The next time Sol woke up, she was in an empty Athena cabin.
She sat up, then groaned as she remembered what had just happened.
"Fuck. Annabeth's going to be worried about me." Sol was less concerned for her own pride (although that was also now in rough shape) as she was concerned for Annabeth. She had enough on her plate already, what with Percy's disappearance and Jason, Piper, and Leo's arrival.
Sol got up and walked over to the window. The sky wasn't much darker then it was when she was with Chiron, so the rest of the campers were probably at the campfire.
She slipped on her shoes and started out the door towards the amphitheater. As she got closer, she heard a female voice call out, "Well? You're the oracle, has it started or not?"
Silence followed, until Rachel Dare spoke up. "Yes. The Great Prophecy has begun."
Voices swelled up from the crowd, and Sol broke out into a run. She reached the amphitheater right as the crowd quieted.
"For those of you have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:
"Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-"
Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tased.
Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "Jason? What's-"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted in a language Sol recognized as Latin, "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
An uneasy silence settled onto the crowd. Sol stared at Jason, and when he caught her eye, he seemed taken aback by how piercing her gaze was.
"You just... finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you-"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew Tanaka, the voice who announced the prophecy, called out. "Handsome and smart."
The Aphrodite cabin started giggling. Sol saw Piper glaring at them with a look of disgust on her face. Sol was doing the same, and it wasn't even her maybe-maybe-not-boyfriend that they were talking about.
The campfire glowed a chaotic, nervous shade of green, but as Sol watched it, it seemed to briefly flicker a deep indigo.
Sol blinked rapidly, but the campfire stayed green. She refocused on Jason, who had sat down, looking embarrassed. Annabeth had her hand on his shoulder.
Rachel glanced at Chiron, who didn't interfere, for a moment before continuing her explanation. "Well. So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The Eight demigods, whoever they are, have no been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out,
"I'm here! Oh. .. were you calling roll?"
"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed. Sol didn't, and she noticed that Annabeth, Jason, and Piper didn't either. Leo, however, did. She couldn't tell whether it made her angry or something else that she couldn't define, so she stuck with anger.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
"Or worse," Chiron murmured.
Maybe he didn't mean for everyone to overhear, but they did.
The campfire immediately turned dark purple, a color Sol was rapidly starting to hate.
"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once.
Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk- how Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.
Then Rachel told them about Piper and Sol passing out in Hera's cabin. Sol was glad that none of the demigods had noticed her yet, but Piper wasn't spared. Drew Tanaka pretended to faint into one of her cabin mates' arms, and the Aphrodite cabin burst into a fit of giggles.
Finally Rachel told them about a vision Jason had had in the living room of the Big House. Hera had told Jason that he had to save her from some kind of prison, and he had four days to do so. The look of uneasy recognition on Piper's face made Sol wonder what she had heard from Rachel inside of Hera's cabin.
"Jason," Rachel said. Um... do you remember your last name?"
He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head no.
"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
Rachel paused, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."
"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said, "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things... stir."
Sol had never heard of old, evil magic being present on the winter solstice any more than a regular day, but Chiron seemed deadly serious.
"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel.
Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so-"
"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important-"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
At first, Jason didn't seem to understand, stepping forward nervously. He glanced at Piper, and she nodded encouragingly. She mimicked flipping a coin.
Jason reached into his pocket. His coin fashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance- a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.
"Wasn't that..." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.
"Electric," Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "Back away," he said to Annabeth and Rachel.
The girls got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Sol's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Sol's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been.
Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.
Jason lowered his lance. "Um ... sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."
Sol wasn't surprised. In a single day, Jason had made her life that much more complicated than it needed to be. Anything involving the king of the gods was rarely easy.
Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until
Annabeth raised her arms.
"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three... their pact not to have mortal kids... how could we not have known about him sooner?"
Chiron didn't answer, but Sol got the feeling he knew.
And the truth was not good.
"The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze tripod stool. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green- not indigo- mist started swirling around Rachel's feet.
When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient- again, nothing like the voice in Sol's nightmare or Hera's cabin- the sound a snake would make if it could talk:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giants' revenge the seven shall birth, The forge and two doves shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage."
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.
"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Everyone looked at her. "I mean ...does she spew green smoke a lot?"
"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy- Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just-"
"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her? It might be a trap, or- or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes.
"And," she added, "this is the second prophecy with more than the traditional three demigods enlisted for the quest. It asks for four. Child of lightning, like Zeus, forge, and two doves."
Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."
A girl from Hephaestus cabin stood up- Nyssa Barrera. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son- our dad- down a mountain just because he was ugly."
"Real ugly," snickered someone from Aphrodite.
"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think- why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
No one answered, but Sol noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. Sol thought it went something like:
Annabeth: The giants' revenge... no, it can't be.
Chiron: Don't speak of it here. Don't scare them.
Annabeth: You're kidding me! We can't be that unlucky.
Chiron: Later, child. If you told them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed.
Sol knew how to read their expressions like they were her own, and she knew that, but she wished she could doubt her abilities. Annabeth seemed worried; Chiron thought this information they shared was to terrifying for the general camp to know.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions, but this clearly isn't going to be very traditional. He can choose three other demigods to accompany him on his quest."
Travis yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance- it's all connected."
"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?"
Piper stared blankly back at her.
Annabeth saved Piper. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end- by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and two doves shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul- Hephaestus."
Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulders slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware the earth, you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport. The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."
She didn't sound enthusiastic.
Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, Sol had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Leo. It briefly brought her mind back to the moment on the Grand Canyon skywalk, where he confessed to being annoying, which, admittedly, he was, but it was still unsettling, hearing Leo say it himself.
"It's me," he said.
His cabinmates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but Leo resisted.
"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"
Jason studied him for a moment. Sol was sure he was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."
"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.
"It will be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."
"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean... Oh, cool!
Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."
Annabeth nodded. "Then, Jason, you need to choose the third and fourth quest members. The doves-"
Sol decided it was time to step out into the amphitheater, but Drew Tanaka beat her to it.
"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am
totally yours."
Piper's hands clenched. She stepped forward. "No."
Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."
"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."
"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things... She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."
The campers started murmuring about how Drew was pretty persuasive. Sol could see Drew winning them over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew's participation suddenly made sense to him. She almost felt it herself, but something stopped her: the look on Drew's face when she mentioned Leo.
"Well.." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy-"
"Given the wording of the prophecy," Sol interjected, causing the campers to turn their attention away from Drew Tanaka and to her instead, "two children of Aphrodite are to be chosen. Though, for the two of you, it doesn't change much, because one of those 'doves' is going to be me."
Drew appeared flustered for a split second before she sneered. "What makes you think you're such an easy pick? You're old news, Sol."
"More likely then not, two of the strongest demigods in history disappearing in the same year isn't a coincidence." Sol folded her arms across her chest and looked at all of the campers watching her. "And despite your meaningless opinions-" Drew gasped- "nobody else seems willing to debate that I was anything short of a hero."
Sol's eyes finally found Jason's. "So? Am I in?"
Jason glanced toward Annabeth.
"It's your quest," Annabeth said, but she was nodding her head.
Jason looked back at Sol. "Alright." He blinked, then frowned. "You're a daughter of Aphrodite?" he asked.
But Sol had already left.
~~~~~~~~
Word Count: 2,923