The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

dull annual meeting.”
    â€œArtemis must be present at the solstice,” Zoë said. “She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos’s minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations.”
    â€œAre you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?” Dionysus asked.
    â€œYes, Lord Dionysus.”
    Mr. D nodded. “Just checking. You’re right, of course. Carry on.”
    â€œI must agree with Zoë,” said Chiron. “Artemis’s presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest.”
    â€œThree and two,” I said.
    Everybody looked at me. Thalia even forgot to ignore me.
    â€œWe’re supposed to have five,” I said, feeling self-conscious. “Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That’s more than fair.”
    Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.
    â€œWell,” Thalia said. “It does make sense.”
    Zoë grunted. “I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers.”
    â€œYou’ll be retracing the goddess’s path,” Chiron reminded her. “Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? ‘Too many Hunters spoil the scent.’ A small group is best.”
    Zoë picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. “This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis’s side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be.”
    Everybody looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up. “Well, don’t look at me. I’m a young god, remember? I don’t keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation.”
    â€œChiron,” I said, “you don’t have any ideas about the monster?”
    Chiron pursed his lips. “I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful.”
    â€œThat’s some serious danger you’re facing,” Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not we .) “It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die.”
    â€œOne shall be lost in the land without rain,” Beckendorf said. “If I were you, I’d stay out of the desert.”
    There was a muttering of agreement.
    â€œAnd the Titan’s curse must one withstand, ” Silena said. “What could that mean?”
    I saw Chiron and Zoë exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn’t share it.
    â€œOne shall perish by a parent’s hand,” Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. “How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?”
    There was heavy silence around the table.
    I glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades—who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War