All characters owned by Rick Riordan. I just own the plot. Maybe.

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Playing Pinochle with a horse, a goat, and a god

Chapter Five: I Play Pinochle with a Horse:

" I Play Pinochle with a Horse"

I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.

Percy snickered. "And I thought my dreams were weird now."

I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding.

"Mmm," Apollo licked his lips. "Ambrosia."

Percy looked confused. "Ambrosia?"

The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.

Aphrodite squealed. "Percy's going to fall in love with his nurse? It's like a soap opera!"

Percy and the Annabeths didn't look too happy about that comparison.

When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"

I managed to croak, "What?"

"Annabeth..." Thalia turned to look at her friend in amusement. "What made you think he knew something...? He was brand new to the camp."

Annabeth blushed. "He mentioned something about the summer solstice deadline in his sleep..."

She looked around, as if afraid someone would over-hear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"He just fought the minotaur, he's half unconscious and out of his mind, he's completely tired and exhausted, and he's just lost his mother. And yet you insist on asking him questions when he wakes up?" Demeter asked with amusement.

"Typical of twelve year old Annabeth. Didn't she say? She mellowed only with age." Thalia explained.

Annie flushed.

"I was just so frustrated... Because nobody was telling me anything about what had happened on Olympus after we returned... And I wanted to solve the problem and go on a quest to do that..." Annabeth muttered.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't... "

Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.

Nico chuckled. "That's oneway to shut him up..."

"And the other," Thalia smirked at Annabeth, "if I remember correctly, is to kisshim. Right, Annabeth?"

Annabeth flushed, and Annie gagged.

Percy looked a little conflicted. On the one hand, he would kiss Annabeth in the future, which made him blush. On the other hand, she was the annoying Annie at his current age. The thought of kissing her made his stomach churn.

The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.

A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes-at least a dozen of them-on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.

When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.

Several people winced in sympathy.

On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.

My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.

Annabeth looked a little worried, and slid Percy closer. He flushed, and Annie glared at the two of them along with Athena.

"Careful," a familiar voice said.

Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.

Grover groaned at 'Goat Boy.' "Not you too!"

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry?"

So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...

Percy looked across Annabeth at his mom, as if to make sure that she was still there. He sighed, not liking the thought that he would think that she was dead.

"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... Well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this. "

Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.

Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.

"The Minotaur," I said.

Athena eyed Percy critically. "You shouldn't use their names, Perseus."

Percy flinched at the use of his full name. "My guess... I was seriously confused. I wanted a straight answer for once."

"Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"

"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull. "

Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"

"My mom. Is she really ..."

He looked down.

Percy swallowed and double-checked on his mom again.

I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.

Thalia huffed. " Eventhat looked beautiful! What do you mean by that?"

My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.

Thalia winced in apology.

"Dang, Perce," Will chuckled. "You certainly can be deep."

Percy shrugged. "When I want to be."

"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world. "

"No you're not," came the reply from every demigod, even Percy.

Grover smiled.

He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.

"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.

"Um..." Percy glanced over at Annie. "Does that mean, 'Oh shit'?"

Annie blinked in surprise at him addressing her, but nodded. "Sort of."

Thunder rolled across the clear sky.

Percy raised an eyebrow at Zeus. "You certainly find fault in the tiniestthings..."

The others laughed at Zeus' indignant expression.

As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.

Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that," Dionysus yawned. "They really hate that."

"You are paying attention!" Apollo gasped, looking up from the guitar he had been tuning.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Aplo." Dionysus yawned.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't actually doit..."

But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even Minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.

I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe?

"Never," Poseidon snarled.

"By the way," Annabeth piped up, "I've been meaning to ask this but... did he really hit you?"

Percy was silent.

"Percy..." Sally warned. "Did Gabe hit you?"

Percy rubbed his lips together apprehensively, before speaking in a voice so soft that the crackling of the fire in the hearth was more audible than his voice.

"Yes..."

There was a deep rumbling, but with a look from Percy, Poseidon took a deep breath and calmed down.

"I'm still going to kill him," the sea god muttered.

No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army.

"Seventeen?" Annie laughed. "You barely look tenright now, you're so weak!"

Percy stuck his tongue out at her, and-surprisingly-she giggled.

Thalia, Nico, Grover, Rachel, Annabeth, Sally, and Aphrodite eyed them with smirks plastered on their expressions. Piper, Jason, and Leo stared at Annie like they couldn't believe that either Annabeth could act like a normal person; probably only when Percy was aroundinstead of MIA. Hazel and Frank smiled, realizing that there was much more to their new friend than just a powerful-and slightly goofy-demigod that was smarter than he looked.

