"Please, Percy...change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse."

"Looking is the nature of wisdom."

"He slung off his backpack. He'd managed to grab a lot of supplies at the Napa Bargain Mart: a portable GPS, duct tape, lighter, superglue, water bottle, camping roll, a Comfy Panda Pillow Pet (as seen on TV), and a Swiss army knife-pretty much every tool a modern demigod could want."

"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?""Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?""Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."

"I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were."

"Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned. "That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there." "Which one is me?" I asked. "The little deformed one," Zoe suggested. "Oh, shut up."

"Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could-" said Percy"Percy... Chiron's collection!"

"Percy stared at his jelly donut. He had a rocky history with Nico di Angelo. The guy had once tricked him into visiting Hades's palace, and Percy had ended up in a cell. But most of the time, Nico sided with the good guys. He certainly didn't deserve slow suffocation in a bronze jar, and Percy couldn't stand seeing Hazel in pain."We'll rescue him," he promised her. "We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"Dude! said a party pony as he unloaded his gear. Did you see that bear guy? He was all like: 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!"

"Bast crouched down and began making weird chittering noises. Uh-oh. She was imitating birds. I'd seen enough cats do this when they were stalking. Suddenly my own obituary flashed in my head: Carter Kane, 14, tragically died in Paris wen he was eaten by his sister's cat, Muffin."

"Your head is full of kelp."

"Nico's anger turned as cold and dark as his blade. He'd been morphed into a few plants himself, and he didn't appreciate it. He hated people like Bryce Lawrence, who inflicted pain just for fun."

"Life is only precious because it ends, kid."

"Percy (to Annabeth): If I was going to pick one person in the world to reattach my head, I'd pick you.Silena: Awww . . . Percy, that is so sweet!Annabeth: Shut up, Silena."

"I've come to gamble."The old man's mouth twitched. He put down his shish kebab and leaned toward Percy. "A gamble...how interesting. Information in exchange for the harpy? Winner take all?""No," Percy said. "The harpy isn't part of the deal."Phineas laughed. "Really? Perhaps you don't understand her value.""She's a person," Percy said. "She isn't for sale."

"Eventually, Krysomallos would be skinned for his fleece, which became known as the Golden Fleece, which means I am related to a sheepskin rug.This is why you don't want to think too hard about who you're related to in the Greek myths. It'll drive you crazy."

"Then the glow grew brighter: a holographic golden sickle with a few sheaves of wheat, rotating just above Meg McCaffrey.A boy in the crowd gasped. "She's a communist!"

"The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important.""It was probably important to her."

"Nico di Angelo came into Olympus to a hero's welcome, his father right behind him, despite the fact that Hades was only supposed to visit Olympus in winter solstice. The God of the dead looked stunned when his relatives clapped him on the back. I doubt he'd ever got such an enthusiastic welcome before."

"No more Lastrygonians. Ella fluttered down and landed next to them. "Six minus six is zero. Spears are good for subtraction, yep."

"Then Leo realized something was blocking the middle of his view. Something large and fuzzy, and so close, Leo had to cross his eyes to see it properly. It was a large, ugly face. "Holy mother!" he yelped. The face backed away and came into focus. Staring down at him was a beard man in grimy blue coveralls. His face was lumpy and covered with welts, as if he'd been stung by a million bees, or dragged across gravel. Possibly both. "Humph." the man said. "Holy father, boy. I should think ou know the difference by now."

"Hazel! he yelled. "That box! Open it!She hesitated, then saw the box he meant. Te label read WARNING. DO NOT OPEN. "Open it! Leo yelled again."

"They want to cook you and eat you," she said distatefully, "which is ridiculous. You'd taste terrible.""Thank you, grandmother."

"Don't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much I plead. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself.""Are you trying to tempt me?""Ha-ha."

"I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows- slow, dumb, and bright red."

"And when demigods use cell phones, the signals agitate every monster within a hundred miles. It's like sending up a flare: Here I am! Please rearrange my face!"

"That's the nice thing about being human. We only have one life, but we can choose what kind of story it's going to be."

"Images flashed through his mind. He saw Nico and his sister on a snowy mountain cliff in Maine, Percy Jackson protecting them from the manticore. Percy's sword gleamed in the dark. He'd been the first demigod Nico had ever seen in action. Later at Camp Half-Blood, Percy took Nico by the arm, promising to keep his sister Bianca safe. Nico believed him. Nico looked into his sea-green eyes and though, How can he possibly fail? This is a real hero."

"Otrera stayed dead the second time," Kinzie said, batting her eyes. "We have to thank you for that. If you ever need a new girlfriend...well, I think you'd look great in an iron collar and an orange jumpsuit."Percy couldn't tell if she was kidding or not. He politely thanked her and changed seats."

"Right," she said, "We're going to the Land of the Dead and I shouldn't think negative."

"But part of him wanted to say: Forget the world. He didn't want to be without her."

"This is Annabeth, Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."

"Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."

"Percy muttered. 'I want to drown her.' 'Be patient, water boy.' 'Don't call me water boy."

"Will put his hand on Nico's shoulder. 'Nico, we need to have another talk about your people skills.''Hey, I'm just stating the obvious. If this is Apollo, and he dies, we're all in trouble.'Will turned to me. 'I apologize for my boyfriend.'Nico rolled his eyes. 'Could you not-''Would you prefer special guy?' Will asked. 'Or significant other?''Significant annoyance, in your case,' Nico grumbled."

"But Percy Jackson has always been reliable. You have nothing to fear. Besides, he likes me. I taught him everything he knows.She frowned. "You did?I found her innocence somewhat charming. So many obvious things she did not know. "Of course. Now let's go up."

"Leo. Jason said, you're wierd. Yeah, you tell me that a lot. Leo grinned. But if you don't remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!"

"Amy, Dan, and Nellie were sitting at a table in a conference room, examining reproductions of Franklin documents-some so rare, the librarians told her, the only copies existed in Paris. "Yeah, here's a rare grocery list," Dan muttered. "Wow."

"Love was the most savage monster of all."

"I am happy to crush my enemies underfoot, but I don't fight without reason. I don't want war without end."

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again."

"Okay, do not call me Aquaman. That's even worse than waterboy."

"Oh, come on!' Percy complained. 'I get a little nosebleed and I wake up the entire earth? That's not fair!"

"Your destiny grows clearer, Jason Grace. When the choice comes again- storm or fire- remember me. And do not despair."

"There's my baby!" I cried, quite carried away, "There's my poochiekins!"..."Sadie," My dad said firmly, "Please do not refer to the devourer of souls as 'poochiekins'."

"People usually asked her if she had a belly button. Of course she had a belly button. She couldn't explain how. She didn't really want to know."

"Please!' That word didn't make sense to Nico. The Underworld had no mercy. It only had justice. 'You're already dead,' Nico said. 'You're a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won't be sharing any secrets."

"You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around."

"Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with the seven-layer dip...And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing Soprano for a week."

"Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said.""Um, I hate middle school dances.""No,no. After that."