The pancakes were discarded for an early lunch as Apollo, Meg, and I just stood around, not quite sure what we should be doing with ourselves.

"Percy, your mom is so normal." Meg said from the edge of the sofa, where she had plonked down after bouncing several times on the tattered seat.

"Thanks, I guess," I said, picking up a stack of test preparation manuals from the coffee table and chucking them aside, as if that would tidy them up.

"I see you like to study," Apollo said, the adultish tone of his voice not quite matching up with his small stature, "Well done."

I snorted in amusement. "I hate to study. I've been guaranteed admission with a full scholarship to New Rome University, but they're still requiring me to pass all my high school courses and score well on the SAT. Can you believe that? Not to mention I have to pass the DSTOMP."

"The what?" Meg asked, looking at me through half curious eyes.

"An exam for Roman demigods," Apollo told her, as he nodded, apparent wisdom flowing through his mortal veins. "The Demigod Standard Test of Mad Powers."

I frowned."That's what it stands for?"

"I should know. I wrote the music and poetry analysis sections."

"I will never forgive you for that," I replied, glaring at the pile of work that seemed to loom dangerously in the background.

Meg swung her feet. "So you're really a demigod? Like me?"

"Afraid so." I said, sinking into an armchair. "My dad is the godly one–Poseidon. What about your parents?"

Meg's legs stopped swinging and she started twisting with her rings, the godly DNA public flaunting itself in the form of ADHD. "Never knew them...much."

I hesitated before asking. "Foster home? Stepparents?"

Meg didn't answer, spinning her rings with a strand of anger threaded in with the nervousness that she made evident by her hesitant, darting eyes.

I raised my hands, a pang of guilt echoing through my body. "Sorry. Didn't mean to pry."

Looking at Apollo I gave him a careful look, wishing to change the subject. "So how did you guys meet?"

Apollo told me the story, Meg correcting him when he exaggerated a little too much.

As he finished, Mom returned, setting down a bowl of Seven Layer Bliss. My stomach grumbled at the mere sight of it. Hear that monsters? The key to defeating the great Percy Jackson is by bribing him with good food.

"I'll be back with the sandwiches," she said. "But I had some leftover seven-layer dip."

"Yum." I said, munching on a tortilla chip, ignoring the fact that manners somehow still existed. "She's kinda famous for this, guys."

Sally ruffled my hair. "There's guacamole, sour cream, refried beans, salsa–"

"Seven layers?" Apollo asked, staring at my mom in a way that made me kind of uncomfortable. "You knew seven is my sacred number? You invented this for me?"

Mom wiped her hands on her apron. "Well, actually, I can't take credit–"

"You are too modest!" Apollo exclaimed, taking up the tiniest portion of the dip, as if he were standing on the top of the food-taster critics.

I watched his face carefully. If he so much as wrinkled his not-so-godly nose at Mom's food, he would suffer from a broken nose for a second time in a day but he seemed pretty happy with it, going back for a slightly bigger section.

"You will have immortal fame for this, Sally Jackson!" he announced finally, waving a chip in the air.

"That's sweet." Mom said, a twinkle of humour lighting up her eyes, as she pointed back to the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

Soon, Mom came back with turkey sandwiches, chips and dip, and banana smoothies, though the pancakes seemes to have magically disappeared. Meg ate like a chipmunk, shoving more food in her mouth than she could possibly chew.

"Percy," Apollo said, "your mom is awesome."

"I know, right?" I replied, sipping the last of my smoothie, "So back to your story...you have to be Meg's servant now? You guys barely know each other."

"Barely is generous," Apollo mumbled, licking a droplet of drink on his finger. "Nevertheless, yes. My fate is now linked with young McCaffrey."

"We are cooperating," Meg said. She seemed to savor that word, as if she had only learnt the meaning that same day.

I took out Riptide and tapped it against my leg, absently drawing invisible shapes on my jeans. "And this whole turning-into-a-mortal thing...you've done it twice before?"

"Not by choice," he corrected, as if there was a big difference. "The first time, we had a little rebellion in Olympus. We tried to overthrow Zeus."

I winced. "I'm guessing that didn't go well."

"I got most of the blame, naturally. Oh, and your father, Poseidon. We were both cast down to earth as mortals, forced to serve Laomedon, the king of Troy. He was a harsh master. He even refused to pay us for our work!"

Meg nearly choked on her sandwich. "I have to pay you?"

"Never fear," he told her. "I won't be presenting you with a bill. But as I was saying, the second time I became mortal, Zeus got mad because I killed some of his Cyclopes."

