chapter three!
003. her mark
annabeth.
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WHEN REYNA ASKED Annabeth to leave the forum with her, she hated how she was confused. She almost didn't hear her, watching her friends leave the table▬making sure she remembered what way they left in case something happened. She was on edge, going over every escape plan she might need if today went downhill; she noted Jason and Piper leaving to the right, and Claire being led away by a troubling stranger left▬she had glanced back to meet Annabeth's eyes, letting herself show just how scared she was in a moment where no one else would see. There was something about that stranger▬that boy; they all knew. She knew. Percy knew, but he hadn't told them anything. Annabeth also eyed him, stern and brooding as she tried to examine all that has happened since he was gone▬what the Roman's changed, what had stayed the same. It distracted her from the strange fear that pained her chest, seeing one of her closest friends after so long. She couldn't quite describe it, but after everything they have all gone through, the thought that Percy▬her best friend; someone who was her family, her brother▬was not the same boy she had known since she was just twelve-years-old.
She was so distracted by her troubling thoughts, Reyna's offer▬or order, Annabeth still hasn't quite decided which one it had been▬brushed past her. Until she asked her again, her voice clipping with an annoyance that told her she was not prepared to ask a third time.
Annabeth had been startled▬taken aback. She had glanced at Cain, finding herself suddenly concerned ... for why would Reyna want to talk to her? Of course, her pride was thinking: why wouldn't she? But if her ability to read people was any. good, she saw a lot of herself in Reyna's cold stare. This meant she had an angle as to why she chose to talk to Annabeth. Talk to her, and not to Claire.
She does not want to be that friend. She never wants to be that friend, and usually, she wasn't. She and Claire were sisters▬not by blood, but they might as well be. Ever since they held each others hands at just seven, terrified and with their knees trembling▬realising that they were just the same: children whose parents' didn't want. Their past was too rooted deep into the earth at their feet for Annabeth to let her pride get in between them. But it was her fatal flaw, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, it came back like an unwanted whisper in her ear, telling her: well, why shouldn't you be the leader? You are smarter than all of them. You have led your own quest before.
It was stupid, she knew this. But she has had enough experience to know that she wasn't the demigod to be pulled aside and talked to. She wasn't the Light's Kin nor was she the Son of Poseidon. She was Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, with no special powers (and not even an invisible cap that works anymore). She had no amazing stories of how she killed a Titan. She had a story where she held up the sky, but that was because she got kidnapped by a Titan, was tricked and manipulated by the boy she used to have a crush on, and then had to be saved.
(She had to be saved. That was the worst part of it).
Annabeth also wanted to hate New Rome. But as she followed Reyna through its streets, she couldn't help but marvel at the terrace gardens, the fountains and temples; the winding cobblestone pathways and gleaming white villas. After the Titan War last summer, she had gotten her dream job: she got to redesign the palaces of Mount Olympus. Now, walking through this miniature Roman city, all she could think about was: I should have made a dome like that. Or, I love the way those columns lead into that courtyard▬Why didn't you think of that, Annabeth? Whoever designed New Rome had clearly poured a lot of time and love into the project▬and they were clearly better at this than her. She hated that, too.
"We have the best architects and builders in the world," Reyna said as they wandered through the city▬reading her thoughts. "Rome always did, in the ancient times. Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university. They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact."
(Annabeth wondered how Claire felt about that. It made her scowl, not sure how she'd react▬or why she was even thinking about her at this moment ... that possibility had long been out of the question). She must have scowled more fiercely than she realised, because Reyna chuckled.
"You're a warrior all right," said the praetor. "You've got fire in your eyes."
"Sorry," mumbled Annabeth, consciously trying to dull down her glare.
"Don't be. I'm the daughter of Bellona."
"Roman goddess of war?"
Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled▬a moment later, two metal dogs bounded towards her: automaton greyhounds, one silver and the other gold. They brushed against Reyna's side, regarding Annabeth with glistening, ruby red eyes.
Seeing the look on her face, the praetor explained: "My pets," she said as she trailed her fingers down along their necks, tender. "Aurum and Argentum." The names for gold and silver on the periodic table▬or rather, the old names for the elements. "You don't mind if they walk with us?"
(Annabeth had a feeling that wasn't a request, either).
Reyna led her to an outdoor cafe where the waiter already knew her. He smiled and handed her a takeaway cup. He then offered one to Annabeth, too.
