Terminus had seen many disasters over the centuries and many threats to the Roman Empire. Barbarian hoards and savage forces from the untamed world beyond their gates. Rome marched out its armies and faced these primitive misfits and won. The superiority of the Romans lay in their discipline and, as the god of boundaries, he truly believed that. Discipline was the key to maintaining rules and order. And when Rome fell all those years ago, it was like watching a child die. It had always been his belief that the fall started on the inside. Rome lost its discipline, the sharp edge with which it defended itself, and the core of the empire began to rot like a bad apple. People stopped worshiping the gods, the rules were flouted or abolished all together. The line of Emperors became weak and the weakness spread like infection. Slowly but surely the boundaries receded and then crumbled all together.

How could history be repeating itself? It started out so small. Campers were given more slack and punishment was lacking but he supposed that was what happened with only one Praetor to run things. The young legacy of Jupiter had always seemed fairly capable to him but of course, no one could match Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano in her days as sole Praetor. But the little things grew, rapidly. The camp was in shambles now. Gladiator fights were being held in the Field of Mars, evening Muster had become a nightly party in the streets, uniforms were a thing of the past, the armory had been raided, and the unicorns were gone. Someone had left the stable door wide open and the creatures galloped off to parts unknown as the eagles circled overhead like giant vultures. He had no idea what the campers were doing for medical care without them.

The fawns had actually been putting themselves to good use helping keep the people of New Rome calm, but they were running low on certain goods. It was like being under siege with everyone stuck in the city. Trade had come to a screeching halt once the disarray hit its height. He knew that Lupa was restless as well. She and her pack would help keep the Camp secure and contained but so far nothing threatened them from without.

Terminus didn't notice it at first but now he could feel a faint hum in the air. It carried anarchy with it and held the legionnaires in thrall. The gods were too affected when they came near. The last contact Terminus had with Olympus were his last orders from Lord Jupiter telling him to protect the borders of New Rome at all cost. The madness must not be allowed to spread there or all would be lost. The moment anyone stepped beyond his protection it was like they became hypnotized. Citizens of New Rome were placed under house arrest for their own protection –though many of them wanted to fight and save their camp and their children.

He knew it was only a matter of time before he faced her directly. If it was her aim to push into New Rome, she would have to go through him. Even the Twelve Olympians had fallen into her traps before, such was her influence. It was sneaky and sly and played on your own emotions, making it seem like it was your own idea. So the gods maintained a wide berth because half their essence was danger this time. He knew most of them were choosing to remain in their Graecus forms and until they figured out how to stop her Terminus would hold the line.

The knocking was annoying. Cesare was very tired and had planned on sleeping the day away in his cabin but someone else had other plans. They were knocking on his door with a determination that clearly said, "open now or else, with a little more force, I will punch right through this bronze." So Cesare got up and stumbled toward the noise. When he opened the door the harshness of the sunlight blinded him. It took several blinks and some squinting to see that Madison was in front of him with an exasperated look on her face.

"Hey," he said with a voice like gravel.

"You are in possession of all your limbs," she said, sounding bored.

"Uh…"

Her arms were behind her back so at first he didn't see the clipboard. She pulled it out now and started making notes on some form.

"Are you feeling power-mad, cursed or despotic lately?" she asked, not even bothering to look up at him.

"No. What? Madison, what are you doing?" he sighed, wanting nothing more than to go back to bed.

"Camper Wellness Check," she said. "You didn't show up to breakfast and according to Teresa Velmont, no one has seen you all day. Of course, she could have checked your cabin and saved me some paperwork…"

"Teresa told you?" he asked, sounding sleepy and slow.

"Yep." Madison's tone was clipped as she finally stopped scribbling and looked at him. "She's been running around looking for you and came to my Dad when she couldn't find you. But when he asked if you were in your cabin she confessed she hadn't even checked so here I am. Have to make sure you didn't get eaten by a monster, or torn apart by the Harpies, or decided to run off and start a rebellion against the gods that would kill hundreds."

"I'm sorry, Maddy," Cesare said, leaning one arm on the door and stifling a yawn.

"Just keep your girlfriend informed please," replied Madison. Cesare looked at her sharply.

"She's not my girl-"

"Cesare!" Teresa was jogging across the Green and headed straight for them.

"Whatever you say," Madison said smugly.

Cesare ignored her as Teresa came to a stop in front of them

"Have you been asleep all day?" she asked.

"Yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night. Why did you call out the marines?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I just got worried. But we so need to talk!" she said, moving forward.

"Stop right there," Madison said before Teresa could even set foot inside the door. "You're not allowed to enter a cabin other than your own," Her voice was cool as she stared the other girl down.

"Come on, Madison," Teresa said, smiling sweetly.

"No," Madison said flatly. "And I have a high resistance to charmspeak so don't even try it."

There was no going back to sleep now, he knew that, just like he knew this was Madison's revenge on Teresa for the extra paperwork. So, he put the idea of his bed away and decided to focus on damage control.

"Look, I'll come out okay? Just give me a minute," he said, trying to bat the own curls out of his face.

"Thank you, for checking on me, Madison," he said when the two girls continued to glare at each other.