My brow furrowed in disapproval. "Dude, not cool. My brother is a Cyclops."

"These were wicked Cyclopes! They made the lightning bolt that killed one of my sons!" Apollo protested.

Meg bounced on the arm of the sofa. "Percy's brother is a Cyclops? That's crazy!"

Apollo took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he were silently counting to ten, which by Apollo standards was probably somehow done in a musical way.

"At any rate," he continued, "I was bound to Admetus, the king of Thessaly. He was a kind master. I liked him so much, I made all his cows have twin calves."

"Can I have baby cows?" Meg asked.

"Well, Meg," Apollo said, "first you would have to have some mommy cows. You see–"

"Guys," I interrupted, thinking it was about time for a subject change. "So, just to recap, you have to be Meg's servant for...?"

"Some unknown amount of time," Apollo said. "Probably a year. Possibly more."

"And during that time-"

"I will undoubtedly face many trials and hardships."

"Like getting me my cows," Meg said.

Apollo gritted his teeth. "What those trials will be, I do not yet know. But if I suffer through them and prove I am worthy, Zeus will forgive me and allow me to become a god again."

I raised my eyebrows. The pure selfishness of this guy was unbelievable. I was choosing not to be a god. Apollo would stop at nothing to regain this status. Heck, he could take mine for all I cared. I didn't want it.

"I need time to get my bearings," Apollo said. "Once we get to Camp Half-Blood, I can consult with Chiron. I can figure out which of my godly powers remain with me in this mortal form."

"If any," I jutted in.

"Let's think positive."

I sat back in my armchair. "Any idea what kind of spirits are following you?"

"Shiny blobs," Meg said. "They were shiny and sort of...blobby."

I nodded gravely. "Those are the worst kind."

"It hardly matters," Apollo insisted, stupidly, "Whatever they are, we have to flee. Once we reach camp, the magical borders will protect me."

"And me?"Meg asked.

"Oh, yes. You, too."

I gave him a look. "Apollo, if you're really mortal, like, one hundred percent mortal, can you even get in to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Please don't say that. Of course I'll get in. I have to."

"But you could get hurt in battle now..." I pondered, my head hurting from all this thinking, "Then again, maybe monsters would ignore you because you're not important?"

"Stop!" Apollo yelled, his hands trembling. Gods, this guy was insecure.

"I'm sure I've retained some powers," he said, "I'm still gorgeous, for instance, if I could just get rid of this acne and lose some flab. I must have other abilities!"

I raised my eyebrows and turned to Meg. "What about you? I hear you throw a mean garbage bag."

She grinned at me, reminding me painfully of my twelve year old days, back when I wasn't haunted by nightmares, or put under too much pressure to save all of humanity.

"Any other skills we should know about? Summoning lightning? Making toilets explode?" I asked.

Meg smiled hesitantly. "That's not a power."

"Sure it is," I said. "Some of the best demigods have gotten their start by blowing up toilets."

Meg giggled.

"Ahem." Apollo said, rubbing his hands together, "How soon can we leave?"

I glanced at the wall clock, the second hand steady ticking by. "Right now, I guess. If you're being followed, I'd rather have monsters on our trail than sniffing around the apartment."

"Good man," Apollo said.

I gestured to my test manuals. "I just have to be back tonight. Got a lot of studying. The first two times I took the SAT–ugh. If it wasn't for Annabeth helping me out–"

"Who's that?" Meg asked.

"My girlfriend."

Meg frowned.

"So take a break!" Apollo urged. "Your brain will be refreshed after an easy drive to Long Island."

"Huh," I said, running a hand through my hair thoughtfully. Any reason to procastinate. "There's a lazy kind of logic to that. Okay. Let's do it."

I rose just as Mom walked in with a plate of fresh-baked blue chocolate chip cookies. Turns out I wasn't as full as I had initially thought.

"Mom, don't freak," I announced.

Mom sighed. "I hate it when you say that."

"I'm just going to take these two to camp. That's all. I'll be right back."

"I think I've heard that before."

"I promise."

Mom looked at Apollo, then Meg, her expression softening. "All right. Be careful. It was lovely meeting you both. Please try not to die."

I kissed her on the cheek, then tried to reach for the cookies, but Mom moved the plate away, giving me a stern look.

"Oh, no," she said. "Apollo and Meg can have one, but I'm keeping the rest hostage until you're back safely. And hurry, dear. It would be a shame if Paul ate them all when he gets home."

I pouted, then gave Apollo and Meg a playful glare. "You hear that, guys? A batch of cookies is depending on me. If you get me killed on the way to camp, I am going be ticked off."