Leaneíras rode on the back of Ginevre while Annabeth handled the reins and the navigation device of the chariot. Eliza got her sister situated within the chariot, securing with some rope that Lea conjured up so that she wouldn't fall.
It wasn't long before they were set to go and soon, they rose over the Grand Canyon. Lea winced a bit when she heard the skywalk giving completely out.
Great, she thought. I blew up a national monument. That was Percy's thing.
Percy.
Her brother was still missing and the only lead they had turned out to be a dead end.
Lea really wanted to cry. It felt like those days back when she was twelve, hidden away in their old apartment with Smelly Gabe and her brother and mother both missing. The difference this time was that she didn't have the news following after him as he did a cross-country escape from human traffickers while going on a quest to find their Uncle's emotional support lightning bolt.
Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.
Funnily enough, Lea couldn't even tell if it was because of monsters or it were simply because of her mood.
Her best friend, hurt.
Her brother was missing.
And her soulmate—a goddamn god—was nowhere to be found.
She'd scream if she had the strength for it, but all she could focus on was lying her head a top of Ginevre as the pegasus murmured soothing words to her.
Lea had never gotten over her fear of pegasi no matter how safe Ginevre was, but even that fear seemed dim in the face of Lea's world shattering around her.
Voices murmured behind her that she could barely hear over the wind.
"Hang on, child," Ginevre suddenly said. Lea raised her head, and looked back. The chariot's left wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared and dark shapes began to form in the clouds. Lea sneered, raising one glowing hand and shooting a beam of mageia into the masses.
She turned as she saw Annabeth flick the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Lea's stomach crawled into her throat and she was once again reminded why she didn't like flying on those demons with hooves. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were at the Long Island Sound.
"The lake!" Eliza yelled. "Aim for the lake!"
BOOM.
She let herself sink, breathing in relief. She smiled at the naiads in the water, welcoming their assistance to getting onto the shore. Nearby, Annabeth stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Butch emerged from the crowd to help her. The demigods that they rescued were already on shore though the girl had just been dumped onto the ground by the naiads. Eliza was surrounded by a few of the healers that were handing out blankets and helping her with Drew. Lea headed in their direction after they blew with the instant blower.
A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.
"Annabeth!" Will Solace said, pushing the crowed. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"
"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."
Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"
"Claimed?" Leo asked.
Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Percy?"
"No," Annabeth admitted. Leaneíras looked away, turning back to Drew as the healers finished their jobs. The daughter of Aphrodite groaned, eyes fluttering open weakly.
"Take it easy," Lee Fletcher smiled. "We managed to get rid of the concussion but you know head injuries are the worst so there's a chance that you'll still feel the effects."
Drew smiled at him weakly.
Mirajane stepped forward—tall, Asian, platinum hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. She managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, hen curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster.
"Well," Mirajane said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."
Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"
"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"
"Jason," Eliza said as she stood to her feet, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And MJ"—she frowned at the girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."
"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."
Drew sniffed as Lea helped her to her feet. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"
Piper stepped forward as if she ready to smack her, but Annabeth said, "Piper, stop."
Lea sneered, "Seriously, not only do they bark like a collared pup, but they do also whine like one too. How ever do you manage to be saddled with these tiny beasts, Drewberry?"
"Hey," Annabeth said sharply, glancing between the two. "We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome."
Lea scoffed. Her brother was missing and all that she got in return was deadweight.
"We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."
"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked.
The campers backed away as they gasped. Their faces were bathed in a red light, as if someone had lit a torch. Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.
"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."
"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.
"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"
"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"
"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"
All eyes turned to him.
"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"
"I'm not sure."
"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about?"
"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."
The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"
Annabeth turned to Solace. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."
"Sure, Annabeth."
"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"
"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.
Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. She studied him more like he was a complicated blueprint. Finally she said, "Hold out your arm."
Leaneíras raised a brow as she looked at his arm. It was darkly etched, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that an eagle with the letters SPQR. They looked really familiar to the marks on Medea and Magnus.
"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"
Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."
The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. The marks bothered Leaneíras a little. It was almost like a declaration of war.
"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth noticed.
"They were," Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching. "I mean ... I think so. I don't remember."
No one said anything as they waited for Annabeth's verdict.
