The Titan's Curse Read Online Free PDF Page A

girl ordered. “I sense no disrespect, Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand.”
    The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. “I am Artemis,” she said. “Goddess of the Hunt.”

THREE

BIANCA DI ANGELO MAKES A CHOICE
    After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth, you’d think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, “Um . . . okay.”
    That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, “Thank you, Lady Artemis! You’re so . . . you’re so . . . Wow!”
    â€œGet up, goat boy!” Thalia snapped. “We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!”
    â€œWhoa,” Bianca di Angelo said. “Hold up. Time out.”
    Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. “Who . . . who are you people?”
    Artemis’s expression softened. “It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you ? Who are your parents?”
    Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.
    â€œOur parents are dead,” Bianca said. “We’re orphans. There’s a bank trust that pays for our school, but . . .”
    She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn’t believe her.
    â€œWhat?” she demanded. “I’m telling the truth.”
    â€œYou are a half-blood,” Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. “One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian.”
    â€œAn Olympian . . . athlete?”
    â€œNo,” Zoë said. “One of the gods.”
    â€œCool!” said Nico.
    â€œNo!” Bianca’s voice quavered. “This is not cool!”
    Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. “Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—”
    â€œNico, shut up!” Bianca put her hands to her face. “This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!”
    As anxious as I felt about Annabeth—all I wanted to do was search for her—I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigod.
    Thalia must’ve been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. “Bianca, I know it’s hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They’re immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well . . . Our lives are dangerous.”
    â€œDangerous,” Bianca said, “like the girl who fell.”
    Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.
    â€œDo not despair for Annabeth,” the goddess said. “She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her.”
    â€œThen why won’t you let us go look for her?” I asked.
    â€œShe is gone. Can’t you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished.”
    I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she’d been down there in the sea, I thought, I’d be able to feel her presence.
    â€œOo!” Nico raised his hand. “What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?”
    â€œHe was a manticore,” Artemis said. “Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear.”
    â€œOr they’ll hunt us,” Thalia