"Would you like some?" asked Reyna. "They make wonderful chocolate. Not really a Roman drink▬"
"But chocolate is universal," said Annabeth.
The praetor nodded. There was a little smirk on her face, "Exactly.
It was a hot June afternoon, but Annabeth accepted the cup with her thanks anyway. There was something so homely about hot cocoa▬something so familiar; it reminded her of home. Not of San Francisco, but of Camp Half-Blood: s'mores and sing-a-longs in the heat of the campfire in the middle of summer, and she felt a little better once she held the hot chocolate in her palms.
She and Reyna walked on, and Reyna's dogs roamed freely nearby. They had teeth as sharp as still arrowheads. Annabeth eyed them warily; she did not want to get on Reyna's bad side▬she might not be allowed to have a weapon, but those dogs could surely take Annabeth out if their master only spoke the order.
"In our camp, Athena is Minerva," spoke up Reyna and Annabeth fixed her gaze back onto her. "Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?"
She hadn't considered it. She pursed her lips, remembering Terminus's miffed words: that goddess, he had called Athena, as if she were something scandalous. "I take it Minerva isn't ... uh, quite as respected here?"
Reyna blew steam from her cup. "We respect Minerva. She's the goddess of craft and wisdom ... but she isn't really a goddess of war. Not for Romans. She's also a maiden goddess, like Diana ... the one you call Artemis. You won't find any children of Minerva here▬the idea that Minerva would have children ... frankly, it's a little shocking to us."
"Oh," Annabeth's cheeks flushed. She would rather not get into the details of how she was born straight from the mind of her mother, just like the goddess had sprung from the head of Zeus. Talking about it made her feel self-conscious▬almost like she was some sort of freak. Even the questions if she had a belly button frustrated her▬well, the question made sense but ... well, of course, she has a belly button! She couldn't explain how, but she did. She was also terrified that maybe one day, her own children would sprout from her head, too. It's silly, but she had a nightmare about it once ....
"I understand that you Greeks don't see things the same way," continued Reyna. "But Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously. The Vestal Virgins, for instance ... if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children▬"
"Got it," Annabeth's hot chocolate suddenly tasted like dust. (No wonder so many Romans had been giving her strange looks). "I'm not supposed to exist. And even if your camp had children of Minerva▬"
"They wouldn't be like you," nodded the praetor. "They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests."
Annabeth immediately objected. She scoffed, shaking her head, "Uh, I'm not▬Claire, she's▬"
"She looks to you for advice," Reyna told her, and Annabeth went silent. "She is the Light's Kin, I've heard?" she nodded. "But while she's powerful, she still holds you in a much higher power, do you not see?"
No, Annabeth hasn't. She was used of people turning to Claire or Percy for answers▬she never once even considered that Claire always checked with her before making a decision. But did that make her leader of this quest? She wasn't sure. Instead, she asked another question. "How do Romans know about the Light's Kin? I thought that was a Greek prophecy."
Reyna arched a brow. "We had the prophecy, as well. We thought it would be one of our own children of Apollo▬he's very powerful, but he doesn't control light. Octavian also would never shut up about it. He's a legacy of Apollo, but still, he seemed to think it would be him."
"That's why he was so aggressive to Claire before..." murmured Annabeth in realisation, and Reyna hummed in agreement.
"There's more." With a snap of Reyna's fingers, the golden hound, Aurum, trotted over. She stroked his ears. "The harpy, Ella ... it was a prophecy she spoke. We both know that, don't we?"
Annabeth swallowed harshly. Something about Aurum's eyes made her uneasy. She had heard that dogs could smell fear▬even detect changes in a human's breathing and heartbeat. She didn't know if that applied to magical metal dogs, but the way he stared at her ... it made her feel as if he could see right through her, and she hated that. She hated it when people could read her like she wore all of her emotions on her sleeve.
But she decided it would be better to tell the truth. "It sounded like a prophecy," she admitted. "But I've never met Ella before today, and I've never heard those lines exactly."
"I have," murmured Reyna. "At least, some of them▬"
A few yards away, the silver greyhound barked. A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentum, petting the dog and laughing. They were not fazed by his razor-sharp teeth. It gave Annabeth a heavy nostalgia for when she was younger at Camp▬where she and Claire would try and chase the satyrs only for Luke to chide them and take them back.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. She chided herself. She couldn't delve into those feelings. Not right now.
"We should move on," decided Reyna, and Annabeth was glad.
