Chapter Fourteen: The Curtain Rises
It had been nearly two days since the war party had left Camp Half-Blood with one goal in mind: find and kill Arianna Veil. They had taken a relatively straightforward path through the county, splitting into many smaller groups to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. So far, they had made good progress with the only delay being a sudden storm on the first day.
Although many of the older campers were among those present, the unofficial leader was Shawn. Aside from being one of the best swordsmen at camp, he was a loyal friend and a born leader. Right now, he walked at the head of his group alongside his friend, James.
"So, what's the plan for when we actually catch her?" James asked his friend.
Shawn scowled and continued looking forward. "We send her to Tartarus in as many tiny pieces as possible," he said angrily.
James looked at the son of Nike warily. He too felt angry and vengeful, but he had also never seen Shawn this angry before. It was such a drastic change from the normally kind and easygoing guy.
"Damn right we will," Nathan said. "We'll show that bitch what happens when you cross the wrong people."
Nathan was a son of Ares whose strength was matched only by his brutality in combat. His friendship and loyalty was hard to win over, but Shawn was one of the few that had it. The other had been Clarisse.
"I don't know," James said hesitantly. "Ari was a really good fighter at camp. She beat you that one time, remember?"
Shawn waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe, but there's no way she can take all of us on at once," he said flatly. "Once we find her, she. Will. Pay."
James sighed and continued walking. His friend didn't become angry often, but he was a person to avoid when he was.
They continued walking for several hours before making "camp" at a small inn. It was a small, run-down establishment that lacked the hospitality for anything other than parasites and other filth to actually live there. Still, it was better than the wilderness. In the case of a monster attack, they at least had some form of cover. Shawn was walking back to his room with James. They had just come from a meeting between the other leaders of the war party.
"So, why California?" James asked. They had reason to believe that Ari was on her way west towards California. "She has the whole world in front of her, and she goes there of all places. Seems a bit odd, don't you think?"
Shawn shrugged. "If she chooses for her grave to be there, then let it be," he said bitterly.
James stopped walking and grabbed his friend's shoulders. "Hey, cut that out, man," he said forcefully. "I want Ari dead as much as the next guy, but I'm not too eager to just run off in blind rage."
Shawn shook off his friend's hand. "I told you, we can handle her," he snapped.
James glared at his friend. "And what if we can't?" he asked. "Have you thought of that, Shawn? What will happen if she manages to actually defeat us? What will stop her from destroying the camp, or even the whole damn world?"
Shawn returned the glare and met every harsh word unflinchingly. "She won't," he said flatly before turning and walking to his room.
James stared after his friend and wished he could take back his words. Shawn was already under enough stress without his best friend turning on him. Perhaps he should apologize, but later. He'll do it once Shawn had cooled down a bit. Later.
Olympus was in a state of disarray. As the city was affected by the state of its rulers, it mirrored the chaos going on within the Throne Room, albeit with less lightning bolts.
"SILENCE!" Zeus' voice boomed as he shot his master bolt into the air several times. Steadily, a relative order returned to the council, but it continued to bubble underneath the surface.
"Now, let us return to the matter at hand," he said with a glare at the assembled gods and goddesses. "The demigod, Arianna Veil, has fled Camp Half-Blood and is on her way to Camp Jupiter. If she were to arrive at her destination, there's no telling what manner of havoc she could wreak. What are we to do?" The King of Olympus directed this last question towards his daughter, Athena.
The goddess of wisdom looked at the ground in deep thought before answering. "Well, plainly put, there isn't much we can do," she said. "With the Ancient Laws in place, we cannot intervene unless our presence is absolutely necessary."
"So, that's what the half-bloods are for," Ares said. "Just send a few of them after the little bitch and let us be done with it."
Everyone glared at the god of war more because of his stupidity than anything else. "Have you lost your mind?" Artemis asked her half-brother. "To do so would cause more harm than good. To bring the camps together would incite a war that we cannot afford right now."
The god of war simply grinned madly at the mention of war and violence. "So, what's the problem then?" he asked. The rest of the council looked ready to kill Ares.
"Ares' lack of good judgment aside, we've been left with little choice in the matter," Dionysus interjected. All eyes snapped to him.
"What do you mean?" Athena asked.
Inwardly, the god of wine smirked at possessing information that his know-it-all older sister didn't possess. "Well, a group of about 40 half-bloods have already left the camp in pursuit of our favorite daughter of Eris," he said in a bored tone.
At this new development, all the gods began to mumble frantically between themselves; even Apollo and Hermes were involved in the discussion.
Zeus looked between all the immortals before him. He exchanged a glance with Artemis, the only one besides Poseidon who hadn't lost all reason. Raising his bolt once again, he shot a blast of lightning into the sky. All eyes turned to him.
"Enough, this is getting us nowhere," he said. "Athena, what are our options?"
Athena once again looked at the ground, but now it was from embarrassment. "Wait and watch," she mumbled.
At first, Zeus thought he had misheard her. "What?" he asked in a shocked voice.
Athena turned her stormy grey eyes to meet those of her father. "There is nothing for us to do, father," she said. "Whether by brilliant planning or dumb luck, the daughter of chaos has trapped us in a position in which we cannot act."
"Not true," Artemis said. For the nth time, eleven pairs of eyes turned as one to focus on a new speaker. "We might not be able to act, but my hunters might be able to do something. Dionysus, how close are the half-bloods to Camp Jupiter?"
The god of wine shrugged, but it was more from actual lack of knowledge than drunken disregard. "A couple of days, maybe less," he said.
Artemis nodded. "That should be enough time," she said. "If my hunters leave now, they shall be able to intercept the others before they encounter the Romans."
The other Olympians nodded their heads in agreement with the plan. It wasn't foolproof by any means, but it was an actual plan.
"Good, I'll trust you to see that through, daughter," Zeus said. "Unless anyone else has a plan, this council is adjourned.
The gathered immortals began to leave, but a new presence made them stay. "I have something to add," the new presence said as the shadows grew and the temperature dropped.
"Hades, what a pleasant surprise," Hestia said from the hearth. "What brings you here, brother?" She alone among council seemed unaffected by the lord of the Underworld's last minute arrival.
Hades glanced down at his sister and was a bit surprised to see someone he thought to be dead sitting beside her. Zoë Nightshade met his gaze evenly and without blinking. Hades shook his head softly, one step at a time.
"I merely wish to warn you, Artemis, that Ari is very dangerous," he said.
Artemis glared at her uncle. "I'm only too familiar with her abilities, uncle," she said.
Hades shook his head softly. "What you saw, was only a drop in the ocean," he said. "You have no idea the limits of her power. Which is why I shall be sending my son to aid in any way he can."
From the shadows beside his father, Nico di'Angelo stepped forth and nodded to the council. Artemis, who knew about his incident the night before, looked with surprise at his left arm. The sleeve of his jacket was pulled down to cover it, and he wore a thick glove on that hand, but there was obviously something there.
Zeus looked at the son of Hades with forced bemusement. "How exactly is this boy supposed to aid us?" he asked.
Hades glared at his brother. "Just you watch, even without your precious camp, Nico has become one of the most skilled warriors I've ever seen; and I've seen plenty."
Zeus slightly raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to offend, brother," he said. "It's just that… nevermind."
Hades glared at his younger brother once more before turning his dark gaze to Artemis. "By all means, send your hunters to retrieve the half-bloods," he said. "But, do no more than that. Should you encounter Arianna, flee with as much haste as possible. I would be disappointed if the population of hunters in the Underworld suddenly increased."
Artemis looked like she wanted to respond, but simply nodded instead. Hades returned the nod, bowed mockingly to his brother, bowed legitimately to Hestia, and disappeared into shadows. Nico quickly followed suit.
At Camp Half-Blood, Artemis appeared in the infirmary in a flash of light. Most of the hunters that were awake jumped up and crowded around her. Annabeth forced herself to the front.
"My Lady, what's going on?" she asked desperately. "What happened to Percy?"
Artemis merely raised her hands for silence. "Calm down, all of you," she commanded. "We're pressed for time. We need to be on the other side of the country as soon as possible. How many of you are able to travel?"
Taken aback by the suddenness of Artemis' demands, the hunters were slow to answer.
"Well, Phoebe, myself, and maybe a couple of others can do it," Annabeth said uncertainly. "But, what's this all about? Has something happened?"
"Come, I'll explain on the way," Artemis said as she grabbed the daughter of Athena and practically dragged her out of the infirmary, five relatively uninjured hunters hurried after them. "As I'm sure you're aware, a group of half-bloods has left camp in pursuit of Arianna. We can't allow them to find her."
"Of course, Ari would slaughter them," Annabeth said as she regained her footing and tried to keep pace with the goddess.
Artemis spared a backwards glance at her. "It's more than that," she said enigmatically. "At the moment, I cannot divulge further information, but you must find the half-bloods and stop them, by any means necessary."
"Stop them from what exactly, Lady Artemis?" Phoebe asked.
"You, of all people, should know, Phoebe," Artemis said.
Phoebe looked confused for a moment before realization spread across her face, realization, and horror.
"No… that girl can't be that crazy, can she?" She asked in disbelief.
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked. She hated not knowing something. "What is Ari doing?"
"Not now, Annabeth," Artemis said as they crossed the camp border. Zoë stood at the bottom of the hill, waiting for them. Artemis led the hunters down to her and told them to hold hands.
"I'm sending you to where you need to go," the goddess said. "Zoë, Phoebe, you know what is at stake. You must succeed; may fortune guide you."
Zoë bowed her head to her former mistress. "Don't worry, Lady Artemis, we won't fail you," she said as they were enveloped in a silvery light. When the light dimmed and disappeared, Artemis stood alone at the bottom of the hill.
"We're close, I can feel it," Shawn muttered darkly. James rolled his eyes at the melodrama.
"How close exactly?" he asked sarcastically.
Shawn didn't even glance over at his friend. "Very close," he responded.
James frowned into the night. They had been "close" for hours now. Almost since they had passed into California earlier in the day. For the entire time, Shawn had been steering them in a straight line towards San Francisco. He said that it just seemed like the right way to go, but James suspected that there was something else going on. Somewhat against his better judgment, he held his tongue and continued to let Shawn lead them further into unknown territory.
"You know, I expected California to be… different," James said after another hour of silence.
"I didn't know, actually," Shawn responded. "What were you expecting?"
James shrugged lamely. "I don't know, but not this," he responded. "From what all the veterans say, I pictured a monster-infested wasteland, or something like that. But, I'm almost at ease here."
"Almost?" Shawn asked.
James frowned before responding. "Just knowing that she's out there somewhere, either close by or continents away, it's unsettling," he said solemnly.
Shawn nodded in agreement. "I understand completely, but it's like I've been telling you this whole time: we can handle her," he said.
James looked at his friend uneasily, but didn't argue this time. "I pray to the gods that you're right."
The silence returned along with the uneasiness. Apprehension hung in the air and could be seen in the eyes of the half-bloods. Despite their previous bravado, they were beginning to realize that a mistake had been made on their part.
"I saw something," a scout said some time later. The young child of Hermes was one of those designated to run ahead of the main group and report back any dangers.
"What is it, report," Shawn commanded.
"Some kind of ruins, like a burned out house," the boy said. "I didn't think much of it, until I saw that people were in there."
"What people, how many?" Shawn asked.
The Hermes kid held up a golden helmet. "I don't know who they were, but there were twelve of them and they had a lot more than this with them," he said.
