DELTA | TEENAGE GIRLS BOND OVER HEARTBREAK AND CASUAL POSSESSION


Disclaimer: I do not own the Heroes of Olympus series or any of the characters. I only own the character Nerissa Jackson and her original plot lines and dialogue.


THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO NicoleR85, yasminasfeir1, Ye ye ye ye (Guest), DreamHunterVo AND Arianna Le Fay. THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS AND I'M GLAD YOU LIKE THIS STORY!


The trio hiked up the hill until they reached the cave near the top. Piper stared, wide-eyed, at the bones and swords littering the ground but Riss merely grinned, finding comfort in the familiar. She'd missed Camp Half-Blood so much, from the U-shaped curve of the cabins, the dangerous, monster-riddled woods, the sound of the clash of sword on sword and the cave on the top of the hill that Riss had helped decorate.

"What's in there?" The brunette girl asked. Annabeth poked her head inside, moving the curtain aside, before moving away.

"Nothing, right now. A friend's place. I've been expecting her for a few days, but so far, nothing."

Riss ran a hand over one of the torches on the wall, jokingly saying, "She probably got held up; Gods know what the life of a mortal kid is like."

"You're friend lives in a cave?"

Annabeth almost managed a smile, "Actually, her family has a luxury condo in Queens, and she goes to a finishing school in Connecticut."

"But yeah," Riss finished, "when she's here at camp, she lives in a cave. She's our oracle, tells the future. We were hoping she could help us—"

"Find Percy," Piper guessed.

"Bingo," Riss pointed a finger gun at Piper but her eyes held no amusement, just a blank, flat ocean of green.

Annabeth sat down on a rock, almost like all the energy seeped out of her. Riss felt the same but she knew if she sat down, she wouldn't want to get up and would probably end up balling her eyes out. Piper looked away, down the hill and gaped.

"That's—a dragon," she stuttered. "That's the actual Golden Fleece?"

Riss sighed, "Yeah. Peleus is a real sweetheart too, he guards it for us." Suddenly, the black-haired girl swayed slightly and crumpled, falling to the ground. Exhaustion had set in and her head had begun to swim, sending the girl to her knees. Annabeth's arms shot out to catch her and Riss apologized, "Sorry," and stood up again. She refused to let herself be weak and in her eyes, going to Apollo's kids for medical help was a sign of that weakness.

"You both look ready to drop," Piper observed. "How long have you been searching for your boyfriend?"

The question was aimed at the blonde and Nerissa pulled Annabeth into a side-hug. Since Percy had gone missing, Annabeth had been working like a woman possessed while Riss was at the Wilderness School. Riss had been at the school for the semester, watching over the half-bloods and Annabeth had immediately Iris-messaged her as soon as Percy disappeared.

"Three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes."

"She counts. Believe it or not, I think it keeps us both sane."

Nerissa hadn't believed it at first – she had just Iris-messaged Percy and Tyson the night before and went to bed. After Annabeth's call, Riss had gotten Hedge to cover for her and she left the school every day to look for Percy in the ocean – without the help of her father. And every day, she returned to the school, immensely disappointed.

"And you've got no idea what happened to him?"

Annabeth looked miserable, shaking her head, "We were so excited because we both started winter break early. We met up at camp on Tuesday, figured we had three weeks together without Riss third-wheeling. It was going to be great."

Riss made a mock-offended face. She was a big supporter of the 'Percabeth' ship, having named herself the captain basically the moment they'd met and she could see the annoyance and attraction they felt for each other from the get-go. It had been four years for Percy and Annabeth to finally get their act together but Riss had been so happy for them. Really, however silly it sounded, Riss was already picturing their wedding and playfully called Annabeth her sister – and her sister-in-law, behind her back.

"Then after the campfire," Annabeth continued, "he—he kissed me good night, went back to his cabin, and in the morning, he was gone. We searched the whole camp. We contacted his mom. We called Riss. We've tried to reach him every way we know how. Nothing. He just disappeared."

"How long were you guys together?" Piper asked gently.

