When I landed, there wasn't a soul in sight. Well, let me rephrase that. There wasn't a living soul in sight, because there were still a few Lares milling around, concern evident on their ghoulish faces as they all faced eastward.
I tapped the heart charm on my bracelet, my armor appearing on my body with a flash of gold. That had been a gift from Salina, whom I hadn't seen since December, after she had found out about what I was doing for the gods again.
"No daughter of mine will be forced to fight without armor," she'd huffed before adding the charm to my wrist herself. I'd tried to argue against it, saying I could just shove my armor into my bag, but one look from the goddess was enough to shut me up and quietly accept the gift.
You wouldn't think the goddess of wishes would be that frightening, but she so rarely got angry, meaning that when she did show signs of irritation or anger, it was quite terrifying. That'd be as if Hestia started screaming at someone for dropping a cup – unheard of and completely frightening.
Still, it was a handy little gift, especially with how often I was finding myself outnumbered in the missions I was being sent on.
"Where is everyone?" I asked myself, turning a corner so sharply that I almost knocked over a statue of Ceres.
I received my answer in a form of a flash-bang grenade. Off to my right, I heard someone shout, "Take cover!" before an explosion of blinding light filled the sky, brighter than as if someone had chosen to stare at the sun. Then followed the actual explosion, the sound loud enough to cause me to wince even though I was far away from the grenade. If that was true, I didn't want to think about the eardrums of those in close proximity.
Despite my wounded leg, I took off running in the direction of the fighting, deciding that the best thing I could do right now was to fight through any discomfort.
By the time I was on the field, Epithymia was already unsheathed, managing to slash through two empousai that I'd caught off guard. But while that may have been a substantial number of empousai during the Battle of the Labyrinth, that was nothing compared to the mess that was covering the Field of Mars.
Hannibal, the war elephant, was stampeding on the opposite side of the field, his rider guiding the elephant to trample as many enemies as possible. But the thirty-some hellhounds were making it nearly impossible for Hannibal to move, cutting off the elephant from the rest of the legion while trying to eat his rider.
Overhead, Reyna was riding Scipio, shouting directions at the legion. Meanwhile, I had no clue where Jason was in this mess, only knowing that he'd been alive when we'd last talked about three minutes ago.
I really didn't have time to look for him, though, parrying a blow from a dracaena before stabbing her in the chest and pushing myself farther into the fray.
It wasn't even five minutes before exhaustion started creeping in, my muscles feeling like I'd been pumped full of lead. It wasn't that I was out of practice or anything, but I dare you to fight like your life depends on it when an injury was already sapping your strength, not to mention the four-thousand mile jump from New York to California.
From underneath one of my vambraces, I pulled out a small square of ambrosia, bit off the corner, and shoved it back in place, the heaviness fading a little bit from my arms. I adjusted the grip on Epithymia once more before returning to my slash, parry, stab, and kill technique, slowly taking out the monsters one by one. Even so, this was taking forever, and the legion seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Fourth and fifth cohorts, cincinno conspergitur scuta!" Reyna shouted, swooping down towards the monsters, managing to sever the heads of at least a dozen Laistrygonians before returning up into the sky. "Third cohort, iactare tela modo!"
The legionnaires from the fourth and fifth cohorts pushed the monsters aside and began locking shields together, creating a phalanx type formation, preventing from the enemy to push forward. Behind the wall of shields, the third cohort began launching their spears, each one finding a target to turn into dust.
But just when that started to work, the earth shuddered, and two large onagers were wheeled onto the Field of Mars. Each onager had a boulder the size of a pickup truck; vials of Greek fire were taped onto the entire rock. And those lovely little packages were faced directly at Camp Jupiter.
"Watch out!" someone shouted as more flash-bang grenades started to rain down from the sky.
"I've got them!" I heard Jason shout, watching as he shot up into the sky and shoved the grenades aside with gusts of wind.
"The onagers are going to fire!"
"Not if I can help it," I muttered, kicking a Laistrygonian into his friend's sword before catching a ride on a nearby hellhound, jumping off when I reached the glorified catapults. As a parting gift for its help, I shoved Epithymia deep into the hellhound's neck, blocking out the snarls and whimpering until I severed its spinal cord.
I had to remind myself repeatedly that that hadn't been Mrs. O'Leary I'd just paralyzed before rushing towards the onagers.
Apparently the dracaenae that had been in charge of the onagers had sensed me and cut the strings, sending the payload soaring into the air. Those who noticed what had just happened gasped, shouting for the gods to send help.
