Charmolypi

Chapter 145

"Um...okay," Percy said, not really surprised that the young girl turned out to be the goddess Artemis.

That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so . . . you're so . . . Wow!"

"Oh, he was all over her that day," Thalia said with disgust, rolling her eyes while remembering how their friend was practically throwing himself at the deity.

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out." Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who . . . who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. "Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but . . ."

"She doesn't know," Thea said softly, visibly uncomfortable with the situation that the newly discovered demigods were put in.

Bianca faltered. It was like she could tell from their faces that they didn't believe her. "What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"We knew she was, but the situation was so tense with what had happened to Annabeth and then –" Percy started rambling until he was cut off by Nico.

"It's okay. I know where you're coming from," Nico assured him, a small reassuring smile on his face.

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian . . . athlete?" Bianca tried.

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

"Mythomagic?" Thea asked, and Nico nodded excitedly. Instead of matching his excitement, she frowned, trying to remember where she had heard of that game before.

"Didn't you play that game once before?" James asked Thea, a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah, I did," she confirmed. He waited for her to elaborate but that was all he was getting as an answer from his daughter.

Thalia must have felt some sympathy towards the young demigods, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well . . . Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained. Thea, on the other hand, looked furious. If looks could kill, half of the people standing there would already be six feet under.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked.