𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 ━ 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 | 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

I SOON REALIZED Annabeth's heart was not in the tour. She had a faraway look in her eyes. I found myself doing most of the talking. Piper kept quiet though she would marvel every now and then, Camp Half-Blood never failed to impress after all.

"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," I said. "As you can see, the weather is controlled, too. Each cabin represents a Greek god- a place for that god's children to live."

Annabeth looked at Piper, seeing how she would take the news.

"You're saying my mom is a goddess," Piper said.

"Yes," It was my turn to eye her. "You're taking this awfully calmly."

Piper took a shaky breath. "I guess after this morning, it's a little easier to believe. So who's my mom?"

Me and Annabeth shared a quick look. It's not right.

"The problem is," I said, "we don't know. You're what—fifteen? Gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. That was the deal."

Piper looked baffled which I couldn't blame her. Maybe she was disappointed, so Annabeth reassured her. "You should get claimed soon though. Tonight at the campfire, I bet we'll get a sign."

She just nodded. Then she hesitated. "What happened to Coach Hedge?" she asked. "When we went up into the clouds, did he... is he gone for good?"

"Hard to say," I said unhelpfully.

She gazed at the cabins below, looking uneasy. I understood. Hedge might have died to get her here safely. I bet she never like the old goat until now. I was worried about him too. But if any satyr can survive, it's Hedge, he's the toughest out there.

I squeezed Piper's shoulder reassuringly and gazed into her eyes intently. "I can't promise you safety. I can't promise you that you won't disappointed by your godly parent. But I can promise that you will be loved. We're one big family. Even though we fight and bicker."

Piper seemed to appreciate my honesty. She fell into my arms and I held her close.

"Hate to ruin the moment," Annabeth said, "but there's something else I need to check."

I pulled away from her and smiled at Annabeth. "Lead the way."

I couldn't help but notice, all the way we were going, Piper kept giving me weird looks.

We hiked a little farther until they reached a cave near the top of the hill. Where Rachel lived, well kind of, as our oracle.

"What's in there?" Piper asked.

  Annabeth poked her head inside, then sighed and closed the curtains. "Nothing, right now. A friend's place. I've been expecting her for a few days, but so far, nothing."

I didn't ask why. It probably had something to do with Percy's disappearance.

"Your friend lives in a cave?" Piper said disbelievingly.

I coughed. "Uh, no."

Annabeth almost managed a smile. "Actually, her family has a luxury condo in Queens, and she goes to a finishing school in Connecticut. But when she's here at camp, yeah, she lives in the cave. She's our oracle, tells the future. I was hoping she could help me—"

"Find Percy," I said without a doubt.

All the energy drained out of Annabeth, like she'd been holding it together for as long as she could. She sat down on a rock, and her expression was so full of pain, my heart hurt too. I missed Percy badly, though I only knew of his disappearance for about twenty minutes.

I sat beside her and tried to think of something to say. "Just know that he's not gone, Annabeth. Just lost. Either we'll find him, or he'll find us."

Her shoulders drooped. She rubbed her face and took a shaky breath. "I know, Angelique. I'm just so very tired."

"How long, and how did it happen?" I asked.

"I've been searching for him for about three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes. We were so excited because we both started winter break early. We met up at camp on Tuesday, figured we had three weeks together. It was going to be great. Then after the campfire, he—he kissed me good night, went back to his cabin, and in the morning, he was gone. We searched the whole camp. We contacted his mom. We've tried to reach him every way we know how. Nothing. He just disappeared."

"Why didn't you contact me?" I asked, trying not to sound accusing.

"Chiron told me to let you focus on your mission. I- I should have told you anyways."

"He's right," I sighed. "I had a job to do. If you told me... I would have come running. I would have been reckless."

Piper was pursing her lips, she seemed to be thinking about something. "How long were you guys together?"

"Since August," Annabeth said. "August eighteenth. Percy's birthday. And seven days before Angelique's birthday, which is August twenty-fifth."

I wasn't going to pretend to be surprised. Annabeth remembered just about everything. She was a good friend that way.

"Almost exactly when I met Jason," Piper said. "But we've only been together a few weeks."

Annabeth looked even more tired. She glanced at me, silently pleading me to tell Piper.

I held in a wince. "Piper... take a seat."

She seemed to know where this was going. Half of me expected her to cover her ears and start singing la-la-la very loudly. The things mist does... it's scary sometimes.

"Look, I know Jason thought—" Piper was talking rapidly before I could stop her, "he thought he just appeared at our school today. But that's not true. I've known him for four months. "

"Piper," I said slowly. "It's the Mist. M-i-s-t. It's a kind of veil separating the mortal world from the magic world. Mortal minds—they can't process strange stuff like gods and monsters, so the Mist bends reality. It makes mortals see things in a way they can understand —like their eyes might just skip over this valley completely, or they might look at that dragon and see a pile of cables."

Piper swallowed. "No. You said yourself I'm not a regular mortal. I'm a demigod."

"The mist can affect even demigods," I said. "Especially demigods who don't know they are one yet. Some memories you have of me may not be real too."

Piper insisted. "My memories aren't fake. They're so real. The time we set Coach Hedge's pants on fire. The time Jason and I watched a meteor shower on the dorm roof, you even helped us sneak out, and I finally got the stupid guy to kiss me..."

I shook my head. "See, I don't remember that."

Then Piper was rambling, telling me and Annabeth about her whole semester at Wilderness School. How she'd liked Jason from the first week they'd met. He was so nice to her, and so patient, he could even put up with hyperactive Leo and his stupid jokes. How he got himself warmed up to me. How he'd accepted her for herself and didn't judge her because of the stupid things she'd done. Apparently they'd spent hours talking, looking at the stars, and eventually—finally—holding hands.

Piper was really convinced. But she needed the hard truth and I would give her it. "Piper, where is he from?"

She stammered. "He must have told me, but—"

"Did you ever notice his tattoo before today? Did he ever tell you anything about his parents, or his friends, or his last school?"

"I—I don't know, but—"

"What is his last name?"

Piper stopped altogether. She began to cry.

"Hey," Annabeth said, trying to comfort her. "We'll figure it out. Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out with you guys for real."

Piper didn't seem very reassured. "W-What exactly happened from your point of view?" she asked, wiping away tears.

I thought about it for a moment then answered, "I became good friends with you and Leo in the wilderness school. I was assigned there by Chiron. The couple of months I had with you guys, any memories you have with me, are real. Anyways, somehow Chiron knew that Coach Hedge would need extra help somehow. I was just supposed to help protect you and Leo... until Jason came along. When we were in the bus, I kind of blacked out for a moment. Next thing I know, Jason is sitting in the seat next to you, I'm sitting with Leo, you're convinced a stranger is your boyfriend. It was kind of frightening."

Piper took this in, obviously not liking my perspective on the past month.

Annabeth got up. "Hopefully Chiron can figure out what's happening. But for now, we need to get you settled. You ready to go back down?"

"Yeah," said Piper, but I knew she was lying. "I'm ready. "

We walked back down. I already knew where Annabeth was heading. The weapons shed.

I swung the door opened and we all stepped inside.

"Every demigod needs a weapon," Annabeth said. "Hephaestus makes the best, but we have a pretty good selection, too. Athena's all about strategy—matching the right weapon to the right person. Let's see ..."

As Annabeth rummaged through the shed, I studied Piper. A blade didn't fit her, nor pole arm.

Something light, like maybe a dagger or a bow.

Suddenly Piper peered over where Annabeth was rummaging. "What is that?" she said. "A knife?"

Annabeth dug it out and blew the dust off the scabbard. It looked like it hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. Katoptris. Helen of Troy's ceremonial blade.

Annabeth looked unsure. "I don't know Piper..."

Piper took it from her hand and drew it from it's scabbard. She seemingly liked the parazonium. "Why not?"

Annabeth exhaled. "That blade has a long story. Most people would be afraid to claim it. Its first owner... well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen."

"And yes," I said because of the look I saw on Piper's face. "The Helen of Troy."

She looked at the dagger with a newfound perspective. Like she was holding a blade that just came from the forges, still red and steaming.

"It's like a mirror," Annabeth said. "Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle."

"It suits you," I said honestly.

Piper gazed at her own reflection. Something flashed over her eyes and she dropped it, her face as white as a ghost.

"Piper?" I whipped around to the Apollo kids playing basketball. "I need a medic!"

"No, it's—it's okay," Piper managed to say.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth questioned. "You looked very pale."

"Y-Yeah," Piper said. "Just overwhelmed by everything that's happening."

I waved off the Apollo kids. Piper's been lying a lot today, but I'll let this one slide.

"Can I keep the dagger?" she asked hesitatingly.

I shrugged. "If you're sure."

We continued the little tour. Then we reached the two empty cabins. Zeus and Hera.

"Are they empty?" Piper asked.

I nodded. "Zeus went a long time without having any children. Well, mostly. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the eldest brothers among the gods—they're called the Big Three. Their kids are really powerful, really dangerous. For the last seventy years or so, they tried to avoid having demigod children."

"Tried to avoid it?" she queried.

"Sometimes they ... um, cheated. I've got a friend, Thalia Grace, who's the daughter of Zeus. But she gave up camp life and became a Hunter of Artemis. My brother, Percy, he's a son of Poseidon. And there's a kid who shows up sometimes, Nico—son of Hades. Except for them, there are no demigod children of the Big Three gods. At least, not that we know of."

Piper seemed to recall something. "Didn't you- Didn't I see you summon water? During the fight with Dylan. You summoned it out of thin air. You're a daughter of Poseidon aren't you?"

