Chapter Eleven
I am so sorry guys I know it has been FOREVER since I last updated. I haven't had time recently and I haven't had any ideas so basically I had no time and writers block. I am so sorry it took me this long to update I hope you didn't get bored and decide you didn't want to read anymore, but I hope you still want to read. And last time I said I was thinking about going back and forth between Katherine and her friend Zach from Camp Jupiter, didn't get any yes' or no's on that so please tell me if you think that would be cool or not or if you would like to read it or not. So yeah…LET'S DO THIS.
Katherine, Jason, Piper, and Chiron made their way to the amphitheatre. Jason sat in the front with Annabeth, Katherine was a little behind them under Zeus' banner, and Piper sat with Rachel. They sang songs and the fire continuously changed from different shades of gray and white, or at least in Katherine's eyes that's what it looked like. Finally the song ended with a rowdy applause and Chiron walked up next to the fire pit, brandishing a spear impaled with marshmallows.
"Lovely! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"
"What about capture the flag?" Someone yelled. It came from a group of kids in armor under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head, the Ares cabin.
"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted.
"But," Chiron continued. "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
He turned towards the Hephaestus kids. A girl stood uncomfortably in the middle of the group of demigods. She wore an army jacket with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."
More grumbling and complaints.
"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.
"Really hard," she said.
"Why doesn't Katherine turn into a dragon and fight this other dragon to the death!" another Ares kid shouted. Katherine shot him a warning glance.
"Why don't you turn into a dragon and fight it to the death?" She said.
Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the stones around the fire pit—band, bang, bang—and the campers quieted down.
"We will have to be patient," he said. "In the meantime, we have other matters to discuss."
"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed, but Katherine could tell the mood of the crowd without looking at the flames in front of her.
Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.
"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon, but we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis—everyone's out looking."
"Why can't Katherine use her weird magic powers and find him?" someone yelled out. Katherine clenched her fists and stood up, facing the crowd.
"I'm not a god you guys, I can't solve all of your problems by a wave of my hand." She said angrily. Then she got embarrassed and felt her face get hot so she sat back down. Annabeth looked at Katherine as if to say, Want me to beat his dumb ass after camp fire? Katherine shook her head and waved her hand to reply, No, no, its fine. I've gotten used to it. Annabeth nodded.
"Anyway, we will find Percy, but Chiron is talking about something else. A new quest." Annabeth said.
"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.
All the campers turned. The voice had come from a group in the back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem, the Aphrodite cabin. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.
Everyone else looked surprised, Drew didn't address the crowd very often.
"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods. Something weird is obviously going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"
Everyone looked at Rachel.
"Well?" Drew called down. "You're the oracle here, has it started or not?" Katherine looked down at Rachel. Her eyes looked scary in the firelight. Rachel stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.
"Indeed," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."
Chaos broke out in the amphitheatre.
When the talking finally subsided and the campers had quieted down, Rachel took another step towards the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned back, as if one skinny mortal was more intimidating that all of them put together. Katherine stifled a laugh when she remembered when Rachel hit Kronos in the eye with a plastic hairbrush.
"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said. "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August, and it goes like this:
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire the world must fall—"
Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just had three coffees. Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "Jason?" she said. "What's—"
"Ut cum spirtu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
An uneasy silence settled on the group. Katherine could tell from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. Katherine had already translated them, Jason had just finished the Great Prophecy in Latin.
"You just…finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "—An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arm to the Doors of Death. How did you—"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart." Katherine shot her a deathlike glance and Drew turned pale. Katherine smiled to herself and turned back towards the front.
Jason sat down, looking embarrassed. Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder and said something reassuring.
Rachel Dare looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt.
"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composer. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We had hoped it wouldn't happen for years, but I fear its happening now. I can't give you proof, its just a feeling. And its just a Drew said, weird things are happening. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice called out, "I'm here! Oh…were you calling role?"
"Go back to sleep Clovis!" someone yelled out, and a lot of people laughed. Suddenly the world began to spin. Katherine massaged her temples, trying to make her headache go away. The world around her faded away and all she could focus on was her throbbing head, it only seemed to only get worse.
Katherine, a voice said inside Katherine's head. It wasn't Hunter. It was Katherine's voice.
