Chapter Title: The Band Is Sent In Two Different Directions
Alternate Chapter Title: I Begin To Hate Octavian
After he touched that sword, Colton seemed to change. I don't exactly know how, but it just felt that way. Even though he seemed normal, there was a glint in his eye that indicated that he had his memories back — with his brown orbs appearing just a shade darker now.
It seemed odd and yet awe-inspiring at the same time, like he had just become a person of absolute legend in a mere instance.
Whispers spread throughout the legion as to what had exactly happened to him. I didn't really know what to believe, but if Colton had changed any, he probably become something far darker than what I originally had known him as, which was scary to be honest.
As I sit here, thinking of all of this as I eat breakfast this morning, judging from the amount of whispers I hear around me — even though I can't understand all of them, it was clear that the murmurs were far from over to be honest. As for the subject of all of this himself, he was simply chatting with Luke and Lavinia as if nothing was wrong.
Percy probably would have eaten more of breakfast at this point from the expression that was on his face currently, but then Reyna announced that the senate would now convene in the city, and all the folks in togas got up to leave.
"Here we go." Hazel fidgeted with a stone that looked like a two-carat ruby. The way that some of the Fifth Cohort, Gwen included, rolled their eyes indicated to me that this was not going to be sunshine and rainbows at all, if I had been under any illusions that it would be honestly.
Which, to be clear, I definitely was not.
The ghost Vitellius appeared next to us in a purple shimmer, causing me to jump. "Bona fortuna, you three! Ah, senate meetings. I remember the one when Caesar was assassinated. Why, the amount of blood on his toga—"
"WHOA, dude!" I shouted. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Thanks, Vitellius," Frank interrupted. "We should get going."
And with that, we left.
Reyna and Octavian led the procession of senators out of camp, with Reyna's metal greyhounds dashing back and forth along the road. We all followed behind them, and for some reason, Colton couldn't really stop glaring holes into Octavian's head. I don't know what exactly had gotten into his head, but Octavian chucking his weapon at him and Gwen in a fit of anger — he wasn't really aiming at them to be honest — without even paying so much as even a shit to the potential harm such an action would cause really seemed to have set Colton off particularly hard.
Nico was in the group too, wearing a black toga and talking with Gwen, who looked a little pale but surprisingly good considering she'd almost been speared the night before, and most likely would have if Colton hadn't been there. Nico waved at Percy, then went back to his conversation, and in Percy's eyes it seemed, it definitely felt like that Percy felt that Hazel's brother was trying to avoid him.
Dakota stumbled along in his red-speckled robe, like a guy who had a hangover or something. I couldn't really tell to be honest. A lot of other senators seemed to be having trouble with their togas, too—hiking up their hems, trying to keep the cloth from slipping off their shoulders. To be honest, I was just glad that like Percy and Luke, I just happened to be wearing a regular purple T-shirt and jeans. Colton, meanwhile, had decided to wear armor for whatever reason.
"How could Romans move, in those things?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, they don't exactly look like the easiest outfit to even walk in honestly.." Luke added, and I had to admit, both of them had a fair point. Colton didn't really say as much of a word about it to be honest.
"They are just for formal occasions," Hazel said. "Like tuxedos. I bet the ancient Romans hated togas as much as we do. By the way, you didn't bring any weapons, did you?"
"Seriously..?" Colton muttered.
Percy's hand went to his pocket, where his pen always stayed. "Why? Are we not supposed to?"
"No weapons allowed inside the Pomerian Line," Hazel replied.
"The what line?"
"Pomerian," Frank said. "The city limits. Inside is a sacred 'safe zone.' Legions can't march through. No weapons allowed. That's so senate meetings don't get bloody."
"Glad I decided to just wear armor over top of my clothes and get nothing else then.." Colton said.
"Like Julius Caesar getting assassinated?" Percy asked.
I will admit, I hadn't really though about that all that much. It did make me nervous as to what might be expected at these meetings though.
Frank nodded. "Don't worry. Nothing like that has happened in months."
From the look on their faces, it seemed like both Percy and Luke were hoping that Frank was kidding.
As we all got closer to the city, I couldn't help — along with Percy and Luke — but appreciate how beautiful it was. The tiled roofs and gold domes gleamed in the sun. Gardens bloomed with honeysuckle and roses. The central plaza was paved in white and gray stone, decorated with statues, fountains, and gilded columns. In the surrounding neighborhoods, cobblestone streets were lined with freshly painted town houses, shops, cafés, and parks. In the distance rose the coliseum and the horse racing arena.
Percy somehow didn't notice that we had even reached the city limits until the senators in front of him started slowing down, causing Colton and I to both facepalm. I mean, was Percy just plain clueless or what? I had a hard time figuring out which one it was.
That's when I noticed something else. On the side of the road stood a white marble statue—a life-size muscular man with curly hair, no arms, and an irritated expression. Maybe he looked mad because he'd been carved only from the waist up. Below that, he was just a big block of marble. But then his mouth moved, catching me off guard.
