by Rick Riordan
The discussion was escalating into an argument when the Demeter head counselor offered one last suggestion. “What about this?” He held out a small red object.
“Miniature explosive!” the Ares boy bellowed. “Duck!”
“It’s not an explosive or a duck,” the Demeter boy said. “It’s a berry native to this land. Grows all over the place here.”
The Aphrodite girl wrinkled her nose. “Excuse me, but ew! There are seeds all over the outside! So unattractive. And red? That color is so overdone, fruit-wise.”
“Yes, but it’s tasty,” the Demeter counselor said. “I call it a strawberry.”
“Why?” the Athena girl wanted to know.
“Because blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and cranberry were taken. Here, try one.” He spilled a handful onto the table.
The other counselors and Chiron sampled the strawberries. “Sweeeet,” drawled the Dionysus counselor. Even the Aphrodite girl agreed—though she picked off the seeds first.
Chiron asked the Demeter boy to stand. “It seems we have our product,” he said. “Will you and your siblings oversee the crop and grow it in abundance?”
The Demeter boy straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. “We will make it our sacred duty,” he said, “though we might ask the satyrs for backup on the reed pipe and the Dionysus kids for an assist now and then.”
The Dionysus counselor gave him a thumbs-up.
The Apollo boy strummed his lyre for attention. “Gentle souls, hear my pledge! I will make it my sacred duty to name and market our newfound venture.” He strummed another chord, adjusted the tuning, and strummed again. “I will even compose a catchy jingle to advertise our wares throughout the fair streets of New York. Like a plague, this jingle will infect the minds of everyone who hears it. Soon all the world will sing of our product. The jingle shall go a little something like this…”
Fortunately, the other counselors talked him down before he could create a virulent, incurable ear worm. But the Apollo campers did do a great job marketing the new product, obviously keeping secret the fact that our divine new food was, in fact, grown by semidivine beings.
And that, newbie demigods, is how the Delphi Strawberry Service came to be.
Hello? You still reading? Hello?
Shoot. I knew I should have worked in a fight scene.
PJ: We’re a little limited on time, so let’s get right to the questions.
So, do I get to keep the T-shirt?
PJ: You do, but since clothes tend to get slashed, burned, and bloodied here, you might want to purchase additional ones at the camp store.
AC: Percy!
PJ: What? Oh. Guess that makes life here sound a little dangerous.
NDA: Deadly, even.
AC: Nico!
PJ and NDA: Anna-be-eth!
AC: Idiots.
PJ: You’ll be fine here. Probably. It’s when you go on a quest that you’ll encounter…trouble.
A quest? Do I have to go on a quest?
AC: You may not believe it now, because this is all so new to you, but getting picked for a quest is every demigod’s dream. It’s what we train for. It’s what we’re born to do.
PJ: You might not get picked right away. I mean, sure, I did—I was here, what, less than a week before I headed out to face death?
AC: You were a special case, Seaweed Brain.
PJ: Aw, you called me special!
NDA: She also called you Seaweed Brain.
“Face death”? Am I going to die?
NDA: I’ll take this one. Yes, you will die—someday. When you do, you’ll go to live, er, to exist in the Underworld.
PJ: Leo didn’t.
NDA: Leo cheated death with a potion that he shouldn’t have had. Without it, he’d have stayed dead. Like he was supposed to.
PJ: Hazel came back too.
NDA: That’s totally different! I brought her back on purpose.
PJ: Just saying that not everyone who dies stays dead.
NDA: Next question.
What if I don’t like it here? Can I go home?
AC: I’ve never been homesick. I bet that feeling stinks. But before you pack your bags for home, ask yourself, who will protect you out there in the mortal world? Who will teach you to use your powers? Who will really understand what it’s like to be a demigod?
PJ: You can always Iris-message home. I hear moms in particular like that.
Will my conversations be private, or does Iris stay on the line?
PJ: You know, I never thought about that.
