“
Once the others were below, Hazel and Leo faced each other awkwardly. They were alone except for Coach Hedge, who was back on the quarterdeck singing the Pokémon theme song. The coach had changed the words to: Gotta Kill ’Em All, and Leo really didn’t want to know why.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Aphrodite,” [Annabeth] said.
“Venus?” Hazel asked in amazement.
“Mom,” Piper said with no enthusiasm.
“Girls!” The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug.
The three demigods did not oblige. Hazel backed into a palmetto tree.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Part of their problem was Percy. He fought like a demon, whirling through the defender's ranks in a completely unorthodox style, rolling under their feet, slashing with his sword instead of stabbing like a Roman would, whacking campers with the flat of his blade, and generally causing mass panic.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
Leo drummed his fingers. “Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time.”
Hazel frowned. “What is a chicken nugget?”
“Oh, man…” Leo shook his head in amazement. “That's right. You’ve missed the last, like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Annabeth interrupted.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. “A bounty on our heads . . . as if we didn’t attract enough monsters already.”
“Do we get WANTED posters?” Leo asked. “And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?”
Hazel wrinkled her nose. “What are you talking about?”
“Just wondering how much I’m going for these days,” Leo said. “I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe . . . but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Hazel!” he yelled. “That box! Open it!”
She hesitated, then saw the box he meant. Te label read WARNING. DO NOT OPEN.
“Open it!” Leo yelled again.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
What in the world are you thinking?” She sounded pretty flustered.
“I try not to think,” Leo admitted. “It interferes with being nuts. Just concentrate on moving that Celestial bronze. Echo, you ready?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Piper and Hazel were ready to go, but first Annabeth turned to Percy, who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.
Annabeth took his hand. “What are you going to do while we’re gone?”
“Jump in the harbor,” he said casually, like another kid might say, I’m going to get a snack.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
[Piper] rushed to get dressed. By the time she got up on deck, the others had already gathered—all hastily dressed except for Coach Hedge, who had pulled the night watch.
Frank’s Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt was inside out. Percy wore pajama pants and a bronze breastplate, which was an interesting fashion statement. Hazel’s hair was all blown to one side as though she’d walked through a cyclone; and Leo had accidentally set himself on fire. His T-shirt was in charred tatters. His arms were smoking.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm.
"Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"
"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Stop!" Narcissus got to his feet. "This is not right! This person is obviously not awesome, so he must be..." He struggled for the right words. It had probably been a long time since he'd talked about anything other than himself. "He must be tricking us."
Apparently Narcissus wasn't completely stupid.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
We still should have enough time to reach Rome.”
Hazel scowled. “When you say should have enough…”
Leo shrugged. “How do you feel about barely enough?”
Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. “Sounds about typical for us.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
When I was alive, I mean the first time, Mussolini was in charge. We were at war.”
“Mussolini?” Leo frowned. “Wasn’t he like BFFs with Hitler?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Yes!" Narissus unslung his bow and grabbed an arrow from his dusty quiver. "The first one who get that bronze, I will like you almost as much as I like me. I might even kiss you, right after I kiss my reflection!"
"Oh my gods!" the nymphs squealed.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Hazel frowned. "Why that one?"
"You don't see the ghost?" Frank asked.
"Ghost?" Nico asked.
Okay... if Frank was seeing a ghost that the Underworld kids couldn't see, something was definitely wrong.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
No!" Leo yelled.
"Uhhh," Nico groaned from the floor.
"Piper!" Jason cried.
"Monkey!" Frank yelled.
"Not monkeys," Hazel grumbled. "I think those are dwarfs."
"Stealing my stuff!" Leo yelled, and ran for the stairs.
”
”
Rick Riordan
“
Oh, by the way…” Jason glanced at Percy. “I resigned my office, gave Frank a field promotion to praetor. Unless you want to contest that ruling.”
Percy grinned. “No argument here.”
“Praetor?” Hazel stared at Frank.