Gritting my teeth, I shoved the rest of my ambrosia into my mouth before throwing my arms up into the air, imagining the rocks freezing in midair. Slowly but surely, the Greek-fire covered rocks stopped, seeming as if they were merely levitating above the legion.
This only caused more panic amongst the legionnaires but also spread confusion throughout the enemy ranks. Many of the monsters ceased their fighting to stop and stare at the rocks, giving Jason the opportunity he needed to summon a massive lightning bolt that only electrocuted monsters.
I saw someone lunge for Jason as his blond hair disappeared from my line of sight, most likely passing out from such expenditure of his powers.
"Reyna!" I shouted, hoping that she'd hear me. "Dispose of the Greek fire! I'll handle the rocks!"
Maybe it was Reyna that heard me, or maybe it was Scipio, but whoever it was, the duo approached the frozen rocks and quickly began pulling off the vials of Greek fire from the stone, gently depositing them into a satchel hanging from Scipio's side.
"That's all of them!" she responded, letting me breathe a minor sigh of relief.
The manic burst of strength the ambrosia had given me was already fading, and I knew it wouldn't be long until I met Jason's fate as well.
"Clear the area!" I shouted, gesturing towards the onagers. Demigods and legacies fled left and right, but the monsters, too slow to heed my warning, were crushed underneath the weight of their own projectiles as I brought the boulders back and dropped them right on top of a dozen empousai and a handful of hellhounds.
Once I dropped the time spell, I dropped onto a knee, completely spent. Darkness crept from the corners of my vision, but I couldn't pass out, not yet.
I struggled onto my feet and let out a feral scream, slashing through any enemy that tried to get in my way as I tried to find Jason. He'd been the one to call me here, yet I doubted that he was aware of my arrival. It was only fair that I kept him safe while he was out.
Overhead, Reyna continued shouting orders at the legion, telling them to band together in one final effort. Seeing that the onagers were located in front of the Caldecott Tunnel and completely covered in ginormous boulders, the rest of the monsters had no method of escape unless they ran towards New Rome, which was protected by its own border god, Terminus.
"Sssslay them all!" a dracaena hissed, holding her sword high in defiance. She shoved one of her comrades aside, revealing Jason on the ground in front of her, blood seeping from a head injury, turning patches of his blond hair into a messy orange. "And we ssshall ssstart with the son of Jupiter! Hail Saturn!"
Before she could lower her sword, three arrows were embedded into her body – one in the heart, one in the throat, and the last in her forehead. She exploded into gold dust, causing for some of the few remaining dracaenae to bristle angrily, each one of them brandishing their own weapons in an attempt to avenge their fallen sister.
Within seconds, I notched a few more arrows onto my bow, hitting the chinks in their armor, hearing them groan in pain before vanishing into gold dust on the ground. There was one that I had to take down with Epithymia after she got too close, but one swipe across the tail was enough to have her cursing me as I shoved her aside, allowing her to crumble into dust as I ran over to Jason.
It wasn't too long after I'd picked Jason up in a fireman's carry that I heard the legionnaires exclaim in jubilation, the last monster having finally been killed. Surprise, surprise, it had been Reyna that finished the battle, using her quick thinking to get two Laistrygonians to kill each other over who had the right to finish her off.
Luckily for me, Camp Jupiter had its infirmary as close to the Field of Mars as physically possible, usually becoming the go-to place after large evening activities like war games or the water balloon battle. I know that sounds harmless, but trust me, this isn't your typical friendly water balloon fight. I've seen people end up with broken noses or unconscious from how crazy it was.
Anyhow, after a legacy of Apollo quickly checked us in (read: paled and shoved us into the nearest bed), I got to work, only pausing for a few milliseconds to turn my armor back into its heart charm.
From what I could tell, Jason was perfectly fine other than a few scratches here and there and the cut he had on his forehead from falling out of the sky. I know this is mean of me to think, but it'd be funnier if he'd been hit with a brick.
What, don't tell me you've never heard of Brason before? One of the best things Rick Riordan ever wrote, in my opinion.
Right, back to Jason's injuries. Well, his scrapes were minor enough that they could heal on their own, and the cut on his head only needed a bandage. By some miracle, he avoided a nasty concussion or brain bleed, showing that the Fates were on Jason's side today.
Good thing, too. After all, it was still his birthday.