"Since August," Riss supplied. She had a photo of Annabeth and Percy kissing underwater next to Percy's bed. She was the only one able to breath underwater and she had bought a waterproof camera. It was an amazing photo and Riss loved it because she saw the same emotion shared between her best friend and brother – love. Her entire wall on her side of the cabin – Riss and Percy had fought about it jokingly, until they separated the cabin down the middle – was covered in pictures of nearly everyone in the camp. There was even a photo of Luke and Riss, smiling at the camera with the childlike innocence they had had when they'd first met, although that hadn't lasted long.

"August eighteenth," Annabeth added.

"Best birthday present ever for Perce, I suppose…"

"Almost exactly when I met Jason," Piper said. "But we've only been together a few weeks."

Both Annabeth and Riss winced. The Mist really was horrible on the minds of demigods; while it helped mortals, it often just made life difficult for the children of the gods. But Riss was thankful that, by a complete accident, she and Percy had met Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She had a (reasonably) normal, mortal life and the added benefit of seeing through the Mist and for once, Percy and Riss had a friend who wasn't always facing what they faced, but still understood the pressures of being a demigod.

But Rachel wasn't there now to help Riss and Annabeth break the news to Piper.

"Piper…about that," Annabeth started slowly. "Maybe you should sit down."

Riss couldn't help but flinch at the look of panic on her friend's face. "This…this is something you need to know, Pipes," Riss consoled her friend quietly. "It might be a bit upsetting to hear but you need to hear it, okay?"

This was going to break Piper's heart but she needed to know. Riss knew this wasn't going to be easy for Piper to believe. Riss had been labelled as crazy at Yancy Academy because of the Mist and right now, it was even messing with her mind.

"Piper," Annabeth started, her voice sad. "It's the Mist."

"Missed…what?"

Riss gently placed her hands on Piper's shoulders, "M-i-s-t. It's a kind of like a veil that separates the mortal world from the magic world. Mortal minds – they can't process strange stuff like gods and monsters, so the Mist bends reality. It keeps them safe."

"It makes mortals see things in a way they can understand – like their eyes might just skip over this valley completely, or they might look at the dragon and see a pile of cables," Annabeth continued.

Piper swallowed, "No. You said yourself I'm not a regular mortal. I'm a demigod."

Riss moved away and sat down now, her head beginning to buzz. Even she had been affected, which meant someone was directly aiming to alter Riss' memories. This must be so hard for Piper – she had fallen for Jason and now she was finding out it was all fake.

"Even demigods can be affected." Annabeth spoke to Piper like how Riss spoke to frightened horses. "I've seen it lots of times. Monsters infiltrate some place like a school, pass themselves off as human, and everyone thinks they remember that person. They believe he's always been around."

Riss' eyes were unfocused as she tried to remember Jason, "The Mist can change memories, even create memories of things that never happened—"

"But Jason's not a monster!" Piper exclaimed. "How can you think he is, Nerissa? He's a human guy, or a demigod, or whatever you want to call him. My memories aren't fake. They're so real. The time we set Coach Hedge's pants on fire. The time Jason and I watched a meteor shower on the dorm roof and I finally got that stupid guy to kiss me…" Piper began to ramble on about the times she and Jason shared, telling Annabeth and Riss all about the semester.

Riss' heart tightened and she frowned. Did Riss' heart hurt because Piper was telling her all about something that she couldn't remember or hadn't experienced…or was it because it hadn't been her that had been with Jason? The Jackson girl flicked her black hair off her shoulders, now was not the time for even the slightest twinge of jealously – a jealousy Riss couldn't understand at all.

Annabeth pursed her lips, "Piper, your memories are sharper than most. I'll admit that, and I don't know what it is. Riss has already started to forget him and she'd not that susceptible to the Mist. But if you know him so well—"

"I do!" Piper insisted. Piper knew that Riss knew him as well, but she didn't know Jason as well as Piper did. Jason was Piper's boyfriend and they did know each other, better than anyone!

"Then where is he from?"

Piper looked stunned and Riss felt her heart constrict. "He must have told me, but—"

"Did you ever notice his tattoo before today? Did he ever tell you anything about his parents, or his friends, or his last school?" Annabeth interrogated.

"I—I don't know, but—"

The green-eyed girl placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, silently telling her to stop for a moment. Riss breathed out and asked one question that could really determine if Piper knew Jason.

