The Sacred Thievery

Chapter IX: Pillow Fight.

She was only joking. At least, that's what she promised. Apparently, Mrs. O'Leary was the friendly hellhound she had to watch over without the monster's favorite demigod, Percy Jackson, around. Judy assured me she preferred oversized dog biscuits to mortals and wouldn't be making the switch anytime soon.

With that happy note, I was taught Greek for the next hour. As you can guess, it wasn't very entertaining. The good thing was that Judy was nice and took things slow, which was not what I expected from someone so smart. She also taught me how to introduce myself.

By the end of the hour, I could say this perfectly, according to Judy, anyway:

Γεια σας. Είμαι ο Τίμοθι Γουίλιαμς, ένας aθνητός.

Which means, also according to Judy: Hello. I am Timothy Williams, a mortal. She also said she would teach me more nouns, or ουσιαστικά in Greek. Learning the language of the pantheon I'd been dropped into wasn't too bad, especially since I'd always found languages interesting.

She also told me demigods naturally knew Ancient Greek, with their brains hardwired for it, which is why they have dyslexia, making it hard for them to make sense of other words.

As she explained this, I remembered something. When Judy concluded, I bolted out of the Mess Hall, leaving a probably-confused daughter of Athena alone there.

When I got to the sword arena, he wasn't there. One kid, a blond child of Dionysus named Pollux, said he was at the Big House. So, though I was already a little exhausted, I ran across the camp, may or may not have accidentally tackled a daughter of Demeter and broke her flower pot, and got to the Big House deck, which was furnished with chairs and tables, the former with pillows and blankets. At a pinochle table were Chiron in his magical wheelchair and another man, playing (you guessed it) pinochle.

He turned, a brief look of surprise on his face. "Oh, hello, Timothy. What brings you here?"

The man next to him spoke up. "Shall we finish the game, Chiron? I was just about to win, and I barely cheated this time." I looked at him. He had a button-down, short-sleeve, collared, purple shirt. He wore khaki shorts, and had slippers on, with knee-high white socks. His belly was a little round, but his other features looked young and healthy. He reminded me of my gym teacher but looked much more easygoing. On the wall by him was a staff, with a wooden shaft entwined with grapevines and a pine cone as a head. Next to him on the table was a can of Diet Pepsi.

Chiron, probably seeing my expression, explained. "This is Bacchus. Dionysus' Roman form. He was away yesterday at Mount Olympus, and came back today to check how things were going."

Bacchus sipped from his Diet Pepsi, humming what sounded like "Humpty Dumpty." But I was still confused. "Isn't this a Greek training camp? Why would he be here in his Roman form? I didn't even know that Roman mythology was incorporated in this."

"Well, until about a year or so ago, most demigods didn't know of the Romans. But yes, they are real as well. Mostly similar to their Greek forms, though with a few changes. Ever since things became peaceful between the two camps, godly forms have become flexible and easier. Very few Greeks have seen Dionysus as Bacchus."

"Anyway, does my orphanage know where I am?" I asked. "Won't they wonder why I've disappeared?" I mean, the people weren't the nicest, but they ought to realize when someone they know goes missing.

"Oh, that? Bacchus did that, getting an Iris message I sent him. Went over to the orphanage, and manipulated the Mist to make them think that you were sent off to a summer camp, and would be gone until the end of the break. Which you will."

"An Iris message?"

Chiron took a breath. "Iris is the goddess of rainbows and messenger of the gods. By paying her a drachma through a rainbow, you can see and communicate anywhere, allowing you to discuss situations long-distance. Very useful for quests and danger."