"Father?"

Valen looked up at Hazel standing by the door.

"Your father is Pluto too?"

He sighed, "I have reason to believe it, yes." He paused, "Wait. What do you mean 'too'?"

She nodded, "I'm a daughter of Pluto."

To prove her point, she bent down and picked up a small ruby that had not been there a minute ago.

"Huh," Valen breathed out, "Wait, does that make us half-siblings?"

"I guess so," she nodded, smiling awkwardly; not knowing what to make of that information.

In the recesses of his mind, Valen remembered a similar conversation with two other demigods. He could not remember their names and their faces appeared blurred in the memory.

He shook his head, "Anyway. What did you want to talk about?"

"It was about this actually," she said, "Your heritage. I had my suspicions after seeing you shadow travel the other day."

Valen nodded, "Yeah, that was a dead giveaway." He paused, "Pun unintended."

"There's someone you should meet." she said. "He's also a son of Pluto, but he doesn't stay here."

"There's another?" Valen whistled. "Pop's been busy."

Hazel stared at him momentarily, sighing, "It's… complicated."

Valen shrugged, "So, when does he come back?"

"I don't know," she said. "He was here a few days ago, so it might be a while."

"Huh," he breathed, getting up. "We should probably return, we have sword-fighting classes today right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "They should start in a few minutes."

"And about the half sibling thing," Valen said on his way out, "don't think too much about it. I'll probably just be a bit protective over you now."

Hazel raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

Valen shrugged, "I am the older one."

.

.

.

Days passed, and a sense of normalcy returned to the camp. Octavian was still ever hateful of him; he still thought Valen had tried to assassinate him, so he forbade him from going on any of their future hunts. Valen didn't mind, he'd rather spend his time honing his swordsmanship or trying to remember his past.

It was during one of the war games that it happened. He was scouting ahead, testing the opposing team's defenses, when floodlights turned on all around him, momentarily blinding him.

It took a while for his eyes to adjust, and in those moments the entire first and fourth cohort had surrounded him. He tried to shadow travel away, but there were no shadows nearby, the sheer number of floodlights made sure of that. Valen could count at least twenty.

This is bad, he thought as the legionnaires closed in on him, keeping their shields ahead of them. He could cause some of their weapons to cause mayhem, but he couldn't do that to all of them. He cursed under his breath.

His gaze flickered to his sword, the lightning inside seemed as calm as ever. An idea began forming in his mind. He raised his sword, intending to will the lightning inside to fly out and shock the legionnaires, but something else happened.

Reyna watched from above, as much in shock as the legionnaires. Watching Valen call down lightning reminded her of… an old colleague.

The sky flashed blue, and a bolt of lightning fell down from the heavens, hitting his sword and spreading out all around him. It arced violently, but surprisingly didn't manage to hit any of the legionnaires. Instead, it lashed at the floodlights, destroying them one by one.

Their eyes widened, he was supposed to be a son of Pluto, not Jupiter. And yet, there he was, the thunder responding to his call. In the moment of confusion, he shadow traveled away to safety.

"What was that?" Frank asked.

"I don't know, but they were expecting me. They set up a trap specifically to counter me."

"And the lightning?"

"I have no idea." He said.

"We can discuss this later," Dakota said, "Attack while they're still disoriented."

"To control the shadows and the skies," Dakota said once they were finished with the game. "You sure you're not a god in disguise?" He joked.

"He could be a legacy," Hazel offered, "A legacy of Jupiter and a son of Pluto,"

"But…wouldn't that mean his mother was Pluto's nephew?" Frank asked.

Valen's face scrunched up in disgust, "Let's not think about it that way."

"Eh, we should expect a bit of incest now and then when it comes to the gods." Dakota said.

Valen sighed, "I suppose."

That was the night Valen's nightmares began. Images of a golden city, the roots of a massive tree, a floating island, and a cosmic landscape plagued his dreams. Voices seemed to overlap, the images now indistinguishable from each other.

