Each day we sent out small missions. Many were going around trying to recruit nature spirits. Others sought out potential monsters, trying to kill as many as we could before they joined Gaea's (and Octavian's) army. And at least one was sent to spy on the Romans and Octavian, gathering info on how many weapons they had, if they had moved, and how many more monstrous "allies" had joined them. The numbers grew every day.
Also each day, we had satyrs make their way back to camp alone. With the god's multiple personality issues going on, they weren't claiming any demigods, and finding new ones was all but impossible. According to a satyr's nose, any demigod that didn't know their heritage yet simply disappeared from the planet. Since they couldn't find anyone, they all came back to help with the war effort.
Each day was more tension-wrought than the last, and it was starting to get to me. So I decided to have some fun. For a portion of each day, I turned invisible and harassed the monsters and Romans. I quickly figured out that the wild centaurs took everything as an insult, even if it was a compliment. My favorite thing to do was to pit the monsters against each other. Get two to make eye contact, one ends up dust. Make a sarcastic comment towards one monster from the direction of another monster. Another duel to the death. Best fun I had had in a while
Unfortunately, I soon had to give up my fun, as the day of the final battle loomed closer, and we still had no word from the Argo II or from Nico's group. Octavian was planning to attack us the first of August, the same day Gaea was slated to wake in Greece, and he was preparing.
By July 28, he had had the legion dig the trenches and walls I had seen at the winery around us.
By July 29, the entire legion encamped outside our boundary, surrounding Camp.
By July 30, the monsters had encamped around his legionnaires, surrounding us and them.
By July 31, he had moved in these huge catapults—Clarisse called them onagers—to flank us.
Nobody slept much the night of July 31. Sure, Chiron called an early curfew, telling us all to rest up before the battle, but knowing Octavian planned to attack at dawn kind of ruined any hope of sleeping.
I dozed until about three in the morning, then grabbed my Bible and went to sit on the beach. For the hours I was there, I mostly prayed. I asked God for strength, for courage, and for no flashbacks. I was nervous that what I had seen during the Titan War would come back to haunt me during this battle, but this time I remembered Philippians 4:6. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." So I prayed. And I read. And I listened. And God comforted me.
I went back to my siblings shortly before dawn, when we were due to form up, and prepared for battle.
We formed up by duty: All medics (Apollo cabin and otherwise) set up triage in the Big House, and left a few younger campers to staff it during the main battle. Hermes "commandeered" all kinds of traps and snares around camp and placed them on the surrounding hills to help with the battle. The even stole the land mines from the Ares cabin, though I'm still not quite sure how they managed that. My cabin was going over last minute battle strategies—against the Romans and Gaea. All the other cabins were sharpening weapons last minute or lining up to defend our home.
Shortly before dawn, Tyson and Ella escorted Coach Hedge to be with his wife, who was minutes from delivering, then reported to Chiron that Reyna was going to bring the Athena Parthenos at dawn, just over an hour hence.
Chiron decided we needed to know what the Romans were up to right now, so he asked for volunteers to go scout. Lou Ellen, Will, who had emerged shaky from the Big House just after everyone nearby heard the piercing wail of a healthy newborn, and another boy from the Hermes cabin (Cecil, maybe?) volunteered. They crept up the hill and out of sight, and we were forced to wait. And wait. And wait.
The waiting was horrible. Combine pre-battle jitters with ADHD demigods, and you get chaos. Chiron had to stop three duels, four pranks, and seven false starts.
When the onagers fired, Chiron was breaking up the third duel. Suddenly, however, the campers weren't resisting his interference anymore. Everyone stopped, stunned, and stared at the explosives headed toward us. There was no use running. The fireball those would create when they landed would annihilate everything in its wake.
Thankfully, that's when I noticed three of the missiles' aim was off. The Athena cabin relaxed. A moment later, everyone else did too. The off caliber missiles swerved, arcing towards the other three, and all six exploded a hundred feet up, blasting us with heat and sucking the oxygen out of the air.
Nobody said anything. No orders were given. We moved as one, charging up the hill toward where the Romans were gathered.
We lined the top of the hill. One hundred demigods and twice that many satyrs and nature spirits fanned out on either side of Clarisse, our leader in the absence of Percy and Annabeth. Chiron stood near her, along with Tyson and his six Cyclopes friends. All in all, it was an impressive display.
"Romans!" Clarisse yelled. "You have fired on our camp! Withdraw or be destroyed!"
Octavian turned to his troops, probably trying to act in command, but to me he just sounded whiney and desperate. "You see? It was a trick! They divided us so they could launch a surprise attack. Legion, cuneum formate! CHARGE!"
I didn't want to battle them. We were supposed to be allies, but after weeks of tension, both sides as a whole wanted blood. It looked as if Reyna wasn't going to get there in time to stop our battle. We prepared to fight.
But Will Solace saved the day.
From his place near the Romans (he must have been talking to Octavian when we came up), he put his fingers to his lips and did a piercing whistle. Several around me dropped their swords in favor of covering their ears, and I flinched, the sound triggering a memory I couldn't reach.
"DON'T BE STUPID!" Will yelled. "LOOK!"
He pointed north, behind us, in front of the Romans, where the Athena Parthenos, suspended from pegasi, gleamed in the rising sun. Reyna rode on Guido's back, sword held high, cloak glittering. Rather than exhausted, as I expected her to look, she looked fully rested. She carried a proud look as she called out loud enough to be heard by all.
"GREEK DEMIGODS!" Her voice was magnified, as if projected from the statue. "Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!"
The pegasi settled the statue on Half-Blood Hill, around twenty feet from Thalia's pine. Instantly, golden light rippled through the valley, across our ranks and down through the Romans' ranks. The light left a peaceful, comforting feeling behind, and a voice seemed to whisper: You are not alone. You are part of the Olympian family. The gods have not abandoned you.
"Romans!" Reyna yelled. "I do this for the good of the legion, for the good of Rome. We must stand together with our Greek brethren!"
"Listen to her!" Nico pushed his way out of the crowd around Octavian and marched forward. He's the one that looked exhausted. Dark bags under his eyes and an ever-so-slight stumble in his step belied extreme exhaustion, something that rarely occurs unless we over use our powers. Nico was going on determination alone.
He strode between the lines, sword in hand. "Reyna risked her life for all of you! We brought this statue halfway across the world, Roman and Greek working together, because we must join forces. Gaea is rising. If we don't work together—"
YOU WILL DIE.
Hey, guys. Sorry for the late update. It's final exam time, and my classes are pounding the homework.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to tell me your thoughts!
