This story takes place two years before The Lost Hero.
I hope everyone enjoys.
Gwen honestly did not know what to expect when she had been called into the late night meeting. The Fifth Cohort was still celebrating their win during the war games. Gwen assumed that there had been too much celebration, and someone in her cohort would be cleaning up after Hannibal the elephant.
It surprised Gwen when she walked into the Senate House and saw Jason Grace standing around. He looked just as confused as her. Gwen walked towards her friend.
Jason was no longer wearing his armor, but he still looked powerful. His blond hair was all out of place though. Despite his frazzled look, his blue eyes were full of alertness. Jason smiled slightly.
They were both centurions of the fifth cohort. The two of them had been trying to lead the cohort back to its former glory. Gwen also knew they were both being considered for praetorship.
Jason naturally seemed like a leader. Since his father was Jupiter, it only made sense that he would lead the legion one day. Everyone expected it, and Jason had been there longer than anyone who wasn't retired.
Gwen was being considered because of her father. He was a son of Mars which made her a legacy. Gwen's father had been a great praetor in his time, and it could be assumed that his skills had been passed on to her. All she wanted to do was make him proud.
"Do you know why we're here?" Jason questioned. He glanced around. Jason relaxed slightly as he realized they were alone. "I was trying to keep Dakota from the kool-aid."
"Good luck with that," Gwen said with a laugh. She smiled at Jason. "I'm not sure why we were called here though. Do you think someone got too rowdy?"
"No," Jason answered. He frowned as he thought. Gwen heard footsteps behind them and turned. She saw the two praetors walking towards them. They both looked troubled.
"Praetors," Gwen greeted as she studied the two. The boy that stood in front of them was sixteen. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. His name was Marcus, and he was a legacy.
The other praetor was a girl named Tamiah. She was a daughter of Victoria: goddess of victory. She had green eyes and dark hair. The praetors studied them. Marcus held a letter in his hands.
"We must speak quickly," Tamiah said. She glanced at the letter and sighed tiredly. "You may have noticed that Centurion Ramirez was not at the war games tonight, and she has not been around camp for the past few days."
Gwen nodded slightly. There was times when she worried about Reyna. The daughter of Bellona had only been at Camp Jupiter for two years, but she had already been promoted to centurion two months ago. Granted, the centurion before had been so terrible that anyone would have been better than him.
"We sent her on a mission to Wisconsin to investigate a disappearance. You two must swear to not speak a word of our conversation outside of this room," Marcus said. Gwen shot a glance at Jason.
"You have our word," Jason swore. Gwen gave her word as well. She watched the two praetors look at each other warily.
"Ceres has disappeared," Tamiah explained. Gwen barely kept her jaw from falling open in shock. "About a week ago, she left Mount Olympus to meet with a mortal. She has not returned since."
Gwen and Jason exchanged glances again. They weren't usually sent to find lost gods or goddesses. The scariest part was that someone actually managed to kidnap the goddess. It wasn't uncommon in the stories, but she couldn't recall any immortal that powerful being kidnapped in the modern day.
The biggest question that ran through Gwen's mind was simple. Why would someone want to kidnap the goddess of grain and agriculture? There could be extreme consequences if Ceres wasn't found.
"Lupa only told us that Ceres' last location was Wisconsin. We sent Reyna there to try and find any information about Ceres' whereabouts. Today, we received word from her," Marcus continued.
"Reyna went to the hotel that Ceres was suppose to meet the mortal at. She found out that a large group had rented the rooms near and around Ceres'. Reyna investigated one of the rooms," Tamiah finished. She handed them a flyer.
Gwen looked at it and did her best to make out the words. The paper was crumpled up like someone had stuffed it into their pocket extremely quickly. There was large, bold words, but it was Greek to Gwen. After a moment, she realize it actually was Greek. An address and time was at the bottom of the paper.
"Are you two familiar with the Cult of Ichor?" Marcus asked. Gwen looked at him and stared. The cult had been a problem when her father was in charge. He had tried to deal with them, but one of the members managed to escape and go underground. They had been a problem before that though.
"The founding member managed to stumble upon a training session of Mars and Bellona. He took some of the ichor that had fallen to the ground and ran before they noticed," Jason recalled. His face was screwed up in concentration as he tried to remember the story.