'Power always corrupts mortals.'

'Even if we fail, the gods will know where to strike you.'

'I refuse to play horse to a king who's weaker than me!'

Valen awoke with abruptness. He could still hear the malice from that last voice. He shuddered, he hated not knowing his past. Eventually, his breathing calmed, and he looked outside the window. He could see the moon hanging in the sky. On impulse, he shadow traveled to the roof of the Principia.

He sighed, sitting down and gazing at the night sky. It was serene, calm, and peaceful. The exact opposites of himself.

"What am I?" He whispered, "Dominant of Scotus, son of Pluto, legacy of Jupiter…none of those seem to mean anything to me."

He looked down at his arm, electricity arced over his skin, and shadows swirled around it. "I can summon lightning, I can manipulate the shadows…"

He summoned his sword, in a way it was like him. Made of chthonic metal, darker than the darkest shadows, yet it held a storm within it. He chuckled silently, it was fitting for his weapon to be like him.

His neck prickled, and he sensed a soul approaching him. He sighed, "Who is it?"

"Your praetor," The reply came, and Valen turned around to come face to face with her.

"Ah, I didn't realize I made that much noise."

"You didn't."

"Then how'd you know?" He asked, but received no reply.

"Why are you here?" She asked instead, "It is past curfew."

"I'm aware," He said. "Nightmare," he explained.

"It's a common occurrence for demigods like us," She said, "But that does not mean you can break curfew."

Valen sighed, "I know, I know."

He looked up again, "I was just thinking."

"I heard." She said, lowering her sword, it seemed he would not be leaving soon.

"Don't mind me, just having an existential crisis."

Reyna raised an eyebrow, "That's a serious thing."

Valen stared at her, "We live in a world where we might die at any given moment, mental health is the least of my worries now. Well, apart from regaining my memories that is."

"..." She remained quiet for a moment. "Did you get yourself checked out at the infirmary as I told you to?"

"Uhhhh," Valen trailed off. She had told him to do that hadn't she?

"Get up."

"Wha-"

"You're coming with me to the infirmary." She stated.

"Right now?"

"Yes. Unless you fancy being bitten by Aurum where it hurts." Said metal dog growled softly. He had not noticed it hiding behind her, nor did he notice its twin.

"Does that count as bestiality?"

"..." Reyna deadpanned at him, "Auru-"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He interfered, he would rather not have his family jewels bitten off thank you very much.

"You know, you don't have to drag me there." Valen stated.

Reyna continued on in silence, dragging him by his forearm. Valen sighed in defeat. The infirmary was one of the few buildings in camp that remained open all the time, as such when they reached it in the middle of the night, there was already someone there, dozing off.

"Mark," Reyna called once they had gotten close enough.

Said demigod jolted awake, "Who? What? Where?" He looked around for a bit, before coming to his senses. "Praetor," He saluted, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I want you to have a look at him," She said, pushing Valen ahead, "Specifically his head. I'll let him explain the situation to you."

"Of course," He complied, "I'll take care of it."

She nodded, sitting down at the bench outside as Mark took Valen inside the room.

"So, what's the issue?"

It's not something you can solve. He thought, staring at him.

"I know that look," He said, "Trust me, I'm more capable than I look."

Valen relented with a heavy sigh and explained his situation.

"Oh," He said after Valen had finished, "And thinking about your suppressed memories causes your head to hurt?"

"Like it was hit with the full force of a freight train filled with pudding."

"..." He stared at him for a bit, "Yeah, I'm just going to ignore the terrible metaphor."

"Please do."

Mark rubbed his chin in thought, "Maybe if you can get in contact with someone from your memories it could help?"

"I don't know their names or faces, how am I supposed to find them?"

"Maybe they will find you?" He suggested, "Or alternatively you could take some advil and try to remember anything. Should keep the headaches at bay for the moment, at least."

