"Except he forgot," Nico muttered. "And his father jumped off the palace roof in

despair. But other than that, it was a great idea."

 

"What about a flag or a flare?" my mom said. "From Olympus — the Empire State

Building."

 

"Something blue," I said.

 

We'd had a running joke for years about blue food. It was my favorite color, and

my mom went out of her way to humor me. Every year my birthday cake, my Easter

basket, my Christmas candy canes always had to be blue.

 

"Yes," my mom agreed. "I'll watch for a blue signal. And I'll try to avoid

jumping off palace roofs."

 

She gave me one last hug. I tried not to feel like I was saying good-bye. I

shook hands with Paul.

 

Then Nico and I walked to the kitchen doorway and looked at Mrs. O'Leary.

 

"Sorry, girl," I said. "Shadow travel time again."

 

She whimpered and crossed her paws over her snout.