That night Leaneira had the pleasure of being graced with an actual demigod dream.
She wanted a refund.
It was storming on the beach.
There was a city behind her.
San Fransico.
She didn't know how she knew that, but she wanted to shiver, remembering the last time she had been near that city.
Lea was running along the beach in a storm. Somehow, she knew it wasn't one of her own creation.
It was the middle of the night. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk.
About a hundred yards down the surf, Lea could see someone running along the waterfront. They ran right into a crowd people at the beach who only looked at them as if they weren't even there.
Lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.
It felt like Lea was running in place; the heels of her feet digging uselessly in the sand.
And yet, there was something that pinged at her awareness that she told her that she wouldn't want to stop this either way.
The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying her with salt. The ground shook. The wind bent the palm trees almost to the ground.
Lea slowed to a stop.
It was like something straight out of a scary move as waterlogged hands reached from within the sea, grabbing at the person's ankles. A flash of power struck out at the hands; not that it did much but irritate whatever the hell that was in the water. Green eyes peeked through the waves, drowning in power in the same way that Lea's eyes did when she got too angry.
The person yelped, twisting in place and for the first moment, Lea could see the person's face.
Trent.
He looked almost exactly like he did during last winter except this time... his face was drowning in terror. She could see the way that he mouthed platitudes and begged for forgiveness as a pair of bulls appeared from the water and crowded around him. They forced him closer to the water and those same waterlogged hands gripped his ankles.
"Come home, broken man," the waves seemed to whisper. "And find a world of pain."
Trent cried uselessly, clawing at the ground in desperately. Lea moved closer until she was standing over him. He threw his mageia every which of way in a bid to pull himself away, but it failed in the end.
She wondered really if this was a past scene or something to come or maybe even the present. Demigod dreams were weird she had learned.
Leaneira bent down until she could look in his eyes. A startling grey, cold and polished like sterling silver. At one point of time, Lea had thought his and Medea's eyes were beautiful with the way that they glittered like diamonds.
Now though, now he looked how she felt all those weeks ago.
Complete fear with a wonder if this was going to be his last stand. That feeling of helplessness with no one around to help.
Oh, she hoped this was a future scene so that she could witness it in real time.
Leaneira stood, watching just like the lifeguards as he was pulled to the ocean floor like water down a drain.
Lea's eyes snapped open, and she shot up in bed.
That was... weird.
And a bit uncomfortable.
She had no idea why she was dreaming about Trent and if this was some little mental implant by Medea, then she was going to wring her neck and finger out how she managed to do it.
Her eyes moved across the cabin, and she could immediately see Percy staring back at her. He was pale, bags under his eyes. He was shivering as if he had stared death in the face and was simply waiting for it to take him. Lea got of her bed quickly before crawling into his.
The twins wrapped their arms around each other, and it was like they were children once more. She didn't ask him about his dream, and he didn't ask about hers, but for a moment, they were no longer fourteen years old kids, but mere seven years old comforting one another after a nightmare. Salome jumped down from her cat tower to lie across the bed and even if it got overheated really quick, they said nothing.
And...
They stayed like that the entire night.
Percy was still a bit shaky the next morning, but it wasn't something that Lea could give much thought to. After all, she was bit lost in her own head about the dream she had and comparing to the fleeting glimpses she remembered from the months before.
She followed Percy to the war council. They met in the sword arena which was a bit better than the ping pong table. It had certain kind of gravitas for war even if she did like the informal atmosphere around that table. Salome followed after them, cozying up to their legs as if she was still a small kitten butting for affection.
Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak.
Salome turned her nose up at it.
Of course, when one of your co-owners was an interdimensional alien entity that could gift you all kinds of toys... things like that seemed mundane.
Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table: Juniper the tree nymph who was apparently Grover's girlfriend, Silena and Drew both with sparkly pink notebooks, The Stoll Brothers, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus, the hundred-eyed security chief.
(Lea had the absent thought of how much insurance would cost for contacts and how would it even work?)
"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth was saying. "He knew everything about camp."
Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell you last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it."