"Something tells me the advil won't help, but sure. I'll take them for appearances sake at least." He sighed, pocketing the pills. "Is that all?"

"That's all I can do." He shrugged.

Nodding, he left the room only to find Reyna waiting outside. She raised an eyebrow at him as if asking him to elaborate. And elaborate he did, telling her what Mark had told him.

She did not seem satisfied by it, but she accepted that there was nothing else to do and let it go, "Go, get some sleep, if you can." She ordered, before marching off to the Principia.

Valen sighed, shadow traveling back to his room; indulging in his nightmares for a second time that night was something he wanted least to do with. He pulled out the pills and stared at the logo for a while before popping one.

He inhaled deeply, thinking it could at least help with his headaches…

He delved into the recesses of his mind, recalling the last time he'd awoken, on Mt. Diablo; maybe if he tried to trace it back from there.

An image of the cosmos flashed by his mind, a green flame, and another version of him. And a sword going through his chest.

A sudden spike of pain shattered his concentration and ripped him back to reality. He fell onto his bed and the last thought he had before passing out was: 'The advil definitely isn't helping.'

He had to be woken up by Frank the next morning. He groaned as he arose, feeling like his brain had been liquefied.

At breakfast, the only thing on his mind was the snippets of his past that he had managed to retain. But he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what it meant. A shadow of himself fighting against him, and a very familiar blade running them both through.

"...len, Valen!" Frank's voice broke him out of his thoughts, causing him to flinch in response.

"Yeah, what?"

"Sorry, you weren't responding to anything we said," He apologized, "I, uh, just wanted to ask if you want to join me at guard duty today?"

Valen thought about it for a moment, but shook his head, "My heads killing me, I doubt I'd be any good at guard duty."

"Oh, that's alright."

Valen sighed, "Tell you what, next time you have guard duty, I'll join you."

Frank nodded in thanks before leaving for his duty, leaving Valen alone with Dakota.

"So, what did Reyna want with you last night?" He suddenly asked.

Valen almost spat out his coffee, "How-"

"I heard you two talking," He interrupted, "You weren't exactly quiet."

Valen sighed, "She just dragged me to the infirmary for my, uh, memory issues."

He snorted, "I doubt our infirmary is capable enough to fix what you're going through."

"Then you'd be right, the guy inside just gave me some advil for my headaches." Valen said, sipping on his cup, "Clearly it's useless against headaches of the supernatural kind."

"I'll drink to that." He raised his can.

"You'll drink to anything."

The next few weeks went by peacefully, or as peaceful as it could be in a military-esque camp full of demigods and legacies. Valen had joined Frank on his next posting, like he had promised, and quickly found out how tedious and unproductive it was. He had tried to use this time to gleam any information about his past, but the same memory of being stabbed by his own blade kept coming back to him.

It was around the middle of June when things began stirring again. The occasional monsters that attacked had become harder and harder to kill, reforming almost instantly after being beaten. Only when they scattered their remains, did they stop reforming. As such, guard duty had been reassigned to only the stronger campers. As it happened, Valen was one of them.

He was on guard duty with Hazel when they noticed a boy running towards them being chased by gorgons. Valen stared at him, something about him was familiar, almost as if they had met before…

He shook his head, that was not the time for that. To Hazel, he said, "Guide him inside, I'll take care of the monsters."

He hurled Stormguard at the leading gorgon, and the blade soared through the air so fast, the monster didn't have time to react before it stabbed through her heart. Valen warped to his sword, the stygian iron acting as a tether for his powers, and yanked it out. The stygian iron absorbed her essence, and a single vial remained floating in the air. Valen pocketed it.

The boy gaped at him, coming to a halt. Valen glanced behind, noticing the being on his back. His vision switched and his eyes widened. What was he doing with a goddess on his back?

"Run," He said, he could figure that out later, "My sister will guide you through the tunnel."

