'Why do we need to know about that?'
'I'll explain when we get there,' Nico said. 'I've already tracked down his
mother. She lives in Connecticut.'
I stared at him. I'd never thought much about Luke's mortal parent. I'd met
his dad, Hermes, but his mom …
'Luke ran away when he was really young,' I said. 'I didn't think his mom
was alive.'
'Oh, she's alive.' The way he said it made me wonder what was wrong with
her. What kind of horrible person could she be?
'Okay …' I said. 'So how do we get to Connecticut? I can call Blackjack –'
'No.' Nico scowled. 'Pegasi don't like me, and the feeling is mutual. But
there's no need for flying.' He whistled, and Mrs O'Leary came loping out of the
woods.
'Your friend here can help.' Nico patted her head. 'You haven't tried shadowtravel yet?'
'Shadow-travel?'
Nico whispered in Mrs O'Leary's ear. She tilted her head, suddenly alert.
'Hop on board,' Nico told me.
I'd never considered riding a dog before, but Mrs O'Leary was certainly big
enough. I climbed onto her back and held her collar.
'This will make her very tired,' Nico warned, 'so you can't do it often. And it
works best at night. But all shadows are part of the same substance. There is
only one darkness, and creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a
door.'
'I don't understand,' I said.
'No,' Nico said. 'It took me a long time to learn. But Mrs O'Leary knows. Tell
her where to go. Tell her Westport, the home of May Castellan.'
'You're not coming?'
'Don't worry,' he said. 'I'll meet you there.'
I was a little nervous, but I leaned down to Mrs O'Leary's ear. 'Okay, girl. Uh,
can you take me to Westport, Connecticut? May Castellan's place?'
Mrs O'Leary sniffed the air. She looked into the gloom of the forest. Then she
bounded forward, straight into an oak tree.
Just before we hit, we passed into shadows as cold as the dark side of the
moon.