"Piper, what's his last name?" Riss asked quietly, barely loud enough for Piper to hear.

But she did hear.

Piper's face went blank and she started to cry. Riss was beside her in a second, gently rubbing her back as they hugged. Piper sobbed into her friend's shoulder, who cooed, telling her everything was going to be okay.

"Hey," Annabeth said, "We'll figure it out. Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out with you guys for real." Annabeth even looked to be doubting her words though, having noticed the connection Jason already held with Nerissa.

Piper pulled away and brushed the tears away, "You guys brought me up here so no one would see me blubbering, right?"

Annabeth shrugged, "We figured it would be hard for you. I know what it's like to lose a boyfriend."

"Or anyone you care about and think you know, in general," Riss added, brows furrowed.

"But I still can't believe…I know we had something," Piper insisted. "And now it's just gone, like he doesn't even recognize me. If he really did just show up today, then why? How'd he get there? Why can't he remember anything?"

"Good questions," Annabeth admitted. "Hopefully Chiron can figure that out. But for now, we need to get you settled. You ready to go back down?"

Riss watched in silence as Piper glanced around, down at the cabins.

"Yeah." Riss could tell Piper was lying. "I'm ready."

XXXXX

The central green was filled with campers. Every shot was an automatic three-pointer. A ball rolled over to Riss and she used water from a nearby bucket to swish it into the hoop. The campers cheered for Riss, who mock-bowed and continued walking.

"Apollo's cabin." Annabeth explained, clapping for her friend. "Bunch of show-offs with missile weapons – arrows, basketballs."

"They taught me how to use my bow," Riss explained. "Without them, I'd still be impaling Chiron's horse-ass."

Annabeth grinned but Piper just looked confused. The three continued past the fire pit, seeing two campers with swords. "Real blades?" Piper asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"That's sort of the point," Annabeth said and then almost winced. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." The blonde indicated the grey building with a carved owl over the door, the one belonging to Athena. "Speaking of blades, come here," Annabeth continued, gesturing to the weapon shed to get Piper a weapon.

"Uh, I'm going to my cabin, I should try the fountain again." Annabeth nodded. "Cabin Number Three, if you need me, Pipes," Riss stated and walked off. Piper watched as her friend disappeared into a low, gray cabin – the one with walls that were lined with shells – and Piper could smell the comforting scent of the ocean wafting from it from where they stood.

The daughter of Poseidon took in a deep breath, breathing in the salty scent that was always in the cabin. Riss flopped onto Percy's bed, admiring the bronze Hippocampi that the Jackson twins' Cyclops brother – Tyson – had made.

This cabin had always been her home and Camp Half-Blood was her safe haven. And now, without her brothers there with her, Riss didn't feel as at home or as safe.

The small fountain gifted to Percy, Riss and Tyson, burbled in the corner and Riss got up, walking over to it. The Jackson girl stared at the water blankly for a few minutes. Finally, Riss shook her head. Nothing ever good was going to happen from just staring at it.

She was slightly unsteady as she swiped a hand over the fountain. The water sprayed up, making a rainbow and Riss tossed a golden drachma into the spray. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." The drachma disappeared and Riss let out a shaky breath, "Show me Perseus Jackson."

The water shimmered and for a moment, there was a blurry image of a teenage boy with black hair and green eyes. He was running, eyes wide in what could only be fear, a familiar Celestial Bronze sword clutched in his hand. And then it was gone. "No…" Riss whispered, before raising her voice, "No!"

The green-eyed girl collapsed back onto Percy's bed, eyes closed tightly. Swiping away a few stray tears, she staggered up, out of the cabin and headed to Zeus and Hera's cabins, where she could see Piper and Annabeth. Riss sped up as she saw Piper walk inside her least favourite goddess' cabin – Hera's.

XXXXX

Annabeth gasped as Riss slid to a stop beside the blonde and they both questioned in unison, "Rachel?"

The figure front of them, dressed completely in black, turned and dropped the shawl that was over their head. Rachel's bright, curly red hair could be recognised anywhere and she ran forward.

"Hey!" She gave Annabeth a hug before she hugged Riss as well. "I'm so sorry! I came as fast as I could."

