Author Note: This is only a work of fan fiction, not the real deal. I take no credit for the elements similar to and originating from the book The Lost Hero and the first published chapter of the actual The Son of Neptune; all the credit goes to Rick Riordan alone.
Chapter 4: The Erymanthian Boar
We trekked through the wildest part foothills quietly, Hazel leading. As she gently brushed aside the flora, the branches she touched eased themselves slowly out of the way, revealing a clear path. The plants bent back into their original positions once we passed, obscuring the route back to camp. Hazel whistled a light, ethereal tune, which hung eerily in the midnight. Bizarrely, it seemed like the woods were reacting to it. The canopy of the thick woods leaned back, allowing dim starlight to filter into the lower levels. Legions of fireflies that hadn't been present minutes ago buzzed around our group, lighting the ground and surrounding area with a golden glow. A white tailed deer promenaded into our path and strode regally in front of us as an escort, its bleach white bobbed tail flashing in the light. The majestic animal nudged aside large logs and heavy stones, clearing the ground of hazardous obstructions. Spanish moss fluttered from higher branches and carpeted our path. Delicate silver flowers bloomed out of nothing along our path, offering up a shimmering radiance. Moonlace, I thought with an untraceable sadness.
Gwen, Reyna, and Bobby seemed to be taking this in stride. Personally, I had slowed to a meandering, sloth-like walk, swallowing the gradually changing scene in awe. Bobby, who was walking briskly behind me, nudged me in the back until I startled and walked forward again, my cheeks flushing with slight embarrassment.
We walked for ages, listening to Hazel's enchanting tune and drinking up the light of the woody path. I had almost forgotten where we were going, because of the relaxing nature magic, I stopped short when we reached a heavily overgrown oak door embedded in the hillside.
Hazel caressed the ivy crawling over the door until it shifted aside and revealed a discolored brass knob on the right. "After you," she said, her whistling stopping abruptly. The warmth of the woods faded immediately, the deer fleeing through the suddenly thick underbrush, fireflies scattering, and trees creaking back into position. Moonlace flowers wilted and withered with tragic speed, like they were on reverse time lapse. They retreated into the cold, dark soil.
I stepped forward and grasped the knob, which I could now barely see, and pulled hard. It rasped open, swinging grudgingly on its rusty hinges, to blast me in the face with a gust of chilly air. It smelled like rotting corpses. Not exactly inviting.
"Are you sure this isn't a passage into the Underworld?" I asked.
"Move it," Hazel said with her usual charming personality. She shoved me forward into the darkness with brutal force. I swear I could feel the handprint she left in my shoulder. Still, I forayed into the darkness, straining my eyes to see even the most indistinct of shapes. I could hear my team breathing deeply behind me, taking cautious steps into the tunnel. Gwen, who came in last, shut the door behind her with a groaning crash.
"Can't you make some glowing gems appear, or something?" I asked into the tunnel depths.
"No." Hazel didn't sound amused. "I only have skills with living elements of the wild. Now get moving."
"No kindly fireflies, I suppose?" I asked without any real conviction, moving into the darkness, my hands feeling blindly out in front of me.
"Nope. Not underground. They don't like it any more than I do."
"Well," Reyna put in cheerfully, "As soon as we get close to the monster, we'll be able to see. It breathes fire, remember?"
"Oh joy," Bobby said sarcastically. "As soon as we're about to be charred by a giant fire-breathing monster, we'll be able to see the flames shooting towards us."
I rolled my eyes, discovering the lack of light didn't matter anyway. The same ability that allowed me to see in the deepest parts of the lake allowed me to see in the tunnel. I walked forward with new confidence, arcing slightly to the right, because I could see the wall curving with the strange infrared vision I had. I followed the path, inclining when necessary and turning around the crisp corners that my deep-sea eyes outlined.
