Page 2 of Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Dr. Samuels rose and wandered off, closing the door behind her. I imagined my school administrators were going to get pretty tired of having their jobs taken by mythological beings. First Eudora became my guidance counselor. Now this woman in black was moving into the principal’s office. One of these days I was going to find that our athletic director had been replaced by a poison-breathing dragon…though on second thought, I’m not sure anyone would notice the difference.

The woman in black settled into the principal’s chair. She smoothed her hands across the armrests as if assessing her new throne. She seemed to find it satisfactory. Before she could start laughing maniacally or monologuing about how the school was now hers, all hers, I decided I’d better speak.

“Hi,” I said. I have a way with words.

“You may continue to stand, Percy Jackson.” She ran her fingers lovingly across the chipped Formica desk. “I do not anticipate this will take long.”

I tried to not dwell on the many ways she could kill me instantly. “And you are—?”

I didn’t mean to sound rude. Sometimes, the gods just don’t think to introduce themselves, and I was beginning to suspect this lady was in thegodcategory of Super-Powerful Annoying Things.

Her onyx eyes glittered. She sat forward and laced her fingers, looking more like a principal than my real principal ever did. “You may call me the Torch Bearer, the Star Walker, the Night Wanderer, the Disturber of the Dead, the daughter of Perses and Asteria, the Triple Goddess!”

“Uh-huh,” I said, still clueless.

You’re probably thinking,Percy, you’ve been dealing with the Greek gods for years. How could you not know her?

The thing is, immortals are always changing their appearance. And there are hundreds of Greek gods. Also, they’re reluctant to give you straight answers. It’s neverHi, I’m Zeus. It’s alwaysI am the Thunder-Maker, the Paranoid Patriarch, Heavenly Adulterer, Lightning Britches, King of Luxurious Beard Products.

Thetriple goddessthing did spark a memory somewhere in the back of my mind, but Greek Myth Land is full of triple goddesses: The Fates. The Gray Sisters. The Furies. Destiny’s Child. I couldn’t keep track of them all.

I waited for the goddess to elaborate. That seemed like the safest thing to do.

She frowned. Maybe she was irritated that I didn’t grovel or burn an offering or something.

“I amHecate,” she said, loud and slow. “Goddess of magic, crossroads, necromancy?”

My tongue turned to sand. I’d never formally met Hecate, but I knew her work. I remembered her from such hits as “I Joined Kronos During the Battle of Manhattan (But Then Switched Sides)” and “I Helped Your Friend Hazel Fight a Giant (But Only After I Knew the Giants Would Lose).” Hecate had always struck me as a team player—as soon as she was sure which team would win.

“Right,” I said. “Lady Hecate.”

My continued lack of groveling did not seem to please her. Well, she was going to have to deal with it. I wasn’t much of a groveler.

“I assume you’ve had a restful few weeks?” she asked. “The other gods have left you alone as I requested?”

“I—Wait.As you requested?”

She waved her hand like she was clearing smoke. “I told them to stay away from you. I couldn’t risk you getting damaged or killed before you undertookmyquest!”

My fingernails cut grooves into my palms.

I remembered something my girlfriend, Annabeth, had once told me:Always count to five before saying something in anger to a divine being.This would theoretically reduce my chances of being turned into a smoldering heap of charcoal briquettes.

I managed to count to two. “There were other gods who wanted to give me quests?”

“Oh, yes. Several.”

“And you told them…”

“You were off-limits. I needed you fresh for this week!”

A few ancient Greek cuss words floated through my mind.

I only needed two more recommendation letters. Apparently, I could’ve gotten them both by now, except Hecate had snatched me from the jaws of success.

This time I counted to three before responding. I was improving. “And these other quests would have been—?”

“Unworthy of your time!” Hecate insisted. “Fetching a box of cupcakes for Aphrodite. A day of waterskiing with Hermes. All much too easy!”

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