He shrugged uncomfortably. “Well… yeah. I know it seems weird.” She tried to throw her arms around him, then winced as she remembered her busted ribs. She settled for kissing him. “It seems perfect.”
Leo clapped Frank on the shoulder. “Way to go, Zhang. Now you can order Octavian to fall on his sword.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Schist," said an angry voice from the grass. Hazel raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" "Schist! Big pile of schist!
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
All aboard for one last trip.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
As Hazel marched down the hill, she cursed in Latin. Percy didn’t understand all of it, but he got son of a gorgon, power-hungry snake, and a few choice suggestions about where Octavian could stick his knife.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
Hello, Hazel Levesque.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Hey.” [Leo] squeezed her hand, though Hazel sensed nothing romantic in the gesture. “Machines are designed to work.”
“Uh, what?”
“I figure the universe is basically like a machine. I don’t know who made it, if it was the Fates, or the gods, or capital-G God, or whatever. But it chugs along the way it’s supposed to most of the time. Sure, little pieces break and stuff goes haywire once in a while, but mostly . . . things happen for a reason. Like you and me meeting.”
“Leo Valdez,” Hazel marveled, “you’re a philosopher.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
I can’t believe how much this place has grown,” Hazel muttered.
The taxi driver grinned in the rearview mirror. “Been a long time since you visited, miss?”
“About seventy years,” Hazel said.
The driver slid the glass partition closed and drove on in silence.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
Hazel screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was a scream of delight. For the first time in her life-in her two lives-she felt absolutely unstoppable.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
[Tyson] looked him over with that massive baby-brown eye. “You are not dead. I like it when you are not dead.”
Ella fluttered to the ground and began preening her feathers. “Ella found a dog,” she announced. “A large dog. And a Cyclops.” Was she blushing?
Before Percy could decide, his black mastiff pounced on him, knocking Percy to the ground and barking so loudly that even Arion backed up. “Hey, Mrs. O'Leary,” Percy said. “Yeah, I love you, too, girl. Good dog.”
Hazel squeaked. “You have a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary?”
“Long story.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
You both passed out,” Percy said. “I don’t know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were…sharing?”
“Sharing,” Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn’t look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. “Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts.”
Percy scratched his head. “Yeah…we’ve been having conversations like that all night. I still don’t know what she’s talking about.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
[Hazel] hissed in frustration. 'I hate eidolons. I thought Piper made them promise to stay away.'
'Oh...' Frank said, like he'd just had his own daily happy thought. 'Piper made them promise to stay off the ship and not possess any of us. But if they followed us, and used other bodies to attack us, then they're not technically breaking their vow...'
'Great,' Leo muttered. 'Eidolons who are also lawyers. Now I really want to kill them.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
I'm not choosing one of your paths, I'm making one of my own.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Nico and Hazel exchanged looks. They both knew better, but they said nothing.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
We were surrounded by thirty-foot-tall giants who were about to kill us. Then the sky opened up, and the gods descended."
"Grandad," the kids said, "you are full of schist."
"I'm not kidding!" he protested.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
He smiled down at the baby, and kissed him on the head. "I give you my blessing, Leo. First male great-grandchild! I have a feeling you are special, like Hazel was. You are more than a regular baby, eh? You will carry on for me. You will see her someday. Tell her hello for me."
"Bisabuelo," Ezperanza said, a little more insistently.
"yes, yes." Sammy chuckled. "El viejo loco rambles on. I am tired, Ezperanza. You are right. But I'll rest soon. It's been a good life. Raise him well, nieta."
The scene faded.
Leo was standing on the deck of the Argo II, holding Hazel's hand. The sun had gone down, and the ship was lit only by bronze lanterns. Hazel's eyes were puffy from crying.
What they'd seen was too much. The whole ocean heaved under them, and now for the first time Leo felt as if they were totally adrift.
