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IT'S A GOOD THING SHE WASN'T AFRAID OF GHOSTS, or at least, she didn't think she was , because it seemed that half the people in the camp were dead.
Shimmering purple warriors stood outside the armory, polishing ethereal swords. Others hung out in front of the barracks. A ghostly boy chased a ghostly dog down the street. And at the stables, a big glowing red dude with the head of a wolf guarded a herd of... unicorns?
She didn't even want to ask.
None of the campers paid the ghosts much attention, but as the daughter of Hecate's entourage walked by, with Reyna in the lead and Jason beside, all the spirits stopped what they were doing and stared at her. A few looked angry. Some looked scared and turned invisible upon seeing her.
She wished she could turn invisible too. All this attention made her feel uneasy.
"Am I seeing things?" she asked, looking up at the blonde boy, "Or are those—"
"Ghosts?" Jason smirked down at her, "They're Lares. House gods."
"House gods," The girl stated, putting her hands in her pockets, "Like...smaller than mansion gods, but larger than shed gods?"
"They're ancestral spirits," He explained. "The Lares are kind of like mascots. Mostly they're harmless, but I've never seen them so agitated."
"They're staring at me," she mumbled,
"Just ignore them. We're not used to... entrances like yours."
They stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T.
A street sign labelled the road to the main gates as via praetoria. The other road, cutting across the middle of camp, was labelled via principalis. Under those markers were hand-painted signs like NEW ROME 1 MILE; OLD ROME 7280 MILES; HADES 2310 MILES (which was pointing straight down); RENO 208 MILES, AND CERTAIN DEATH: YOU ARE HERE!
Perfect.
For certain death, the place looked pretty clean and orderly. The buildings were freshly whitewashed, laid out in neat grids like the camp had been designed by a fussy math teacher. The barracks had shady porches, where campers lounged in hammocks or played cards and drank sodas. Each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying Roman numerals and various animals—eagle, bear, wolf, horse, and something that looked like a hamster.
Along the Via Praetoria, rows of shops advertised food, armor, weapons, coffee, gladiator equipment, and toga rentals. A chariot dealership had a big advertisement out front: CAESAR XLS W/ANTILOCK BRAKES, NO DENARII DOWN!
At one corner of the crossroads stood the most impressive building—a two-story wedge of white marble with a columned portico like an old-fashioned bank. Roman guards stood out front. Over the doorway hung a big purple banner with the gold letters SPQR embroidered inside a laurel wreath.