"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you—"
"No," Leaneíras cut in. "I got it. Drew needs to rest." She gave a look to he best friend daring her to object before turning to the newest blondie. Aliens' above, this was just like her first time at camp all over again. "Besides, I want to see if I can do something about this amnesia of his."
"Yeah, okay," Annabeth said, looping her arm through Eliza's. Jason gave Lea a wary look as she began to tug him towards the big house. "Let's get a move on, dude."
Leaneíras explained to Jason about the Camp and the things offered—magic archery, pegasus riding, the lava wall, fighting monsters— before subtly name dropping Medea and Magnus to see if she could get a reaction.
She couldn't.
But Percy's last soulmate... that Octavian boy, brought a flicker of something within him. Lea hummed. Better than when her memories were messed with.
She kept going with the tour, pointing out the open-air dining pavilion that overlooked Long Island Sound. When he asked about all the campers, she explained how it was mostly a summer camp, but some kids stayed year round. There was talk about working with the dryads and naiads to make it look more like an ancient polis.
As they made it near the edge of the camp, she could see Annabeth giving a tour to that other demigoddess that they rescued while her best friend was too busy getting hurt.
"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," Lea 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."
"I think I've heard of something like that before..."
At your camp, she wanted to ask. "Alright, may I use my mageia to see what I can do regarding your memories?"
"Er," said Jason, looking at her in confusion. "You're asking?"
Lea stared at him like he was stupid. "Did you not just hear the words out of my mouth?"
His eyes glinted as if he took the slightest bit of offense, but he didn't say anything. Instead he nodded slightly. "Okay, then. Yeah, go ahead."
She yanked him down to the ground before sitting in front of him, situating herself in a meditative position. It was still hard for to keep away the glow in her eyes and worse now that it shone on her finger nails. The thought of it made her miss Arkas even more and she usually tried her best to repress that grief.
Leaneíras shook her head, banishing all thoughts from her mind, conjuring an image of the demos oneiron. She bypassed the gate constructed of ivory which was the source of dreams which were false and without meaning. She continued through the gate made of horn. The one that the source of the prophetic god-sent dreams. Her bare feet made contact with the sand that was mottled with different shades and hues blending together. The gritty sand was hard on her feet, but she pushed the feeling away as she kept forward.
"Vola anima per aeterna," she murmured. "Vola anima per aeterna." There was movement around her hair, as if stirred by a faint breeze. Her eyes began to glow behind her eyelids. "Vola anima per aeterna," she continued as the wind around her began to pick up. The fine hair alongside her arms and neck rose as the power exuding from her grew in strength. "Vola anima per aeterna."
An astral form of herself stood before her.
Leaneíras reached out towards the copy, clasping each other's hands. "Life to life and mind to mind," the two of them said at once. "Our spirits forever intertwine." The sand beneath her feet rose and swirl, dancing in the air like petals in the wind. "We meld our souls and journey to," the astral form of Lea began to glow and move as it ascended from the land of dreams. "The one whose thoughts we wish we knew."
Considering how much pain it had brought her when she did this with Hermes, it was kind of dumb and risky of her to do it again. But well... Jason wasn't an alien deity so with that thought in mind, she pushed her astral form out of the recess of her mind and directly into him.
It was like standing directly in the middle of lightning storm.
All around her thunder boomed over and over again as if it were directly in her ear. Lightning struck almost intimately close. The winds danced around her. Infinitely better than Hermes' mind with thousands of roadways that it was hard to see any light except small shines of the stars and the eerie sound of cattle and whispers of so many foreign languages that she wouldn't have even been able to name one of them.
Jason stood in front of her. "How... where?"
She ignored him, moving closer to press two fingers to his forehead, eyes slipping close so she could concentrate. Kírkē had always warned her that mind mageia on someone other than herself was a delicate procedure lest she shredded their mind. Charmspeak was one of the very few things that bypassed those restrictions and safety nets.
"Bless his mind, and bless his heart, return his memories from the start."
The wind picked up around them, screaming and screeching at her before knocking her away.
Lea scowled as she fell down.
"Well, fuck you too," she murmured.
"Are you okay," Jason asked, helping her to her feet. "What happened?"
"I'm fine. Let me try again." Her hand, glowing once more, laid flat against his chest. "Powers and emotions tied, a demigod's heart is where it hides. Help him through his agony, bless him with his memory."
