Hazel
I felt like I'd just introduced one nuclear bomb to a pair of nuclear bombs. Now I was waiting to see which of the three exploded first.
Until this morning, my brother Nico had been the most powerful demigod that I knew. The others at Camp Jupiter saw him as a traveling odd ball, about as harmless as a faun. I knew better. I hadn't grown up with Nico, hadn't even known known him for very long. But I knew Nico was more dangerous that Reyna, or Octavian, or maybe even Jason.
Then I met Percy and Lani.
At first when I saw them stumbling up the highway with the old lady dangling between them, I had thought they might be gods in disguise. Even though they were beat up, dirty, and stooped with exhaustion, they'd had an aura of power. They had the good looks of a Roman god, with sea-green eyes, Percy's short windblown, and Lani's long wavy yet somehow also windblown, black hair.
I'd ordered Frank not to fire on them. I thought the gods might be testing us. I'd heard myths like that: a kid with an old lady begs for shelter, and when the rude mortals refuse- boom, they get turned into banana slugs.
Then they'd controlled the river and destroyed the gorgons. Percy turned a pen into a sword, and Lani turned a hair clip into a dagger. They'd stirred up the whole camp with talk about the graecus.
A son AND a daughter of the sea god...
Long ago I had been told that a descendant of Neptune would save me. But could Percy and Lani really take away my curse? It seemed too much to hope for.
Percy and Nico shook hands, then Nico and Lani. They studied each other warily, and I fought the urge to run. If these two busted out the magic swords, things could get ugly.
Nico didn't appear scary. He was skinny and sloppy in his rumpled black clothes. His hair, as always, looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.
I remember when I'd met him. The first time I'd seen him draw that black sword of his, I'd almost laughed. The way he called it "Stygian Iron" all serious like- he'd looked ridiculous. This scrawny white boy was no fighter. I certainly hadn't believed we were related.
I had changed my mind about that quick enough.
Percy scowled, "I- we know you"
Nico raised his eyebrows. "Do you?" He looked at me for explanation.
I hesitated. Something about my brother's reaction wasn't right. He was trying hard to act casual, but when he had first seen the twins, I had noticed his momentary look of panic. Nico already knew Percy and Lani. I was sure of it. Why was he pretending otherwise?
I forced myself to speak. "Um... Percy and Lani lost their memories" I told him what had happened since Percy and Lani arrived at the gates.
"So, Nico..." I continued carefully, "I thought... you know, you travel all over. Maybe you've met demigods like Percy and Lani before, or..."
Nico's expression turned as dark as Tartarus. I didn't understand why, but I got the message: Drop it.
"This story about Gaea's army" Nico said, "You warned Reyna?"
Lani nodded, "Who is Gaea anyway?"
My mouth went dry. Just hearing that name... It was all I could do to keep my knees from buckling. I remembered a woman's soft sleepy voice, a glowing cave, and feeling my lungs fill with black oil.
"She's the earth goddess" Nico glanced at the ground as if it might be listening. "The oldest goddess of all. She's in a deep sleep most of the time, but she hates the gods and their children."
"Mother Earth... is evil?" Percy questioned.
"Very," Nico said gravely, "She convinced her son Kronos, I mean Saturn, to kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The titans ruled for a long time, then the titan's children overthrew them"
"That story seems familiar" Lani sounded surprised, an emotion mirrored in Percy's expression, like a memory had partially surfaced. "But I don't think I heard I ever heard the part about Gaea"
Nico shrugged, "She got mad when the gods took over. She took a new husband- Tartarus, the spirit of the abyss- and gave birth to a race of giants. They tried to destroy Mount Olympus, but the gods finally beat them. At least... the first time."
"The first time?" Percy repeated.
Nico glanced at me. He probably wasn't meaning to make me feel guilty, but I couldn't help it. If Percy or Lani knew the truth about her, and the horrible things she'd done...
"Last summer," Nico continued, "Saturn tried to make a comeback, there was a second Titan War. The Romans at Camp Jupiter stormed his headquarters on Mount Othrys, across the bay, and destroyed his throne. Saturn disappeared-" He hesitated, studying Percy and Lani's faces. I got the feeling my brother was nervous that more of their memories might come back.
"Um, anyway" Nico continued, "Saturn probably faded back into the abyss. We all thought the war was over. Now it looks like the Titans' defeat stirred up Gaea. She's starting to wake. I've heard reports of giants being reborn. If they mean to challenge the gods again, they'll probably start by destroying the demigods..."
"You've told Reyna this?" Lani asked.
"Of course" Nico's jaw tensed. "The Romans don't trust me. That's why I was hoping she'd listen to you. Children of Pluto... well, no offense, but they think we're even worse than children of Neptune. We're bad luck"
"You're bad luck, we're bad omens, hooray" Lani rolled her eyes.
"They let Hazel stay here" Percy noted.
"That's different" Nico said.
"Why?" Percy asked.
"Percy," I cut in, "Lani, look the giants aren't the worst problem. Even... even Gaea isn't the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they couldn't die, that's our biggest worry" I looked at Nico. We were getting dangerously close to my own secret now, but for some reason I trusted the twins. Maybe because they were also outsiders, maybe because they'd saved Frank at the river. They deserved to know what we were facing.
"Nico and I" I said carefully, "we think that what's happening is... Death isn't-"
Before I could finish, a shout came from down the hill.
Frank jogged towards us, wearing his jeans, purple camp shirt, and denim jacket. His hands were covered in grease from cleaning weapons.
As it did every time, I saw Frank, my heart preformed a little skip-beat tap-dance –which really irritated me. Sure, he was a good friend- one of the only people at camp who didn't treat me like a contagious disease. But I didn't like him in that way.
He was three years older than I was, and he wasn't exactly Prince Charming with that strange combination of baby face and bulky wrestler's body. He looked like a cuddly koala bear with muscles. The fact that everyone always tried to pair us up- the two biggest losers at camp! You guys are perfect for each other- just made Hazel more determined not to like him.
But my heart wasn't with the program. It went nuts whenever Frank was around. I hadn't felt that way since... well, since Sammy.
Stop it, I thought. You're here for one reason- and it isn't to get a new boyfriend.
Besides Frank didn't know my secret. If he knew, he wouldn't be so nice to me.
He reached the shrine. "Hey, Nico..."
"Frank" Nico smiled. He seemed to find Frank amusing, maybe because Frank was the only one at camp who wasn't uneasy around the children of Pluto.
"Reyna sent me to get Percy and Lani," Frank said, "Did Octavian accept you?"
"Yeah" Percy confirmed, "He slaughtered my panda"
"And my sloth" Lani nodded.
"He... oh the augury? Yeah teddy bears must have nightmares about that guy. But you're in! We need to get you cleaned up before evening muster"
I realized the sun was getting low over the hills. How had the day gone so fast? "You're right," I said, "We better-"
"Frank" Nico interrupted, "why don't you take Percy and Lani down? Hazel and I will be along soon"
Uh-oh, I thought. I tried not to look anxious.
"That's- that's a good idea" I managed, "Go ahead guys. We'll catch up"
Percy and Lani looked at Nico one more time, as though they were still trying to place a memory. Percy finally spoke, "We'd like to talk with you some more. I can't shake the feeling-"
"Sure" Nico agreed. "Later. I'll be staying overnight"
"You will?" I blurted. The campers were going to love that- two children of Neptune and the son of Pluto arriving on the same day. Now all we needed were some black cats and broken mirrors.
"Go on Percy," Nico said, "Both of you settle in" He turned to me and I got the sense the worst part of my day was yet to come.