Chiron glanced up at the tattered bunker 9 banner, as if remembering the day it was raised.
"The answer is dangerous," he warned. "It is something I swore upon the River Styx never to speak of. After the American Civil War, the gods were so horrified by the toll it took on their children, that they swore it would never happen again. The two groups were separated. The gods bent all their will, wove the Mist as tightly as they could, to make sure the enemies never remembered each other, never met on their quests, so that bloodshed could be avoided. This map is from the final dark days of 1864, the last time the two groups fought. We've had several close calls since then. The nineteen sixties were particularly dicey. But we've managed to avoid another civil war—at least so far. Just as Leo guessed, this bunker was a command center for the Hephaestus cabin. In the last century, it has been reopened a few times, usually as a hiding place in times of great unrest. But coming here is dangerous. It stirs old memories, awakens the old feuds. Even when the Titans threatened last year, I did not think it worth the risk to use this place."
Suddenly my sense of triumph turned to guilt. But apparently not Leo's.
"Hey, look, this place found me. It was meant to happen. It's a good thing."
"I hope you're right," Chiron said.
"I am!" Leo pulled an old drawing out of his pocket and spread it on the table for everyone to see.
"There," he said proudly. "Aeolus returned that to me. I drew it when I was five. That's my destiny."
Nyssa frowned. "Leo, it's a crayon drawing of a boat."
"Look." He pointed at the largest schematic on the bulletin board—the blueprint showing a Greek trireme. Slowly, our eyes widened as we compared the two designs. The number of masts and oars, even the decorations on the shields and sails were exactly the same as on Leo's drawing.
"That's impossible," Nyssa said. "That blueprint has to be a century old at least."
"'Prophecy—Unclear—Flight,'" Jake Mason read from the notes on the blueprint. "It's a diagram for a flying ship. Look, that's the landing gear. And weaponry—Holy Hephaestus: rotating ballista, mounted crossbows, Celestial bronze plating. That thing would be one spankin' hot war machine. Was it ever made?"
"Not yet," Leo said. "Look at the masthead."
There was no doubt—the figure at the front of the ship was the head of a dragon. A very particular dragon.
"Festus," I said. Everyone turned and looked at the dragon's head sitting on the table.
"He's meant to be our masthead," Leo said. "Our good luck charm, our eyes at sea. I'm supposed to build this ship. I'm gonna call it the Argo II. And guys, I'll need your help."
"The Argo II." Piper smiled. "After Jason's ship."
Jason looked a little uncomfortable, but he nodded. "Leo's right. That ship is just what we need for our journey."
"What journey?" Nyssa said. "You just got back!"
Piper ran her fingers over the old crayon drawing. "We've got to confront Porphyrion, the giant king. He said he would destroy the gods at their roots."
"Indeed," Chiron said. "Much of Rachel's Great Prophecy is still a mystery to me, but one thing is clear. You four—Jason, Piper, Alex and Leo—are among the eight demigods who must take on that quest. You must confront the giants in their homeland, where they are strongest. You must stop them before they can wake Gaea fully, before they destroy Mount Olympus."
"Um …" Nyssa shifted. "You don't mean Manhattan, do you?"
"No," Leo said. "The original Mount Olympus. We have to sail to Greece."
It took a few minutes for that settle in. Then the other Hephaestus campers started asking questions all at once. Who were the other four demigods? How long would it take to build the boat? Why didn't everyone get to go to Greece?
"Heroes!" Chiron struck his hoof on the floor. "All the details are not clear yet, but Leo is correct. He will need your help to build the Argo II. It is perhaps the greatest project Cabin Nine has even undertaken, even greater than the bronze dragon."
"It'll take a year at least," Nyssa guessed. "Do we have that much time?"
"You have six months at most," Chiron said. "You should sail by summer solstice, when the gods' power is strongest. Besides, we evidently cannot trust the wind gods, and the summer winds are the least powerful and easiest to navigate. You dare not sail any later, or you may be too late to stop the giants. You must avoid ground travel, using only air and sea, so this vehicle is perfect. Jason being the son of the sky god …"
His voice trailed off, but I figured Chiron was thinking about Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon. He would've been good on this voyage, too.
Jake Mason turned to Leo. "Well, one thing's for sure. You are now senior counselor. This is the biggest honor the cabin has ever had. Anyone object?"
Nobody did. All his cabinmates smiled at him, and I found myself grinning with them.
"It's official, then," Jake said. "You're the man."
For once, Leo was speechless.
"Well," he said at last, "if you guys elect me leader, you must be even crazier than I am. So let's build a spankin' hot war machine!"
The council was nothing like usual. For one thing, it was around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs was serving nachos and sodas. Somebody had brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, a counselor would toss him a Snausage.