The three friend spoke for a few moments. Annabeth and Riss told Rachel about how there was no new news on Percy – "Little shit just had to go and get himself kidnapped. And he's proud to call himself the older twin" – before they remembered Piper standing there, confused beyond belief.

"We're being rude," Annabeth apologized, "Rachel, this is Piper, one of the new half-bloods we rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."

"The friend who lives in a cave," Piper guessed.

"That's her, weirdest of them all," Riss teased. It had been a running joke for the two since they had met. If anything, Rachel was the most normal of them all.

Rachel stuck her tongue out at Riss, as Piper asked, "So you're an oracle? You can tell the future?"

"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel corrected. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."

"I know how that feels," Riss muttered and, at Piper's confused look, clarified. "I'm the voice of the gods at times – I state the godly parent of a demigod as their claimed, I sometimes deliver messages. Like I did with Leo."

Riss genuinely didn't know why her powers worked that way, because, seriously, why would they need her to be mugged by the gods if they just put a symbol above their kid's head? But Riss knew, even if she hadn't figured it out completely yet, that there was more to her powers than anyone knew.

"Oh." Piper shifted from foot-to-foot. "That's cool."

Both Rachel and Riss laughed. Being hijacked by the spirit of the oracle and occasionally the gods was not fun.

"I'm a glorified voicemail machine," the Jackson girl rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry. Everyone finds it a little creepy. Even us," Rachel told her. "But usually I'm harmless. Riss…is another story."

Riss glared playfully. She had been known to become a little…aggressive when the gods spoke through her, channeling the power – and temper – of the god or goddess who wanted to speak. The last 'incident,' where Zeus had decided to leave a message, had resulted in a small lightning-induced forest fire. No one had gotten hurt! Much…

Piper grinned back at Rachel, "You're a demigod?"

"Nope," Rachel popped the 'p.' "Just mortal."

"Then what are you…" Piper waved vaguely around the room.

The smile on Rachel's face faded, "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last month, since the gods went silent."

"Hmmm," Riss hummed. "I've been having trouble predicting demigod parents and they're blocking me from remembering things as well." Rachel and Annabeth frowned and Riss elaborated, "Remember my somewhat freaky intuition?" The girls nodded. Riss had a talent to sometimes randomly blurt out ideas and, more often than not, she was right. "Yeah, well, I'm beginning to lose my train of thought when I suddenly think of something that could possibly be the answer to all our problems."

Piper frowned, "Went silent?"

Riss furrowed her brows at Annabeth, "I thought you'd told her already." The black-haired girl turned to Piper, "Piper, for the last month…well, it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much, but usually we count on some messages now and then. Some of us even visit Olympus. Annabeth practically spent all semester at the Empire State Building."

"Excuse me?"

"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days," Annabeth said.

"Oh. Sure, why not?"

"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," Rachel explained. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar—"

"You and that salad bar – should to marry it one day," Riss mumbled.

"Anyway," Annabeth cut Riss off, "starting about a month ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in."

Riss nodded in agreement, "After Percy disappeared, I tried speaking to our father through the ocean and when that didn't work, I went to Olympus. No one let me in."

"Nobody knows why," Annabeth continued. "It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled."

"Your camp director was the god of…wine?"

"Oh, he was a horrible director; he never got my name right, sent me on quests I almost died on all the time. Good strawberry grower, though."

Riss didn't mention the god's sons, one of which, Castor, hadn't survived the Titan war. But both Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Dionysus, had been extremely nice and nothing like their father. Riss had always quite liked watching them grow strawberries in her free time.

"Yeah, it's a—"

"Long story," Piper guessed and received a nod from the other girls. "Right. Go on."

"That's it, really. Demigods still get claimed, Riss still get spoken through, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign the gods are even listening. It's like something happened – something really bad. And then Percy disappeared."

"And Jason showed up on our fieldtrip," Riss added. "Oddly enough, with no memory. Coincidence? I think not."

"Who's Jason?" Rachel asked.

"My—" Piper paused, about to say 'boyfriend,' "My friend. But Annabeth, you said Hera sent you a dream vision."

"Right," Annabeth agreed, "The first communication from a god in a month, and it's Hera, the least helpful goddess, and she contacts me, her least favourite demigod."

"Uh, no," Riss interjected. "I think I get that prize." Hera hated Annabeth, loathed Thalia but absolutely despised Riss. Nerissa had no idea why but something about her seemed to make her a target for Hera's hatred. Nerissa had actually had the gall to ask once and the cryptic goddess had only told her, 'You are the connection that can doom us all, if not kept in check.' That had been ominous and the Jackson girl hadn't asked again. "Besides, that good-for-nothing goddess needs to stop hanging out with such cows."

The sky gave a grumble above them and Riss flicked up her middle finger to the roof of Hera's cabin. She was far beyond caring. Annabeth chuckled slightly, before continuing, "She tells me I'll find out what happened to Percy if I go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe. Instead, I find you guys and best friend, who's just been beaten up and tossed off a canyon, and the guy with one shoe is Jason. It doesn't make sense."

"Never does."

"Something bad is happening," Rachel agreed.

Piper opened her mouth, beginning to say, "Guys, I—I need to—"

Before she could finish, Rachel suddenly stiffened. Her eyes began to glow bright green and Riss jumped forward, realising something really was wrong. She pushed Piper out of the way a split-second before Rachel's hands could clamp over her shoulders. Instead, Riss found herself in Rachel's steel-like grip.

"Free me," Rachel told her. "Free me, Nerissa Jackson, or the earth shall swallow us. Become what you were born to be – the connection to save us. It must be by the solstice."

Annabeth and Piper were struggling to pry Rachel off Riss, but it wasn't working. Riss could feel her own power starting to clash with whoever had taken Rachel over and the room was spinning. "Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Let the demigod bow to his will and their kings shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME!"

"Hera…" Riss breathed out, before she collapsed to the ground. Her head thumped against the floor and it all went black.

XXXXX

Jason and Chiron were talking in the Big House when they heard the footsteps on the porch. Piper, Annabeth and a redhead struggled in a moment later. Riss lay between them, her head lolled forward. Her arms were thrown over the redhead's and Annabeth's shoulders and Piper was standing behind them, wringing her hands in worry.

"What happened?" Jason asked frantically as he hurried over. "What's wrong with her?"

"Hera's cabin," Annabeth panted, tired from the run from Hera's cabin to the Big House. "Vision. Bad."

The redhead looked up, Jason seeing the tear-tracks down her cheeks. "I think…" She gulped. "I think I may have killed her."

XXXXX

Jason and the redhead, who introduced herself as Rachel, put Riss on the coach. They had poured a bit of water on Riss' hands, but when nothing happened, Annabeth had immediately ran off to get a med-kit. Rachel briefly explained how a child of Poseidon healed, which didn't help diminish Jason's worry. Piper was pacing beside the coach, still wringing her hands. Riss was breathing raggedly and wouldn't wake up, no matter how much Rachel shook her shoulder or Piper begged her to wake up.

"It should have been me," Piper mumbled, eyes unfocused and still pacing. "She knew what was going to happen. Riss pushed me out of the way."

"We've got to heal her. There's a way, right?" Jason was hovering protectively, feeling his heart wrench at how vulnerable Riss looked. They had been close by each other since the Grand Canyon and Jason couldn't help but think that the minute he'd left her side, this had happened.

Chiron grimaced, seeing one of his best pupils in the state Riss was in pained him and the centaur placed his hand on her forehead, "Her mind is in a fragile state. The water should have healed her but her distance from Percy is taking its toll on her. Rachel, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Annabeth, Piper and Riss came in while I was there. We talked, and then – I just blanked out. Annabeth said I spoke in a different in a different voice."

"A prophecy?" Chiron asked.

"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like a long distance, a power trying to speak through me. Riss said 'Hera' before she just…" Rachel waved at Riss' prone body.

Annabeth ran back into the room with a leather pouch, "Chiron, what happened back there – I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This sound different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Riss' shoulder and told her—"

"To free her from a prison?" Jason guessed.

Annabeth stared, "How did you know that?"

Chiron made a three-fingers gesture over his heart, warding off evil, "Jason, tell them. Annabeth, the medicine bag, please."