Bobby yelled in pain far behind me, the sound amplifying in the tunnel. I ran back to him fearfully, thinking a monster had attacked, and saw the blurry shapes of the rest of my friends huddled around him. He was on the ground, crouched, holding his face. "What happened?" I asked, bewildered.
"You didn't tell me there was a wall there, that's what happened," he growled, brushing his bloody nose on the shoulder of his shirt.
"Oh," I said stupidly. I had forgotten none of them could see like I could. "Uh, anybody have some rope?"
The shape that I thought to be Gwen nodded and pulled a long cord from her backpack. I took it and wrapped it around the torso of each of the others. I tied it around my waist and said, "Okay, let's go. I'll try to warn you before any sharp turns." We found our way through the tunnel, which began to incline steadily and zig zag in sharp U-turns. I felt like a mother duck, leading her ducklings blindly along a path only I could see. I knew the others must be feeling pretty humiliated, being led along by the equivalent of a child-leash, but if they did, they didn't say anything.
We must have gone a few miles when Reyna said quietly, "Something's following us."
We all stopped, listening intently to the sounds of our hard breathing (the tunnel was steep by now) and searching for sounds in the corridor. We stood stock still for two minutes, listening hard, when I finally heard it. A heavy plodding, muffled by distance and the closeness of the walls, thumped wearily behind us. It sounded like the footsteps of a gorilla wearing massive clown shoes, which, instead of comforting me, actually freaked me out more.
"Let's move. The sooner we get to the main cavern, the sooner we'll all be able to see," I whispered into the tense silence. We picked up the pace, panting as we climbed the incline and stretching our left hands out along the wall to feel for the next turn. We didn't have time to trust my supersensory eyesight.
The plodding behind us hurried closer, coming faster in the darkness. I adjusted our pace again, pushing our group into a jog up the slope. I whipped around a sharp turn whispering, "Right!" gutturally. I heard a girl, I think it was Hazel, curse in Latin as she crashed into a wall.
"Percy," she growled angrily. We didn't have time to slow down, though. I could hear the beast on our tails getting closer, close enough to hear its raspy breathing.
"Come on!" I shouted. I bolted, sprinting up the forty-five degree angle slope, ducking hard to avoid cracking my head on the gradually lowering ceiling. I had the longest legs, so I was able to run faster than the rest. Bobby struggled to keep up with me, tugging hard on the rope around my waist, Hazel following him, cursing loudly, Reyna tearing behind her, silently gasping for breath, and Gwen, the shortest, fighting hard to keep coming.
"Heads down!" I ordered shortly, crouching hard to fit in the shrinking tunnel. With relief, I saw a golden glow bursting at the end of the tunnel on my left, blinding me. A deep roar thundered, shaking the ground hard and making it impossible to hear anything but it and my own breathing. I rolled through the hole, which was roughly the size of a dumbwaiter shaft. Bobby, Hazel, Reyna, and Gwen trailed closely, tumbling through the gap into the giant, well-lit cavern. I ripped the rope off me, the rest quickly copying, and we stood to circle up back to back.
I faced the cavern, a massive beast the size of an RV standing in the center, its entire hairy body on fire. I could feel Bobby trembling slightly on my right, and I sensed Reyna take a small step back into the circle when faced with the beast. It had tusks that made a dragon's teeth look pathetic, and it was roaring, its head thrown back and spitting a thick stream of flames at the glistening cavern ceiling. It was the biggest, hairiest, meanest-looking pig that I had ever seen.
We were faced with other, more pressing issues though. The pig hadn't noticed us yet; unfortunately, the monster chasing us was emerging from the tunnel. Gwen and Hazel were facing it, and I heard them draw their weapons. I kept my eyes locked on the giant pig – the Erymanthian boar – and drew Riptide, but asked loudly, "What is it?"
Gwen answered. "Three golems. One stone, one earth, one ice. Minions of Terra." She and Hazel moved into action, swiping their swords to keep the monsters at bay. I tossed a glance over my shoulder to see what a golem was, and was met with a very unpleasant picture.
