The House of Hades (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Jason

Jason couldn’t help but to feel helpless. He had let his girlfriend angrily storm off, was being a stupid gloating Roman, and now stood frozen, staring at the screen to see the Big House catch fire.

And he saw flashes of silver. That could only mean the Hunters were fighting on the Greek side. He even saw those familiar blue eyes, which could only mean Thalia was also fighting. She opened her mouth, probably yelling a command. All the Hunters began to shoot arrows at the oncoming Romans.

Coach Hedge had come into the room, and he looked at the screen, his eyes filled with terror and pain. Leo looked up from the helm and though he couldn’t see the screen he frowned. He met Jason’s eye and looked away immediately. Guilt filled the empty pit in Jason’s stomach.

After a few minutes of watching the battle, helpless, Jason decided to go check on Piper. Usually she never stormed off to her room to sulk. Yet again, he had never really done that to her before. He walked down the passageway and knocked on her door. Behind the door, he could hear… crying.

“Piper, are you okay?” he asked. He wasn’t used to Piper crying in her room like an Aphrodite girl who had misplaced her lipstick.

The door opened. Piper stood in the doorway, her eyes puffy from crying. That wasn’t normal. But when Jason saw Katoptris clenched in her hand, everything snapped into perspective. Piper had received a vision. It had to be bad. She wouldn’t cry over a small vision. This had to be a big deal.

Before he could think straight, Jason pulled Piper into a hug. Whatever she had been holding out was let loose. She sobbed brokenly into his shoulder. He held her wordlessly. He wanted to ask her what had happened, what the vision had been, but something made him just hold her.

Finally with one more shuddering sob, Piper leaned away, her eyes puffy and her cheeks slick with tears. Jason stopped a tear from escaping her eye.

“What did you see?” he asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention from the others. He glanced down the passageway. The others were completely absorbed in watching the screens, watching the Romans attack the Greeks.

“This is a good and a bad thing,” Piper said. Her voice was thick with grief. “It’s great for Percy and Annabeth. It’s really great, in fact. But for me and you…” Her eyes closed and a tear escaped her closed eyelids. “This isn’t good at all.” The horrible feeling inside of her must have completely snapped, because she almost collapsed on the spot. Jason caught her and hugged her tighter than before. Now he was really worried. He hated to think of Piper collapsing from crying so hard.

“Pipes, you can tell me.” Jason could feel her heart pound in her chest. He pulled away slightly and looked at her. Her eyes were red as well as her nose. “It’s bad, isn’t it? I mean, you’re crying.”

“It’s bad.” She held up her knife. “Hopefully Katoptris isn’t being stubborn. I need you to see this.”

Jason looked into the knife. The hilt was cold. As he prayed for the vision Piper saw, the vision came into view.

He instantly knew it was Gaea. She was walking in a trance-like state, a sleepy smile pulled on her full lips. There must have been a soft breeze, because her black hair, as dark and rich as the soil, fluttered in the wind. Her eyes were closed. Thought she was obviously asleep, she was walking and murmuring restlessly to herself. She was waking. She was more awake than Jason ever imagined.

“I have bad news… for you,” Gaea murmured. The smile on her face became more pronounced. “Percy and Annabeth have found a little guardian over them in Tartarus. That good for nothing Ariadne thinks she can protect those two in the presence of my husband? Ha! She’s strong, but not strong enough.”