Act I Chapter XXIV: Reyna Plays with Knives
Screams of anguish; clanging of swords and shields; war cries; smoke; fire; and the crimson that filled the air as body after body fell.
The horrid and beautiful orchestra of war.
Reyna gripped her head with both hands as memories that didn't feel like hers raced through her head. The heart in her chest ravaged back and forth like it was trying to break free of its cage. Shaky gasps escaped Reyna, never allowing her to catch a full breath.
Reyna dragged her nails down her skull as if it would silence the screams. When that didn't work, her hands moved to the dagger strapped to the inside of her jacket: one of her many tools of war. She grabbed the blade and brought it in front of her. Her eyes stared down at the blade and focused on the symbol in the middle, a sword crossed with a shield. The blade itself was stained with blood from a lifetime ago: blood that would never be erased.
Her finger ran along the edge of the blade, and she raised it to watch the fresh crimson drip off and splatter onto her pant leg. Pain blared in her chest as if the dagger was being slipped between her ribs. Reyna closed her eyes tightly.
When she reopened them, the blood was gone. There was no more pain, no more fire and smoke. The screams had been dulled. There were only two things left: silence, and the crimson that tainted her vision.
Going back to Camp Half-Blood had been a mistake. She knew what would happen as soon as she stepped foot on the battleground, and she had been able to hold it together for the most part. But, it left her reeling. She could hardly remember bits and pieces of her conversations with the others, and she knew they were attacked. But by what?
Reyna breathed deeply, hoping to regain focus. Instead, she could see the war that raged decades ago: Greeks and Romans fighting each other. The Greeks were defending their homelands, but the Romans were trying to avenge theirs. And the leaders. The weak, pathetic leaders that led the charge.
If the Greek leaders could control their men.
If the Roman leaders were stronger.
This war would have never been waged.
Before she realized what she was doing, Reyna gripped the dagger tightly in both of her hands. The blade easily cut into her palm, creating real blood where it had once been imagined. Maybe, the pain could help her differentiate between what was real and what was imaginary.
The others just wouldn't understand. Clarisse was a daughter of war, but Reyna knew she had never experienced anything like this. Will and Drew were too new, too wrapped up in their own worlds to know how naive they were.
There was Luke, but he held a great hatred in his heart. It stirred a conflict in his soul so strong that Reyna could sense it, but was this anger for the gods, or his fellow demigods? The Romans to be exact.
Then, there was Annabeth: a wise girl who hated Reyna simply because of their heritage. Annabeth had taken all the information she knew and made the wrong conclusion. She blamed the Romans for what the Greeks did. For what the gods did. For what the Romans did.
They were all at fault. Why couldn't anyone else see that? The world did not fall into this state because of one group. This was a joint effort. Everyone made mistakes along the way.
Mistakes that had to be fixed.
Mistakes that would be fixed.
There was also Percy. He was special. He was-
"Dear, what is wrong?" Chiron questioned. Reyna's hand closed tighter around the blade, drawing more precious blood. "You've been gone for hours."
"I couldn't sleep," Reyna spoke after a moment. She tried to unclench her fist, but it was no use. As Chiron came closer to her, she heard his breath hitch in concern. Reyna tried to loosen her vice grip, but her muscles refused to comply. "I just need a moment."
"Did you receive feedback from Camp Half-Blood? From the battle there?" Chiron asked gently. Reyna didn't answer, choosing to just hang her head, still trying to get her pinky finger to move. Her body didn't respond to her commands, like it was fighting her. "I know that children of war can sense when a great battle has happened. Some can even summon spirits that were defeated."
Reyna could feel Chiron's gaze not on her but on the dagger she gripped so tightly. While the blade and handle were concealed by her hands, the only thing uncovered was the symbol. It was exactly where Chiron was looking.
"Others just feel flashes of pain and agony," Chiron continued. Reyna stared down at the dagger and felt her focus narrowing into nothing.
"There was so much death," Reyna whispered. The symbol almost seemed to be glowing. Reyna tightened her grip and almost gasped as the dagger started to cut down to the bone.
"It was decades ago," Chiron whispered softly. Reyna could hear that he was choking back sobs. "I remember the day like it were a week ago. I wish I had not been away at the time. I may have been able to stop it."
Reyna's grip tightened even more, and she hissed in pain. Chiron quickly grabbed her wrist, "After all this time, I didn't think it would be this bad. If it was, I wouldn't have allowed you or Annabeth to go."
Chiron grabbed her wrist and the bottom of her palm with one hand. The other hand slowly grabbed her fingers and gently pried them from the blade. Reyna's hand tried to fight him, but Chiron was much stronger than he looked. He forced her hand open, and the blade fell to the ground.
"Don't move," Chiron said gently. He reached into his pouch and slowly poured nectar onto her hand. Reyna winced as the wound slowly closed, leaving behind a thin white scar on top of her other ones. "Where did you find this dagger?"