They were Earthborn. One was a man with a loose body made of mud and grass, another of rough-hewn grey rock, the last a jagged man-like shape composed entirely of ice. I couldn't figure out why the ice golem wasn't melting, given the oppressive heat of the cavern, but I supposed it didn't really matter. More important was the Erymanthian boar, which, judging from a louder than average roar, had just spotted us.
"Keep them occupied. Bobby and Reyna, let's take this thing down." We stepped forward just in time to be blasted with a jet of fire.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion: I saw the pig open its snout and breathe in deeply, a few flames starting to chase each other across the pig's tongue. Then it blew out, a column of heat exploding towards us. I shoved Reyna and Bobby off to each side with a little more force than necessary, and then crossed my arms high in front of me in a ward against the fire. I stepped towards the inferno, taking the brunt of the force and blocking Gwen and Hazel from it. I could feel my skin screaming in pain, but it didn't burn. The flames abated, leaving me feeling like I'd just jumped in the Styx and more tired than I'd ever been. The boar snorted, raking its hoof against the stone cavern floor, preparing to charge.
"Reyna, Bobby, plan Macedonia!" The word came from nowhere, but I knew it was what I wanted to do. The ever-present tingle in my mind intensified, but I shook it off, ignoring my suddenly intense headache.
"What? Reyna screeched.
"Attack from the sides, I'll distract him in front!" I charged towards the pig before it could try to squash any of us. Apparently Bobby and Reyna both thought I was nuts, because they didn't move. They watched from where I had pushed them down, gaping open-mouthed. Well, I guess plan Macedonia had just gone down the drain.
I couldn't stop now. The boar was watching me with flashing steely eyes, momentarily transfixed by the tiny creature that wouldn't burn. Weak points, I thought, brainstorming. Ears. Roof of the mouth. Eyes. Underbelly. Under the hoof. Behind the neck. I darted under the pig, carefully keeping underneath its belly as it turned in circles, trying desperately to see me.
I dodged lightly around the pig's feet, dodging jets of fire that it started to spit. I knew that if I got hit by one, I would be blasted backwards several feet. I had to stay close to keep its attention, especially if I was going to hit a weak spot.
Hoof, I decided to try first. I jabbed Riptide into the back of one ankle. Like I wanted, the pig squealed and lifted the foot, giving me time to stab Riptide up into the soft tissue underneath. Unfortunately, the pig's foot wasn't vulnerable enough. My sword scraped off the tissue, skittering twenty feet away, while the boar brought its foot down. I only barely managed to dodge being trampled, retreating underneath the pig's belly, weaponless.
I was going to have to make a break for my sword. I couldn't do anything without a weapon. I locked my eyes on the glimmering sword, its Celestial bronze surface glinting in the reflected flames of the pig's fur. I blinked, and suddenly, the sword was gone.
What? As far as I knew, no pig – mythological or not – had the ability to vanish objects at will. I looked around in alarm, and a glint caught my eye. My sword was back on my belt, hooked into the loop on my right side. With a confused but happy sigh, I drew Riptide and looked up, expecting to see a furry pig belly.
I was in for an unpleasant surprise. In my moment of confusion and fear, the pig had moved aside. It saw me and breathed a cord of fire at me, blasting me backwards several feet. I trudged forward into the flames, holding Riptide above my head and fighting the powerful current of heat. I fought my way back to my position under the boar's belly, emerging from the tunnel of fire.
I heard a blood-curdling bellow. I whipped my head towards the sound to see Bobby rolling on the floor in utter panic, trying to stifle the flames blossoming on his chest. Reyna ran over to him, beating at the flames with her hands, trying to extinguish them unsuccessfully. In horror, a wave roared in my ears, overtaking every instinct. I pointed my left arm stiffly at the burning pair, and a lurch of water blasted forward from my skin. The wave was more powerful than any that I had conjured from a stream or lake – it burst from my arm like a fire hose, ripping torrentially across the cavern and dousing Bobby and Reyna to the bone. They spluttered as they got to their feet, nodding gratefully at me.
