Book notes for Thalia's stand at Half-Blood Hill
From PJ and the Lightning Thief:
pp. 87.
Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV
starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born,
a little girl named Thalia .. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off
easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."
"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."
Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other halfbloods.
They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the
girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of
Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there
was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd
befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."
He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly
Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when
Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters.
She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't
want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia
made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned
her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is
called Half-Blood Hill."
I stared at the pine in the distance.
The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save
her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur
didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?
pp. 184.
In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you
knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."
He nodded glumly.
"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I
looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't
have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was
fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them.
They were ... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia
without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders
from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her,
see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ... I thought I could lead
all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared
on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker ..."
"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council
of Cloven Elders said so."
"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."
"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither
would Luke. We don't care what the council says."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the
two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."
"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met.
Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right
now."
She kicked me in the shin.
"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found
Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher.
That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."
I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got
heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.
From Sea of Monsters:
pp. 112.
"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" I asked.
"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He
managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could
sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured
us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me
scream for help. And me ... I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find
the exit."
She brushed the hair out of her face. "I remember find-ing the main room. There were bones
all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging
from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor.
I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew
my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you
worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever.'"
I shivered. The way she told it-even now, six years later-freaked me out worse than any
ghost story I'd ever heard. "What did you do?"
"I stabbed him in the foot."
I stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops
in the foot?"
"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia
and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."
"Yeah, but still ... that was pretty brave, Annabeth."
She shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that
Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the
monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it
hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."
We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.
"Go below," Annabeth told me at last. "You need some rest."
I nodded. My eyes were heavy. But when I got below and found a hammock, it took me a
long time to fall asleep. I kept thinking about Annabeth's story. I wondered, if I were her,
would I have had enough courage to go on this quest, to sail straight toward the lair of another
Cyclops?
From The Titan's Curse
From The Last Olympian
pp. 137-140.
Two half-bloods crouched in the shadows - a boy about fourteen and a girl about twelve. I realized with a start that the boy was Luke. The girl was Thalia, daughter of Zeus. I was seeing a scene from back in the days when they were on the run, before Grover found them.
Luke carried a bronze knife. Thalia had her spear and shield of terror, Aegis. Luke and Thalia both looked hungry and lean, with wild animal eyes, like they were used to being attacked.
'Are you sure?' Thalia asked.
Luke nodded. 'Something down here. I sense it.'
A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. The half-bloods crept forward.
Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Thalia and Luke approached with their weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something was behind it.
Thalia glanced at Luke. He counted silently: one, two, three! He ripped away the tin and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.
'Whoa!' Luke said.
The girl had tangled blonde hair and was wearing flannel pyjamas. She couldn't have been more than seven but she would've brained Luke if he hadn't been so fast.
He grabbed her wrist and the hammer skittered across the cement.
The little girl fought and kicked. 'No more monsters! Go away!'
'It's okay!' Luke struggled to hold her. 'Thalia, put your shield down. you're scaring her.'
Thalia tapped Aegis and it shrank into a silver bracelet. 'Hey, it's all right,' she said. 'We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke.'
'Monsters!'
'No,' Luke promised. 'But we know all about monsters. We fight them too.'
Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and Thalia with large intelligent grey eyes.
'You're like me?' she said suspiciously.
'Yeah,' Luke said. 'We're ... well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster-fighters. Where's your family?'
'My family hates me,' the girl said. 'They don't want me. I ran away.'
Thalia and Luke locked eyes. I knew they both related to what she was saying.
'What's your name, kiddo?' Thalia asked.
'Annabeth.'
Luke smiled. 'Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth - you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you.'
Annabeth's eyes widened. 'You could?'
'Oh, yeah.' Luke turned his knife and offered her the handle. 'How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer.'
Maybe under most circumstances, offering a seven-year-old kid a knife would not be a good idea, but when you're a half-blood regular rules kind of go out of the window. Annabeth gripped the hilt.
'Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters,' Luke explained. 'They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armour. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever.'
Annabeth stared at him with adoration. 'I am!'
Thalia grinned. 'We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food.'
'You're - you're not going to take me back to my family?' she said. 'Promise?'
Luke put his hand on her shoulder. 'You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?'
'Deal!' Annabeth said happily.
'Now come on,' Thalia said. 'We can't stay put for long!'
The scene shifted. The three demigods were running through the woods. It must've been several days later, maybe even weeks. All of them looked beaten up like they'd seen some battles. Annabeth was wearing new clothes - jeans and an oversized army jacket.
'Just a little further!' Luke promised. Annabeth stumbled and he took her hand. Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield like she was driving back whatever pursued them. She was limping on her left leg.
They scrambled to a ridge and looked down the other side at a white colonial-style house - May Castellan's place.
'All right,' Luke said, breathing hard. 'I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here.'
'Luke, are you sure?' Thalia asked. 'You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you -'
'We don't have a choice!' he growled. 'They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound.'
'This is your house?' Annabeth said with amazement.
'It was my house,' Luke muttered. 'Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency -'
'Is your mom really horrible?' Annabeth asked. 'Can we see her?'
'No!' Luke snapped.
Annabeth shrank away from him, like his anger surprised her.
'I - I'm sorry,' he said. 'Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back -'
A brilliant golden flash illuminated the woods. The demigods winced and a man's voice boomed: 'You should not have come home.'
pp. 87.
Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV
starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born,
a little girl named Thalia .. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off
easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."
"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."
Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other halfbloods.
They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the
girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of
Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there
was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd
befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."
He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly
Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when
Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters.
She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't
want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia
made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned
her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is
called Half-Blood Hill."
I stared at the pine in the distance.
The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save
her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur
didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?
pp. 184.
In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you
knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."
He nodded glumly.
"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I
looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't
have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was
fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them.
They were ... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia
without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders
from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her,
see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ... I thought I could lead
all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared
on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker ..."
"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council
of Cloven Elders said so."
"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."
"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither
would Luke. We don't care what the council says."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the
two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."
"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met.
Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right
now."
She kicked me in the shin.
"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found
Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher.
That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."
I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got
heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.
From Sea of Monsters:
pp. 112.
"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" I asked.
"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He
managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could
sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured
us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me
scream for help. And me ... I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find
the exit."
She brushed the hair out of her face. "I remember find-ing the main room. There were bones
all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging
from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor.
I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew
my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you
worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever.'"
I shivered. The way she told it-even now, six years later-freaked me out worse than any
ghost story I'd ever heard. "What did you do?"
"I stabbed him in the foot."
I stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops
in the foot?"
"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia
and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."
"Yeah, but still ... that was pretty brave, Annabeth."
She shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that
Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the
monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it
hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."
We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.
"Go below," Annabeth told me at last. "You need some rest."
I nodded. My eyes were heavy. But when I got below and found a hammock, it took me a
long time to fall asleep. I kept thinking about Annabeth's story. I wondered, if I were her,
would I have had enough courage to go on this quest, to sail straight toward the lair of another
Cyclops?
From The Titan's Curse
From The Last Olympian
pp. 137-140.
Two half-bloods crouched in the shadows - a boy about fourteen and a girl about twelve. I realized with a start that the boy was Luke. The girl was Thalia, daughter of Zeus. I was seeing a scene from back in the days when they were on the run, before Grover found them.
Luke carried a bronze knife. Thalia had her spear and shield of terror, Aegis. Luke and Thalia both looked hungry and lean, with wild animal eyes, like they were used to being attacked.
'Are you sure?' Thalia asked.
Luke nodded. 'Something down here. I sense it.'
A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. The half-bloods crept forward.
Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Thalia and Luke approached with their weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something was behind it.
Thalia glanced at Luke. He counted silently: one, two, three! He ripped away the tin and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.
'Whoa!' Luke said.
The girl had tangled blonde hair and was wearing flannel pyjamas. She couldn't have been more than seven but she would've brained Luke if he hadn't been so fast.
He grabbed her wrist and the hammer skittered across the cement.
The little girl fought and kicked. 'No more monsters! Go away!'
'It's okay!' Luke struggled to hold her. 'Thalia, put your shield down. you're scaring her.'
Thalia tapped Aegis and it shrank into a silver bracelet. 'Hey, it's all right,' she said. 'We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke.'
'Monsters!'
'No,' Luke promised. 'But we know all about monsters. We fight them too.'
Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and Thalia with large intelligent grey eyes.
'You're like me?' she said suspiciously.
'Yeah,' Luke said. 'We're ... well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster-fighters. Where's your family?'
'My family hates me,' the girl said. 'They don't want me. I ran away.'
Thalia and Luke locked eyes. I knew they both related to what she was saying.
'What's your name, kiddo?' Thalia asked.
'Annabeth.'
Luke smiled. 'Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth - you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you.'
Annabeth's eyes widened. 'You could?'
'Oh, yeah.' Luke turned his knife and offered her the handle. 'How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer.'
Maybe under most circumstances, offering a seven-year-old kid a knife would not be a good idea, but when you're a half-blood regular rules kind of go out of the window. Annabeth gripped the hilt.
'Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters,' Luke explained. 'They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armour. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever.'
Annabeth stared at him with adoration. 'I am!'
Thalia grinned. 'We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food.'
'You're - you're not going to take me back to my family?' she said. 'Promise?'
Luke put his hand on her shoulder. 'You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?'
'Deal!' Annabeth said happily.
'Now come on,' Thalia said. 'We can't stay put for long!'
The scene shifted. The three demigods were running through the woods. It must've been several days later, maybe even weeks. All of them looked beaten up like they'd seen some battles. Annabeth was wearing new clothes - jeans and an oversized army jacket.
'Just a little further!' Luke promised. Annabeth stumbled and he took her hand. Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield like she was driving back whatever pursued them. She was limping on her left leg.
They scrambled to a ridge and looked down the other side at a white colonial-style house - May Castellan's place.
'All right,' Luke said, breathing hard. 'I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here.'
'Luke, are you sure?' Thalia asked. 'You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you -'
'We don't have a choice!' he growled. 'They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound.'
'This is your house?' Annabeth said with amazement.
'It was my house,' Luke muttered. 'Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency -'
'Is your mom really horrible?' Annabeth asked. 'Can we see her?'
'No!' Luke snapped.
Annabeth shrank away from him, like his anger surprised her.
'I - I'm sorry,' he said. 'Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back -'
A brilliant golden flash illuminated the woods. The demigods winced and a man's voice boomed: 'You should not have come home.'