When Annabeth stepped into the Big House, she expected it to be empty, since everyone was at dinner. Annabeth didn't expect Dionysus to be sitting next to the fireplace with a group of kids seated near him. Based on their appearance, the kids were from different cabins, and they were probably some of the youngest campers at Camp Half-Blood.
"I want everyone to listen closely. Story time is about to begin, and I am not going to repeat myself," Dionysus began. He shot an annoyed glance at the four demigods that had just walked in. Annabeth met his gaze. She knew that Dionysus had been forced back to Camp Half-Blood to continue to serve his sentence, and that put him in an even worse mood than normal.
"That is the daughter of Athena," Dionysus said as he stared right at Annabeth. "She is the annoying head counselor of her cabin, but she may not be for much longer. About two minutes ago, she was accused of stealing Ares' shield. Does anyone know what happens to a thief, especially one that steals from the Olympians?"
A young girl raised her hand. When Dionysus made the slightest of motions to her, she spoke, "Bad things?"
"Bad things," Dionysus agreed. "Those bad things include death, and that is probably what is going to happen. Did you know that the daughter of Aphrodite was also accused; therefore, she is facing the same threat of punishment. How many of you think that they worked together?"
"Actually, I don't want anyone to answer that," Dionysus said, as he held up a hand. "I really don't care what you think. My greatest dream is that all of the campers disappear from this camp. If you did, I would not have to serve my punishment anymore. Since Olympus is closed, why am I the only one who has to interact with you demigods?"
"So, you're having a lesson with these kids?" Percy questioned. He looked around awkwardly. "And, shouldn't you have a different topic of conversation?"
"This demigod here is the most troublesome," Dionysus said, and he pointed towards Percy. Every kid turned to look at the son of Poseidon, Percy rubbed the back of his neck and gave them his troublemaker grin. "He manages to get involved in every situation that we have."
"I was dragged into half of those things," Percy corrected. Annabeth gave him a look that warned him it wasn't the time.
"Somehow, he is not involved with the latest drama on Olympus," Dionysus commented. He acted like Percy had not spoken. "It is all the Olympians can talk about. It's quite annoying really. You would think that they are use to having Ares and Aphrodite fight over mundane things."
"Wait, that's all they can talk about?" Annabeth asked curiously. If the Olympians were so focused on the argument between Ares and Aphrodite, they wouldn't notice other, smaller things. Her mother would though.
"It should also be noted that children of Athena are very wise, but they cannot hear," Dionysus muttered. He opened a can of diet coke and sighed deeply. "It is the only interesting thing that has happened that has not involved a war. We don't need anymore wars."
Annabeth couldn't argue with that. She heard the door behind her open, so she turned around. Annabeth expected to see Chiron, but instead, Rachel Dare stumbled through the door. Her face was red from running, and she was trying to catch her breath. There was a distraught expression on her face.
"Rachel?" Percy questioned. He turned around and walked towards the Oracle of Delphi. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
Rachel glanced at him, but her face looked completely distracted. As she took a step forward, she opened her mouth. Rachel, before she could say anything, stumbled forward. Annabeth stepped forward to catch her, but Percy was there first.
"Something is happening," Rachel whispered. Her voice was normally calm, but now, she sounded like she was in intense pain. Percy quickly helped her sit down. There was definitely something wrong with the Oracle. Rachel' powers of prophecy had been blocked ever since the war with Gaea, and it didn't seem like it would be unblocked any time soon.
Dionysus stood and walked towards them. He looked vaguely concerned, which meant he was really concerned. It was an odd look for him. The god of wine studied Rachel silently. He went to touch her, but Rachel suddenly stiffened.
Rachel looked at them. Her green eyes were now completely black, and the look on her face sent shivers through Annabeth. Rachel spoke in a voice that wasn't her own, "Wisdom, war, and love will combine. They shall stop the plans of the divine."
Annabeth stared. Rachel was speaking in some language that she had never heard of before. It had to be more ancient than Greek. Somehow, they understood it.
"The curse shall be lifted. The greatest of rewards will be inflicted," Rachel continued. Annabeth felt Percy grip her arm. As he did, a chill ran down Annabeth's spine. The words scared her.
"The betrayals will be exposed. The wrath of the sky shall be imposed," Rachel finished. Her eyes turned back to their normal shade of green. Then, she collapsed forward. Dionysus caught her.
Dionysus glanced at the group of kids that were sitting near the fireplace. Annabeth had completely forgotten about them. Dionysus cleared his throat and spoke, "Children, you can leave."
"What just happened?" one of the kids whispered as the group stood. "Was that a prophecy?"
As the group left, the whispering became more intense. Annabeth stood there and tried to work her way through the prophecy. She looked at Dionysus. There was fear in the eyes of the Olympian. That look shook Annabeth to her core.
"I will make sure the Oracle has her rest," Dionysus said. He awkwardly shifted Rachel in his arms and quickly walked out of the Big House. A concerned looking Chiron entered a moment later.
"Why is Dionysus carrying the Oracle?" Chiron asked. He looked exhausted from the events of the past ten minutes. Before answering, the four demigods looked at each other awkwardly. Jason cleared his throat.
"Rachel had a prophecy," Jason began. "It wasn't like one of her normal prophecies. Her eyes were black, and she spoke in some ancient language."
Chiron's face turned a stark white. He quickly turned away and spoke, "Why don't we all sit at the ping pong table and discuss the prophecy."
Annabeth exchanged glances with her friends. All four of them knew the prophecy wasn't good news. If it was enough to make Chiron react like that, something terrible was going to happen.
The four demigods walked towards the ping pong table and sat in the various chairs that were scattered around. Percy sat next to Annabeth and gripped her hand. Jason and Piper sat across from them and didn't say anything.
