Hopeful - Luke Castellan [1]

4 ~ My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

As we practically ripped through the night, I questioned many things mainly whether I was going insane or not. The wind was howling outside as the rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.

Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat just to see if I'd gone insane but the smell was enough. It was official, my best friend was a Satyr

However smart I may have been, I was still prone to freaking the hell out. All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"

Grover's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us almost like he was scared of something. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

I did a double-take at that. "Watching me?"

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."

"Urn ... what are you, exactly?" I knew what he was but I wanted to hear him confirm it. I needed him to.

"That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—" I said donkey purposely to make him angry enough to trip up.

It worked. Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!" I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat. "Goat!" he cried.

I played confused "What?"

"I'm a goat from the waist down."

"You just said it didn't matter."

"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you under hoof for such an insult!"

I silently thanked him for being so predictable "Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"

"Of course."

"Then why—"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."

"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?" Although I had a sinking feeling that based on the myths I knew exactly what he meant.

Then a weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.

"Addy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety from what? Who's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

"Grover!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

Hold on. Lord of the Dead as in Hades. Why in the fuck would Hades give a crap about me? Unless I was too powerful or something. I was shaken from my thoughts when my mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.