Danielle Black > Danielle's Quotes

“Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, “Awesome. Awesome.” Percy was covered in nicks and scratches, like he’d jumped through a window. He didn’t say anything but he grasped Annabeth’s hand weakly as if to say, Be right with you as soon as the world stops spinning.
Leo, Piper, and Jason, who’d been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.
“What? What?” Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. “Can’t a guy even take a lunch break? What’s wrong?”
“Followed!” Frank yelled again.
“Followed by what? Jason asked.
“I don’t know!” Frank panted. “Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!”
Annabeth wanted to strangle the guy, but she wasn’t sure her hands would fit around his thick neck. “That makes absolutely no sense.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“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 eidolons started pounding on the door.
'Who is it?' Leo called.
'Valdez!'
'Valdez who?”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“Leo!” Jason was shaking his shoulder. “Hey, man, why are you hugging Nike?”
Leo’s eyes fluttered open. His arms were wrapped around the human-sized statue in Athena’s hand. He must have been thrashing in his sleep. He clung to the victory goddess like he used to cling to his pillow when he had nightmares as a kid. (Man, that had been so embarrassing in the foster homes.)
He disentangled himself and sat up, rubbing his face.
“Nothing,” he muttered. “We were just cuddling.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“Leo took out a pen and autographed the arm of one of the nymphs. “Narcissus is a loser! He’s so weak, he can’t bench-press a Kleenex. He’s so lame, when you look up lame on Wikipedia, it’s got a picture of Narcissus—only the picture’s so ugly, no one ever checks it out.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“According to Festus, our flying table, Buford, made it back safely while we were in Charleston, so those eagles didn't get him. Unfortunately, he lost the laundry bag with your pants."

"Dang it!" Frank Barked, which Leo figured was probably severe profanity for him.

No doubt Frank would've cursed some more -busting out the golly gees and the gosh darns- but Percy interrupted by doubling over and groaning.

"Did the world just turn upside down?" he asked.

Jason pressed his hands to his head. "Yeah, and it's spinning. Everything is yellow. Is it supposed to be yellow?”
― rick riordan the mark of athena

“Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the tool belt and spun it like a noisemaker. “Oh, very nice! I’m definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!”
Blue Bottom?
Leo glanced down. His pants had slipped around his ankles again, revealing his blue undershorts. “That’s it!” he shouted. “My stuff. Now. Or I’ll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is.”
His hands caught fire.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“The Romans move east from New York. They advance in your camp, and nothing can slow them down.
"Nothing can slow them down," Leo mused. "I wonder..."
"What?" Jason asked.
Leo looked at the dwarfs. "I'll make you a deal."
Akmon's eyes lit up. "Thirty percent?"
"We'll leave you all the treasure," Leo said, "except the stuff that belongs to us, and the astrolabe, and this book, which we'll take back to the dude in Venice."
"But he'll destroy us!" Passolos wailed.
"We won't say where we got it," Leo promised. "And we won't kill you. We'll let you go free."
"Uh, Leo...?" Jason asked nervously.
Akmon squealed in delight. "I knew you were as smart at Hercules! I will call you Black Bottom, the Sequel!"
"You, no thanks," Leo said. "But in return for us sparing your lives, you have to do something for us. I'm going to send you somewhere to steal from some people, harass them, make life hard for them any way you can. You have to follow my directions exactly. You have to swear on the River Styx."
"We swear!" Passalos said. "Stealing from people is our specialty!"
"I love harassment!" Akmon agreed. "Where are we going?"
Leo grinned. "Ever heard of New York?”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“I try very hard to be annoying. Don’t insult my ability to annoy.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“I tried to help you make better choices. You could have saved yourself. But you defied me at every step. You built your ship. You joined that foolish quest. Now you are trapped here, helpless, while the mortal world dies.
Leo's hands burst into flame. He wanted to melt Gaea's sandy face to glass. Then he felt Calypso's hand on his shoulder.
"Gaea." Her voice was stern and steady. "You are not welcome.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“[Leo] lunged at Passalos, but the red-furred dwarf was too quick. He sprang from his chair, bounced off Jason’s head, did a flip, and landed next to Leo, his hairy arms around Leo’s waist.
“Save me?” the dwarf pleaded.
“Get off!” Leo tried to shove him away, but Passalos did a backward somersault and landed out of reach. Leo’s pants promptly fell around his knees.
He stared at Passalos, who was now grinning and holding a small zigzaggy strip of metal. Somehow, the dwarf had stolen the zipper right off Leo’s pants.
“Give—stupid—zipper!” Leo stuttered, trying to shake his fist and hoist up his pants at the same time.
“Eh, not shiny enough.” Passalos tossed it away.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“He was the class clown, the court jester, because he'd learn early that if you cracked jokes and pretended you weren't scared, you usually didn't get beat up. Even the baddest gangster kids would tolerate you, keep you around for laughs. Plus, humor was a good way to hide the pain”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“[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

