be.

iv - quest number five.

The last thing Dakota wanted to experience was a sing-along. Of course, that was exactly what her and Miranda walked into when they took their spots at the section designated for Cabin Four. The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under their various banners.

Dakota spotted Jason in the front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with his bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner emblazoned with a hammer — the symbol of Hephaestus. He noticed her and grinned, waving his hand excitedly. At least she had that. Her cousin was at camp with her and actually noticed her. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange, and lyres were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. Dakota always thought it was one of those campfire songs that would've been completely embarrassing in daylight; but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun. As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold.

Piper walked in with Rachel next to her. She looked better now that she wasn't passed out. When Miranda handed Dakota a cup of Sprite, she motioned her cup toward Piper with a smile. The two girls met eyes, a silent conversation going on between them.

You okay?

Yeah. Finally awake.

Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. Chiron trotted up and brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about Capture the flag?" somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among the kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head which resembled Ares, the god of war.

"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron continued, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to Leo's group. Leo grinned at Dakota and shot her with a finger gun. The girl next to him stood uncomfortably — Nyssa.

"We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.

"Really hard," she said.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones — bang, bang, bang — and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed even further, but Dakota didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety.

Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.

"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis—everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."