All rights belong to Rick Riordan

Chapter 11

Divine Retribution

(Reyna) The previous day

For almost two weeks the legion had been laying siege to the Greek Camp down the hill. Ever since Octavian convinced the fools in the Senate, that they were the enemy. Following that disastrous meeting in New Rome, he had forced me to go along with stupid plans, now that he had been made acting Praetor by the Senate.

This had created a situation that was something previously unheard of. Unofficially the Legion now had 4 Praetors at the same time but two were 'presumed' traitors and Octavian was openly calling for them to be killed on sight; I had managed to veto this argument as they deserved a trial but stopping the mad augur was becoming much more difficult.

While in the past, he would bluster on and only a few I believed would listen to his rants. However, with Percy's and Jason's apparent betrayal, he had turned the once proud Legion into a pseudo-dictatorship much more similar to the old days old Caligula and Nero. All he had to do was go 'study the auguries' and they would follow his instructions like a bunch of wide-eyed lemmings.

And that was why we were currently sitting in a tent at the top of the hill, a distance from the giant pine that dominated the hillside. Octavian and several of his lackey's were leaned over looking at a map of the 'enemy' camp. He boasted saying he was going to lead a raid on the camp during the night, whilst under the cover of darkness. He claimed he would burn the foolish Greeks from their holes, for Apollo had shown him a vision of a blazing cabin burning with green flames while the gods themselves watched on from above.

Personally, I was hoping he would get himself captured and/or killed, but he continued to explain that he would use the old invisibility potions the Frumentarii stockpiled back in the day and that would enable him to enter undetected. Sadly, Aurum and Argentum didn't attack the fool which meant he was telling the truth about both the vision and the details.

The Greeks had done very little in the time we had been here, they simply sat in their camp and trained, whilst posting guards here and there on the border supplemented with Fauns or Satyrs as they called them. Octavian had found this information hilarious; he claimed the Greeks were so afraid they were arming the peasants in fear. I remained unsure about them they were far too confident in they wielded those clubs, as if they had seen conflict before and knew how to fight one.

They had tried to send an envoy but Octavian claimed that we shouldn't trust them with peace after all had the Argo II not arrived under the banner of peace and then proceeded to burn half a city before escaping. The only other significant activity had been arrival of two dozen girls in silver outfits who had broken through our lines, knocking the sentries out before they detected them and meeting with a centaur before dispersing into the camp.

The camp itself was a strange thing laid out in a chaotic fashion that made very little sense and very little matched. There was a lavafied climbing wall, a pavilion surrounding a campfire, stables with numerous pegasi that Octavian was extremely keen to capture. But the strangest were the approximately 2 dozen cabins laid out in a branched U shape in the centre of the camp. The cabins were nothing alike and what was strange was the campers would not stay in all of them. Some remained empty while others had almost a dozen or more occupants and the silver one that glowed in the moonlight contained the figures in silver. Intel suspected that maybe they stayed together corresponding with their Olympian parents but we were unsure. The Legion was arranged by equally by cohort, this was just too messy a system and had no benefits other than comfort perhaps.

After the meeting was over, with me trying and failing to persuade the fool to rethink his decision. I walked out followed by the metal dogs and looked around at the temporary camp we had constructed on the hill. The small fortication had been built out of materials gained from the large house that had stood in its place previously. Inside we had found what was a horde of mementoes and souvenirs the Greeks had obtained over the years from monster parts to photos of fallen demigods. All of which Octavian had locked away to be sent to New Rome once our triumph was complete. Of the house, little still remained apart from one wall which remained bare but for a leopard head that continued to snarl at anyone who came near and we were unable to remove. Anyone who tried found themselves getting ensnared in vines so it was decided to leave that be just in case perhaps Bacchus was fond of that particular decoration.

To the side of the newly built camp was the Great Pine and its scaly guardian who remained looking at us with cold eyes. When we had first arrived, one legionary a legacy of Mercury had spotted something in the branches that glowed golden and had tried to obtain it. Somehow failing to notice the dragon curled up around the lower trunk, all that remained of the hapless Legionary now was a scorched outline on the grass and some blackened segments of armour plating. As a result, I had ordered no one else to go near it. It seemed only focused on defending its position so while it was staying at the tree, it was not a direct threat to us, I had explained which Octavian actually decided to agree with me for once.

Checking the status of the fort security one last time, I received and ate my rations on my own apart from the two ever present hounds beside me.

That all taken care of I proceeded to my personal tent not far from the HQ, where I proceeded to unfasten my armour and get ready to sleep, only thinking about the problems the new day would bring and the outcome of Octavian's plan. I prayed to my mother that this would be over soon before falling asleep.

(Octavian)

I waited for darkness to fall and the enemy to return to their cabins for the night before creeping out of our camp. I had a pack slung across my back with several vials of Greek fire, oh how I would be putting the irony to that name tonight. Slowly I crept into the camp looking for my target careful not to make a noise and alert the sentries. Although the potion rendered me invisible for a few hours at least, I was careful not to make noise, something I had not been trained for after all, I had always considered myself a commander never a rat, this work was better suited to Mercury's descendants. They had a natural inclination to this sort of activity, but this time it had to be me. The honour of the attack would be mine alone, as I would decimate these blasphemous Greek's foolish forces in seconds.

I eventually found my target, a large luminous silver structure which appeared to glow in the darkness. I heard female voices inside talking and joking about my legion outside their borders and I knew I had picked the right choice and I set to work.