"I'll wait for you on the Green, Cesare. I'm on guard duty and I shouldn't waste time arguing with younger campers," said Teresa as she turned to walk away.

To her credit, Madison didn't rise to the bait and said nothing as the daughter of Aphrodite walked away. But if she could've shot lightning bolts with a look, Teresa would have been fried.

"I have to go back to the Big House," she said calmly.

Cesare just wiped his hand down his face and she walked away before shutting the door and going to get dressed.

It had been close to two in the morning when he got back to his cabin last night and he couldn't just go to sleep, not after all that. He'd asked the fountain, nicely, to call Teles and it did. She demanded that he tell her everything and he had. They ended up talking for an hour before he went to bed. As tired as he was now, he didn't regret it. He now made his way across camp to join Teresa at the Green.

"You look awful," Teresa said, wrinkling her nose slightly as she looked him over.

"Lack of sleep makes us all less pretty," he said and flopped onto the grass next to her. He laid down spread eagle and looked over at the fire. He was still groggy but between his lazy blinks and tendrils of dark hair he thought he caught sight of a young girl tending the flames. He promised himself that one day he would speak to her when she appeared. Lady Hestia seemed so tranquil, unlike Aphrodite or Hades.

"So, guess what?" Teresa asked in a giddy tone.

"Hm?" he said, looking at her.

"Capture the Flag is tonight and you're with us."

Teaming up with the Aphrodite cabin wasn't his idea of good news, but what made it worse was that he was also teamed up with the Ares cabin. From the moment they gathered for the war meeting it seemed clear that Sam was on a mission to get even. As counselor of the Ares cabin, Sam was in charge of the battle plan and it came as no surprise when he tried to put Cesare as far from the action as possible.

"Shouldn't Cesare be with the strike team?" asked Teresa, with thinly veiled annoyance. "He's strong. It doesn't make sense to waste him." Her sisters agreed with her and Cesare could almost hear Sam's teeth grinding.

"That makes him the perfect guard as well," said Sam.

"He's not guarding anything!" she said incredulously.

"We agreed I was in charge," Sam said. "This is the plan."

So Cesare was stuck standing guard over some spot in the woods. It was a good night for it. The sky was cloudless with the moon and stars shining bright enough to see by. It did make him angry to hear all the commotion and not be anywhere near it. He felt ridiculous standing around in armor that was basically for nothing. Somewhere a group gave a collective yell and he imaged two opposing sides charging at each other. He also imagined Sam and his strike team going after the flag right now.

"Psst!" When he spun around Teresa came out of the tree line. Even armor looked good on her. It was almost as if someone made it to mold her body exactly and her mascara lined eyes looked bold and bright with the helmet framing them.

"What are you doing?" Cesare asked, rolling his eyes and smiling.

"You know what," Teresa said shrewdly. "We need to get to that flag and fast. I think the other team sent the Davis twins after ours and they're like two burglar ninja."

"Sam will be mad," he said, grinning.

"Serves him right," she said righteously.

They moved as fast as they could while avoiding teams from both sides. Teresa was supposed to be with Sam on the strike team so she knew where the flag would most likely be. The trees thinned a bit and they were finally able to run but something in front of Cesare caught the moonlight and glinted.

"Stop!" he said, throwing out his arm to hold Teresa back.

About the foot in front of them were thin metal wires. They were wrapped around the trees like a spider's web or a giant cat's cradle. Teresa reached out and put one finger on one of the wires and second later she flinched back and blood bloomed from her finger.

"We'll go around," he said, grabbing her and pulling her away.

"Stupid Hephaestus cabin!" she snapped as they ran. "They are getting out of control with their traps! If we had hit that at a run we would've been cut to pieces!"

"Yeah we might to tell Jason about that one but-"

Whatever he was about to say in defense of cabin nine died in his mouth as soon as they crashed out of the trees. In the clearing Sam and his team were being driven back by two giant mechanical bronze bulls. Behind them was the other team's flag, waving at them like a taunt. One of the bulls growled at the strike team.

"Shields!" yelled Sam. The team came together, holding their shields to form a wall just as a jet of fire erupted from the bull's mouth.

"Oh yay, they breath fire," Cesare sardonically, "and I thought it only looked bad."

"Umm," Teresa said nervously. "C-can we sneak up behind them?" They watched as the bulls began to circle the flag, mooing and torching innocent trees.

"I'm gonna go with 'no'," he replied sarcastically.

"Well, you think of something!" she said.

"Is there water close by? I could at least put the flames out."

"No, the river is really far from here," she with despair.

"No choice then," he said, pulling out his sword –formerly, Marc Antony's sword.

"What are you going to do?" Teresa asked, looking at him like he'd gone crazy. He kind of felt like he had. He'd never tried this before.

He'd felt different since banishing Marc Antony's soul to the Underworld and the sword felt different in his hand after. It was lighter, like extension of him. He'd freed it but had he mastered it? He and Teles talked about what that might mean but he'd never tested his theory. He certainly never thought he'd be doing it under so much pressure. But he figured if he wanted this power, he'd have to be serious about it, just like Hades said.

