"Well, I said, "you obviously have some power. You chased off those hooligans with rotten fruit. Perhaps you have banana-kinesis? Or you can control garbage? I once knew a Roman goddess, Cloacina, who presided over the city's sewer system. Perhaps you're related? Meg pouted. I got the impression I might have said something wrong, though I couldn't imagine what."

"Don't destroy Half-Blood while we're gone," was Chiron's parting instruction. Argus pointed two fingers at his eyes and then at us. This took a few minutes since he has one hundred eyes, but we got the message - be good, or else."

"Some pain shouldn't be wished away so easily. It had to be dealt with, even embraced. Without the agony of the last few months, Piper never would have found her best friends, Hazel and Annabeth. She never would've discovered her own courage. She certainly wouldn't have had the guts to sing show tunes to the snake people under Athens."

"Getting eaten by a giant crocodile was bad enough.The kid with the glowing sword only made my day worse."

"Out of every tragedy, " he said, "comes new strength."

"Fair... You'd be amazed how often I hear that word, Frank Zhang,and how meaningless it is. Is it fair your life will burn so short and bright? Was it fair when I guided your mother to the Underworld? No, not fair. And yet it was her time. There is no fairness in Death. If you free me, I will do my duty."

"Your former friend Luke " Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind Percy. Even the bravest can fall."

"Commander Tool Belt" Jason said."Bad Boy Supreme" Piper said."Chef Leo the Tofu Taco Expert."They laughed and told stories about Leo valdez, their best friend. They stayed on the roof until dawn rose, and Piper started to believe they could have a fresh start. It might even be possible to tell a new story in which Leo was still out there.Somewhere..."

"Her secret fear? Maybe she didn't tried hard enough."

"A Vampire!" I stammered. Then I noticed her legs. Below the cheerleader skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg was it was made of bronze. "Uhh, a vampire with-""Don't mention the legs!" Tammi snapped. "It's rude to make fun."

"Dear Meg," I said. "I can't be sure about Lityerses. But I think we must try. We only fail when we stop trying."

"Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."

"Nico remembered something Jason Grace had told him in the palace of Notus: Maybe it's time you come out of the shadows. If only I could, he thought. For the first time in his life, he had begun to fear the dark, because he might melt into it permanently."

"Your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend you would sacrifice the world."

"Thalia had gotten herself turned into a pine tree when she was twelve. Me ... Well, I was doingmy best not to follow her example. I had nightmares about what Poseidon might turn me intoif I were ever on the verge of death--plankton, maybe. Or a floating patch of kelp."

"I do like to wrap things up and leave some things to the readers' imagination."

"Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Grover helped me fix up my wounded arm."It's green!" Nico said with delight."

"Oh, Hazel is awesome," Don Said. "She's so nice! All the other campers are like 'Go away Don.' But she's like 'Please go away, Don.' I love her!"

"Otis! Will you PLEASE stop killing me!"

"I don't belong here, I said. "I don't even believe in gods."Yeah, he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."

"I said hello to the poodle."

"Doubtful, but it did work..."Annabeth?" Percy said again. "You're planning something. You've got that I'm-planning-something look.""I don't have an I'm-planning-something look.""Yeah, you totally do. Your eyebrows knit and your lips press together and ---""Do you have a pen?" she asked him."You're kidding, right?" He brought out Riptide."Yes, but can you actually write with it?""I--I don't know," he admitted. "Never tried."

"So, you invite a wild rabbit living in Italy to a party on the island of Crete. What's it supposed to do, swim there? Its little tux would get wet."

"Wow. When he started looking back on the war with Kronos as the good old days--that was sad."

"Nico clenched his sword. Sharing his secret crush hadn't been the worst of it. Eventually he might have done that, in his own time, in his own way. But being forced to talk about Percy, being bullied and harassed and strong-armed simply for Cupid's amusement - Tendrils of darkness were now spreading out from his feet, killing all the weeds between the cobblestones. Nico tried to rein in his anger."

"So, we'll start by boasting, will we? Just like old times! Very well, demigod."

"Oh, my dear! I'm afraid you've mistakenme for someone else! My name is Rhea Silvia. I was the mother to Romulus and Remus, thousands of years ago. But you're so kind to think I look as young as the 1950s."

"Laistry....I can't even say that. What would you call them in English?""Canadians."

"Percy: I thought I'd lost my mom forever, and I was stuck on a hill in a thunderstorm fighting this huge bull dude while Grover was passed out wailing. "Food! It was terrifying, man."

"Whenever he felt like giving up, plopping himself down, and dying (which was, like, every ten minutes), he reached over and took her hand, just to remember there was warmth in the world."

"Percy Jackson," Hermes said, "because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the Fates now. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed, how much-"His voice broke, and he shrank back to human size. "My son, my greatest pride . . . my poor May . . ."He sounded so devastated I didn't know what to say. One minute he was ready to vaporize us. Now he looked like he needed a hug."

"I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list."

"Hazel frowned. "Why that one?""You don't see the ghost?" Frank asked."Ghost?" Nico asked.Okay... if Frank was seeing a ghost that the Underworld kids couldn't see, something was definitely wrong."

"Deserve better...if only...they just had...thrones..."

"I've found peace here at the co-op. You could stay with us, if you want. Become a ROFLcopter."

"Frank tugged again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh.Frank grimaced with concentration. Suddenly, he disappeared. On the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to an empty set of Chinese handcuffs."Well done, Frank Zhang, Leo said dryly, doing his impression of Chiron the centaur. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

"The Princess Andromeda?""Went ka-boom."

"Every child's taste is different. Don't worry if they're not reading 'War and Peace' at age 12. First, build a good foundation and a positive attitude about reading by letting them pick the stories they enjoy. Make friends with a bookseller or librarian. They are a wealth of information on finding books that kids enjoy."

"Terminus sniffed. "I guard borders. I don't kill giants. It's not in my job description."

"When I write, I'm still imagining a kid reading it on paper. I read e-books when I travel, but in general I still prefer holding an old-fashioned book in my hands. There's a special, tactile experience."

"Oh you two look delicious," Bast said, licking her lips. "No, no-er, I mean wonderful. Now, off you go!"

"Nico found a sort of freedom in knowing that eventually, no matter what happened, he would end up at the foot of his father's throne."

"We were just looking at maps..."

"Hmm", Jason snapped his fingers. "I can call a friend for a ride.Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked."It only works on wild animals.""So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned."Hey!" I protested."

"Bellona has answered my prayer. She doesn't fight my battles for me. She doesn't guarantee me easy victory. She grants me opportunities to prove myself. She gives me strong enemies and potential allies."

"I'm just a kid, Chiron," I said miserably. "What good is one lousy hero against something like Kronos?"Chiron managed a smile. '"What good is one lousy hero'? Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said something like that to me once, just before he single-handedly changed the course of your Civil War."

"Nico studied his face " his sea-green eyes, his grin, his ruffled black hair. Somehow Percy Jackson seemed like a regular guy now, not a mythical figure. Not someone to idolize or crush on."

"I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing..."

"Our problems started in Dallas, when the fire-breathing sheep destroyed the King Tut exhibit."