Act II Chapter XIX: "Who would not want peace?"
Percy's next dream of the goddess of war took place in the same temple. Now, it was much darker. He had to squint to even see anything, but he could hear pacing. Bellona paced back and forth in front of the small table that held a map from his first dream. Percy slowly made his way closer, and he saw that blood was splattered all over the map.
Bellona turned toward the map and slammed her hand into it. Percy stared at all of the blood that covered her hand. Not the golden blood of a god. No, this was the red blood of a mortal. Or a demigod.
"They will not listen," Bellona whispered. She raised the bloody hand and ran it down her face. A small smirk came to her face as the liquid touched her lips. "They will not."
"I don't understand," Bellona began as she turned and looked around the temple. Before, she had this cold confidence about her. Like she could watch the world explode in front of her and wouldn't even blink. Now, there was a shattered look in her dark eyes. Her hands shook as did her lips. "Why would they not want unity?"
"They don't want unity," Bellona whispered as she reached toward her sword. Attached to the pommel of the sword was a string. And on that string was a ring that was also covered in blood. It had a sword crossed with a torch. "Why not? Who would not want peace?"
Percy heard nails tapping the marble floor and turned his head to see Lupa stalking into the temple. Her lip was curled up, and she had a small limp. Lupa growled softly. Bellona turned around and folded her arms behind her back, still holding her sword.
"Bellona, what have you done?" Lupa questioned. She limped closer to the goddess of war. "I can smell the blood."
Bellona just smiled slightly. She brought the sword back in front of her and looked at it. Bellona spoke, "I was taking care of affairs at home."
"Home?" Lupa repeated. "Camp Jupiter is not your-"
"Why won't they agree with me?" Bellona wondered as she cut off Lupa. "They do not want unity. The gods will not listen, Lupa. Why will they not listen?"
Percy found himself standing between the two goddesses. Bellona just looked unhinged. She kept examining the blood on her hands and the sword. Lupa seemed to be in pain, but she looked angry. Percy had never seen this pure rage on the goddess before.
"You have gone too far, Bellona," Lupa growled. The walls of the temple shook. Percy found himself taking a step back, but his body wouldn't move anymore.
"Why won't Olympians destroy the Greeks?" Bellona asked. Percy felt his jaw drop. Bellona said she wanted unity. How could that be unity?
"Bellona, stop this now!" Lupa ordered. "You have already gone too far with your stunt at Camp Jupiter. I managed to hide most of it."
"No," Bellona refused. "I am going to save the world."
"You want to kill the Greeks!" Lupa growled.
"Because the Greeks will never be united with the Romans. We can only have unity through strength," Bellona declared. "Do you know how we are going to do that?"
"We are not going to do anything," Lupa answered.
"Unity through strength," Bellona repeated. A cruel smile came to her face. "The only way to do this is to let the Greeks and Romans go to war. When the Romans finally crush the Greeks under their heel and there is only one side left, we will have no more distractions. We can focus on the prophecy."
"Camp Jupiter will-"
"-not be involved," Lupa stated with finality. "Bellona, what happened to you?"
"I am doing what everyone else is too scared to do," Bellona answered. Lupa hung her head and took a deep breath. "What is the point of training an army if they are not going to fight?"
"Bellona, stop this," Lupa pleaded in a quiet voice.
"I am not going to stop, Lupa! I have watched you waste the potential of every demigod at Camp Jupiter! Rome used to be an empire, and now, we only hold scraps of land. First, we will destroy the Greeks. Second, we handle this great prophecy. Then, Rome will spread its influence across the world again!"
"Bellona, I will not let you do this…!" Lupa growled. Bellona turned and raised her sword. She slowly unsheathed it. "Bellona, stop!"
"When I send you to the depths, I will go to Camp Jupiter and rally the troops. We will start our march on the Greeks and salt the earth with their blood!" Bellona boomed. The goddess moved faster than Percy could follow, and she stabbed down at Lupa.
The wolf goddess darted out of the way and came to a heavy stop, sliding on the marble floor as her nails dug in. Then, she slammed into Lupa, sinking her teeth in the war goddess' throat. Just as Bellona stabbed her in the side.
Lupa seemed to recoil from either the blow or her own accord, but her teeth were still sunk into their target. Bellona gave the wolf goddess a violent shove away that sent Lupa sprawling across the floor with a howl of pain, sword still embedded in her side.
Bellona's choked cry was followed by both hands shooting to her throat where Lupa had torn away most of the flesh, exposing the inside. Golden ichor poured from her throat. Both goddesses looked at each, and both began to glow brightly.
