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"Whoa, hold up. Time out." Elaine's schoolmate said.
Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of them 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?"
She glanced nervously at 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. She could tell from our faces that they didn't believe her.
"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."
"You are a half-blood," Zoe 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?" Elaine asked, growing more confused as more questions were asked.
"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."
"Cool!" said Nico.
"No!" His sister'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! This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"
"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." The raven haired girl said.
"Dangerous," Elaine stated, "like the girl who fell."
The girl turned away. Even Artemis 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.
"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."
"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"
"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."
