The weeks leading up to the return of the heroes for winter vacation were long and uneventful. Erika's foul mood dissolved around Thanksgiving, when she finally received a letter from Amy. It was a very formal letter, but it was more than she had received up to that point. She only hoped that Amy's owl actually delivered her response to her sister.
At the end of the second week of December, the delegation from New Rome returned with a delegation of Romans who would spend the winter months at Camp Half-Blood. Piper and Jason were part of the delegation, along with their young daughter. The next week heroes started arriving at the camp, bearing news about their lives in the mortal world.
Percy and Annabeth traveled to and returned from London, without Amy. They had received word from one of her newly acquired friends that Amy was just going to stay at the school over the break. They would have preferred if Amy had just sent them a letter or an Iris Message saying that, to save them a trip.
On the morning of the Winter Solstice, Erika set off one of the bricks forming the Hecate Cabin, turning everyone a very Grinchy shade of green. The following day she used magic to conjure a large snow storm over the Big House, which completely buried the three story house in a snow drift in a matter of hours. At the end of the week Erika released all of the pegasi from the stable and scattered them on the winds.
Most of the winter break, while the others were training and catching up their siblings and fellow campers, Erika was in the armory cleaning, polishing, and sharpening everything. On a few occasions she was joined by Beth and Heather, who had purposefully gotten into trouble so they had time to speak with Erika. Nothing they said ever had any effect on the girl, not even the talk about venturing to England to find the magic school Amy attended.
"We shouldn't have set those fires," Beth sighed after one particularly long session of cleaning armor. "That's why Amy didn't return from London. She thinks someone's still there."
"No, it should have helped her decide to come back once and for all. It should have swayed her to seek council from Chiron."
"Or she's messaged someone and learned that it could be a threat," Beth frowned tapping her fingers on her folded arms. "I didn't think that she would want to miss Christmas with Erika, even with a possible threat sitting on the edge of her school grounds."
"We might have miscalculated, they didn't make up before Amy left," Heather clicked her tongue. "And this would be the only trip she would have made home before the end of the school year."
"Do you think we could advance the plans? Make our move before they start classes again?"
Heather shook her head quickly, stopping beside the canteen. "No, we're not ready. Joel is still debating joining our crusade. And Devin still needs to be persuaded that this is a good idea."
"We don't need all of them, just a few from each cabin," Beth turned to look over her shoulder. "And the ones we need have all agreed."
"Except Erika," Heather frowned, turning away from Beth to stare at the arena. They could hear the campers' melee from where they stood, the clash of the swords ringing in the cold winter air. "We can't do anything if Erika doesn't want to stand with us."
"We're after war, not vengeance," Beth followed Heather's gaze, listening to the melee, and the barking of the camp's Hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary.
"What would be the plausible cause for us to go to all the way to the UK, to rescue Amy from these strangers, if we don't have Erika?" Heather challenged.
Beth's mouth opened in response, but there was nothing she could say. This whole scheme to cause a war between the demigods and the wizards sat on the need for Erika to want to fight them in order to save her sister and return her to Half-Blood Hill. If Erika did not join them, there would be no reason to attack the magic school. While Romans and Greeks had been age old enemies, demigods had no quarrel with people who practiced witchcraft.
"We never cared about those two before, Chiron would never allow us to go," Heather continued when Beth failed to respond. "It would be suspicious if we suddenly cared about Amy after she left."
"It's not like he would let us go anyway," Beth sighed, her fingers drumming on her arm again. "He doesn't approve of causing war. Very few people do, actually."
"Which is why we need Erika," Heather snapped her fingers, pointing to where the young child of Hecate was being escorted from the arena by Percy. "And it looks like she's already in trouble again."
"What were you thinking?" Percy felt like he and Erika had shared this conversation more than anyone else, ever. He had a new found appreciation for Annabeth putting up with him all those years; he must have driven her at least this mad.
And he doubted he would be able to create the answer Erika would try this time. In the past three days alone she had tried being possessed by evil spirits, forced too by Hermes campers, memory loss, the blame game, accidents, loss of control over her arm, leg and once her head. She had claimed that it was due to faulty armor that campers were getting hurt, it was their own stupidity that had caused them to turn green, and she had nothing to do with the bizarre snowstorm that had finally subsided around the Big House; that somehow became Amy's doing, all the way from across the Atlantic Ocean.
"I was thinking, you were still trying to shovel out the Big House," Erika snapped, trying to pull her arm free of Percy Jackson's vice like grip. "And I was thinking if anything could handle a little trip to a chop-shop, it would be your pet monster."
"Mrs. O'Leary is not a monster, and she doesn't take well to being attacked," Percy glared down at the girl.