He looked like he was about to protest, but then thought better of it. Valen turned back to the remaining gorgon, and almost flinched under its hateful glare. He threw his sword again, but this time the gorgon dodged. It turned around to face the soaring weapon, expecting him to shadow travel to it.

Except, he never did. Her eyes widened when a black blade of wispy shadows pierced through her back, and the sword turned around mid-air, heading straight for her.

As she turned to dust, a gust of wind blew it away, preventing her reformation. Another vial fell to the ground and Valen studied it for a moment, before storing it alongside the previous one.

"That was easier than expected," Valen muttered, sheathing his sword and shadow traveling back to the camp. He found Hazel walking through the Little Tiber and the boy standing in front of it, hesitating.

He could hear the goddess speak to the boy, "This is your last chance to back out, child. The mark of Achilles is a Greek blessing. You can't retain it if you cross into Roman territory. The Tiber will wash it away."

He frowned, "I could shadow travel you across. That way the river cant wash away anything."

"Silence boy!" The goddess chastised.

He furrowed his brows, his vision switching again. He could see the boy's soul, and it reminded him of the ocean. Sea-green with the distinct salty smell of the sea.

"You're a child of Neptune," He realized, "You could just part the water, like Moses in the Red Sea."

The boy thought about it for a moment, before raising a hand. On cue, the river split up, carving a clear path through it.

The goddess glared at him as they passed by. Valen shrugged, following them. It wouldn't be the first time a deity was mad at him.

Where'd that come from? He thought, but all that came to mind was an image of a council of giant-sized beings sitting in a U formation.

The stunt gathered the camp's attention to the boy. Only the goddess seemed unfazed.

"Well, that was a lovely trip," she said. "Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."

Reyna almost choked on her own spit, "Percy…Jackson?"

Valen flinched at a sudden pain in the back of his mind. That name, it was familiar. Everything about the boy was familiar.

The goddess laughed with delight. "Oh, yes. You'll have such fun together!"

Then the old lady began to glow and change form. She grew until she was a shining, seven-foot-tall goddess in a blue dress, with a cloak that looked like goat's skin over her shoulders. Her face was stern and stately. In her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower.

Reyna immediately knelt, and the others followed suit. One kid got down so hastily he almost impaled himself on his sword.

"He-Juno," Valen corrected himself, "Queen of Olympus."

She stared at him, eyebrow raised, as if expecting him to kneel. He did not.

"Juno, huh?" Percy said. "If I passed your test, can I have my memory and my life back?"

The goddess smiled. "In time, Percy Jackson, if you succeed here at camp. You've done well today, which is a good start. Perhaps there's hope for you yet."

She turned to the other kids. "Romans, I present to you the son of Neptune. For months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake. His fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortune comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. Do not fail me!"

Juno shimmered and disappeared. Percy looked at Valen and Hazel for an explanation, but Valen only shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I know as much about this as you."

Reyna stepped forward, examining the son of Neptune warily. "So," she said coldly, "a son of Neptune, who comes to us with the blessing of Juno."

"Look," he said, "my memory's a little fuzzy. Um, it's gone, actually. Do I know you?"

She hesitated. "I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion. And…no, I don't know you."

"Well that last part's a lie." Valen muttered, and Reyna glared at him.

Finally she turned away.

"Hazel," said Reyna, "bring him inside. I want to question him at the principia. Then we'll send him to Octavian. We must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with him."

"What do you mean," Percy asked, "'decide what to do with' me?"

Reyna's hand tightened on her dagger. Obviously she was not used to having her orders questioned.

"Before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. Juno said your fate is in our hands. We have to know whether the goddess has brought us as a new recruit.…" Reyna studied Percy as if she found that doubtful.

"Or," she said more hopefully, "if she's brought us an enemy to kill."

Valen furrowed his brows, he could not let that happen. This Percy Jackson was a link to his past, and he'd be damned if he let him die.

They encountered some lares on the way to the Principia, who seemed strangely agitated at Percy's arrival.

