***Okay, so this chapter was ridiculously fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading it! Chapter 14, featuring Leo's POV, will be up by Friday, April 25. Also, because I don't think I've done a disclaimer recently, I am not Rick Riordan, I'm just borrowing these characters.***

XIII. JASON

Jason had hoped to get a good night's sleep, but his dreams were less than restful. He saw Reyna, looking fierce and a little battered, striking down gryphons in what might have been London; there was a giant Ferris wheel in the distance and a clock tower that looked like Big Ben. Behind her, Nico was slumped against the Athena Parthenos. Jason couldn't tell whether the son of Hades had passed out or was just sleeping. He heard a familiar war-cry and turned in time to see Coach Hedge whack one gryphon over the head with his baseball bat, then roundhouse kick another. Both monsters exploded into dust and the dream changed.

He saw his sister, Thalia, leading a group of Hunters through a forest in what looked like Colorado; above the treetops, Jason could make out the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. With the Hunters were a group of satyrs, including Percy's friend Grover Underwood.

"You're sure they were around here, Grover?" Thalia whispered. Her bow was in her hands, two arrows already on the string, ready to fire.

"Positive," Grover replied. He was clutching his wooden pipes tightly. "Gaea released two dozen Earthborn somewhere really near to—"

Grover was cut off as a roar went up and at least twenty six-armed Earthborn stormed through the trees.

Before Jason could see what happened, his dream changed again. He was standing on a cliff, overlooking a city. Wind pulled on his hair and clothes. Behind him, he heard a low chuckle. He turned to see the Parthenon rising against the star-strewn sky. A chill swept over him.

The ground in front of the ancient temple swirled until it formed the face of a sleeping woman. Gaea chuckled again. "A cage awaits you, son of Jupiter."

Jason opened his mouth to say "No, thanks," but a gust of wind blasted him in the chest and flung him over the side of the cliff. He tried to control the winds, to stop his fall, but the wind wouldn't obey. Just before he hit the ground, he woke up, sitting straight up in bed, drenched in sweat. It took a minute for his heart to stop racing. Jason was grateful Leo had thought to add rubber flooring and insulated walls to his room because judging by the scorch marks, he had thrown off some pretty good bolts. It happened sometimes during his more disturbing dreams. And tonight's dreams had been especially disturbing.

He glanced at his alarm clock, which said 5:30. An hour and a half until they were scheduled to arrive in Eleusis. Jason wished he knew why he had this sinking feeling in his stomach every time he thought of the place. There was no specific reason he should feel this nervous. But it was as if, on a gut level, he knew that something was going to go horribly wrong. And apparently Percy felt the same way. What bothered Jason was that none of the others had the same apprehension.

To storm or fire, the world must fall.

Everyone agreed that "storm" probably referred to either Jason or Percy. Jason wondered if that was why they were the only ones with the bad feeling about Eleusis; maybe Gaea had a plan to eliminate the "storm" part of the prophecy there. Jason remembered his dream of the Earth Mother saying, "A cage awaits you, son of Jupiter," and he shuddered.

Sleep was obviously out of the question. Jason threw back the covers and decided that, since he was already awake, he might as well get dressed and grab breakfast. But waking up at 5:30 in the morning didn't feel like a promising start to the day.

Things didn't get any more promising when the seven of them reached the ruins in Eleusis. The ruins were set on top of a hill, looking out over the bay. The view of the bay, the town, and the rolling hills was great, but Jason had seen a lot of great views. His uneasiness was growing; all he wanted was for them to find this weapon and get back to the ship as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, there were no obvious signs saying, "Demigods this way," which would have been helpful.

"Seriously, would it be so hard to get a deity-drawn map or something?" Leo complained.

"It's like Pylos all over again," Frank muttered.

"Except no Hermes this time," Percy said, looking around.

