Hi everyone. I'm back. Sorry for the long wait but I was out of town and completely incommunicado. I've just finished this chapter and I really like it, even though it's rather short. Let me know what you think !

The room Jamie entered was like nothing she could ever have imagined. It was a cave, a magnificent cave, tall as a cathedral and wide as a football stadium, making a perfect circle around her. The cave's walls were a deep black, like they were made of obsidian, but they were lined with crystals that shone and twinkled at her with pure white light, as if someone had brought down all the stars from the sky to illuminate the heart of the mountain. They filled the room with an otherworldly glow that warmed Jamie from the inside, making her feel like she could lie down and stare at them forever, if only she could stay.

From the sides of the cave there flowed two rivers, one to the right of the door Jamie had entered from and the other to her left, each ninety degrees around the circle, as if they entered from the southern and eastern points in a compass. The rivers would have met in the middle of the cave were it not for the great structure that dominated the centre of the room. It was another circle, concentric to the outer shell of the cave and inside this second sphere Jamie saw a collection of pools and canals of water, forming the most complicated labyrinth imaginable. There was one pool after another; opening up in such a way that they were all connected and water could flow freely from one end of the inner circle to the other.

The rivers crashed into the edge of the inner circle and the water cascaded and overflowed from one pool to the next, fanning out and filling them all, one by one, so that, if someone looked from above, they would see a perfect circular lake made of thousands of spots of water. The river that came in from the southern tip of the room pushed to the north and the one that entered from the east pushed to the west so that they filled every pool in the circle before reforming themselves and exiting at the exact opposite end of the room, flowing again into the side of the mountain.

Jamie walked around for a few minutes, looking at the ceiling and at the great maze of pools with wonder. As she approached the edge of the inner circle she saw that there were two bridges which rose and spanned the distance between the four pieces of land made by the rivers. They met in the center of the room making a crossroads overlooking the whole structure, allowing anyone who walked over them to watch the pools from above. The entrance to the first bridge was right in front of Jamie so she walked towards it and began to make her way up to the very centre of the room.

While she walked, Jamie looked into the pools below the bridge and watched the water swirling inside them. After a few steps she gasped and stared intently. An image had appeared on a pool below her and she watched as figures formed on the water's surface and a scene started to play, like she was watching an old movie, with color but without sound. Jamie recognized the events that started to unfold in the water, it was a scene from her early childhood, showing an afternoon when her class had a picnic at school for Mother's Day with every parent invited and she had first realized her mother wasn't there and that she wanted to know why. Jamie remembered that day with sadness because his dad hadn't been able to give her a proper explanation and she had long remembered that afternoon as the first time her dad had really failed her.

As she watched, entranced by the sudden memory, all the pools started to come to life and inside every single one, images started to appear, visions that shone briefly before fading away. Jamie continued to walk along the bridge, watching scenes and events from her past, from her own life, even her most private and secret moments. She saw the day she had fought with her dad about the identity of her mother, the first time she was expelled from school and the morning she had met Percy and Liam, one in quick succession after the other. The images never lasted more than a few seconds before they shimmered and showed some new scene, some old memory but there was a common thread to all of them, every memory she saw was meaningful, they were the primary events of her life, those that had shaped her.

Jamie felt as if the room held all her life in the water flowing underneath her and that it was showing her a slideshow presentation of who she was and why. She kept on walking, watching the pools with fascination and trying to absorb as much information as she could. She soon realized that, even though she was in every picture and scene, she didn't know all of them. Some occurred when she was very little and showed memories she didn't remember anymore, whilst others seemed to be when she was older and showed things that were yet to happen. Jamie searched for these last ones intensely, trying to catch a glimpse of her future, of what was meant to be. Later on, she would wish she had never looked at any of them, for all the nights of sleep they cost her. In one pool she saw herself standing before a giant who threatened her with a sword while Liam lay unconscious on the floor; in another she travelled a frozen landscape with Percy, Liam and some other kids, while monsters watched them from the snow and rocks, invisible but ready for an ambush. And then, as she reached the middle of the bridge, she saw a pool that chilled her blood and made her want to run away.

Jamie saw herself, clad in golden armor, holding a long spear and a large square shield and standing at the front of a great army which spread out behind her. Her forces were made up of teenagers and kids, magical beasts and creatures, all standing in an orderly fashion, dressed like Roman soldiers, praetors and centurions, looking firm and ready for battle. They brandished golden swords and spears, bows and axes and they shouted battle cries into the air, fearless and daring, looking eager and ready to fight for their lives.

The army stood proud in the middle of large, dark and barren plain, next to a wide stone arch, which held an engraving that read "Relinquo spes totus vos quisnam penetro". Somehow, Jamie understood that to mean "Abandon all hope, ye who enter" and she recognized the inscription. Her father had once told her that, when some people died, their spirit reached an arch where they were received by that inscription and a guide that led them on to hell, a place where hope was no longer available or even worth having.