AC: I’m sure Iris hits mute. Plus, these days she’s too busy running Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles—her new whole-foods, gluten-free, vegan business—to listen in.
NDA: Gods, I’d rather be stuck in a bronze jar with only pomegranate death-trance seeds again than eat that ROFL stuff.
How long has Camp Half-Blood been here?
PJ: Oh, man, that’s a toughie. Some date it to the 1860s—
AC: But George Washington was a demigod, so if he trained here, the American version of the camp could be a hundred years older. Wow, I’m going to have to research that.
NDA: You newcomers could always ask your godly parents, but honestly, time is so different for the deities I bet he or she doesn’t know, either.
Where was it before? I mean, after ancient Greece?
PJ: Um…Annabeth, you want to take this one?
AC: Well, there was Rome, obviously. After the fall of the empire, the camp kind of moved from country to country, depending on which one was the major power of the time. I’m not sure of the exact locations, actually. You’d have to ask Chiron.
PJ: Congrats, kid, you stumped a daughter of the Wise One!
Last question: Will I really get zapped by lightning if I call Zeus’s Fist the “Poop Pile”?
PJ: Only one way to find out!
NDA: Go ahead, kid! I’m sure my dad would love to meet you.
AC: Percy! Nico!
PJ and NDA: Anna-be-eth!
Pavement, or the surface of a road, comes in many forms. There’s your asphalt (pronounced ass-fault, not asp-halt), your cobblestone, your gravel, your concrete, your—
Ha! Gotcha! Bet you thought you’d lost the ability to see through the Mist, didn’t you?
What…you mean you weren’t fooled?
Meh. Okay, then. Back to being serious.
Outside of camp, the days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler. Inside, campers are talking about classes they’ll be taking back at their mortal schools. Summer’s nearly over, and that means Camp Half-Blood will be closing. Right?
Wrong!
Camp Half-Blood remains open all year round for demigods who, for one reason or another, can’t or don’t want to go home. If you fall into that category, just be sure to inform whoever is in charge—Chiron, Mr. D, or maybe some other immortal—that you intend to stay. That way, the cleaning harpies won’t eat you. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to state your intentions in writing…just to be safe.
I’ve never stayed past summer, but I’ve visited a few times in the off-season. It’s pretty nice around here then. Quiet, because only a dozen or so campers stick around. Sometimes the magical borders let in snow—the good, packable kind for making snowballs and snow sculptures. It’s more relaxed, too, as if trouble has been put on hold. Even the monsters in the woods seem to calm down. (Whoops, did we forget to tell you about those? Our bad.)
From what I’ve heard, the off-season is a great time for demigods to work on pet projects. For instance, this winter Malcolm will begin weaving the Polias peplos for the Panathenaia (try saying that ten times fast!). Will and Nico hope to find a way to keep Nico from passing out after he shadow-travels. (Did we forget to tell you what that was? Ask Nico about it sometime. Or have him demonstrate—just be ready to catch him.) I suspect Miranda Gardiner and Sherman Yang will be doing many things together; I won’t say more, out of respect for their privacy.
As for
me, I’ll be back home, eating my mom’s blue food, going to school, and hanging out with Annabeth. At least, that’s my plan. I’d like to say I’m sticking with it. But because I’m a demigod, my plans seem to change rather unexpectedly.
You’ll find that out soon enough. Because guess what?
You’re a demigod too.
And now if you’ll excuse me…someone’s blasting on the conch horn outside. That can’t be good….
ABOUT THE CAMPERS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
PERCY JACKSON—Son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Sally Jackson. Black hair, sea-green eyes, wiry build. Can control water.
CHIRON—Immortal centaur. Son of the Titan Kronos and the nymph Philyra. Brown eyes, brown hair and beard, powerful white stallion body. Longtime trainer of demigods and current activities director of Camp Half-Blood.