I laughed. "If Percy is my half-brother, and I go to this camp, then it pretty much sums up who my godly parent is."

"But the water, it just came out of no where. Like you created it."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm pretty sure only the Gods could create water. I didn't do that. I pulled water out of the ocean, or sometimes the air moisture, if there's enough. It kind of just teleports to my hand. I don't know for sure, and it hurts when I think about it too much. All in all, water comes easier to me than other children of Poseidon. Of course using a direct source is much more convenient."

I materialized a drop of water over my fingers to demonstrate.

Annabeth shook her head like she still haven't gotten over the awe of seeing me use my powers. "Even I can't tell exactly what or how she does it. My guess is, it's just magic. I believe it's one of the many rare powers children of Poseidon get. Angelique is a powerful demigod."

I elbowed her lightly. "And so are you."

Piper turned back to the two big cabins. "So, no one goes in there?"

"Yes, especially Hera's cabin. She never had demigod children, it's just an honorary cabin." Annabeth explained.

Piper pointed at a footprint on the dusty threshold. "Well, someone does." She pushed the doors and they swung open easily.

I followed her. Annabeth hesitated. "I don't think we should-"

But we already walked in.

Hera's cabin was not someplace I would want to live. Which wasn't surprising, the goddess wasn't exactly known for her hospitality. It was as cold as a freezer, with a circle of white columns around a central statue of the goddess, ten feet tall, seated on a throne in flowing golden robes. I had always thought of Greek statues as white with blank eyes, but this one was brightly painted so it looked almost human—except huge. Hera's piercing eyes seemed to follow me.

I didn't really have anything against the goddess until now. If she has something to do with Percy she will pay dearly, goddess or not.

At the goddess's feet, a fire burned in a bronze brazier. A stone hawk sat on Hera's shoulder, and in her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower. The goddess's hair was done in black plaits. Her face smiled, but the eyes were cold and calculating, as if she were saying: Mother knows best. Now don't cross me or I will have to step on you.

Behind the statue, at a little altar in the back, stood a figure covered in a black shawl. Only her hands were visible, palms up. She seemed to be chanting something like a spell or a prayer.

Me and Annabeth both gasped in unison. "Rachel?"

Rachel's shawl fell down, revealing her red hair and freckles. "Hey!" She ran to give Annabeth a quick hug then me. "I'm so sorry! I came as fast as I could. "

Rachel paused as she saw Piper. "And this is?"

"Piper," I said. "She's my friend. Long story short, an undetermined demigod. Piper, this is Rachel, our friend the oracle."

Piper asked, "You can tell the future?"

"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel told her. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."

"But what are you ..." Piper waved her hand around the room.

Rachel's smile faded. She glanced at Annabeth, then back at Piper. "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last month, since the gods went silent."

"Went silent?" Piper asked.

Rachel frowned at me and Annabeth. "You guys haven't told her yet?"

"I was getting to that," I said. "Piper, for the last month... well, it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much, but usually we can count on some messages now and then. Some of us can even visit Olympus. I spent practically all semester at the Empire State Building."

"Excuse me?"

"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days."

"Oh," Piper said. "Sure, why not?"

"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," Rachel explained. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar—"

"Anyway," Annabeth said, "starting about a month ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in. Nobody knows why. It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled."

"Your camp director was the god of ... wine?"

"Yeah, it's a—"

"Long story," Piper guessed. "Right. Go on."

"That's it, really," Annabeth said. "Demigods still get claimed, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign the gods are even listening. It's like something has happened —something really bad. Then Percy disappeared."

"And Jason showed up on our field trip," I added. "With no memory."

"Who's Jason?" Rachel asked.

"My—" Piper stopped herself. But I already knew that she was about to say 'boyfriend'.

"My friend," Piper managed. "But Annabeth, you said Hera sent you a dream vision."

"Right," Annabeth said. "The first communication from a god in a month, and it's Hera, the least helpful goddess, and she contacts me, her least favorite demigod. She tells me I'll find out what happened to Percy if I go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe. Instead, I find you guys, and the guy with one shoe is Jason. It doesn't make sense."

"Something bad is happening," Rachel agreed. She looked at Piper and Piper looked like she wanted to say something.

"Guys," she said. "I—I need to—"

Before she could continue, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed me and Piper. One hand on each of our shoulders.

Piper tried to back away, but Rachel's hands were like steel clamps.

Free me, she said. But it wasn't Rachel's voice. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. Free me, Angelique Le, or the earth shall swallow us. It must be by the solstice.

Hera's voice.

The room started spinning. Annabeth tried to separate us from Rachel, but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped us, and I was no longer sure if I was awake or dreaming. The giant statue of the goddess seemed to rise from its throne. It leaned over me, its eyes boring into mine. The statue's mouth opened, its breath like horribly thick perfume. It spoke in the same echoing voice: Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME!

For not the first time in my life, I blacked out and Piper's body crumpled down beside me.