Liam was standing next to her with a sad look on his face and wearing the uniform of a Roman soldier, complete with a short golden sword in his hand and a bow slung across his back. On her other side there was a blond boy she had never seen before, standing just a few steps ahead of the army, clearly the leader of the Legion. He also wore battle garments and golden weapons, but he looked depressed, as if he were holding the weight of the sky on his shoulders and he knew his strength was about to fail him. He gazed to the horizon at a mass moving slowly towards them.

Across the plain, another army approached. Teenagers, kids and other mythical and magical creatures marched steadily in their direction, whilst pegasi soared the air above them and catapults were pushed alongside them. As the opposing force neared Jamie's position, they brandished their own weapons, deadly swords, spears and axes made of bronze shone across the plain, glinting with the reddish hue of copper and the promise of a furious battle. Banners depicting owls, boars, hammers, eagles and doves appeared and divided the enemy troops and signaled the divisions they'd be fighting. The army continued marching until they were five hundred feet away from the Roman forces before stopping, just outside of range from the enemy bows.

Jamie looked at both armies and realized they were evenly matched. If they fought, as it seemed inevitable they would, the battle would only end in the mutual annihilation of both forces, hundreds, maybe thousands of kids and magical beings dead. Jamie stared at the forces rallied before her future self, trying to figure out who and why they were fighting. The enemy forces parted to let someone pass through to the front, and a teenager came out to lead the opposing army into war. He looked like an eighteen year old and he wore full bronze battle armor while he held a bronze sword in his right hand and a great plumed helmet on his head.

It was Percy. But he had changed. He no longer seemed like the good natured and funny guy she liked, there was no hint of humor behind his eyes, of the kindness he gave everyone or the simplicity he showed to those around him. He looked grim and haunted, but Jamie saw something worse in his eyes, something she had never expected to see and which left her terrified. Rage. There was nothing but blind anger in his face, a murderous look that spoke only of revenge. He took something from his neck and Jamie saw that he was holding a small pendant of an owl. Inside it, there was the picture of a beautiful blonde girl. Percy looked at the piece of jewelry in his hand for a couple of seconds, kissed it and stored it as a bead on his necklace. Turning around, he gave one last look straight at Jamie before he let out an almighty roar into the black sky, raised his sword, and led his army into a furious charge.

Standing from the bridge, Jamie knew that moment would change the world forever and that it had to be stopped. Not only for the bloodshed and disaster it would cause, but also to spare Percy. The pain she had seen in him was more than he could bear; somehow someone had broken him on the inside. She looked at the pools for an answer, hoping to see how they had reached that point, how she had managed to find herself standing across a battlefield from Percy, and therefore, how to prevent it. But the images shimmered and disappeared, leaving her watching her own reflection.

With a sigh and wiping a tear from her eye, she broke out of her reverie and walked to the middle of the crossroads made by the two bridges. There, she was sure she would meet her next challenge and have her loyalty tested like she'd had her faith and her courage taken to their breaking point. Several seconds passed by. Jamie heard the water beneath her starting to swirl with more and more intensity as if the rivers were increasing in speed and volume or as if her memories were revolving and moving with more power. Mist started to rise from the pools beneath her, first in soft lines of smoke but quickly becoming a thick tangible, living entity that surrounded her and blocked off everything from sight. The crossroads were absorbed by the mist, making a white wall over the bridges and doming over Jamie's head, so that there was nothing in the world except for the choices the crossroads offered and herself. The mist started to swirl around her like a great storm and the images from her life flashed on its surface too fast for the eye to follow. She saw faces, moments, gestures, all turning and mixing in the mist like her whole life was being fused together in a hurricane around her.

Then, out of the mist, a figure appeared along the path to her right. It was her dad and he looked like he was in pain. The second he appeared, his knees buckled and he spat some blood, soaking his white shirt. He fell to the ground and tried to pick himself up but failed, only managing to rest his body against the side of the bridge. He saw her.

"Jamie?" he asked sounding completely bewildered. "What are you, I saw… I saw, monsters… I…" He tried to stand but doubled over in pain and fell to the ground again. "We need to get out of here" he said, desperately. "You have no idea… the things I've seen. We need to go now. I saw something horrible..."

Jamie stared at him, terrified. He seemed to be absolutely distraught, traumatized by something he had seen, but how had he come here, to the middle of a mountain when he was supposed to be working in Los Angeles? Jamie was about to make her way to help him when another figure appeared on the path to her left. She turned around quickly and saw that it was Liam. He had his back to her and he looked pretty bad. There was blood flowing along his side and his jeans were torn, as well as his T-shirt. He was fighting a monster on the bridge, another chimera, bigger and more ferocious than the one that attacked them in San Francisco. He retreated hastily jumping and dodging but barely managing to stop the monster from killing him. It didn't look like he would last long.

