"Capture the Flag is tonight!" Chiron called through the chatter of the kids eating dinner. "Prepare to play!"
"Capture the Flag?" Tess said questioningly to Kylie, daughter of Poseidon. They were the only two at the Poseidon table, which kind of bummed Tess out. Jay had to sit at the Hecate table, and that meant they couldn't eat together like they usually did back at Camp Jupiter.
"Oh, yeah! We've teamed up with the Athena cabin. They tend to like having us on their team. And we are also teamed with Apollo, Zeus, and Hermes," Kylie said. Her black curly hair stuck out under her silver beanie.
"That doesn't really explain the whole Capture the Flag thing."
"You'll see. They usually put us on defense. We'll just have to see what Roxy says."
"Roxy?"
"Daughter of Athena. Or so they say. I don't think she is, but whatever, right? She's the counselor of the Athena cabin. She calls the shots."
"Great." Tess hated when she couldn't make her own plan.
"Well, we'll see. What weapon do you use?"
"Celestial bronze throwing knives. You?"
"Bow and arrow. Somehow."
"What do you mean, somehow?"
"Most children of Poseidon, or Neptune, aren't that skilled with archery."
"You must be a descendant of Apollo or something," Tess stated plainly.
Kylie laughed. "Sure. We'll go with that." The two girls hurried to finish their dinners.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" The tables were suddenly filled with all kinds of equipment. Tess easily found armor that suited her well.
A girl and two boys ran in with a silver banner about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.
From the opposite side of the pavilion, three more kids ran in with an identical banner in size, but a gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
"Do Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" Tess asked.
"No. But most of the time," Kylie said.
"So we're taking the Ares flag?"
"For tonight." She smiled slyly. "Every cabin is really fighting for themselves. But we needed somebody to help. Oh, and by the way, are you any good at strategies?"
"I have my moments."
"Good. We'll need that. The two of us are going to get our hands on that flag. Take the blue," Kylie told her, grabbing a helmet with a blue plume on top. Tess did the same, finally finding one that fit. She saw Jay pick up a helmet with a red plume sticking up.
He made his way over to her, looking, well, hot, in Tess' opinion. His unruly hair stuck out from under the frame of his helmet, and Tess could see the muscles going up his arms.
But she would never date that idiot. Ever. It wouldn't happen. So stop accusing her that she will, okay? She doesn't like being judged.
"Looks like we're enemies," Jay said as he sheathed his sword, Phantom. It was a celestial bronze leaf shape that had been forged by Vulcan and blessed by Hecate to be used for magical purposes. Tess had seen it do some strange things in difficult situations.
"We're so gonna beat you," Tess said as she tightened her knife belt around her waist.
"You wish!"
"You're just scared."
"Sure I am. You keep thinking that."
"Uh-huh. When we whoop your butts, you owe me an apology."
"No, you'll owe me."
"Keep dreaming."
The two parted ways as the teams were split. Ares had allied themselves with everyone Athena hadn't: Dionysus, Hades, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hephaestus, and all the other minor gods and goddesses. Dionysus' kids were actually good athletes, but there were only four of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff, but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's kids were putting on make up to battle, so Tess wasn't too worried about them. Hephaestus' kids weren't pretty, and there were about ten of them. Tess thought they might be a problem. That left the Ares cabin, fifteen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island.
Tess hadn't gotten along very well with the children of Mars, but they seemed to at least have their heads attached to their bodies. These Ares kids seemed insane. Merciless. Ruthless.
"Blue team, forward!" a girl Kylie introduced as Roxy called. The blue team began to march toward the south woods. The red team headed north.
The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Kylie and Tess were stationed with three Apollo kids. They were the distraction.
Tess and Kylie didn't exactly like that.
Blue-plumed soldiers set up for their plan of attack. Two Athena kids stood guard, with four Hermes surrounding the area. Apollo kids were stationed around the flag in the trees to keep away unwanted visitors. More Hermes kids were stationed across the creek. Roxy and three of the Athena kids would run around the east side of the woods and three more around the west. Tess' group would run straight down the middle. This plan insured that an Athena kid would get the flag. Tess didn't like that. Poseidon would be getting that flag if she had any say about it. So she devised her own plan, which she shared with Kylie as they were walking to their position behind the Apollo kids.
"Oh, when you said you have your moments, you meant you're really good at it, didn't you?" Kylie asked when Tess finished her explanation.
"Maybe." Tess liked Kylie. She was a pretty awesome demigod. For a Greek.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Kylie shouted as she ran up to join the Apollo kids. Kristin, Jordyn, and another boy Tess didn't know. Tess hurried to catch up as they took their final position.
A conch horn blew and the game began.
Jordyn led the five demigods straight through the forest. As they crept upon Zeus' Fist, where Roxy had guessed the flag would be, they spotted the Hecate cabin- all of them- positioned somewhere around the clearing.
