"Annabeth IV," Jake read.
"You're doing great." Percy told his girlfriend. "This is your last chapter."
"Thank the gods." Annabeth muttered. I don't think I can take another one after this.
Annabeth wanted to hate New Rome. But as an aspiring architect, she couldn't help admiring the terraced gardens, the fountains and temples, the winding cobblestone streets and gleaming white villas.
"Yup, there it is. The architect stuff we were talking about." Travis chuckled.
"Wake me up when it's over." Connor said, pretending to fall asleep.
"Why did they have to come back?" Annabeth muttered under her breath. She scowled at them.
After the Titan War last summer, she'd gotten her dream job of redesigning the palaces of Mount Olympus.
Now, walking through this miniature city, she kept thinking, I should have made a dome like that. I love the way those columns lead into that courtyard.
"I'm sure the way you will rebuild Olympus will be perfect." Athena told her daughter.
Annabeth smiled shyly at that.
Enjoy it while it lasts. she reminded herself. The smile slowly disappeared as she remembered the cursed gift.
Leo held back a yawn as he swung his legs back and forth.
Whoever designed New Rome had clearly poured a lot of time and love into the project.
"We have the best architects and builders in the world," Reyna said, as if reading her thoughts. "Rome always did, in the ancient times.
Athena snorted "You obviously haven't seen true architecture."
Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university.
Annabeth perked up at that. They have a university? I wonder how you can apply...
They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact."
"What?!" Percy exclaimed. His face becoming red as the goddess of love and her children squealed.
He gulped when he noticed Athena give him a glare that warned: I am allowing you to date my daughter. Don't push your luck.
Poseidon sighed. First Tyson's dating, now Percy's thinking of raising a family? This is too much...
The god of the sea combed through his beard.
"Wow Percy, you're really thinking about the future." Travis snickered.
"Don't you think you're going a bit fast?" Connor asked.
"Er... uh..." Percy fumbled. Annabeth rolled her eyes at the Stolls.
"There's nothing wrong with thinking about the future." she told them, surprising everyone.
Athena looked at her daughter as if she grew a second head.
Annabeth turned to Percy with a proud smile on her face.
"Don't listen to them, I think it's good that you're interested in their university. I am too." she told him. Her smile became more softer. "Maybe we could try to apply together."
Oh thank Fates... the goddess of wisdom thought with a sigh of relief.
Aphrodite and a few others started to snicker amongst themselves.
"You don't honestly believe he meant that, do you?" the goddess of love said.
"It can't be." Travis snickered. "There's no way."
"She has to be saying that to protect Percy." Lacy giggled.
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing!" the son of Poseidon said quickly. "Just ignore them!"
Annabeth wondered what that meant.
The laughing grew louder.
"What's so funny? He was talking about the university!" Annabeth insisted. She turned to Percy. "Right?"
"Right." Percy immediately agreed. ...She must never know.
She must have scowled more fiercely than she realized, because Reyna laughed.
"You're a warrior, all right," the praetor said. "You've got fire in your eyes."
"Sorry." Annabeth tried to tone down the glare.
"Don't be. I'm the daughter of Bellona."
Who? Annabeth blinked in confusion.
"Roman goddess of war?"
Annabeth grimaced. I really need to catch up with my Roman studies.
"A cheap knockoff of me." Athena snorted. "Why did she even need to exist? I am already a goddess of war. They didn't need to strip me of my title and give it to her."
Leo drummed his fingers on his knee.
Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled like she was hailing a cab. A moment later, two metal dogs raced toward them—automaton greyhounds, one silver and one gold. They brushed against Reyna's legs and regarded Annabeth with glistening ruby eyes.
The demigods exchanged uneasy looks.
"What are those?" Mitchell frowned.
"My pets," Reyna explained. "Aurum and Argentum. You don't mind if they walk with us?"
"I guess, it doesn't sound like I have much of a choice anyway." Annabeth muttered.
...Reyna led her to an outdoor café, where the waiter clearly knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup, then offered one to Annabeth.
"Would you like some?" Reyna asked.
Leo's eyes fluttered closed.
"They make wonderful hot chocolate. Not really a Roman drink—"
"But chocolate is universal," Annabeth said.
"Exactly."
Leo's body almost slumped off the chair before he jerked awake.
No! he told himself. He pinched himself for extra measure. Stay awake, you can't fall asleep now.
He pulled out some paper clips from his pocket.
It was a warm June afternoon, but Annabeth accepted the cup with thanks. The two of them walked on, Reyna's gold and silver dogs roaming nearby.
"In our camp," Reyna said, "Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?"
"Here we go again." Leo groaned.
"Who could forget?" Annabeth grumbled. My mother's never been the same since the Romans were mentioned.
