Rick Riordan The Titan ’ s Curse - 03
" Well , a satyr , actually ." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves . I thought
Bianca was going to faint right there . " Grover , put your shoes back on ," Thalia said . " You ' re freaking her out ." " Hey , my hooves are clean !" " Bianca ," I said , " we came here to help you . You and Nico need training to survive . Dr . Thorn won ' t be the last monster you meet . You need to come to camp ." " Camp ?" she asked . " Camp Half-Blood ," I said . " It ' s where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff . You can join us , stay there year-round if you like ." " Sweet , let ' s go !" said Nico . " Wait ," Bianca shook her head . " I don ' t —" " There is another option ," Zoe said . " No , there isn ' t !" Thalia said . Thalia and Zoe glared at each other . I didn ' t know what they were talking about , but I could tell there was bad history between them . For some reason , they seriously hated each other . " We ' ve burdened these children enough ," Artemis announced . " Zoe , we will rest here for a few hours . Raise the tents . Treat the wounded . Retrieve our guests ' belongings from the school ." " Yes , my lady ." " And , Bianca , come with me . I would like to speak with you ." " What about me ?" Nico asked . Artemis considered the boy . " Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy . I ' m sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while … as a favor to me ?" Grover just about tripped over himself getting up . " You bet ! Come on , Nico !" Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods , talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff . Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff . The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp . Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look , then left to oversee things . As soon as she was gone , Thalia stamped her foot in frustration . " The nerve of those
Hunters ! They think they ' re so … Argh !" " I ' m with you ," I said . " I don ' t trust —" " Oh , you ' re with me ?" Thalia turned on me furiously . " What were you thinking back there in the gym , Percy ? You ' d take on Dr . Thorn all by yourself ? You knew he was a monster !" " If we ' d stuck together , we could ' ve taken him without the Hunters getting involved .
Annabeth might still be here . Did you think of that ?"
My jaw clenched . I thought of some harsh things to say , and I might ' ve said them too , but then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet . Annabeth ' s New York Yankees baseball cap .
Thalia didn ' t say another word . She wiped a tear from her cheek , turned , and marched off , leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow .
12
The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes . Seven large tents , all of silver silk , curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire . One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle , and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods . They began circling the camp like guard dogs . The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats , completely unafraid , but I decided I would stick close to the tents . Falcons watched us from the trees , their eyes flashing in the firelight , and I got the feeling they were on guard duty , too . Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess ' s will . The air was still cold , but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling , so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire .
Almost … except for the pain in my shoulder and the guilt weighing me down . I couldn ' t believe Annabeth was gone . And as angry as I was at Thalia , I had a sinking feeling that she was right . It was my fault .
What had Annabeth wanted to tell me in the gym ? Something serious , she ' d said . Now I might never find out . I thought about how we ' d danced together for half a song , and my heart felt even heavier .