ANNABETH CHASE—Daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and weaving, and Dr. Frederick Chase. Blond hair, gray eyes. Superior strategist, outstanding architect, rescuer of the long-lost Athena Parthenos. Hero.
CONNOR STOLL—Son of Hermes, god of thievery, messages, and trickery (mortal parent unknown). Blue eyes, brown hair. Younger brother of Travis Stoll. Current head counselor of Cabin Eleven. Known for pranks.
VALENTINA DIAZ—Daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love (mortal parent unknown). Very attractive.
RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE—Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dare (both mortals, first names unknown). Red hair, green eyes. Can see the future. Current Oracle of Delphi.
THALIA GRACE—Daughter of Zeus, god of the sky, lightning, and thunder, and Beryl Grace. Half sister of Roman demigod Jason Grace. Once a pine tree, now immortal lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. Spiky black hair, electric-blue eyes. Extremely powerful, but afraid of heights. Hero.
LEO VALDEZ—Son of Hephaestus, god of forges, fire, and metalwork, and Esperanza Valdez. Brown eyes, black hair, short stature, fidgety. Can summon fire. Hero.
MALCOLM PACE—Son of Athena, goddess of wisdom and weaving (mortal parent unknown). Gray eyes, blond hair. Substitutes as head counselor of Cabin Six when Annabeth Chase is off campus.
ELLIS WAKEFIELD—Son of Ares, god of war (mortal parent unknown). Muscular.
LAUREL AND HOLLY VICTOR—Twin daughters of Nike, goddess of victory (mortal parent unknown). Competitive and athletic. Dark hair.
NYSSA BARRERA—Daughter of Hephaestus, god of forges, fire, and metalwork (mortal parent unknown). Brown hair. Shares duties as head counselor of Cabin Nine with Jake Mason.
WOODROW—Satyr (half-goat, half-man). Instructor at Camp Half-Blood.
PETE—A palikos, god of geysers. Off-white muddy complexion, foamy hair, milky eyes. His bottom half is steam; his top half is that of a muscular humanoid.
MIRANDA GARDINER—Daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture (mortal parent unknown). Green eyes. Shares duties as head counselor of Cabin Four with half sister Katie Gardner.
NICO DI ANGELO—Son of Hades, god of the Underworld, and Maria di Angelo. Black hair, black eyes, pale skin. Very powerful. Travels regularly between camp and the Underworld. First Greek demigod to learn of Camp Jupiter.
Also mentioned:
FREDERICK CHASE—Annabeth Chase’s mortal father.
JULIA FEINGOLD—Daughter of Hermes, god of thieves and messengers.
HARLEY—Son of Hephaestus, god of forges.
THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS—Girls who pledged themselves to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and promised to remain celibate. Granted immortality.
SALLY JACKSON—Percy Jackson’s mortal mother.
CLARISSE LA RUE—Daughter of Ares, god of war.
PAOLO MONTES—Son of Hebe, goddess of youth.
BILLIE NG—Daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture.
BUTCH WALKER—Son of Iris, goddess of rainbows.
SHERMAN YANG—Son of Ares, god of war.
And finally, the star of the show, an immortal who shines as bright as the sun because he is the sun, a god who needs no introduction, please give it up for…Apollo!