"Hello, Hazel Levesque," he said, his voice gravelly.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
Hazel studied Reyna’s outfit with concern. “Your sword’s in the truck. Don’t you want to take a shield or something?”
“Nah. I’ve got my cloak. It’ll turn aside most weapons.” Reyna brushed the collar of her sweater wrap. Instantly it unfurled into her usual purple cape.
Frank’s smile faded. “Does my cloak do that?”
“See you, guys!” Reyna climbed behind the wheel.
“Wait, does my cloak deflect weapons?” Frank called after us. “Does mine turn into a sweater wrap?”
As we pulled away, I could see Frank Zhang in the rearview mirror, intently studying the stitching of his cape.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
sometimes sharing a problem doesn't make it easier to carry
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
...you shouldn't try to carry a problem alone. But if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2))
“
Still, Hazel Levesque impressed him—even when she wasn’t sitting atop a scary immortal supersonic horse who cussed like a sailor.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
Dakota got up so fast, he spilled Kool-Aid from his flask. “We were plenty good last night when we whipped your podex, Larry!” “Enough, Dakota,” Reyna said. “Let’s leave Larry’s podex out of this. As quest leader, Frank has the right to choose his companions. He has chosen Percy Jackson and Hazel Levesque.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
I'm not choosing one of your paths. I'm making my own.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Where can we find Tarquin?" she asked. What she meant was: Who can I kill to make myself feel better?
I knew the answer was no one.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Getting a second life is one thing. Making a better life, that's the trick.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
Hazel's immortal steed, the lightning-fast Arion, gave me the side-eye and nickered as if to say, This fool ain’t no Apollo.
“Good to see you too, cuz,” I grumbled.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
A girl named Hazel Levesque stole a horse.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
I'm so angry with you. Doing this to Piper. To us. Not letting us be there for you. What were you thinking?"
It took me a moment to realise she wasn't talking to us. She was speaking to Jason.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
She was broken and helpless. Sciron, the son of Poseidon, had won again.
Hazel could hardly believe this guy had the same father as Percy Jackson. Then she remembered that Poseidon had a changeable personality, like the sea. Maybe his children reflected that. Percy was a child of Poseidon’s better nature—powerful, but gentle and helpful, the kind of sea that sped ships safely to distant lands. Sciron was a child of Poseidon’s other side—the kind of sea that battered relentlessly at the coastline until it crumbled away, or carried the innocents from shore and let them drown, or smashed ships and killed entire crews without mercy.
”
”
Rick Riordan
“
It looks like a seagull’s face,” Percy said. “And we’re the eye.”
Hazel glared at him. “It’s a map, Percy.”
(...)
She drew a dotted line between the two X’s.
“You just cut off the seagull’s head,” Percy noted.
Hazel sighed.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
Popcorn! Our fatal weakness!
”
”
Hazel Levesque
“
Why do I have to like a guy with a death wish?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Me,” Hecate agreed. She spread her arms. Blazing torches appeared in her hands. “It has been millennia since I fought at the side of a demigod, but Hazel Levesque has proven herself worthy. What do you say, Clytius? Shall we play with fire?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Clytius chided. What will you do, Hazel Levesque—pelt me with more rubies? Shower me with sapphires? Hazel gave him an answer. She raised her spatha and charged. Apparently, Clytius hadn’t expected her to be quite so suicidal. He was slow raising his sword. By the time he slashed, Hazel had ducked between his legs and jabbed her Imperial gold blade into his gluteus maximus. Not very ladylike. The nuns at St. Agnes would never have approved. But it worked.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Now-" she pointed at the coffin - "somebody want to tell me who's in there?"
I really didn't.
Not after I'd seen how Hazel skewered her enemiess.
Still... I owed it to Jason. Hazel had been his friend.
I steeled my nerves, opened my mouth to speak, and was beaten to the punchline by Hazel herself.
"It's Jason," she said as if the information had been whispered in her ear. "Oh gods."
