The Princess Andromeda?" "went Ka-boom.

No Doubt Carter Would Describe The Underground City In Excruciating Detail, With Exact Measurements Of Each Room, Boring History On Every Statue And Hieroglyph, And Background Notes On The Construction Of The Magical Headquarters Of The House Of Life. I Will Spare You That Pain. It's Big. It's Full Of Magic. It's Underground. There. Sorted.

I Looked Across The River To Manhattan. It Was A Great View. When Sadie And I Had First Arrived At Brooklyn House, Amos Had Told Us That Magicians Tried To Stay Out Of Manhattan. He Said Manhattan Had Other Problems--whatever That Meant. And Sometimes When I Looked Across The Water, I Could Swear I Was Seeing Things. Sadie Laughed About It, But Once I Thought I Saw A Flying Horse. Probably Just The Mansion's Magic Barriers Causing Optical Illusions, But Still, It Was Weird.

Maybe If He Did Really Well They'd Give Him Some Mouldy Apples.

Just Tell Me, Percy, Do You Still Have The Birthday Gift I Gave You Last Summer?" I Nodded And Pulled Out My Camp Necklace. It Had A Bead For Every Summer I'd Been At Camp Half-blood, But Since Last Year I'd Also Kept A Sand Dollar On The Cord. My Father Had Given It To Me For My Fifteenth Birthday. He'd Told Me I Would Know When To "spend It," But So Far I Hadn't Figured Out What He Meant. All I Knew That It Didn't Fit The Vending Machines In The School Cafeteria.

Bes Had Indeed Put On His Ugly Outfit. He Climbed Onto The Roof Of The Limbo And Stood There, Legs Planted, Arms Akimbo, Like Superman-exept With Only The Underwear. I Wasn't Sure What To Say Except: "put Some Clothes On!" "these Children Are Under My Protection," Bes Insisted. "i Don't Know You," I Said, "i Never Met You Before Today." "nonsense. You Expressly Asked For My Attention." "i Didn't Ask For The Speedo Patrol!