Shawn took the helmet and turned it over several times in his hands, inspecting it. "It looks to be a Roman Legionnaire's helmet," he said. "But, that doesn't make any sense. Did they all have something like this?"
The scout nodded. "Pretty much," he said. "What do we do?"
Shawn didn't respond at first, his eyes glued to the gleaming helmet. "Get everyone ready to move out," he said softly.
James reeled back in surprise. "What! Are you actually thinking of going to those people?" he asked incredulously.
Shawn turned and glared at him. If James hadn't been more focused on his words, he might have noticed the glazed look in Shawn's eyes. "That's an order, James," Shawn said flatly. "We're moving in on these people. If they attack first, then we'll fight back. Otherwise, we'll just get some information from them."
"What information could they possibly have?" James nearly shouted. "I don't know who or what these… these Romans are, but I highly doubt that they know anything we need to know."
Shawn didn't respond or even acknowledge his words. "Come on, we're moving out," he said flatly.
James and the Hermes kid looked at the son of Nike in disbelief, and outrage on James' part, but reluctantly followed him back to the others.
Zoë, Phoebe, Annabeth, and the four other hunters appeared approximately 30 meters from the Wolf House. Annabeth, unaccustomed to such travel, grasped her stomach and leaned against the nearest support.
"Let's not do that again," she said weakly. Zoë, Phoebe, and the others merely shook their heads to clear away the dizziness and looked towards the decimated home of Jack London.
While taking in the surrounding area, Zoë saw several shadowy figures moving towards the building. Due to the distance and dim lighting, she couldn't make out what they were, but she had a pretty good guess.
"They're already here," she whispered to Phoebe.
Following her friend's gaze, Phoebe saw the figures as well. "Then what are we waiting for, we need to stop them from starting a war."
Zoë placed a hand on the other hunter's shoulder. "Yes, but let's not start one in our haste to prevent another," she said. "We need to be fast but discreet."
Phoebe nodded and motioned for the other hunters to move out. Clinging to the shadows and moving with as much speed as possible, the seven females advanced on the Wolf House. They reached the outer wall undetected and prepared to enter.
"Okay, here's the plan," Zoë began. However, raised voices within the building ended her speech before it had begun.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you presume far too much," a male voice said inside.
"Listen, just tell us where she is and we'll be on our way," another voice said.
Annabeth gasped softly. "That's Shawn," she said. "We need to get in there now."
Zoë hesitated for a moment before nodding. The hunters rounded the nearest corner and entered through a broken wall. Finding cover further within, they watched the events unfold helplessly.
"I'm telling you, we don't know this girl," a blonde boy in a purple shirt said to another boy in Greek battle armor.
"Don't lie to me, Roman," Shawn retorted angrily. He drew his sword from its scabbard. "If you won't tell us willingly, then we'll take the information from you."
The Roman boy's body went rigid with anger. He reached into his pocket and flipped a golden coin into the air. When it landed in his hand, it was no longer a coin but a golden sword. The flames of a nearby fire danced off the blade and caused golden light to flash across the walls.
"Go ahead and try," he said as he too raised his weapon. Behind both figures, people were stepping forth and drawing weapons for the inevitable battle.
Shawn took the first step. His sword arm went up and he raced towards the Roman warrior with blood in his thoughts.
"Shawn, NO!" Annabeth shouted, but it was too late.
From the shadows of the ruins, Arianna Veil watched with avid fascination. As swords left their scabbards and the tips of spears gleamed in the firelight, she couldn't remember a happier time.
"That's right, go to war," she murmured to herself as the two leaders ran towards each other. "Plunge this world into Chaos. My mother commands it."
As the blades of the two warriors drew ever closer to each other, Arianna knew that nothing could stop her now.
A/N the story idea for this fic belongs to Anonemuss14. Please thank her for writing such an excellent story.