She ran to the coffin. She fell to her knees and threw her arms across the lid. She let out a single devastated sob. Then she lowered her head and shivered in silence.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Ogygia. Still, Hazel Levesque impressed him—even when she wasn’t sitting atop a scary immortal supersonic horse who cussed like a sailor. He
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
Where are you?” she shouted. “Don’t you see us?” taunted the woman’s voice. “I thought Hecate chose you for your skill.” Another bout of queasiness churned through Hazel’s gut. On her shoulder, Gale barked and passed gas, which didn’t help. Dark spots floated in Hazel’s eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they only turned darker. The spots consolidated into a twenty-foot-tall shadowy figure looming next to the Doors. The giant Clytius was shrouded in the black smoke, just as she’d seen in her vision at the crossroads, but now Hazel could dimly make out his form—dragon-like legs with ash-colored scales; a massive humanoid upper body encased in Stygian armor; long, braided hair that seemed to be made from smoke. His complexion was as dark as Death’s (Hazel should know, since she had met Death personally). His eyes glinted cold as diamonds. He carried no weapon, but that didn’t make him any less terrifying. Leo whistled. “You know, Clytius…for such a big dude, you’ve got a beautiful voice.” “Idiot,” hissed the woman. Halfway between Hazel and the giant, the air shimmered. The sorceress appeared. She wore an elegant sleeveless dress of woven gold, her dark hair piled into a cone, encircled with diamonds and emeralds. Around her neck hung a pendant like a miniature maze, on a cord set with rubies that made Hazel think of crystallized blood drops. The woman was beautiful in a timeless, regal way—like a statue you might admire but could never love. Her eyes sparkled with malice. “Pasiphaë,” Hazel said. The woman inclined her head. “My dear Hazel Levesque.” Leo coughed. “You two know each other? Like Underworld chums, or—” “Silence, fool.” Pasiphaë’s voice was soft, but full of venom. “I have no use for demigod boys—always so full of themselves, so brash and destructive.” “Hey, lady,” Leo protested. “I don’t destroy things much. I’m a son of Hephaestus.” “A tinkerer,” snapped Pasiphaë. “Even worse. I knew Daedalus. His inventions brought me nothing but trouble.” Leo blinked. “Daedalus…like, the Daedalus? Well, then, you should know all about us tinkerers. We’re more into fixing, building, occasionally sticking wads of oilcloth in the mouths of rude ladies—” “Leo.” Hazel put her arm across his chest. She had a feeling the sorceress was about to turn him into something unpleasant if he didn’t shut up. “Let me take this, okay?
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
Meg slashed through the last of Tarquin’s minions. That was a good thing, I thought distantly. I didn’t want her to die, too. Hazel stabbed Tarquin in the chest. The Roman king fell, howling in pain, ripping the sword hilt from Hazel’s grip. He collapsed against the information desk, clutching the blade with his skeletal hands.
Hazel stepped back, waiting for the zombie king to dissolve. Instead, Tarquin struggled to his feet, purple gas flickering weakly in his eye sockets.
“I have lived for millennia,” he snarled. “You could not kill me with a thousand tons of stone, Hazel Levesque. You will not kill me with a sword.”
I thought Hazel might fly at him and rip his skull off with her bare hands. Her rage was so palpable I could smell it like an approaching storm. Wait…I did smell an approaching storm, along with other forest scents: pine needles, morning dew on wildflowers, the breath of hunting dogs.
A large silver wolf licked my face. Lupa? A hallucination? No…a whole pack of the beasts had trotted into the store and were now sniffing the bookshelves and the piles of zombie dust.
Behind them, in the doorway, stood a girl who looked about twelve, her eyes silver-yellow, her auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed for the hunt in a shimmering gray frock and leggings, a white bow in her hand. Her face was beautiful, serene, and as cold as the winter moon.