Athena just glared at Percy.

I'd do something.

"Like go to Camp HalfBlood for instance?" Travis asked innocently.

Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid-poor goat, satyr, whatever-looked as if he expected to be hit.

I said, "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you. "

"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"

"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."

"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.

"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.

I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice.

"Let me guess," Percy called out. "It doesn't taste like apple juice."

"Congratulations, Perce," Thalia joked. "You're learning!"

Percy just scowled in annoyance. Annie laughed.

It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies-my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.

Aphrodite cooed, and Sally and Percy exchanged small smiles.

Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.

"Yeah," Leo said in confusion. "I don't get that either."

"Was it good?" Grover asked.

I nodded.

"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.

"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."

"Why do you apologize for everything?" Annie asked. "It's not like every single event that happens around you is your fault!"

Percy shrugged. "I'm responsible for my own actions."

Hermes sighed. "Another potential prankster, brought down by his mother before he could do anything..."

The older demigods exchanged knowing looks. They knew it otherwise.

Thalia chuckled. "Annie, Percy will get better over time. I wouldn't worry."

Annie didn't answer. She and Percy studied each other as Sally continued.

Annie was surprised that Percy wasn't like she had expected of a son of Poseidon. He wasn't arrogant, or full of himself. Quite the opposite, actually. He was pretty defiant, but in a good way. And everything he did was for others instead of his own gain. But she still didn't completely trust him. And she hated him. He couldn't replace Luke just like that, even if she wasnt sure in what way she loved Luke. Luke had taken care of her so much. Why would she leave Lukefor him,even though it was obvious that Luke didn't like her back.

Percy was surprised as well. Annie was a little annoying, but at least Annabeth was proof that she mellowed with age. She wasn't a know-it-all, but was still extremely intelligent, like the older version of him had said in that video. And he definitely had to agree with himself that she was pretty.

Hmm...

The others watched them as well, mostly with amusement. (Apart from Athena, of course.)

His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... Wondered."

"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home-made."

He sighed. "And how do you feel?"

"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."

"Is that good?" Conner asked.

"For Percy?" Travis answered. "Yes. For Nancy? Not so much."

"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."

"What do you mean?"

Percy looked like he wanted to ask the same question. Annie leaned over and whispered so only he could hear, "It's Nectar, food of the gods. If you or I was to drink too much, we'd burn up. Literally."

Percy nodded. "Thanks," he whispered back.

He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.

My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.

Several gods nodded their approval.

"Percy's stubborn," Artemis mused aloud. "But so far it's been in a good way."

As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.

The Greek demigods smiled, remembering their own first glimpses of camp. "Yeah, that happens." Chris said.

We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance.

Artemis, Poseidon, and Grover smiled, imagining the natural beauty of the water.

Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-

"That's because it isAncient Greek Architecture," the Annabeths confirmed.

an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.

"Nope," Thalia joked. "No magic mushrooms around here!"

The others snickered at Chiron's, Sally's, Percy's, and Annie's confused expressions.

Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.

"And exactly whyare you there, Annabeth?" Aphrodite asked with a smirk.

"Not for the reason I'm thinking, I hope," Athena grumbled.

Annabeth blushed, then shook her head. "Chiron had told me that I would get to go out in the mortal on a quest when a certain new camper arrived. I was hoping Percy was that new camper. Also, I was hoping that Percy knew something about the winter solstice deadline, and why Zeus and Poseidon were fighting."

"So it wasn't love at first sight." Thalia fake gasped. " No,it wasnt." Annabeth glared at her.

The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple.

Dionysus looked up in surprise. All other gods tried to hide their snickering.

He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.

Dionysus turned his gaze on Percy; the purple flame in his eyes grew slightly brighter. Percy squeaked and hid behind Annie. Poseidon glared at Dionysus, and the flames dimmed.

Annabeth pursed her lips. She was happy that Percy was okay with her younger self, but she still felt a minor flash of jealousy. She couldn't help it. She was too territorial of her boyfriend, even ifhe was only ten.

He wore a tiger- pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step-father.

"You're damn right I could," Dionysus growled.

"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."

He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.

First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.

"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.

"He just called him Chiron!" Athena called in exasperation.

Percy shrugged, still hiding behind Annie.

