Rick Riordan The Sea Monsters- 02 division wilted. " Just tell her I ' m in a meeting!" The jogger rolled his eyes. " Sorry again, Percy. You were saying..." " Um... who are you, exactly?" " Haven ' t you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?" Show him! Martha pleaded. I haven ' t been full-size for months. Don ' t listen to her! George said. She just wants to show off! The man took out his phone again. " Original form, please." The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into a three-foot-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.
My throat tightened. I realized who the jogger reminded me of with his elfish features, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.... " You ' re Luke ' s father," I said. " Hermes." The god pursed his lips. He stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole. "' Luke ' s father.' Normally, that ' s not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travelers, if they wish to be kind." God of thieves works, George said. Oh, don ' t mind George. Martha flicked her tongue at me. He ' s just bitter because Hermes likes me best. He does not! Does too! " Behave, you two," Hermes warned, " or I ' ll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! Now, Percy, you still haven ' t answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?" " I— I don ' t have permission to go." " No, indeed. Will that stop you?" " I want to go. I have to save Grover." Hermes smiled. " I knew a boy once... oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really." Here we go again, George said. Always talking about himself Quiet! Martha snapped. Do you want to get set on vibrate? Hermes ignored them. " One night, when this boy ' s mother wasn ' t watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo." " Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" I asked. " Hmm... no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he ' d invented— a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry." " So what ' s the moral?" " The moral?" Hermes asked. " Goodness, you act like it ' s a fable. It ' s a true story. Does truth have a moral?" " Um..." " How about this: stealing is not always bad?" " I don ' t think my mom would like that moral." Rats are delicious, suggested George. What does that have to do with the story? Martha demanded. Nothing, George said. But I ' m hungry. " I ' ve got it," Hermes said. " Young people don ' t always do what they ' re told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How ' s that?" " You ' re saying I should go anyway," I said, " even without permission." Hermes ' s eyes twinkled. " Martha, may I have the first package, please?" Martha opened her mouth... and kept opening it until it was as wide as my arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister— an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top. The sides of the thermos were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes— a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog. " That ' s Hercules," I said. " But how—"
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