"It's still not right," I insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never

helped him, never stopped him from running away."

 

Thalia shouldered her bow. Again it struck me how much stronger she looked now

that she'd stopped aging. Y ou could almost see a silvery glow around her — the

blessing of Artemis.

 

"Percy," she said, "you can't start feeling sorry for Luke. We all have tough

things to deal with. All demigods do. Our parents are hardly ever around. But

Luke made bad choices. Nobody forced him to do that. In fact — "

 

She glanced down the hall to make sure we were alone. "I'm worried about

Annabeth. If she has to face Luke in battle, I don't know if she can do it.

She's always had a soft spot for him."

 

Blood rose to my face. "She'll do fine."

 

"I don't know. After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never

the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time

Grover found us and tried to get us to camp . . . well, part of the reason we

had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a

fight with every monster we crossed. Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke

was her hero. She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got

very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All I'm saying . . . don't you