"Let's just start with the obvious," Piper said. She had the kalathos basket tucked safely in her backpack, while Annabeth had the kiste chest in hers. At least the key objects were portable, Jason thought. The wind was whipping Piper's hair across her face and she impatiently brushed it away. "Where was Demeter's temple?"

"Over this way." Annabeth led the way toward some ruins set at the mouth of a shallow cave in the hillside. "I looked up some information on Eleusis last night. There were a few things about the ruins, but unfortunately the ceremony itself was pretty accurately called the Eleusinian Mysteries. There was barely any information on them."

The ruined temple didn't look like anything special, just six stone steps leading up to a marble slab covered with broken off pillars. Jason supposed it must once have been impressive, but now it just looked like someone's patio after a bad storm had gone through, with loose stones and rubble scattered around.

"Getting anything from those sacred objects?" Leo asked. "Maybe they'll heat up when they get close to the altar or something."

Annabeth and Piper both shook their heads. "Nothing," Piper said.

Hazel turned in a slow circle, taking in the ruins. She studied the cave. "Do you see that?"

"See what?" Percy asked.

Hazel didn't answer. She walked into the cave, staring at the back wall. Jason couldn't see anything there.

"Hazel?" Frank asked.

The others followed Hazel into the cave. It was still early enough that it was chilly in the shade. Jason felt a shiver pass down his spine as he crossed into the shade, but he wasn't sure if it was from the change in temperature or something else.

Hazel was examining the back wall of the cave. She reached up to brush some loose dirt off and suddenly Jason saw what Hazel had already noticed. Carved into the rock was a symbol that looked like a lot of curved sticks clustered together. "What is that supposed to be?" Jason asked.

"I think it's supposed to be a sheaf of wheat," Hazel said. "When grains are harvested, they're set up like this, to keep them off the ground. The sheaf of wheat is one of the symbols of Demeter."

"So this must be the entrance," Percy said.

Hazel bit her lip. "There should be a door here, but I can't figure out how to open it. It's like it's locked or something."

"Maybe we need the chest and the basket?" Annabeth suggested.

"No," Jason said. Even in his own ears, his voice sounded odd. But he had just noticed an indentation in the rock above the sheaf, a hollow that curved in a familiar shape. "Piper, we need the cornucopia."

"The cornucopia?" Piper looked confused until she saw where Jason was looking and her eyes widened. Quickly, she unslung the horn and pressed it into the indentation. It fit perfectly. Blue light poured from the horn, lighting up the stalks of wheat, and forming the outline of a door. The stone melted away, revealing an archway that led into a tunnel. The blue light died and the cornucopia fell back into Piper's hands. Everyone stood still, stunned. "If Hercules hadn't assigned us that task," Piper whispered, "if I hadn't gotten the horn from Achelous—"

Jason nodded grimly. "Someone set us up."

"Hera?" Leo wondered.

Jason shrugged. "Maybe. Or—or someone else." He meant Gaea, but he didn't want to say the earth goddess's name when they were about to go underground. From his friends' faces, though, he guessed they understood what he meant.

"It doesn't matter," Annabeth said. "We have to keep going."

Hazel nodded. "We need to get the weapon. Just keep your eyes open, in case it's a trap." And she led the way into the dark tunnel.

The tunnel twisted and turned, seeming to go on forever. The door had disappeared behind them a long time ago; now, the only light came from Hazel, Jason, and Percy's swords, plus the ball of fire Leo had summoned in his hand. They were trusting mostly in Hazel's underground senses, but she led them confidently, not missing a turn. Finally, up ahead, there was a glimmer of light. They came around a final bend in the path and saw a massive archway, at least twenty feet tall, up ahead. Outside the archway, something was making a strange rumbling noise, followed by a burst of steam that blew across the doorway.

Hazel started forward, but Frank put out an arm to hold her back. "Wait. Let me check it out first." Without waiting for an answer, Frank transformed into a snake. He slithered up the wall of the tunnel and across the ceiling until he could look out. Jason had to admit it was a good idea. Frank the snake was much less noticeable than a full-size demigod. After a moment, Frank slithered back and dropped to the ground. He transformed back into himself, his face pale. "You've got to see this. But stay quiet. We definitely don't want to wake it up."

