Annabeth and Reyna finished packing their bags. They were standing in the shade of an oak tree. Annabeth replayed Nerio's not-so-subtle secret message in her mind. She'd mentally decoded:
Noirs = Norse mythology
Bravo Oscar Sierra Tango Oscar November = Boston
Walk Like an Egyptian = Egyptian mythology
Mike Echo Mike Papa Hotel India Sierra Tango November = Memphis, TN
Using phonetic code was a bit of a risk, as phonetic code was pretty common among anyone who used radios and telephones. It wasn't much of a code, but Annabeth figured that Nerio had made up the message on the spot, hoping that no one eavesdropping would be able to remember and decipher her words. Luckily, Annabeth had never forgotten something she heard.
"How's the boyfriend situation?" Reyna asked, double-checking that her Imperial gold dagger was in her magic bag from the Hunters.
Annabeth detected a not-so-subtle edge in Reyna's voice.
"I just talked with Percy," said Annabeth. "He's surprisingly fine that he can't come with me. I said he needed to focus on staying in class for once. He's happy for...me. Percy and I can operate independently, you know. We're not chained at the hip."
"Whatever," said Reyna.
"Frank's going to do a good job running Camp Jupiter," said Annabeth soothingly. "You ran things by yourself for way longer."
"Those were difficult times. I would never wish that kind of pressure upon anyone, especially not Frank. He's been through enough hearta..."
Annabeth waited for Reyna to finish her sentence until she realized how momentous the word that was hanging in the air: heartache. It wasn't the right word; there was no reason for Frank to feel heartache upon Reyna's departure.
Annabeth did something that she wouldn't have expected herself to do. She hugged Reyna.
"Those were trying times. You made it. You don't need a man to validate you," said Annabeth.
"I...never said that."
Annabeth released her from the hug. "You didn't need to."
The legion often thought that Reyna hid her emotions, but Annabeth could read her now. She was gobsmacked. It felt kind of good to surprise a stoic leader like Reyna.
"The love goddess was right. The only thing you need to heal your heart is you, not someone else. Time, perseverance, and focusing on learning what makes you happy is what will heal your heart."
"I know it's not a fair comparison, Annabeth, but..." Reyna looked at her feet. "Piper tried to tell me that a mortal or a god would come to heal my heart. It felt like a hollow hope, even then."
"That's because she's not mature or smart."
"Let's get this quest over with," Reyna said quickly, marching up the hill toward Terminus.
Annabeth ran after her, uphill, toting her own duffel bag full of survival gear and snacks. Unfortunately, it was not a magical bag, so Annabeth had to carry the entire weight of it by herself.
Terminus, the handless bust, popped into existence on the crest of the hill. "Whoa!"
"Two demigods, leaving the perimeter," said Reyna, who had hardly broken a sweat.
Annabeth tried to hide the sound of her heavy breathing. She wasn't out of shape; she'd just spent the past few months indoors studying.
"The two of you need to stay here," said Terminus. "Annabeth has a midterm in just two weeks! People say summer classes are less challenging than they are in the autumn, but that's just propaganda to maintain a bell curve for the grade distribution. And Reyna needs to run the legion."
"I'm ahead in class anyway," said Annabeth. "I'll be prepared for midterms."
"Praetor Zhang can handle the responsibility of running the legion without me," said Reyna. "I have appointed a replacement for me until I return."
"Documentation needed."
Reyna placed two sheets of paper on top of Terminus's head.
Annabeth didn't see how Terminus could possibly see the paper when it was sitting on top of his head, but he scowled. "Leila, temporary praetor? Yes, I suppose that's all right. That looks fine. Annabeth's record indicates high academic performance. That's fine. Now, what is the nature of this quest? I'm not aware of any gods making quest requests. Was it Mars? If I've told him once, I've told him a hundred times! He needs to properly fill out the PX-22 form, section A to E, five to eight weeks—"
"The gods didn't make any requests," interrupted Annabeth. "We're on a diplomatic mission to Camp Half-Blood. Might I ask you to expedite the process, sir? We have a flight to catch."
"Did you get a prophecy? It's camp policy to get a prophecy for heading out on official business."
"Yes. It said the world might end."
"Darn riddles. Always promising the end of the world. And when has the end of the world come to pass? Never!"
"It only needs to come to pass once," Reyna pointed out.