"Single file, please!" the statue said. "Have your IDs ready."
"Whoa!" I said. "That.. just.. talked."
Percy just looked to his right and left, as did Luke and Colton. I hadn't noticed it either until now, but a line of identical statues ringed the city at intervals of about a hundred yards, almost like a protective shield of sorts.
The senators passed through easily. The statue checked the tattoos on their forearms and called each senator by name. "Gwendolyn, senator, Fifth Cohort, yes. Nico di Angelo, ambassador of Pluto—very well. Reyna, praetor, of course. Hank, senator, Third Cohort—oh, nice shoes, Hank! Ah, who have we here?"
Hazel, Frank, me, Colton, Percy, and Luke were the last ones.
"Terminus," Hazel said, "this is Percy Jackson, Michael Yew, Luke Castellan, and Colton Reynolds. Percy, Luke, Michael, and Colton, this is Terminus, the god of boundaries."
"A statue who is a god.." Colton muttered. "Hasn't been the craziest thing I've seen yet so far."
I had no clue what he meant by that.
"New, eh?" said the god. "Yes, probatio tablet. Fine. Ah, weapon in your pocket? Take it out! Take it out!"
Luke, Colton, and I looked at each other, before Percy took out his pen.
"Quite dangerous," Terminus said. "Leave it in the tray. Wait, where's my assistant? Julia!"
A few moments passed before a little girl about six years old peeked out from behind the base of the statue. She had pigtails, a pink dress, and an impish grin with two missing teeth. She seemed quite the peculiar one to be honest.
"Julia?" Terminus glanced behind him, and Julia scurried in the other direction. "Where did that girl go?"
Terminus looked the other way and caught sight of Julia before she could hide. The little girl squealed with delight.
"Oh, there you are," said the statue. "Front and center. Bring the tray."
Julia scrambled out and brushed off her dress. She picked up a tray and presented it to Percy. On it were several paring knives, a corkscrew, an oversized container of sun lotion, and a water bottle.
"You can pick up your weapon on the way out," Terminus said. "Julia will take good care of it. She's a trained professional."
The little girl nodded. "Pro-fess-ion-al." She said each syllable carefully, like she'd been practicing.
I don't even know why, but something about this just seemed wrong. But then again, this was how they did things, so who was I to complain?
Percy glanced at Hazel and Frank, who didn't seem to find anything odd about this. Still, he wasn't wild about handing over a deadly weapon to a kid. Neither did Luke or Colton seemed to be having any similar doubts about it at all.
"The thing is," he said, "the pen returns to my pocket automatically, so even if I give it up—"
"Not to worry," Terminus assured him. "We'll make sure it doesn't wander off. Won't we, Juila?"
"Yes, Mr. Terminus."
Reluctantly, Percy put his pen on the tray.
"Now, a few rules, since you all are new here.." Terminus said. "You are entering the boundaries of the city proper. Keep the peace inside the line. Yield to chariot traffic while walking on public roads. When you get to the Senate House, sit on the left-hand side. And, down there—do you see where I'm pointing?"
He wasn't even pointing, so quite understandably in a situation like this, all of us just looked at him confused — except Hazel and Frank.
"Um," Percy said, "you don't have any hands."
Apparently this was a sore point for Terminus. His marble face turned a dark shade of gray, that just seemed rather creepy to be honest. "A smart aleck, eh? Well, Mr. Rule Flouter, right down there in the forum—Julia, point for me, please—"
Julia dutifully set down the security tray and pointed toward the main plaza.
"The shop with the blue awning," Terminus continued, "that's the general store. They sell tape measures. Buy one! I want those pants exactly one inch above the ankles and that hair regulation cut. And tuck your shirt in."
"Good to know indeed.." Colton muttered.
Hazel said, "Thank you, Terminus. We need to get going."
"Fine, fine, you may pass," the god said testily. "But stay on the right side of the road! And that rock right there—No, Hazel, look where I'm pointing. That rock is entirely too close to that tree. Move it two inches to the left."
Hazel did what she was told, and off we went. Terminus was still shouting orders at us as we left as Julia did cartwheels across the grass.
"Is he always like that?" Percy asked.
"No," Hazel admitted. "Today he was laid back. Usually he's more obsessive/compulsive."
"Yikes.. hate to be on his bad side on those days.." Luke said. I had to agree.
"He inhabits every boundary stone around the city," Frank said. "Kind of our last line of defense if the city's attacked."
"Again, very good to know.." Colton said, processing the info in his head from what it looked like.
"Terminus isn't so bad," Hazel added. "Just don't make him angry, or he'll force you to measure every blade of grass in the valley."
I shuddered. I really did not want to have to do that to be honest.
"And the kid? Julia?"
Hazel grinned. "Yeah, she's a cutie. Her parents live in the city. Come on. We'd better catch up to the senators."