"Am I seeing things?" he asked. "Or are those—"

"Ghosts?" Hazel turned. "They're Lares. House gods."

"House gods," Percy said. "Like…smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"

Valen smiled, amused, "Not exactly, they're just spirits who stuck with the legion from what I gather. I guess in a way they are ghosts."

"The Lares are kind of like mascots," Hazel said. "Mostly they're harmless, but I've never seen them so agitated."

"They're staring at me," Percy said. "That ghost kid called me Greggus. My name isn't Greg."

"Graecus," Hazel said. "Once you've been here awhile, you'll start understanding Latin. Demigods have a natural sense for it. Graecus means Greek."

"Is that bad?" Percy asked.

"It shouldn't be." Valen said, "But alas, racist old ghosts aren't the listening type."

"Romans and Greeks have an old rivalry. Sometimes Romans use Graecus as an insult for someone who's an outsider—an enemy. I wouldn't worry about it." Frank said.

They continued in silence along the Via Praetoria and finally came unto the Principia.

"Your headquarters?" Percy asked.

Reyna faced him, her eyes still cold and hostile. "It's called the principia."

She scanned the mob of curious campers who had followed them from the river. "Everyone back to your duties. I'll give you an update at evening muster. Remember, we have war games after dinner."

The crowd dispersed reluctantly. Some muttered comments about Percy's chances.

"He's dead," said one.

"Would be those two who found him," said another.

"Yeah," muttered another. "Let him join the Fifth Cohort. Greeks and geeks."

Several kids laughed at that, but Reyna scowled at them, and they cleared off.

"Hazel," Reyna said. "Come with us. I want your report on what happened at the gates."

"What about the two of us?" Valen asked.

"You are both on probatio, go to the armory," She said, "Check our inventory. I'll call you if I need you."

"But—" Frank caught himself. "Yes, Reyna."

She stared at Valen, expecting him to follow Frank, but he stood there unmoving. She raised an eyebrow, "Is something the matter?"

"I need to talk to him after you're done." He replied, "I won't interfere in the questioning, in fact I'm willing to wait outside, but I need to talk to him."

"And why is that?" She asked.

Valen turned his gaze to Percy, "Because I can't help thinking he's connected to my past somehow."

Reyna's eyes widened at the implications, but she didn't deny him. "Do as you wish." She said, beckoning the others to follow her as she entered the building.

Valen sighed, standing beside the door, it had been over a month and he had made no progress on his memories. He could only hope the new kid could help him.

He had to wait for an hour before they left the Principia. The look on Hazel's face told him enough.

"Octavian?" He asked.

"Octavian." She confirmed.

"Who's Octavian? Apparently he's supposed to decide my fate?"

"A psychopathic little bi-"

"He's our augur," Hazel interrupted, "He's…you'll see."

'That isn't ominous at all.' Percy thought and turned to Valen, "You wanted to talk to me, err."

"Valen," He said, extending his arm, "Valen Steensen, son of Pluto. And yes I did."

Percy hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

"That can wait until you've cleaned up though." He said, "Come on, let's get you something to eat before you go to Temple Hill."

Valen bought him an espresso drink and a cherry muffin from Bombilo the two-headed coffee merchant.

"Bath house," Hazel said, noticing Percy staring at the building. "We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

As they approached the barracks, Percy spoke, "You guys are divided into different cabins?"

"Sort of." Hazel ducked as a kid riding a giant eagle swooped overhead. "We have five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten—like roommates, kind of."

"You're telling me there's two hundred kids at camp?"

"Roughly."

"And all of them are children of the gods? The gods have been busy."

Hazel laughed. "Not all of them are children of major gods. There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies—second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents."

Percy blinked. "Children of demigods?"

"Why? Does that surprise you?"

"The prospect of demigods surviving long enough to have children is surprising," Valen said, a similar conversation he once had came to his mind for a fleeting second before leaving him again. He frowned, annoyed.