She nocked a silver arrow and met Hazel’s eyes, asking permission to finish her kill. Hazel nodded and stepped aside. The young girl aimed at Tarquin.
“Foul undead thing,” she said, her voice hard and bright with power. “When a good woman puts you down, you had best stay down.”
Her arrow lodged in the center of Tarquin’s forehead, splitting his frontal bone. The king stiffened. The tendrils of purple gas sputtered and dissipated. From the arrow’s point of entry, a ripple of fire the color of Christmas tinsel spread across Tarquin’s skull and down his body, disintegrating him utterly. His gold crown, the silver arrow, and Hazel’s sword all dropped to the floor.
I grinned at the newcomer. “Hey, Sis.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth’s dagger.
“You dropped this,” he said, totally poker-faced.
Annabeth threw her arms around him. “I love you!”
“Guys,” Hazel interrupted. She had a little smile on her face. “We need to hurry.”
Down in the water, Octavian yelled, “Get me out of here! I’ll kill you!”
“Tempting,” Percy called down.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
I keeled over sideways.
The world turned fluffy, bleached of all color. Nothing hurt anymore.
I was dimly aware of Diana’s face hovering over me, Meg and Hazel peering over the goddess’s shoulders.
“He’s almost gone,” Diana said.
Then I was gone. My mind slipped into a pool of cold, slimy darkness.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” My sister’s voice woke me rudely.
I’d been so comfortable, so nonexistent.
Life surged back into me—cold, sharp, and unfairly painful. Diana’s face came into focus. She looked annoyed, which seemed on-brand for her.
As for me, I felt surprisingly good. The pain in my gut was gone. My muscles didn’t burn. I could breathe without difficulty. I must have slept for decades.
“H-how long was I out?” I croaked.
“Roughly three seconds,” she said. “Now, get up, drama queen.”
She helped me to my feet. I felt a bit unsteady, but I was delighted to find that my legs had any strength at all. My skin was no longer gray. The lines of infection were gone. The Arrow of Dodona was still in my hand, though he had gone silent, perhaps in awe of the goddess’s presence. Or perhaps he was still trying to get the taste of “Sweet Caroline” out of his imaginary mouth.
I beamed at my sister. It was so good to see her disapproving I-can’t-believe-you’re-my-brother frown again. “I love you,” I said, my voice hoarse with emotion.
She blinked, clearly unsure what to do with this information. “You really have changed.”
“I missed you!”
“Y-yes, well. I’m here now. Even Dad couldn’t argue with a Sibylline invocation from Temple Hill.”
“It worked, then!” I grinned at Hazel and Meg. “It worked!”
“Yeah,” Meg said wearily. “Hi, Artemis.”
“Diana,” my sister corrected. “But hello, Meg.” For her, my sister had a smile. “You’ve done well, young warrior.”
Meg blushed. She kicked at the scattered zombie dust on the floor and shrugged. “Eh.”
I checked my stomach, which was easy, since my shirt was in tatters. The bandages had vanished, along with the festering wound. Only a thin white scar remained. “So…I’m healed?” My flab told me she hadn’t restored me to my godly self. Nah, that would have been too much to expect.
Diana raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not the goddess of healing, but I’m still a goddess. I think I can take care of my little brother’s boo-boos.”
“Little brother?”
She smirked.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Nico di Angelo wasn’t physically imposing like Sherman Yang. He didn’t have Reyna Ramírez-Arellano’s air of authority, or Hazel Levesque’s commanding presence when she charged into battle on horseback. But Nico wasn’t someone I would ever want as an enemy. He was deceptively quiet. He appeared anemic and frail. He kept himself on the periphery. But Will was right about how much Nico had been through. He had been born in Mussolini’s Italy. He had survived decades in the time-warp reality of the Lotus Casino. He’d emerged in modern times disoriented and culture-shocked, arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and promptly lost his sister Bianca to a dangerous quest. He had wandered the Labyrinth in self-imposed exile, being tortured and brainwashed by a malevolent ghost. He’d overcome everyone’s distrust and emerged from the Battle of Manhattan as a hero. He’d been captured by giants during the rise of Gaea. He’d wandered Tartarus alone and somehow managed to come out alive. And through it all, he’d struggled with his upbringing as a conservative Catholic Italian male from the 1930s and finally learned to accept himself as a young gay man. Anyone who could survive all that had more resilience than Stygian iron.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo, #5))
“
This young woman,” said Diana, “was responsible for the destruction of the Triumvirate’s fleet.”