Silena frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?"
Juniper's face turned green. "I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."
"She has good taste," Grover said.
"I wouldn't have paid any attention except...well, it was Luke." She blushed a little greener.
Lea was going to be sick.
She was sure a part of her was green in the face just like the Stolls.
Grover huffed. "Forget what I said about good taste."
"Interesting," Quintus polished his sword as he spoke. "And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"
"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."
"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said. "We know because...because we found one."
"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look. Lea saw the way that Clarisse and the Stolls both flinched. A blessing for one and a brother for the others.
"Ah," Quintus said. "The one in the...Yes, I understand."
"The one in the what?" Percy asked.
Clarisse glared at him. "The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop."
"The guy who created the maze."
"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted—quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then...to Olympus."
The arena was silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak getting disemboweled: SQUEAK! SQUEAK!
Finally Beckendorf put his huge hands on the table. "Back up a sec, Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"
Quintus grunted. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"
Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors...well, there are many disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be there."
"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."
"Wait a second," Percy said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"
"I've got a better idea," Lea said. "Ariadne is quite literally the wife of Mr. D. Have any of you idiots ever thought to pray to her for the string?"
From the looks around them, it was obviously that they hadn't.
Lea sighed. "Oh, you know what. Just blow it up." Idiots. All of them.
"Great idea!" Grover said. "I'll get the dynamite!"
"It's not so easy, stupid," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."
Annabeth nodded. "The Labyrinth is magical architecture, Percy. It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet. The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."
"We could fight," Lee Fletcher said. "We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows."
"We will certainly set up defenses," Chiron agreed. "But I fear Clarisse is right. The magical borders have kept this camp safe for hundreds of years. If Luke manages to get a large army of monsters into the center of camp, bypassing our boundaries...we may not have the strength to defeat them."
Nobody looked real happy about that news. Chiron usually tried to be upbeat and optimistic. If he was predicting we couldn't hold off an attack, that wasn't good.
"He's right. That thing... it's angry." Lea nodded. "I could feel its malevolent when we were looking for you all. Its goal is to cause pain and I truly believe that it would've done its best to kill you. Kill you both but especially you Percy. It felt like when the tree was dying, a poison that was seeping into me. Utilizing that anger against the camp..."
She'd rip out his spine and use it as a backscratcher if her people got hurt.
"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Luke from using it."
"But if nobody can navigate in there," Percy said, "what chance do we have?"
"I've been studying architecture for years," she said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."
"From reading about it."
"Well, yes."
"That's not enough."
"It has to be!"
"It isn't!"
"Are you going to help me or not?"
"You said it's magical too," Lea pointed out with furrowed brows. "Mageia isn't just some kind math you don't understand yet. It functions differently. It has its own rules. It doesn't follow the laws of physics and mathematics. It doesn't conform to a mortal understanding. There is no why to it. It just is. There is no logic to it, and it was designed to drive people either insane or lead them to their death. People especially from the city that your Mother and our Father was the patron of and the monster that resided within it was killed by its future king who was also a son of Poseidon. From a logical viewpoint, you would be only half a good choice to go."
"Are you volunteering?" Annabeth asked, looking a bit thoughtful.
Lea blinked. "I'm not suicidal."
Mrs. O'Leary's squeaky yak went EEK! As she ripped off its pink rubber head.
Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp."
"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Annabeth."
There was a murmur of agreement.
"You've done as much as I have, Clarisse," she said. "You should go, too."
Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."
Travis Stoll laughed. "Don't tell me you're scared. Clarisse, chicken?"
Clarisse got to her feet, for a moment, Lea thought she was going to pulverize Travis, but she said in a shaky voice: "You don't understand anything, punk. I'm never going in there again. Never!"
She stormed out of the arena.
Travis looked around sheepishly. "I didn't mean to—"
Chiron raised his hand. "The poor girl has had a difficult year. Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"
Everyone nodded their heads even Salome.
"Very well," Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next."
Lea sat down next to Salome, resting her ahead against the tiger as Annabeth left. Her eyes slipped closed, and she thought over what she just learned and the dream that she had.