I sighed in relief, but crouched, about to collapse. The power of the jet had been huge, draining on my energy reserves massively. I only barely managed to stop the flow erupting from my arm, and when I did, I bent double laxly, tired to the bone. I blinked blearily, black stars flashing in my eyes. I grunted and righted myself, looking up. The pig sill hadn't found me yet. I took the moment – and the rest of my sparse energy – to jab Riptide into the creature's abdomen.
Thankfully, out of sheer luck, I had hit the Erymanthian boar's only weak spot. It squealed like – well, like a dying pig. It burst into flames, golden ashes melting out of its disintegrating body. I knelt, not out of reverence, but out of exhaustion. Riptide clattered out of my slack hand, and I bowed my head, resting it against my knee, hoping to recover my breath. Apparently, I was indestructible, but severely influenced by the effects of tiredness.
I heard the concerned voices of my friends echoing in my ears, like they were down a well, black sparkles lighting up with greater frequency in my eyes. I gasped in a breath, and, with a tremendous effort, stood up. My sight was still blurred, but I saw Bobby and Hazel clenching hard onto my arms, saying something, trying to support my shaky weight. Reyna was talking to me in concern, feeling my forehead. Gwen was somewhere distant, finishing off the last golem.
"Well," I said, somewhat slurred, "That was fun."
My friends laughed, and we made our way out of the darkening cavern, with me propped up between two of them. My arms were slung around their necks, and I tried my hardest to help walk along, and not be dead weight.
The walk through the tunnel and the woods was shorter coming back. Probably because I was alert for very little of it. At some points, I woke up, aware enough to realize I had passed out while walking. I would put more effort into staying awake and walking for a while, but then slip back into sleep until something jolted me awake again. The people supporting me didn't seem bothered by this, though. Hazel was downright cheerful on my right, happily toting me along. Bobby was less so, occasionally wincing at the severe burn on his chest, but refused to allow Gwen to hold me for a while. Reyna led the way, cradling her burned hands against her chest, foraying along the trail bravely. When we got back to the edge of camp, I woke up blearily, long enough to see the rising sun warming the horizon. Then I passed out.
I woke up from a blissfully dreamless sleep, blinking and rubbing my eyes. A cushioned bed supported me, blankets swathing me comfortably. The ceiling was white tile, with industrial lighting. I felt rested and energetic, not hurt in the least. I was wearing soft cotton pants and a purple shirt. I looked around curiously, wondering where I was and how I'd gotten there.
Bobby was in the next bunk to my right. He was grinning at me, propped up by pillows. Heavy bandages wrapped thickly around his chest. He had a book in his lap, but it was momentarily forgotten. He jested with me, "Nice to see you awake, sleeping beauty. You've been out for three days."
I jerked into a sitting position, staring at the kid. "What?"
He ignored me and went on conversationally, "You know, it's hard to play the part of the coolest demigod in camp, who single handedly killed the Erymanthian boar and saved the lives of his two teammates, if you drool in your sleep." My eyes widened slightly and I snapped shut my open mouth. He laughed at my expression. "It's okay, nobody's allowed in the infirmary unless they're wounded or completely incapacitated. So nobody knows but me, Reyna, and Gwen."
Speaking of, Gwen walked into the room, holding a tray of grapes, scrambled eggs, and roast lamb. My mouth started water. She sat it down on my lap and said with a smile, "Eat up."
I didn't wait for another word. I dove into my breakfast, gulping down everything. Bobby said, "You know, Gwen was the one healing me and Reyna. She said she wouldn't do anything for you – no ambrosia, no nectar – because there wasn't anything strictly wrong with you. I was gonna force her to give you something if you didn't wake up by tomorrow." I nodded vaguely, shoving as many grapes as would fit into my mouth.
