Tess was having a really crappy day. And by crappy, she means extra super stupendously crappy. Having been banned from Camp Jupiter (she didn't even want to go into how she had been exiled, just that it happened was bad enough for her), she and her best friend Jay had made their way across America so they could attend Camp Half-Blood. Everybody there would be Greek.
Ugh.
The Greeks and Romans might get along, but that didn't mean she liked them.
She didn't even know her Greek "siblings", if you would even call them that. If she even had any. The pact the Big Three had made was forgotten fifty years before, but none of them went lady crazy.
Except Jupiter. No, now he was Zeus to her. He had tons of kids. Like, fifteen just at the Roman camp. And all close in age. There were even two who had the same birth date. How that worked, Tess didn't know. In fact, she really didn't want to.
She could see the big tree that marked the entrance to the Greek camp up ahead, a brilliant gold shimmering around its trunk.
"We must be in the right place," Jay said as he bumped into one of his best friends. He had known Tess for years. And he wasn't about to drop his humorous but quiet spirit, even in exile.
"Must be," Tess replied, bumping him back.
Tess pulled out the magic map that Mercury… Hermes had given her two years before on a quest. She and her two best friends, Jay, son of Hecate, and Colin, son of Pluto, had gone to save a young demigod who had been trapped by a Cyclopes. They had been informed that child would be important to their future. But Colin and Jay were her best friends. Really, her only friends.
She hadn't really gotten along with the girls at Camp Jupiter. They thought she was weird because she didn't try to look beautiful or because she only wore jeans and t shirts. Most of the girls were all out designer clothes and ten gallons of make-up. The Twelfth Legion didn't have the magnificence it used to have. Instead, it had double the idiocy.
Those boys were the only ones who understood the lone daughter of Neptune. She didn't have any other siblings. Except Sammy. But that's a story for another time.
Tess missed Colin. A lot. And she had only been gone two weeks.
But she was happy that Jay was with her, even if he had been exiled, too. Being exiled together was better than being exiled alone.
They had wandered around for about a week, trying to find a place to stay. Tess had no family to go home to, and Jay's family situation was, well, complicated. Finally, Colin had reminded Tess of the Greek camp of demigods.
So Tess found her old map and whispered "Camp Half-Blood, Long Island, New York", and directions to the famous camp appeared on its surface. They had been slowly but surely making their way there ever since. Hitchhiking, buses, walking, bike, whatever they could find (or steal, in a couple of cases. She did leave money behind. She felt guilty. Don't judge her.).
They had only encountered a few monsters on the way. Usually, being a child of the Big Three, there were tons of monsters that chased her. But for some reason, this trip was threateningly quiet. Something was up. It was almost like the calm before a storm.
But that wasn't what was on her mind while they began the trek up the hill. They finally made it to the top, and the sight took a moment to sink in, even though Tess had been there five other times, once for each year she had attended Camp Jupiter. Every year, the two camps met up twice, once at the Roman camp and once at the Greek to practice battle strategies. In case either were ever attacked. Not because of the fun of beating up the other camp.
Not at all.
Tess and Jay continued down the hill in an uncomfortable silence.
Tess threw a strip of beef jerky to the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece that the legendary Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood had retrieved from the terrible Polyphemus.
Even though they were Greeks, Tess was still fascinated with their stories and accomplishments. Percy freaking Jackson was her older brother! (He counted, but the others might not, depending on whether she liked them or not.)
"Hey, look, newbies!" someone called from the volleyball court in front of the Big House.
"Not a newbie," Tess whispered under her breath. "I bet we've been training longer than you." Jay gave her a glare and went back to walking. He knew that when she was in this kind of a mood there was nothing he could do to drag her from her misery.
One of the bubbly girls with a bow and quiver strapped to her back bounced up to them. Tess was ready to grab a throwing knife if needed. The girl had black hair and hot pink bangs. Her eyes were mostly green, but mixed with just enough brown to tell Tess they were hazel.
"Hello!" the girl said happily. "I'm Jordyn. Who are you?"
"This is Tess, daughter of Neptune, and I'm Jacob, Jay for short, son of Hecate," Jay quickly explained before Tess could make a sarcastic quip. Jay's hair fell into his face and Tess had given up a long time ago on trying to fix it for him. No matter what she did, his unruly locks always covered his forehead and couldn't be tamed.
"Neptune? I think you're at the wrong camp." She gave them a wicked smile and motioned for the two to follow her. Tess stayed planted to the ground. Jay rolled his eyes and glared at her again.
"Nope. I'm exactly where I mean to be. We were exiled from Camp Jupiter and didn't have anywhere else to go. So we came here. The fact that I don't want to be here is beside the point," Tess replied.
"Alright then," Jordyn said. "You don't have to get too irritated. Be happy!"
"I'll be happy when I'm somewhere I want to be." She gave her an angry smirk. "Are there any other children of Nep- Poseidon here?"
"Or Hecate?" Jay was always eager to meet his siblings, no matter who they were.
"Only Kylie, daughter of Poseidon. I bet you'll like her. There are a whole bunch of kids of Hecate. And I bet you'll both like it here."
