Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Percy meets up with his satyr friend Grover, who is very excited at the prospect of pet-sitting, at their usual spot, the 103rd Street subway station on Lexington Avenue. They walk over to the coffee shop where Percy’s mother is working on her novel so that he can tell her about the quest. They find her in a quirky cafe, the Cracked Teapot, typing alongside a pot of herbal tea, which she replaced her coffee with since she is pregnant.

Grover orders a double latte and a strawberry muffin, which worries Percy, since he knows that coffee and anything strawberry flavored is sure to send him into “hyperactive meltdown.” Grover promises to run in the park to work off his energy before they go to Hecate’s. Percy tells his mother about the quest, and she is supportive, but he can tell she is concerned, especially when she hears that Hecate’s mansion is in Gramercy Park.

After grabbing his “demigod go bag” (25), Percy goes to The School of Design, the private boarding school near Gramercy Park that Annabeth attends. He finds her in the library with two friends. Though he suspects her friends do not think he is good enough for her, Percy is not jealous, only determined to graduate on time and go to college with her.

The group is brainstorming for a homework assignment to redesign the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which reminds Percy of almost being incinerated by his sixth-grade math teacher, a Fury (a Greek goddess of vengeance). After the group shares their ideas, Percy asks Annabeth for help on an unexpected assignment. She immediately recognizes what this means, and the two go outside to discuss it privately.

When Percy tells her about Hecate’s quest, Annabeth is excited. She has tamed Cerberus, the many-headed dog that guards the underworld in Greek myth, so a hellhound does not scare her, and it means they have a venue for their Halloween party. She has always wanted to design a haunted house but never had the chance. Hecate’s mansion will be perfect. Even if she catches them, they can play it off “as a form of worship” (29). Percy remains dubious, but they agree to meet in an hour to pick up take-out.

Dinner in hand, the trio heads to Gramercy Park, a wealthy enclave with its own private park. They initially fail to see the mansion because it is an optical illusion that only reveals itself when looked at directly. Fog hangs over the yard. A walkway apparently made from human skulls leads to the five-story townhouse, which is crafted from tombstones and adorned with black metalwork. The three-paneled front door has three doorknockers depicting the heads of a horse, lion, and dog; these knockers can converse with them, but they announce that one always lies, one always tells the truth, and one always speaks nonsense. The door opens to reveal a hellhound, Hecuba.

After introducing himself, Grover converses with Hecuba and then translates for Annabeth and Percy that the door knockers have not worked properly since an unspecified school (later revealed to be a project of Hecate’s) closed down. Inside, a black marble foyer opens into a large room with stained glass windows and an iron candelabra. Persian rugs feature “scenes of tortured spirits” (36). A dais holds a grand piano and a lectern, on which a polecat is napping.

Grover introduces himself to the polecat, Gale, who shakes his hand politely. She has a flatulence problem. As Percy considers the implications of this, Hecate descends the wrap-around staircase wearing yoga pants. She offers to give them “the three-drachma tour of the house” (37). Fortunately, Annabeth has the fee, and Hecate leads them upstairs to meet her eels.

Hecate’s four eels live in a freestanding glass column in the hallway. They begin communicating with Percy, contradicting Hecate’s feeding instructions. She points out bedrooms, noting that they are only for acolytes she trains in magic, but when Annabeth asks about the school, Hecate shuts down the conversation. Grover asks where they will sleep, and Hecate replies that they may camp out in the living room. Percy asks about bathrooms, and it is clear Hecate has not considered this mortal need; however, she thinks them into existence on the spot. She then points out the library, which they may use at their own peril. When Grover asks where the kitchen is, Hecate leads them into her laboratory. As they descend yet another staircase, Percy wonders if the house is bigger on the inside.

Stainless steel worktops reminiscent of morgue tables line the center of the room. Glass-doored cabinets are filled with full vials, beakers, and jars, and covered pots simmer and steam on a stove. Hecate proudly remarks that The Great Witches’ Brew Off was filmed here. Grover asks about the “heavenly smell,” and Hecate leads them to “an old-fashioned ice-cream maker” that smells of fresh strawberries (42). Hecate warns the demigods not to touch any of her projects but gives them permission to transfer the strawberry milkshake into the freezer. The trio will now meet her pets.

Hecate has many rules and enjoys enumerating them. She points out Hecuba’s vitamins, chicken-nugget-sized pills in numerous colors, which Hecate notes the hellhound does not like. Next, she points out Hecuba’s kibble, which steams like dried ice and smells of asphalt. Forty-gallon garden-waste bags serve as “poop bags” for Hecuba’s twice-daily walks, which must go no further than Pennsylvania. Hecate emphasizes that the animals must not leave the house without their ensorcelled leashes and accessories, which prevent them from escaping.

Gale has her own playroom stocked with self-defense combat dummies that she enjoys tearing apart. Her food is stored in a refrigerator: chicken carcasses hanging from meat hooks. Hecate sets one up, and the polecat leaps into it and devours it, leaving shreds of flesh and fat scattered across the floor, which the demigods will have to clean up. Hecate warns them always to use the proper terminology when referring to Gale. She does not like to be mistaken for other mustelids.

Back in the great room, Hecate points out her set of crossed torches, the symbols of her power. They should be used only in “an extreme emergency” (48), but she does not specify what emergency would qualify. Transforming into an elaborate “Dark Cinderella,” she departs for Tokyo Disneyland, which will be hosting a Spooky Boo! Parade in her honor.

After the trio cleans up the mess the animals made at dinner, Gale and Hecuba want to go for a walk. Hecuba moves so fast that she almost drags Annabeth to death, so Percy takes over. He thinks about his own hellhound, Mrs. O’Leary (introduced in The Battle of the Labyrinth), noting a difference between her and Hecuba, whose eyes “echo […] a human personality” (53). Both she and Gale were human in ancient times.

When they return to the mansion, Percy momentarily sees “a glowing blue apparition” (54), a terrified child riding away from the mansion on a bicycle. He then steps on a child-sized pair of eyeglasses in the street. He asks Annabeth if Hecate is goddess of ghosts.

Inside, the group eats in the great room. After dinner, they find the bathrooms, only some of which make mortal sense. Gale and Hecuba curl up together to sleep, and Grover and Annabeth quickly fall asleep. Percy worries about the ghost he saw, about leaving Grover alone with a strawberry milkshake, and about the animals “chewing [his] face while [he] slept” (57).

The next morning, after feeding Hecuba and Gale, the group showers, eats, and plans their stay. Grover suggests walks scheduled around school. He and Percy will walk Annabeth to school, and Annabeth and Grover will pick up Percy from his school. The walk to Annabeth’s school goes more smoothly now that they know what to expect. Percy feels almost optimistic but fears saying it aloud, not wanting to jinx them.

On the way home, Hecuba attacks a Greek food cart, but Percy pulls her off before she can do any serious damage. When he leaves for school, one of the door knockers says Grover will do well, the other that he will “ruin everything.” Percy later realizes he does not remember which one tells the truth but tries not to think about it.

After school, he is looking forward to seeing his friends and the animals, but an hour passes with no sign of them. Percy begins to panic. Demigods cannot use cell phones without summoning monsters, so he leaves a note on the sidewalk and then sets out for Gramercy, taking the route his friends would have taken. A block from the mansion, he sees Annabeth running toward it as well. Its windows are shattered, tombstone tiles dislodged, and blue smoke is coming from the imploded three-paneled door. They run inside.