Chapter 5

LYNN

"Lizzie's alive?! That…that's not possible!"

Anika just looked a little annoyed by her reply. "Miss Stacey," she said, "If I'd met you three years ago, I would've expected this sort of answer. But in that time, you've found that the ancient Greek gods are real, and magic along with them. It's not impossible to control a spirit, if you have the right kind of magic and the skills to use it, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed at your reaction. Yes, I know, your thought-to-be dead half-sister is actually alive but under the control of an evil magician; save me the sob story of never having dreamed of getting her back, et cetera, et cetera.I don't have time for all your sentimental hogwash. That's not the business I'm in. What I deal in is the business of making sure good always wins, no matter what the cost. If I didn't do my job, there'd be a lot more sob stories. This is war, Lynn Stacey, and there are costs, and you can't get mixed up in war thinking that someone else is going to take care of that cost. This is serious business, and you should take it seriously if you want any chance of ever getting your sister back."

The van jerked to a stop, and Anika stood up. "I trust you not to run away, Lynn. Remember, we're the only ones who can help Lizzie."

Lynn could tell that Anika knew she wouldn't try to run for it; this gang had her under their thumb. She couldn't turn her back on a chance to save her sister. But why did they need Lizzie? With all the talk about the costs of war, Anika sure seemed interested in what should've been, in Anika's eyes, a casualty. So why should she care? Lizzie couldn't do anything for them…unless she was just a guinea pig.

"So that's what you're planning."

Anika turned around, looked at Lynn as she climbed down out of the van, and raised her eyebrows, something that Lynn took as a sign to continue.

"Your plan to rescue Lizzie. It isn't about her. You just need a guinea pig to see if you can successfully revive someone who Donovan's taken over. You need to make sure it'll work so you can bring someone else back, someone more important, someone like Jason Grace! You don't care about Lizzie at all!"

David flashed his winning smile at her. "See," he said, elbowing Haydon in the ribs. "I told you she was a smart one."

"Quiet, David," Anika snapped, as she stepped closer to Lynn. The latter tried not to make eye contact, so she looked around to figure out where they were. The country spread out wide and flat for miles, but any buildings in the area must have been hidden from sight by the van. Why had they brought her out her?

Anika's voice brought her back to the present. "Look, Lynn, this way we both get what we want. You get your sister back, and we get the information and test we need. Also, if this works, then we could have a good shot at winning this war. Jason Grace is one of the greatest warriors in the world right now, and if our enemies can use him against us…well, I don't think the combined forces of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter will want to have to try and kill one of their finest leaders. Donovan Pierce knows how to play his cards, and, at the moment, Jason Grace is an ace up his sleeve. We can't afford to let him win. I won't let that happen, no matter what. Get the picture?"

Lynn looked into those cold blue and green eyes, and shuddered inside. "Well," she said, "You sure like your metaphors, don't you, Anika? And yes, I am crystal clear on why you're using Lizzie. But one more question. Besides saving the world and all that, why are you involved in this? What are you getting out of it? You don't strike me as the type of person who'd waste her time and effort trying to save people who don't even know her."

Right after she said that, Lynn saw something she hadn't expected. A look of pain and sorrow flashed across Anika's face, but quickly vanished. She stepped even closer, and said, "That, Miss Lynn Stacey, is my business."

She turned away, and soon disappeared behind the van. "Put the blindfold back on her, Bradley. I don't want her to be able to give away any information about our location."

Lynn obliged when Bradley came over with her blindfold, and was soon being led away. The dirt beneath her feet soon turned into tile, and then the blindfold was being taken off, and she could see that she was standing in the middle of what could've been a hospital room without all the equipment. In the middle of the room stood a table with three chairs, two on one side, and one on the other. It looked convincingly like an interrogation room, but for whom?

"That's not for me, is it?" Lynn asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nope!" said David cheerfully. "It's for our other guest. Please, take a seat. One of the two on that side, if you don't mind. Thank you, that's perfect." He winked at her, but this time she just rolled her eyes. She felt bad for his girlfriend. "Boys, would you fetch her, please?"

Bradley and Haydon left the room and returned a minute later leading girl, who, like Lynn herself had been, was blindfolded. She looked to be about sixteen, with a long dark braid thrown over one shoulder, and her exotic outfit was complete with knee-length boots and a short red cloak. When the blindfold was taken off, Lynn saw a bright fire burning in a pair of brilliant violet eyes. Hayden led this new arrival to the chair beside Lynn, and Anika took the one on the opposite side.

"Lynn," she said, "I'd like you to meet Elanna Wythe." Anika's eyes grew dangerously cold. "And she's gonna tell us everything she knows."

Elanna sat back, crossed her arms, and laughed. It was a laugh without mirth, without joy. It was a laugh filled with hate and coldness, a laugh that made Lynn shudder. This girl sounded like someone you didn't want to underestimate. She wasn't scared of anything.

"What makes you think I'll tell you anything, Anika Levi? I'm a daughter of Hecate, and I keep my own business. I know all about you, Anika. I know that behind all those walls you've put up, there's a scared, fragile little girl, cringing at every hand raised against you. And I know that that scared little girl is going to have to face something soon, something that will make all her walls crumble, something that she won't be able to overcome, and you know that I'm not talking about my brother Donovan. You know you can't get me do to anything I don't want to do."

Lynn couldn't help but feel like Elanna was acting like a spoiled brat with the "I'll only do what I want to do" attitude, but she kept her mouth shut. Observing her made Lynn fearful. Elanna was strong—her body well-toned and muscular. She was only a few inches taller than Lynn, but she was still very intimidating.