They wound their way up the hill. The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind. Annabeth kept glancing at Reyna's face. This vague memory started tugging at her▬the way Reyna brushed her hair behind her ear, the silver ring she wore with the torch and sword design. It ... it was crazy to think, but ...
"We▬we've met before," blurted out Annabeth before she could stop herself. "You were younger, I think. I was younger..."
Reyna gave her a dry smile. "Very good. Percy didn't remember. I don't think Claire did either. Of course, you spoke mostly with my older sister Hill, who is now queen of the Amazons. She left just this morning, before you arrived. At any rate, when we last met, I was a mere handmaiden in the house of Circe."
"Circe..." memories struck her. She had been thirteen. She, Percy and Claire had washed ashore from the Sea of Monsters. Hylla welcomed them. She had helped Annabeth and Claire get cleaned up before they were separated. Hill had helped Annabeth and given her a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover. Then Circe tried to push her and Claire a tempting offer: if they stayed on the island, they could receive training that would give them incredible magical power. Annabeth had been tempted ... she remembered that. It had been alluring▬the thought of hiding away somewhere that seemed so perfect when her life was far from it. But then she realised the place had been a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent. (That last part seemed funny afterwards▬they often joked about it, just to see him get frustrated, telling them that he did not scratch at his ear like a rodent would. But at the time, it had been terrifying). As for Reyna ... she had been one of the servants who had combed Annabeth's hair.
"You ..." her words were lost momentarily in a breath of amazement. "And Hylla is queen of the Amazons? How did you two▬?"
"Long story," said Reyna. "But I remember you well. You and Claire were brave. I'd never seen anyone refuse Circe's hospitality, much less outwit her."
They reached the top of the hill where a terrace overlooked the entire valley. Annabeth slowly came to a stop near its edge, admittedly in awe of the view. "This is my favourite spot," Reyna stopped beside her. "The Garden of Bacchus."
Annabeth didn't blame her. This place was beautiful▬something so peaceful and secluded in a place that was not at the same time. A secret garden filled with grapevine trellises that twisted into a canopy overhead. Bees hovered through honeysuckle and jasmine, which were dizzying to smell. In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus; he leant out, elegant and poised with his fingers stretched up towards a bee that landed on the tip. He wore nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and his lips pursed, sprouting water into a fountain.
She almost laughed. She knew this god in his Greek form: Dionysus▬or Mr. D, as they all called him back at Camp. Seeing their cranky old camp director immortalised in stone, wearing a nappy and spewing water from his mouth, lightened her bad mood.
But the view▬the view was more than worth the climb. Annabeth stared out at a whole city spread out below like a three-dimensional mosaic. To the south, beyond a lake, was a cluster of temples perched on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marched towards the Berkley Hills. Work crews were preparing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle.
"I wanted to hear it from you," Reyna's voice was so sudden in the tranquil silence that Annabeth jumped. She turned, frowning.
"Hear what from me?"
"The truth. Convince me that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says, nor can I trust your other friend, Savreen▬she will lie to keep the peace, as all daughters of Concordia do. Claire is also irrational. She's smart, and quite a warrior, but her anger can get the best of her. Not only that, but she's a good liar▬too good." (Annabeth wondered how Reyna could tell that just in a simple luncheon with them). "And Jason ... well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."
The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. Annabeth felt this sudden ache of sympathy▬it spread throughout her chest. Claire had sounded that way, all those months she had spent searching until she dropped with exhaustion, holding back her tears or the croak in her voice▬and then all of those months she had to sit and wait, unable to leave. At least she had found her boyfriend. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. Annabeth could see that she wanted Jason to love her. But he had disappeared, and during that time, he had found Piper. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna, too. Now, Claire had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.
When Annabeth had arrived at Camp Jupiter, she had been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. She hadn't been prepared to feel sorry for her. But she kept that to herself. She knew enough of herself to understand that Reyna didn't want her pity.
Instead, she found herself telling Reyna about her own life. She talked about her father, her stepmother and her two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how she felt like an outsider in her own family. She talked about how she had run away when she was only seven, finding her friends Luke, Thalia and Claire and making her way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. She described the camp and her years growing up there. She talked about meeting Percy and the adventures they had together with Claire and their satyr friend, Grover. She mentioned meeting Cain▬and how he was the son of Phobos but could never hurt a fly, and was really good at wielding his longsword, and how he was one of the smartest people Annabeth knew, even though he always said he wasn't▬and and hated how her chest seemed to hitch with her breath. Stop it, she scolded herself. He doesn't like you like that.