Annabeth hadn't really considered it before. She remembered the way Terminus had called Athena that goddess, as if she were scandalous.
Said goddess scowled.
Octavian had acted like Annabeth's very existence was an insult.
Annabeth glared at the book.
"I take it Minerva isn't...uh, quite as respected here?"
"My Roman existence is an entire mockery of who I am." Athena growled.
Reyna blew steam from her cup. "We respect Minerva.
The goddess of wisdom rolled her eyes and snorted.
She's the goddess of crafts and wisdom...but she isn't really a goddess of war.
Athena narrowed her eyes.
"How dare she?" the goddess said with gritted teeth.
Not for Romans. She's also a maiden goddess, like Diana...the one you call Artemis.
Artemis winced as her form flickered.
Apollo worriedly glanced at her.
You won't find any children of Minerva here. The idea that Minerva would have children—frankly, it's a little shocking to us."
"Just a little?" Annabeth asked sarcastically.
"Oh." Annabeth felt her face flush. She didn't want to get into the details of Athena's children
"And we're not going to." Annabeth said firmly. She glared at the other demigods' questioning looks.
They quickly turned away.
—how they were born straight from the mind of the goddess, just as Athena herself had sprung from the head of Zeus.
Why say you're not going to go into details, only to then give details on how you were born? Annabeth thought, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Talking about that always made Annabeth feel self-conscious, like she was some sort of freak.
"You're not a freak, Annabeth." Athena told her daughter.
Annabeth sighed.
"You'd think so with all of the weird questions I get. 'Is being super smart really the only power you have?' 'How were you born?' And a personal favorite of mine: 'If you have kids, will they be brain children too?'" she made a face. "Just because I'm a brain child, people assume I'm some sort of alien."
The demigods exchanged guilty looks.
People usually asked her whether or not she had a belly button,
What does that have to do with anything? Annabeth thought, face flushing.
The demigods shifted uncomfortably.
"Well... Since you mentioned it..." Chris trailed off.
"...Do you...?" Percy finished.
Annabeth stared at them blankly.
"Really?" she said flatly.
"It's a legitimate question!" Percy defended. "I mean, you sprung out of Athena's head, so it's not like you would have an umbilical cord or anything! Wouldn't it make sense for you to not have one?"
"But that'd be weird." Lacy said, making a face. "Can you imagine seeing someone wearing a crop top but having no belly button? How scary would that be?"
"She could use the Mist to manipulate one." Travis suggested.
"I don't think the Mist works like that..." Katie said with a frown. "Even if it did, wouldn't that be a waste of magic? Couldn't she just wear regular shirts?"
"I guess, but that limits her on how much cute outfits she can wear..." Lacy sighed.
"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here! I have a belly button! Everyone has a belly button!" Annabeth snapped.
The demigods looked at her in surprise, even Leo stared at her as if she admitted to having twelve toes.
"Wait, really?" Leo said. He scratched his head. "I always assumed you were sensitive about the topic because you didn't have one..."
"I'm sensitive about the topic because of reactions like these!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Com'on people, are we forgetting that I'm still a human being?!"
"Of course not!" Percy hastily assured her. "We were just... wondering that's all..."
"You and everybody else." she huffed.
"Honestly, people make such a big deal about the simplest things." Athena said, rolling her eyes. "Not having one isn't something to panic over."
"She's just saying that because she forgot to add belly buttons on her first children." Aphrodite said, making a face.
Annabeth's face looked more solemn at that. Cabin Six still whispered stories about the First Five who were born into a life of misery.
"That's just a rumor!" Athena said, a bit too defensively.
...She couldn't explain how. She didn't really want to know.
"One of the World's Seven Greatest Mysteries..." Connor said sagely.
"You know if you're really that interested for details, you can just ask my mother. She's right over there." Annabeth suggested, crossing her arms.
"A mystery..." The Stoll said, pretending he didn't hear her.
"I understand that you Greeks don't see things the same way," Reyna continued. "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.
"Holy Hephaestus! Isn't that a bit extreme?" Jake flinched.
"Even when hunters break their vows, they aren't punished so severely." Thalia winced.
So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children—"
Athena gnashed her teeth together.
"Is she implying that I would break my vow?!" the goddess growled.
"Got it." [Annabeth]..."I'm not supposed to exist. And even if your camp had children of Minerva—"
"They wouldn't be like you," Reyna said. "They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests."
"I'm not the leader." Annabeth frowned.
"You kinda are, I mean, Coach Hedge doesn't listen to just anyone." Leo told her.
"I guess..." The daughter of Athena frowned, unsure how she should react. First the curse, now she has the responsibility of six people on her shoulders. Can she really handle it?