Gwen leaned against the wall, rolling her eyes. "And I was right, now wasn't I?" she said exasperatedly. "Perfectly fine. Boys always eat like that if there's nothing wrong with them."
"Where's Reyna?" I managed to splutter through a mouthful. She wasn't in the infirmary.
"She got out the day we got back. Healing her hands was easy," Gwen said. She jerked a thumb at Bobby. "Not nearly as difficult as this kid. His burns are bone-deep. Third degree, much more difficult to heal."
Bobby shrugged sheepishly. "But guess what?" he said excitedly. I could tell that this was what he'd been itching to say since before I woke up. I shrugged, swallowing a gulp of milk. "I got my next officer rank! Apparently dragging a comrade back to help while suffering third-degree chest burns is selfless enough to get promoted, even though I didn't fight the boar."
I smiled genuinely. "That's great!"
"Not nearly as great as what you got," he said, grinning. He pointed at my wrist.
I looked down and saw that I had earned another four class bars. Eight black lines stood out prominently against my tan wrist, charred onto my skin. I choked slightly on my roast lamb, swallowed with difficultly, and gasped, "What did you tell them? I didn't do anything that great."
Gwen chuckled. "Apparently your definition of 'that great' is a little different from ours."
Bobby smirked and said, "It wasn't me anyways; Hazel told them the whole thing. She's really good at telling stories, which probably helped your case some. She told them everything, from you leading us through the darkness to beating the boar to shooting water at me. What you did was crazy. Totally crazy. But really, really, awesome." He grinned at me and I couldn't help smiling widely back at him.
"You seem to have a knack for psychopathic actions," Gwen muttered, which made us both laugh. "All right, you two. You're both well enough to come to tonight's campfire. Don't miss it." With that, she left the room, swinging the door shut gently behind her.
"Seriously, man. You're crazy," Bobby said sincerely. "You're not like any of us. Are you sure you can't remember anything about your past? Have you ever been trained?"
I paused. I didn't know if I'd ever been trained, but I knew I had friends just like me and a home. Greek friends. I knew what Python meant now: I wasn't like the Romans. They had tried to make me a part of their world, but I never could be. I had an inkling that had been intensifying ever sense my first day here – it was wrong, me being on this land. Speaking with these demigods. Training in their ways. I knew innately that Romans and Greeks hated each other deeply, and it would be very dangerous for me if they ever figured out my real lineage. They had started to realize it, and I couldn't let them ever come to fully know the truth. They would try to kill me.
I was grateful that none of them were smart enough to figure out I had spoken in Greek several times. I resolved to try to hide my secret as long as possible. As long as it took me to figure out my past and go back where I belonged.
"Nah. I've never been trained before. I think I've always just roamed the country on my own." The lie felt awful as I said it, especially to such badly wounded friend, but I had no choice.
Bobby believed me though. I saw it in his eyes. He leaned back against his pillows in disappointment and said, "Well, if we had about twenty more of you, I don't ever think we would go back to our old ways of training and fighting."
I wanted to say, my way of fighting is the old way, but I held my tongue and nodded mutely. I lay back, feigning sleep.
The day passed slowly. There was a window next to my bed and I resolved myself to staring out it and watching the day's training. The truth was, I felt great. I wasn't tired any more, I wasn't sore, I wasn't hurt. I felt horribly sorry for Bobby, who winced noticeably every once in a while if he shifted too much during his reading. By sunset, we had left the infirmary. I was itching for the meeting at the campfire. Anything to break the monotony of a completely lazy day. It was like I could feel my muscles atrophying while I laid there.
We made our way across the grounds, Bobby wrapping one arm tightly around his lower chest and grimacing. He blatantly refused any help that I could give him, so I walked slowly beside him, feeling somehow responsible for his injury. By the time we got to the arena, he was as white and blank as snow, in pain but wordless. I helped him to his seat, regardless of his protestations, and went to sit by myself on the other side, where I had established myself as the Neptune Division.
