Hola my peeps. This took a long time to update. I'm so ashamed of myself. So, not proud of this chapter at all... I'd love to edit it more, but I thought I took long enough to write this so I forced myself to upload it. For those of you who read the second chapter before I changed it, I'm sorry. The town Miguel dreamed about was supposed to be a secret until a later chapter. I accidentally made a note for myself about which town it was and forgot to delete it when I uploaded the chapter. Sorry! Sorry! Please stop throwing tomatoes at me! I'm just going to let you read before all that good stuff sinks in.

Chapter Three

As soon as Percy snapped at Cerulean to leave and pushed his burger away, Thomas knew something was wrong. He had spent enough time with the Jacksons to know that Percy Jackson never stopped eating unless something was wrong. And, of course, he never made Cerulean leave the room. She was his only daughter – his princess. The only way this would ever happen, is if there was a problem.

He watched as Luke walked over to Cerulean, bringing the Ares kid with him. Panic rose inside of him. He suppressed the urge to go over there and tackle the Ares kid for being so close to Cerulean.

"What'cha looking at?" Skye asked him. She grinned. Being a granddaughter of Aphrodite, her smile revealed blinding white teeth. Her eyes sparkled; they were a kaleidoscope of colors, just like her mother's.

Thomas flushed. "Nothing," he said quickly. "I was just wondering why they're all standing."

Skye was still smiling. "Of course you were," she said. "Naturally, their standing invokes your curiosity. I wonder why I haven't wondered about it before." Her smile suddenly turned sly, and Thomas had the sneaking suspicion she knew what was going on.

"That's it," he snapped. "That's all there is to it. Eat your dinner."

Skye snorted into her food but didn't say another word.

When Thomas looked back they were gone. Annabeth and Percy were still whispering to each other, but Luke, Cerulean, and the Ares kid had disappeared. He frantically scanned the Dining Pavilion.

She – I mean they – aren't at the Poseidon table, Ares table, Athena table…

After mentally listing all the tables in his head, Thomas was forced to assume that they left when he wasn't looking. He cursed himself, though he wasn't exactly sure why.

"I'm going to talk to Rachel," Annabeth said a little too loudly, startling Thomas out of his thoughts. Several people turned their heads to watch her. She scowled and walked out of the Dining Pavilion. Percy made to get up and go after her, but before he did, he stuffed another bite of cheeseburger into his mouth.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas noticed his parents whispering to each other. "Pipes, we should go with them," Jason said to Piper.

Piper swallowed a bite of her salad before saying, "I'm afraid of what'll come next." Nevertheless, she ran after Jason to follow Annabeth and Percy. Before long, Frank and Hazel were running up to them, worried expressions on their faces.

A finger tapped Thomas on the shoulder. Thomas only knew one person who was polite enough to tap him on the shoulder rather than yell his name.

"Eric?"

Sure enough, Eric stood behind him. He was a miniature Frank only with Hazel's golden eyes. He wore a purple sweatshirt with the words: MY DAD SAVED ROME emblazoned on it in golden letters. "Hey, man. D'you know what's going on?"

Thomas shook his head. "Nope. Mom and dad are flipping out. So are your parents and Annabeth and Percy." He rested his head in his hands. "I want to know what's going on."

"Same," Eric agreed. "Should we follow them?"

"I dunno, Eric," Thomas said mockingly. "Should we?"

"I think we should, Thomas," Eric retorted.

Silence. Then Thomas grunted in agreement. He pulled his hood onto his head and motioned for Eric to follow him. Together, they ran past the eating campers and into the night.

"Thomas, where are we going?"

Rolling his eyes, Thomas hid behind a tree. "We're at Rachel's cave," he told Eric. "Annabeth said she was going to come here. I'll bet you she's trying to get a prophecy out of her. Unless there's a prophecy, demigods don't go on quests."

Eric nodded. "True. Very true." He leaned towards the cave's entrance. The curtains were drawn back. The six demigods stood inside. "I can sort of hear them," he said. "I'll need to get a little closer."

A cluster of large boulders stood outside the cave. There was a small gap in between them, just large enough for a small and skinny person to barely fit. Thomas edged forward. "I'll go. You won't be able to fit in that space. No offense."

"How could I take offense? You literally just called me too fat."

Thomas squeezed in between the rocks. "Shut up, I think I can hear them."

From what Thomas could gather, his own father was begging Rachel to tell them what had become of some guy named Leo. "Please, Rachel!" Jason pleaded. "Just come up with one itty bitty prophecy."

Rachel Dare exhaled. "We both know that's not how it works Jason." The echoing steps on the cave's floor made it sound as if she were pacing. "I don't come up with the prophecies. The spirit of Delphi does."

This time it was Hazel who spoke. "But what about Leo? Miguel had a dream about him. We need to look for this village in Europe!"

"Maybe you just aren't meant to find him," Rachel replied. "That's why I haven't given you a prophecy."

Annabeth scoffed. "Come on. Us? Not part of a quest rescuing Leo? There is no way that's true."

"She has a point," Percy said. "We're the ones who were closest to Leo before...well… We'll be able to find him."

Thomas peered through a space in between two rocks. He could see without being seen. Just by glancing at the scene, he could tell the six demigods looked very angry. Rachel seemed to be calming them down. As he shifted a little to get more comfortable, his head suddenly became visible in the dim evening light. For a moment he thought Rachel had spotted him. Her eyes widened and she said, "You gu-"

That's as far as she could get. Her eyes had gone misty and her body went rigid. She opened her mouth and began to speak.