"So these legos-" Percy began.

"Legacies," Hazel corrected.

"They have powers like a demigod?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes not. But they can be trained. All the best Roman generals and emperors—you know, they all claimed to be descended from gods. Most of the time, they were telling the truth. The camp augur we're going to meet, Octavian, he's a legacy, descendant of Apollo. He's got the gift of prophecy, supposedly."

"Supposedly?"

Valen snorted, "He says he does, but I'm almost certain he just pulls them out of his ass."

"So the divisions," he continued, "the cohorts, whatever—you're divided according to who your godly parent is?"

"That's…not a bad idea actually."

Hazel stared at him. "What a horrible idea! No, the officers decide where to assign recruits. If we were divided according to god, the cohorts would be all uneven."

"But each cohort would only contain campers from the same bloodline." Valen said, "And considering how most of them are teenagers, it's a solid idea."

Before they could continue talking, someone from behind them yelled."Wait!"

A ghost ran toward them—an old man with a medicine-ball belly and toga so long he kept tripping on it. He caught up to them and gasped for air, his purple aura flickering around him.

"This is him?" the ghost panted. "A new recruit for the Fifth, perhaps?"

"Vitellius," Hazel said, "we're sort of in a hurry."

The ghost scowled at Percy and walked around him, inspecting him like a used car. "I don't know," he grumbled. "We need only the best for the cohort. Does he have all his teeth? Can he fight? Does he clean stables?"

"Yes, yes, and no," Percy said. "Who are you?"

"Percy, this is Vitellius." Hazel's expression said: Just humor him. "He's one of our Lares; takes an interest in new recruits."

On a nearby porch, other ghosts snickered as Vitellius paced back and forth, tripping over his toga and hiking up his sword belt.

"Yes," Vitellius said, "back in Caesar's day—that's Julius Caesar, mind you—the Fifth Cohort was something! Twelfth Legion Fulminata, pride of Rome! But these days? Disgraceful what we've come to. Look at Hazel here, using a spatha. Ridiculous weapon for a Roman legionnaire—that's for cavalry! And you, boy—you smell like a Greek sewer. Haven't you had a bath?"

"I've been a little busy fighting gorgons," Percy said.

"Vitellius," Hazel interrupted, "we've got to get Percy's augury before he can join. Why don't you check on Frank? He's in the armory doing inventory. You know how much he values your help."

The ghost's furry purple eyebrows shot up. "Mars Almighty! They let the probatio check the armor? We'll be ruined!"

He stumbled off down the street, stopping every few feet to pick up his sword or rearrange his toga.

"O-h-h-kay," Percy said.

"Sorry," Hazel said. "He's eccentric, but he's one of the oldest Lares. Been around since the legion was founded."

"He called the legion…Fulminata?" Percy said.

"'Armed with Lightning,'" Hazel translated. "That's our motto. The Twelfth Legion was around for the entire Roman Empire. When Rome fell, a lot of legions just disappeared. We went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome going. We've been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was strongest. The last few centuries, we've been in America."

"Never understood how that worked." Valen muttered, America had as much Roman influence as the underworld had sunlight.

"And you're in the Fifth Cohort," he guessed, "which maybe isn't the most popular?"

"We both are," Valen said, "The fifth is a laughingstock in the legion, albeit it has been better since I joined."

Hazel nodded, "Jason was like that too, actively trying to make the fifth cohort better."

They fell into silence after that. They stopped outside the main gates. The fort was situated on the highest point in the valley, so they could see pretty much everything. The road led down to the river and divided. One path led south across a bridge, up to the hill with all the temples. The other road led north into the city, a miniature version of Ancient Rome. Unlike the military camp, the city looked chaotic and colorful, with buildings crowded together at haphazard angles.

They could see people gathered in the plaza, shoppers milling around an open-air market, parents with kids playing in the parks.