Poseidon, I corrected. I had been right in the first place. My father was Poseidon, not Neptune. Although I wasn't really sure there was a difference, I felt like it mattered somehow.
The camp bonfire was as huge as ever, roaring with loud crackles and snaps, towering plumes of loose embers breaking free and spiraling into the sky. Lupa strode into the arena, fashionably late as she always was, to make her big entrance. We knelt reverently and resumed our seats, while she began the evening's meeting. She started off with simple stuff, getting updates from the Captains, assigning small missions for upkeep purposes, and congratulating those who had completed minor missions. Then she addressed me and Bobby.
"Tonight, we shall recognize the extremely successful efforts of five demigods who have proven themselves far beyond the average in camp. While they recovered in the infirmary from their task, I am sure many of you have heard convoluted versions of their tale from unreliable sources. Namely, our Venus cabin." She glared at a few girls who blushed. Venus did have a tendency to spread rumors. "If you wish to hear the whole tale, ask Hazel later. I'm sure she would be thrilled to relive the event." I glanced towards the Ceres kids and saw Hazel holding her head high proudly, instead of blushing, while she smiled. Campers stared at her avidly. She must be a really good storyteller, I thought.
"The Tribune, as I'm sure some of you are aware by now, have decided to award each of the five demigods honors fitting to their tasks. Reyna Marcellus, rise." Reyna stood up quietly and received Lupa's next praise without comment. "You proved your loyalties to a friend in helping him survive, and in turn sacrificed the well-being of yourself. The Tribune thanks you, and awards you a week of break from training." Reyna nodded and sat.
"Hazel Cassius, rise." Hazel bounded to her feet with a cheerful hop. "You devoted yourself to the safe passage of your friends both when they were able bodied, and when they were severely wounded. You fought golems of a description I know to be very rare and powerful. The Tribune thanks you, and awards you with a week of break from training." Hazel sat. Gwen rose before her name was called.
"Gwyneth Volumnius, rise. You severed your friends in battle, and protected them from the selfsame golems as Hazel fought. You destroyed all three of the servants of Terra. You nursed your injured friends back to health after they had fallen. The Tribune thanks you, and awards you with a week of break from training." Gwen sat. Bobby rose unsteadily, finding his footing and standing tall, despite the bandages binding his torso.
"Now we acknowledge those who have not yet been publicly thanked. Bobby Hargrove, rise. You showed selfless loyalty to a friend in need, supporting him to safety even while seriously injured yourself. For your actions, the Tribune thanks you, and awards you with the officer rank Duplicarius." The Mars group erupted into applause, which quickly died out under Lupa's gaze.
"Perseus Jackson, rise." I stood up, feeling every eye shift to me, watching and listening closely for some indication of the truth behind the rumors. "You led your friends into battle along a path that is normally impossible to traverse. You avoided golems long enough to provide your friends with an open fighting ground. You single handedly defeated the Erymanthian boar, which has not been done by anyone besides fire-users and Hercules himself. You saved two of your friends from a horrific death by using your powers in a climate normally barring against a demigod of your lineage. You managed to escape not only alive, but with no injuries besides mild exhaustion. For your valiant and effective efforts, the Tribune expresses their deepest thanks, and awards you four class bars and the rank Duplicarius."
There was a short uproar of cheering at this, which quickly died down again. I honestly couldn't care less what rank they assigned me, or what honors they bestowed upon me. As long as they didn't think it would make me happy to be sent off on another mental mission anytime soon. I sat down in relief while Lupa moved onto larger status updates of more interest. Finally, she arrived at the final matter that she was going to discuss.
"Statues update from the Mercury Division. What information have you managed to gather for the secret mission I assigned you?" The tall son of Mercury named Hyllon rose slowly. His face was etched into a deep frown, reminding me of some son of Hermes I had once known. My headache throbbed, refusing to supply me with any more information, leaving me to only wonder. It left me with the feeling of acid bile rising in my throat. Not a good feeling.
