I couldn't help thinking about my dream, with Annabeth crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby monsters, but I couldn't save my friend.

I remembered the last time Annabeth and I had parted ways, when she'd given me a kiss for luck in Mount St. Helens. This time, all I got was the hat.

Many of the best traps are simple. You just have to think about it, and hope your victim doesn't.

You sure about this?" I asked Thalia. She turned to me. "Amaltheia leads me to good things. The last time she appeared, she led me to you." The compliment warmed me like a cup of hot chocolate. I'm a sucker that way. Thalia can flash those blue eyes, give me one kind word, and she can get me to do pretty much whatever.

Mussolini?” Leo frowned. “Wasn’t he like BFFs with Hitler?

To all my librarian friends, champions of books, true magicians in the House of Life. Without you, this writer would be lost in the Dust.

Ever had a flying burrito hit you? Well, it's a deadly projectile, right up there with cannonballs and grenades.