W-Who are you? she asked, barely able to focus. Her voice laughed in her head.
Katherine you know me, I am you. Yield your body to me, and we will be unstoppable, the voice continued.
What? No! Unstoppable? Why would I want to be unstoppable, what did you mean you are me? Who the hell are you? Katherine asked. She could barely make out the fire and Chiron.
I am the demon inside you that Hunter thinks you need to control. He is quite wrong, if we work together we could destroy this entire camp! the voice exclaimed. Katherine felt the she-demon trying to control her. She couldn't over power the damn thing. She could feel herself losing control and only one thought came to mind.
Hunter! Help me! she cried out desperately.
No! the she-demon cried. Suddenly Katherine could think clearly again and the world returned to normal. Annabeth was looking at her funny and Katherine waved her hand to say, It's nothing, I'm fine.
I am here Katherine, are you alright? Hunter's voice rang inside of Katherine's head. She felt a surge of relief.
Yes, thank you. We need to talk about this later I know, but now isn't a good time. Maybe after campfire, she told him.
Alright, after campfire, Hunter agreed. Katherine severed the connection and tuned back into what was going on at the amphitheatre. Chiron was just saying, "He has been claimed, long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration please." Katherine looked down at Jason as he stood up and reached into his pocket. He brought out a gold coin and flipped it. He brandished a golden spear, Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point.
"Back away," Jason said.
Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Katherine's body stood up and her ears popped. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.
When the smoke clear, and the ringing in Katherine's ears was gone, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been.
Jason lowered his spear. "Um…sorry."
Chiron brushed some coals from his beard and grimaced. "A little overkill, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus, Lord of the Sky."
Half of the kids looked at Katherine, the other half descended into chaos. Dozens of people were shouting questions until Annabeth raised her arms.
"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three…their pact not to have mortal kids…how could we not have known about him sooner?"
Chiron shot Katherine a look as if to say, Don't say anything. He didn't answer Annabeth and remained silent.
"The important thing," Rachel said. "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest, which means he will need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheatre and grabbed a three-legged stool. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. The voice that came out was that of the oracle Delphi:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giants' revenge the seven shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage."
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her.
I don't like the sound of that prophecy, Hunter said in Katherine's mind.
You heard that? Where are you? She asked as she looked around. Suddenly she felt something at her feet and looked down. There she saw Hunter crouched in the form of a puppy Husky. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the campfire.
"Shut up!" Someone said. Katherine looked around and saw that Nyssa was standing up. "Anyway, we've also got to think—why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
No one answered, but Katherine noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. She wasn't a daughter of Aphrodite so she couldn't read people's emotions very well, but Annabeth's face was grim, so it couldn't be good.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she said. "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions." Suddenly Clarisse stood up. She put her hands up as if to say, Hold on.
"Annabeth, you're forgetting about Katherine. She's a daughter of Zeus too, and what about Thalia?" She said. Almost everyone looked at Katherine. Annabeth glanced her way and Katherine nodded. She stood up and turned towards the crowd, but addressed Clarisse.
"I'm pretty sure it's not me, besides I am not helping Hera for my own reasons. Plus, I am leaving with Annabeth in the morning to continue looking for Percy. And Thalia is a hunter of Artemis now, so it can't be her. Hera sent Jason a vision, not me. This is Jason's quest." She said and sat back down. Over half the campers started mumbling and talking so Chiron had to stomp his hooves on the stones of the fire pit to quiet them down. Piper started to say something, but Hunter interrupted her, speaking to Katherine.
Why don't you go, he asked. Katherine looked down at him, curled upbetween her feet.
Why would I? I have to find Percy, he's my brother, I'm not going to leave Annabeth alone to look for him, she replied. Hunter sneezed.
Jason is your blood brother, I know you want to go on the quest with him. You can't hide your emotions from me Katherine, Hunter said. Katherine sighed.
It's not my place to go with him, besides his quest will definitely involve fighting, and my arm isn't healed yet so I can't fight, Katherine said.
You've been training with your right arm, Hunter countered.
And I suck, if we were attacked by, say Cyclops, and Jason and the two people he picked to go with him were killed, it wouldn't be long until the Cyclops' killed me. I can't fight in my condition, she told him.
