The next morning, I woke up with Zia's face squished to the crook of my neck. We rose and dressed in our linen clothes. We entered the terrace as Sadie and Walt were talking in hushed tones. Walt glanced at us and stopped talking.
"We need a plan," he said. "Sadie and I agreed you should go to Thoth."
"Sadie and I?" I asked. "You are not part of this quest."
Walt's cheeks colored. "Well, Sadie thought."
Zia plopped down. It was clear to me she thought my, Sadie, and Walt's bickering was pointless. "It's a different pantheon we're helping out, though. We can definitely bring the Thoth idea to the table, but I think we should let the Greek demigods take the lead on this quest as its' their pantheon."
After breakfast, we went downstairs to the Great Room to meet the other demigods and einherjar. The demigod Amos identified as Hazel Levesque looked tired. She had flown in from San Francisco while the other demigods, Meg and Nico, had just taken a bus ride from Long Island. Similarly, the einherjar had taken a few left turns on the tree of Yggdrasill.
We gathered at the terrace table in the time period between breakfast and brunch. Some initiates were coming and going, but we wouldn't be overheard. Sadie had cast a magic silencing spell to ensure that. "We were discussing the quest earlier. Sadie thought it would be a good idea to contact Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. He might have some ideas to help Hermes."
"Maybe," Hazel acknowledged. "Hermes seemed…grumpier than usual when he delivered the scrolls. I can also ask for some help from my mentor, Hecate. She may have some idea on why Olympus is closed. But Hecate is Hecate. She won't help us until we're sure she's on the winning side."
"It's not clear that there are sides here, though." Alex Fierro pitched in. "Also, where do we go? It's not like the gods' have a godly pointing finger sign saying YOU SHOULD GO HERE!"
"We have some experience with Thoth," Sadie said thoughtfully. She chewed a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. I know what you're thinking. My sister, thoughtful?! But she is growing up, and sometimes - sometimes - she can be thoughtful. "Last we saw him, he was in Memphis. In a pyramid." We don't have great experiences with pyramids. My face was colored with a greenish tinge thinking of meeting Thoth in Memphis, my disastrous fateful experience playing basketball with the baboons.
Hazel fiddled with a gadget that looked like a walkie-talkie. "Iris-Messages are down. But I, ah, have a direct line to Hecate. I can see if I can contact her."
The walkie-talkie rumbled, speaking gibberish, as if Hazel flipped a switch. I didn't see her switch one, but she very well could have. Hazel looked up. "Hecate is in Queens. We have an address. Let's go."
"We should do Thoth first," Zia suggested. "He's the god of wisdom. He might be able to offer us some guidance on this quest."
"It's a Greek quest," Magnus said practically. "What kind of advice would Thoth be able to offer on the Greeks closing their - whatsitcalled?"
"Mount Olympus," Nico supplied.
"I like your clothes," the demigod known as Meg McCaffrey said to Alex Fierro. Like Alex, Meg was sporting a neon orange shirt, paired with color-coded green leggings and purple Doc Martens. Samirah transformed into a bee - show-off - and zoomed down the Brooklyn street.
"I like your shoes," Alex said. It might've been a canned response, in which someone compliments the other person after receiving a compliment; but in Alex's case, it sounded genuine. Alex seemed like the person to wear purple Doc Martens.
The crew of demigods, einherjar, and magicians entered the New York subway station. It was grimy and several rats made it home. I hoped Samirah the bee made it onto the subway with the rest of us. We rode the subway to Queens uneventfully. I wondered if our crew would send up a magical signal saying, WE ARE HERE. But no - the most we received were some odd looks.
We got off at the Queens subway stop and walked a few blocks to the address Hazel provided. It was a shop in a seventies-style building. Once we ducked inside for protection from the rumbling storm clouds, I was assaulted with the disgusting smell of dog shampoo.
"Zeus must be mad," Nico muttered.
"How may I help you?" A short, squat, woman with stringy hair asked. She had the nametag ALEESA.
"We're looking for Hecate," Hazel said.
"Hecate." The woman's voice became much more sinister and sweet. I gripped my khopesh in case this woman decided to, y'know, attack us.
I glanced around to see if the demigods were holding their swords as tightly. The only I noticed doing so was Nico, holding his skull and bones sword. "She comes in here from time to time. If I may introduce you to some dog shampoo?"
"Uh, no, thanks." My voice came out much higher-pitched than I anticipated.
"It won't trouble you," the lady said sweetly. She squirted some dog shampoo on her palm. Sadie held her hand out. I silently cursed her.
"What?" Sadie asked innocently. "I can use it in my hair."
The lady rubbed the dog shampoo on her hand as if it were lotion. Sadie's hands were stained red from burns. Nico swung his sword at the lady. He only accomplished in shattering the glass cabinet.
The woman howled as she got cut with the glass.
"Hi-nehm," Zia said. The glass cabinet flew back together, clearing up. "If you could tell us where Hecate is?"
"I wonder if she's mortal or einherjar," Magnus muttered.
"I wouldn't think about it," Zia advised under her breath. "If she's one of Hecate's lackeys, she's dangerous."
"You'll have to get through me first!"
"Aleesa," a voice called. "Are you not being helpful to our customers?"
Hazel bowed. "Lady Hecate."
"Hazel, my young supplicant. I knew you were coming. I'm sorry for Aleesa."