Act I Chapter XXII: Percy Accidentally Becomes a Conspiracy Theorist
Even though Chiron told them to rest, they couldn't just lie down immediately and just relax. That was how they all ended up talking about the prophecy. Percy lasted about five minutes in that conversation. Annabeth recited it perfectly from memory, which meant she had been mulling over it for the entire ride. She kept listing off possibilities to Chiron, and he encouraged her by adding his own thoughts.
Drew didn't bother to stick around and instead went to make marshmallows in the fire. Will joined her soon after with some chocolate and graham crackers. Percy's growling stomach and growing headache lured him into joining the two. Luke stayed to share theories.
"I can't believe you fought a Minotaur. The Minotaur," Will said softly as he handed a graham cracker to Percy. Drew handed him the burning marshmallow to add. "Was it scary?"
"It was," Percy admitted. He opened the chocolate and finished making his s'more. "There were all these mortals around that could have been hurt or maybe killed. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to them. If the others hadn't been with me, there was no way I would have killed it."
"I hate this," Drew muttered to herself more than anyone else. Percy gave her a sympathetic look. She just made a face at him. Percy focused on his food. The prophecy didn't bother him. Not at the moment at least. They didn't know what their next step was, and while the images might help, he couldn't afford to dwell over the words.
Especially since there was another prophecy out there.
Percy knew that the prophecy they received from the oracle wasn't the one that almost caused the gods to take a vow. It wasn't foreboding enough, and it felt too over the place. Percy felt in his gut that this was different, which meant he had another prophecy to deal with. All he had to do was survive this quest.
"I'm glad you guys stayed safe," Will said. He looked down at the fire. "But, this is just the beginning, isn't it?"
"For them," Drew said. "I'm not going on any kind of quest."
"We might have to one day," Will said. Drew scoffed. Percy slowly stood.
"I'll be right back," Percy told them. He gripped his pen and walked towards the forest. Whenever he took a restroom break in the forest, he always felt like something was watching him. Hopefully, it was an animal and not one of those nature spirits that Chiron mentioned before.
Percy walked for a minute before finding a bush to do his business. It wasn't until he had finished and was zipping up his pants that he heard a growl. His hand shot to his pen. Luke warned him about this. He made it seem like a joke when he told Percy not to get attacked while taking his bathroom break, but it looked like that was exactly what was going to happen.
The growl was followed by a noise that caused Percy to quickly looked around because he had never heard a noise like that in his life. His head tilted to the side, and he slowly walked closer to the noise. His hand slowly pulled his pen out of his pocket. Percy's fingers brushed against the cap.
"Lupa," Reyna said. Percy relaxed his grip. Reyna wasn't that far away, probably in the next clearing. Percy debated stepping closer, but he didn't want to interrupt the two. He also didn't want to spy on them.
What Reyna said next caused Percy to frown and tilt his head. Reyna spoke in another language, and Lupa responded in kind. Percy had no clue what they were saying, but there was another thing that peaked his interest. It was how the two talked.
When Percy talked to Lupa or even just Chiron, he always waited a couple of seconds after they finished their sentence to respond. He made sure to watch his words and use the respect he would give to an elder. The others were like that with Lupa. Well, other than when Annabeth was getting mad at her.
Right now, Reyna's words were relaxed. She spoke right after Lupa finished, even interrupting the goddess once, but Lupa didn't seem to be mad. She just made that noise again, and Percy realized what it was: a chuckle.
Percy also realized that he was totally spying on the conversation. It didn't make sense to him anyway considering he couldn't speak Latin. As Percy stepped back, he heard the shifting of armor that signaled Reyna standing. They were definitely going to see Percy standing here and think he was spying on them. Only one thing to do.
"Hey," Percy greeted as he stepped past the bush and into the small clearing. "I was looking for you two."
Reyna looked at Percy in surprise. Lupa just watched Percy with her wolfish gaze, and she stood to her full height. Percy continued, "Everyone is discussing what the prophecy might mean. I thought you guys might want to be there for that."
Lupa started to walk back towards where their camp was. Reyna started to follow but motioned for Percy to keep pace with her. He did and walked by her side as they made it back towards their temporary camp. Percy glanced back at where the two had been having their conversation.
It wasn't too far from their camp, so he assumed Lupa didn't want to leave them totally alone. The two also seemed to be having a casual conversation. It was how old friends would talk. Percy frowned and studied Reyna. She was as young as him but was much more skilled.
Reyna said she had been living on her own for a while now, but how was she so good at sword fighting? It was like she had been trained in combat. Maybe by a goddess. It sounded a little crazy to Percy, but at the same time, it made sense. That was why Reyna and Lupa were so friendly with each other because they knew each other for such a long time.
That could have been why Reyna's sister left her, or maybe, her sister had died and left her alone. And Lupa found her.
"You have a weird look on your face," Reyna commented. Percy blinked out of his thoughts and looked at her. Reyna studied him intently as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Percy remained silent as he examined her just as intently.
His theory was sounding more plausible. It explained how Reyna was so well trained in combat and why she seemed almost hesitant to get close to any of them. What was Lupa's plan? To train these Romans on the side and then have them help the Greeks? Or have her own army ready?
Okay. Now Percy was getting into conspiracy theorist territory. It was possible that Reyna was the daughter of a powerful god or goddess, so she was trained to be able to handle herself before meeting up with the others. Or maybe, her sister trained her.
Percy was just paranoid from a lack of sleep. A hand passed in front of his face, and he realized that he had stopped walking and had been staring at Reyna. The demigod in front of him did not look amused. Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Sorry, I'm just lost in thought. And tired," Percy partially lied. Reyna nodded and shoved her hands back into her pocket.
