The plane jerked. Tiber clenched the armrests. She leaned her head against the headrest and scrunched her eyes closed. "If I die on this plane today, know that I'm going to escape the underworld and haunt your father for the rest of eternity."
Jason laughed in the seat next to her. He slumped over the window with his face practically smashed against the glass. His blue eyes lit with joy as he stared out at the bright blue sky. But the joy soon faded as dark storm clouds overtook the peaceful sky. The sound of thunder had taken the place of the war drums. The previous day came flashing back to him. Typhon, the storm monster. He had escaped. All the gods fighting him. Camp Jupiter would be by itself in the war.
A hand placed itself on his. He met Tiber's blue eyes. She gave him a soft smile, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. She had changed since two winters ago. Not mentally, no she hadn't stopped joking or fighting for that matter, but physically. Her eyes had bags and dark circles from training into the night, and waking up earlier than the rooster. Wrinkles had etched their way into her forehead. Her blue eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it or denied it showed the constant fear for New Rome, though people had stopped mentioning it after Octavian ended up in the hospital.
But that's not to mention the effects of the quest had on her, and Jason must admit, himself also. They both looked like they had been dragged from the underworld and back, along with using a blowtorch to blow-dry their hair.
The plane jerked again. Her eyes snapped shut. Her hand returned to the armrest. Images of Mount Saint Helen exploding played in the darkness. Her hands turned white as she clenched the armrest harder. Minutes passed in the constant hum of the plane, the wail of a child and the booms of thunder. Both sat in horror of what they've seen.
Unspoken words of doubt of the gods' strength plagued them, too traitorous, too terrifying to mention. The plane stopped bouncing, and Tiber opened one eye. Through it, she saw Jason seldom face. She smiled and started to sing, every out of tune, "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall."
Jason laughed and said-"Too bad you pissed Apollo off. You used to have such a good voice-" Before joining in on the song.
Tiber would have hated the entrance of Camp Jupiter if not for the irony of all roads lead to Rome and the entrance being on a highway or the fact that she could not hate anything about Rome. But getting into New Rome was always a difficult task, and usually required playing chicken with cars going at 70mph.
But today she was with Jason. He wrapped his arms around her, and with a whoosh, they flew over the rushing cars and landed at the maintenance tunnel. Against the entrance lounged two demigods with a pair of cards in their hands. Two helmets laid beside them, along with their spears.
Jason cleared his throat, and with the agility of a teenager who forgot to unload the dishwasher hearing their parent's car, they threw their helmets on and took their spears in hand.
"Centurion Grace, Centurion Valders, how did your scouting mission go?" Asked Hubert as he pushed his helmet out of his eyes.
Jason hesitated, well Tiber spoke, "The camp should expect no help from the gods, Typhon has awakened and is traveling towards Olympus as we speak."
Jake dropped his spear. He picked it back up with shaking hands. Hubert's mouth fell open. Jason sent a glare towards Tiber. She shrugged it off. It was only a matter of time before the news of war would pass upon the Legion.
The two Centurions waved goodbye to the two guards. The tunnel around them shifted from cement blocks into bricks.
"You shouldn't have told them," Said Jason with a slight echo.
Tiber rolled her eyes. "It's only a matter of time before they discover the truth."
The tunnel opened up into bright sunlight, and before them laid Rome in all its glory and beauty. From the hilltop, Tiber could see everything, the white marble houses with red tile tops, campers running about with their gold armor shining in the sun, the Field of Mars scarred from the war games and the Little Tiber that circled the camp.
Tiber's heart swelled with love. There was no place like New Rome, she thought.
"I'll go alert the Praetors of the mission." Said Jason.
"I should go make sure Caesar hasn't ruined my cohort well I was gone," she said with humor in her voice.
The first cohort, the pride of Rome, was a sight to see, and one that Tiber longed to see more than anything, which is why she found herself sprinting down the streets of Camp Jupiter, rather than reporting to Praetors with Jason. She didn't stop to wave to the other campers. She didn't even stop for the herd of unicorns to pass by. She sprinted through the herd, earning herself a few cuts and scratched from their sharp horns. But it was all worth it when she saw the shine of 40 fighting swords in the arena.
She climbed over the wall. She hunted for a tall and skinny boy with blond hair and blue eyes. She found him near the back, getting pounded by his brother, Caesar. If not for the same eye color you could not tell that the two were brothers. Octavian was small, weak, and sickly, only on the merit of his family name did he get into the first cohort, if not for that, he would have been placed in the fifth cohort for his perceived weakness.
But Caesar was another story, strong, burly and full of life, a person that demanded attention where ever he went. The true image of a Roman soldier and it killed his brother, who fought every moment for power that his brother had, and he thought did not deserve, because Caesar wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, and Octavian was.
Tiber sprinted out from the wall, and quicker than the boys could register disarmed them and knocked them on the ground. Tiber smiled down at them. "Well I thought I was the one going on the trip, but apparently it was you two."
