The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4)

by Rick Riordan

“That’s a long way,” Nico said. “Plus, we don’t have…” His voice cracked. “You know…our sea expert, Percy.”

“But magic is neither good nor evil. It is a tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.”

Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy’s ear. “I love you.” She wasn’t sure he could hear her—but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.

Next to her, Percy coughed. “This place smells like my ex-stepfather.”

“Nothing,” he muttered. “We were just cuddling. Um, what’s going on?”

Nico sat forward. “I communed with the dead last night.” He just tossed that line out there, like he was saying he got a text from a buddy.

Leo had a terrifying image of his Aunt Rosa and some old Chinese woman in wrestlers’ outfits, whaling on each other with spiked clubs.

Note to self, Leo thought groggily. Do not leave boxes of magic grenades where dwarfs can reach them.

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

Keep climbing, he told himself. Cheeseburgers, his stomach replied. Shut up, he thought. With fries, his stomach complained.

Leo! Mars raged. He must die! Throttle him! Ares cried. Throttle everyone! Who are we talking about again?

I can understand not being as pricey as Jason or Percy, he’d said, but am I worth, like, two or three Franks?

“Lemurs?” Frank asked nervously. “I’m guessing you don’t mean the furry little guys from Madagascar?”

“Percy, wake me for second watch. Don’t be a hero.” He gave her that smirk she’d come to love. “Who, me?” He kissed her, his lips parched and feverishly warm. “Sleep.”

She was a daughter of Athena, not some shrill girlie victim in a horror movie.

If a tree falls in the forest and crushes a demon, does the tree get cursed?

“We’ve got to catch him,” Jason said. “Hold on.” “But—” Jason grabbed Nico and lifted them both into the air.

“I had a crush on Percy,” Nico spat. “That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.”

He imagined the Fates up in Olympus, laughing at his wishful thinking: LOL, NOOB!