"Jamie!" yelled Liam. "Please! Help me! I can't kill it alone!" He dodged a swipe from one the claws and then another. "Come on!" he tried again, a tone of desperation edging his voice.

"Jamie, no" said her father. "I can't get up, help me stand. We need to leave this place now, come with me! You don't understand!"

Jamie hesitated. Before she had another instant to choose, a third figure appeared in the path that sank into the mist in front of her. At first, it was hard to tell who it was, but then, her outline cleared and Jamie recognized the girl standing before her.

It was the beautiful blonde whose picture Percy had kissed before charging into battle. Jamie felt a small pang of jealousy, the girl was gorgeous and she obviously was, or in the future would be, incredibly important to Percy. She looked at Jamie out of intense gray eyes and they held each other's gaze for a few seconds. She then drew a bronze knife from a sheath in her belt and threw it on the ground where it stuck and trembled at Jamie's feet. The mist opened up behind the blonde girl to reveal the bridge's path and, in the distance, Jamie saw two huge black hounds galloping at full speed towards them, their eyes set intently on the girl in front of her.

"Take the knife" said the blonde girl.

"Who are you? asked Jamie desperately. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I cannot make the choice for you, Jamie" she said "In the end, it will be you who decides all of our destinies. You must understand the true nature of loyalty to pass this test. Think! There is one path that will take you to Castra Roma. Faith, Courage, Loyalty. These are not separate and individual values. They are connected, they are meant to guide you. What does your heart tell you? You must choose only one path".

"Jamie, don't listen to her" whispered her father. "You don't know who she is. Help me up, there are things I have to tell you, things you have to know. I... I will tell you who your mother is, but please, come with me".

Jamie felt an electric shock at her father's words. Her mother. She could find out who she is, finally, after years of asking. Jamie started to take a step when Liam yelled from the other side of the bridge. "Jamie what are you waiting for!" he screamed. "I can't hold it for much longer! Aaah!" The chimera caught him on the side and he flew and crashed to the floor. He managed to stand again but it was obvious the battle would be over soon, he could barely walk.

The blonde girl turned around and drew a bronze sword, prepared to meet the huge black dogs. In a flash they reached her and pounced with incredible force. She dodged like a hunted deer and engaged in a furious battle. Jamie realized the girl was a fantastic fighter but, in close quarters against these hounds, she would not last for long.

"Jamie, there's no time" insisted her father.

"Help me!" yelled Liam.

"Choose!" shouted the blonde girl. "Choose NOW!"

Jamie screamed. In a flash she bent down and grabbed the bronze knife from the floor and went straight ahead, towards the blonde girl. She jumped onto the back of one of the black hounds and sank the knife deep into its hide. The beast dissolved into dust and the blonde girl used the opportunity to stab the other hound on its side.

Crying, Jamie turned around to her father and her friend but they were no longer there. There was no one there. The mist started to lift, leaving only an empty crossroads, Jamie and the blond girl. She approached her and took the knife from her. Jamie sat on the floor and cried. She had left Liam and her dad to die and for what, to save a girl she didn't even know, who she wasn't even loyal to. She had failed, she would never reach Castra Roma, never see Liam or Percy again.

"That is not true".

Jamie turned around. "What?"

"You have not failed" said the girl, "you have proven your loyalty in the greatest of ways, you have passed the test".

"But I left them, my dad, Liam. I'm not loyal, I abandoned them".

"But why?" asked the girl. "Why did you save me and not your friend? Why did you leave your father, injured, when he was offering the information you have long hoped for?"

"I… I don't know" Jamie stammered. "It felt right, I had to…"

"You will understand, in time" said the blonde girl. "Your heart was in the right place, even if your head doesn't know it yet. Saving me showed you were loyal not to anyone in particular, not even to Percy, but to something greater, something more important than anything else, even your own desires and the pain it would cause you. Loyalty doesn't always have a person as its object, it can be a cause, a belief, even just a better future".

Jamie continued to cry on the floor. She wasn't convinced.

"Remember the lesson you have learned today" finished the girl. "You will be tested again, when the stakes are much higher and your decision will define everything. But for now, go and enter Castra Roma. You have faced the hardest test I have ever given anyone, except perhaps one other young hero, and you will be welcomed at camp as a worthy warrior. Goodbye, Jamie Bell. I will see you again".

And with that, the blonde girl faded into mist and beyond the bridge a wooden door appeared. Jamie walked towards it and, after a pause to clean the tears from her face, she opened it and walked into bright sunlight.

Hoped you liked it. Next Chapter, Percy's tests, which will be sweet. I don't know what they'll be yet, but I have a couple of good ideas. Please review!

Side note. A reviewer left a comment saying gods are only 20 feet tall max. I didn't actually check the heights while writing but I guessed they can make themselves as tall as they want and, back in the old days, why not be 50 feet tall.