"You won't be doing things alone. We'll help you." Percy told her.
Annabeth nodded her head. "You're right."
"There's more." Reyna snapped her fingers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over. The praetor stroked his ears. "The harpy Ella...it was a prophecy she spoke. We both know that, don't we?"
Annabeth swallowed. Something about Aurum's ruby eyes made her uneasy.... She didn't know if that applied to magical metal dogs, but she decided it would be better to tell the truth.
Annabeth frowned at that.
"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," Reyna murmured. "At least some of them—"
...They wound their way up the hill. The greyhounds followed...
Annabeth kept glancing at Reyna's face. A 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.
Wait, haven't I seen that before? Annabeth thoughtfully frowned. She racked her brain for answers. It must've been from a quest.
Leo pulled out a few pipe cleaners from his pocket and started twisting them together.
....Reyna gave her a dry smile. "Very good. Percy didn't remember me.
"We've met?" Percy said, furrowing his eyebrows.
Of course you spoke mostly with my older sister Hylla, 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."
"Oh! It's her!" Annabeth said in surprise. "How did they manage to get off the island?"
Percy's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I still don't remember seeing her. Was she the one who welcomed us to the island?"
"No, that was her sister, Hylla." his girlfriend corrected. "Reyna's the one who combed my hair. You probably didn't see her since you were... talking with Circe."
"Yeah, talking." Percy grumbled, scowling at the ground. He'd been craving lettuce for months after that quest.
...Circe had made her sales pitch: if Annabeth stayed on the island, she could have magical training and incredible power. Annabeth had been tempted, maybe just a little, until she realized the place was a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent.
"A what?!" Travis said, bursting out into laughter. The others soon joined him.
"I've never heard about this before!" Connor said, in between his laughter. "You really got turned into a rat?"
"It was a guinea pig." Percy corrected, feeling his ears turn red when their laughter grew louder.
Annabeth gave him an apologetic smile.
A Guinea pig. A voice in Hermes' head chuckled. Not as tasty as a rat. But still good for a midnight snack.
Hermes rolled his eyes.
George, Lord Hermes just turned us off vibrate, don't make him regret it. Martha scolded.
"Don't feel too bad, it could've been worse." Leo told the son of Poseidon. "You could've been turned into gold."
"Or a dandelion." Nico said dryly.
"Or a tree." Thalia said, before adding with a grimace. "Or an ice statue."
"No, being a guinea pig was worse. At least you guys can't really remember what happened to you. Imagine being stuck in a smelly cage with Captain Fuzz Beard and a couple other hairballs."
"Captain who?!" Travis laughed harder.
Jake waited until everyone calmed down before he continued reading.
(That last part seemed funny afterward; but at the time, it had been terrifying.)
"I thought I was going to be stuck there forever." Percy shuddered.
As for Reyna...she'd been one of the servants who had combed Annabeth's hair.
....[ Reyna] "But I remember you well. You were brave. I'd never seen anyone refuse Circe's hospitality, much less outwit her. It's no wonder Percy cares for you."
Her voice was wistful.
"Time to change the subject." Annabeth scowled.
...They reached the top of the hill, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley.
"This is my favorite spot," Reyna said. "The Garden of Bacchus."
Dionysus reared back at the sudden headache he had.
Grapevine trellises made a canopy overhead. Bees buzzed through honeysuckle and jasmine, which filled the afternoon air with a dizzying mix of perfumes.
Grover sighed wistfully. "Sounds beautiful."
Katie nodded in agreement.
In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth,
Katie, Grover, and a couple other demigods winced at the mental image.
Even the gods shuddered.
"Yeah, I think I'll just look at the garden from a distance." the daughter of Demeter said.
"Who made that?!" Connor gagged.
The god of wine rolled his eyes. "Is it really that bad?"
"I hope that question was rhetorical." Hermes said, making a face.
Despite her worries, Annabeth almost laughed. She knew the god in his Greek form, Dionysus— or Mr. D, as they called him back at Camp Half-Blood. Seeing their cranky old camp director immortalized in stone, wearing a diaper and spewing water from his mouth, made her feel a little better.
"Glad I could make you feel better, Anniebelle." Dionysus said dryly.
"Annabeth." Athena corrected with a sigh.
..."I wanted to hear it from you," Reyna said.
Annabeth turned. "Hear what from me?"
"The truth," Reyna said. "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.
Aphrodite and her children frowned at that.
I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says. And Jason...well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."
"You guys just saw each other, how do you know he's changed?" Thalia asked. Just because he comes back with a girlfriend, he's suddenly a different person?
