The Son of Neptune

Gods of Olympus, she’s beautiful, Frank thought

June chuckled. “All roads lead there, child. You should know that.”

“Detention?” Percy asked.

“These were on my pillow this morning.” He passed them to Percy. “Like the Tooth Fairy visited.”
The book was The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Percy had never heard of it, but he could guess who sent it. The letter read: Good job, kid. A real man’s best weapon is his mind. This was your mom’s favorite book. Give it a read. P.S.—I hope your friend Percy has learned some respect for me.
“Wow.” Percy handed back the book. “Maybe Mars is different than Ares. I don’t think Ares can read.”

The last few weeks he’d been so worried about surviving day to day. The idea of living long enough to be an adult and have kids of his own—that seemed like an impossible dream.

When ever the local gang members came close enough to look in Percy’s eyes, they quickly veered away. He’d perfected his wolf stare over the last few months—a look that said: However bad you think you are, I’m worse.

If you ever need a new girlfriend…well, I think you’d look great in an iron collar and an orange jumpsuit.”

His joints were so stiff, he could barely walk. If he went into battle like this, the enemy would call him Old Man Jackson.

“Are you sure?” Death asked helpfully. “I have video conferencing enabled. I have his Skype address here somewhere...”

Please don’t let there be an app for reaping souls.

Mars had warned him. He’d explained why he loved Emily Zhang so much: She always put her duty first, ahead of everything. Even her life.

Now it was Frank’s turn.