"If Percy knew Chiron for a year as Mr. Brunner," Annabeth said, "then psychology would cause him to call him that."

Athena sighed. "Fine. At least get out from behind my daughter."

Percy slid back to his original position, muttering an apology towards Annie. She waved it away, annoyed. Percy apologized a bit too much.

The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.

"Why would you do that?" Demeter asked Chiron.

"Because," Athena answered for the centaur. "If all the answers are B, then a student would start to get suspicious at the validity of his answers, and double-check them."

"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."

He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.

The demigods tried to hide their snickers. The gods didn't try as hard.

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.

She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."

Aphrodite leaned forward. "I'm curious as to how Percy will describe Annabeth."

"Me too," the Annabeths agreed, eyeing Percy. He shifted nervously.

She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking.

"I'd been training every day since I was seven," Annie said. "Of course, I'd be athletic."

"And how was I supposed to know that?" Percy countered. She shrugged.

With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.

"Excuse me?" the Annabeths asked.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Annie complained.

Percy frowned and leaned forward, staring at her eyes for a moment, before leaning back and saying, "They just don't fit the image of a stereotypical California girl. They're pretty, but really intimidating."

Annie, who had been slightly pink throughout all of this, now full on blushed. "Pretty?"

Percy turned red. "I'm not saying it again."

They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.

Annabeth smirked. "And it sowould have worked."

She glanced at the Minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a Minotaur!or Wow, you're so awesome!or something like that.

"I was considering it," Annabeth admitted. "But I didn't want to make him arrogant on his first day."

Thalia shook her head and said "Percy can be sassy, but not arrogant. He can never be arrogant."

Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."

Laughter echoed around the room. Several gods (*cough* Hermes *cough* Apollo *cough*) fell out of their chairs.

Annabeth flushed. "Oops."

Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.

"Someone's got a crush." Aphrodite grinned. Percy and the Annabeths flushed.

"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"

"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."

"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... Does that stand for something?"

Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."

"Um... sorry?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."

"House call?"

"What is he, a doctor?" Leo snickered.

"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... Ah, take a leave of absence."

I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.

Apollo grinned at Chiron. "What happened?"

Chiron shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Apollo pouted.

"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.

Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."

"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"

"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.

"Do you know now?" Dionysus asked warningly. Percy nodded, not fazed by the glare.

Annie rolled her eyes. Percy's recklessness would get him killed someday.

"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm afraid not," I said.

"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.

"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.

"I feel you, dude," Apollo covered his hands over his heart. Percy suddenly looked uncomfortable, and scooted closer to Annie, away from Apollo.

"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."

"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.

"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"

Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."

The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.

Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.

"He gives that look to everyone," Annabeth said with a smile directed at her favorite teacher. Chiron returned the smile.

"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'

"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her. "

"Typical," Dionysus yawned. "That's how they usually get killed."

"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"

"What?" I asked.

"Bid!" Dionysus yelled impatiently. "Don't you know how to play Pinochle?"

"No."

"No, sir."

"No, sir." Percy repeated, making a face.

Dionysus's eyes blazed and he started muttering Ancient Greek curses, but a blast of water from Poseidon's direction stopped him.

He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.

"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient. "

"Orientation film?" I asked.

"You didn't see the orientation film?" Annabeth asked in surprise. "Well, no wonderI thought you were so clueless! No one had told you anything!"

"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box-"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods-the forces you call the Greek gods-are very much alive."

I stared at the others around the table.

I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.

Aphrodite rolled her mascara-coated eyes. "Can't you be a bit more sympathetic to the boy, Dionysus?"

"No," he answered honestly.

"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"

"Eh? Oh, all right. "

Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.

"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."

"Well, now," Chiron said. "God-capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."

"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"

"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter. "

"Smaller?" Zeus thundered. Chiron shifted uncomfortably.

"Smaller?"

Zeus wasn't exactly in the best mood for teasing, though there were a few snickers.

"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."

"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."

The three gods sat up straighter. Everyone else sighed at their antics.

And there it was again-distant thunder on a cloudless day.

"Young man, " said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you. "

"Well..." Annabeth mused. "Since only one of them actually likes him anyways, I don't think that this one really matters."

"Which one likes me?" Percy asked.

"Apollo."

Annie sighed. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days."

Percy shrugged. "If we're going to be forced into spending as much time together as I assume we will, you're probably going to get me out of those situations, so I'm not worried."

Annabeth flushed at his theory's accuracy. Annie flushed at the obvious compliment. Percy realized what he had just said and quickly looked away.