(It left her out of breath ... she felt as if she had just recited five books in just under ten minutes).
It surprised her how easily she had opened up. But Reyna was a good listener. She held this breath of understanding in her eyes▬one that made Annabeth feel as if she was staring right back into a mirror. It made her tempted to tell her about her more recent problems: her fight with her mom, the gift of the silver coin and the nightmare's she had been having▬about an old fear so paralysing she almost decided that she couldn't go on this quest. But she stopped herself. Reyna might be understanding, and a good listener, but Annabeth couldn't find the courage to open up that much.
When she finished, Reyna pursed her lips. Her gaze wandered towards New Rome, heavy with thought. Her metal greyhounds sniffed around the garden, snapping at bees in the honeysuckle. Finally, Reyna pointed to the cluster of temples on the distant hill.
"The small red building," she said, "there on the northern side? That's the temple of my mother, Bellona," she turned to Annabeth. "Unlike your mother, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman. She's the goddess of protecting the homeland."
Annabeth said nothing. She knew very little about Reyna's mother. Down below, the hull on the Argo II gleamed as it floated over the forum, like some massive bronze party balloon.
"When the Romans go to war," continued Reyna, "we first visit the Temple of Bellona. Inside is a symbolic patch of ground that represents enemy soil. We throw a spear into that ground, indicating that we are now at war. You see, Romans have always believed that offence is the best defence. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbours, they would invade to protect themselves."
"They conquered everyone around them. Carthage, the Gauls▬"
"And the Greeks."
Reyna let that comment hang▬the understanding look in her eye had disappeared, and the obsidian had darkened to something chilling ... something threatening. "My point, Annabeth, is that it isn't Rome's nature to cooperate with other powers. Every time Greek and Roman demigods have met, we've fought. Conflicts between our two sides have started some of the most horrible wars in human history▬especially civil wars."
"It doesn't have to be that way," assured Annabeth. "We've got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both."
"I agree. But is cooperation possible? What if Juno's plan is flawed? Even goddesses can make mistakes."
Unfortunately, Annabeth shared those doubts. It made her hold her breath to stop the frustrated huff that threatened to escape from her lips. Hera did make mistakes. She didn't trust her for one second. She had knocked a statue onto Thalia's legs. She had made Annabeth step in many putrid, cow surprises. She had hurt Claire▬she had taken Percy away.
"I don't trust the goddess," she decided to admit her truth. "But I do trust my friends. I also trust that what we have achieved can only mean we will achieve more. We all want the same goal. This isn't a trick, Reyna. We can work together."
Reyna finished her drink. She set the cup on the terrace railing and stared over the valley as if imagining battle lines. "I believe you mean it," she said finally. "But▬I'm sorry, I do not trust your friends. You might not see their flaws, but I do. Even Percy▬When it comes to the choice, between stopping Gaea or saving an individual he cares about, he would happily watch the world burn." Annabeth made a face at that, but Reyna only shook her head. "Our fatal flaws are exactly that, fatal. We can't avoid them. And while it's a Greek's fatal flaw to act on impulse, it is a Roman's fatal flaw to be too cautious. That is why working together is as dangerous just as much as it is improbable."
She pursed her lips. Then, she sighed, "But ... if you do go to the ancient lands, especially Rome itself, there is something you should know about your mother."
Annabeth grew more tense. Her shoulders became rigid▬she had forgotten to breathe. "My▬my mother?"
"When I lived on Circe's island," said Reyna, hesitant, "we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you arrived, a young man washed ashore. He was half mad from thirst and heat. He'd been drifting at sea for days. His words didn't make much sense, but he said he was a son of Athena."
She paused as if waiting for a reaction. Annabeth didn't know which one to give. Surprised? Confused? Worried? She had no idea who that boy might have been. There were no stories in her cabin about sons of Athena that had travelled the Sea of Monsters, but she still felt a sense of dread. The light filtering through the grapevines made shadows writhe across the ground like a swarm of spiders ... deadly, horrible and haunting spiders.
"What happened to this demigod?" she decided to ask, her voice a grave whisper.
"Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. He made quite a crazy little rodent. But before that he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he had gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena."
Annabeth gripped the railing so tight her knuckles had gone white. "Yes," Reyna noticed her discomfort. "He kept muttering about wisdom's child, the Mark of Athena and the giants' bane standing pale and gold. The same lines Ella was just reciting. But you say that you've never heard them before today?"