Percy woke with a gasp. He sat up quickly and took deep breaths. Percy fell back in his sleeping bag and wiped the sweat off of his face. A look to his right and left showed that he was alone. The rest must have woken up before him.
Percy carefully stood and changed clothes. He made his way outside and looked around. It seemed like everyone was sitting at the fire and making food. Percy walked toward them and smiled at the delicious smell of hot dogs.
"Morning, Percy," Luke greeted.
"Hey," Percy replied loosely as he ran a hand through his messy hair. Then, he started to rub his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Luke questioned as he bunned a hotdog and planted it on a plate. It was handed off to Percy.
"Just a weird dream," Percy began. He added some ketchup and mustard to his hot dogs. "It was... I don't know."
Luke nodded and gave him a bottle of water. Percy took a few sips before eating his food. He saw Drew making her way toward them. She sat down, and when Luke gave her a plate, she stared at it.
"Morning, Drew," Luke began. Drew gave him a nod. "Something wrong?"
"I hate sleeping on the ground," Drew muttered.
"We're getting the beds soon," Percy supplied. He smiled at Drew, but she just stared at him. "It isn't all that bad."
"It is," Drew corrected. She shook her head in annoyance. "I hate being a demigod."
"You have to make the best of it, Drew," Luke began. Drew rolled her eyes. "We do. I know it's hard."
"Yeah," Drew muttered, a sigh leaving her. "Would it be possible for us to visit our homes? I miss my father."
Percy's head perked up, "I miss my mother, too. Could we go visit?"
"I think so," Luke answered. A smile touched his lips. "You might have to wait until we're settled, but I don't see why not. Lupa or Chiron can help escort you."
Percy couldn't wait to see his mom again. And Paul. He wanted to tell them about everything that he had been through. Percy really wished they could use phones. But while they couldn't use that mortal technology, there was something else they could use.
"How about sending an Iris message?" Percy wondered. Luke nodded.
"I think Chiron has leftover golden drachmas. The only thing we need is a rainbow to send it from," Luke explained. "Chiron talked about installing a fountain that could be used for it."
Someone sat next to Percy, and Luke held a plate out to them. Reyna waved her hand and rubbed her eyes. She sighed as she slowly stretched.
"Sleep well?" Percy asked through a mouthful of hotdog.
"On and off," Reyna answered with a yawn. "What about you? You look disturbed."
"Just a bad dream," Percy answered bluntly. He sighed and looked down. "About your mother. I learned that she wanted to destroy Camp Half-Blood by using Camp Jupiter. Lupa didn't agree, and... the two of them... fought."
Reyna's eyes widened in surprise, and she stared at Percy. He averted his gaze and slowly continued, "I don't get it, though. Your mother talked about wanting peace. She wanted unity through strength."
"Only the strongest survive," Reyna muttered. She sighed and brought her knees to her chest. "It's like I told Annabeth: my mother is a monster."
"Why would she want to destroy the Greeks, though? Without the Greeks, wouldn't the gods be weaker?"
"My mother thought they would be stronger," Reyna explained. "With the Greeks and Romans being divided, my mother thought the gods had their powers divided. She figured that if the Greek and Roman demigods went to war, only the strongest would survive, and the gods wouldn't have to divide their power anymore. They could solely focus on this prophecy."
"Doesn't your mom have a Greek side?" Percy questioned.
"No. I also think it doesn't matter. Without Greek demigods, there is no Greek side," Reyna answered. She sighed and laid back in the grass. Her arms were folded behind her head.
"I wish we knew what happened back then," Percy said as he ate another bite of his food. "Like what really happened with the Greeks and Romans. Who attacked who first? How did both camps get destroyed?"
Reyna didn't answer and just stared at the sky. Percy focused back on his food and finished off the hot dogs. Drew had taken over cooking the hot dogs for Luke, so he could eat his own. Percy moved his gaze around, trying to find Lupa. The wolf goddess was nowhere to be found.
"Do you know where your mother is now?" Percy questioned.
"No," Reyna answered. A sad look crossed her face. "I looked. I think Hylla did too."
Another sigh left Reyna, and she put both hands to her face. A tired noise left her. Reyna put her arms back behind her head and stared at the sky once again. Percy didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what to say.
"We should keep training," Luke added. "All of you. Even you, Reyna."
"Clarisse offered," Reyna muttered. "But, we can train together too."
"Luke always said it is a good way to test your skills," Percy added. "Besides, I think it will be fun to spar with you."
Reyna hummed and didn't say anything else. Percy tried to relax as he looked back at the fire. He needed to focus on his training, but soon, he would send a message to his mother. He could not wait to see her face again.