which Magnus converts to a shelter for homeless youth at the end of The Ship of the Dead. The Valdez family Aunt Rosa – Leo's aunt. She blamed Leo for causing the death of her sister, Esperanza. She turned his whole family against him and called him "El Diablo" (The Devil). She refused to take him in and sent him to a social services home, which he ran away from. In The Mark of Athena, Leo sees Nemesis as Aunt Rosa, as Nemesis takes the form of the person whom the viewer has the most hatred for. Esperanza Valdez – Leo's mother. She was a trained mechanical engineer who worked at a machine shop and as an inventor. She was killed in a fire caused by Gaea and only appears in flashbacks. She was compassionate and hard-working and was described as pretty, but not delicate. Sammy Valdez – Leo's great-grandfather and Hazel's former boyfriend. He is described as looking identical to Leo. He and Hazel studied in a segregated school for the colored, and Sammy defended Hazel whenever she was accused for being the daughter of a witch. Hazel received her first kiss from Sammy. However, the two separated when Hazel had to move to Alaska with her mother and never met with each other again since Hazel died shortly after. Though Hazel was led to believe that Sammy moved on quickly, a flashback she has in The Mark of Athena makes her realize that Sammy remembered her well into his old age and had made the then newborn Leo promise to meet with her on his behalf. The McLean family Thomas McLean – Tristan's and Piper's late father and grandfather, respectively. He was the one who gave Piper her name. Thomas believed in C Herokee myths, which are quite similar with Greek mythology. Tristan McLean – Piper's father, a movie star who was one of Aphrodite's lovers, but did not at that time know that she was a goddess. He was captured by Enceladus in The Lost Hero, but Piper and her friends managed to save him. At the end of The Lost Hero, he is said to be back at work, though he does not remember the events of his capture. Like Piper, he identifies as Cherokee. Jane – Jane is Tristan's assistant. Piper dislikes her for taking Tristan's already little attention to bond with his daughter away