Her tongue was dry▬and she wondered whether she had drunk sand instead of hot chocolate. "N▬not the way Ella said them." She hadn't lied. She had never heard that prophecy, but her mother had charged her with following the Mark of Athena and, as she thought about the coin in her pocket, a horrible suspicion began to take root in her mind. She remembered her mother's scathing words. She thought about the horrific nightmares she had been having lately. "Did this▬" she swallowed bile, "▬did this demigod ... did he explain his quest?"
Reyna shook her head. Her eyes glinted like a dark, endless abyss. "At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. Much later, when I became praetor of Camp Jupiter, I began to suspect."
"Suspect ... what?"
"There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through centuries. If it's true, it may explain why our two groups of demigods have never been able to work together. It may be the cause of our animosity. Until this old score is finally settled, so the legend goes, Romans and Greeks will never be at peace. And the legend centres on Athena▬"
A shrill sound exploded up between them. Annabeth gasped, stumbling back. Light flashed in the corner of her eye.
She spun just in time to see the billowing cloud of flame and smoke centred right in the forum. A crater cracked through the stone▬a burning couch flung into the air, demigods scattered in panic. Annabeth stared, shocked. For a moment, she was so confused, she didn't realise. But her stomach churned, it made her knees weak and her trembling grip of the terrace barrier turn clammy▬telling her what she dreaded to tell herself.
Annabeth took a breath, forcing herself to fumble for her dagger, "Giants?" she froze when she realised that▬of course▬it wasn't there. "I thought their army was defeated!"
But when she saw Reyna's eyes light up with a seething rage, the dread that had settled in her chest weighed her down so much she couldn't breathe. "It isn't the giants," rasped the praetor furiously. She brandished a livid finger at Annabeth. "You've betrayed our trust!"
"What?!" Annabeth blanched, shocked. "No!"
As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire. The skies glowed a ghastly green as it sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House▬the explosion shook even the ground at Annabeth's own feet. She watched the building burst into ferocious, green flames. She felt herself grow weak at the knees▬if anyone had been in there...
"Gods, no▬" she felt sick. She swayed and stumbled, holding out a desperate, pleading hand to Reyna in front of her. She looked murderous. "N▬no. Reyna, it isn't possible. We would never do this!"
Her golden and silver hounds ran to her side. They snarled at Annabeth▬baring vicious drilled teeth. But they paced uncertainly; they were reluctant to attack. Reyna frowned at them▬that frown lifted up to Annabeth's fearful figure.
"You're telling the truth," she murmured, troubled. She clenched her hands and set her jaw. "Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay."
Down in the forum, chaos was spreading just like the fire that turned the daylight into a breath of Hell. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fights were breaking out.
Reyna paled. "Bloodshed."
"We have to stop it!"
Annabeth had a horrible feeling this might be the last time she and Reyna ever acted in agreement, but together, they sprinted down the steep slope.
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IF THERE HAD been any weapons, it would have been a slaughter. Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food and rocks at the Argo II▬all of it pointless, for most of it fell back into the crowd. Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper, Savreen and Jason, who were trying to calm them down. They were not having much luck. Piper's charmspeak and Savreen's desperate pleas were useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding. His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds▬and there was something foreboding, seeing the mark of his past tattered and those who had once been his friends turn against him; to them, he was no longer Roman. Jason Grace had become Greek▬and that was the worst betrayal to them he could have ever made.
He tried to speak to them. He held up his hands▬but they were weak. Annabeth could see the fall of his face, the horrible realisation that he was not welcome anymore. That the place he had grown up in suddenly despised him with a vengeful breath.
Above, the warship fired another flaming spear into New Rome. Annabeth hid her head in her arms when rubble exploded all the way from the nearby streets.
"Pluto's pauldron's," cursed Reyna. "Look!"
Armed legionnaires were hurrying towards the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.
Annabeth shook her head, "That'll just make things worse!"
Reyna gritted her teeth. "I hate my job," she ground. She rushed off towards the legionnaires, her dogs at her side.
Meanwhile, Annabeth stood before the chaos. She took a deep breath▬trying to clam her frantic thoughts. Cain▬she scanned the forum desperately. Where are you?