Annabeth passed the bag over and Chiron trickled a few drops from the bag into Riss' mouth. Jason explained what had happened when the room froze – the dark misty woman who claimed to be his patron.

No spoke for a moment. "So does this happen often? Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"

"Your patron," Annabeth noted. "Not your godly parent?"

"No, she said patron. She also said my dad had given her my life."

Annabeth frowned, "I've never heard of anything like that before. You said the storm spirit on the skywalk – he claimed to be working for some mistress giving him orders, right? Could it be this woman you saw, messing with your mind?"

"I don't think so," Jason disagreed. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice—"

Annabeth turned to Chiron in worry, "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

The centaur looked miserable. He held Nerissa's wrist, checking her pulse. At last he said, "It is not Kronos. That threat is ended. But…"

"But what?" Annabeth asked, eyebrows pulled together.

Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Nerissa needs rest. We should discuss this later."

"Or now," Jason pressed. "Sir, Mr Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"

"Oh," Rachel said in a small voice. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. Riss even said it but I thought she just said her name because of the cabin. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment."

"Hera?" Annabeth's snarl was even fiercer than Seymour's. "She took you over? She did this to Riss – she was the one who hurt my best friend?"

"I think Rachel's right," Jason said. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this—this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"

"It is?" Annabeth scowled. "I've never heard that."

"Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier," Chiron admitted reluctantly.

"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"

Annabeth crossed her arms. "Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Hera—"

"Annabeth," Chiron warned, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Jason for help—"

"Fine," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, we know Titans can capture a god, right? Atlas captured Artemis a few years ago. And in the old stories, the gods captured each other in traps all the time. But something worse than a Titan…?"

Jason looked at the leopard's head, "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."

"Which is how long Olympus has been closed," Annabeth said. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."

"But why use her energy to send me here?" Jason asked, still confused. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School field trip, and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods—let them know where she is so they bust her out?"

"The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel said. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."

"That's true," Annabeth said, "but Jason's got a point. Why him? Why take his memory?"

"And Riss' involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message – free me – but then again, I don't know, I was reaching for Piper. But maybe she knew Riss would jump in front and planned it that way? And, Annabeth, this must have something to do with Percy's disappearing."

Annabeth fixed her eyes on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? What is it we're facing?"

The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."

Annabeth blinked. "You've never…you've never kept information from me. Even the last great prophecy—"

"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch Nerissa? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. And Annabeth, you should speak with Jason. Tell him about—about the Greek and Roman gods."

"But…"

The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Annabeth's eyes turned stormy. She muttered something in Greek, and Jason got the feeling it wasn't complimentary toward centaurs.

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I think my being here – I don't know. I've messed things up coming to the camp, somehow. Riss is in a coma. Chiron said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it."

"What oath?" Annabeth demanded. "I've never seen him act this way. And why would he tell me to talk to you about the gods…"

Her voice trailed off. Apparently she'd just noticed Jason's sword sitting on the coffee table. She touched the blade gingerly, like it might be hot. "Is this gold?" she said. "Do you remember where you got it?"

"No," Jason said. "Like I said, I don't remember anything."

Annabeth nodded, like she'd just come up with a rather desperate plan. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means…Cabin Fifteen. Rachel, Piper, you'll keep an eye on Riss?"

"Of course," Rachel promised. Riss was one of her closest friends. "Good luck, you two."

Piper, who had been silent the entire time, nodded and mumbled, "Good luck."

"Hold on," Jason said. "What's in Cabin Fifteen?"

Annabeth stood. "Maybe a way to get your memory back."

Jason hovered for a minute, eyes not leaving Riss, but he eventually bit his lip and walked out of the Big House with Annabeth. As they left, Riss let out a light sigh, a sound so light that Rachel and Piper almost thought they imagined it. The pair watched the black-haired girl closely but she didn't move again.

XXXXX


In case anyone missed it, Percy is one of those sassy, 'I'm older' type of twins. Riss is the younger and currently the only daughter of Poseidon and does not like it AT ALL when Percy rubs it in her face that he's older.

This story is also going to be the first story in a trilogy (if I stay committed to writing it) and I'm excited.

Please, review, follow and favorite! Tell me what you think of this story, constructive criticism is always welcome.

~ Raven