ARROWS¹ - PERCY JACKSON

II - BIANCA DE ANGELO MAKES A CHOICE

This boy was really, really clueless. 

He had a tall, athletic build, windswept black hair, a tan Mediterranean complexion, and eyes green as the sea. He didn't look clueless, he looked strong and capable.

But leave it to Percy Jackson to prove me wrong.

Hey, after seeing a monster plummet off the edge of a cliff with one of his friends, you'd think nothing else could shock this guy. But when my mother told him she was the goddess Artemis, he said something real intelligent like, "Um... okay."

That was nothing compared to the satyr, Grover, whom I had met before on a previous visit to Camp Half Blood. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow (which.. ow?) and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" One of the girls snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," A younger girl said. "Hold up. Time out."

I looked down at her. She had olive skin, dark brown hair, and a pretty face, though she kept most of it hidden under a beanie. 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 Bianca, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

The girl, Bianca, glanced nervously at a younger kid, I assume her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," she said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."

She faltered. I guess she could tell from us Hunter's faces that we didn't buy into it. After all, we were raised in suspicion.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade, Artemis' lieutenant and one of my closest friends, said. Her accent was hard to place for mortals. 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?"

"No," I said, joining the conversation. "One of the gods. Greek gods."

"Cool!" said the young boy.

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

Her brother 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!"

I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I didn't know the situation, but I did know that right now Bianca looked stressed, confused, and in desperate need of some answers.

I sighed, looking at my mother before speaking. 

"Bianca, Nico, 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."

The demigods turned away. Even my mother looked pained.

"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.