The seven of them crept forward until they could look out of the archway. What he saw made Jason's heart drop into his shoes.

The tunnel opened into a cavern massive enough to house four football stadiums. Sunlight streamed down through enormous glass panes set into the roof several hundred feet up. The cavern itself was oddly beautiful, peaceful like a cathedral or a library, the type of place where whispering was the only acceptable form of noise. Except here, Jason didn't even think whispering was a good idea. Looking into the cavern, he understood immediately why Frank had said to stay quiet.

Curled against the wall, the length of a football field away from the demigods, was a huge golden bull. Huge, actually, didn't quite fit. Jason searched his vocabulary for the right word. Gargantuan sounded about right. The bull was eighty feet tall lying down. When it stood up, it would probably be a hundred feet tall, easily. Its body was made of solid gold, except for its hooves, which glinted like steel. From its head sprouted two enormous horns, each as long as several subway cars and tapering to deadly points. The bull's eyes were closed and Jason decided he really wanted them to stay that way. The bull snorted, a puff of steam shooting out of its nostrils. It was asleep.

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo breathed. Jason resisted the urge to clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Please tell me we don't have to fight that thing," Percy whispered. The idea of fighting the bull made Jason's knees weak. They wouldn't win. It would squash them like ants.

"I think we just have to get past it," Annabeth said. She pointed to a stone door set into the cavern wall directly across from them. Unfortunately, "directly across from them" was still almost a quarter mile away. "We'll have to move fast."

"Oh, goody," Leo said.

They sheathed their weapons and set off, walking briskly but trying to stay quiet. Everyone's heads kept turning, looking from the bull to the door and back again. Jason's heart was pounding so hard he hoped it didn't wake up the bull.

They were almost halfway across when it happened. Jason didn't know if they hit a trip wire or if the bull had really good hearing or maybe it was just on an automatic timer. It didn't matter. The bull opened its eyes.

For an instant, everything froze. The bull's eyes blazed like Hephaestus's forge. Jason didn't breathe. Please don't notice us, he thought. But they were standing, completely exposed, in the middle of the otherwise empty cavern. The bull snorted again, sending steam spiraling across the floor. Then, with a thunderous clanking noise, it got to its feet.

Frank summed up their strategy in one word. "Run."

There was no debate, no questions about "hey, maybe we should stay and fight this thing." All seven of them simply took off, sprinting for the door as the bull lowered its head and charged.

Jason had never run so fast in his life. The bull roared, its footsteps shaking the cavern floor. Jason made the mistake of glancing back and a thrill of fear shot through him. The bull was less than fifty feet away.

Up ahead, Percy slammed against the door which, thank the gods, opened. Percy disappeared through it, followed by Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel. Jason could feel steam from the bull's nostrils against the back of his neck. He shoved Piper and Leo in front of him, then barreled through the doorway. The door fell into place automatically behind him with a crash, which was good because as soon as he got through the door, Jason smashed into something in front of him. Something sharp hit him in the gut, causing the air to whoosh out of his lungs. Jason had no idea what he'd run into; it was pitch black in this room. He heard an angry roar as the bull apparently rammed its head against the stone wall, causing an earthquake that would have flung Jason off his feet if he hadn't been pinned between the door and whatever was in front of him. When the shaking subsided, he finally realized that the something in front of him was actually Piper and Leo. He was pinned so tightly between his friends and the wall that he could barely move. The sharp thing he had run into was the hilt of Piper's Boread sword. "What in Hades?"

"We're stuck." Annabeth's voice was muffled, like she was pressed against a wall. "The door didn't lead to a tunnel. This is like a broom closet or something."

"Yeah, no offense," Leo said, "but this is a little too cozy."

