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“Chiron told me that not all of Hecate’s ghosts are dead spirits,” I recalled. “He said the worst ones are memories and regrets…like choices we never made.”

She studied my face. She scooted her chair back and stood, which was getting increasingly difficult for her as the baby got bigger. “Come here, you.”

I got up and let her wrap me in a hug.

“That ghost you’re seeing?” she said. “That may be a memory, but I have no regrets.”

She held my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “My life is wonderful.Youare wonderful. I think you’re seeingHecate’sregrets. If anyone needs your help and understanding, it’s her.”

That was the most Sally Jackson thing to say ever. A goddess had scared her, changed her life, and then years later threatened to incinerate her son if he didn’t pet-sit her animals correctly. And my mom’s reaction wasThat poor immortal goddess must really be hurting. You should help her.

“You’d better get going,” she added. “You’re going to be late for school. Dinner tomorrow, after this is all over?”

Straight back into classic mom mode.

“You’re right,” I said. “Yeah. Dinner tomorrow. I’ll try not to bring any undead with me.”

She laughed. “I’d prefer to see Annabeth and Grover. But your friends are always welcome, dead or otherwise.”

I had to hustle to school, but the stop had been worth it. The entire train ride to Queens, I was thinkingYeah, I can do this!rather thanYeah, I’m going to die!

I got through my tests and homework assignments. I pretended to know things. I guess my teachers appreciated the effort. Fourth period, I hoped to find Mr. Brunner still substituting, but my regular teacher, Dr. Sharma, had returned. She looked disappointed that I hadn’t yet picked a forgotten historical figure for my project. I told her I was thinking about Gale from ancient Greece.

“Who?” she asked, then apparently realized I had passed theforgottenportion of the assignment. “Never mind. I look forward to reading it.”

At lunchtime, I headed to the counselor’s office. I didn’t actually expect Eudora to be there, but this time I wasn’t going to take AWOL for an answer.

I said hi to Sicky Frog, who stared at me dejectedly from his usual spot on the wall. At least I could leave whenever I wanted—he was stuck there. I sat in a too-small plastic chair left over from AHS’s past life as an elementary school. I stared at the empty space behind Eudora’s desk.

“I know you can hear me,” I said. “We need to talk.”

I waited.

“Come on, Eudora,” I cajoled. “I was just getting ready to tell my dad how great you’ve been as my counselor—always there for me, always helpful—”

“Percy!” Eudora swept into the office from whatever broom closet she’d been hiding in. “What a nice surprise!”

“You’ve been avoiding me,” I said.

“What?” Her eye twitched behind her bottle-thick glasses. “Not at all!”

I stared at her.

A rivulet of seawater trickled down the side of her face from her seashell hairdo.

“It’s not reallyyou,” she said. “It’s just…”

“Hecate is terrifying,” I guessed.

“Hecateisterrifying!” She exhaled, deflating into her chair. “Oh, cockleshells! When she took over the principal’s office, I thought I woulddie, and I’m immortal! Have you seen what she’s up to now?”

“I…What?”

She plucked a shell from her hairdo and set it on the desk. A tiny jet of water shot upward, making a miniature fountain. At the top of the spout, where the water curled back on itself like a mushroom cloud, an image rippled into clarity.

Hecate was dancing down a gravel path at night, following a crowd of costumed revelers through a graveyard. The partyers wore black robes speckled with red. Their faces were painted chalky white. Some carried candles. Others bore plates of round pastries. Hecate held her torches out to either side and glowing spirits rose from the earth, joining the parade.

The souls flocked toward her, crowding around and clawing at her robes with their ghostly hands. When they got too close, Hecate crossed her torches, making an X over her chest, and the spirits disappeared again like dust blown away in a breeze.