What unsettled Lynn the most was how carefree Elanna was. She smirked, and that smirk never left her face. This is a game to her. Elanna was clever and calculating. It seemed obvious that even if she had no clue what to do next, she'd still smirk and make it seem like she has total control of everything. It made her look like the most dangerous one in the room.

Anika laughed—a cold laugh with no merriment, shrugging off Elanna's accusations. "You think you have us under your alluring spell, Elanna?" Anika laughed again. "Don't lose track of who's the captor and who's the captive right now."

Elanna rolled her eyes, flicking her fingers. Her eyes widened for a second. Anika's laughter filled the room once more. "You really do underestimate us. We already know you're a Hecate child with magical powers and whatnot! As if we didn't prepare the room to counter that! You're predictability is disappointing."

Elanna kept smirking.

"What exactly is it that you think you know about me, about Donovan?"

Anika motioned to Haydon. "Care to enlighten our guest?"

"With pleasure," he cleared his throat. "Miss Wythe, we know that your half-brother Donovan raised you and turned you against the major gods. We know that your brother wants to destroy the demigods by killing them all, then raising them from the dead and controlling their minds to make them his army. We know you were a double agent, making it possible for Camp Half-Blood to be vulnerable to his attack. Your brother wants to destroy demigods first and foremost because they are the protectors of the gods, and, without them, gods could hypothetically be more vulnerable."

"What we want from you" Anika said, "is for you to tell us your brother's weaknesses. Things that he fears, things that he loves, leverage we can use to stop him. Millions will die in his lust for power, Elanna! Surely you can't want that?"

Elanna scoffed. "How could you possibly know what I want?" She closed her eyes, thinking.

"All right, give me a moment to talk to Anika alone. Don't worry, David, I won't bite." She smirked again. "I have something of value to you, but only on my terms, using my desired methods, and giving me what I want. That is the only way I'll say anything at all to you lowlifes."

Anika scowled. "Haydon, David, Bradley, Lynn—get out of here. Our guest and I need a private discussion."

They left, and Lynn felt an uneasy knot forming in the pit of her stomach. After fifteen minutes of touring the warehouse where Anika's group stayed, getting to know the guys, and finding out more about the operation, Anika finally opened the door and strode out. "Haydon, Bradley, start the car. Our kidnapping days aren't over yet."

Bradley crossed his arms. "Where to?"

"221 Laketon Avenue. Blue Ash, Ohio."

Lynn gulped. "And…who are you kidnapping?"

"It's brilliant, really. We're kidnapping Donovan's wife and two year old daughter."

LEO

Thursday morning, at six, an impish grin found Leo's worn face.

"It's done."

He had started marking with Sharpie on his arm. One dot per cup of coffee he had between showers when he'd wash the previous dots off.

Right now, he counted 23 dots.

And those 23 cups of Brazilian Roast had paid off. A beautiful wooden raft—half Ogygian magical wood, half oak, with a polished finish—sat before him. Three Celestial Bronze shields per side of the raft were melded together and fit to the raft. A small sail was smack dab in the middle of it. In the back, there was a solar-powered motor of his own invention. The front was fitted with a dashboard—complete with a stereo system, built in computer screen, and GPS. There was a chair made from waterproof, comfortable material, with reclining capabilities (as far as it could go without hitting the sail.) And behind the sail was an ice chest filled with food, and a backpack filled with clothes, weapons, a tarp in case of rain, and more food. However, the most valuable items were kept safe in the pockets of Leo's cargo pants.

All in all, the raft was three yards long and two yards across. A bit…cramped, but for one person, it would have to do. His father, the god Hephaestus, had blessed him as well, making the raft surprisingly and unbelievably light weight and buoyant.

The last couple days he had made about a hundred weapons, working nonstop without break. He locked the door of the bunker, hanging a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign up.

Sighing contently, he plopped down on his chair, jugging down a glass of water and then opening a pizza box. The savory, foreign scent of food filled the room, and without even thinking he had devoured half the Italian delicacy.

Time to regain strength he thought as he closed his eyes.

He didn't wake up until a half hour before midnight, Friday night. He contemplated whether he should sleep longer, and get a full 48 hours, but decided against it. He ate the other half of cold pizza, jugged down three more glasses of water, and headed out, dragging the raft behind him.

He made it to the beach, unseen, within a half-hour. Carefully, he pushed it to the shore. Taking a sharp stick, he wrote a message in the sand for all to see.

Goodbyes were painful. Goodbyes took longer than necessary, filled with too many tears and so much sorrow. Goodbyes hindered him from getting to the one he loved more then all.

He pushed off, leaping into the raft with a whoop. Leo tossed a large fireball into the air, hoping that would draw Camp to his message in the sand, identical to a note in the armory.

Armory is stocked, good luck, adios. If ya need me, I'm headed to Ogygia. Peace out, amigos. Kick Donny-boy's butt for me, will ya? –Leo Valdez. TEAM LEO! TEAM CALYPSO! TEAM CALYPSO AND LEO! CALEO! (Nah, that'd never catch on. Scratch that.)

"That's my kind of goodbye. Keep it lighthearted, hide the pain. If the pain is hidden, it's easier to move on."

He didn't look back at the home he was leaving. In the corner of his brain there were whispers. Why didn't I give Beauty Queen a hug before I left? What about Hazel and Frank? What about Nico? What about my siblings? What about Mischelle? My friends, all of them, and I'll never see them again if all goes according to plan.

He tried to hide the whispers, to cast them away. Camp Half-Blood was behind him. Leave it there.

You could have at least said goodbye to Festus.

Leo turned on music, letting the songs drown out his regrets as he ventured onward.