Looking for Percy will involve fighting too, Hunter argued.
I—whatever! I'm not going on Jason's quest, Katherine said, glaring at Hunter. Hunter glared back.
Just go on the stupid quest to save Hera, Hunter said.
No, Katherine replied. She turned her attention back to the campfire. Everyone was looking at Piper, at least Katherine thought it was Piper. She didn't look the same. She had make up on and her hair was braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell over her shoulder. She wore a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a really low V-neck even Katherine would be embarrassed, and sometimes she wears some pretty skimpy clothes (mostly just shirts that don't cover her midriff and really short shorts).
"Piper," Jason said dumbfounded. "You're a knockout."
"No!" someone yelled out. Katherine turned around to see Drew standing up as well. Her face was full of horror and disgust. "Not possible!"
"I—don't understand," Piper protested. "This…this isn't me."
Chiron folded his front legs and bowed to her, and everyone followed his example, bowing to Piper. As much as Katherine hated it, she managed to make herself bow as well.
"Hail, Piper Mclean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at Piper's funeral. Katherine thought he could have sounded a little more upbeat, Piper looked really nervous. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love." After that and a couple more announcements, Chiron dismissed everyone to bed. Hunter took one of Katherine's shoelaces in his mouth and pulled it towards the forest. Katherine sighed and retied her shoe, then she followed Hunter and they ventured a couple feet into the forest, where no one could see them.
"Alright, what is it?" She asked him impatiently. She crossed her arms and looked down at him, feeling tired and wanting to go to bed.
You need to meditate tonight, he said. Katherine looked surprised.
"Meditate? For what? And why?" she asked him.
You need to speak to the other conscience within you, Hunter said. You need to make peace with it, so it doesn't keep trying to take control over you. If you don't try, you will be lost forever. Katherine swallowed and nodded her head. She was too freaked out to answer. She started heading back towards camp, but Hunter stopped her.
I want you to practice, don't actually try and connect with the creature, just calm your mind and empty yourself of thoughts. Try it, He said.
"Right now?" Katherine asked. Hunter nodded. She sighed and sat down, crossing her legs. She closed her eyes and concentrated. It seemed like she sat there for days. Suddenly she felt Hunter's familiar touch in her head.
You've been at it for hours…Annabeth is about to leave, it's already morning. You should get ready, He said. Katherine looked up and saw that it was already starting to get a little bright. She shook her head, surprised that she had sat here all night. Katherine stood up and immediately fell back to the ground. She groaned, her legs were asleep. She sighed and waited a couple minutes until she could walk again. Then she headed towards her cabin.
Katherine opened the door to cabin one and saw Jason standing next to the sleeping niche Thalia had used to sleep in when she used to stay here. Jason bent down and picked uppicture that had fallen, Katherine caught a glimpse and saw that it was of Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth.
"That's Thalia," Katherine said. Jason turned around to see her leaning in the doorway. Katherine walked up next to Jason, the door closing behind her. Standing right next to her brother was making it really hard for her not to hug him and cry, but she kept her emotions hidden. Jason was about a full head taller than she was, she figured he was fifteen or sixteen by now since she was only fourteen.
"She's the other child of Zeus who used to live here—but not for long."
"Uh, can I ask what you're doing here? Are you here to explain why I know your name finally?" Jason asked. Katherine smiled.
"I guess you didn't figure it out yet," she said. Jason only looked more confused. "I live here, well kind of. But my father is Ju—Zeus." Jason nodded.
"So you're basically my sister?" he asked, unsure.
"Yeah, I mean we do have the same dad." Katherine answered.
"You know who I am," he guessed. "Don't you?" Katherine sighed. She looked for a chair to grab, but of course there were none. Cabin one had no furniture other than the two beds Katherine and Jason used, a small desk next to Katherine's bed, and the bed roll Thalia had used when she used to live here.
"Honestly, Jason…I can't tell you," Katherine picked her words carefully. "I swore an oath not to talk about a certain thing at camp…I mean, I guess you could be a loner. It happens sometimes. For one reason or another, the camp never found you, but you survived. You beat the odds." Jason didn't look satisfied with her answer.
"The first thing Chiron said to me," Jason said. "was you should be dead."