Annabeth straightened her posture. This is it. The moment she had been dreading. She somehow has to convince Reyna to trust Hera, the most untrustworthy goddess there ever was, and the Greeks, a group of total strangers and old-time rivals. She couldn't rely on Piper or even Jason to save her with their persuasion. She had to deal with this alone.
The daughter of Athena gulped but outwardly looked determined. She couldn't afford to lose this.
The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass
Annabeth faltered.
... At least she'd found her boyfriend. Reyna had no one.
Lacy winced sympathetically.
She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. Annabeth could sense that Reyna wanted Jason to love her. But he had disappeared, only to come back with a new girlfriend.
Thalia fidgeted. She looked down at her bow. Oh.
"But she can find someone else, right?" one of the Aphrodite children said weakly.
"Like who?" Lacy asked.
Nobody responded.
Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna too.
Percy went back to staring at his shoes.
Now Annabeth had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.
Annabeth frowned. How was she supposed to stay mad at Reyna for liking Percy, after hearing something like this? I hope she didn't take Percy's rejection too personal. her frown deepened. I hope Percy was gentle about it.
While Percy wouldn't mean to hurt her, the son of Poseidon wasn't exactly good at his wording. She could only imagine how that scene played out.
When Annabeth had arrived at Camp Jupiter, she'd been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. She hadn't been prepared to feel sorry for her.
"No kidding." Annabeth muttered. Wasn't she ready to have a battle of wits a couple minutes ago?
...she told Reyna about her own life. She talked about her dad and stepmom and her two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how she had felt like an outsider in her own family.
Great start, is there any way the book can just say I told her my story and not go into any further detail. Annabeth thought sarcastically. She glared at what she thought was just pitying looks. She didn't see the flash of understanding in some of the demigods' eyes.
She talked about how she had run away when she was only seven, finding her friends Luke and Thalia and making her way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island.
Her and Thalia shared a small smile.
She described the camp and her years growing up there. She talked about meeting Percy and the adventures they'd had together.
Percy grinned at her and rubbed her shoulder.
Annabeth grinned back.
Annabeth was tempted to tell her about more recent problems:
Annabeth's grin wavered.
her fight with her mom,
The girl's eyes widened in horror. We fought?!
One of the things she appreciated about her relationship with her mother was that they nearly had everything in common. They didn't fight about things like she did with her father. Athena was always more understanding than her mortal family had ever been.
I guess things changed. she thought sadly.
The goddess of wisdom stared at the book in shock.
the gift of the silver coin, and the nightmares she'd been having—about an old fear so paralyzing, she'd almost decided that she couldn't go on this quest.
Annabeth felt her face pale. Her body went rigid. There's only one thing that could make me not want to go on a quest...
She felt her forehead start to bead sweat. Annabeth gulped.
Get a hold of yourself. she sternly told herself as Percy gave her a worried frown. It can't be what you're thinking.
She struggled to calm herself down.
But she couldn't bring herself to open up quite that much.
When Annabeth was done talking, Reyna gazed over New Rome.... 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."
Athena scoffed.
Reyna turned toward Annabeth. "Unlike your mother, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman.
"How unfortunate." the goddess of wisdom sneered.
She's the goddess of protecting the homeland."
Annabeth said nothing. She knew very little about the Roman goddess. She wished she had studied up, but Latin never came as easily to her as Greek.
Annabeth frowned at that. The information can't all be in Latin, there has to be some in Greek. Maybe Chiron has some books he can lend me or the attic could have something.
Down below, the hull of the Argo II gleamed as it floated over the forum, like some massive bronze party balloon.
Jake and Nyssa smiled at that.
Leo paled and winced. Yeah, I gotta say something. At this point, I'm already on the ship, showing Octavian the controls...
Things were going to be a lot worse if he waited until the very last minute to say something. And knowing Nemesis, she'd be extra sure to include all the details on the damage and fight.
Be strong, Valdez, you can do this. he encouraged. It's not like it was completely your fault.
He shifted uncomfortably. "Er... I don't think 'party balloon' is a good description right now... maybe something more serio? Like 'presagio' I mean... 'foreshadowing'? Or 'ticking time bomb'?"
The readers went rigid, they slowly turned to him.
"Leo..." Annabeth asked, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Is something happening on the ship?"
"What did Octavian do?" Percy scowled.
"Well... it's not what Octavian did and more like..." Leo trailed off. He brushed his hair back and sighed. He should really start from the beginning. "Okay, remember when Annabeth said she was having this cold sensation? Turns out that wasn't just a change in temperature or a snowman or whatever, it was a eidolon, a spirit of the dead who can possess people. I didn't know it at the time, but it's possessing me."
He kept his eyes trained on his pipe cleaners.
The readers stared at him in horror.
"That's why you had that creepy smile..." Connor said in realization. "That wasn't you, that was the eidolon."