"We can't go back the way we came," Piper said. The bull roared again and the room shook as the mountain of metal flung itself against the stone.

"There has to be another door," Annabeth insisted. "We'll just have to find a way to distract the bull or—"

"There's a door here," Percy said. There was a thumping sound, like a fist hitting wood. "But I can't get it open. There's no handle. The wood feels pretty old though."

"Maybe we can break it down," Hazel suggested.

"Maybe," Percy said. "Frank, where you at, big guy?"

"Here," Frank said.

"Not that helpful in the dark, man."

There were some scuffling noises, then Frank said, "Ow! That was my eye!"

"Oops, sorry," Percy said. "But, Frank, if you move to your right, you should be able to switch places with Annabeth and help me with this door."

More scuffling noises, accompanied by some pretty creative cursing in both Greek and English from Annabeth and Frank.

Hazel gasped. "That was my foot."

"Sorry," Annabeth said.

A thud as someone hit either the door or the wall. Jason noticed that the noises from the bull had disappeared. He hoped that meant it had given up and gone back to sleep.

"I'm at the door," Frank said.

"Great," Percy replied. "On three, hit it as hard as you can. One—two—three!"

There was a crunch as the door gave way and the demigods tumbled out. Jason took another hit to the gut, this time from Leo's elbow. Groaning, he managed to stand up and help Piper to her feet. Around him, the others were getting up. It was a moment before he comprehended the fact that he could see again. "Where's that light coming from?" he asked.

"No idea," Leo answered.

They were in yet another cavern, this one long and low like a subway tunnel, but as wide as an eight-lane highway. The light seemed to be coming from the sandstone walls around them, which gave off a faint glow. Running through the middle of the room was a chasm about thirty feet across. In front of them, in line with the door, was a narrow stone bridge, just wide enough to walk across. There were no railings. On the other side of the chasm, set into the far wall, was a perfectly round hole, like a sewer pipe, just big enough to crawl through.

"Well, at least if we fall, you can catch us, right, Superman?" Leo joked.

But Jason shook his head. "I don't think so. There's no wind to control." The cavern was completely still. It was eerie, like the entire room was holding its breath.

Percy glanced into the chasm. "Looks like that drop would take us straight back to Tartarus."

Annabeth shuddered. "Don't even say that."

"How deep is it?" Frank asked Hazel.

She knelt next to the chasm and pressed her hand against the rock. Her eyes narrowed. "I can't tell."

Leo shivered. "Hey, guys, is it just me or is it getting cold in here?"

Piper opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Her eyes widened. She tried to talk again, but nothing happened. Jason's stomach twisted.

"Frank," he said, trying to keep his voice even, "try to change into an animal."

Frank looked at him like he was crazy. "Why?"

"Just try."

Frank concentrated, but nothing happened. His brow furrowed. "Can't do it."

"Seriously," Leo said; his teeth were chattering and his lips were turning blue, "you guys aren't cold?"

"No," Percy replied. "I could seriously use a drink though. I didn't realize I was this thirsty."

"It's the room," Jason said, sure of it now. "It's suppressing our powers."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked.

"It's targeting our specific godly powers," Jason said. "Leo's cold, you're dehydrated, Piper can't speak."

"Frank can't change form and I can't tell how deep this chasm goes," Hazel said, catching on. "We need to get out of here."

"But which way do we go? I mean, how did we get in here?" Annabeth asked, looking around. She put her face in her hands. "I can't think straight. This place is making my head spin."

Percy turned pale. "We need to go." He grabbed Annabeth's hand and led the way across the bridge.

Jason crossed last, behind Piper, who was following Leo. Leo was shivering so badly Jason was terrified he would lose his balance. Luckily, he made it across, but Piper made the mistake of looking down as she stepped off the bridge. Her foot slipped. For a horrible second, Jason thought she was going to fall, but he managed to catch her.

"Careful," he said, as they made it onto the solid ground on the other side. Piper nodded against his chest.

