The Last Olympian

could see through the Mist.”
    “Like my mother,” I said. And I was also thinking, Like Rachel . “But the glowing eyes thing—”
    “Some bear the curse of sight better than others,” the goddess said sadly. “For a while, May Castellan had many talents. She attracted the attention of Hermes himself. They had a beautiful baby boy. For a brief time, she was happy. And then she went too far.”
    I remembered what Mrs. Castellan had said: They offered me an important job . . . It didn’t work out. I wondered what kind of job left you like that.
    “One minute she was all happy,” I said. “And then she was freaking out about her son’s fate, like she knew he’d turned into Kronos. What happened to . . . to divide her like that?”
    The goddess’s face darkened. “That is a story I do not like to tell. But May Castellan saw too much. If you are to understand your enemy Luke, you must understand his family.”
    I thought about the sad little pictures of Hermes taped above May Castellan’s sink. I wondered if Ms. Castellan had been so crazy when Luke was little. That green-eyed fit could’ve seriously scared a nine-year-old kid. And if Hermes never visited, if he’d left Luke alone with his mom all those years . . .
    “No wonder Luke ran away,” I said. “I mean, it wasn’t right to leave his mom like that, but still—he was just a kid. Hermes shouldn’t have abandoned them.”
    Hestia scratched behind Mrs. O’Leary’s ears. The hellhound wagged her tail and accidentally knocked over a tree.
    “It’s easy to judge others,” Hestia warned. “But will you follow Luke’s path? Seek the same powers?”
    Nico set down his plate. “We have no choice, my lady. It’s the only way Percy stands a chance.”
    “Mmm.” Hestia opened her hand and the fire roared. Flames shot thirty feet into the air. Heat slapped me in the face. Then the fire died back down to normal.
    “Not all powers are spectacular.” Hestia looked at me. “Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding. Do you believe me?”
    “Uh-huh,” I said. Anything to keep her from messing with her flame powers again.
    The goddess smiled. “You are a good hero, Percy Jackson. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn. When Dionysus was made a god, I gave up my throne for him. It was the only way to avoid a civil war among the gods.”
    “It unbalanced the Council,” I remembered. “Suddenly there were seven guys and five girls.”
    Hestia shrugged. “It was the best solution, not a perfect one. Now I tend the fire. I fade slowly into the background. No one will ever write epic poems about the deeds of Hestia. Most demigods don’t even stop to talk to me. But that is no matter. I keep the peace. I yield when necessary. Can you do this?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.”
    She studied me. “Perhaps not yet. But soon. Will you continue your quest?”
    “Is that why you’re here—to warn me against going?”
    Hestia shook her head. “I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that’s left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian. You must remember me when you face your final decision.”
    I didn’t like the way she said final .
    I looked at Nico, then back at Hestia’s warm glowing eyes. “I have to continue, my lady. I have to stop Luke . . . I mean Kronos.”
    Hestia nodded. “Very well. I cannot be of much assistance, beyond what I have already told you. But since you sacrificed to me, I can return you to your own hearth. I will see you again, Percy, on Olympus.”
    Her tone was ominous, as though our next meeting would not be happy.
    The goddess waved her hand, and everything faded.
    Suddenly I was home. Nico and I were sitting on the couch in my mom’s apartment on the Upper East Side. That was the good news. The bad news was that the rest of the living room was occupied by Mrs. O’Leary.
    I heard a muffled yell from the bedroom. Paul’s voice said, “Who put this wall of fur in the doorway?”
    “Percy?” my mom called out. “Are you here? Are you all right?”
    “I’m here!” I shouted back.
    “WOOF!” Mrs. O’Leary tried to turn in a circle to find my mom, knocking all the pictures off the walls. She’s only met my mom once before (long story), but she loves her.
    It took a few minutes, but we finally got things worked out. After destroying most of the furniture in the living room and probably making our neighbors