"Oh my gods..." Annabeth gasped, eyes wide. "Aren't you going back to the ship?!"
"I should be already on the ship by now." Leo said miserably. He kicked his legs. "When I'm giving Octavian the tour, I'm going to walk in front of the ballista and just start firing."
The readers sat in stunned silence at his proclamation.
And this is all happening while I'm talking to Reyna. Annabeth grimaced. She's going to think we were trying to trick her.
She tried to come up with a series of explanations and plans on how to fix this.
Hera was hunched over in her throne, head buried in her hands. Not her most dignified pose, but she couldn't help but do so, after hearing her plan was about to be torn into pieces in a matter of minutes. How can this be happening...?
He dared to glance up and winced at the others' expressions. "Sorry!"
"Don't be sorry." Athena brightly smiled. "This was bound to happen eventually, in a way, I should be thanking you for making it happen sooner."
Leo ducked his head in shame. The gods glared at her.
"It's fine." Annabeth said, even though it really wasn't. Leo already looked guilty, there was no point in beating him up about it. "We can come up with ways to stop this." We have to, this is going to be a disaster.
"Maybe we could enchant the ship to ward off eidolons?" Nyssa suggested.
"Lou Ellen might know something." Travis added. "We could always ask her for advice."
"Would that be enough?" Hades said flatly. "How do we know Gaea wouldn't just come up with something else?"
Nobody had an answer for that. Everybody just settled in an uncomfortable silence, except for Athena and Ares who looked like they were waiting for fireworks to go off.
"When the Romans go to war," Reyna continued,
A few people winced at that.
"Why did she have to say that now?" Percy grimaced.
"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 offense is the best defense. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbors, they would invade to protect themselves."
As Jake read this, the other demigods could barely sit still. They were squirming in their seats, eyes darting around the room, hands fidgeting.
Leo bent his pipe cleaner into a zig-zag. He didn't dare look up at the others, he could hear them moving around anyways. They were probably as anxious about reading him firing the ballista as he was with them hearing it.
"They conquered everyone around them," Annabeth said. "Carthage, the Gauls—"
"And the Greeks." Reyna let that comment hang.
The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Nobody was saying anything, but Leo heard a few breaths hitch.
Jake gulped and kept reading.
"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."
The demigods exchanged uneasy looks.
"This is painful!" Travis groaned. He almost wished Leo hadn't said anything, the wait felt ten times worse than a surprise.
"It doesn't have to be that way," Annabeth said. "We've got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both."
"Hurry up and convince her!" Annabeth muttered under her breath. "You have to get back on the ship before it's too late."
"I agree," Reyna said. "But is cooperation possible? What if Juno's plan is flawed? Even goddesses can make mistakes."
The goddess glared at the book half-heartedly, but couldn't bring herself to be truly mad. Gaea was about to prove to everyone just how flawed her plan was from the start.
She almost wanted Jake to hurry up and get to the attack of New Rome, they might as well just get it over with.
Zeus is never going to allow me to attempt this plan. she thought grimly. The goddess glanced at her husband. Like the other gods, Zeus was staring ahead, face expressionless as he waited for the inevitable.
As if he sensed her looking at him, he gave her a sidelong glance.
You really thought this was going to work. his eyes said, accusatory.
..."I don't trust the goddess," Annabeth admitted. "But I do trust my friends. This isn't a trick, Reyna. We can work together."
"Please let this work. Please. Please." Hestia murmured under her breath.
..."I believe you mean it," she said.
Annabeth and a few others sighed in relief.
"But if you go to the ancient lands, especially Rome itself, there is something you should know about your mother."
Heart still hammering in her chest, Annabeth stiffened.
..."My—my mother?"
"When I lived on Circe's island," Reyna said, "we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you and Percy 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."
Athena's shoulders slumped at that. She frowned.
Annabeth frowned as well, but more out of confusion. "That couldn't have been anyone from Camp. He must've been gone for a while."
..."What happened to this demigod?" she asked.
Reyna waved her hand as if the question was trivial. "Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. He made quite a crazy little rodent.
Athena scowled. "Thanks for being so gentle and sympathetic when saying what happened to her brother." I should've expected much from a Roman.
Percy worriedly frowned. Wait, was he one of those guinea pigs I was in the cage with?
He shivered.
But before that, he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he'd gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena."
Annabeth felt a chill run down her spine. She leaned back in her chair for support. What happened to him?
Percy grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
[Reyna]... "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?"
"Not—not the way Ella said them." Annabeth's voice was weak. She wasn't lying. She'd 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 taking root in her mind. She remembered her mother's scathing words. She thought about the strange nightmares she'd been having lately.