"Most demigods would never make it on their own. And a child of Zeus—" Katherine was planning on going with what she had said before, Camp Half-Blood had never found him and Camp Jupiter didn't exist. "It doesn't get any more dangerous than that. The chances of your reaching the age fifteen or sixteen without fining Camp Half-Blood or dying—microscopic. But like I said, it does happen. Thalia ran away when she was young, and I've only been here three years." Jason looked like he was thinking.
"Then where were you before Camp Half-Blood?" he asked. Katherine silently cursed, she screwed up saying how long she'd been at Camp Half-Blood, and she couldn't reveal Camp Jupiter. When Chiron found out she was from Camp Jupiter he had her swear on the River Styx to never speak of it at camp.
"I was living with Percy, he's my adopted brother. His mom found me and Hunter on the street and took us in when I was eleven." She said.
"So…you're only fourteen?" he asked. Katherine nodded. Jason looked surprised. "I thought you were fifteen or sixteen, around my age. And who is Hunter?" Katherine waved the question aside. Jason looked down at his arm and showed Katherine his SPQR marks. "What are these marks though?"
"Well the eagle is the symbol of Zeus and the twelve lines—maybe they stand for years? I don't know. SPQR is the moto of the old Roman Empire: Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the People of Rome. Why you would have it burned into your skin…I don't know." Jason looked down.
"I, um…had a weird dream last night," Jason said. Katherine nodded.
"Happens all the time to demigods," she said. "What was it about?"
Jason told her about wolves and a ruined house and two rock spires. As he talked, Katherine began to frown and pace. It was obviously Lupa who had talked to him. And the setting of the dream was in the wolf house. But the two spires, what was that all about?
"Do you remember where the house was?" Katherine asked, even though she knew exactly where it was.
Jason shook his head. "No, but I know I've been there before."
"I can't think of where the house might be, I'm not as smart as Annabeth," Katherine said. "But I've heard of Lupa. She's an immortal Roman wolf goddess. In the story of Romulus and Remus she saved them and raised them as her own." Katherine was taking a gamble talking about Lupa, she wasn't necessarily breaking her oath, her oath was to not talk about Camp Jupiter, she didn't swear against talking about Roman gods.
"How do you know about her?" Jason asked. "I mean, don't you learn about Greek gods at Camp Half-Blood?" Katherine cursed silently, but she managed to play it cool.
"Well yeah we do, but I was curious so I did some research and learned about Roman gods." She said. Jason nodded.
"Lupa said the enemy was a 'her'. I thought maybe it was Hera, but—"
"Don't trust Hera, but I know she isn't the enemy, at least she shouldn't be. But that thing rising out of the earth—" Katherine looked at him with a dead serious expression. "You have to stop it."
"Annabeth knows what it is, doesn't she?" Jason asked. "I saw her face last night at the campfire. She looked at Chiron like it was suddenly dawning on her, but she didn't want to scare us." Katherine nodded.
"I saw that too," she said. "I'll talk to her about it when we leave. I should probably go then." Katherine headed to her bed and grabbed her back pack. She rummaged through the drawer in her nightstand. She found the picture of her and Jason and quickly put it into her back pack without Jason seeing it. Then she stuffed her pillow and the blanket on her bed into her backpack.
"How does that fit in there?" Jason asked amazed.
Katherine smiled. "This backpack is special. I can put anything into and it won't weigh a thing. And nothing will get broken inside it. It's quite handy." She zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder. She was still in her mid-thigh shorts, Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, black windbreaker, and converse from yesterday, but she didn't care, she figured she could change later.
Katherine nodded at Jason and headed towards the door. Suddenly Jason grabbed her wrist.
"Wait," he said. Katherine turned around to face him. "I…I have this feeling you should go with us. I don't know, but I know you're connected to my life…my life before Camp Half-Blood." Katherine fought back tears. She wanted so badly to tell Jason everything, to hug him and catch up. She wanted to ask him how Zach and Lilly were. But she knew she couldn't. She took a deep breath.
"Jason," she said. "I know you want me to go on this quest with you, but I can't. I need to find Percy, and more than three demigods really shouldn't go on a quest together. Especially two children of Zeus, we would be a monster magnet." Jason looked disappointed, and Katherine felt bad having to let him down like that.