I looked around the room and tried to remember everyone's name. It wasn't hard, but there were some newbies. Thankfully, Leo, Jason and Piper were sitting next to me—it was their first meeting as senior counselors. Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, had her boots on the table, but nobody seemed to care. Clovis from Hypnos cabin was snoring in the corner while Butch from Iris cabin was seeing how many pencils he could fit in Clovis's nostrils. Travis Stoll from Hermes was holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it would burn, and Will Solace from Apollo was absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. The counselor from Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen something-or-other, was playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really had magically disconnected Miranda's nose, and Miranda was trying to get it back.
Rachel Dare, the oracle, sat next to Chiron at the head of the table. She was wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress, which seemed a bit odd, but she smiled at us. She gave me a little wave.
Annabeth didn't look so relaxed. She wore armor over her camp clothes, with her knife at her side and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. As soon as I walked in, she gave me a look, that for a moment made me think she was possessed.
"Let's come to order," Chiron said. "Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you'd kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. Now, as you can see, Jason, Alex, Piper, and Leo have returned successfully… more or less. Some of you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in."
Everyone looked at Jason. He cleared his throat and began the story. Piper, me and Leo chimed in from time to time, filling in the details he forgot.
It only took a few minutes, but it seemed like longer with everyone watching us. The silence was heavy, and for so many ADHD demigods to sit still listening for that long, I knew the story must have sounded pretty wild. Jason ended with Hera's visit to him right before the meeting.
"So Hera was here," Annabeth said. "Talking to you."
Jason nodded. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her—"
"That's smart," Annabeth said.
"—but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from."
"Romans." Clarisse tossed Seymour a Snausage. "You expect us to believe there's another camp with demigods, but they follow the Roman forms of the gods. And we've never even heard of them."
I sat forward. "The gods have kept the two groups apart, because every time they see each other, they try to kill each other."
"I can respect that," Clarisse said. "Still, why haven't we ever run across each other on quests?"
"Oh, yes," Chiron said sadly. "You have, many times. It's always a tragedy, and always the gods do their best to wipe clean the memories of those involved. The rivalry goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy and burned it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded the race that would someday become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly different personalities."
"More warlike," Jason said. "More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline."
"Yuck," Travis put in.
Several of the others looked equally uncomfortable, though Clarisse shrugged like it sounded okay to her.
Annabeth twirled her knife on the table. "And the Romans hated the Greeks. They took revenge when they conquered the Greek isles, and made them part of the Roman Empire."
"Not exactly hated them," Jason said. "The Romans admired Greek culture, and were a little jealous. In return, the Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but they respected their military power. So during Roman times, demigods started to divide—either Greek or Roman."
"And it's been that way ever since," Annabeth guessed. "But this is crazy. Chiron, where were the Romans during the Titan War? Didn't they want to help?"
Chiron tugged at his beard. "They did help, Annabeth. While you and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans' base in California?"
"Hold on," I said. "You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos."
"No," Jason said. "It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself."
Annabeth's eyes were as stormy as a storm spirit. I could almost see her thoughts moving, putting the pieces together. "The Bay Area. We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? The Roman camp—it's got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans' territory. Where is it?"
Chiron shifted in his wheelchair. "I cannot say. Honestly, even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason's memory, too, has been burned away."
"The camp's heavily veiled with magic," Jason said. "And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it."
Rachel Dare laced her fingers. Of all the people in the room, only she didn't seem nervous about the conversation. "But you'll try, won't you? You'll build Leo's boat, the Argo II. And before you make for Greece, you'll sail for the Roman camp. You'll need their help to confront the giants."
"Bad plan," Clarisse warned. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."
"You're probably right," Jason agreed. "But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don't have to be enemies. A peace offering."
"Hmm," Rachel said. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Seven heroes of Olympus—some Greek, some Roman."
Annabeth nodded. "Your Great Prophecy—what's the last line?"
"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth said. "She's letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us. Medea, Midas—there'll be more, I'm sure. Maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, and find the doors, and close them."
"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse pointed out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."
There was silence as we campers let that happy thought sink in.
"I'm going," Annabeth said. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."
"I was hoping you'd offer," Jason said. "You of all people —we'll need you."
"Wait." Leo frowned. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?"
"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason said. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."
"Yeah?" Leo said. "So?"
"An exchange goes two ways," Jason said. "When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp—they're not so friendly. You prove your worth quickly, or you don't survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he's going to be in serious trouble."
"Him?" Leo said. "Who are you talking about?"
"My boyfriend," Annabeth said grimly. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood—"
"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."
And done. It's like 6:00 am now, so I'm down.
Yours,
MilkandCheez