I trickled some unicorn draught into his mouth before moving him into a wheelchair, strapping him in to prevent him from face planting on the pavement again. I'd told the healers I'd take Jason back to his praetor's villa to free up the beds for those who seriously needed medical attention, earning me threats and scowls from the various descendants of Apollo.
Instead of getting into a fight with them, I rolled up my shirt's sleeve, revealing my own tattoo on my arm. There were five lines marked under a large omega, the symbol of the gods. Before anyone asks, this was Hecate's doing from a long time ago, and she'd enchanted the ink to only appear on my skin when I was inside Camp Jupiter. If I was anywhere else, it wouldn't show.
"Oh, gods," some of them would mutter, dropping to their knees and begging for forgiveness. Others would pale and run off to do something in the other direction, hoping to distance themselves.
"It's fine," I'd told them, telling them to stand. "No need to treat me like a god. I'm just a demigod, like you."
"Uh, I'm a legacy."
I frowned. "You know what I meant."
After that little incident, I took Jason back to his villa and tucked him into his bed, making sure to set aside a glass of water and some Tylenol on his nightstand for when he woke up. He may not have suffered a concussion, but I doubt he'll wake up without a massive headache.
Before I left Jason's house, I fished out the gift I'd gotten him ages ago and set it on his dining room table. I'd been meaning to give it to him for a while now, but I hadn't returned to Camp Jupiter ever since Jason was nine, when Zeus told me to give his son the gold coin known as IVILIS. It was like Riptide in the sense that it always returned to its owner and was easily concealed, but unlike the pen-sword, the coin could also transform into a gladius depending on which side of the coin landed face up when flipped.
I'd gotten him two little presents, but we'd written enough letters to each other to know each other's likes and dislikes pretty well. As a joke, I got him a Superman shirt and had his last name stamped onto the back, like you'd seen on a sport's jersey. For his actual gift, I got him a Polaroid camera and various containers of film as well as tucking in some pictures Hestia had found in her hearth.
Apparently sometime after Beryl Grace's death, the house that Zeus had given her had mysteriously burned down (most likely Hera's doing) and with it, all the pictures in there had been burned as well. With Hestia's help, I was able to find a picture of Beryl smiling while Thalia held her brother in her arms.
I'd asked about Thalia in the picture and whether or not we should find another one, but Hestia waved my worry aside, assuring me that this wouldn't jeopardize anything. Later that night, the Fates had given me the same assurance, so I wasn't all too concerned about having Thalia in a picture as a part of his birthday present. I mean, he'll find out the truth within the next year and a half, anyways.
Once I left Jason's villa, I plopped myself down into a nearby bench, groaning as I finally felt all my exhaustion seep into my bones, my leg throbbing painfully with every beat of my heart. Honestly, I would go back to Brazil and kill every one of those river monsters if it meant no one else having to suffer from their agonizing bite if I could.
"You look like you're having a great time," I heard Reyna comment before seating herself beside me, calmly sipping her hot chocolate despite the fact that it was easily ninety-five degrees. And somehow she didn't seem uncomfortable under the weight of her armor or flowing purple cape, but I guess that was to be expected with Reyna. She, like Clarisse, probably slept in her battle armor.
"Yes, because exhaustion is such a good look on me," I snorted, rubbing tiredly at my eyes as the rest of my body slowly turned to lead. "I haven't gotten much sleep lately, if you couldn't tell."
"Then I'd have to be blind. You look like you're going to pass out right here." Reyna stood up and offered me her hand. "Come with me. I'll give you a safe place to sleep and we can talk about why you're here later."
"Oh, that really isn't necessary, Reyna." I stood up quickly, biting back a string of curses when my injured leg almost collapsed underneath my weight.
Reyna quickly slung my arm over her shoulder, staring down at my leg like it personally offended her.
"Nonsense," she said, beginning to slowly walk towards her own villa. "After everything you did for Camp Jupiter today, you deserve to rest. I insist you stay. Plus, I can send a medic to check out that leg of yours. Seriously, you call us suicidal yet you fight when injured." She shook her head. "Unbelievable, Andy. And to think you lecture us on self-preservation."
"That's because you're kids," I said. "You deserve to have a chance at a normal life without being in constant fear of dying. For gods' sake, Reyna, you're only fifteen and you're expected to run a camp containing over two hundred other teenagers. This isn't normal."
Reyna's face hardened. "You're not that ancient yourself, Andy. How old are you?"
"Twenty-two."
She nodded briskly. "My case in point. And if my information is accurate, you swore your service to the gods at age fourteen, a year younger than myself. Tell me again about this normal life you speak of."
