"Did Hecate tell you guys why we're here yet?"
"No, " I responded, "Did she tell you?"
Nico shook his head. "She said she would tell us tonight."
All of us had gathered in my and Percy's room for the night, for Hecate had promised to provide the details of our quest.
"The strangest thing is," Nico continued, "there hasn't been a prophecy." Heads whipped around, everyone looking up from whatever they were fiddling with.
"How can we go on a quest without a prophecy?" Hazel asked.
"Well, I mean Apollo did it," Percy suggested.
"No, Seaweed Brain, Apollo started with part of a prophecy. And he picked up pieces along the way. So he technically still got a prophecy." I smacked the back of his head.
"Oh. Right." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. Then we froze. A floorboard had creaked right outside the room. I snuck over to the door and gingerly put my ear on the side.
"What in the world were they talking about? Having your life tied to a piece of wood? Burning Thabanos or whoever's chains? Fire of life? Killing immortal emperors? What the HELL?!" It sounded like Hermione.
I quietly motioned for the rest of the group to come over, holding in a little laugh when I heard 'Thanabos'. One by one, the rest of the group came over and started to listen in.
"Wow, these guys are really stressed about this." Nico chuckled.
"They're weirded out. Wouldn't you be?" I asked. Nico shrugged.
"I saw a black tattoo on the Percy person's arm..." Someone said. Percy cursed, and for some reason, another boy outside the room started ranting about how he should've said that sooner.
"They could be DEATH EATERS!" We looked at each other, stunned into silence. Then we broke down.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAA!!!" Thalia shrieked, rolling on the floor. Hazel was uncontrollably giggling, and Frank just smiled. Will, Reyna, Piper, and I were the only ones that were completely under control.
"Eating DEATH? Eating DEATH!" Percy wheezed.
"Eating Thanatos..." Nico croaked.
Reyna and I glanced at each other, and back down at the giggle situation disdainfully.
"What if they met people that actually ate death? Like, souls?" I snapped. "That's not funny. It's just a name, you guys." That sobered them up real quick.
"Sorry... just really tired." Percy apologized. "We're kinda... our brains are fried. Never actually got some sleep after the hellhound and empousai invasion last night; we're really high-strung." I nodded.
"It's fine. But they probably heard all this commotion by now..." I pressed my ear against the door again and then heard a girl talking right outside.
"...Silencing Charm." Oh. I calmed down, then immediately tensed up again. Were they listening in on us? The rest of the group had probably gathered the same information and were shooting each other nervous looks.
"Oh well," Percy said. He got up and opened the door.