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Somehow this seemed both reasonable and annoying—that the dog I was hunting for would be, like, right next door, chewing on some poor dude with Greek heritage.
“That is one possibility,” Chiron said. “If so, she will be hunting at night, looking for mortals to scare to death. Casting spells of mischief. Causing bad luck. You must find her.”
I shuddered. “I guess I can go back to the mansion, get her treats, and search Astoria tonight.”
“Treats might work,” Chiron agreed. “But there is another possibility. You said you called on Mrs. O’Leary last night. When she started following a scent, where did it lead her?”
“Straight to the nearest hellpuppy,” I said. “Which was kind of sweet. But also, not so helpful.”
“On the contrary, my boy. Female hellhounds have a strong maternal instinct. Mrs. O’Leary proved that. While Hecuba is no longer human, she is still haunted by the deaths of her children. She would be very, ah, motherly, in her own way. This puppy of yours might prove useful.”
A plan started to form in my head. It was a strange sensation, actually having some idea of what I was going to do.
“That’s really helpful,” I said. “Thanks, Mr.—Chiron.”
The old centaur smiled. “You may call me Brunner or Chiron, as you wish, Percy. I am happy with both identities. Unfortunately, even if you find Hecuba, you’ll still have to locate Gale and fix the mansion. So many problems, so little time.”
“That’s kind of my life story,” I said. “I don’t suppose you could write me a note, get me out of school for the rest of the day?”
Chiron frowned. “Now, Percy, you know you have a quiz in Dr. Sharma’s class. We can’t let you miss that, can we?”
Suddenly I remembered the downside of having Mr. Brunner as a teacher. He believed in me, which meant he believed in my grades. He always insisted on me trying my best.
“No, sir,” I mumbled. “I guess I’ll wait until after school.”
“Excellent,” he said. “Run along to class. I know you will do well on the test!”
Idid not do well.
Not on the quiz. Not on the rest of my school day. Not on getting back to the mansion after swim practice.
What is it about gods on the subway? I was on the W train halfway to Union Square when Hecate decided to check up on me. Fortunately, there weren’t many other people in my train car. Nobody else seemed to notice the bench across from me turning black like a withering plant, then the whole side of the train melting into a rippling, bubbling mirror of shadows. The three beastly faces of Hecate emerged from the gloom—the horse, the lion, the dog all staring at me with their blazing eyes.
“Did you try to call?” Hecate asked, her voice whinnying from the horse’s mouth.
Still, nobody else on the train reacted. I was reluctant to answer the goddess, since I would probably look like I was talking to myself. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be the first time New York commuters had seen that on the train. I really needed to start carrying a dummy pair of headphones with me. Then people would think I was just talking to a friend and not communing with otherworldly forces.
“No, I didn’t call,” I said. “Why?”
“I heard you speak my name,” said the lion. “More times than usual. Is everything all right?”
I should have known better than to use her name so often. That tends to get a god’s attention. It’s the divine equivalent of a butt-dial.
Now I’d have to be careful what I said. If I lied, she would probably sense that. But I also couldn’t tell her the truth. The truth would get me trampled faster than a raging strawberry goat monster would.
“Oh, sorry,” I said. “I was just talking about you in my Ancient Cultures class.”
Her six fiery eyes burned into my soul. “I see,” the dog’s head growled. “I am considered ancient, now, am I?”
“No! I mean—”
Her three heads laughed, which was really disturbing.
“Relax, Percy Jackson.” Hecate morphed into a middle-aged woman in a black dress—her default evil-principal look. She sat on an obsidian throne in the middle of her shadowy gateway, munching from a bag of candy corn. “I am just teasing you.”
“I knew that.” I forced a smile. “Ha-ha.”
“Everything is fine at home, then?” she asked.