She knew without a doubt that Percy may follow Annabeth into that maze. He was a good person like that. But... it was out to kill them. Lea could not... would not lose her brother. As bad as it may sound, even when she thought he had died last summer, Tyson would have reformed.
Percy wouldn't.
And Lea didn't know how she was going to go about life with his face staring back at her every time she looked in a mirror.
It was like Phil and Lil from the Rugrats. And Lea just couldn't do it.
She couldn't, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to stop Percy if he decided to join her. Most would think that would get Lea to go along with them. It'd certainly give them some more fire power even if Lea was afraid of said powers. But like Lea said, she wasn't suicidal. Sure, she had a certain nonchalant attitude towards death that had unnerved her teachers since she was a child.
You were birthed, you lived, and then you died.
(Lea had been recommended into therapy because "no child should be that disillusioned at such a young age".)
(She had been deemed nihilistic from her first ten therapists.)
Lea wasn't actually looking to die, but if she did, it was no skin off her back. She was going to be dead. It was the circle of life.
(Though, she knew that Hermes would object to it so who knows.)
And yeah, she was rightfully terrified last winter when she came to close to death. A natural reaction, but again, she wouldn't have cared in the end because she was going to be dead.
She didn't know what to do, and she didn't like that.
She opened her eyes to look around her.
Percy was pacing the arena a little further away from her. Mrs. O'Leary ate her lunch, which consisted of a hundred pounds of ground beef and several dog biscuits the size of trash-can lids. Chiron was deep in conversation with Quintus and Argus. Tyson and the Stoll brothers were racing miniature bronze chariots that Tyson had made out of armor scraps. Beckendorf and Lee Fletcher were in a conversation regarding some arrowheads, and Lea could see Drew and Silena silently arguing in their corner.
Lea knew that it had something to do with Drew consistently having to pick up the slack from Silena since the girl was so blinded by her relationship with Beckendorf. Drew was happy that her sister had found her blessing. She was not happy that it was keeping her from attending to her responsibilities. And now any problem that their cabin faced was coming down on Drew because Silena couldn't be bothered.
(Lea had asked once why she wouldn't challenge Silena for the counsellor position considering that she had been on a quest and clearly had more experience now due to being Apóllōn's champion. Drew had been adamant though that being counsellor was something that Silena loved to be and that once she settled into her relationship then everything would hopefully go back to normal so why bother? And Silena was her favorite sister. She wasn't going to betray her like that.)
Lea turned away when she noticed that Percy was leaving the arena.
She gave it a couple of minutes to see if he would return, but he didn't. Only Juniper showed up to speak with Grover who had been chewing on some fruits.
Lea got up to follow, waving Salome down. If anybody was looking for her, they'd think that the tiger was playfully lying on her as she did. She came out of the arena just in time to see him sprint down the hill and head across the fields.
If Annabeth wasn't his soulmate, Lea would bet money on it.
Lea followed after him.
The front parlor of the Big House was strangely quiet. Lea admittedly was used to being there; learning how to play pinochle, planning parties with Drew and Mr. D and how to mix drinks from the god.
(Yeah, neither her Mother nor Hermes had been pleased to learn that. Didn't stop the lessons though.)
She couldn't see her brother, so she made her way down the hallway, habit keeping her from stepping on the creaky floorboards. She could see him peeking through the basement doors. A little weird if you asked her, she would have thought that he would be trying to offer comfort to Annabeth.
She moved closer, absently taking note of the sobbing.
He would make a horrible spy, Lea mused. Stepping closer and pressing her ring against his back and her hand over his mouth.
Evanescet, she thought. A flash of green light emerged where her ring had touched him. He spun around, ready to attack and she raised a brow. It wasn't perfect. Lea was kind of scared of that, so she influenced it to be more like a blur in the corner of someone's eyes. Unnoticeable unless someone was focused.
