I found that things weren't going well upstairs. Carter was a crumpled heap of chicken warrior on the slope of the pyramid.

It's hard to know what [literature] will end up being timeless and what will be something that doesn't translate into the future, especially with the way we're evolving since our culture is changing so fast.

He scowled at Jason. "And please, I don't like being touched. Don't ever grab me again.

So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.

I said hello to the poodle.

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday.

Which reminded me...I still owed the gods a debt. "You're a genius," I (Percy) told Annabeth.