"And thank the gods when it does!" Terminus looked up to the sky, perhaps expecting to be smote with lightning. No lightning came out of the blue sky to fry him alive. Maybe the other gods agreed with him.
"Can a god thank the gods?" asked Annabeth.
"I can thank whomever I please!" Terminus gave them a once-over. "I grant you my grudging approval to go on the quest. Although you really should be bringing three demigods on a quest, and you need to arrive at least two hours early to Oakland International to get through security..."
Reyna hefted her bag and ran off. "Thank you, Terminus!" she called, already headed down the Caldecott Tunnel. Annabeth ran after Reyna, but she could still hear Terminus rattling off regulations.
"And Annabeth, by the gods, you represent Rome! Would it kill you to brush your hair?"
They burst into daylight, emerging on the meridian of the highway. Reyna grabbed Annabeth's hand.
"Ready?" Reyna said. It was noon on a weekday, so there really weren't that many cars on the highway. Traffic was still fast, though, so they'd have to make a dash for it.
"Ready," said Annabeth. She was considerate. The small things that people did were what made them good friends, like holding your hand to cross the street.
Annabeth had always believed that the foundation of a great romantic relationship was one where the two people involved were fundamentally friends. Not that the thought applied to Reyna.
They wove through cars, which was difficult with their bags. In the slow lane, they were almost nailed by a Mercedes, but they made it to the shoulder of the road without either one of them dying. Annabeth thanked the gods, because that would have been an embarrassing way to go. They hunted along the fence. Reyna lifted a portion of the chain-link fence and let Annabeth squeeze through before she followed.
Annabeth checked her cell phone. Technically demigods weren't supposed to use phones, because monsters could use technology to zero in on half-bloods' locations, but Annabeth had gotten away with bending the rules.
"My dad's waiting down the block," said Annabeth.
They finally came to the road where Dr. Chase was idling with his sedan.
"Annabeth!" exclaimed Dr. Chase, jumping out of his sedan to hug Annabeth. "And you must be Reyna."
Her father and Reyna shook hands.
"Throw your stuff in the trunk and let's get a move on, people! Oakland, right?"
"Yeah, obviously," grumbled Annabeth, shutting the trunk so that they could carry their bags in the backseat. If they were attacked on the road, she did not want to be separated from her survival gear.
They were off. Fifteen minutes. Annabeth only had to survive fifteen minutes of a car drive to the airport. Dr. Chase tried to make small talk with Reyna, but he didn't give her much room to elaborate.
"Is camp good, Reyna?"
"Yes."
"Have you been sleeping well, Reyna?"
"Yes."
"Doing lots of drugs?"
"Sorry?"
"Ha, just kidding."
Something was bothering Annabeth, and it wasn't just embarrassment from her father. It was Terminus's remark about her unkempt hair. Somehow it had gotten under her skin, but the fact that it had made Annabeth angry.
Annabeth let herself stew until they got on the highway.
"So our story is that we're on a 'diplomatic mission' to Camp Half-Blood, but the truth is that we're investigating some things about gods that I've been researching. Things I can't get direct answers for at either camp," Annabeth explained. She was careful not to invoke gods' names in case it attracted their attention. "I'll tell you more later, Reyna. Maybe when we're on the plane. That way, I hope the only eavesdroppers are mortals or cloud nymphs. They're famously air-headed. The cloud nymphs, I mean. The lord of the skies will probably ignore us since he's on good terms with both of our parents. Other gods wouldn't dare intrude on his turf. Mostly."
There was a small problem in that most mythologies had a sun god. Annabeth hoped that Apollo didn't work with Ra. Or maybe Egyptians saw Ra when Greeks saw Apollo. She wasn't sure, but getting to the bottom of not knowing was the purpose of her mission.
"Couldn't monsters be on our flight?"
"Gods, I hope not. We should be fine, though. I think. When I was in middle school, one of the campers flew on a plane from Florida to New York. She's the daughter of a war god. I was hoping we could do the same."
Reyna gripped her sheathed weapon. "I have a bad—"
Suddenly the world froze. Reyna and Annabeth's parents were suspended in time.
Annabeth scanned all around her, gripping her new blade, using the car's windows to extend her vision. She saw an owl sitting outside. An owl, in full daylight. The owl had piercing gray eyes. It hooted at her.
(chapter continues in Part II)