"When I visited Camp Half-Blood," Reyna slowly answered. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "I found it there."
"This is the dagger of a Roman. Made of Imperial Gold," Chiron explained in a quiet voice. "This symbol is that of Bellona: Roman goddess of war. Some stories say that she had a Greek counterpart named Enyo, but Lupa assured me many times that Bellona was solely a Roman goddess. Lupa talks very fondly of her."
"But, Lupa said that she-"
"Chiron!"
Reyna jumped from the sudden voice. Even Chiron seemed surprised. He turned around and bowed his head, "Lupa."
The wolf goddess looked between them. Her gaze first focused on Reyna and the white scar on her palm. It then moved to the dagger, the symbol there, before it focused on Chiron again, "What is going on here?"
"I believe Reyna was receiving a war flash from Camp Half-Blood," Chiron replied. He held up the dagger, and Reyna could see where her blood stained it. This wasn't the first time her blood covered it. "And, this dagger was only making it worse."
Lupa's eyes narrowed as she studied the blade. Her piercing gaze focused on Reyna, "Chiron, a moment."
"Of course," Chiron said. He walked away, still holding onto the weapon. Reyna tried to protest, but Lupa stepped into her view. When they no longer heard Chiron stepping on branches, Lupa let out a soft growl.
"Why did you have that dagger?" Lupa demanded. Reyna remained silent. "Reyna!"
"I need to get some sleep," Reyna said in a quiet voice. She slowly stood. Upon trying to walk, she found the wolf goddess was blocking her path.
"There was a reason I didn't want you to go back to Camp Half-Blood," Lupa growled. "After what happened last time-"
"I know," Reyna interrupted. She shook her head and walked around Lupa. A paw rested on her shoulder, nearly knocking her down. Claws hooked into her jacket, not letting her get far without tearing the fabric. Reyna stopped walking.
"We are narrowing down where Terminus could be," Lupa stated. "That is one part of what you were shown. Luke was shown a golden belt of interlocking chains. You understand what that means, don't you?"
"Lupa," Reyna warned as she jerked away from the goddess, Claws tore her jacket easily and even nicked some of her skin. "Don't you dare talk about her."
"Can you confront her?" Lupa questioned. "If the drachmae means what I think it means-"
"Lupa, I know," Reyna hissed. Frustration boiled in her chest. She hated when Lupa kept poking and prodding at this topic as if that would make Reyna open up more. There was a reason that Reyna did not talk to her sister, and it all stemmed from the moment her sister betrayed her.
Reyna was forsaken by that woman in the most dire of times. Not once, but twice.
Just hearing Hylla's name made Reyna's blood boil and pained her soul. There was such conflict in her about her sister, and Lupa knew better than to bring her up. How dare the wolf goddess even begin to broach that topic.
Reyna stormed away and made it past two trees. She stopped as she heard a branch snap from where Lupa had been. Reyna turned and expected to see that Lupa had followed her. It didn't take long for her to realize that Chiron had gone to talk to Lupa.
After a moment of debate, Reyna took a deep breath. She carefully made her way back toward the two, sticking to the shadows. By the time she made it back, both had their backs turned. Chiron seemed to be examining the dagger.
"You are being too hard on her," Chiron began. Lupa didn't respond. "I know that you see potential in Reyna more than anyone else we have found. But, she should not be forced to bear the burden of Camp Jupiter's sins alone. You tried, and you couldn't do that. Why push Reyna so hard and make her do what you couldn't?"
"She wants to fix the mistakes of the past. The Roman mistakes," Lupa answered. She looked at Chiron. "And the mistakes that the Greeks made."
Reyna closed her eyes. The two spoke like they were still divided. There were no Greeks or Romans anymore. All of them were just demigods. The last few that could save the world. Parentage didn't matter.
"Lupa, you cannot push her so hard. How can you put the weight of the world on the shoulders of a child?"
"Is it better to spread the weight among the shoulders of three demigods?" Lupa countered. "Or were you going to force it all upon Perseus?"
Chiron stiffened. His next words were in a calm and very controlled tone that betrayed his building rage, "I only helped the demigods find Camp Half-Blood because they came to the agreement that they wanted a quest."
"Because you tell them stories of old heroes," Lupa countered. "You waste time sending them off on children's errands when they should head to the root of the problem: Mount Olympus."
"Mount Olympus has been closed ever since Zeus left to wander the world."
"Then finding a way to open it should be the first step."
Reyna pushed herself off of the tree and left the two to their argument. Everyone wanted to bring back the gods but no one could decide on the best course. Reyna knew what her route was. She knew what she had to do, and she would stay the path.
But first, she was going to try and get some much needed sleep. Then, she was going to get the dagger back.