“A ruby-encrusted orb popped its top and helicopter blades unfolded. Leo was glad Buford the table wasn't here-he would've fallen in love.”
― rick riordan the mark of athena

“It's mechanical," Leo said. "Maybe a doorway to the dwarfs' secret lair?"
"Ooooo!" shrieked a nearby voice. "Secret lair?"
"I want a secret lair!" yelled another voice from above.

...

"If we had a secret lair," said Red Fur, "I would want a firehouse pole."
"And a waterslide!" said Brown Fur, who was pulling random tools out of Leo's belt, tossing aside wrenches, hammers, and staple guns.
"Stop that!" Leo tried to grab the dwarf's feet, but he couldn't reach the top of the pedestal.
"Too short?" Brown Fur sympathized.
"You're calling me short?" Leo looked around for something to throw, but there was nothing but pigeons, and he doubted he could catch one. "Give me my belt, you stupid-"
"Now, now!" said Brown Fur. "We haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Akmon, and my brother over there-"
"-is the handsome one!" The red-furred dwarf lifted his espresso. Judging from his dilated eyes and maniacal grin, he didn't need any more caffeine. "Passolos! Singer of songs! Drinker of coffee! Stealer of shiny stuff!”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“Shut up, me" Leo said out loud.
"What?" Piper asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“The giant raised his fist, and a voice cut through the dream.
"Leo!" Jason was shaking his shoulder. "Hey, man, why are you hugging Nike?"
Leo's eyes fluttered open. His arms were wrapped around the human-sized statue in Athena's hand. He must have been thrashing in his sleep. He clung to the victory goddess like he used to cling to his pillow when he had nightmares as a kid. (Man, that had been so embarrassing in the foster homes.)
He disentangled himself and sat up, rubbing his face.
"Nothing," he muttered. "we were just cuddling. Um, what's going on?”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“People of Earth, I come in peace!”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“Survive today. Figure out crayon drawing of destiny later.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“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.”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“The future for Commander Tool Belt was not looking so hot.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

“Dude." Jason gave Percy a bear hug.
"Back from Tartarus!" Leo whooped. "That's my peeps!”
― Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

“Lei had recently discovered how to change the display, like the Times Square JumboTron,so now the banner read: Merry Christmas! All your presents belong to Leo!”
― Rick Riordan, The Demigod Diaries

“Hello, Hazel Levesque.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“Your lifeline…oh, the burning stick. Right.” Leo resisted the urge to set his hand ablaze and yell: Bwah ha ha! The idea was sort of funny, but he wasn’t that cruel.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“Why would you come to Italy to see Spanish steps? That's like going to China for Mexican food, isn't it?”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“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

“Who's possessing who now, Casper?”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“Oh…bank vaults,” Leo said. “Never thought about that.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“La buena suerte es una farsa. El éxito verdadero requiere sacrificio.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena