The Cult of Dionysus

Apollo

Meg, my mortal garbage-throwing boss, gawks at Chiron. "He... he really is a centaur."

"Well spotted." I say. "I suppose the lower body of a horse is what gave him away?"

She punches me in the arm.

"Chiron." I say. "this is Meg McCaffreyy, my new master and wellspringof aggravation. You were saing something about disappearances?"

Chriron's tail flicks. His hooves clop on the planks of the porch.

He is immortal, yet his visible age seems to vary from century to century. I do not remember his whiskers ever being so gray, or the lines around his eyes so pronounced. Whatever is happening at camp must not be be helping his stress levels.

"Welcome, Meg." Chiron tries for a friendly tone, which I think quite heroic, seeing as...well, Meg. "I understand you showed great bravery in the woods. You brought Apollo here despite many dangers. I'm glad to have you at Camp Half-Blood."

"Thanks," says Meg. "You're really tall. Don't you hit your head on light fixtures?"

Chiron chuckles. "Sometimes. If I want to be closer to human size, I have a magical wheelchair that allows me to compact my lower half into...Actually, that's not important now."

"Disappearances," I prompt. "What has disappeared?"

"Not what, but who," Chiron says. "Let's talk inside. Will, Nico, could you please tell the other campers we'll gather for dinner in one hour? I'll give everyone an update then. In the meantime, no one should roam the camp alone. Use the buddy system."

"Understood." Will looks at Nico. "Will you be my buddy?"

"You are a dork," Nico announces.

The two of them stroll off bickering.

At this point, you may be wondering how I feel seeing my son with Nico di Angelo. I'll admit I do not understand Will's attraction to a child of Hades, but if the dark foreboding type is what makes Will happy...Oh. Perhaps some of you are wondering how I feel seeing him with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. If that's the case, please. We gods are not hung up about such things. I myself have had...let's see, thirty-three mortal girlfriends and eleven mortal boyfriends? I've lost count. My two greatest loves were, of course, Daphne and Hyacinthus, but when you're a god as popular as I am—

Hold on. Did I just tell you who I liked? I did, didn't I? Gods of Olympus, forget I mentioned their names! I am so embarrassed. Please don't say anything. In this mortal life, I've never been in love with anyone!

I am so confused.

Chiron leads us into the living room, where comfy leather couches make a V facing the stone fireplace. Above the mantel, a stuffed leopard head is snoring contentedly.

"Is it alive?" Meg asks.

"Quite." Chiron trotted over to his wheelchair. "That's Seymour. If we speak quietly, we should be able to avoid waking him. He has been awful upset since Calli..." he doesn't finish.

Meg immediately begins exploring the living room. Knowing her, she's searching for small objects to throw at the leopard to wake him up.

Chiron settles into his wheelchair. He places his rear legs into the false compartment of the seat, then backs up, magically compacting his equine hindquarters until he looks like a man sitting down. To complete the illusion, hinged front panels swing closed, giving him fake human legs. Normally those legs are fitted with slacks and loafers to augment his "professor" disguise, but today it seems Chiron is going for a different look.