Carter started down the stairs, but I grabbed his arm. â€œHang on. What about traps?â€ He frowned. â€œTraps?â€ â€œDidnâ€™t Egyptian tombs have traps?â€ â€œWellâ€¦sometimes. But this isnâ€™t a tomb. Besides, more often they had curses, like the burning curse, the donkey curseâ€”â€ â€œOh, lovely. That sounds so much better.

Rick Riordan

But beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit, To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself --- avoid trying to be something you're not. For a goddess, that's especially hard. We can change so easily. -Aphrodite

Rick Riordan

fit perfect trying

Do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to to our expectations

Rick Riordan

despair hero expectations

Oh, did you expect me to play fair?" Cupid laughed. "I am the god of love. I am never fair.

Rick Riordan

hades cupid play

The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger. Like the time gunmen stormed into our hotel in Cairo. I heard shots coming from the lobby and ran downstairs to check on my dad. By the time I got there, he was just calmly zipping up his workbag while three unconscious gunmen hung by their feet from the chandelier, their robes falling over their heads so you could see their boxer shorts. Dad claimed not to have witnessed anything, and in the end the police blamed a freak chandelier malfunction.

Rick Riordan

dad mean fall

Frank couldn't breathe underwater. But where was he? Percy turned in a full circle. Nothing. Then he glanced up. Hovering above him was a giant goldfish. Frank had turned -clothes, backpack, and all- into a koi the size of a teen-aged boy. "dude." Percy sent his thoughts through the water, the way he spoke to other sea creatures. "A goldfish?" Frank's voice came back to him: "I freaked. We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me.

Rick Riordan

sea talking boys

Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen.

Rick Riordan

warrior towns queens

Now, I figured that the built-up gas in most boys' locker rooms was enough to cause an explosion, so I wasn't surprised when the flaming dodgeball ignited a huge WHOOOOOOOM!

Rick Riordan

dodgeball lockers boys

Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!

Rick Riordan

alcohol wine sky

The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdomâ€¦ that is very hard indeed.

Rick Riordan

flaws fighting evil

I don't deserve you." "You're not allowed to say that." "Why not?" "It's a breakup line. Unless you're breaking up-" Jason leaned over and kissed her. The colors of the Roman afternoon suddenly seemed sharper, as it the world had switched to high definition. "No breakups," he promised. "I may have busted my head a few times, but I'm not that stupid.

Rick Riordan

color breakup stupid

Afterward, I had the last laugh. I made an air bubble at the bottom of the lake. Our friends kept waiting for us to come up, but hey-when you are the son of Poseidon, you don't have to hurry. And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.

Rick Riordan

cute love son

To all my librarian friends, champions of books, true magicians in the House of Life. Without you, this writer would be lost in the Dust.

Rick Riordan

dust house book

There!" Mars finished writing and threw the scroll at Octavian. "A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on the floor, whatever." Octavian read the scroll. "This says, 'Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die'." "Yes," Mars said. "Is that not clear?" "Well, my lord...usually prophecies are unclear. They're wrapped in riddles. They rhyme, and..." Mars casually popped another grenade off his belt. "Yes?" "The prophecy is clear!" Octavian announced. "A quest!

Rick Riordan

alaska writing book

Have you ever noticed how parents can go from the most wonderful people in the world to totally embarrassing in three seconds?

Rick Riordan

parent relationship people

I past another telkhine, who was so startled he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive - partly because he had a cool lunch box.

Rick Riordan

lunch alive past

Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.

Rick Riordan

fate knowing knowledge

Plus, humor ws a good way to hide the pain. And if that didn't work, there was always Plan B. Run aaway. Over and over.

Rick Riordan

pain running way

It's useless to lecture a human.

Rick Riordan

lectures useless humans

It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality.

Rick Riordan

humanity life reality

The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car

Rick Riordan

pegasus car world