"What did Rachel say?" Chiron questioned. The color was back to his face, but there was still fear buried in his eyes. He had a pad of paper in front of him.
"Wisdom, love, and war will combine. They shall stop the plans of the divine," Annabeth began. "The curse will be lifted. The greatest of rewards will be inflicted."
"I thought rewards were suppose to be good," Percy interrupted. "Inflicted sounds the exact opposite of good. It makes it seem like someone is being forced to take the reward."
"If you are forced to a take a reward, it probably won't be good," Piper commented. She looked at Chiron. "The betrayals will be exposed. The wrath of the sky shall be imposed. Those are the last two lines of the prophecy."
"So, the wrath of the sky would be my father then," Jason guessed. "Is he angry about Ares' shield being stolen?"
"It could be Zeus, or it could be anyone who has anything to do with the sky," Annabeth said. She watched Chiron finish writing the prophecy down.
"Wisdom and love has to be you and I," Piper stated. She looked at Annabeth. "Assuming we are going on a quest to retrieve the shield, we will be working with whoever war is, but who are they?"
"A child of Ares," Percy suggested. He was rolling his pen between his fingers. It was something that helped him stay focused. "That goddess, Enyo, might have a kid."
"So, this is a quest," Jason said. He looked at Chiron and received a nod. "I want to come."
"I'm coming too," Percy said quickly. He looked at Annabeth. "I am not going to leave you behind."
"Both of you can't," Annabeth said. She looked at Percy sadly. The two of them had been inseparable since their journey in Tartarus. She didn't want to leave him, but she had to. "We can only have three demigods on the quest, and neither of you are a child of war."
"The betrayals do not sound good," Chiron said. He was studying the demigods with an odd look. It was like he felt someone else should have been there.
"Do we know what the curse could be?" Piper asked. She seemed to realize that there was too many curses for them to keep track of. Annabeth sighed tiredly and tried to think of any that jumped out at her. None did.
"I know who the third person is," Chiron said. His voice broke the silence that was starting to settle over the room. Annabeth had spent the walking over to the table thinking of who the third person could be, and her mind settled on Clarisse. That was probably the last person she wanted the prophecy to refer to. Working with the child of Ares would be near impossible.
"I recall telling Miss McLean that Ares is having issues with Athena and Bellona as well," Chiron explained. "I believe that war refers to the daughter of Bellona."
"So, Ares is going to accuse Reyna?" Jason questioned. "I know for a fact that Reyna would never do anything like that."
"Enyo seems to believe so," Chiron said. He sighed and looked at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena returned his gaze. There was no way he actually thought Reyna would do anything like that.
"Who is Enyo anyway?" Piper questioned. "I don't really recall reading anything about her, and no one here seems to know her either. I don't even think she has any kids."
"Enyo is always mistaken as the Greek form of Bellona, but that could not be further from the truth," Chiron explained. "In ancient times, the Greeks loved Enyo. They enjoyed her chaotic way of waging war. The Romans were different though. They liked more order in their battles, and that is where Bellona came from."
"Usually, Enyo would have gained a Roman form, but the Roman way of war was extremely different from hers. The Romans created their own goddess in the form of Bellona," Chiron continued. "Bellona represents a calmness in battle; she is the moment you take a deep breath and examine the battlefield."
"So, Enyo is a chaotic mess in battle?" Percy questioned.
"Kind of like you," Jason commented. Percy looked at him and stuck his tongue out. Then, he leaned back and yawned tiredly. Annabeth shared the sentiment.
"Percy is correct," Chiron confirmed. "Enyo has always represented the chaos of a thoughtless attack. She is like the general who desperately throws their troops at an enemy."
"Is it fair to say that Enyo doesn't like Bellona?" Annabeth asked.
"The two hate each other. Mars and Bellona, depending on the year, are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies. Enyo gets along with the god of war in whatever form he is in," Chiron replied.
"That only makes it look worse for Bellona, but Reyna wouldn't steal the shield. She couldn't steal it. She has been dealing with injuries for the past month, especially with her knee," Jason said as he tried to defend his friend.
"Reyna could still walk," Annabeth said. She didn't think that Reyna stole the shield, but they needed to lay out the facts. "There was also plenty of times when she was alone."
"You seriously don't think that Reyna stole the shield," Jason said incredulously.
"None of us do," Percy promised. "We just need to lay out everything on the table. If someone is framing Reyna, they would have to know about her condition. Either way, we should inform Reyna."
Percy dug around in his pocket for a golden drachma. He managed to find one and pull it out of his pocket. Piper suddenly looked up and spoke, "Hylla. Would she have anything to do with it?"
"Hylla has been busy with Thalia for the past month. From what I have heard, they have spent every moment with each other. As weird as it sounds, I think they were sleeping in the same bed," Annabeth explained. She remembered the Iris message where Thalia explained the situation. Hylla had made a few suggestive eyebrow raises, but it was quickly shut down by Thalia.
"They're rebuilding the Amazons and Hunters, right?" Jason questioned. Annabeth nodded. Before anyone else could talk, Dionysus walked into the room and towards the ping pong table.
"Who stole the shield is not the most important question," Dionysus said. He sat in a chair and looked at Chiron. The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation. "You must ask yourself about the prophecy; who sent it?"
"You have an idea," Piper guessed. Dionysus nodded, but he looked weary. There almost seemed to be a bit of fear in his eyes. It made Annabeth's curiosity flare up. Dionysus sighed and looked away from them.
"I hope I am wrong," Dionysus whispered in a small voice. He looked at the ground and didn't elaborate. Looking at Dionysus, Annabeth understood that the answer would chill her to the bone.