, which always confused him. He forced himself to look at his features— his clumpy nose, then at his eyes.

No, eye.

One large, calf-brown eye, right in the center of his head, with big tears streaming down either side of his face.

"Gods, Tyson . . . " Percy stumbled. "You're . . . "

"Cyclops," Annabeth cut in. "A baby, by his size. He's one of the homeless orphans."

"What?"

"They're in most big cities," Annabeth said in distaste. "They're . . . Mistakes. Children of nature spirits and gods . . . Well, one particular god most times . . . And they are not bred right. They are unwanted. They're tossed aside and grow up untamed in the world. I'm not sure how he found you, but obviously he's fond of you. Chiron needs to see him, and we'll let him decide what to do."

"But . . . The fire. How— "

"He's a Cylcops." Annabeth waited, like she was reminded of something bad. "They work in the gods' forges. They are born immune to fire."

Percy was in utter shock. How'd he never realized?

He didn't really have time to dwell on it long. The entire hill was on fire. Heroes were wounded all around him. The bulls were still not disposed of, which he wasn't sure how they were going to get rid of them.

Clarisse returned a few moments later. "Jackson, get up, if you can stand. We need to get the wounded to the Big House, let Tantalus know what's happened."

"Tantalus?" Percy asked.

"The activities director," Clarisse said.

"Chiron is our director. And where's Argus? He should be here as head of security."

Clarisse's expression soured. "Argus got canned. You four have been gone too long. Things have changed."

"But . . . Chiron's trained demigods to fight monsters for centuries. There's no way he's just gone. What happened?"

"That is what happened," Clarisse snapped.

She pointed at Thalia's tree.

Everyone knew the tree's history. The tree had been standing strong ever since Zeus grew Thalia's spirit into it to protect the camp from monsters.

But now, its needles were yellow. Piles of rotten ones littered the base. In its center was a puncture wound like a bullet hole, oozing green sap.

Magdalena's heart froze over. She understood now why camp was in danger. The borders were falling because Thalia's tree was dying.

Someone had poisoned it.

ANNA'S NOTES!
HELLLOOOOO I've suddenly gained insane inspiration to start writing again so here we are! I have a good head start on these next few chapters so I'm excited for you guys to read them, along with everything else I have planned!!! I hope you enjoy<3