"I think we all need some sleep," Reyna agreed as Percy started to follow her again. "Any luck with the prophecy and making sense of it?"
"No," Percy answered. He decided to carefully approach the topic of his thoughts. "It sounded like you and Lupa were pretty happy. I think. I couldn't understand much."
"Annabeth accused Lupa of not caring about any of you. That couldn't be farther from the truth," Reyna said. She stopped before their camp and studied Percy. "Gods and goddesses back then did not interact with their children that much. They just had them and left. Don't let Annabeth's stories fool you. She doesn't know how it was."
"Neither do you," Percy stated. Reyna glared at him. "I'm sure the truth is somewhere in between. The gods probably weren't there every day and training demigods like Lupa is, but at the same time, she trained demigods at the Wolf House, didn't she? Maybe the gods weren't coddling them every day, but it's a lot better than it is right now."
"And, I think everyone is a little scared," Percy said. "I know I am. The gods have mostly disappeared, and the one god that we know who can help us doesn't seem to care."
Reyna remained silent and seemed to be thinking over his words. They both walked into the camp. Lupa was standing near the fire, and Chiron seemed to be bouncing his ideas off of her. Lupa just moved her gaze around the entire time.
"Would you happen to know where Terminus went?" Chiron questioned. "Reyna saw the head of what she thinks is Terminus, and Annabeth saw a museum. Is it possible they are connected?"
Lupa looked down and seemed to be thinking. She finally spoke, "Terminus did not have a form like mine or another god. He was confined to a bust that housed his power. When I looked through the remains, I never found his body."
"Was there anything else with that display case?" Luke asked Annabeth. A sigh left Annabeth as she shook her head. Luke frowned. "We can't just go to every museum in the world. There has to be some kind of lead."
"Can Lupa sense this god?" Percy questioned.
"If I could sense him, I would have already found him," Lupa stated. Percy nodded and knew he had asked a dumb question.
"We should have asked the oracle for a better hint," Luke muttered. He kicked the ground in frustration. "We were so close! Why can't one thing go our way?"
"Calm," Chiron soothed. "All of you need to get some rest and try to sleep. While you do that, I will try and find out where Terminus is located."
"What about searching the remains of Camp Jupiter again?" Annabeth suggested.
"Nothing is there," Lupa said in a quiet voice. It was the quietest she had ever been. "I have searched the ruins longer than you can imagine for anything. Or anyone. There is nothing there."
"What now?" Percy questioned. He looked at everyone else. Luke was starting to pace and looked irritated. Annabeth seemed to be lost in thought. Reyna was staring at the ground.
"Don't museums keep a catalog?" Drew spoke up. Percy looked at her. "Can't you just call the museums and ask if they have this bust?"
"We can't use phones," Luke began.
"But Chiron can, can't he? Or even ask another person to call. Using that Mist thing," Drew said.
"And, the bust would probably only be at a museum near where Camp Jupiter was located," Will chimed in. "I think the museum people also talk to each other, so they might know where it is if it's not where you call."
"Did the mortal police ever investigate where Camp Jupiter was?" Annabeth asked. "If there is, they would have a report about it. You can probably get the report, and it might mention something about where anything left over went."
Chiron nodded and spoke, "I will start with the police."
"I will," Lupa interrupted. "Then, you can call the museums. I will give you the description of Terminus, and we will see if we can get lucky. The rest of you need to sleep."
"When we wake up, we can go to a library and try to help," Annabeth offered.
"This is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack," Percy said to himself. Luke glanced at him and nodded his agreement. Chiron and Lupa walked away from the conversation, starting their own one about what Terminus looked like.
Reyna turned and glanced at Clarisse, who had been oddly silent. She had been drawing in the dirt with her spear, but upon looking up, Clarisse nodded. Reyna turned and walked towards the tent. She stepped inside without a word to anyone else.
Annabeth turned towards the tent, but Percy spoke, "Hey, Annabeth. Can we talk real quick?"
"Sure," Annabeth said. There was a minor look of suspicion on her face. The two stepped away from the tents. "What's wrong, Percy?"
"I have this weird theory that I don't know if it makes sense or is from sleep deprivation," Percy began. With those piercing gray eyes from Annabeth, he found himself stalling. "You know how Lupa disappears randomly at times and doesn't come back for a day or two. Do you think she is secretly training Romans?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, and Percy continued, "I know it sounds weird, but I overheard Lupa and Reyna. They were talking like they were old friends. Like they were comfortable with each other, but Reyna has only been with you guys for a few months, right? Why would they be so comfortable?"
"I don't think that's a bad thing. I just wanted to make sure I'm not crazy," Percy finished. As he spoke, Annabeth's eyes seemed to get narrower.
"I think you're right, Percy. I think that is exactly what is happening. Lupa trains Roman in secret for whatever reason. I don't know why, but I don't like it. Reyna might know," Annabeth said.
"We shouldn't confront Lupa about it until we know for sure," Percy said.
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "But, I'm going to confront Reyna right now."
"What? No!" Percy said. He grabbed Annabeth's arm. "I was just telling you for confirmation. Not to start a fight."
"I'm not going to start a fight. I'm just going to question Reyna," Annabeth stated. Percy gave her a look. "Fine. I won't do it now. I will do it later, though."
Percy sighed and nodded. He knew there wasn't any arguing with Annabeth, and he was starting to regret telling her. At the same time, what if he was right? Was Lupa secretly training Romans on the side?
Percy hung his head as he realized just how ridiculous he sounded. He was just going to lay down and get some sleep. When he woke up, they would have a lead on where Terminus was. Hopefully.