She glanced at her hands. With a glare, she clenched them into fists. Annabeth didn't need a blade or a weapon to fight her way through this. "All right," she grumbled. "You wanna do this? Let's do this▬"
The daughter of Athena charged into the mob. When two Romans tried to grab her, she darted into action. She kicked the first one in the torso before spinning on her heels, snatching the swinging punch of the second▬she twisted his wrist and flipped him right over her shoulder. He landed painfully on the stone, but she didn't waste a moment. Annabeth ducked further into the chaos, her heart pounding.
As if the angry Romans, burning couches and exploding buildings weren't enough confusion and destruction, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through demigods' bodies and wailing incoherently. The faults had taken advantage of the mob. They swarmed the dining ables, grabbing food, plates and cups. One trotted by Annabeth with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth.
Everything around her became a blur. She ducked under flying plates, elbowed chests and swept Romans off their feet before they could try and hit her. A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of her. He yelled at her in Latin, but she just pushed him over and kept running.
Finally, she spotted Cain and Percy. They worked together, standing above the furious fray on the stone edge of the fountain. They, Hazel and Frank were ankle-deep in the water as Percy repelled angry Romans with waves of water. Percy's robes were tattered, but he looked unharmed. Cain held up his fists, but Annabeth knew he would not risk using his powers▬not here; it would only make things worse▬way worse.
Claire wasn't with them.
Annabeth shouted Cain's name as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the blinding light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired and the Argo II groaned. It tilted sideways, flames crawling over its bronze-plated hull. A figure clung desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. Octavian's robes were smoking and his face was black with ash.
More water billowed Romans down like bowling pins. Percy flung up his hand and shouts became livid gurgles. Annabeth ran towards him and the others, ducking a Roman fist and a flying stone. Cain saw her and immediately tugged her up with the strong grasp of his metal arm.
"Annabeth!" he let out, breathless. She noticed the cut just above his brow. "What▬?"
"I don't know!" she replied.
"I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"
Annabeth stared, horrified. She felt as if her chest had been filled with poison. She stammered, "Y▬You're lying!" she managed amongst the shards in her lungs. "You're▬Leo would never▬!"
"I was just there!" shrieked Octavian. "I saw it with my own eyes!"
The Argo II groaned as it returned fire. Legionnaires in the field dived as one of their catapults shattered to splinters. "You see?!" screamed the augur. "Romans, kill the invaders!"
Annabeth tugged at her hair in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. They were outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some trick (which she thought likely), they'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.
Reyna's warning whispered in her ears, daunting and nightmarish. Annabeth was terrified by how right she had been.
"We have to leave," she told Percy. "Now."
"No," he threw back immediately. Annabeth slumped, growing more and more stressed by the passing seconds. "We're not going anywhere▬not without Claire."
"She can handle herself▬"
Percy stared at her like she had gone mad. "Against an angry mob?!" he cut her off. With a breath of anger, he pulled his hand into a fist and tugged back, tripping a whole group of Romans right off their feet in a twist of water. "There is no way I'm leaving her!"
Annabeth clenched her hands, not sure whether she admired his loyalty or found it frustrating. "Claire knows what to do▬she would be making her way to the Argo II right now and expecting us to do the same."
"Yeah she knows what to do," he argued. "And she'll ignore that and come and find us!"
She knew he was right. But right now, Annabeth knew the longer they stood here, an open target, the less chance they'll have in getting out of here alive. "You can't go out there and find her by yourself!" she tried to stress to Percy. "You'll be swarmed!"
He knew that. The difference between her and Percy was that he didn't care about that. He'd run into any army if Claire was standing on the other side▬he already has. And no matter how many times Annabeth tried to reason with him, he never listened, either.
Their argument was wasting time. Hazel stepped forward, holding a hand out to Percy before he would plunge into the mob head-first. "Wait▬" she said. "I have an idea." She looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "We're with you, one hundred percent," she added to Percy. Frank nodded, determined. "But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time. I'll find Claire, okay? I'll get her out of here."
Annabeth frowned at her, "How?" she demanded.
Hazel whistled. The wind thinned▬a blur of beige shot across the forum. Right before Annabeth's eyes, a mighty horse shimmered into view next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed onto his back with ease. Strapped to the horse's side was a Roman cavalry sword.
She unsheathed the golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous with Claire. Arion▬ride!"
Percy tried to say something, but Hazel was gone in a crack! of wind; as if the entire air had bended to her will as the horse she rode disappeared into the distance faster than lightning. And amongst the chaos▬the angry Roman mob threatening their lives, the explosions of fire and rubble, Percy looked pained; he looked scared.
