When I was a god, I would have been delighted to leave the mortal heroes to fend for themselves. I would have made popcorn and watched the bloodbath from a distance on Mount Olympus, or simply caught the highlight reel later. But as Lester I felt obliged to defend these people – my dear old Emmie, gruff Josephine and not-so-little Georgina, who might or might not be my child. Thalia and the Hunters, Jamie of the Lovely Loincloth, the proud griffin parents upstairs, the excellent elephant downstairs, even the dislikable Lityerses … I wanted to be here for them.
