Strange Things Conspire When One Tries To

And Now, Anubis, I Find You In This Den Of Iniquity, This Morass Of Questionable Behavior, This...this--' 'school?

It Was If The City Knew About Percy's Dream Of Gaea. It Knew That The Earth Goddess Intended On Razing All Human Civilization, And This City, Which Had Stood For Thousands If Years, Was Saying Back At Her: You Wanna Dissolve This City, Dirt Face? Give It A Shot. In Other Words, It Was The Coach Hedge Of Mortal Cities- Only Taller.

I Touched The Combination Lock. I Concentrated So Hard I Felt Like I Was Dead-lifting Five Hundred Pounds. My Pulse Quickening. A Line Of Sweat Trickled Down My Nose. Finally I Felt Gears Turning. Metal Groaned, Tumblers Clicked, And The Bolts Popped Back. Carefully Avoiding The Handle, I Pried Open The Door With My Fingertips And Extracted An Unbroken Vial Of Green Liquid. Hal Exhaled. Thalia Kissed Me On The Cheek, Which She Probably Shouldn't Haven't Done While I Was Holding A Tube Of Deadly Poison. "you Are So Good," She Said. Did That Make The Risk Worth? Yeah, Pretty Much.

I Grabbed A Pair Of Glowing Red Legs.

Until She Met The Exploding Statue, Annabeth Thought She Was Prepared For Anything.