"Do you wish for me to tell my results here?" he asked. When Lupa nodded, he took a deep breath and said, "It was as you suspected, Lady Lupa. We have found the rebirthing places of six giants. We have searched across the country and found six that are still in the process. If there are indeed nineteen original giants to rise, as you suggested, then we have failed to find the rebirth places of seven others." The campers stirred uneasily, whispering, receiving the news unhappily.
"Do you know which have risen?" Lupa asked. For once, her voice wasn't strong. It was laced with fear and trepidation.
"Yes, my lady. With the help of the Minerva Division, we were able to deduce the identities of the risen and rising giants. Would you like me to present their names now?"
"Please do," she said, though her voice was screaming, Please don't! Please don't! Please don't!
Hyllon took a deep breath, because he knew, like I did on some deep level, that names held power. He said slowly, "Porphyrion, bane of Jupiter; Alcyoneus, bane of Neptune; Thoon, bane of Pluto; Enceladus, bane of Minerva; Eurymedon, bane of Venus; Hippolytus, bane of Mercury." Here he paused and shivered slightly, the way each camper did as the blight of their godly parent was named. I had a horrible feeling about Alcyoneus and shivered down to my bones when his name was mentioned. Hyllon continued, "Rising presently are as follows: Damysos, bane of Apollo; Gration, bane of Diana; Mimas, bane of Vulcan; Agrios, bane of Mars; Clytius, bane of Ceres; Eurytus, bane of Bacchus." Here he paused again, hoping that Lupa would ask him to stop. Not receiving any signal from her unreadable wolf-face, he continued somewhat weakly, "The last seven are smaller threats, but we have failed to identify their points of rising. We will keep searching." He sat down jerkily, having stood while the sky rumbled loudly the entire time he spoke.
"Thank you, Hyllon." Lupa paced in front of the fire. There was a cold, fearful silence in the camp, because we all knew what she was going to say next. To no one's surprise, but to the horror of all, she said, "We will need to send teams to slow the rising of the giants." The silence was as thick as cement, unbreakable and sludgy. "If they all rise successfully, we are doomed for certain. I wish to send out teams of only the best demigods we have. Duplicarius and above only, preferably Division Captains as well. I need not bother to say that it will be unspeakably dangerous. I believe some of you may not come back alive. But while you may not be able to stop their rising, you must try. Those willing to volunteer, rise now."
I knew now why I had been promoted so many officer ranks. I had started today as the lowest ranking soldier, and jumped up to a Major in the past few minutes. Lupa had planned this – she wanted me on this mission. My nerves jangling slightly, I almost didn't believe myself when I straightened and stood. I looked around and saw five Captains rising to their feet.
"Very well. You six shall be the mission leaders. You may each choose three demigods of Duplicarius rank or higher to accompany you. You leave tomorrow. See Hyllon, he will assign you the giants you will each hunt, and inform you of their points of rebirth. We all wish you the best of luck." It didn't sound that way – her voice was low and somber, like a funeral dirge. "You are dismissed."
Everyone shuffled around, filing out of the stadium for practice. I wandered over to the Mercury Captain, who was surrounded by five others. He said in a conspiratorial whisper, "I know Lupa says to do everything in your power to take them down, even if it means dying… but if it comes to the point where there's nothing you can do, don't needlessly throw yourselves in front of the giant and beg to be killed. Your real top priority is to come back alive. We'll need all the help we can get in the future." His face darkened. "From the sound of the Great Prophecy, there's going to be a war. We'll need everyone we have. So try your hardest not to die.