Athena just scowled.

"But they're stories," I said. "They're-myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science. "

"Uh-oh," Poseidon sighed. "That'll get him going..."

"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"-I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody-"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals-they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."

I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... He wasn't.

Annie rolled her eyes. "That's because he isSeaweed Brain."

Percy was about to retort that he didn't know that, but he was cut off by a collective gasp. The two of them turned to see the older Greeks staring at them in shock.

"W-what did you call him?" Annabeth stammered.

"Um... Seaweed Brain?"

Annabeth stared at them, before sighing and shaking her head, gesturing for Sally to continue.

It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.

"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"

I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal,

"He was?" Thalia whispered. "I guess immortality doesappeal to him."

"Which means that there's only one reasonwhy he turned it down," Nico snickered, eyeing Annabeth. The daughter of Athena blushed.

but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.

"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.

"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"

My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him.

Athena nodded approvingly.

I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."

"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."

Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."

"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe. '"

He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.

"Well that'llgive him the shock of his life," Annie chuckled.

"Oh, shut up..."

My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.

"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."

Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.

"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"

"Yeah," Zeus muttered. " Old habits..." Dionysus shifted in his throne.

More thunder.

Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.

Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."

"And why exactly," Hera turned to Zeus angrily "did you declare a nymph off-limits?" Zeus gulped and quickly motioned Sally to continue. The others shook their heads at Zeus.

"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.

"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away-the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence, ' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down. 'Ha. Absolutely unfair."

Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.

"That's actually a fairly accurate description," Athena laughed along with the other gods.

"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."

"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course. "

I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.

"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine. "

"Ding ding ding!" Travis cheered. "Give the boy a prize!"

"Katie," Percy said. "If you please..."

"Gladly." Katie smacked Travis upside the head.

Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"

"Y-yes, Mr. D."

"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"

"Yes," Percy muttered sarcastically. "Yes I did."

"You're a god."

"Yes, child."

"A god. You."

"We had trouble believing it too," Apollo snickered along with the rest of the deities.

He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.

"He betternot," Poseidon muttered, glaring at Dionysus, who shifted nervously.

"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.

"No. No, sir. "

The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."

"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."

"I swear that centaur cheats or something," Dionysus muttered. Chiron smiled knowingly.

I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too.

"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."

"What do you mean 'less than perfect'?" Percy yelled. "He got me there didn't he?"

"He was unconscious!"

"And that is his fault because..."

Those that knew Percy the best brushed this off, but the others were absolutely shocked at how such a small boy could defy a god. Dionysus just sat on his chair, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. They watched the son of Poseidon with new eyes as he sighed wearily and motioned for his mother to continue.

Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."

Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."

He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.

"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.

Percy glared at Dionysus.

Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... Ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus. "

"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"

"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do. "

Percy frowned in confusion. "This part's going to make my head hurt. I just know it..."

"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... In America?"

"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West. "

"The what?" Percy asked.

"The what?"

"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization. ' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps-Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on-but the same forces, the same gods. "

"And then they died."

Annie rolled her eyes. "One of them was standing right in front of you!"

"Hey," Percy protested. "Don't blame me! Just because you're such a wise girldoesn't mean that we allare!"

This gasp was slightly smaller, but it could still be heard. Percy and Annie turned to Annabeth, who waved it away and nodded for Sally to continue.

"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not-and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either-America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here. "

"You make it sound like a cult or a club or something." Frank murmured.

It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.

"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... Who am I?"

"A great friend and confidante," Grover answered.

"A heck of a fighter," Clarisse said.

"The best swordsman in three hundred years," Travis called.

"A cool pranking partner," Connor added.

"The most loyal, reckless, brave, selfless, defiant, and noble boy we've ever known," Rachel smiled at the book.

"Saviour of the world more than a million times." Nico said.

Annabeth ran her fingers through Percy's hair. "And we all love you for it."

Aphrodite squealed, and Percy blushed. Annie permitted herself to let out a small smile.

Athena watched all this thoughtfully. If he's really loved that much...But she still didn't like the boy. He was dangerous for her daughter.

Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.

"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate. "

"Adore is kind of an understatement, Chiron," Annabeth laughed.

Chiron flushed and smiled sheepishly.

And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.

I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.

"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."

Annie snickered, picturing Percy's reaction to that.

"So who wants to read?" Sally asked, holding up the book.

"I will," called a voice from behind.

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Question of the chapter: What is one truth/dare you would want to give and to which demigod ?