Yo. Hope everybody had a good long weekend. I definitely did :) Though the snow on my car this morning kind of dampened my mood...

Thanks everybody as usual. Love you all! Enjoy!


XXIX
JASON

Jason woke with the glowing crimson of the Furies' eyes still burned into his vision and their raspy voices ringing in his aching head. From what he knew, the three Furies had been loyal to Hades for eons, ever since the Lord of the Dead had first been given his throne. Who could possibly draw their support from him, Jason had no idea. Whoever this 'queen' was, she must have been dangerous.

Most of the Furies' conversation had been way over Jason's head. The 'hunter' they mentioned must have owned that lodge, but what had happened to him was a mystery. They'd trusted him to do something—to keep someone trapped? Someone who had lost their memory—one of them had mentioned the River Lethe, which he knew had the power to wipe a person's memory clean. But that person had escaped, which posed a problem for the creatures and their mysterious leader. Jason couldn't explain it, but he had a strong feeling that they'd been talking about Nico di Angelo, who had gone missing about a week ago. He hoped Reyna and the others had managed to find him.

And then there'd been that word—sacrifices. Somehow, he knew they'd meant him and his camp. But just what they were supposed to be sacrificed for, he couldn't even begin to guess. All in all, it was insanely frustrating. Jason hated not knowing what to do when the people he cared about and was responsible for were in danger.

Eventually he decided that the best way to get answers would be to get out there and look for them. He climbed out of bed and quickly changed clothes, eyeing the clock on the wall that read just after four-thirty in the afternoon. About six hours since Piper had locked him up and told him to get some rest. Hopefully she'd be satisfied, because there was no way he was staying cooped up inside any longer.

Apparently, the day following the fight at the Senate House had been relatively uneventful, which Jason took as a good sign. Hopefully many of the legionnaires had been able to get their frustration out in that one incident. Either that, or Piper's charmspeak had worked better than expected. Whatever the reason, Jason was glad for the respite. It left him with plenty of time to investigate and try to come up with an escape plan, seeing as he wouldn't be needed to stop any brawls or separate anybody.

As far as he could tell, the barrier surrounding New Rome was impenetrable. He tried attacking it in all manner of ways and couldn't make the slightest difference. He even tried digging into the sand to get beneath it, but that didn't work either. It was intensely irritating—mostly because Jason couldn't shake the feeling of inadequacy, like his entire camp was counting on him and all he kept doing was failing them.

"Having any luck?"

Jason flinched in surprise at the voice interrupting his thoughts. He turned away from where he'd been staring blankly at the barrier near the southern edge of the city to see that Frank had approached him while he'd been spacing out. Jason hadn't seen the son of Mars since the fight when he'd sent him to the hospital, and he looked much better now than he had then.

"Not really," Jason admitted with a sigh. "Whoever brought us here was annoyingly thorough. I can't even get an Iris-message through this barrier. It's like we're totally shut off from the rest of the world." He shook his head in a tired manner and decided to try for a change of subject. "How's your nose?"

Frank gave a half-shrug, scratching at the bandage across the bridge of his nose. "Better," he answered. "Medics gave me some nectar yesterday—said it should heal up in a couple days."

"What about Dakota?" Jason asked, a guilty lump rising in his throat.

"Not great, but he'll live. Gwen showed up at the hospital last night and hasn't left his side since," Frank replied. Jason felt a wash of relief, though it didn't completely clear away the guilt. Frank walked up to the barrier and placed a hand against it, staring out at the wall of their valley. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you," he said suddenly, sounding uncertain. "…What do you think happened to Hazel and Reyna? And Percy and the others?"

Jason followed Frank's gaze, considering his question. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "The last time I saw them was during the battle the other night, before we got pulled here. They must have been outside the city when that earthquake happened, so I guess that means they're safe. They're probably looking for us, actually." He glanced at Frank and saw an intense frown on his face, his eyes focused on something far in the distance that Jason couldn't see. "You're worried," he pointed out.

Frank finally turned and met Jason's eyes. "Of course I'm worried," he said with a beleaguered sigh. "Aren't you?"

Jason looked down at the sand. Something inside him knew his friends were alright and all together, and he had a distinct feeling that they were out there trying to figure out just what was happening around them. He couldn't explain how, but he knew that what had happened to New Rome was related to the prophecy Piper had told them of—about the shadows and the darkness. His dream had proved that whatever was going on ran deeper than he'd originally thought. And he knew that his friends who weren't trapped with him would stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it. That was just the way they were—himself included. After everything they'd been through in their short lives, they couldn't give up on anything without a fight.

"I trust them," Jason finally answered. "I don't know how, but I know they're out there trying just as hard as we are to figure this out. To be honest, I think I'm more worried about us than I am about them." He gave a wry smile and was glad when Frank returned it.

"I guess you're right," Frank admitted. "We're kind of in a pretty major pickle right now. And I hate pickles."

Jason chuckled. "I think step one is to figure out how to get around this barrier."

Frank looked out through the invisible wall and frowned. "There's got to be a way," he said. "I mean, they wouldn't bother placing guards if we couldn't get out, right?"

"That's a really good point," Jason said, interested. Frank was right—if the barrier was perfect, then why add a guard around it? Unless they were there for different reason… But what could it be? Jason glanced absently toward the sky and watched the progress of a mosquito flying in aimless circles just outside the barrier, his brain working hard at a possible solution. Suddenly, the mosquito glided in a wide arc toward them—directly through the invisible barrier. Jason's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the insect try to complete its pattern and instead collide with the unseen wall from their side. His gaze darted back toward the monster guards.

"You ever wonder why they always stand in the same spot?" he asked Frank sharply. "Why they're just out of reach of the city, and act like we're not even here? It's almost like… they're supposed to ignore us." His mind flashed back to his dream, to the gray-haired Fury who had talked about the barrier. 'So long as the sentinels do not engage the sacrifices, the barrier will hold.'

"You think they might be the key out of here," Frank guessed.

"Maybe," Jason answered, an idea rapidly forming in his mind. "I think I have a plan, but it's not gonna be easy."

"I'm with you," Frank said immediately. "Whatever it takes to get out of this place."

Jason grinned. "Good," he said. "Here's what we're gonna do."


Ooh, a plan! Next chapter's a good deal longer than this one, and more exciting. Should be up later this week.

Reviews are the butter to my bread :) Later days!

-oMM