The blood red flag was at the very top of the Fist.
"So much for only two guards," Kristin muttered.
"You three take that side," Tess whispered. "Kylie and I will go to the right. They'll think we're the main attack. Don't make it look like you gave up too easy."
"Aye aye, Captain," Jordyn said before taking her siblings down the left flank.
"Now for our plan," Tess said under her breath. Kylie took Tess' hand and they both concentrated on the same thing- the ground shaking, breaking apart. Everything tumbling around. But before the earthquake could commence, Tess was ripped away from Kylie. She stood face to face with Jay.
"Hello, there," he said with a triumphant smile. Two other Hecate campers stood with him. Kylie immediately drew her bow and pointed an arrow at Jay.
"What's up?" Tess asked smugly.
"Not much. You?" Jay thought he had beat her.
Wrong.
Tess drew a knife with her left hand and cut Jay across the palm of his hand. He jerked back, but just as quickly drew his sword.
"Let's go, sweetheart!" he shouted. The Hecate campers stood back, watching the Romans circle each other. Kylie seemed to be concentrated on something, but what, Tess didn't know.
Tess was used to leading an army and Jay was used to following orders. Neither were bad fighters. Tess pulled her largest knife.
"Sweetheart?"
"Eh, I'll admit, it doesn't suit you."
"Tess, duck!" Kylie shouted. Tess didn't hesitate and hit the deck. Jay was squirted with water that fazed him for a moment and Tess rolled away. Tess and Kylie sprinted toward the flag. Forty feet of empty clearing and ten Hecate children sprinting to catch them.
"Now!" Tess shouted. Kylie grabbed her hand and they willed the earth to shake. Soon they were the only ones on solid ground. The Hecate kids lost their balance and fell. Jay was on the straight path right behind them. "Keep going! I'll hold him off!"
Tess turned to face Jay and Kylie kept running.
The Athena kids could be seen coming up to the clearing to see the wreckage of the earthquake the daughters of the sea god had caused. They saw Kylie climbing up Zeus' Fist and knew they had been betrayed. Trying to cover their mistake, Roxy ran as fast as she could once the ground stabilized.
"Tess!" Jay shouted. "Behind you!"
She turned, the thought never even crossing her mind that he was tricking her.
A huge black dog was jumping toward her. Before she could move, the creature's claws ran down her back. She rolled to the side and Jay dove after her. He landed next to her and helped her get up as the hellhound turned on them again. It growled.
"Grey Wolf!" Tess shouted.
The Greeks looked confused, but Jay understood. Tess ran to the right and Jay ran to the left. The hellhound followed Tess and Jay curved so he was behind the creature. Tess pulled a knife out of her belt and threw it. It hit the animal on the shoulder, but the hellhound didn't disintegrate. Jay stabbed the creature in the butt.
Then it disintegrated.
On the bright side, Kylie had the flag and was half way to their side of the woods before anyone even noticed it was gone.
"Thanks," Tess said to Jay as the conch horn blew again, signaling the end of the game.
"No problem." He sheathed his sword again and Tess went to pick up her knife that had clattered to the ground when the hellhound vanished.
"What was that even doing inside the camp's borders?" Tess wondered. "Isn't the shield protecting the camp meant to keep those out?"
"I read somewhere that you can summon monsters," Jay said. "Someone wanted it here. They meant to hurt someone."
"Creepy."
"That means someone wants someone dead."
"That's even creepier."
"Are you alright?" Jay looked at her back. "It's not that deep, just long."
"Better than getting shredded to pieces."
"Let's get you to Chiron."
"No, I'm fine."
"Tess, we are not doing this. You are bleeding kind of badly. Let's go. No arguing."
"No." Tess stayed planted to the spot. They had arguments like this whenever Tess got injured. She didn't like help and she definitely didn't want it. "I'll just go to the lake."
Jay sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win this battle.
"Fine." He helped her get to the lake, despite her protests. Soon all her wounds were healed.
"It's almost ten. That means lights out," Jay said.
"See you tomorrow," Tess said as she began the trek to her cabin.
"See you."
Tess wasn't sure what to think of her little team of Greeks. There was Nathanial, who was okay, then Jaden, who liked to keep to himself. Then Penny. She was a sweet kid.
"Where are we going?" Penny asked Tess as the two walked up the hill.
"Don't know yet," Tess admitted. "Hopefully we're doing the right thing here."
"How did you get here?" Penny asked quietly. "Aren't you... Roman?" She said Roman as if it was some horrible disease.
"I am Roman. I was... banished from Camp Jupiter, and my friend Jay and I came here. We left a lot of friends- well, a friend- behind. I just hope I won't be outcast forever."
"Do you, you know, like like Jay?"
"What?"
