We turned around and saw Hecate. The goddess of magic wore a long purple dress with a strap on her right shoulder. Her hair was black and put into a braid. She wore a silver key around her neck on a black silk cord. Her eyes were blue and she wore a bracelet with a pentagram on her right wrist, while she had a waxing crescent moon bracelet on her left wrist.

"Lady Hecate." Hazel said. We all bowed down to her in respect. "What brings you here?"

"I came to tell you some important information, and to give you a warning." she answered. "Annabeth is right on all the disasters being linked to one other. However, the evil maiden you seek is a very dangerous person. I do not know much about her, not even her own name, but I do know that she is very powerful."

"Powerful? And how is this so?" I asked.

"She can use both the mist and magic to her advantage. But she is no daughter of mine, so how this is possible, I do not know. If and when you encounter her, be very careful." Hecate warned. "And Gwen." Her eyebrows raised at the mention of her name. "I know what you seek to do, but, are you aware of the price that you must pay? Do you know what risks you are taking?"

"I am well aware of the risks, oh powerful Queen of Ghosts, but it's my fault that the Curse of Camp Jupiter formed, and therefore, it's my fault that Reyna died. I would risk everything to set things right." Gwen answered.

Her face turned into a sad yet stern expression. "Very well then. I will not try to stop you, but be careful. I wish you good luck on your quest."

The goddess disappeared. We turned towards Gwen. "Quest? What quest?" Jason asked.

"Well..." Gwen stuttered. "Here's the thing... I feel responsible for Reyna's death, so the reason I collected her soul is so that I could try and resurrect her."

We all gasped. "But how are you going to do that?" Leo asked.

"You don't even know the cause of her death." Percy said.

"I was never able to determine the cause while she was alive, but now that she's dead I know exactly what killed her; Pylosian Mint." she said.

"Pylosian Mint? Wasn't that one of the ingredients used in the Physician's Cure?" I asked.

Frank smiled. "Yes it was."

"Hecate said you would face risks if you went on the quest. What are those risks?" Piper asked.

Gwen was about to answer, when suddenly a black-winged and black cloaked figure swooped down. We were scared, but Gwen did not tremble.

"Who... who are you?" Leo asked.

The figure took off his hood, revealing him as Thanatos.

"Th...Thanatos?" Percy asked.

He turned towards Gwen. "What, no warm welcome?" he asked. "That kinda hurts ya know."

"What are you doing here?" Gwen asked, gritting her teeth.

"You should know. You plan on resurrecting Reyna, and I can't let you do that. Hand her over to me." he ordered.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No. I'm not going to hand her spirit over to you. Reyna didn't deserve her fate."

"Death is not about being fair."

"It's my fault that she died! I can't let Frank and Percy be the praetors of a cursed camp when there's an evil maiden causing the death of a dragon, the corruption of a goddess and the theft of a very valuable item!" she panted. "It's all my fault that Camp Jupiter is cursed, and I'm going to make things right."

"You have a lot of nerve." Thanatos said.

"Gwen, are you crazy?! He could kill you!" Jason exclaimed.

"He wouldn't kill her, would he? Gwen's his daughter." Piper said.

She sighed. "You don't get it, do you? Like Saturn, Thanatos cares nothing about his children." Gwen remarked.

Percy harbored a perplexed expression on his face. "Saturn?"

"Better known to us Greeks as Kronos." I answered.

"Speaking of which, didn't you four," Gwen said, pointing to me, Percy, Piper and Leo, "actually face him in the Battle of Manhattan?"

"Not quite." Leo answered. "The Battle of Manhattan took place before me and Piper ever found out that we were demigods."

"And even then, his powers were limited. He took on the host of a man named Luke Castellan. He was very close to regaining his true Titan form, but me and Percy managed to stop him before he could destroy Olympus. Luke killed himself at the last minute, and Kronos was scattered, hopefully so thin that he'll never reform or be conscious ever again." I answered.

"Anyway, back to the subject at hand. You can't just go resurrecting unfortunate victims!" Thanatos exclaimed.

"It's not just about her! It's about everyone at Camp Jupiter!" Gwen exclaimed. "Do you know how many people have died before and during the Curse of Camp Jupiter?!"

"Of course I do. 13 victims. What do you take me for, a fool?!"

"NO! I don't!"

"Aren't you scared of death? Of me?"

"Timor mortis ne conturbat me."

Thanatos was left speechless.

"What did she just say?" Piper asked.

"The fear of death does not confound me." Jason answered.

"Isn't it supposed to be timor mortis conturbat me?" Leo asked.

"That's 'the fear of the death confounds me.'" I answered. "Gwen is not afraid of dying. Or her father."

"So you're not afraid of death? Well, you should be." Thanatos answered.

"Wait. I propose a challenge." Gwen said. "If I can resurrect Reyna by curing her body of her sickness within one month, you let her stay alive. If I fail, you can take my soul."

We all gasped. "Gwen, you can't be serious!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm. This is a most interesting proposition. And what do you want from me if you should actually win?" Thanatos asked.

"Well, there is something that I want, but, I don't think it is within your power." Gwen answered.

"And what might that be?"

"Well, you probably know that I recently suffered a miscarriage. I was thinking that, one day, after I've recovered, I would actually be able to conceive and give birth to a strong healthy child." She looked away sadly. "But it's not possible."

"Hmm... It could be done, perhaps, not easily. But either way, you're bound to die on this mission. Should you survive, I'll see what can be done." Thanatos said. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."

He disappeared in black smoke. "Gwen, do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?" Jason asked.

"Yes, but even if I should die and I succeed in saving Reyna, then my death will not be in vain." she answered.

Gwen walked off, leaving us there in silence.