Annabeth understood that. She shyly risked a glance towards Cain, and knew he didn't notice. "Percy," she spoke again, determined. He met her gaze, still annoyed. She ignored it and said to him, "she's going to be okay."
"Yeah," added Cain, nodding to him. "It's Claire."
Percy pursed his lips, "Yeah," he murmured. He sounded as if this only worried him more. "I know."
But, he took a deep breath. Then, he nodded, too. "Yeah▬let's get out of here."
Annabeth felt a glimmer of hope. But that hope died down like a snuffed flame when▬halfway across the forum▬she heard Jason shout:
"Romans! Please▬!"
He, Piper and Savreen were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield the two of them▬he threw himself in front, and from the crowd, a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward.
"Jason!" cried Savreen, dropping to her knees. "Jason▬" she tried to tug him up, tearful. Piper's cheeks went bright▬her eyes flashed with a dangerous fury.
At the sight of Jason unconscious, she lost it, "GET BACK▬!" she screamed in strangled fury. Her charmspeak rolled over the crowd in billowing waves. They hesitated. The effect wouldn't last, but Piper didn't care. She stood in front of him, "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"
They were surrounded. There was no chance Annabeth, Cain and Percy could possibly reach them in time. Percy's eyes darted around in thought▬he turned to Frank standing at his side. "Frank, it's up to you. Can you help them?"
Annabeth shared an estranged glance with Cain, glad that she was not the only one who couldn't understand how Frank could do all of that by himself. But Percy's friend swallowed his nerves back, "Oh, gods..." he murmured. "O▬okay, sure. Just▬just get up the ropes. Now."
Percy glanced back at them, "Come on▬!"
The three of them lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Cain yanked him off and threw him to the mercy of the mob. They began to climb up as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Annabeth's head. They kept climbing. She pushed herself to keep climbing. Halfway up, she heard a roar below and glanced down. Romans spread and scattered at the towering shadow▬there, a full-sized dragon charged through the forum. A creature so terrifying it even made Annabeth hold her breath with sudden fear. It had rough grey skin and leather bat wings▬a jaw so large, it could swallow entire legionnaires whole. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered towards Piper, Savreen and Jason. It grabbed them with its front claws and vaulted into the air.
"Is that...?" Annabeth couldn't even put the thought into words.
"Frank," Percy confirmed, a few feet above her. "Yep▬he has a few special talents."
From the very top, Cain stared, mouth agape. "Y▬yeah," he managed, shocked. "I▬I mean, yeah, a few▬that's▬that's an understatement."
Without the dragon and Hazel's horse to distract the archers, they never would have made it up the ladder, but finally they climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and collapsed onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard.
There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballistae. Annabeth's gut twisted in horror. "Leo!" she screamed. "What are you doing?!"
"Destroy them..." he faced Annabeth▬it was as if she was looking at a stranger. A stranger with dazed, insane eyes and a chilling smile upon his face. "Destroy them all."
Percy launched forward. He tackled Leo to the ground▬his head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. The grey dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow. Jason, Piper and Savreen crumpled to a heap on the deck.
Savreen glanced up. There was a cut on her cheek. She saw Leo, sprawled out unconscious. Her brows lifted, "L▬Leo▬?" without a second thought, she pushed herself up onto her feet and ran towards him, dropping down beside Percy. She hovered over her best friend, clutching at the fabric of his ashen shirt.
Percy stood away, "GO!" he yelled. "Get us out of here!"
With a shock, Annabeth realised he was talking to her.
She sprinted for the helm. She made the mistake of glancing over the rail▬leagues of armed legionnaires were closing ranks in the forum, notching flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and Annabeth managed a breath of relief to see Claire on the steed with her▬unconscious, but with her. They raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. All along he Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for an attack▬
An attack Annabeth couldn't risk.
She looked over the controls▬she cursed Leo for making them so complicated! Gritting her teeth, she groped for the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned and trembled. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II launched upwards into the clouds.
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a/n: I am not proud of this chapter at all I am so sorry.
and I'm sad cos annabeth deserves a good chapter.
challenge, how many times can you add percy and claire moments into this chapter, gemma?
me: yes.
also annabeth has such a cute little I'm-so-impressed love for cain >>>
(remember when percy and claire were 12? cos I am right now and I am NOT OKAY-)
limited editing.
I promise next chapter will be better.