Peeking around him, she could that the basement door was open. Two figures in the far corner, sitting amid a bunch of stockpiled cases of ambrosia and strawberry preserves. One was Clarisse. The other was a familiar teenage Hispanic guy in tattered camouflage pants and a dirty black T-shirt. His hair was greasy and matted. He was hugging his shoulders and sobbing.
Chris Rodriguez.
Something in Lea twisted to see him so...broken and that feeling was even worse when she saw the pain in Clarisse's eyes.
That blessing was more like a curse. And Lea was really hating the til death do us part of it.
"It's okay," Clarisse was telling him. "Try a little more nectar."
"You're an illusion, Mary!" Chris backed farther into the corner. "G-get away."
"My name's not Mary." Clarisse's voice was gentle but really sad. "My name is Clarisse. Remember. Please."
"It's dark!" Chris yelled. "So dark!"
"Come outside," Clarisse coaxed. "The sunlight will help you."
"A...a thousand skulls. The earth keeps healing him."
"Chris," Clarisse pleaded. It sounded like she was close to tears. "You have to get better. Please. Mr. D will be back soon. He's an expert in madness. Just hang on."
Chris's eyes were like a cornered rat's—wild and desperate. "There's no way out, Mary. No way out." Lea watched as his eyes sharpened and focused with sudden clarity right at the twins. He made a strangled, terrified sound. "The son of Poseidon! He's horrible!"
Lea raised a brow at her brother. What did he do to him? But... Lea also felt like he wasn't talking about Percy.
The two of them backed away and she wondered about Chris. He had been a scout in the maze and if they rescued him and cured him of his madness, Lea was quite sure that they could turn him against Luke. And well, Lea would never trust anyone named Chris. Like let's be serious. If Chris crossed applesauce what the fuck did anyone think was going to happen?
Above them, the attic door opened.
Lea dragged Percy away.
"What were you doing there," he asked as she swiped her hand through the spell.
"I went after you, duh," she replied. "What were you doing?"
As she expected, he had no answer.
They made it back to the arena probably a few minutes before Annabeth.
"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."
Annabeth looked at Percy first. And that confirmed it to Lea, that her brother was joining this suicide quest without a doubt.
A tracking spell on his left nipple!
She focused on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."
Nobody cheered.
Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."
Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah...well, it said, you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze..."
They waited.
"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."
Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"
"With the dead and the traitor," Percy added. "Not so great."
"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"
"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."
Lea jerked and everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good. And sure, Lea didn't really care for the girl outside of being Percy's friend, but she didn't want her dead either. Hopefully it meant something different. A little dark humorish like her final time actually stand up by like paralyzing her something. Not a good counterargument and yet, still better than death.
"Hey...we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"
"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.
"Are there more lines?" Drew asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete." She would know. Training under Apóllōn covered quite a lot of bases. One which included improving her eloquence and charisma to the point where she didn't even need to use her charmspeak.
Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."
Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she heard.
Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about...Destroy with a hero's final breath."
"And?" Chiron asked.
She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And...I need help." She turned to Percy. "Will you come?"
The bastard didn't even hesitate. "I'm in." In fact, she was going to place the damn spell on his heart.
She smiled at him, all soft and gooey like. Lea spared at glance at Drew. Ha! No crush.
"Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting." Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"
"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."
"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner and Salome growled deep in her throat at him.
"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."
"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."
"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three of the original team came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three fates, three furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos, three Olympian daughters of Rheia. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Four...this is risky."
Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."
Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."
Lea sat with her friends by the lake after it was all said and done.
Drew was telling them about the war council meeting while Lea was trying to force her mageia back into some semblance of control. Well, she some but it was nowhere near what she had before.
"I don't like the idea of them going down there," Alabaster said while Lea cursed as the spell she had been trying to cast recoiled. "Any of them. I just hope that they remember that the Labyrinth exists to fool them. It will distract them. That's dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted."
True to that. It was partially why Lea was struggling so much with a simple color changing spell which was very irritating.
"And it's not a good place for Percy," she said absently, skipping over that spell and instead tried to summon the water bottle that she brought with her.
"What do you mean?"
