Chapter Three

The Beautiful Nightmare

It was perfect.

Piper McLean sat in the surf of a beach in Key West, Florida. She wore a blue sleeveless dress and no shoes. Her brown hair had finally grown in even and she had it braided over on shoulder.

The sand was clean and sparkling in the sunlight, along with the shimmering blue water. Warm waves crashed up softly against the shoreline and sprinkling her with salty water. But she didn't move. She sat here, faithfully, and waiting for someone. She took in a breath and stared around.

The Key West beach was completely deserted.

Piper didn't know if it was because it was so early in the morning or because no one wanted to come today. Whatever the reason was, it didn't bother Piper.

And then she heard footsteps…soft on the sand….and the sound itself made her heart race.

When she saw him, Piper smiled.

Jason walked up on her with a handsome grin that she loved so much. He wore a checkerboard black and gray shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, with gray jeans that had been cut at the knee, leaving little strings dangling. He had no shoes or socks just like Piper.

She rose to meet him.

"You came," she said, cocking her head to the side, causing her braid to fall over her shoulder.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't why I couldn't wear shoes though."

"It's a beach, silly," said Piper, taking his hand. "No shoes allowed."

"And this coming from a daughter of Aphrodite," said Jason, with a smirk.

The waves rushed up against their ankles. And this time, the water was cold. A little too cold. It made Piper shiver, slightly. The movement went unmissed by Jason, who instantly wrapped his arms around her. Piper wanted to faint in his arms and melt like ice cream and float away in the surf. He smelled so good and he was so warm.

"Are you okay?" asked Jason, whispering in her ear.

"Yeah," said Piper. "I'm fine."

"Piper," said Jason, his voice a little loud.

"Yes?"

"Piper!" yelled Jason.

Piper jerked and she saw Jason standing on the beach. He was yelling at her looking distressed. The clear sky turned dark and stormy. Jason looked horrified at something that was standing behind Piper. She was reluctant to turn around and she realized two things: she was floating on the water and something on the water was moving toward her. It was a dark mass, human shaped, but it had something in its hand. Something that made Piper cringe. It was a three pointed spear….no…a trident. The tips shimmered with electric blue energy and Piper heard Jason call her name again from the shore as this thing moved closer.

Piper tried to muster as much confidence and control as possible and said, "Stop!"

The charmspeak didn't work and the dark human kept moving.

"I said stop!" Piper tried again. "Go back to wherever you came from."

No matter what Piper said, it wasn't working. The figured raised its trident and Piper watched in horror as a wave rose up like a clawed hand made out of churning water in front of her. She let out a horrified scream as the water hand grabbed her and pulled her under the water.

She thrashed and screamed. She couldn't breath. Soon, she would loose all of her air and die. She twisted and turned. She tried to cry out to Jason, Leo, Chiron, her dad, even Aphrodite. But she knew none of them could help her where she was.

And she hit something that was cold and rough. She was completely soaked and shivered as air hit her. She sat up and took in a sharp breath. She couldn't believe her eyes.

She was sitting on a cliff. The stars spread out before her magnificently. Marble pillars rose up around here, with silver silks fluttering in the cool breeze. She had no idea where she was or how she gotten here after being under the ocean struggling for life. She stood up and walked along the cliff, not recognizing anything around her. She had no idea where this cliff was, but she could make out city lights far below.

"You have come, half-blood," said a voice from behind her.

Piper turned quickly and saw a wolf. It had silvery gray fur and warm eyes as bright as the moon amongst the stars. This wasn't Lupa, the camp director of the Roman camp that Jason had described to her. This she-wolf was more powerful and older. A growl rumbled deep within its throat that made Piper take a step backward in alarm.

"I will not harm, you, child," said the she-wolf. "But if this form displeases you, I can turn into something more befitting."

The wolf pounced and Piper yelled in shock. She covered her eyes with her hand in fright, but felt no impact. She slowly lowered her hand and saw a thirteen year-old girl, with auburn hair, and a silvery dress with lace shoes. Her eyes still glowing like the moon. Piper almost envied her dress, but shook it off immediately.

"Who are you?" asked Piper.

"I go by many names," said the girl, walking at ease amongst the high pillars. "Some know me as Diana….but you half-blood, know me as Artemis."

"Goddess of the hunt and the moon," said Piper.

Artemis smiled.

"Yes," she said. "When the moon is high, I may pass through the realm of Morpheus into the dreams of others."

"So, why have you come into my dream?" asked Piper.

"A warning," said Artemis, looking at Piper alarmed.

That Piper freeze up. When a goddess gave you a personal visit, you know something apocalyptic was about to happen.

"Is it the prophecy?" asked Piper.

Artemis nodded.

"The remaining four loom upon the horizon, Piper," said Artemis, looking to the east. "Soon, the sun shall rise and the moon will fade."

"What are you saying?" asked Piper.

"Our greatest enemies stir," said Artemis.

"The giants," said Piper.

Artemis nodded and said, "When you make your journey, do not be afraid. Do not show weakness."

"I don't understand," said Piper, confused.

And that's when Artemis glowed. She lit up like a firework and before Piper knew it, she looked different. It was still Artemis, but then again, it wasn't. She wore a short toga that sparkled and glowed silver, with flat shoes with no lace, and a gold breastplate that looked oddly…Roman. A bow that looked like gazelle horns and an arrow with a wicked gold tip were held in her hands. Her auburn hair was much darker and her eyes looked wild and furious like she was going to disintegrate Piper on the spot for looking at her.

"Your in your Roman form," she said, quickly. "Diana."

Diana nodded vaguely.

"Know Piper," she said, "that Rome was great empire. We gods reigned there for many centuries. Even in my Roman state, I remained a maiden and a huntress. But even though some of my character passed from Greece, a lot of it was lost due to the disciplined culture of Rome. Even your mother Aphrodite as Venus shows a need for conquest and domination."

"I still don't…."

"Remember," said Diana. "And beware as the enemy approaches."

"Diana….Artemis…goddess," said Piper, quickly. "Why did you come warn me instead of someone else?"

"You are chosen," said Diana. "And I fear that will bring more destruction then you can possibly imagine."

And with those final words, Piper sat up in her bunk in Cabin Ten. It was just a little after midnight and all of her campers were still sleeping. She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. But as she walked by a window, she saw three shapes moving in the darkness. She pulled the lace curtain back and saw Jason, Rachel, and a third girl she didn't recognize heading toward the Big House.