helping."

 

"You?"

 

"I'm the messenger of the gods. It's my job to monitor what the mortals are

saying, and if necessary, help them make sense of what's happened. I'll reassure

them. Trust me, they'll put this down to a freak earthquake or a solar flare.

Anything but the truth."

 

He sounded bitter. George and Martha curled around his caduceus, but they were

silent, which made me think that Hermes was really really angry. I probably

should've kept quiet, but I said, "I owe you an apology."

 

Hermes gave me a cautious look. "And why is that?"

 

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke

because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

 

"I did know his future," Hermes said miserably.

 

"But you knew more than just the bad stuff — that he'd turn evil. You understood

what he would do in the end. You knew he'd make the right choice. But you

couldn't tell him, could you?"

 

Hermes stared at the fountain. "No one can tamper with fate, Percy, not even a