"No!" I insisted, feeling almost desperate. "We need to figure out a battle plan where we're on the offensive, not defensive. Strike them first - hit hard, hit fast."
My cabin mates murmured their agreement behind me.
"Clarisse." Chiron said with a sigh. "We've discussed this at length. Multiple times. We will not strike at the Romans. We will defend ourselves if needed, but only if needed. Have faith. The Seven shall succeed, and war will be avoided."
"Did you get a prophecy or something?" I was suspicious. Chiron hadn't mentioned any prophecies or anything. I knew what I wanted to do - go out and hit the Romans before they had a chance to come up with one of their famous battle plans. All children of war gods knew about Roman fighting techniques - they were famous for it. They were one of the best war machines that ever existed. I admired them, and I was terrified to face them.
"No." Chiron admitted, stroking his beard. "In fact, Rachel and I have been talking about -" He coughed. "Nevermind. It isn't important."
"What isn't important?" Will Solace asked, walking over from his table in the dining pavilion, nervously wrapping and unwrapping an ace bandage he kept around his wrist. "Chiron - is there or isn't there an issue with the power of prophecy? The Apollo campers all feel like -"
Chiron held up a hand. "This is neither the time nor the place for these discussions. Please, return to your tables and eat dinner."
"It isn't the time or place." Said my half-brother Brutus. "Yeah, sure. He'll wait till we're dead."
I heard many grumbles of agreement and was about to challenge them when I heard a shrill scream. We all turned to see Connor Stoll holding a napkin, screaming at it.
"Chiron!" He screamed again.
"My dear boy, I'm right here. What is the -"
"It's Annabeth!" He called, still staring at the napkin in a mix of horror and amazement.
Silence fell over the pavilion for the briefest moment. Then, murmuring broke out. I heard Annabeth's name, over and over. Part of me was worried - while Annabeth and I hadn't gotten along when we were younger, well, she was one of my oldest friends. And she was a commander. With those Romans getting closer and stronger… well, I would never, ever, tell her, but I wanted her back here desperately. I wasn't sure I could save Camp alone. The campers would listen to me because they feared me and feared the enemies even more. But they listened to Annabeth because they respected her. They knew, I knew, that she was the best in the Camp at playing to everyone's strengths and making the best use of our forces.
Chiron trotted over and took the napkin from Connor. He read it and his eyes got wider than I've ever seen them. "Dear gods." He gasped. Everyone began murmuring in fear and Chiron turned to us as if just remembering that we were there. "Rachel, Grover, and Counselors - to the Big House at once. We need an emergency meeting. Bring your food if you'd like, but we are going right now."
He swung Connor Stoll onto his back and took off to the Big House, leaving the rest of us to overcome our shock and get there.
"What do you think that's about?" Will asked me, looking very concerned.
I shrugged, but in truth, I was plenty worried. I just didn't want to show it. Someone had to be the leader, cool and in command, even when everyone else was going to pieces. Chiron had looked….. Terrified. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen him look that scared. Which meant that I might be the only one remaining cool and calm now. I hated it when that happened.
All the counselors turned and ran after Chiron as fast as we could. Most of us didn't bring our food, though Travis did. We got settled in the rec room, the tension humming in the air. Once we were all seated, Chiron stamped his hoof for silence. He held up the napkin and I realized he was shaking.
"Tonight, at the dining pavilion, Connor saw this in the flames of one of the braziers. Thankfully, he acted quickly and, using some magic tongs, snatched it from the fire. The contents of this note, if true….." He took a deep breath. "Are alarming at best. I ask that you all remain quiet as I read this to you. After, we will try to discuss our course of action."
He took another breath. "The note appears to come from Annabeth Chase, our head counselor of the Athena cabin. She sent it to Connor in the hopes that he would be able to get it to Rachel."
Malcolm, Annabeth's brother and currently in command of the Athena cabin while she was away, sat forward, looking worried. "Chiron, why wouldn't she send an Iris message?"
Chiron's eyes closed, and he looked pained. "Because, my boy….. I don't believe the gods have any sway where she is."
Murmuring broke out again and Chiron had to once more stamp his hoof to ask for silence. "Please, everyone. Please remain quiet."
He began to read. "Rachel - Went to Rome. Defeated Arachne, saved the Athena Parthenos." Malcolm gasped and grabbed his throat like he was being choked, which seemed a bit much. I wasn't familiar with the Parthenos but I was pretty sure it was another big statue of a Greek god. Why did that matter? Greece was full of stupid statues.
Chiron's hands shook as he took another deep breath, trying to steady himself. That worried me. Chiron is always steady. "Percy and I fell to Tartarus."
Gasps and frantic murmuring broke out. Even I was stunned. Tartarus? I mean, Annabeth's gone to the Underworld and survived, but -
"Long story. Finding the Doors of Death and closing them from this side. Nico is leading the others to close them on the mortal side. Rachel, go to the Romans, talk to their leader, Reyna. Reyna must come find us in Greece. She is destined to bring the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood. It is the only way to heal the rift between the gods, defeat the Giants, and Gaea. Without her - no chance. Trust her. Convince her. Love, Annabeth."
Silence filled the room. Travis, shakily asked, "Tartarus? Is that….. Even possible?"
We all looked to Chiron. "I am not sure, my boy. That they are there, and surviving - well, not even the gods would willingly go to Tartarus. The horrors in that place and the number of monsters….." He stared sadly out the window.
