“I pressed PLAY and started up Chiron's favorite--the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin. Suddenly the air was filled with violins and a bunch of guys moaning in Italian. The demon pigeons went nuts. They started flying in circles, running into each other like they wanted to bash their own brains out.”

“And of course I'm in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me; Into thin air, up in the air,Gone with the wind-”

“Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?”

“I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"His eyes lit up. "Me?"Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch."Maia!" he shouted.He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos."Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!""Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.”

“I felt a strange pang of jealousy. Walt and Anubis seemed to have spent more time talking with each other than with me. Walt was suddenly an expert on all things deathly. Meanwhile, I couldn’t even be near Anubis without invoking the wrath of his chaperone—Shu, the god of hot air. It wasn’t bloody fair!”

“Chiron probably wanted me to say, Heck it wa nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast. But I didn't feel like lying.”

“It was guarded by a few demons, but most of Set's forces were running towards our boat, screaming and throwing rocks (which tended to fall back down and hit them, but no one says demons are too bright)”