Act II Chapter XII: "Let's just get this over with."
Annabeth nervously paced back and forth as she chewed on the inside of her lip. Clarisse stood next to her and looked annoyed by her constant pacing. She looked at the two guards that had been asked to escort them outside and then wait for them.
"So, how long have you been with the Amazons?" Clarisse asked.
"About five years now," the taller of the two answered. She had her blonde hair tied into pigtails that looked ready to fall apart at any moment. Upon seeming to notice it, she huffed and fixed her hair. "Best decision of my life."
"Are you really safe from monsters?" Annabeth questioned. She stopped her pacing to look at them.
"For the most part. Most of them get stopped at the lobby, and our demigods are spread among mortals. Some monsters are a little more brave, but they never get far," the guard replied with a shrug. She fixed her pigtails.
"About two and a half years now," the other guard added as she played with her gold earring again. "What about you two? What's this camp thing?"
Before Annabeth could answer, she saw the door to the building open with Reyna and the Amazon leader walking out of it. Reyna's hands were pocketed, but there was something else slung around her chest; it was a golden belt made of interlocking chains.
"You three be safe," Kinzie said as she followed behind Reyna.
"You too," Reyna returned as she glanced back at Kinzie. Then, she walked toward Clarisse and Annabeth. "We should get out of here."
"Opal, Zena, come on," Kinzie ordered. The two guards nodded and walked toward Kinzie, and they went back inside. Annabeth immediately turned toward Reyna.
"What did you tell her?" Annabeth asked. Reyna glanced back at the building.
"I'll tell you in a minute," Reyna answered. "Let's just get going."
Reyna turned and started to walk. Annabeth frowned at the non-answer, but had no choice except to follow after her. Even though she wanted all kinds of answers. Clarisse followed behind the two of them. It was quiet as Annabeth tried to keep her impatience under control.
They left the parking lot behind and made it back on the busier street. Reyna glanced at them and motioned with her head. She ducked into a coffee shop. Annabeth frowned. What were they doing now?
Reyna let out a deep sigh as she looked at them. Her shoulders drooped, "No one followed us, right?"
"I don't think so," Clarisse answered as she looked back outside. Her gaze moved back to Reyna. "What did you tell Kinzie?"
"I lied to her," Reyna finally answered. Annabeth stared at Reyna and blinked a few times.
"Wait. What? You lied to her?" Annabeth demanded. Clarisse barked out a laugh.
"Yeah. I did. I told her this whole spiel about how Mars helped Hylla and I get away from our father, and she dedicated herself to him ever since. That she would take the belt and ask for repentance from Mars or something like that. I don't know.
"I just had to say something to get the belt," Reyna continued. She sighed and looked down. "And, we need to get back to the Amazon base and get Iris as soon as possible."
"And why is that?" Annabeth asked. Reyna looked at her.
"Well, I told Kinzie that right now is an optimal time to attack the Amazons and drop that bombshell. I told her that Hylla would be busy asking for that forgiveness and wouldn't have time to organize. Then, Kinzie could drop in and confront her. I don't know. Point is, Kinzie and the others are going to get slaughtered because they have a spy."
"Woah. Hold up," Clarisse interrupted. "What do you mean spy?"
"That guard with the golden earring is a spy for Hylla," Reyna informed. "It's something that she learned from..."
Reyna trailed off, and her eyes grew distant. A shiver left her, "She learned about it when we were younger."
The reaction kept Annabeth from pursuing any further. It did not stop Clarisse, though, "Who taught you that?"
Reyna shook her head slightly. She crossed her arms like she was shrinking in on herself. Clarisse looked like she was going to push further, but Annabeth gave her a look. Reyna slowly spoke, "The person who helped us get to America. B...but not by our c...choice."
Reyna's eyes grew hazy. Clarisse frowned and gently grabbed Reyna's arm. She spoke, "Hey, it's okay. So, you think the spy is going to tell Hylla that Kinzie is going to attack them? And Hylla will be prepared? It won't backfire on us, will it?"
"No," Reyna answered. She took a deep breath and seemed to shake herself out of it. "We just have to hurry."
"Or, we can go back to the rebels and tell them that this is a bad idea," Annabeth argued. "We can't just let them be killed like that."
"We can," Clarisse stated.
"It's not our problem," Reyna added.
"It is our problem!" Annabeth protested. "You are letting them walk into a trap that they can avoid. We already have the belt. What's the harm in telling them that attacking Hylla will get them killed?"
"You're right," Clarisse agreed as she nodded her head. "Let me just grab my phone and call them."
"You're so funny," Annabeth retorted as annoyance slipped into her tone.
"Annabeth, I did what I had to do," Reyna said. Annabeth stared at her. How could she say that?
"You didn't have to do any of that," Annabeth accused. She hated how people were starting to look in their direction. "What you did was wrong!"
"Hey," Clarisse hissed as she grabbed both of their shoulders. She motioned with her head. They followed her gaze to the Iris message that was near them. None of the mortals seemed to realize it was even there. Annabeth studied Hylla.
The queen of the Amazons studied them and smirked, "I was going to check in on you, but I can tell it went well. Come back and give me my belt."
"And we get Iris?" Clarisse challenged. Hylla nodded. "Good. We'll be there soon."
Hylla opened her mouth to say something, but Clarisse ran her hand through the Iris message. A chuckle left her, "That never gets old."
"Let's just get this over with," Reyna exhaled as she tapped the golden belt. A shaky breath left her. "Preferably before the rebels try to rip my sister's head off."