That did not brighten the mood. I was terrified for Annabeth, and ok, even Percy. But I was even more worried about the others, here in this room. We did not need any more bad news. If Annabeth and Percy died, could I keep the others from fleeing? I could almost feel hope leave everyone in the room.
Malcolm picked up the napkin from where Chiron had set it on the table. He read it, both the front and the back. "This is Annabeth's handwriting. The ink looks like Celestial Bronze."
Rachel took it, frowning.
"Any visions, Rachel?" Lou Ellen asked.
Rachel glanced around at us, then sighed. "Something's happened with the power of prophecy." She admitted.
"I knew it!" Will said, looking momentarily triumphant.
"I can see bits and pieces." Rachel said. "Sort of…. Like before I became the Oracle. I can see this girl, Reyna, bringing the statue to Camp. I can see the statue in front of Thalia's pine tree."
"And Annabeth?" Malcolm asked, looking worried.
Rachel bit her lip. "I've seen brief images. Her and Percy, falling. Annabeth's leg is wrapped up, like she injured it. I've seen Percy trying to lead her through a dark forest." She looked shaken. "And I've seen - worse things."
Chiron shook his head at her.
"What?" I demanded. "Does she live or not?"
Rachel looked upset. "Maybe. It's hard to tell. There are several crossroads in front of us."
Lou Ellen grunted. "Crossroads make the future harder to see."
Rachel nodded. "Yeah. It depends, Clarisse. If I can convince Reyna to go to Greece, and if Reyna gets there successfully, and if she can find Jason and the others and a whole lot of other things go right….. Then yes, Annabeth and Percy may survive."
The tension in the room relaxed. Hope filled everyone. I wanted to give Rachel a smile or something to thank her, but I didn't want to seem weak. Not in front of the rest of the camp, not when they needed me to be strong. And I was exhausted from being strong. If I survived this second war, I'd get to go to college with Chris. We'd arranged it so we could both go to school together and I was looking forward to it. I was holding onto that bit of hope that someday, I'd get to have a normal life. And I wouldn't have to be strong for anyone else.
"One thing I'm sure of -" Rachel picked up the note. "They are both in Tartarus. And Annabeth did send this note. I'm not sure how, but if she can manage that, well….. They deserve a proper rescue. I'm going to see the Romans."
"What's the Athena Parthenos?" I asked. Everyone turned to stare at me. "What? Why is a statue so important?"
Malcolm looked upset. "It's a statue of Athena. It was stolen by the Romans. If Annabeth thinks it could unite the gods, maybe it's got some kind of special powers or something. I'm not entirely sure. But -" He looked sheepish. "Annabeth talked to me. Before she left. She said she had seen our mom and she wasn't in a good place. She made me promise not to talk to her, and to warn the other Athena kids. She said she wanted to make sure the rest of us had a chance, unlike her. A chance to survive."
Stunned silence filled the room. I thought about that for a moment. Annabeth had known, at least a bit, that something was going to happen to her on this quest. She believed that she no longer had a chance. She'd warned the other Athena kids not to follow her path. And she had gone anyway. Would I have been that brave? If I had known that I might die, or worse….. I mean, we all know we might die, but it's one thing knowing that risk and taking it. It's another to have a prophecy, or some kind of information that means something bad will happen, not just might happen. I swallowed. I'd never tell her this, but Annabeth was braver than I was. We'd both known what would happen in the Labyrinth, we'd talked about my experiences, but she'd been willing to go inside anyway. Then, she got back after losing Percy in Mount St. Helens and she was still willing to go back into the maze. The girl was either absolutely insane or the bravest person I'd ever met.
And Percy? I still owed the guy from helping me on Staten Island. If there was anything I could do to get them back, well, I was going to. What I'd heard about Tartarus, though -
"Gods." I muttered. Everyone turned to stare at me. "Tartarus. That's….. I mean, I know they've been to Hades and they both spent longer than I did in the Labyrinth, but that's….."
Chiron nodded, gravely. "Yes. For now, we must trust that Annabeth knows what she is doing. Let's try to follow her instructions. Rachel, ideally, I'd send a protection squad -"
"No need." Rachel assured him. "We'll go in peace. Just me and Grover."
"Uh, why me?" Grover yelped.
Rachel shrugged. "For fun."
"Uh -"
"Kidding. You need to tell them what's going on with Gaea, try to convince them to call off the attack."
The napkin had been passed around while we talked. Finally, it had gotten to me. I looked it over. By now, I knew her handwriting. This was definitely Annabeth. Despite our differences, I was terrified for her. I was terrified for all of us. I looked at the napkin and offered up a silent prayer to my dad.
Dad? Help them, if you can. In return, I promise on the River Styx, I'll do my best here as a commander. I'll keep our troops alive until they return.
Nothing happened. No flashes of light, no thunder. But I hoped that it would help them. Maybe my dad could send them some kind of help. I wasn't sure.
"Is there… any way we could, like, summon Annabeth and Percy?" Everyone stared at me again. I waved the napkin. "Using this. Like, call them back here?"
"Or make them appear in the flames!" Connor agreed excitedly.
"Wouldn't that mean you'd have to burn them both?" Katie from the Demeter cabin reminded us.
Chiron stamped his hoof. "None of this is useful speculation. We must trust Annabeth's plan. Rachel, Grover. Go. Send a message to the Romans. Everyone else - we must discuss strategies for our defense. May the gods be with us all."
And with that, the meeting split up. I placed the napkin back on the table.
"Stay safe, Wise Girl. I meant it. You stay alive. I'll keep the camp alive. I swear it on the River Styx."