The water bottle exploded. Alongside the lake and Lea cursed as she tried to bring it back under control before she was doing anymore weather bending. She had been informed that the storm she had summoned were spreading.
"Daedalus died like three thousand years ago, but the maze lives on," Alabaster answered for her. "There are still two people connected to it. Pasiphaë and Ariadne. Both of them have reason to dislike kids of the sea."
"Three," Lea butted in. "Our half-sister, Déspoina also has some control as the Mistress of the Labyrinth."
Alabaster included his head. "Still, if Percy isn't careful, it could kill him."
"Pasiphaë," Ethan murmured. "Isn't she Kirke's sister and the minotaur's mom?" Ahh, the OG Furry.
"Yeah. And like her siblings," Alabaster stated. "She's just as good at magic. When her husband kept cheating on her, she bewitched him, causing him to ejaculate poisoned creatures and destroy his lovers. Pasiphaë herself, being an immortal, was alone immune to the spell."
"I know that's right," Lea cheered, clapping her hands. "Good for her."
Alabaster turned to look at her. "We can't stop, Percy, but Lea..." There was something unnerving about the intensity in which he looked at her. "Do not go into that maze. Nothing good would come out of it."
And before she could question him, he was rushing off to help Lou Ellen with one of their younger siblings whose spell had misfired, leaving the other three to stare at his retreating figure.
Leaneira was not happy to see that she was having another demigod dream. The only good thing about it was that Hermes was there. He had grabbed ahold of her the moment that it began to change.
She was back on Mount Tam and if it weren't for Hermes, she was sure her knees would have buckled from being back there. Especially so close to where Atlas was kneeling back under the sky. Her heart was beating faster than Speedy Gonzalez.
There was a being there that stood in front of the black throne which had grown rapidly than the crumbled stone last winter.
Hermes gaped. "Koios?"
"Who?"
"Apóllōn and Artemis' grandfather."
And now that he mentioned it, Lea could see the resemblance when she compared it to the forms that she knew. His hair was just as long as his grandson's, but instead of a golden blond like the sun. This was more like looking directly at the light until the only you could see was white spots. There was a crazed glint in his eyes as if he knew the secrets of the universe and it was driving him insane to not talk about it.
He unnerved her greatly also. As if he was hiding his temper behind a dazzling visage. He was dangerous.
"He was the titan of the inquisitive mind," Hermes informed her. "He was basically the primal font of all knowledge alongside his Wife. It certainly didn't help that he was also the god of the northern axis of heaven around which the constellations revolved."
Again, dangerous.
So, you are the failure, he was saying. His voice was deep yet smooth. It was like hearing Morgan Freeman speak and she got a good understanding of why everyone imagined to be "the voice of God".
He moved from the throne that sat at the right hand of the Black Throne. My brother is quite displeased with you.
As he stood, Lea and Hermes both hissed to see Trent kneeling before him. Lea's other dream must have been from the future. Hopefully. It was hard to tell with the fact that Trent looked like he had been dunked into a pool. He was wearing a bedsheet like the Romans statues from the Empire.
I can make it up to him, mi'lord. Lea was just too blinded by loyalty to her brother and friends and the grooming she's withstanding from her blessing.
A low growl came from Atlas. A quick glance showed he wanted nothing but pure rage in his eyes. Have care of how you speak of my grandchild.
Hermes startled, but Lea's attention was drawn quickly back to Trent.
Apologies, sir. Trent swallowed thickly. He turned back to Koios. I can get to Lea. My sister searches for me and she's requested the help of Lea. I can draw her out to me for recapture and recalibration.
It will not be an easy task, Koios mused. You have angered a lot of people when she was taken this past winter. One of which was my own grandchild.
He gave a glare towards Atlas before turning back to the mortal. I have no doubt that this Leaneíras wishes to mount your head on a wall. Her Father sends insurgents after you. And her blessing has placed the full force of his anger onto your family, inspiring them with rage and need to strip your bones clean.
Trent flinched and Lea cast a glance over at Hermes who only gave her a serene smile back.
