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I was not having fun. I did not discover a natural talent for cooking. But if anyone ever wants to do a reality show mashup ofThe GreatBritish Bake OffandNinja Warrior, hit me up. I have ideas.

At last, I poured in something that looked like iron filings.

“SCREEK!”Gale commanded, digging her claws into the table.STIR, OCTOPUS BOY! STIR FOR YOUR LIFE!

I stirred. The paste changed color—first black, then turquoise. It smelled like cinnamon rolls, which was weird, since I hadn’t added any cinnamon. Or rolls.

A new fissure opened in the floor behind me. To my left, the wall collapsed in a tidal wave of bricks.

“BARK!”Gale shrieked.Good enough!

She jumped onto my shoulder, I wrapped my tentacles around the bowl, and we fled the workshop as fast as my ankle would allow. We ran through Scents Forever and joined Annabeth, Grover, and our two hog-tied naiads on the sidewalk.

“GO, GO, GO!” I yelled.

Grover and Annabeth ran, dragging the nymphs behind them. We made it across the street as Scents Forever imploded, slipping into a glowing orange chasm that wasn’t going to do much for the neighborhood’s property values.

Phaedra wailed. “All our work! Our lives’ work!”

Her comment hit like a knife in my stomach. It reminded me too much of my vision of Gale.

“HOOT!”Annabeth said. My translation:Don’t complain. We’re letting you live.

“I will have vengeance!” Phaedra promised. “My sisters and I—”

A police car turned down Lafayette, sirens blaring as it came to check out why random buildings were imploding. I figured more emergency vehicles would be here soon.

“Good luck to you,” I told the nymph, and I meant it. “Come on, guys!”

While Phaedra screamed, we ran away like the heroic half-mutated demigods we were.

I’ll say it again: thank the gods for Halloween.

I doubt any amount of Mist could have hidden Owl-a-beth and Octo-Percy from the curious eyes of mortals as we fled, especially since my tentacles kept slapping passersby for no particular reason. Because it was Halloween, though, most people would think,Wow, those costumes are incredible, and that third guy is fully human! Amazing!

After a few blocks, we ducked into an alley to catch our breath.

“WHO!”Annabeth said.

I looked at Grover. “Can you understand her?”

Grover’s face was still covered in bee-sting welts. He picked a piece of gravel from between his toes. “What? No. It’s not a regular animal language she’s speaking. It’s—I don’t know.”

“WHO!”Annabeth demanded.

I held up one tentacle in a placating gesture. Then I realized it might look like a worm to a giant bird, so I put it down again. “I’m going to guess you’re asking what happens now. Gale and I made a possible cure.”

On my shoulder, Gale chirped,It’s not just possible! It’s genius!

I explained how Gale and I had bonded while mixing potions in a collapsing building. I didn’t mention the vision I’d seen. I didn’t think Gale would appreciate me sharing that with the whole group, but I proudly presented Annabeth and Grover our bowl of turquoise goop.

Annabeth rotated her head in a circle and coughed. Everybody’s a critic.

Grover sniffed. “I think it smells good. Like cinnamon toothpaste. Do we rub it on our gums?”

“I—Hmm. I thought it was like a lotion for your skin.…”

“Bark!”Gale said, outraged.