Hazel was kneeling in front of the tunnel.

"Can you sense anything?" Frank asked.

She shook her head. "Still nothing. But it's the only way out."

Hazel led the way into the tunnel. Fortunately, since they had to crawl, this tunnel went straight and at a slight upward angle, but it felt at least as long as the one they had walked down to get to the bull's cavern. Jason was starting to feel really claustrophobic when he noticed light ahead. A few minutes later, he followed his friends back out into the sunlight. As he stood up and stretched, he thought he'd never appreciated the wind in his face more than he did at that moment. It helped to push away the eerie feeling the silent room had given him. He still felt vaguely uneasy about this entire trip to Eleusis, but he pushed the feeling away. Focus on the quest, he reminded himself.

Jason looked up to take in his surroundings and received a jolt. They were standing on top of the hill at Eleusis. Below them were the ruins of Demeter's temple and the overhanging rock that hid the cave entrance they had come through. The others were just noticing where they were, as well.

"We're right back where we started!" Frank said.

"If you're telling me we went through all that when we could have just climbed the stupid hill—," Leo growled. Jason was annoyed, too, but he was relieved to see that his friend was no longer shivering. The effects of the cave seemed to have disappeared as soon as they left the tunnel.

"It wouldn't have worked," Hazel said. "The ruins are a magical place. We had to pass the tests. I'm betting if we'd just climbed the hill, that wouldn't have appeared." She pointed to a river that was cutting across the top of the hill. On the other side of the river was a smaller hill with carved Greek pillars standing on either side of a jagged opening in the rock.

"Fantastic," Piper muttered, "another cave."

Annabeth was still staring back at the tunnel they had climbed through. "We need to go this way," Percy told her gently, gesturing toward the river.

Annabeth glared at him. "I know that now, thanks. Our powers were only suppressed in that one room. I was just thinking," she tucked her hair behind her ear, "those caverns and tunnels and the way that distance obviously didn't matter, it reminded me a lot of the Labyrinth." She looked at Hazel. "Pasiphae told you she was rebuilding it, didn't she?"

"She did," Hazel said. "But if this place is supposed to test whether people are worthy to enter Demeter's shrine, the tunnels might not be related to the Labyrinth."

"I hope so," Annabeth said. She shook her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter right now. Let's check out the river."

The river looked completely normal. It was only about ten feet wide. The water was clear and seemed pretty shallow. Percy confirmed this by saying, "It's only about three feet deep in the middle."

"So we should be able to walk across, no problem," Piper said.

"But if this is another test, it might not be that easy," Frank pointed out. "We could get out in the middle and a sinkhole could open or, I don't know, a giant crocodile could pop up or something." He noticed the looks the others were giving him and flushed. "It could happen."

"No, you're right," Percy said. "I'll go first."

"You are the water dude," Leo said.

Percy made a face. "Okay, I can almost understand why Mr. D doesn't want to be called the 'wine dude.'"

Percy waded out into the river. The water was about a foot deep when he gasped and fell to his knees.

"Percy!" Annabeth said. She took a step forward, but Percy held up a hand, signaling that he was okay. His eyes were closed and he was gritting his teeth like he was in pain. After a minute, he opened his eyes. He was breathing hard, like he'd just run up a hill, as he got shakily to his feet.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

Percy swallowed. "You see them. Every monster or—or demigod you've killed. You see them all." He looked at his hands. "And the water burns like it's—like it's burning them away or something, if that makes any sense."

"It's part of the Eleusinian Mysteries," Annabeth said quietly. "One of the requirements is freedom from 'blood guilt,' which means you can't have committed a murder. The river is supposed to cleanse you. I'm sorry, I didn't even think about this river being related to that." She looked at Percy. "Is it like—?"

Percy nodded, his eyes dark. "Yeah, it's like that."

"Like what?" Piper asked.

Annabeth clenched her fists; possibly, Jason thought, to keep her hands from shaking. "The River Acheron," she said.

