The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)

by Rick Riordan

How could I promise a kid like him that anything would be fine?

He was too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people were.

“It is okay. I will be a good monster. Then you will not have to be mad.”

Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.

He patted my hand. “Only way, brother.” His expression was determined—confident, even. I’d never seen him look like this before. “I will fix it. Be right back.”

He’d given his life for us, and all I could think about were the times I’d felt embarrassed by him and had denied that the two of us were related.

I was too nervous to say what I was secretly hoping…that Tyson might still be alive.

Me too, Perce! Me too 🤝

We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good.

My anger swelled. I couldn’t believe I’d come this far, lost Tyson, suffered through so much, only to fail—stopped by a big stupid monster in a baby-blue tuxedo kilt. Nobody was going to swat down my friends like that! I mean…nobody, not Nobody. Ah, you know what I mean. Strength coursed through my body.

Yessss Percyyyyy! Get em!

But Polyphemus sobbed…and for the first time it sank in that he was a son of Poseidon, too. Like Tyson. Like me. How could I just kill him in cold blood?

Halfway down the path to the beach, standing completely unharmed in the midst of a flock of killer sheep, was an old friend. “Bad Polyphemus,” Tyson said. “Not all Cyclopes as nice as we look.”

Wooooo, my boy Tyson coming in for the win! And he’s not dead 😭

“Dude!” the centaur groaned, almost buckling under Tyson’s weight. “Do the words ‘low-carb diet’ mean anything to you?”

Heroes embody that struggle. You fight the battles humanity must win, every generation, in order to stay human. Do you understand?”

“Percy,” Chiron said, his voice impossibly soft. “The titan Kronos is my father.”

Whaaaaaaat?

“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related, for better or worse…and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

Spit that wisdom Hermes!

I opened the envelope and unfolded the paper. Two simple words were printed in the middle of the page: Brace Yourself

Aww, Perce! It’s ok

“I know what you will tell me,” Tyson said, looking ashamed. “Poseidon did care for me after all.” “Uh, well—” “He sent you to help me. Just what I asked for.” I blinked. “You asked Poseidon for…me?” “For a friend,” Tyson said, twisting his shirt in his hands. “Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps. Learn to survive.” “But that’s so cruel!” He shook his head earnestly. “Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean and fat like Polyphemus. But I got scared. Monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes—” “The scars on your back?” A tear welled in his eye. “Sphinx on Seventy-second Street. Big bully. I prayed to Daddy for help. Soon the people at Meriwether found me. Met you. Biggest blessing ever. Sorry I said Poseidon was mean. He sent me a brother.”

Awww! Why am I crying though? Like forreal

“Brother!” I said, loud enough for everybody to hear. “Tyson, my baby brother.”

Yessss! Claim him

Grover told me he could dissolve the empathy link between us, now that we were face to face, but I told him I’d just as soon keep it if that was okay with him. He put down his reeds pipes and stared at me. “But, if I get in trouble again, you’ll be in danger, Percy! You could die!” “If you get in trouble again, I want to know about it. And I’ll come help you again, G-man. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

We love strong friendships

Tyson sniffled. “Brothers help each other.” “You’re my brother,” I said. “No doubt about it.”