I rolled my eyes but stayed silent. Reyna had a point, but I couldn't tell her the truth about my actions, about why I was really here. Sure, I didn't want to die, but I'd rather sacrifice myself than watch anyone I care about be hurt. I would be more than willing to take on everyone's pain if it meant they got a stereotypical Happily Ever After.
Reyna pulled out the key to her home from underneath a house plant and unlocked the door, guiding me through it before pulling it shut behind us. She told me to sit on the large plush couch she had right under a large window, a perfect place for reading, while she went to get some supplies.
A few minutes later, the daughter of Bellona returned with some cloth bandages and a little basin full of what appeared to be soap water.
"Let me see your leg," she ordered, unclasping the brooch on her cape before tossing it aside, letting it land on a nearby chair. However, she refused to remove her armor.
First I pulled out some spandex from my bag, so once I got out of my pants, I tugged on my spandex, revealing the large wound on my thigh while also wearing bottoms that weren't just my underwear.
"What do you think about this shade of green on me?" I joked, cringing slightly of the feeling of Reyna unwrapping my bandages. At least there wasn't any pus, eliminating the chance of this being foul smelling.
"It'd be nicer on your clothing," Reyna retorted, quickly disposing of the old bandages before soaking a cloth bandage into the basin until it was thoroughly soaked. She then wrapped it tightly around the injured area, making me dig my nails into my palms to prevent from making any noise.
"I've never seen any poison like this before," she said, soaking a second bandage. "How'd you get hurt?"
"Mission in Brazil. Word of advice, stay away from South American rivers unless you are a hundred percent certain that there are no river monsters in the vicinity. Trust me, you'll know by how the locals treat the water."
"Duly noted." This time I winced as Reyna tied this bandage tighter than the previous one. "Sorry about the discomfort, but I promise this will help. Hylla was taught to make a healing salve under Circe, and in turn, she taught me. This is good for pain relief when ambrosia, nectar, unicorn draught, or modern medicine fails."
Sure enough, as the bandages dried, I felt a cooling sensation in my leg, effectively numbing the pain. The skin there tingled with the pins and needles effect, but that was much better than the alternative, in my opinion, so I kept my mouth shut and thanked Reyna after she tied off the last bandage.
"I'll give you the instructions to make the salve before you go," Reyna promised. "But for now, get some rest. I need to go check on the others, but I'll be back before dinner time."
"Sounds good to me," I said, smiling softly as I watched Reyna redid the clasp on her cape. "We'll talk later, I promise."
"Good. I look forward to it." And with that, the daughter of Bellona departed, the lock turning a few moments after she'd walked outside.
It didn't take too long until my eyes grew heavy with exhaustion, and eventually, I fell asleep.
"You know," I heard someone say, my body jerking itself awake at the unexpected noise, "if it weren't for the fact that I told you to sleep, I would've thought you were dead."
"Gee, thanks," I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and yawning.
I blinked twice before finally being able to recognize Reyna sitting in the seat across from me, calmly undoing her cape and finally removing her armor, revealing a purple Camp Jupiter shirt and jeans. For once, she looked like a normal teenage girl instead of a praetor.
Reyna pulled out a Tupperware container from the folds of her cape and set it down on the little coffee table. There was a ham and cheese sandwich along with some apple slices and a brownie.
"You slept right through dinner, so I brought you food from the dining hall."
"Thank you, but weren't you supposed to be back before then?" I asked, slowly sitting up as to not agitate my leg. It felt a million times better after Reyna applied her salve, but I wasn't going to take any chances.
"I stopped by to check on you," she said with a shrug. "Oh, that reminds me. Here's how to make that salve." Reyna pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her pocket and set it next to the Tupperware. "Anyways, you were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you up. When was the last time you got some proper rest?"
Having already taken a bite of the sandwich, I thought as I chewed. Now I know this is totally off topic, but this was a really good ham and cheese sandwich. Gods bless those wind spirits.
"Um, a month maybe?" I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "I really don't know."
Reyna rolled her eyes, clearly having expected an answer like that. "I know you work for the gods, but you need to take better care of yourself. Being sleep deprived is just as dangerous as not knowing how to fight for a demigod."
"That's why coffee is my best friend. I know, not a substitute for sleep, but it definitely helps."
