Act I - To The World Of Skies

Part IV - ...glowing dim as an ember, things my heart used to know, things it yearns to remember...

"Here we are!" Drew said cheerfully. "The Big House, camp headquarters."

It didn't look threatening, just a four-story manor painted baby blue with white trim. However, every molecule in Lena's body told her she was on enemy ground. "I'm not supposed to be here," she kept saying, sounding like a broken record.

Drew circled her arm through hers. "Oh, please. You're perfect here, sweetie. Believe me. You have flawless skin. And great teeth. Everything you need to be a successful half-blood." She gave Lena a bright smile.

Lena slipped her arm away as gently as she could. "Thank you. But I don't think my teeth will help me-"

"Have you met Queen Hera?" Drew interrupted. "You look a LOT like her! If it weren't completely impossible for her to have kids, I'd say she's definitely your mother." Lena wasn't sure how to answer, so she chose to stay quiet. Drew barely noticed. "...yes, really nice looks." She wasn't looking at Lena, though. She was staring at a spot right above her head. "You're going to be important at camp, so I figure your parent will claim you right away. By the way, is your dad or mom the god? Please say it's your mom. I would love if you were a daughter of Aphrodite."

"Why?"

"Because we'd be sisters, of course, silly. So who's your godly parent: mom or dad?"

As usual, Lena didn't have an answer. She heard footsteps on the front porch. No. Not footsteps; hooves.

"Chiron!" Drew called. "This is Lena. Wouldn't she a great daughter of Aphrodite?"

Lena backed up so fast she almost tripped. The centaur started to smile, invitingly, but then the color drained from his face. "You..." The centaur's eyes flared like a cornered animal's. "You should be dead!" He quickly ordered Lena to come inside the house, like he wanted to hide her. He told Drew to go back to her cabin, which she didn't look happy about. Then he focused on the newcomer. "Gla... I mean, Lena," he said emphatically, "would you mind telling me... ah... where you're from?"

"I wish I knew." And Lena told him the whole story.

"I see," Chiron said when she was done. "And you must have questions for me."

"Only one," Lena admitted. "What did you mean when you said that I should be dead?"

"Forgive me. I shouldn't have said that." Chiron studied her with concern, as if he expected Lena to burst into flames. "But, dear girl, do you know what those marks on your arm mean? The color of your shirt? Do you remember anything?"

Lena looked at the tattoo on her forearm: SPQR, the eagle, twelve straight lines. "No," she said. "Nothing."

"Do you know where you are?" Chiron asked. "Do you understand what this place is?"

"This is a camp for demigods, children of the Olympian gods."

"So you already know the gods are real. You have already been claimed, haven't you?"

"Maybe," Lena answered. "I'm not really sure."

Chiron waited, and Lena realized what had just happened. The centaur had switched to another language and Lena had understood, automatically answering in the same tongue.

"Quis erat—" Lena faltered, then made a conscious effort to speak English. "What was that?"

"You know Latin," Chiron observed. "Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It's in their blood, but not as much as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice." Lena tried to wrap her mind around what that meant, but too many pieces were missing from her memory. "I've seen many heroes come and go. Occasionally, they have happy endings. Mostly, they don't. It breaks my heart, like losing a child each time one of my pupils dies. But you... you are not like any pupil I've ever taught. Your presence here could be a disaster."

"Thanks," Lena said. "You must be an inspiring teacher."

"I am sorry, my girl. But it's true. I had hoped that after Andy's success—"

"Andy Jackson, you mean. Anthony's girlfriend, the one who's missing."

Chiron nodded. "I hoped that after she succeeded in the Titan War and saved Mount Olympus, we might have some peace. I should have known better. The last chapter approaches, just as it did before. The worst is yet to come."

"Ohh-kay," Lena said. "Sounds fun, but can we go back to the part where I'm supposed to be dead? That's what I'm worried about."

"I'm afraid I can't explain. I swore on the River Styx and on all things sacred that I would never…" Chiron frowned. "But you're here, in violation of the same oath. That too, should not be possible. I don't understand. Who would've done such a thing? Who—" he stopped.

"Chiron?" Lena asked. "What's going—"

The old centaur had frozen. Lena jumped off the couch, but Chiron kept staring at the same spot, his mouth open mid-sentence. His eyes didn't blink. His chest didn't move.

"Lena," a voice said. A woman, dressed in black, appeared before her. Her face was hooded but her eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Who are you?" Lena demanded. "How did you—"

"Our time is limited, my child. My prison grows stronger by the hour. I've conjured my presence here and in other places, but I'm getting weaker. I've managed to bring you here, but now I have little time left, and even less power. This may be the last time I can speak to you."

"You're in prison?" Lena frowned. "Who are you?"

"You know me," she insisted. "I have known you since your birth. I've always taken care of you, Lena."

"I don't remember. I don't remember anything."

"No, you don't," she agreed. "That also was necessary. Long ago, your father gave me your life as a gift to placate my anger. He ordered you to be named after my favorite princess. In spite of that, your birth mother baptized you differently. Still, you belong to me. Always have."

"I don't belong to anyone."

"Now is the time to pay your debt," the woman insisted. "Find my prison. Free me, or their king will rise from the earth, and I will be destroyed. You will never retrieve your memory."

"Is that a threat? Wait... You took my memories?"

"You have until sunset on the solstice, Lena. Only a few days. Do not fail me." The dark woman dissolved, time unfroze, and Chiron said, "...would dare to bring you here?"

"Probably the lady in the mist," Lena offered, telling Chiron about the unexpected visitor.

