The Winged Warrior

Chapter 11 part 2

*****

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the shadow of a roman-style barrack with the eagle of the fifth cohort standing proudly next to the door. I knocked and walked inside. 

There were ten bunks inside but only one was occupied. I saw a bushy mane of dark brown hair and a flash of golden eyes before Hazel was upon me, hugging me until I could barely breathe.

Then she stood back, her eyes filled with happy tears, and punched me in the face.

"Ouch!"

"You git! I thought you were dead!" She screamed at me, punctuating each word with another punch.

"Alright! I didn't even know you were still alive! Who gave you immortality, anyway?" I asked, wheezing slightly and clutching my bruised stomach, which I knew would heal in about three seconds.

"Jupi - Zeus. He said we should be given a gift for our work against Gaia, and plus someone needs to keep an eye on Jason while he rebuilds all those temples." She replied, looking a little calmer and sweeping her curls out of her face.

I grinned. "How's he doing with that?"

"Really good! He did all the ones at camp Jupiter years ago, but they still look great. He got Annabeth to help him."

We walked together towards the temples of the Gods, and I stopped in my tracks.

The temples were huge, each one adorned with fresh flowers and food as offerings. I saw Zeus, towering high with its gold and blue painted, high ceiling. To its right, the sea green sparkling walls of the Poseidon cabin and to its left - 

 my jaw dropped.

The Hades cabin was made of pitch black stone, blue torches burning outside the great, dark wood doors. The offerings were just as plentiful as the ones outside the others, which was a pleasant surprise. The door was slightly ajar, and through it I could see a towering statue of my father sitting on a throne carved from bones, holding a staff - my staff - and wearing his helm. 

"Jason had statues of each God put in each temple. The Gods loved it, they adore posing. Especially Venus."

I smiled. Jason had done an amazing job.

"Hey, I heard Jason and Piper split up?" I asked, as we sat down on the black wall that surrounded the temple.

Hazel's gold eyes were downcast. "Yeah. About fifty years ago. Jason still loves her though."

I sighed. Love was so complicated sometimes.

"So. Why did you come here anyway, if you didn't think I was alive?" Hazel asked.

"Oh. Camp is in an awful state right now." I said.

I explained everything that had been happening to Hazel, and then my argument with Will. By the end of it I was almost in tears, and Hazel hugged me comfortingly.

"Don't worry, he'll come around." she said gently.

This was one of the main reasons that Hazel was such a great sister. When I'd told her I was gay, she'd hardly batted an eyelid and she hadn't said anything nasty like one of the Ares kids did. Also, she kind of filled the space in me that Bianca left behind when she died.

"You're awesome, Hazel. Thanks for listening to my problems, but I'd better get back now." I said regretfully, jumping up off the wall and offering Hazel my hand to pull herself up. "It was really nice seeing you, sis."

She nodded, her beautiful golden eyes filling with sudden tears. "Promise you'll come visit more often? You can see all the other temples and Jason and Frank and everyone."