"What's going on? What strange nightmares? What exactly did Mother say to get us into an argument?" Annabeth muttered, her mind racing with questions.
"Did this demigod—did he explain his quest?"
Reyna shook her head. "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."
Desperate for answers, Annabeth leaned forward.
"Suspect...what?"
"There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through the 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 centers on Athena—"
"What is it? What centers on Athena?" Annabeth asked feverishly. Com'on, just say it.
A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Annabeth's eye.
"Damn it!" Annabeth swore. Really, the eidolon choses now to fire at New Rome? Where were you when nothing was happening?
"Oh my gods! It's starting!" Katie squeaked.
Athena smiled wickedly.
"Finally!" Ares exclaimed, stretching his arms. "I thought the attack would never happen! I was just about to die from boredom!" He suddenly winced in pain.
Aphrodite pointedly glared at him. The other gods were too busy struggling to maintain forms to get angry at Ares.
"Please don't let the damage be too bad," Percy muttered a quick prayer to the Fates. He didn't know if they took prayers (or begging, same thing in this case), but he had to try. "I know this is in the future, but you guys are powerful. Can't you do something? We really need this alliance to work."
She turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.
"That's at the center of the camp!" Athena beamed at Leo. "Nice shot! It's a perfect place to start!"
Her form flickered, Minerva tapped her chin in mock thought. "You know where I'd aim next?"
"Where?" Ares groaned out, still fighting the splitting pain in his head. His form was rippling, like waves in the ocean.
"I'd go directly for their precious Senate House." she sneered. "They always bragged about how powerful they were with their military and government. It's about time they were taken down a peg!" she glanced back Leo again and smirked. "Who would've guessed you'd be the one to do it?"
"I'm starting to see why Poseidon finds you so annoying!" Hephaestus snapped, both hands holding his aching head. He felt like it was being torn in half.
Despite the pain, Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Really? Now? You must've been head over heels for her, if you've been this oblivious to how annoying she can be. We don't call her a brat for nothing!"
"The only person who calls me a brat is you, Neptune!"
The god winced as his form flickered.
"Dad?" Percy said worriedly.
"I'm fine. Everybody's okay." Poseidon said. He managed to give his son what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Let's just continue reading."
"Giants?" Annabeth reached for her dagger, which of course wasn't there.
"Stupid Terminus." Annabeth grumbled. She continued worriedly eyeing the gods.
One minute they were in their Greek form, next they were in their Roman form. Either form they turned into, they still looked ready to tear Hera/Juno apart. Aphrodite was sitting in her throne, choosing to remain quiet and out of the way from their moody wrath.
"I thought their army was defeated!"
"It isn't the giants." Reyna's eyes seethed with rage. "You've betrayed our trust."
"I knew this was a bad idea! I just knew it! We should've used the Mist from the start!" Demeter nagged. "But does anybody listen to me? No! Of course not! 'She's just a crazy lady who loves cereal! What does she know?' Well I'll have you know, I know a lot of things, and that's why-"
"Will you shut up?!" Hades snapped. "Fates! You're making my headache worse!"
"Is that supposed to be my problem?" Demeter sneered.
"This all Ju... Her... her fault!" Hermes/Mercury accused. "If the giants don't kill us, then these headaches will!"
"I did what I thought was best! And there might still be a way to fix it!" Juno hissed. "What the demigods should do is-"
"Please, spare us from yet another one of your hair-brained schemes." Zeus interrupted her. "This plan was doomed from the start, we should've stayed quiet and kept the demigods apart, just like I decided. Everything was going fine until then!"
"And how long do you think that would have lasted?" Hephaestus/Vulcan snapped.
"Please, let's just stop fighting." Hestia said. Eyes squeezed shut, she rubbed her temples. "We need to know what happens next..."
"Do we want to know what happens after this?" Jupiter asks with a scowl.
"You should. We're reading this to prevent the giants overthrowing us." Hestia reminded, she cracked one eye open and stared at him.
Wincing, the god's form flickered back to Greek. Zeus gestured Jake to keep reading.
"What? No!"
As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley.
The demigods recoiled.
"Can't you fight it?" Katie pleaded with Leo. "Isn't there something you can do to stop it from destroying half the city."
Leo grimaced. "Lo siento," at Katie's confused expression he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, there wasn't much I could do. It's like charmspeak only you know something is wrong, but you can't do anything about it."
"I hope I'm going back to the ship, I have to do something." Percy frowned. "Where am I?"
Leo winced. "Probably caught up in one of the angry mobs..."
The demigods paled.
"Crap." Thalia muttered, brushing her hair back. Where's Jay and Piper?
Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern.
"Greek fire!" Athena/Minerva cackled. "A nice touch! Really shows those Romans whose boss!"