"Oh, dear," Chiron murmured. "That does explain a lot."

"Then why don't you explain a lot to me?" Lena said. "Please."

Before Chiron could say anything, footsteps reverberated on the porch outside. The front door blew open, and Anthony burst in carrying Piper in his arms. Another girl, a redhead, came behind him.

"What happened?" Lena rushed over. "What's wrong with her?"

"Hera's cabin," Anthony gasped. "Vision. Bad."

The redheaded girl looked up, and Lena saw that she'd been crying. "I think…" she gulped. "I think I may have killed her."

Anthony put Piper on the couch while the redheaded rushed down the hall to get a med kit. Piper was still breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. She seemed to be in some kind of coma.

"We've got to heal her," Lena said urgently. "There's a way, right?" Seeing her so pale, barely breathing, Lena felt a surge of protectiveness.

Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Tony, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," he said. "Piper went inside Hera's cabin. We talked, and then... Chiron, what happened back there... I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her—"

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

Anthony stared at her. "How did you know that?"

Rachel ran in with a leather pouch she handed to Chiron. He trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth while Lena explained what had happened when the room froze. When she was done, no one spoke, which made her more anxious.

"So does this happen often?" Lena asked. "Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"

"She wasn't your godly parent?" Anthony asked.

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

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

"I don't think so," Lena said. "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—"

Anthony turned to Chiron. "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

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

"But what?"

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

"Or now," Lena said. "Sir, 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. She showed herself to Lena at the same moment."

"Hera?" Anthony snarled. "She took you over? She did this to Piper?"

"I think Rachel's right," Lena said. "The woman did seem like a goddess."

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

Anthony crossed his arms. "Well, if you find that out, please inform me. I'd like to send them flowers."

"Tony," 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 Lena for help—"

"Fine," Anthony 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…?"

"Why would she use her energy to send me here?" Lena asked. "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. "Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."

"That's true," Anthony said, "but Lena's got a point. Why her? Why take her memory?"

"It must have something to do with Andy's disappearing," Rachel guessed.

Anthony fixed his 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. "My son, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."

Anthony 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. Tony, you should speak with Lena. Tell her about... about the Greek and Roman gods."

"But…"

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

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

"What oath?" Anthony demanded. "I've never seen him act this way." He shook his head. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means… Cabin Fifteen. Rachel, you'll keep an eye on Piper?"

"Sure," Rachel promised. "Good luck, you two."

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

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

Cabin Fifteen was not so dramatic. It looked like an old-fashioned prairie house with mud walls and a rush roof.

"You think this is my parent's cabin?" Lena asked.

"Gods, no," he said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You've forgotten everything," he said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."

Inside, soft violin music played from somewhere. The cabin was so cozy and peaceful that Lena's eyelids started to feel heavy. A nap sounded like a great idea. She was exhausted. There were plenty of empty beds, all with feather pillows and fresh sheets and fluffy quilts and...

Anthony nudged her. "Snap out of it."

Lena blinked.

"Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone," Anthony warned. "If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin. At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are."

"Land mines?"

Anthony walked up to the nearest snoring kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis! Wake up!" The kid didn't move. "Clovis!" Anthony shook harder, then finally knocked on his forehead about six times.

"Wh-wh-what?" Clovis complained, sitting up and squinting.

"We need your help."

"I was sleeping."

"You're always sleeping."

"Good night." Before he could pass out, Anthony yanked his pillow off the bed. "That's not fair, man," Clovis complained meekly. "Give it back."

"First help," Anthony said. "Then sleep."

Clovis sighed. His breath smelled like warm milk. "Fine. What?"

Anthony explained about Lena's problem. Every once in a while he'd snap his fingers under Clovis's nose to keep him awake. Clovis must have been really excited, because when Anthony was done, he didn't pass out. He actually stood and stretched, then blinked at Lena. "So you don't remember anything, huh?"

"Just impressions," Lena said. "Feelings, like…"

"Yes?" Clovis said.

"Like I know I shouldn't be here. At this camp. I'm in danger."

"Hmm. Usually memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this… The River Lethe dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently."

Anthony nodded. "Andy went there once. She told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan."

"But… that's not my problem?" Lena asked.

"No," Clovis agreed. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen."

"How?"

"A god," Clovis said. "Only a god would have that kind of power."

"We know that," said Lena. "It was Juno. But how did she do it, and why?"

Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"

"She means Hera," Anthony said. "For some reason, Lena likes the Roman names."

"Greek and Roman. Could be important."

"But they're the same gods," Anthony said. "Just different names."

"Not exactly," Clovis said. "Some gods are only Roman. Like Janus, or Pompona. But even the major Greek gods... it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities."

"But…" Anthony faltered. "Okay, so maybe people saw them differently through the centuries. That doesn't change who they are."

"Sure it does," Clovis said. "The gods change to reflect their host cultures. And the gods were Roman almost as long as they were Greek. It was a big empire, lasted for centuries. So of course their Roman aspects are still a big part of their character."

"Makes sense," Lena said.

"So we call the gods by their Greek names because that's their original form. But saying their Roman aspects are exactly the same... that's not true," continued Clovis. "In Rome, they became more warlike. They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful... the gods of an empire. They stood for discipline, honor, strength—"

"All good things," Lena said. "I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made Rome last so long."

Clovis gave her a curious look. "That's true. But the Roman gods weren't very friendly."

"What does that have to do with Lena?" Anthony asked.

"I haven't the slightest," Clovis muttered. "But if Hera took your memory, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the queen of the gods, I'd hope she was more in a Hera mood than a Juno mood. Can I go back to sleep now?"