“Well, I had a lot of help,” Lavinia said.
“I don’t understand,” I said, turning to Lavinia. “You made all those mortars malfunction?”
Lavinia looked offended. “Well, yeah. Somebody had to stop the fleet. I did pay attention during siege-weapon class and ship-boarding class. It wasn’t that hard. All it took was a little fancy footwork.”
Hazel finally managed to pick her jaw off the pavement. “Wasn’t that hard?”
“We were motivated! The fauns and dryads did great.” She paused, her expression momentarily clouding, as if she remembered something unpleasant. “Um…besides, the Nereids helped a lot. There was only a skeleton crew aboard each yacht. Not, like, actual skeletons, but—you know what I mean. Also, look!”
She pointed proudly at her feet, which were now adorned with the shoes of Terpsichore from Caligula’s private collection.
“You mounted an amphibious assault on an enemy fleet,” I said, “for a pair of shoes.”
Lavinia huffed. “Not just for the shoes, obviously.” She tap-danced a routine that would’ve made Savion Glover proud. “Also to save the camp, and the nature spirits, and Michael Kahale’s commandos.”
Hazel held up her hands to stop the overflow of information. “Wait. Not to be a killjoy—I mean, you did an amazing thing!—but you still deserted your post, Lavinia. I certainly didn’t give you permission —”
“I was acting on praetor’s orders,” Lavinia said haughtily. “In fact, Reyna helped. She was knocked out for a while, healing, but she woke up in time to instill us with the power of Bellona, right before we boarded those ships. Made us all strong and stealthy and stuff.”
Hazel asked, “Is it true about Lavinia acting on your orders?”
Reyna glanced at our pink-haired friend. The praetor’s pained expression said something like, I respect you a lot, but I also hate you for being right.
“Yes,” Reyna managed to say. “Plan L was my idea. Lavinia and her friends acted on my orders. They performed heroically.”
Lavinia beamed. “See? I told you.”
The assembled crowd murmured in amazement, as if, after a day full of wonders, they had finally witnessed something that could not be explained.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Well, guys”—he spread his arms—“I could thank Reyna all day long. She has given so much to the legion. She’s been the best mentor and friend. She can never be replaced. On the other hand, I’m up here all alone now, and we have an empty praetor’s chair. So I’d like to take nominations for—” Lavinia started the chant: “HA-ZEL! HA-ZEL!” The crowd quickly joined in. Hazel’s eyes widened. She tried to resist when those sitting around her pulled her to her feet, but her Fifth Cohort fan club had evidently been preparing for this possibility. One of them produced a shield, which they hoisted Hazel onto like a saddle. They raised her overhead and marched her to the middle of the senate floor, turning her around and chanting, “HAZEL! HAZEL!” Reyna clapped and yelled right along with them. Only Frank tried to remain neutral, though he had to hide his smile behind his fist. “Okay, settle down!” he called at last. “We have one nomination. Are there any other—?” “HAZEL! HAZEL!” “Any objections?” “HAZEL! HAZEL!” “Then I recognize the will of the Twelfth Legion. Hazel Levesque, you are hereby promoted to praetor!” More wild cheering. Hazel looked dazed as she was dressed in Reyna’s old cloak and badge of office, then led to her chair. Seeing Frank and Hazel side by side, I had to smile. They looked so right together—wise and strong and brave. The perfect praetors. Rome’s future was in good hands. “Thank you,” Hazel managed at last. “I—I’ll do everything I can to be worthy of your trust. Here’s the thing, though. This leaves the Fifth Cohort without a centurion, so—” The entire Fifth Cohort started chanting in unison: “LAVINIA! LAVINIA!” “What?” Lavinia’s face turned pinker than her hair. “Oh, no. I don’t do leadership!” “LAVINIA! LAVINIA!” “Is this a joke? Guys, I—” “Lavinia Asimov!” Hazel said with a smile. “The Fifth Cohort read my mind. As my first act as praetor, for your unparalleled heroism in the Battle of San Francisco Bay, I hereby promote you to centurion—unless my fellow praetor has any objections?” “None,” Frank said. “Then come forward, Lavinia!
