Annabeth Chase and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 4 - If your name is Pan, please stand up

You ever get that weird de ja vu feeling when you meet someone for the first time but you think you know them? That's how I felt when I met Quintus, the new sword-instructor.

I had my nose buried deep in a pile of books, tucked away in my study room in the Big House when Chiron poked him head around the corner, unable to fit the rest of his body though the doorway while in centaur form. 

"Come outside," he said. "There's someone I want you to meet."

Glad for a long needed break and some sort of distraction (my head had started to spin from all the intense thinking I had put it through in the last few days), I followed him outside, curious as to who he might be about to introduce me to. We walked out onto the verandah and I saw a man leaning against the steps, facing away from me as he looked across the rest of camp. 

A strange jolt passed through me as I caught my first sight of him. I could swear that I knew him, but he was also distinct-looking enough that I knew that I hadn't. Although in my world, that didn't mean much. The gods were also dressing up, disguising themselves as other people. But for some reason, I didn't feel like he was in disguise. 

"Annabeth, this is Quintus, the camp's new sword-master," Chiron said, calling the man's attention onto us. 

His pale eyes fixed onto me and his mouth curled into a smile. He had several small, practically invisible cuts over his face, typical for a swordsman, but other than that, he was rather attractive for his age. His hair was grey, so I estimated that he was in his fifties, but his body was lean and strong, still remarkably fit. He wore a grey shirt with a high collared dark jacket and dark pants, a sword buckled to his waist. He held himself with a casual ease, showing a surety about himself that was typical in people that knew their own ability in comparison with others. 

"Annabeth," he said, "it's a pleasure to meet you." 

"You too," I replied, stepping forward to shake his hand. His grip was as strong as I was expecting from a master swordsman, although his hands were rough and cracked, like a broken piece of pottery. 

"Quintus will be assisting me in running the camp while Mr D is away," Chiron explained. "Especially the training aspect so I can focus more on other things."

I knew exactly what the other things entailed, but Mr D's absence was new to me. Admittedly I had been busy since I returned from home, but I hadn't even noticed that the god was missing. 

"Well, I'll look forward to training with you," I said, although I still had that weird feeling that I knew him, and it was making me feel uncomfortable looking at him with that familiarity sense. 

"Same," he replied. "I better get my things unpacked so I can work out a training regime. Oh, and I hope that you don't mind me having Mrs O'Leary here," he added, as he was turning away to leave. 

"Not at all," Chiron said. "Just keep her out of sight until I have a chance to explain to all the campers who she is." 

"Much appreciated," Quintus said, dipping his head to Chiron. 

Before I could ask who Mrs O'Leary was, a shadow suddenly detached itself from a nearby tree and, before my eyes, formed into a hellhound. Her eyes fixed on Quintus and, moving with incredible speed, leaped toward him. 

"Watch out!" I yelled,  reaching for my knife as I prepared to run to his aid, only for Chiron to reach out and grab my hand. 

"Steady, Annabeth," he said. "That's Mrs O'Leary."

"What?!" I exclaimed, but as I turned to look, I saw the hellhound lying on her back, kicking her paws in the air as Quintus rubbed her stomach. The scene was so unlike anything that I had every seen before, that I was sure that I had finally lost it, all those hours with my nose stuck in books had turned me nuts.