Chapter 7: For Rome

No one even understands! I… I shouldn't even be alive. I don't want to…

I heard a scream from above.

"What was that?" I asked.

Percy shrugged. "Let's go find out."

We ran up the stairs.

There was no one in sight.

"Ow," Percy yelled. He spun around. "Oh, Hades."

"What?" I asked. The only thing here were birds.

"Stymphalian Birds!" He yelled. "Get below!"

"Why?" I asked.

Then, they attacked Percy.

"Go!" I yelled. "Get below! They don't seem to like me!"

He seemed to get an idea and ran below. To me, the birds were just birds.

I reached out and touched one. It fell dead.

The birds flew around in a fury, but they didn't bite.

"Nico!" I yelled. Where was everyone? "Piper! Leo! Hazel! Annabeth! Anyone!"

"Ari," Nico ran into my sight fighting off the birds. "Get below with everyone else."

"No" I said. "You go. They can't hurt me."

"Leo, you're a genius!" Percy yelled from below.

I heard a loud noise. It was some kind of horrible music, maybe?

Percy ran upstairs holding a metal contraption that the sound came from.

"Now what?" I asked over the noise.

"Frank can…" He voice fell. "I mean, can you shoot a bow?"

I shrugged. "I'll give it a shot."

"Was that a pun?" Percy asked.

"A what?"

"Never mind."

Percy ran downstairs and came up again with a bow and quiver.

"Try to shoot them." He said. "I'm a horrible shot."

I picked up the bow. It must be Frank's.

"For Frank," I muttered under the noise.

I lifted the arrow to the bowstring and shot it.

A bird fell.

I shot arrow after arrow. Percy and Nico ran and retrieved arrows for when I ran out.

Maybe the gods had wanted to be kind to me, or maybe I was just good with a bow, but I killed every one of those birds.

"Get everyone above," I ordered. "We need to talk."

"It's safe!" Percy yelled.

Everyone filed up the stairs.

"Did anyone get nipped?" I asked.

"We all did," Piper said.

"Not me,"" I said. "Birds don't like me."

"That's amazing," Piper said. "They didn't touch you?"

"It isn't amazing, don't you get it?" I yelled. "I'm a disease!"

"You saved our lives," Percy said.

"Maybe, I did," I said, feeling my temper rising. "But did I save Reyna? Or Frank for that matter?"

Hazel started crying.

"I'm supposed to be a hero, but all I see is a sickness," I said. "I'm killing everyone."

Annabeth came over to me as if to pat me on the shoulder, but stopped herself.

"Ari," She said. "No one else on this boat can shoot like that. If you weren't here we'd all be dead soon. No one blames you for those deaths."

"I know you don't blame me!" I screamed. "But I blame myself!"

"Ari," Piper said. "Go rest. Sleep."

I felt my suddenly weary eyes start to fall and I fell asleep.

"Praetor."

Philocrates stepped into the light.

"Yes?" Aurelia asked.

"Do you remember the spy we caught a few days ago?"

"Of course," She said. "The one who taunted me."

"We're tracking him," He said. "The third cohort almost found him. He'll be in our custody by tonight."

"Almost?" She asked.

"He got away again," Philocrates admitted.

"Leave me in peace, unless you have something useful to say," Aurelia said quietly.

Philocrates left. Aurelia sat down in one of the praetor's chairs and put her head in her hands.

"Vitalis," She murmured. "I miss you so much. I love you. I should've saved you."

It shocked me how much I sounded like her. I wasn't going to stoop that low.

"It's all that stupid girl's fault," She said. "Ariadne."

She hated me, and rightfully so, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She put her head down and sobbed for an uncountable amount of time.

"Praetor," Philocrates ran in. "We've cornered him. Let us go."

Aurelia stood up and wiped her tears.

"Let us," She replied. "For Rome. For Vitalis."

I woke in a bed to the sound of sobbing.