"You've got families here?" Percy asked.

"In the city, absolutely," Hazel said. "When you're accepted into the legion, you do ten years of service. After that, you can muster out whenever you want. Most demigods go into the mortal world. But for some—well, it's pretty dangerous out there. This valley is a sanctuary. You can go to college in the city, get married, have kids, retire when you get old. It's the only safe place on earth for people like us. So yeah, a lot of veterans make their homes there, under the protection of the legion."

"It all feels surreal to me," Valen said, unknowingly mimicking Percy's thoughts, "A city of demigods…"

"What if the valley is attacked?" Percy asked.

Hazel pursed her lips. "We have defenses. The borders are magical. But our strength isn't what it used to be. Lately, the monster attacks have been increasing. What you said about the gorgons not dying…we've noticed that too, with other monsters."

"Do you know what's causing it?"

Hazel looked away. "It's—it's complicated," she said. "My brother says Death isn't—"

She was interrupted by an elephant.

Someone behind them shouted, "Make way!"

They cleared off the road as a demigod rode past on a full-grown pachyderm covered in black Kevlar armor. The word elephant was printed on the side of his armor.

The elephant thundered down the road and turned north, heading toward a big open field where some fortifications were under construction.

Percy spit dust out of his mouth. "What the—?"

"Elephant," Hazel explained.

"Yeah, I read the sign. Why do you have an elephant in a bulletproof vest?"

"War games tonight," Hazel said. "That's Hannibal. If we didn't include him, he'd get upset."

"We can't have that." Percy said, making Hazel laugh.

Valen shook his head, an elephant was a bizarre choice for a war mount now that he thought about it. They were strong but really slow. But for their purposes, it worked just fine.

He glanced over at the hill. Dark clouds were gathering over Temple Hill. Red flashes of lightning washed the monuments in blood colored light.

"Well, we better get you to Octavian and get this done." Valen said.

They walked in uneasy silence the rest of the way to Temple Hill.

Hazel pointed out the Temple of Bellona. "Goddess of war," she said. "That's Reyna's mom."

Then they passed a massive red crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes.

"Please tell me we're not going in there," Percy said.

"Temple of Mars," Valen said, "And no, we're not going in there."

"Mars ... Ares, the war god?"

"Ares…" Valen whispered, for some reason he preferred the god's Greek name.

"That's his Greek name," Hazel said. "But, yeah, same guy."

He pointed toward the summit. Clouds swirled over the largest temple, a round pavilion with a ring of white columns supporting a domed roof. "I'm guessing that's Zeus—uh, I mean, Jupiter's? That's where we're heading?"

"Yeah." Hazel sounded edgy. "Octavian reads auguries there—the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus."

Percy took a moment to think. "Jupiter…the best and the greatest?"

"A tad bit narcissistic if you ask me." Valen commented.

"What's Neptune's title?" Percy asked. "The coolest and most awesome?"

"Um, not quite." Hazel gestured to a small blue building the size of a toolshed. A cobweb-covered trident was nailed above the door. On a small altar sat a bowl with three dried-up, moldy apples.

His heart sank. "Popular place."

"I'm sorry, Percy," Hazel said. "It's just…Romans were always scared of the sea. They only used ships if they had to. Even in modern times, having a child of Neptune around has always been a bad omen. The last time one joined the legion …well, it was 1906, when Camp Jupiter was located across the bay in San Francisco. There was this huge earthquake—"

"You're telling me a child of Neptune caused that?"

"So they say." Hazel looked apologetic. "Anyway… Romans fear Neptune, but they don't love him much."

As Percy approached the altar, Valen turned to Hazel.

"That's news to me," He said, "A son of Neptune causing earthquakes?"

Hazel shrugged, "That's what everyone says."

They gave Percy space as he talked to his father at the shrine and returned.

Above them, thunder rumbled. Red lightning lit up the hill.

"Octavian's almost done," Hazel said. "Let's go."