Leave her be. You have only one chance for success now. Luke will be focusing on his former camp so you shall focus on the Roman Camp now that the entrance to the Labyrinth has been located.
Lea winced harshly. Something tugging at her psyche. A roman camp? She had... she had heard that before? Didn't she?
And then there was an almost amused smile on Koios' face as he looked at Trent. And besides, I do not believe that you would like to meet with her now. The storms that are currently plaguing the Eastern Seaboard are of her own creation.
There was a bit of laughter from both Koios and Atlas at the horror on Trent's face. Her Father is the god of storms, and her powers are tied to her emotions. Imagine how far they would reach if the two of you were to meet face to face.
Trent was shaking and well, Lea was also. That was a terrifying thought, and it was only because of Hermes that she was able to remain calm, following the way that he exaggerated his breathing to soothe her.
Koios moved over to the cliff edge, looking out over the world. We need only one more heart to join our cause, and that will be sufficient. My Brother would then be able to rise fully from Tartara, and we would be able to retake our places as rulers over the world of man.
I—
You have your orders, Koios said. Make ready the strike force. When the time comes, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-blood and Camp Jupiter will be reduced to ashes and then we will march on Olympos.
Lea's knees finally gave out and Hermes held onto her tightly as he lowered her to the ground. He held her face in his hands while she worked through her panic attack. The entire eastern seaboard? She could only think of the lives that she was ruining with that storm.
"It's okay, Lea," Hermes was telling her. "Father is already getting it under control alongside a plethora of nymphai. Your Father and I have already pledge to help fund those that were inconvenienced. Tis not your fault."
But it was... it was her powers that did it. And she knew that Koios was— Lea peered over his shoulder; her thoughts dispersing as she watched the way the oneiroi fed on something around her.
Lea could see Trent and his hand coated in mageia reaching for... was he reaching for her?
She pushed herself out of his embrace, walking closer to where the oneiroi were situated. Their dark eyes gazed at her, and she remembered when they chased her out of the Land of Dreams so long ago, but this...
A hand swiped at her, and she jerked, falling into Hermes' embrace. The god glared at the spirits before the sand spun around them in a slow circle. Scenes appeared around them. The sight of Trent kneeling before Koios appeared.
.sopmylO no hcram lliw ew neht dna sehsa ot decuder be lliw retipuJ pmaC dna doolb-flaH pamC, tsriF
With a disgusting slurping noise, whatever that was devoured into one of oneiroi's bellies.
.detacol neeb sah htnirybaL eht ot ecnartne eht taht won pamC namoR eht no sucof llahs uoy os pmac remrof sih no gnisucof eb lliw ekuL
It went up in smoke, disappearing into their hungry bellies as they shifted around them. Hermes was vibrating in anger beside her.
"Someone has managed to cast a spell on you, beloved," he just about growled. "They entered your mind and bypassed the wards you and I have both placed and bewitched you."
"How is that possible? Is it like the mist?"
Hermes shook his head. "With the mist, it's more of a matter of perspective. That's all you. You do not want to see monsters, so you do not see them even though the mist does not hide them from your view. This? Tis more direct. Someone entered your mind. They could have done anything to you, and you have been none the wiser."
"How do I get rid of it?"
He looked at her with heavily angry eyes. "By destroying it at the source. The one whom cast the spell."
Lea only knew one person that wanted to manipulate her mind, and she knew exactly where to find him.
WORD COUNT: 5754
COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:
1) Percy's soulmate would be revealed in the last chapter of this arc. Said soulmate already have their mark.
2) The introduction of BOTL is over. Now... we get into the plot for this arc.
3) If I'm being honest, Koios was not supposed to have introduced here but hey, here he is. I imagine the Divine Twins as his pride and joy and he's not overly fond of any that attacks them.
3A) Just like I imagine Hermes to be the pride of Atlas since he is the only grandchild of his to be an Olympian. One of the principal gods of the pantheon.
3B) They are not good grandfathers, but they do hold favor for their grandchildren and operate under the belief that their daughters were not appreciated enough despite having such wonderful kids.