"At least it's not alcohol," Reyna spoke bitterly, unable to meet my eyes as she was suddenly transported back into a flood of bad memories. In fact, her memories were so awful that I could feel the aura she was giving off (thanks a lot, Hera), but I knew better than to go poking around in other people's minds (unlike certain gods).
"Would you believe me if I told you I've never drank before?" I asked, taking another large bite out of my sandwich.
"Seriously?" Reyna raised her eyebrows. "Don't you go to parties at college, though?"
"Only if my friends drag me along. Even then, I'm the designated driver, so I don't drink. And I bring my own water or lemonade or whatever I want to avoid accidentally drinking anything that was spiked."
She nodded appreciatively. "Yes, I can see you doing that. Anyhow, why are you here, Andy? How did you know about today's attack?"
"Oh, Jason called me," I said, finishing off my sandwich. I pushed aside the apples and brownie, not really all that hungry. "He asked for help, so I came."
"So the gods didn't send you?"
"Nope."
Reyna stood up and began to pace back and forth. "That's not a good thing. Jason shouldn't have called you without my knowledge."
I winced, my mind reminding me of every punishment that could be inflicted on a praetor that didn't inform their fellow praetor about their actions. Let's just say that none of them ended well for the transgressor.
"What will the Senate do to him?"
"Well, they are unaware of his actions as of now, which is good for him. But with someone like Octavian as augur, I'm afraid he may be able to convince the Senate to put Jason to death."
"I'm going to drop kick him across the Pacific Ocean," I growled, starting to stand up before Reyna glared at me, as if daring to get up from the couch.
She sighed, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "Trust me, I'd love to hurl Octavian off the nearest mountain, but he's too powerful to kill off like that. Plus, I don't kill unless absolutely necessary."
"Then what can we do about Jason?" I asked.
"I would lie to the Senate, but during trials, the praetors, senators, and centurions are forced to drink a truth-telling serum created by the children of Trivia. It forces us to reveal any information we may have kept hidden to help the defendant."
I whistled lowly. "Pretty strict rules you have there. But if you can't lie, I can. I mean, I have certain privileges here at camp as ambassador of the gods, right?"
Reyna stopped tracking a hole into her floor, giving me a small smile. "Yes," she said, beginning to sound more confident in this plan. "Your word overrides anything that the Senate or even the praetors pass. All you'd have to do is tell the legion that you were sent by the gods and that'd be the end of this problem."
"Good, then let's go do that. But first, we should tell Jason."
"Tell me what?" the son of Jupiter asked, peeking his head into Reyna's house.
Reyna swore in Latin, half-heartedly glaring at Jason while crossing her arms over her chest. "How many times have I told you to knock?" she asked in exasperation, not really angry but not all that happy either.
"I was knocking!" Jason exclaimed, inviting himself inside. "I guess you didn't hear me."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sparky."
"Hey!"
"Guys," I reminded them, cutting off their banter. "The plan?"
"Oh, yeah," Reyna said, turning to Jason. "Listen, Andy's going to tell the legion that she showed up today because the gods told her to, okay?"
Jason's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "But I called her?"
"Without my input."
Jason's eyes flew wide with surprise. A bright red dusted his cheeks. "Oh, right. My bad."
"You can say that again," I chuckled. "Personally, I'd like to have you alive, so that's the plan. Any questions, comments, or concerns?"
"Um, no?"
"You hesitated," Reyna noted, seeming slightly amused by his reaction.
"Well, what am I supposed to say? I broke a rule, and you're asking to cover for me with a lie. Doesn't that seem wrong to you?"
"Nah, not really."
"Jason, this isn't hurting anyone," I said, hoping to reassure him. "It'll be fine. Plus, I need to get going soon anyways, so might as well do this before heading back."
"You're leaving so soon?" the two praetors asked, equal looks of shock on their faces.
"Duty calls." I shrugged and got up to my feet, making sure to tuck away Reyna's note into my bag before I forgot. "Okay, let's get this over with."
Fifteen minutes, and about a million questions, later, I announced to all of Camp Jupiter that I was sent by Olympus to aid today's battle, which of course led to Octavian doubting me in front of the entire camp. Needless to say, he shut up pretty quickly when I waved a hand in his direction and a vine wrapped around his mouth, preventing him from saying another word.
Besides that, there was no other mishap, and after saying goodbye to Jason and Reyna, I shadow-traveled back to Camp Half-Blood, where I was met by Will and Luke still freaking out. And of course they'd gotten Percy and Annabeth involved, too, so now I had to answer to them as well.
Just one day of rest – is that so much to ask for?