The other gods (now in their Roman forms) looked stricken by the description.
If anyone had been in there...
Leo looked queasy at the thought.
"Of course, there might not be anyone in there." Annabeth quickly told him, seeing the self-loathing in his eyes. "Everybody could've already evacuated the building!"
"We don't know that for sure." he muttered.
"Gods, no." A wave of nausea almost made Annabeth's knees buckle. "Reyna, it isn't possible. We'd never do this!"
The metal dogs ran to their mistress's side. They snarled at Annabeth but paced uncertainly, as if reluctant to attack.
"You're telling the truth," Reyna judged.
The demigods looked relieved to hear this.
"Okay, things are going horribly, but at least Reyna trusts her." Will sighed.
"But the Roman people already see the Greeks as an enemy." Nico said with a solemn expression. "Even if she believes their innocence, the Roman people wouldn't take her word for it. Her reputation is influential, but it's not strong enough to sway the crowd."
"Great." Jake said sarcastically.
"Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay."
"Believe me, I am." Leo muttered, still taking in the description of the Senate House in flames. Did he really do all that? Was there truly nothing he could've done? It was his body, did he really have no control over what was happening, or did he just not try hard enough?
Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out.
Athena smiled and rolled her eyes. "Fools."
..."We have to stop it!" [Annabeth]
Annabeth had a horrible feeling this might be the last time Reyna and she ever acted in agreement, but together they ran down the hill.
Annabeth grimaced.
If weapons had been allowed in the city, Annabeth's friends would have already been dead.
Thalia and Aphrodite winced. The other godly parents were too busy fighting off their Roman forms to really react.
The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd.
Athena/Minerva didn't bother to hide her laughter.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to cause some real damage! Where's your weapons?" Minerva asked. "Maybe you should try praying to your Bellona!"
"I swear if I hear one more wisecrack..." Poseidon/Neptune trailed off, his head feeling like it was going to burst.
Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, who were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper's charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding.
Thalia stiffened. "What happened?!"
Will winced.
His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.
"There goes somebody's livelihood. Hope there wasn't anyone in there too." Leo muttered bitterly to himself. He drummed his fingers on his knee. When is this chapter going to be over?
...Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.
Annabeth paled. "We have to go."
"What about Frank and Hazel?" Percy frowned. "Will they still want to come after this."
"Leo said they did." the daughter of Athena reminded. Don't know how they could be so forgiving...
If things had went the other way around, she would've never forgave the Romans for attacking Camp Half-Blood.
"That'll just make things worse," Annabeth said.
"I hate my job," Reyna growled. She rushed off toward the legionnaires, her dogs at her side.
Percy, Annabeth thought, scanning the forum desperately. Where are you?
"That's what I want to know." Percy said. He wished he still had his Achilles heel, at least he would know he was safe from harm.
Two Romans tried to grab her. She ducked past them, plunging into the crowd. As if the angry Romans, burning couches, and exploding buildings weren't confusing enough, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through the demigods' bodies and wailing incoherently.
A few demigods shuddered.
Lacy whimpered.
The fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and cups. One trotted by Annabeth with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth.
"They're not even going to help?!" Grover exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's better this way." Clarisse said. "The last thing we need is fauns adding magic into the mix."
She didn't know if they were as experienced in nature magic as the satyrs at Camp, but now wasn't the time to find out.
A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of Annabeth.
"Not now, Terminus." Annabeth muttered. I swear if he tries to start a conservation...
"Just move!" Percy said impatiently.
He yelled at her in Latin, no doubt calling her a liar and a rule breaker; but she pushed the statue over and kept running.
Finally she spotted Percy. He and his friends, Hazel and Frank, were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water. Percy's toga was in tatters, but he looked unhurt.
Annabeth, Percy, and Nico sighed with relief.
Annabeth called to him as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull. Jake frowned.
"That's going to take a while to fix." he grumbled.
"Who cares? They just need to get out of here." Lacy said, panicked.
Annabeth noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.
Wincing at another flash of pain, Apollo scoffed. "Great. Just what I wanted to hear with my headache, Octavian's back."
..."Annabeth!" Percy called. "What—?"
"I don't know!" she yelled.
"I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"
Leo winced.
"You're lying," she said. "Leo would never—"
She believed me? Leo thought before biting his lip. And I let her down.
"I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"
The Argo II returned fire.
"Okay, how about we stop fighting and focus on stopping the eidolon." Annabeth said firmly.
...There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which she thought likely), they'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.
The demigods stiffened.
"We have to leave," she told Percy. "Now."
He nodded grimly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"
Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."
"How are you going to do that?" Nico frowned worriedly. Don't do anything crazy, Hazel. I don't want to end up like Thalia...
...Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. A majestic horse materialized next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she'd been born to ride. Strapped to the horse's saddle was a Roman cavalry sword.
Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!"
The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic.
...Then, from halfway across the forum, she heard Jason shouting.
Thalia tensed.
"Romans!" he cried. "Please!" He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones.
Aphrodite squeezed her armrests.
Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward.
"WHAT?!" Thalia yelled over the gods' groans of pain. She grabbed her bow and her legs tensed. The daughter of Zeus looked ready to race to Camp Jupiter and find the culprit. "Who threw that?! Who throws a brick at a kid?!"
"It's okay, the others can fix that with ambrosia." Will tried to assure her.
"This isn't the first time he's had his head hit! Why is this a thing? Does his head have some kind of target on it that only I can't see?" Thalia said angrily.
"Get back!" Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but Annabeth knew the effect wouldn't last. Percy and she couldn't possibly reach them in time to help.
"Frank," Percy said, "it's up to you. Can you help them?"
Annabeth didn't understand how Frank could do that all by himself, but he swallowed nervously.
"Oh, gods," he murmured. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now."
Percy and Annabeth lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom,
"You're still here?" Apollo managed to say through gritted teeth.
but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob.
They began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Annabeth's head. An explosion almost knocked her off the ladder. Halfway up, she heard a roar below and glanced down.
Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum—a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II.
Despite how he felt about the current situation, Leo couldn't help but make a face at that.
"Okay, maybe now that Festus doesn't have a body." he reluctantly admitted. "But before that, Frank wouldn't be nearly as terrifying as Festus was."
"That's Frank?" Katie said, eyes wide. "When you said he could shapeshift, I thought you meant like a bunny or a dog, I didn't know you meant mystical beasts."
"He could turn into those too." he responded. "He could turn into any animal, it's just maintaining the form that's the problem."
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 onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard.
"The ship's going to need a few repairs after a hit like that." Nyssa observed.
"Will it still be able to move?" Annabeth hurriedly asked.
"I think so, but I don't think it can go very far." Jake told her. He sighed. "All that hard work..."
Nyssa nudged him and glanced meaningfully at Leo.
Leo's shoulders were slumped and he stared at the ground.
"Oh!" he resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Me and my big mouth!
"It's not too bad," Jake was quick to add. "With the right materials, you can fix it in no time flat."
"Yeah," Leo said, forcing himself to grin. "You're right."
There was no sign of Coach Hedge,
"Oh yeah! I forgot he was still on the ship." Travis said with a frown. "What happened to him?"
"I think he was still watching reruns." Leo said.
"Seriously?" Annabeth groaned. I guess it was a good thing he didn't show, who knows what he would've done. she shuddered at the thought.
but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista.
"Is that how I looked?" Leo shivered. No wonder why Percy tackled me, he probably thought I was crazy.
"That's not you, it's the eidolon." Annabeth corrected. "You didn't have control over your actions at this point."
Annabeth's gut twisted with horror.
"Leo!" she screamed. "What are you doing?"
"Destroy them..." He faced Annabeth. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all."
The demigods shuddered.
"Holy Hephaestus..." Leo muttered. I'm so glad I melted that thing.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Minerva said with a smile.
Leo glared at her.
He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.
Percy winced at the description. "Sorry, Leo."
Said boy shrugged. "It's not like I didn't deserve it."
The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed.
"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"
With a shock, Annabeth realized he was talking to her.
She ran for the helm. She made the mistake of glancing over the rail and saw armed legionnaires closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them.
Nico bit his lip. Be careful.
More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.
Annabeth looked over the controls. She cursed Leo for making them so complicated.
"What?" Leo said in surprise. He turned to Annabeth.
"You told me that you understood everything..." he said, sounding betrayed.
"That was future me," she corrected. "Present-day me would like you to make the controls less complicated this time around."
No time for fancy maneuvers, but she did know one basic command: Up.
She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.
"That's the end of the chapter." Jake said.
Hearing that, Annabeth and Leo relaxed.
"Finally," Leo said. "I thought it would never end."
"You're telling me." she said. Hopefully we won't be reading my chapters for a while.
The gods, finally gaining their Greek forms, sighed with relief.
"I hope all the chapters aren't like this..." Hermes said, shoulders slumping as the pain subsided. "I don't think I'll be able to take more of that."
"Are you okay, Dad?" Percy asked.
"I'm doing better. Thank you." Poseidon told him
"I'll read next." Mitchell said, taking the book.
"Leo V,"
Leo groaned. "Great. Why am I not surprised."
Annabeth frowned sympathetically. "Sorry."
"It's alright, it's not like I'm new to this." Leo told her. Let's just hope it's not as bad as The Lost Hero's.