"Just stand still, okay? And don't freak out."

He had always been terrible at hiding in shadows, so trying to manipulate them further was taking all his concentration. He remembered how they moved in his vision of Marc Antony, coiling around ankles and dragging men down to the Underworld. He tried to imagine them heavier, smoother, and more fluid. He felt a sudden tug behind his naval and the sword felt cold. The ground between Sam's team and the bulls split open and something came creeping out.

It was like ink. There was no other way to describe it. The shadows weren't the misty blackness that his father manipulated, nor were they the dark whips from Antony's fight. These shadows were dense and slithered across the ground like running water. Cesare imagined them moving in the direction of the bulls and when they got there, they reared up like octopus tentacles and wrapped around the bulls. The mechanical monsters mooed in distress and tried burning the shadows away but it didn't help. It was like they were being held by huge black boa constrictors. Cesare concentrated harder as the bulls dug in their heels. He was pulling them to the rift, leaving gouges in the land behind them.

He could feel the dizziness coming but kept concentrating. Sam's team was shouting and cowering back from the trench and seeping darkness. With a few more alarmed moos, the bulls were pulled in and the ground came back together. Cesare dropped to his knees and Teresa was right there with her arms around him. Before he passed out he saw Sam's eyes drawn in their direction.

When he woke up in the infirmary the next morning he knew he was in trouble, or at least he would be very soon. His Dads and Jason were there. His felt like there was a little dwarf with a hammer, banging on the inside of his skull.

"Drink the nectar, it'll help," Percy said gently.

Cesare looked over and saw a water bottle, filled about a quarter of the way full with golden liquid. He downed it in one swig. It felt drinking energy and the ache in his head faded out so he could sit up all the way.

"So," Percy began brightly, "drag any giant fire breathing bulls to hell lately?"

"Oh you know," Cesare said with a rusty voice, "not as many as usual."

Nico glared at Percy and held up Cesare's sword before placing it on the foot of his cot.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"It uh…it was given to me," he said weakly.

"By who?" asked Percy. With both his Dads and Jason staring at him, he felt like he was six-years-old again. Cesare looked at him almost helplessly.

"Cupid?"

Cesare had never heard Nico cuss before, well not in English anyway. He'd also never seen him quite that mad. Percy tried to calm down his husband but Nico was furious. He started ranting about Cupid butting in where he didn't belong and how he had no right to do it to their son and then the rant went into Italian. At that point Percy yelled that Nico was either going to have to calm down or Cesare would be forced to translate and repeat what Nico was saying. Only then did his father sit down but everyone could still feel the anger vibrating off of him.

"You've had this sword for weeks, since Venice, and you didn't tell us?" Percy asked.

"It wasn't a big deal," Cesare said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

"Sounds like it was a big deal last night," said Nico.

"What happened?" Percy asked Jason as Nico fumed in his chair.

"I didn't see it," Jason said shaking his head, "but I've talked to the other campers and I don't know, it sounds too wild."

"Grandpa knows I have it…" he said, as if that was any defense.

"Excuse me?" Nico asked, giving him a hard look.

"Everything," Percy ordered. "From the top."

Cesare told them everything from the moment Favonius showed up on the Grand Canal to what happened in the woods the night before. He omitted everything having to do with Teles. He was in enough trouble without admitting he was also breaking the rule about speaking to the Siren. When he got done all three men were staring at him with a mixture of horror and amazement. Nico suddenly put his head in hands.

"This is my fault," he mumbled.

"Nico…" said Percy.

"It is," his Dad said, looking up at them again. "I should have taught you better." He looked over at Cesare, his eyes full of guilt. "You could have killed yourself with this sword."

"Dad."

"No, my father was right. I never taught you how serious your powers are. You just always seemed to have more of an affinity for water."

"How could you have known?" asked Jason. "Cesare is…" he seemed to struggle to describe his godson.

"I'm different," Cesare said, without any negativity. "I am."

"Our son can turn shadows into liquid," Nico said it as if he were trying to come to terms with it.

"Well," Percy said, looking at him, "the good thing is that it's really cool, but now you need to learn how to use it."

"So, how screwed are you?" Teresa asked the second she saw him. He was walking back to his cabin with the sword in his hand. It was returned to him on the condition that he not use it again until his Dads felt like he'd been properly trained.

"Not as screwed as I could be," he said, flashing a smile.

"You have bags under your eyes," she with concern. "That really took a lot out of you."

"It was my first time trying it."

"So what happens now?"

"I have to be trained," he sighed. "Are you still on guard duty?"

"No, we might have slacked off a bit," she looking at cabin two. "She's been a lot quieter lately. It's a little scary."

"Maybe she just realized how pointless banging on the door is," he suggested.

"We were actually wondering if we should send someone to check on her. It's just too quiet," she said, wrinkling her brow as she stared at the bronze doors. "I'll talk to Piper tomorrow."

"Teresa, leave Teles alone." The instant he said it he knew he was an idiot. As quick as a snap, panic set in and Adrenalin started pumping through his veins. Teresa looked at him sharply, brown eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How do you know her name?" she demanded.