"Quit trying to joke, Tiber. You're not funny." Said, Caesar, as he stood and tried to regain his dignity by wiping the dirt off of his heavily medaled armor.
Tiber turned her back to him and offered her hand to Octavian. He took it, and she heaved him to his feet.
"Have the gods said anything recently?" Asked Tiber.
Octavian shook his head with worry. "They have been oddly silent-" His eyes wandered to the fighting Cohort-"Your father wants to meet with you. He told me to tell you once you got back."
Tiber frowned. "Is it urgent? I want to spend time with the cohort. I just got back."
"Gods! You're thick Tiber! Even I can tell that Octavian wants to talk to you alone!" Said Caesar, before a smirk came over his face. "But maybe she doesn't want to go with you Octavian, and maybe all that practice was for nothing."
Octavian eyes narrowed. His hand itched towards his augur knife. Oh, dear gods, thought Tiber, please don't let this be the day that Octavian kills him. She grabbed Octavian by the arm and started to drag him out. Once they reached the empty tunnel that leads into the arena, Tiber released him.
She crossed her arms and jutted out her hip. "How many times have I told you, that you can't kill your brother?"
Octavian took the same stance as Tiber. "97, though I didn't expect you to remember. Some people are just more brawns than brains."
Almost to prove his point, Tiber punched him straight in the face. He let out a groan of pain and clenched his cheek. Tiber walked away; calling back to him, "Let's go."
Once the pain subsided enough from him to see, Octavian jogged to catch Tiber. "That scouting mission must have thrown you out of practice. It seems that my cheekbone is still in one piece."
"Or maybe what I saw on the scouting mission made me realize that we need every person in fighting shape-" She ran her eyes over the pale boy beside her-"Even if they are bad fighters."
From the side of the road, a son of Mars tipped over a wheel barrel of unicorn droppings so that it landed right in front of the two. Tiber gracefully jumped over it, well Octavian noticed too late and ended up trudging through it.
Tiber scrunched up her nose. Octavian cursed under his breath. He turned, marched to the camper, and whispered something. The camper's smile fell. He reached for his spear. Tiber thought that her friend was about to be skewered, but he said one more thing, and the other boy grew pale. Octavian returned to Tiber's side.
"What was all that about?" Asked Tiber.
"Nothing."
Tiber noticed the glares that Octavian got on the streets. The way people seemed to curse and spit whenever he walked by, but she never understood why. Sure he wasn't the nicest or the best fighter, but she saw no reason for him to get so much hate. Of course, she had never been on the receiving end of Octavian's blackmail or threats.
They walked in silence for a few steps. Octavian went over what he had to say in his mind, before it finally came out in words, "The prophecy-"
Tiber stopped mid-kick of a pebble. Her forehead seemed to gain more wrinkles. The prophecy haunted her, even if she knew it did not belong to her. The end of Olympus would mean the end of Rome, and the loss of her home, of her greatest love.
"It is about to begin, or it already has, but something seems off-" He trailed off. His eyes became unfocused and crazed.
"What seems off?"
"It feels like it's happening, but it's in another world. A world that isn't ours."
Before Tiber could ask anymore they arrived at her house. It was a small one-story villa with an attached forge. Unlike the rest of the house it had no real flowers out front, but rather mechanical flowers and mechanical insects that buzz around. It overlooks the field of Mars, and when Tiber was little she would watch from her window and even once stole some armor from her father's forge and joined in the game, though she was soon brought back home, and got stern yelling from Praetor Helen, and a wink from Praetor Kane.
Tiber waved goodbye to Octavian and stepped into her house. She inhaled the smell of oil and fire. Little scraps of metal were thrown all over the house. Not an inch of the house was clean. Tiber stepped over the discarded projects.
"Dad!" She called.
Her father emerged, from behind the door, that leads to the forge. Her father and his father, Vulcan, shared an uncanny resemblance, with the same warm brown eyes underneath bushy eyebrow, brunt beards that always seemed to catch hair, and not to mention the ugliness.
"You're back." Said her father. He had also inherited the awkwardness of his father.
"Yes-" She picked up a rejected metal insect and began to fiddle with it, the tiny parts proving to be too difficult for her to fix. She sighed and placed it back on the table, knowing full well that Vulcan was not her godly parent- "It won't be long till he reaches Olympus."
Her father stroked his beard. "I wished that you could be raised in a time of peace, Little Tiber-" Tiber cringed at hearing her full name. "But I fear the fates are never kind."
He disappeared back into the forge and returned with a shield in his hand. "This is for you, for your fourteenth birthday."
Tiber opened her mouth to protest, but her father interrupted her.
"I know we don't know your age, but take this as a present for 14 years since I found you in that river."
"It's my old shield. Don't tell anyone that I didn't return it." He said with a wink.
"I won't."
