Wild ― Piper McLean

―iv. verona doesn't like metaphors

"Or worse," Chiron murmured.

Verona doubted he meant for everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple.

"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."

There was a moment of collective silence before the campers all starting talking at once. It took a few moments for them to quiet back down so Rachel could explain what happened on the skywalk earlier that day and everything that had happened after, including Hera's appearances to Piper, Jason, and Verona.

"It's clear Hera herself issued Jason and Verona a quest," Rachel said. She paused, as if giving either of them a chance to protest their destiny.

Verona could feel everyone's eyes on the pair.

Jason set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."

Verona sighed. "Yeah, sounds about right," she conceded. Dangerous quests, needy gods, deplorable odds of survival—it certainly felt familiar.

"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winder solstice, only four days from now."

"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."

"The winter solstice," Chiron chimed in, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things... stir."

Verona stared at the centaur. She was pretty sure he could make a chocolate chip cookie recipe sound like a guide to dying in the apocalypse.

"Okay," Annabeth said, clearly still mad at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason and Verona have been chosen to lead this quest, so—"

"Why haven't they been claimed?" somebody yelled. "If they're so important—"

"They have been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, why don't you give them a demonstration?"

At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. He stepped forward nervously, reaching into his pocket. His coin flashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a golden lance.

The crowd gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.

"Wasn't that...?" Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."

"It came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."

Someone muttered something about an electric spear, and Jason's brow furrowed a little. "Electric," he murmured. "Back away."

The people closest to him, including Verona, backed away as he raised his javelin. Thunder broke open the sky and a single bolt of lightning rained down from the sky, racing down the golden spear point and hitting the campfire with the force of a bomb.

When the smoke cleared and the ringing in Verona's ears subsided, the entire camp was frozen in shock, staring at the extinguished campfire. Cinders rained down everywhere like burning snowflakes.

Jason lowered his lance, looking around at the chaos he'd just unleashed. "Um... sorry."

"A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point," Chiron said with a grimace, as if he'd just had his worst fears confirmed. "And I believe we know who your father is."