"I'm willing to take bets," Tess said under her breath. Jay used the back of his hand to smack her shoulder.
"Follow me to the Big House, then."
Tess did move this time. Jordyn led the way up the steps and to the centaur and wine god playing pinochle.
"Chiron, this is-"
"Tess Matthews," Chiron interrupted. "And Jacob O'Conner. We've been expecting you."
"You have?" Tess asked, quite surprised, considering that she hadn't told anyone where she was going.
"We have," Bacchus cut in. No, Dionysus. She really needed to get these different names under control.
"So how, exactly?" Jay asked.
"One of your friends, Colin, I believe, gave us a heads-up," Chiron explained. "He said he wasn't sure, but that you had mentioned visiting us here. You are welcome, of course."
Tess smiled. Of course Colin had jumped to that conclusion. He knew Jay and herself better than anyone.
"Jordyn will show you around, Miss Matthews," Chiron announced. "Call in Cyrus to show Mr. O'Conner the camp. We will see you both again for dinner tonight." Chiron waved a hand, signaling their dismissal. The three teens walked outside.
"Cyrus!" Jordyn shouted. Dang, that girl was loud!
"You know what you're supposed to call me, right?" an older boy asked as he made his way off the volleyball court and toward the three teens. He had jet black hair with light spikes, electric blue eyes, and a strong build. Tan skin topped off his athletic look. Tess could make out a tattoo on his left bicep, like angel wings with a letter in the middle. She wondered what it meant.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hotshot. You can show Jay here around camp. I'm showing Tess around," Jordyn replied sarcastically.
Cyrus smiled. "Great. Follow me!"
Jay and Tess exchanged glances as they were led away. Tess' facial expression screamed help! and Jay's shouted have fun!
Tess groaned, but put a smile on her face anyway. She was used to that. She did it a lot.
"So this is you and your sister's cabin," Jordyn explained as they walked past. "Cabin Three."
It was a nice cabin, Tess guessed. As she walked by, she caught a whiff of the sea. She loved that smell. Being a child of Neptune at the Roman camp was hard at times, because most Romans hated the sea and everything that came with it, including her, but she would still rather be there than here.
"Over there, way back behind the cabins is the Temple of the Heroes of Olympus. That's where we make sacrifices and ask that our quests go well with no deaths before we head out."
"I know. There's an identical one in Camp Jupiter."
Everyone knew about the Temple of the Heroes of Olympus. Encased inside were the statues of those involved in the First and Second Great Prophecy, and those involved in the Second Titan War and the Second Giant War. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Jason Grace, Piper McClean, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and Reyna something (Tess could never remember her last name), among others. They were her heroes. The Roman version of that temple was the same, except it held memories for Tess and her friends.
She missed home. But she couldn't go back now. She could never go back.
It was just another place no one wanted her. It had to be just another place.
"Oh, right. Anyhow, back there somewhere is Zeus' Fist. We play Capture the Flag in the woods, don't go in there alone or the monsters will attack." She gave Tess a reassuring smile, as if warning a naive child.
"Of course." Tess gave her a sarcastic one in return.
"Make yourself comfortable in your cabin. I'll be back to take you to the dining pavilion." Jordyn gave her one more smile before heading back to her volleyball game.
Tess turned to look inside the Poseidon cabin. Great. She was stuck here with someone she didn't know.
She knocked on the door. No answer, so she went on inside. The decorations and beauty of the place made her stop to catch her breath.
She instantly loved the cabin. Metal seahorses swam across the ceiling and underwater plants thrived along the window sill. A small fountain sat in one corner, and a crack went down the middle as if it had been split open at one point. One bunk was messy and a suitcase and clothing were spread across it. It smelled like her favorite place in the world- the ocean. Sammy would have loved it here.
She smacked herself in the forehead. Don't think about Sammy. Don't think about him or you'll break down.
She was really tempted to call for Jay to come and help her get over this. He had helped her so many times to get through these episodes… but she needed to stand on her own two feet. So she calmly sat down on an empty bunk to catch her breath. Breath in, breath out.
Little did she know that she was being watched by people who were going to use her- and she didn't like being used.
"Is she the one we're looking for?" the young voice echoed off the stone walls. All three heads were turned toward the small fountain containing the image of the fourteen year old daughter of Neptune.
"Definitely. She will be perfect for our use," another voice, much deeper and scarier confirmed. His tall, lanky figure was all that could be made out of his body.
He laughed menacingly, and his lackeys joined in- two male and two female voices. One which would have sounded familiar to Tess and Jay had they been there. But they wouldn't have been able to make out his slightly muscular figure in the darkness.
"She and the others will be perfect to bring the truth to the masses. And then, then the final act can be put into action."
More laughter echoed through the cavern.
"But, uh, Theseus?" one of the girls asked.
"What do you want?" the angry voice replied.
"How will we get them to do what we want?"
"We use him," Theseus explained, the image changing to a familiar looking son of Hecate. "Tess will have no choice once we hold him."
The images slowly disappeared as their creator walked away, his laughter trailing behind him.
"Let the game begin!"