"He made a potion out of the ichor that was suppose to give him greater strength and speed. It was also suppose to make him immortal. He didn't die from drinking the potion, and he created a cult following because of it," Gwen finished.
"Since he was protected by Minerva, there was nothing the others could do," Marcus said distastefully. "When Minerva's protection passed, we thought they had been wiped out by an assault from the First Cohort, but it seems they're back."
"What is our job?" Jason questioned. He glanced at Gwen. She gave him a small nod of reassurance.
"Annihilate the cult," Tamiah answered. "Every member is to be killed, and Ceres must be free. We have already discussed this with the Senate, and they have agreed on supplies for you two and Reyna."
"Those have been packed and are waiting. You'll be taking a plane to your destination," Marcus said. "You may have to infiltrate the cult. We must do everything we can to avoid open war."
"We would rather avoid having to send a cohort," Tamiah added. "If word spread about Ceres missing, it could cause a panic."
Gwen nodded. They didn't need a panic with all the important events coming up. She glanced at Jason and spoke. "Praetors, is there anything else?"
"Be safe," Marcus answered. Tamiah glanced at him. Even though she didn't move, Gwen knew she was mentally shaking her head. They didn't trust anyone from the Fifth Cohort.
That might have been why they sent the two centurions from the Fifth Cohort. It could have been their way of playing a cruel joke. Gwen hoped not. Everyone liked to insult the Fifth Cohort because of their very long string of bad luck.
"You leave in twenty minutes," Tamiah said almost angrily. Gwen looked up as she was snapped out of her thoughts. Tamiah really had no faith in them, and she had done her best to not be obvious about it. That never worked though.
"When you get off of your flight, Reyna will be waiting for you," Marcus added. It seemed he had a little more faith in them. "Dismissed."
Gwen nodded to her two praetors. She turned and walked out with Jason. He glanced at her and spoke, "Ready to hit the road?"
"Do we need armor?" Gwen questioned. There was a chance they needed the extra protection, but they also couldn't risk being caught with it.
"Yeah," Jason replied. "We can always store it in our room if we can't wear it."
Gwen nodded her agreement. They both walked back to their barracks. As they walked in, everyone fell silent. Gwen stared at the scene in front of her.
There was a large cardboard box in the middle of the room. It looked like contraband, and the cookie in Dakota's mouth confirmed it. Sweets were strictly banned unless they were earned or came as a special treat during a meal.
"What is this?" Jason questioned. His tone was calm and cool. The son of Jupiter crossed his arms. Gwen watched her cohort in silence. It was a trick that they used often, but it worked very well.
The cohort hated to let them down. If Gwen didn't speak to someone, it was because they had disappointed her. When Jason was upset, he switched on a tone that made him sound like a scolding mother.
"We found it," the youngest member of the cohort answered. He was a child of Mercury and probably the one that had found it.
"Where?" Jason questioned. When he didn't receive an answer, he took a deep breath. "Where did you find the cookies?"
"The First Cohort's barracks," Dakota answered through a mouthful of cookie. Gwen and Jason glanced at each other. They came to a mutual understanding.
"The cookies better be eaten and all evidence gone by the morning," Gwen ordered. "Jason and I have to go on a mission, so we ask that you all are on your best behavior while we're gone."
All at once, everyone promised that they would. Gwen walked towards her bed and reached under it. Everyone lived out of a backpack. It was to help them with getting use to how they would sleep on a march, and frankly, it saved a lot of space.
There was a backpack for her clothes and another bag for her armor. She grabbed both of them and stood. A glance at Jason showed that they were ready. The others knew not to ask what they were doing. Details of missions were not to be disclosed until after the mission was completed. Gwen knew that everyone would suspect something big was going on by the morning.
"Ready?" Jason questioned. He was nodding quick goodbyes. Gwen said her goodbyes before following Jason out of the barracks. Her mind was racing.
It was unprecedented for anyone to take a plane while on a mission. That meant their objective was extremely important. Gwen was also worried that the cult was more dangerous than the praetors let on. If they were being rushed out to meet Reyna, it meant that the praetors thought Reyna was in danger.
"Do you have a bad feeling too?" Gwen wondered. Jason looked at her and nodded. "I think this is going to be a long mission."