"The river of murderers," Hazel murmured. "It flows into Tartarus, doesn't it?"

Annabeth nodded. She didn't elaborate, but judging from her expression, Jason guessed the experience hadn't been pleasant.

As Percy climbed out on the opposite bank, Leo clapped his hands. "So, who's next to take a dip in the river of traumatic memories?"

Annabeth immediately stepped into the water. Like Percy, she fell to her knees about a quarter of the way across. When she stood back up, her face was white. She stumbled to the bank, where Percy caught her. Annabeth said something, but the only word Jason heard was, "Luke."

"Yeah, I know," Percy said.

Hazel took a deep breath and stepped into the stream. The water had barely reached her ankles when she collapsed, shivering, on her hands and knees. Tears were streaming down her face as she stood, but she managed to make it across. "I saw my mother," Hazel whispered.

"That wasn't your fault," Frank said fiercely.

Hazel just shook her head. Annabeth hugged her.

Frank stepped into the stream. He made it almost halfway across before he dropped to one knee. When he stood up, his face was tinged slightly green, but he climbed onto the opposite shore. He wrapped his arms around Hazel, who was still shaking.

"Better get this over with," Piper murmured. She squeezed Jason's hand and stepped into the river. She, too, made it almost halfway across before falling to her hands and knees with a splash. A shiver ran through her, but when she got to her feet, her mouth was set in a firm line.

Jason stepped into the water as Piper climbed onto the opposite bank. The water was almost to his knees when he felt it start to burn, like the river had suddenly become boiling hot. He dropped to his knees as images began to race in front of his eyes. He relived killing the Trojan sea monster, Krios on Mount Othrys, Enceladus last winter in San Francisco, ventus after ventus after ventus, monsters from the army in the House of Hades, and a hundred other different monsters and evil creatures.

He didn't feel especially bad about any of the monsters' deaths (after all, each of them had been trying very hard to murder him at the time), but it was disturbing to watch himself kill again and again and again. The images left a sick feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. The feeling stayed even as the images faded and he was able to get to his feet and make his way onto the riverbank to join his friends.

Alone on the other side, Leo squared his shoulders and walked in. The water had barely reached his ankles when he, like Hazel, collapsed onto his hands and knees. His eyes were clenched tightly shut and he gave a small, dry sob. When he stood up, his fingers were trembling.

"I'm not feeling particularly cleansed, how about you guys?" Leo muttered as he flopped onto the riverbank. Jason held out a hand to help him up. "Thanks, man," Leo said. He looked at Hazel. "I saw my mom, too. The night she died in the fire that I started. The fire Gaea," he spat the earth goddess's name like a disgusting swear word, "tricked me into starting."

Hazel gave Leo a hug. "We're going to make her pay," she promised.

"Yeah, we are," Percy said, his jaw clenched tight. "Let's go get that weapon."

Hazel led the way to the cave entrance. Whereas the other entrances had looked like doors or been perfectly round, the entrance to this cave was a jagged slash, like the rock had been struck by something and cracked. The marble pillars on either side, though, looked pristine, as if they'd been newly constructed. Everything about this doorway set off alarms in Jason's head, but he had no idea why. Then, when Hazel tried to walk into the cave, she bounced back with enough force that Frank stumbled when he caught her.

"I can't get through," Hazel said as Frank set her back on her feet. She pressed her hands against the air. Jason followed her example. It was like pushing against a wall, only there was nothing there, at least not that he could see.

"There's a barrier here," he said.

"Let the master take a look," Leo said. But when he went to push against the barrier, he stumbled forward, passing through it with no problem. "What the heck?"

"How'd you get through?" Piper asked.

"No clue," Leo said, looking baffled.

"Well, at least we know it's possible," Jason said.

"Yeah, except, um," Leo pounded his fist against the empty air like it was a wall, "I can't get back out."

***Once again, Chapter 14 featuring Leo's POV will be up by Friday!***