(Reyna)

Just before first light I was awake, equipped and already back on duty. However, one of the first things I saw unfortunately Octavian had returned during the night and was currently sitting at a mess table staring at a watch expectantly.

"I take it your plan worked then?" I asked neutrally looking down at him with folded arms.

"Of course, it did my fellow Praetor, why in only a few seconds longer I will have eliminated a large chunk of the enemy forces and the gods will be forced to realize my skill." He proclaimed proudly his words filled with hubris. Just the thought of being considered equal to this fool in rank made me want to punch him there and then. Unfortunately, he had too much support in the first through fourth cohorts for me to get away with it.

I was about to ask what he meant, when he raised his hands and began to count down from ten, one digit at a time.

When the last finger dropped there was the sound of a distant explosion followed by the sound of screams.

(Thalia)

I had been at the back of the cabin talking to Phoebe when the explosion occurred, as the senior two hunters we always woke before the others. To discuss any issues with the other hunters as well as what we should do in Lady Artemis's absence, as she was still confined to Olympus.

The only instruction we had been given was a message telling us to get to camp and help the campers as a conflict was forming and the Romans were coming.

And they had come, they arrived before we did and we were forced to fight our way through their lines, thankfully with no injuries, to us at least. Chiron informed me of what happened and how the approach was to sit back and hope the gods saw sense and stopped the Legion before open conflict occurred.

As the days went by, we watched as they tore the big house down and built their camp near my tree and we laughed when we saw Peleus the dragon cremated that foolish boy. For two weeks we sat and watched as they did nothing and we began to relax and joke they were scared.

The night before had brought news. Artemis messaged me confirming the gods were attacking the giants at last and the seven had arrived in Greece, this left me hopeful as once they were done there the gods would return and set the Romans right. I had just been explaining the call to Phoebe when the force of the detonation blew us off our feet and into the back wall.

I struggled to stand and could only watch in horror as green flames began to enclose the cabins wall and the ceiling before it began to collapse. I looked around to my side to see Phoebe helping hunters escape through a hole in the wall but I remained motionless unable to hear anything as my ears had gone deaf. Mercifully sheltering me from the screams of pain of those still trapped in rubble. Seeing me standing there not moving Phoebe grabbed me by the arm and forced us out of the cabin, only moments before it completely collapsed cutting of the cries of those still trapped within.

Around me other girls desperately tried to approach the destroyed cabin; the green flames however completely immolated everything they touched. Even as demigods and Satyrs ran over with anything that could hold water it was all for naught. The nature of Greek Fire meant water would do very little to quell the flames. Between the fire and the collapse of the building any efforts were sure to be for nothing, there would be no more survivors pulled from the rubble. Those green flames would be the pyre that would consume the bodies of my sisters.

"Thalia? Are you alright? Look at me." I heard faintly, turning to a smoke-stained centaur who was looking down at me in shock.

"I'm – I am fine what about the others?" I asked uncertainly I had not seen many escape in front of me in time.

The centaur, if possible, looked even grimmer before sadly saying "I am sorry only you, Phoebe and a couple of others survived the blast." He finished causing me to collapse to my knees on the floor in tears as I watched the green flamed pyre of my sisters. I had been in charge and now they were dead, this was all my fault.

"You could not have known my dear, we never detected anyone enter the camp." He added.

"Who did this?" I demanded angrily before simply pointing at the Legion camp on the hill where I could make out a blond-haired figure looking back with arms folded seemingly in satisfaction at his actions.

Eventually all the survivors were sitting in the dining pavilion silently as the girls from the Apollo cabin tended our wounds, treating the burns and cuts caused by debris. The force of the explosion had given me a broken rib that I only became aware of once the adrenaline died down.

The Hunt's wolves preventing anyone from getting close when a flash of light appeared before us revealing eight figures.

(Percy)

After Apollo had explained what had happened at camp worriedly. I guessed with the death of her hunters; Artemis had felt the personal cost of each dying. After all, they were also her Handmaidens and Priestess they each bore a connection to the goddess. I had seen her distraught after Zoe died and that was nothing compared to the sobbing mass in my lap.

She looked like how I imagined Annabeth looked after the numerous times I was presumed dead or missing and it cut me inside to see the proud goddess reduced like that. She eventually raised her head and looked at me with silver eyes before turning to Hades.

"How many?" She cried out but her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

"Seventeen." He replied simply.

The goddess closed her eyes upon hearing the sum, before eventually opening them with a fresh look of determination in her eyes.

"Artemis, don't do anything foolish sis." Apollo said worried at the cold expression on his twin's face.

"Foolish! Your idiot grandson just killed seventeen of my hunters and you don't expect me to do anything?" She screamed back at him causing him to squirm back into his golden throne.

"He's right Lady Artemis; we need to focus on helping the survivors. Octavian will get his comeuppance I swear." I whispered to her gaining her attention as she looked at me.

"Your Brother is correct this conflict was started by demigods and must be concluded by them; the Ancient Laws say so." Jupiter added.

"Fine but the seven are coming with me, we will deal with this after we return." She said as she stood up from my lap.

"You are all coming with me, I need your help dealing with the situation but I promise this Octavian will die." She vowed before grabbing onto my hand and holding it tightly.

"Take a hold of one another, we are going to camp to finish this." The others somewhat fearfully all grabbed hold of each other before Nico lastly grabbed my wrist and we were enveloped in golden light.