"Are you and Jay boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"No, no, no, no, no." Tess shouldered her pack. "No. That would never happen."
"I think he likes you."
"No way."
"Yes."
"You're, what, ten? Does that give you precedence over these matters?"
"What's precedence mean?"
"Never mind." Tess shook her head.
"Were you a leader at the Roman camp?"
"You're a curious one. I was centurion. Leader of the Fifth Cohort."
"Isn't that where Jason Grace was raised?"
"It sure was. Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang were also members of that cohort."
"And Percy Jackson." Penny smiled with pride. "He was Greek, you know. Wasn't he also your brother?"
"He would be more like a half-brother, but yeah."
"Doesn't he have grandchildren at Camp Half-Blood?"
"And Camp Jupiter."
"Cool. I've met the youngest. Her name's Maddie. She's a cutie." Penny heaved her bag back onto her shoulder.
"How old is she?"
"Three."
"Is that bag giving you trouble?"
"Little bit."
"Let me help," Tess said as she took Penny's bag.
"No!" Penny yanked it back. "I can do it myself."
"Okay, okay, no reason to get offended."
The girls reached the top of the hill where Chiron and Olivia were waiting. Jay was leaning against Thalia's tree, Jaden was putting a celestial bronze tip onto an arrow, and Nathanial was swinging a pure black sword around.
"Are we ready to go yet?" Nathanial whined as he vanquished an imaginary enemy.
"Not quite," Olivia said. "I couldn't find anything for you to lead your way."
"What if we just follow the misery? First terrible thing we see in the newspaper, we check out?" Jay suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Tess agreed.
"We have to make our offerings at the Temple of the Heroes of Olympus," Jaden said.
The team began the walk to the Temple. They took a minute to look at the beauty of the building from the outside. Murals of the Seven's battles and quests were inscribed along the marble walls. Great columns stood high to hold up the ceiling. The enormous door was decorated with the symbols of all the gods: some lightning there, olive branches here, and over there a trident. The great marble staircase leading to the doorway took our heroes at least ten minutes to climb.
Once inside, even more murals decorated the walls. Different pictures of the monsters the heroes fought were along the walls as well. Giant statues of the Seven, Nico di Angelo, Gleeson Hedge, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Luke Castellan, and others were placed all around the temple.
The five kids split up, each going to a different statue. They were each required to place something of great value at their favorite hero's feet. They could retrieve it when they returned- if they returned. It was to show that they were putting their trust in that hero. Hopefully the gods would bless them.
Penny hurried over to the statue of Hazel Levesque. Hazel had been hated by many and feared by all. Her power over the Mist had inspired Penny to be just like her.
Out of her bag, Penny carefully lifted her favorite doll. It had been her grandmother's. The paint was fading and the poor thing's hair was falling out. She placed it under Hazel's statue and gave the doll a quick kiss on the head before turning to run out again.
Jaden approached the statue of Leo Valdez carefully. Leo had been an outcast among his own friends. That's how Jaden felt a lot of the time. His friends feared him because he was a son of Thanatos. They were afraid of him. Jaden quickly placed a picture of him and his mom- his real mom. He quickly turned away so he wouldn't cry.
Jay confidently strode to the feet of Grover Underwood. The satyr had been leading the most powerful demigods to camp for a while. Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, among others. Jay kind of felt like he was leading Tess and Colin where they needed to go, too. He loved them like siblings, but sometimes he wished others saw him as important as Tess or as collected as Colin. He looked at the bracelet around his wrist. Tess had given it to him on his birthday the year they met. It was the most important thing he had brought with him, and he planned to keep it. But it was all he had to give up, so he set it down and walking away just as confidently as he had come over.
Nathanial quietly tiptoed over to the statue of Nico di Angelo, almost as if he was worried the statue would stir if he was too loud. He dug around for his greatest possession in his pocket. He carefully pulled out one of his mother's gifts to him- something his father had given to her. It was a small piece of gold, supposed to protect whoever owned it even if it wasn't with them. From what, Nathanial wasn't sure. He placed it carefully under Nico's feet, having almost worshiped the son of Hades since he learned about him. He had overcome his differences with Percy Jackson, who had promised to protect his sister, and fought with him to defeat Gaea, dying in the process. Nathanial hoped someday he would have the opportunity to give his life for someone else- the greater good. That was the way he wanted to go. Protecting someone else. Valuing someone else over himself. He saw it as a great sign of honor. He quietly jogged back to the door to start their quest. Whether he would ever come to retrieve that piece of gold, he didn't know. And he wasn't sure he wanted to.
Tess walked slowly to Percy Jackson's statue. She really didn't like this part of the quest. She had to leave something of great value to her. Her hand instantly went to her neck. No, she couldn't give up that.
But you have to, the voice in her head said.