She only had one moment to say "Aw, shit" before she was thrown back once again, this time only barely managing to dodge the lightning strikes that came with the wind. She swiped a hand over her face, getting rid of the blood that she drew from nearly biting a hole into her tongue. Aliens' above, he had strong mental defenses. She would be impressed if it weren't inconveniencing her.
"Moments lost make witches wonder: Witches plot or titans's plunder? If this is not a prank, help us to fill in the blanks."
The wind raged, screaming at her and that time she wasn't fast enough to dodge the lightning strike. She seized as it struck her and she had to lay down for a moment until she could regain movement in her arms. Jason was above her muttering platitudes and apologies and if she had the strength, she would wave it away.
Well, one thing that could be certain was that there was something more to what was going on.
Lea narrowed her eyes. If this didn't work, she was cursing Hermes out. God of memory her ass. "Let the truth be told, let our lives unfold. So we can relive our memories, and stop being enemies."
You were two years old. It was dark, you were crying, your mother never came back even though she promised and then the wolves came.
You were three years old. You've just killed a man, not that you understand it.
You were four years old. When you clap, lightning strikes around your hands and thunder follows.
You were six years old and a pretty lady comes for you. She says that she is your new Mother.
You were seven years old, covered in blood, but your Mother helps you get rid of it all and reads your favorite book so you won't have nightmares.
You were eight years old. Your Mother pushed you off a cliff, but it was okay because you could fly.
You were nine years old. You cut a man's tongue out with a grapefruit spoon.
You were ten years old. You had to leave the only home that you knew.
You were eleven years old. You just got knocked out for the first time in years by the skinny blond boy that looked like a scarecrow. He's your new best friend.
You were twelve years old. A new person comes to camp. Her name is —
You were thirteen years old. One of your friend announced that her brother was a traitor and told the Senate to kill him on sight.
You were fourteen years old. And your best friend tells your a terrible secret about his family.
You were fifteen years old. Your khaos-mark takes the form of a thunder cloud with three lightning strikes. Veritas Dios Thugater and Alabaster Torrington and your name Jason —
Thunder struck loud and clear, rain poured down onto them, and lightning struck ripping through everything.
You were fifteen years old.
You were fifteen years old.
You were fifteen years old.
You were fifteen years old.
You were fifteen years old.
Leaneíras jerked back with a loud cry, falling back into her own body in a horrible case of vertigo.
"Lea? Lea? Lea!"
Said girl groaned, eyes opening slowly and finding that she was sprawled out on the ground. Someone was dragging her down to the crest of the hill where Thalia's old pine tree... no, where the golden fleece was. Peleus rose his head as they came closer and Lea sank into the relieving affects of the fleece before she was batting the arms around her away.
Drew stood at her side, a healthy color also appearing in her face as the fleece healed what Lee and his siblings couldn't.
"That's—a dragon," and Lea turned to see Jason being held up by two of Drew's brothers, Jaemin and Mitchell.
"Yes," Drew stated. "And that's the actual Golden Fleece."
Jason stared.
Lea turned to lead them back to camp when something or rather, someone caught her eye. "Is that?"
Drew followed her line of sight, and sneered. "What's he's doing here?"
"I don't know," Lea said. "Take Jason to Chiron. Let him know that I couldn't get anything. I'll go see what's up with this one."
Drew looked as if she wanted to protest, but she pursed her lips and nodded. "Fine. And besides... Je n'ai jamais rencontré quelqu'un d'aussi éthéré que moi de toute ma vie."
"What am I chopped liver?" Lea snorted. "Careful. Une de ses bénédictions est une déesse."
Lea moved further down, closer towards the barrier where one person that was not supposed to be there stood.
"Alabastard."
"Jackass."
"You're not supposed to be here," she pointed out. "I know that you're a bit stupid, but even you have to know what exile means."
"Charming as always, Leaneira," Alabaster smiled without amusement. "Except... wait. Charm is Drew's thing and she's who I need to speak to."
"Whatever Nakamura has to say to her, he can shove it up his ass. She's not ready to talk him just because she helped during that thing with your sister."
"Oh, she's gonna want to hear this," Alabaster assured her. Lea raised a brow. "Ethan's gone missing."