Wild ― Piper McLean

―iv. verona doesn't like metaphors

"Hmm. Close your eyes."

Jason glanced at Annabeth, who nodded reassuringly.

Jason closed his eyes. Almost immediately, he swayed like he was about to pass out, and Verona and Annabeth caught him, half-dragging him over to an empty chair by the hearth.

Clovis's eyes were closed as well, but his brow was furrowed in concentration, not lax with sleep. Verona looked at Jason warily. A few minutes passed, and nothing happened, until Jason's form started to turn translucent.

"Whoa, bring him out of it, Clovis!" Annabeth said, shaking the Hypnos kid's shoulder to snap him out of his concentration.

Clovis blinked his eyes open, then snapped his fingers, and Jason's body solidified again.

"What the hell was that?" Verona demanded.

"I'm not sure," Clovis admitted. "I couldn't find any trace of a memory."

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "It's that serious?"

"Oh yeah, it's that serious, all right," Clovis said as Jason's eyes snapped open.

"What happened?" Jason asked. "How long—?"

"Just a few minutes," Annabeth said. "But it was tense. You almost dissolved."

Jason looked at Verona, as if to ask if Annabeth meant that literally, but Verona's tense expression must have answered that for him.

"Usually," Clovis said, "memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this..."

"Lethe?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Clovis said. "Not even Lethe."

"Lethe?" Jason asked.

Clovis pointed to the tree branch dripping milky drops above the fireplace. "The River Lethe in the Underworld. It dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently. That's the branch of a poplar tree from the Underworld, dipped into the Lethe. It's the symbol of my father, Hypnos. Lethe is not a place you want to go swimming."

Annabeth nodded. "Percy went there once. He told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan."

"But... that's not my problem?" Jason asked.

"No," Clovis agreed. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories aren't buried. They've been stolen." He looked at Verona. "I'd guess it's the same with yours. I can still try, if you want?"

Verona held her hands up in defense. "I'll take your word for it."

The fire crackled in the immediate silence. Drops of Lethe water plinked into the tin cups on the mantel. One of the other Hypnos campers muttered in his sleep—something about a duck.

"Stolen," Jason said. "How?"

"A god," Clovis said. "Only a god would have that kind of power."

"We know that," Jason said. "It was Juno. But how did she do it, and why?"

Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"

"He means Hera," Annabeth said. "For some reason, Jason and Verona like the Roman names."

"Hmm," Clovis said.

"What?" Verona questioned. "Does that mean something?"

"Hmm," Clovis said again, and this time Verona realized he was snoring.

"Clovis!" she yelled.

"What? What?" His eyes fluttered open. "We were talking about pillows, right? No, gods. I remember. Greek and Roman. Sure, could be important."