GLOSSARY
ACHILLES—the best fighter of the Greeks who besieged Troy in the Trojan War; extraordinarily strong, courageous, and loyal, he had only one weak spot: his heel
AENEAS—a Trojan hero, the son of Aphrodite and a favorite of Apollo; becomes king of the Trojan people
AMPHORA (AMPHORAE, pl.)—a tall ceramic jar
ANDROMEDA—the daughter of the Ethiopian king, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia; after Cassiopeia bragged that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sent a sea monster, Cetus, to attack Ethiopia; Perseus saved Andromeda from the rock she was chained to as a sacrifice
APHRODITE—the Greek goddess of love and beauty; she was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares, the god of war
APOLLO—the Greek god of the sun, prophecy, music, and healing; the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis
ARCAS—the son of Zeus and Callisto, a nymph follower of Artemis; Zeus disguised himself as Artemis in order to seduce Callisto; after Hera became jealous and transformed Callisto into a bear, Zeus hid their son, Arcas, in an area of Greece later called Arcadia
ARES—the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena
ARGONAUTS—a band of heroes who sailed with Jason on the Argo, in search of the Golden Fleece
ARGUS—a hundred-eyed giant sent by Hera to guard a nymph named Io
ARTEMIS—the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo
ASCLEPIUS—the Greek god of medicine; son of Apollo; his temple was the healing center of ancient Greece
ATALANTA—a Greek hero; the daughter of King Iasus, who left her on a mountaintop to die because he wanted a son; she grew up in the wilderness and eventually became one of Artemis’s Hunters; she sailed with the Argonauts as the only woman among them
ATHENA—the Greek goddess of wisdom
ATHENA PARTHENOS—a giant statue of Athena; the most famous Greek statue of all time
ATHENA POLIAS—an olive-wood, life-size statue of Athena Polias (“of the city”) that was located in the temple to Athena at the Acropolis of Athens, Greece
CALLISTO—a nymph who had a son with Zeus and was transformed into a bear by the jealous Hera; Zeus later placed her into the sky as the constellation Ursa Major, or “the Great Bear”
CASSIOPEIA—wife of the Ethiopian king Cepheus, and mother of Andromeda; she angered Poseidon when she claimed that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids
CELESTIAL BRONZE—a rare metal deadly to monsters
CENTAUR—a race of creatures that is half-human, half-horse
CETUS—the sea monster Poseidon sent to attack Ethiopia as punishment when Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereids; Andromeda was sacrificed to the monster but ultimately saved by Perseus
CHARMSPEAK—a blessing bestowed by Aphrodite on her children that enables them to persuade others with their voices
CHITON—a Greek garment; a sleeveless piece of linen or wool secured at the shoulders by brooches and at the waist by a belt
CYCLOPS (CYCLOPES, pl.)—a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead
DEMETER—the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos
DIONYSUS—the Greek god of wine and revelry; a son of Zeus; activities director at Camp Half-Blood
DRAKON—a gigantic yellow-and-green serpentlike monster, with frills around its neck, reptilian eyes, and huge talons; it spits poison
DRYADS—tree nymphs
EIDOLON—a possessing spirit
ENCELADUS—a giant created by Gaea to specifically destroy the goddess Athena
GAEA—the Greek earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters
GOLDEN FLEECE—this hide from a gold-haired winged ram was a symbol of authority and kingship; it was guarded by a dragon and fire-breathing
bulls; Jason was tasked with obtaining it, resulting in an epic quest
GREEK FIRE—an incendiary weapon used in naval battles because it can continue burning in water
GROVE OF DODONA—the site of the oldest Greek Oracle, second only to the Oracle of Delphi; the rustling of trees in the grove provided answers to priests and priestesses who journeyed to the site
HADES—the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld
HARPY—a winged female creature that snatches things
HEBE—the Greek goddess of youth; daughter of Zeus and Hera
HECATE—goddess of magic and crossroads; controls the Mist
HEPHAESTUS—the Greek god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite
HERA—the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister
HERMES—the Greek god of travelers; guide to the spirits of the dead; god of communication
HESTIA—the Greek goddess of the hearth
HIMATION—an outer garment worn by the ancient Greeks over the left shoulder and under the right
HUNDRED-EYED—Argus was a hundred-eyed giant sent by Hera to guard Io, a nymph with whom Zeus was involved
HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS—a group of maidens loyal to Artemis and gifted with hunting skills and eternal youth as long as they reject men for life
HYPNOS—the Greek god of sleep
IO—a nymph who attracted Zeus’s attention and was guarded by a hundred-eyed giant named Argus
IRIS—the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and a messenger of the gods