"Anyway, back to business. I've got this sorted out so that no one will have to face the giant created to destroy their godly parent. So, Silvia, daughter of Minerva, you'll face Eurytus; he's rising under the St. Louis arch. David, son of Mars, you get Clytius; she's rising near the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone. Vulcan Captain Alyssa, you can take Agrios, who's rising in the Shiloh Battlefield in Tennessee. Apollo Captain Gwen, I'll give you… Mimas. You'll find her in the blasted summit of Mount Saint Helens. Venus Captain Cesara and Neptune Captain Percy, you'll probably have to work together. The twin giants Damysos and Gration rise together, the way the twin gods they were born to destroy did. You'll find them just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. My resources weren't exactly clear, so that's the best I've got. Hope you all do well. The fewer giants that rise, the better."
"Hold on," I said, calling the group back together. "How, exactly, are we supposed to stop them from rising?"
"You have to kill them before they're fully born. If they're fully born, run. There's nothing you can do on your own," Hyllon said gravely. "We need the help of the gods to destroy giants, and lately, our parents have been less talkative. I highly doubt they'll help you. Anyway, if the giant isn't fully awake yet, kill it using any powers that you have. Be creative and you might be able to destroy it. That's all I know."
We dispersed, leaving Hyllon looking aged and weary. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, Percy. I just don't know how to kill a giant. Even the Minerva kids…"
"Hey," I said with false brightness, "It's okay. We'll figure something out."
"Yeah, you are Percy Jackson. You'll work out some ridiculous solution," he said with a chuckle. I thought he was putting too much faith in me, but I didn't say anything. His smile was strained as he said, "Just try not to die in the process."
"Sure," I said and climbed down the steps to find Cesara. She was waiting for me at the foot of the stairs, her arms crossed in graceful silence. "Hey. Who are you going to bring?"
She mulled it over for so long, I thought she deemed me beneath her notice. Then she said confidently, "I'll bring Tanner, Mia, and Zach. You'll bring Bobby, Reyna, and Hazel?"
I blinked and replied slowly, "Yeah, that was what I was thinking."
"Then we'll take Apollo's giant, and you can take Diana's. So Reyna won't get hurt."
I hadn't even thought about that. It would probably be best if Reyna didn't fight the giant meant to destroy her father. "Oh, yeah. Sure. But I thought we would be working together. So it doesn't matter which giant we each take, we'll have to fight two giants together, right?"
"I'm not working with you," Cesara replied stiffly. Her perfect lips curled down in a slight grimace. "You're a show-off who doesn't ever think tactics. You'll charge in and get us all killed if we work together."
Both insulted and exasperated, I said, "But we'll be fighting the twin giants, who rise at the same time in the same place. What's the difference?"
Cesara shot me a dangerous look. I would prefer to take on a pit scorpion than the vehement daughter of Venus right now. "My team plus yours," she said slowly, like I was a toddler, "equals eight dead demigods. My team minus yours equals seven living demigods and one dead, cocky, Achilles-cursed jerk." She spun on her heel and flounced off elegantly.
I stared at her open-mouthed for a moment. I couldn't believe this evening. I volunteered to go on a nearly suicidal mission, failed to convince Cesara we needed to work together to take down the giant twins, and suffered the humiliation of being called an arrogant jerk without the mental capacity to make valid plans. That wasn't true: I did have plans before I attacked. They just usually centered on my indestructibility while my friends sat on the sidelines. It was easier, safer, and more realistic that way. It wasn't like I enjoyed the attention. I just wanted people to act normally around me, instead of in awe or dislike that I didn't deserve.
Frowning at the injustice of it, I stalked out of the stadium to find my teammates.
You might consider writing down the giant's names and the gods they were each created to destroy as a reference, so I don't have to keep re-explaining it in future chapters.
A short list:
Porphyrion – Zeus
Alcyoneus – Poseidon
Thoon – Hades
Eurymedon – Aphrodite
Enceladus – Athena
Damysos – Apollo
Gration – Artemis
Hippolytus – Hermes
Mimas – Hephaestus
Agrios – Ares
Clytius – Demeter
Eurytus – Dionysus
Pallas – Hestia
Polybotes – Triton (son of Poseidon and Amphitrite)
Pleorus – Persephone
Theodamas – Hera
Otus
Ephialtes
Leon