The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries

Kronos himself marched on Olympus, only to be killed by a son of Poseidon.

“What happens if someone finds a way to stop death?”

Claymore could feel his blood chill from the change in the boy’s voice. It wasn’t nervous anymore. It was as heavy and cold as stone.

Jason looked cool and confident as usual—all surfer-dude handsome with his blond hair and sky-blue eyes. The scar on his mouth and the sword at his side gave him a rugged appearance, like he could handle anything.

“How about we go for that walk?” I pulled out the credit card Hermes had tucked in my pocket—a black metal Olympus Express—and set it on the table. “I want to explore Paris with a beautiful girl.”

“Was that amazing?” she demanded.

“That was amazing,” I agreed. It’s hard to pull off a romantic kiss when you’re both drenched in muck, but we gave it our best shot.

I smiled at the giant. “Actually, Cacus, I have another secret weapon.”

The giant’s eyes lit up with greed. “Another weapon? I will steal it! I will copy it and sell the knockoffs for a profit! What is this secret weapon?”

“Her name is Annabeth,” I said. “And she’s one of a kind.”

I looked at Annabeth. “Your turn for a brilliant idea.”

“I’m working on it.” She was beautiful in combat. I know that’s a crazy thing to say, especially after we’d just climbed a sewage waterfall, but her gray eyes sparkled when she was fighting for her life. Her face shone like a goddess’s, and believe me, I’ve seen goddesses. The way her Camp Half-Blood beads rested against her throat—Okay, sorry. Got a little distracted.

To all of you who live in the Meatpacking District, I apologize. Because of the smoke, debris, and chaos, you probably just call it the Packing District now, since so many of you had to move out.

Instead he threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, I see! That was supposed to scare me! But alas, the only demigod who ever defeated me was Hercules himself.”

I turned to Annabeth and shook my head in exasperation. “Always Hercules. What is it with Hercules?”

Annabeth shrugged. “He had a great publicist.”

The giant’s face turned as red as his hair. His eyes narrowed. “I see. I should’ve known Hermes would send someone. Who are you two? Children of the thief god?”

Annabeth raised her knife. “Did he just call me Hermes’s kid? I’m going stab him in the—”