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Camp Half-Blood was beautiful.
Marlowe couldn't take her eyes off of everything she passed, her head spinning in every direction.
Percy was still trying to get over the fact that his Latin teacher was a horse.
He was constantly pulling Marlowe away from Chiron's tail, but it was hard because she kept wandering back, not looking where she was going.
They passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed at the Minotaur horn Percy was holding, another stared at Marlowe.
They said, "That's them."
Marlowe didn't seem to notice, but Percy grumbled and pulled her along.
Most of the campers were older than the kids. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD t-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. Percy wasn't normally shy, but the way the satyrs started at him made him uncomfortable.
Marlowe looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than she had realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. It was exactly like the books had described it, just ten times bigger.
Percy was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught his eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something moved the curtain, just for a second, and Percy got the distinct impression he was being watched.
"What's up there?" Percy asked Chiron.
Chiron looked where he was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."
Marlowe looked up at the attic, the curtain shifting in her view. She just smiled and gave a small wave, knowing the spirit of Delphi was up there...waiting.
"Somebody lives there?" Percy asked.
"No," Chiron said with finality. "Not a single living thing."
Percy got the feeling Chiron was being truthful. But he was also sure something had moved that curtain.
"Come along, now," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."
They walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.
Marlowe always wanted to play a reed pipe. Although, she was sure it would sound absolutely horrific.
Chiron told the kids the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."
He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.