"The seven spawn of the heroes
shall travel east
He is in the mountains,
who they seek
And after a last futile try,
a once lifeless dragon will fly."

Thomas felt a chill travel down his spine. For the first time in his life he had witnessed a prophecy. He had absolutely no idea what it meant, of course, but he thought he remembered the gist.

"What the hell does that mean?" Percy murmured. "Who are the seven spawn of the heroes?" He grabbed Rachel by the shoulders to steady her.

"That's for Rachel to know, and us to find out," Annabeth said seriously. She instinctively reached for her dagger and gripped the hilt. "We'd better get back," she told her friends. "Our kids will wonder where we've gone."

Frank nodded. "She's right. I just hope I can get back before Eric follows me or something. I don't want our kids to hear about this before we've figured it out."

"Too late," Thomas whispered to himself. Quickly, he extracted himself from behind the rocks and grabbed Eric's shoulder.

"Ow!" Eric yelped. "I've got a bruise there."

"Sorry, man," Thomas apologized. "But you gotta hear this. There's a prophecy."

Eric's eyes lit up. "So there is a quest!" He punched the air. "Awesome! Are our parents part of it?"

"Hard to say," Thomas murmured. "Rachel didn't seem too sure they were either. Maybe it's someone else…" His voice trailed off.

After a pause, Eric spoke. "So, do you remember any of it?"

"Yeah, listen to this. The seven spawn of the heroes shall travel east. He is in the mountains who they seek. And after a last futile try, a once lifeless dragon will fly."

"Hey you memorized that pretty good!" Eric grinned and clapped Thomas on the back. "We should be getting back before they do." He gestured to the six demigods still talking in the cave. "I don't want to find out what happens when my dad realizes we did follow him. By the way can you write that prophecy down for me?"

"Sure, why not?"

The pair ran off, past the glare of the torchlight so that they wouldn't be spotted in the darkness. They took care to walk ahead of their parents, but not too fast. If they ran, they'd make way too much noise and would most likely be heard.

When they had almost made it to camp, Eric tapped Thomas on the shoulder. "Thomas?"

"Not now, Eric. We have to be quiet."

"But Thomas – "

"Eric, shut up!"

Eric grabbed his wrist. "Thomas, I think they hear us."

Thomas heard the rustling sounds of bushes and tree branches. He tensed and readied himself to run. But before he could, someone grabbed him from behind by his hood.

"Thomas," said a familiar voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hi, dad!" Thomas said brightly. He smiled and waved weakly. "We're…uh, we're just walking. In between the trees. At night. It's the new...fad. All the kids are doing it these days."

"Yeah, sure."

"Eric?" The rest of the demigods had come through the trees now. Hazel was staring at her son, a confused expression on her face. "You…what? Why are you wandering around at night?"

Thomas shook his head at Eric. He didn't think their parents should know that they were following them.

He coughed loudly and shot a glance at Eric, who didn't seem to be watching him. The kid kept looking at Cabin Ten, as if he could somehow make a break for it. "Eric," he hissed under his breath.

Jason still hadn't let go of him. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Thomas said quickly.

"Eric?" Hazel had her hands on her hips. "Tell me. Now."

Eric gave her a nervous smile. "Mom, do I have to? In front of everyone?"

"Why not?" Hazel asked him. "Here and now."

"But…it's embarrassing."

This time Frank interjected. "Embarrassing, how? I've been at this a long time, kiddo. I think I know a little bit about embarrassment."

"Fine." Eric took a deep breath, not noticing Thomas, whose eyes bulged. "We were…we were…" he seemed unable to get the sentence out. "We were on a panty raid."

Thomas froze.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose and repeated, "A panty raid. You…a panty raid?"

"Yeah," Thomas lied. "Cabin ten was right there, and we decided to…go through their drawers and steal their…stuff."

Percy chuckled. "A panty raid, huh? Can I – ow!"

Annabeth elbowed him in the arm.

"Just a joke sweetheart," he said, clearing his throat. "Aren't you boys a little too young for a panty raid?"

"Uh…"

Piper looked at her son, directly in his eyes. "Let me never hear again," she said, an edge in her voice, "that you were raiding girls' drawers. Am I clear?"

Thomas coughed. "Yes, mom."

"Good. You're both free to go. Jason, you're choking him, let go of his sweater!"

Jason let go and Thomas ran over to Eric's side. They walked back to the Dining Pavilion, far enough from their parents, so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"That was great!" Thomas whispered. He felt himself grin from ear to ear. "You were great. Remind me to always have you around in a crisis. How'd you come up with that so fast?"

"It's um…" Eric turned bright red. "Something Ross and I were considering in New Rome." Ross was their other best friend back in New Rome. He was a son of Mercury. "We didn't think you'd approve since it was your sisters' drawers that we were going to raid."

"Well I approve now…my sisters'?"

Eric didn't say anything.

Thomas sighed. He punched Eric in the arm and grinned. "Well, you know, as long as we're not raiding my sisters' drawers, I'd be happy to come with you and Ross. Sneaking into someone's house…stealing girls' underwear…doing who knows what with it – you know what? Let's never speak of this again."

"Yeah," Eric agreed. "In retrospect, this seems like a terrible idea. But it was Ross' idea. So, you know."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Annnnd I am already anticipating reactions to the panty raid thing. I know, it was stupid and I should have come up with something cleverer but I was watching Friends and they mentioned it and the idea was coming onto the keyboard before I even realized what happened. Please review so I can write better. See you whenever I write the next chapter!