Tiber smiled and took the shield. She almost dropped it in awe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a standard issue legion shield but on it was a painting of New Rome with its white marble house and shops. In the background, she saw a girl with long brown hair and two boys with blond hair. She looked up at her father, with a mischievous smile, "Is that me, Jason and Octavian?"
"Yes."
She laughed. "It's not very realistic then. If it were Jason would have Octavian by the neck."
She reached over and gave her father a hug. He awkwardly patted her on the shoulder and tried to get as far as possible from her.
"Thank you."
A knock on the door broke them apart.
"I'll get it."
"Oh, Tiber I almost forgot. If you press the behind the leather grip it turns into a watch. Tiber pressed it and watched as it spiraled into a small wristwatch with the same painting behind the dials.
"Awesome!"
She pulled open the door and behind it stood Caesar. His black hair wet from a recent shower. He leaned against the wall on her porch. "The Praetors called a meeting for all the centurions in thirty minutes. I suggest you shower. You look awful," was all he said before he walked away.
Tiber rolled her eyes, said goodbye to her dad, and headed towards the bathhouse.
Tiber glanced at her watch and cursed. She was already five minutes late. She ran through the crowded streets, and towards the gleaming white pillars of the Principia. She stormed in past the guards and into the office. The rest of the Centurions were already there sitting in wooden chairs trying their best to get comfortable, well the Praetors sat in their purple velvet chairs. The worst part of having a centurion meeting is the uncomfortable chairs.
They all turned to her. She smiled meekly, "No chance that you'll believe me that I'm late because Apollo sent a word of mice after me, right?"
Praetor Diana rolled her eyes and said, "Take your seat Tiber."
Tiber made her way over to the only empty seat, the worst of the bunch. She sat carefully, fearing that it would break beneath her.
"Now that everyone is here we can begin," Said Praetor Kai. He went on to explain about the shortage of weapons, the lack of knowledge of Mt. Othrys, and the threat of Typhoon, at which point Caesar glared back at her for not telling him. Tiber decided to ignore him. During the meeting, Abigail, a daughter of Venus and Centurion of the Fourth Cohort, leaned over and whispered in Tiber's ear, "I can help fix your hair later." She glanced up at the uneven locks of Tiber's soaked hair.
Tiber glared at her like she had just insulted Rome. She stood and brashly moved her chair to the other side of the room. The Praetor Kai stopped talking and stared at her. Once she had settled in a new spot, he asked in an annoyed tone, "Are you done, Tiber?"
Tiber nodded, and the meeting resumed.
Praetor Diana concluded the meeting, and the Centurions returned to their cohorts. The day was filled with training for the upcoming battle, more training, dinner, and one epic sword fight between Tiber and Reyna, in which Jason got caught in the crossfire.
But day soon faded into night, and Tiber laid awake with a little girl by her side. She had come crying into Tiber's room, murmuring about how she didn't want her father to be killed by Typhoon, and how she didn't want to die. Tiber comforted her till she fell asleep. It wasn't unusual for demigods to wake up screaming and crying from nightmares to come to Tiber for comforting words or a cup of hot chocolate.
Her door creaked open and in slipped Octavian with crazed eyes and covered in sweat. Tiber sat up and began to make some hot chocolate.
"Nightmare?" She asked already knowing the answer. She put heaps of whip cream on top of the hot chocolate then sprinkled some cinnamon on it, which she knew Octavian liked.
He nodded. His eyes lingered on the sleeping form in her bed. She handed him the hot cup with a soft smile.
"Want to go for a walk?"
The streets of New Rome were silent, empty of any movement, besides for Tiber and Octavian. They walked in silence through the streets and out to the Little Tiber. The dark water crashed against the shore. If not for the full moon above that cast an eerie glow it would have been impossible for the two to see each as they sat on the rocky shore. Tiber dipped her toes in the frigid water. She felt her muscle relaxes. She smiled softly.
Octavian stared up at the constellations, silently naming them all.
"Want to talk about it?" Asked Tiber. The harshness and authority that often occupy it had fallen into a soft motherly tone.
"I was in the titan's base and a voice started to speak to me. It said 'Betray Rome. Join us. What have they ever done for you?" His voice turned acidic. "Elect your idiot brother as a centurion. They don't respect you. They don't respect the power that you have. Join us and we will. You'll be the most powerful demigod to ever walk this Earth, even the gods will bow to you."
Tiber looked at her friend in horror. The conviction in his voice made her shiver. She wanted to shake him and knock some sense into him. She wanted to push him into the river, and that's exactly what she did. He splashed into the river. He gasped and glared up at her from beneath his soaked hair that hung in his eyes.
Tiber stood over him, any motherly kindness was replaced by a cold, scolding glare. "You will not betray Rome, Octavian, and if you do I'll personally kill you."
She turned on her heel and stormed back to her room, unaware of the consequences of her actions. She threw her sheet over herself and seethed until sleep finally washed over her. The nightmares followed. They always came for demigods.