Tess, albeit reluctantly, undid her necklace from its place around her neck. Her older brother's yin and yang necklace to be exact. He had left it the day he disappeared. Why, Tess never figured out. \ So she could have it? That didn't make much sense, because he hadn't really been all that concerned for her well-fare when he took off. Did he simply forget it? That didn't make sense either, since he always wore it, even when he was asleep. She simply didn't know.
She placed it at Percy's feet, hoping that it would still be there when she returned. She began to turn away, but decided to move the necklace under the statue's foot. Maybe no one would see it there.
She quickly turned and raced back out of the temple before she changed her mind and grabbed the prized item. She saw the others already done with their business in the temple and hurried after them up the hill. Jay turned back to see her and gave her a reassuring smile. That was all Tess needed to get over her loss. Her best friend at her side.
Tess was running. That's all she could think about. Running up the hill. Running down the hill. Running across the field, through the trees. Her legs were on fire and it was becoming hard to breath. Running up the next hill.
A house sat on the top. It was falling apart at the seams. Paint was peeling. Holes showed the interior of the building.
Tess hurried inside and slammed the door behind her. She hurried up the stairs and into the first bedroom. She shut and locked the door. Tess leaned on the wall and slid to the floor in relief. She caught her breath and held her head in her hands.
She jumped as someone pounded on the door.
"Tess!" a voice cried. "Tess, help me!"
"You're not real!" Tess shouted as she covered her ears. "You are not real!"
"Tess, please, he's going to kill me!"
"You're not real," she muttered. "You're not really here."
Tess shrieked as her older brother knocked the door over.
"You're not real, Sammy!" Tess screamed. She slapped her hands over her ears again. "You're not real!"
Tess snapped awake.
Tess, calm down!" Jay said as she fell against him. She fought to get away, not realizing the dream was over. She didn't see Jay holding her reassuringly, she saw Sammy holding her down again, begging for mercy.
"Get off!" she screamed.
"Tess, it's okay," Jay whispered in her ear, his arms securely around hers to keep her from punching him. Again. "I'm right here." Jay's voice broke through her fight and flight instinct and she slowly stopped wrestling with him. She leaned into his strong grip, his familiarness, and held onto it for dear life. It brought her back to the present and out of her nightmare.
Her best friend was just magical like that.
Everyone was staring at her.
She wiped her cheeks of the tears and sat up, taking a deep breath.
"Sorry," she said quietly. "Nightmare."
"You know, demigod nightmares are usually important," Nathanial pointed out. "What happened?"
"Nothing important," she quickly replied. "I've had that nightmare since I was a little kid."
"So who isn't real?" Penny asked innocently.
"No one. It doesn't matter," Tess said.
"Who's Sammy?" Nathanial asked.
Tess glared at him. "Don't ever ask me that again."
Nathanial nodded, throwing his hands in the air in surrender. He still wasn't entirely convinced that her dream had been nothing, but the death glare of Tess Matthews was one he decided he didn't want thrown in his direction.
"Okay, let's go find a news channel or paper," Tess said. "We'll split up. Cover more ground. Jay, Penny, and I will go north, you guys go south." She pulled out her monster-proof cell phone. "Call if you find anything."
"What are we looking for?" Jaden asked.
"Anything bad."
"We're in New York," Nathanial said. "Bad things happen all the time."
"Look for anything significant."
"What's significant?"
"The most miserable thing you can find."
Theseus paced the cold stone floors. Nathanial wasn't supposed to be among those who took up the quest. His only friend. Sure, there was Roxy, but she didn't really count in his mind. She was only there because she was weak. Many would say she is strong because she has never cried and was raised in, well, hell. But Theseus knew the truth. She was covering insecurities. It was all an act. Much like Tess Matthews.
But Nathanial? He was supposed to stay out of it.
That was Nathanial for you. Always getting involved.
A knock came from the door. "Theseus?" Bianca called. "I brought what you asked for."
"Come in," Theseus said.
The young girl hurriedly set the guns down on his bed and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Bianca?" She turned, her blue eyes almost fearful. Theseus was scary. Even he had to admit that. But it was for a good reason. Vengeance was all he had left in life. He planned to use it to the fullest. "Bring our little helper to me. We have things to discuss."
Bianca nodded and left the room. Theseus turned his attention back to the bowl in front of him.
"Nathanial," Theseus muttered. "Why do you always have to get involved?"
"You called?" the boy asked from the door.
"Ah, yes. Come in, please. Sit," Theseus said with a cold grin. He sat, though he looked almost afraid to. "We need to have a chat. About Tess and Jay."
"Okay. Why?" the young boy asked.
"Their weaknesses. What are they?"
He thought for a moment. "Each other."
Theseus gave him that cold grin yet again. "Colin Russell, you sure are a good alliance! Now, I need you to do something."