Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
9
9
At the sound of her name , the hellhound barked again . I realized she wasn ’ t angry . She was excited . She nudged the soggy , badly chewed target dummy toward the swordsman .
“ Good girl ,” the man said . With his free hand he grabbed the armored manikin by the neck and heaved it toward the bleachers . “ Get the Greek ! Get the Greek !”
Mrs . O ’ Leary bounded after her prey and pounced on the dummy , flattening its armor . She began chewing on its helmet .
The swordsman smiled dryly . He was in his fifties . I guess , with short gray hair and a clipped gray beard . He was in good shape for an older guy . He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp T-shirt . At the base of his neck was a strange mark , a purplish blotch like a birthmark or a tattoo , but before I could make out what it was , he shifted his armor straps and the mark disappeared under his collar .
“ Mrs . O ’ Leary is my pet ,” he explained . “ I couldn ’ t let you stick a sword in her rump , now , could I ? That might have scared her .” “ Who are you ?” Promise not to kill me if I put my sword away ?” “ I guess .” He sheathed his sword and held out his hand . “ Quintus .” I shook his hand . It was as rough as a sandpaper . “ Percy Jackson ,” I said . “ Sorry about — How did you , um —” “ Get a hellhound for a pet ? Long story , involving many close calls with a death and quite a few giant chew toys . I ’ m the new sword instructor , by the way . Helping out Chiron while Mr . D is away .”
“ Oh .” I tried not to stare as Mrs . O ’ Leary ripped off the target dummy ’ s shield with the arm still attached and shook it like a Frisbee . “ Wait , Mr . D is away ?”
“ Yes , well … busy times . Even Dionysus must help out . He ’ s gone to visit some old friends . Make sure they ’ re on the right side . I probably shouldn ’ t say more than that .”
If Dionysus was gone , that was the best news I ’ d had all day . He was only our camp director because Zeus had sent him here as a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph . He hated the campers and tried to make our lives miserable . With him away , this summer might actually be cool . On the other hand , if Dionysus had gotten off his butt and actually started helping the gods recruit against the Titan threat , things must be looking pretty bad .
Off to my left , there was a loud BUMP . Six wooden crates the size of picnic tables were stacked nearby , and they were rattling . Mrs . O ’ Leary cocked her head and bounded toward them .
“ Whoa , girl !” Quintus said . “ Those aren ’ t for you .” He distracted her with the bronze shield Frisbee .
The crates thumped and shook . There were words printed on the sides , but with my dyslexia they took me a few minutes to decipher : TRIPLE G RANCH FRAGILE THIS END UP Along the bottom , in smaller letters : OPEN WITH CARE . TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE , MAIMING , OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS . “ What ’ s in the boxes ?” I asked . “ A little surprise ,” Quintus said . “ Training activity for tomorrow night . You ’ ll love it .” “ Uh , okay ,” I said , though I wasn ’ t sure about the “ excruciatingly painful death ” part . Quintus threw the bronze shield , and Mrs . O ’ Leary lumbered after it . “ You young ones need more challenges . They didn ’ t have camps like this when I was a boy .” “ You — you ’ re a half-blood ?” I didn ’ t mean to sound surprised , but I ’ d never seen an old demigod before . Quintus chuckled . “ Some of us do survive into adulthood , you know . Not all of us are the subject of terrible prophecies .” “ You know about my prophecy ?” “ I ’ ve heard a few things .” I wanted to ask what few things , but just then Chiron clip-clopped into the arena . “ Percy , there you are !” He must ’ ve just come from teaching archery . He had a quiver and bow slung over his # 1