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Tyrant's Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4))
“
Hazel and Frank exchanged uneasy looks, like they’d already talked about this.
‘Percy …’Frank said. ‘If you want us to come along, we’re in. But are you sure? I mean … we know you’ve got tons of friends at the other camp. And you could pick anyone at Camp Jupiter now. If we’re not part of the seven, we’d understand –’
‘Are you kidding?’ Percy said. ‘You think I’d leave my team behind? After surviving Fleecy’s wheat germ, running from cannibals and hiding under blue giant butts in Alaska? Come on!’
The tension broke. All three of them started cracking up, maybe a little too much, but it was a relief to be alive, with the warm sun shining, and not worrying – at least for the moment – about sinister faces appearing in the shadows of the hills.
”
”
Rick Riordan
“
Good-bye, Hazel Levesque. If we both die tonight... well, I'm glad I met you.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
“
through the hull. The ship burst like a rotten pumpkin, and the engine exploded. The images in the northern doorway were even worse. Hazel saw Leo, unconscious—or dead—falling through the clouds. She saw Frank staggering alone down a dark tunnel, clutching his arm, his shirt soaked in blood. And Hazel saw herself in a vast cavern filled with strands of light like a luminous web. She was struggling to break through while, in the distance, Percy and Annabeth lay sprawled and unmoving at the foot of two black-and-silver metal doors. “Choices,” said Hecate. “You stand at the crossroads, Hazel Levesque. And I am the goddess of crossroads.” The ground rumbled at Hazel’s feet. She looked down and saw the glint of silver coins…thousands of old Roman denarii breaking the surface all around her, as if the entire hilltop was coming to a boil. She’d been so agitated by the visions in the doorways that she must have summoned every bit of silver in the surrounding countryside. “The past is close to the surface in this place,” Hecate said. “In ancient times, two great Roman roads met here. News was exchanged. Markets were held. Friends met, and enemies fought. Entire armies had to choose a direction. Crossroads are always places of decision.” “Like…like Janus.” Hazel remembered the shrine of Janus on Temple Hill back at Camp Jupiter. Demigods would go there
”
”
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4))
“
That’s why the Minotaur story bothered Hazel...the idea that a child, any child, could be considered a monster, a punishment to its parents, to be locked away and hated. To Hazel, the minotaur had always seemed like a victim in the story.
”
”
Rick Riordan
“
Hazel Levesque...that girl was something. As soon as Leo rejoined the crew in Malta, she’d known right away that Leo was hurting inside. The first chance she got, after all that mess in the House of Hades, she’d marched into Leo’s cabin and said, “Spill.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
— Bazi nagy ez a hely – közölte velük Frank. – A romok a folyótól egészen a hegy lábáig nyúlnak, ami kábé fél kilométer.
— Mennyi is az normál mértékegységben mérve? – érdeklődött Percy.
— Ez a normál mértékegység – forgatta a szemét Frank. – Kanadában és a világ többi rszén is. Csak az amerikaiak...
— Öt-hat focipályányi terület – vágott közbe Hazel, aki egy nagy aranyröggel etette Ariont.
— Erre voltam kíváncsi – tárta szét a kezét Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))