She whirled when the monster was almost on top of her. I thought the thing in her hands was an umbrella until she cranked the pump and the shotgun blast blew the giant twenty feet backwards, right into Nico's sword. "Nice one," Paul said. "When did you learn to fire a shotgun?" I demanded. My mom blew the hair out of her face. "About two seconds ago. Percy, we'll be fine. Go!

Percy looked at his friends. "I'm getting tired of this guy's shirt." "Combat time?" Piper grabbed her horn of plenty. "I hate wonder bread," Jason said. Together, they charged.

He also didn't mind Piper's using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept - inhaling through the nose, exhaling with a little puff through the mouth. He was also disappointed when she woke up.

Fighting giants was one thing. Bacchus making into a game was something else.

We'd spent maybe ten minutes together, during which time I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, and I'd run away chased by a band of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical chance meeting.

Our secret weapon, Khione! We're not just a bunch of demigods. We're a team.

I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows- slow, dumb, and bright red.