"Really? I had no idea," Erika winced as she stumbled on her freshly injured leg. Percy stopped and straightened her up, taking some of her weight from the injury. Erika looked away from him, determined not to apologize or thank him.
"If you had hit her, Mrs. O'Leary would have been sent to Tartarus, just like any other Hellhound."
"Because she's a monster," Erika muttered darkly, staring at the ground as Percy started toward the Big House once more, half dragging her behind him.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but it needs to stop," Percy did not miss the child's snide remark. He had been keeping a very close eye on Erika since the Winter Solstice when her reign of terror had been rekindled, and he was failing to see the cause for the anger. "You're not helping any cause by tormenting people."
"It makes me feel better," Erika frowned at the man. "Knowing that everyone else is miserable makes me feel less miserable."
"They're not miserable, we're annoyed," Percy gritted his teeth to keep from raising his voice at the girl. "And soon everyone's patience is going to run out."
"Good!" Erika snapped, stomping her foot down on Percy's toes. "I hope it happens today!"
"Why?" Percy's grip tightened around Erika's arm, the opposite reaction she was aiming for. "What good is this doing anyone?"
Erika and Percy stared at one another, her hazel eyes locked on his green ones. She had no argument, she had lacked any solid form of argument since the middle of August; but that had never stopped Erika from fighting. And even with the ground quickly falling out from beneath her feet, she was still going to fight Percy.
"You wouldn't understand," Erika finally growled, trying to pull her arm free.
"Because it makes no sense!" Percy stopped and turned Erika so she was standing directly in front of him, forcing her to listen. "And I would know, Erika, I'm known for plans that don't make sense."
"Then you shouldn't be questioning me, it'll obviously end well," Erika snapped, a growl rumbling in her chest. "I'll get back to you when I get to the happy ending," she dug her fingers under Percy's palm in an attempt to free herself, his grip tightened further.
"I'm afraid it's not going to work that way," Percy sighed, shaking his head as he started toward the Big House again. "So why don't we just talk this out; like civilized people?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Erika slipped her arm out of the sleeve of her hoodie, meaning to take the shirt off to escape another punishment from Percy and Chiron.
Percy was wise to the trick, he wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and lifted her off the ground. "There's obviously something to talk about," he grunted, struggling to keep a firm hold on the wriggling preteen as he continued toward the Big House.
"You're just making things worse for yourself," Percy started up the steps for the porch, following the thin trail they had carved out of the snow bank.
"Let me go!" Erika screamed, catching the door frame as Percy started into the house. "I'm done listening to you, and letting you make all the decisions for me. I'm tired of everyone trying to do something for me, I just want to be alone!"
As Erika screamed, the storm returned to the Big House. The snows swirled around the bank, the wind howled around them. Percy shielded his eyes as he slid in front of Erika to protect her from the snows. Her wails rose in pitch from terror as Percy rushed into the Big House.
"Percy, what's happening?" Annabeth stood on the steps to the second floor.
"The storm's back," Percy shook his head, dislodging the ice and snow that had gathered there. "Stronger than ever," he glanced down at Erika. "Now you're going to have to talk to us, you don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice," Erika sniffed, rubbing her cheeks with the heels of her hands. "And there's nothing to talk about!"
Erika rushed past Percy, throwing the door open and running into the icy vortex. Percy and Annabeth both ran after her, reaching out to take hold of the child before she left the safety of the house. Neither of them managed, they stood in the door watching the girl vanish into the snow.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Beth caught Erika as she burst from the white vortex, taking several large steps back to keep from falling over as she smaller girl crashed into her. "Calm down there."
"Let me go," Erika launched herself forward off the ground, overbalancing the daughter of Ares and laying her out on the ground. Using the momentum of the fall, Erika rolled up to her feet and took off again.
"We just want to talk to you," Heather caught the girl around the waist, spinning around and sending the girl back towards Beth.
"Well I don't want to talk to you, either of you," Erika stopped between the pair, her hands raised defensively.
"We just want to help you," Heather smiled, holding her hands up, her open palms facing Erika.
"We have a proposition for you," Beth continued mirroring Heather.
"Not interested," Erika growled. "I'm leaving," slowly Erika backed away from Beth and Heather. Once she was out of their reach she turned and started running.
"It's about Amy," Beth called after her.
Erika stopped.
"We think she might be in some sort of trouble," Heather continued.
Erika turned to face them.
"We've tried to contact her."
"But there was no answer."
"And she didn't come back for the break," Beth shrugged as if it was inconsequential.
"How were you trying to contact her?"
"Fires," Heather answered.
"And she didn't answer them?"
"She's not here."
"Now is she?"