"I don't even know where I'm supposed to start. Where am I supposed to go?" Jason asked. Katherine didn't know what to tell him. She could have directed him straight to the Wolf House, but she knew she couldn't.
"Follow the monsters," someone said behind them. Katherine turned around to see Annabeth standing in the doorway. "Sorry, I should have knocked, but you were taking forever." Annabeth came to stand next to her, she looked at Jason.
"Okay," he said. "How do I find storm winds?"
"Personally, I'd ask a wind god," Annabeth said. "Aeolus is the master of all the winds, but he's a little…unpredictable. No one finds him unless he wants to be found. I'd try one of the four seasonal wind gods that work for Aeolus. The nearest one, the one who has the most dealings with heroes, is Boreas the North Wind."
"So if I looked him up on Google maps—"
Katherine laughed. "Oh, he's not hard to find," she promised. "He settled in North America like all the other gods. So of course he picked the oldest northern settlement, about as far north as you can go."
"Maine?" Jason guessed.
Annabeth and Katherine both shook their heads.
"Canada," he said. "Quebec."
Annabeth smiled. "I hope you speak French."
"Thanks Katherine, Annabeth," He looked at the photo booth pictures still in his hand. Jason turned towards Katherine. "So, um…you said it was dangerous being a child of Zeus. What ever happened to Thalia?" Annabeth gave Katherine a quizzical look and Annabeth waved her hand as if to say, I'll explain later.
"She's fine," Katherine said. "She became a Hunter of Artemis—one of the handmaidens of the goddess. They roam around the country killing monsters. We don't see them at camp very often." Jason glanced over at the statue of Zeus.
"Who's the other kid in the photo?" Jason asked. "The sand-haired guy."
Annabeth's expression stiffened. Katherine sighed and put her hand to her forehead, of all the questions to ask, Jason asked that one.
"That's Luke," Annabeth said. "He's dead now." Jason understood that it was a touchy subject and didn't press any further. Jason looked back down at the picture of Thalia.
"How old is she now?" he asked.
"Hard to say. She was a tree for a while. Now she's immortal." Annabeth said with a completely straight face.
"What?" Jason's expression made Katherine and Annabeth both laugh.
"Don't worry. It's not something all children of Zeus go through," Katherine reassured him. "It's a long story, but she was…Annabeth how do I put this? Out of commission? Well she was out of commission for a long time. If she'd aged regularly, she'd be in her…twenties right now, right Annabeth? But yeah, she still looks the same as in that picture, like she's about…well about your age. Fifteen or sixteen?"
"What's her last name?"
Katherine bit her lip, she looked at Annabeth and Annabeth somehow understood that Katherine didn't want to continue this conversation, so Annabeth took over.
"She didn't use a last name, really. If she had to, she'd use her mom's, but they didn't get along. Thalia ran away when she was pretty young." Annabeth said.
Jason waited.
Annabeth sighed. "Grace," she said. "Thalia Grace."
The picture in Jason's hands fluttered to the floor.
"Are you ok?" Jason looked pale. "What is it?" Annabeth pressed.
"You have to swear not to tell anyone else," he said. Katherine frowned.
"Jason—"
"Swear it," he urged, looking at Katherine and Annabeth both. "Until I figure what's going on, what all this means—" he rubbed his SPQR tattoo. "You have to keep a secret.
Annabeth and Katherine exchanged nervous glances, but their curiosity won out. "All right. Until you tell me it's okay, I won't share what you say with anyone else. I swear it on the River Styx."
"Same here, I swear it on the River Styx." Katherine said.
Thunder rumbled, even louder than usual for the cabin. Jason picked up the photo from the floor.
"My last name is Grace," Jason said. Katherine and Annabeth turned pale. "This is my sister." Katherine knew if he had remembered that Thalia was his sister, then he had to have remembered she was his sister, too. Katherine looked over at Annabeth and could tell she was grappling with dismay, disbelief, anger. She thought Jason was lying.
Then the doors of the cabin burst open. Half a dozen campers spilled in, led by Butch.
"Hurry!" He said, Katherine couldn't tell if his expression was excitement or fear. "The dragon is back."