"Fair enough.. let's go.." Colton said, and we picked up the pace. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that Terminus might have been even more laid back than normal today — considering he didn't even say a thing about Colton wearing armor honestly.
As they approached the forum, we — aside from Hazel and Frank, and also Colton for some reason — were all struck by the sheer number of people there. College-age kids were hanging out at the fountain. Several of them waved at the senators as they passed. One guy in his late twenties stood at a bakery counter, flirting with a young woman who was buying coffee. An older couple was watching a little boy in diapers and a miniature Camp Jupiter shirt toddle after seagulls. Merchants were opening their shops for the day, putting out signs in
Latin that advertised pottery, jewelry, and half-price tickets for the Hippodrome. I had no clue honestly as to what a "Hippodrome" even was.
"All these people are demigods?" Percy asked.
"Or descended from demigods," Hazel said. "Like I told you, it's a good place to go to college or raise a family without worrying about monster attacks every day. Maybe two, three hundred people live here? The veterans act as, like, advisers and reserve forces as needed, but mostly they're just citizens living their lives."
"So basically, if needed.. they could act as an extra source of manpower if required.." Colton said.
"Exactly.." Hazel said back.
Percy looked like he was deep in thought for a moment, but then he snapped out of it, shaking his head.
Either way, we all followed the senators until they came to this big white-domed building on the west end of the forum. Percy paused for a moment at the doorway, thinking about something, then followed the rest of us inside. What awaited us inside this place definitely was unlike anything I have ever experienced before.
- — - — - — -
The interior of this place legitimately looked like it was a high school lecture hall. I'm not kidding here, it really did look like that. A semicircle of tiered seats faced a dais with a podium and two chairs. The chairs were empty, but one had two small velvet packages on the seat.
We all sat with Hazel and Frank on the left side of the circle, though me and Colton had to stand, along with Lavinia who had already made it there ahead of all of us somehow — we hadn't seen her at all that morning so I guess she had gotten up early — while the ten senators and Nico di Angelo occupied the rest of the front row.
The upper rows were filled with several dozeng hosts and a few older veterans from the city, all in formal togas.
Octavian stood in front with a knife and a stuffed toy in his hand, which made Colton look really pissed off — he was giving him the good old silent fury. Octavian didn't even seem to notice at all.
Reyna walked to the podium and raised her hand for attention.
"Right, this is an emergency meeting," she said. "We won't stand on formalities."
"I love formalities!" a ghost complained.
Reyna shot him a cross look.
"First of all," she said, "we're not here to vote on the quests themselves. The quests have been issued by Mars Ultor, patron of Rome. We will obey his wishes. Nor are we here to debate the choice of Frank Zhang's companions, nor that of Lavinia Asimov's companions."
"All of them from the Fifth Cohort?" called out Hank from the Third. "That's not fair."
"And not smart," said the boy next to him. "We know the Fifth will mess up. They should take somebody good."
Colton, who had been basically quiet, now suddenly snapped.
"You dare to fucking question my friends' ability, you imbecile?" Colton barks.
Dakota got up so fast, he spilled Kool-Aid from his flask. "We were plenty good last night when we whipped your *word incoherent to make out*, Larry!"
"Colton, Dakota.. enough.." Reyna said. "Let's leave Larry's *word incoherent to make out* out of this. As quest leader, Frank has the right to choose his companions. He has chosen Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan and Hazel Levesque. As for Lavinia, she has chosen Colton Reynolds and Michael Yew."
A ghost from the second row yelled, "Absurdus! Frank Zhang isn't even a full member of the legion! He's on probatio. Lavinia is also only a legionnaire. A quest must be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. This is completely—"
Colton looked like he was about to snap again, but Reyna beat him to the punch. "Cato," Reyna snapped. "We must obey the wishes of Mars Ultor. That means certain ... adjustments."
Reyna clapped her hands, and Octavian came forward. He set down his knife and the stuffed animal down on the table, and took the velvet package from the chair.
"Frank Zhang, Colton Reynolds.." he said, nervously saying Colton's name, "come forward."
Colton, despite his fierce glare, stepped forward. Frank meanwhile, glanced nervously at Percy. Then he got to his feet and approached the augur as well.
"It is my...pleasure," Octavian said, forcing out the last word despite looking a bit nervous as well. "..to bestow upon both of you the Mural Crown.. to Frank for being first over the walls in siege warfare, and Colton.." Octavian was now glaring at Colton in fury, instead of being nervous now. "..for such an incredible act of brilliance in helping to orchestrate the victory of the attacking team yesterday." Every single word of that part sounded forced.
Octavian handed both of them a bronze badge shaped like a laurel wreath. "And also for Frank.. by order of Praetor Reyna, to promote you to the rank of centurion."
Colton just looked proud of Frank honestly. Octavian looked miffed as he handed Frank another badge, a bronze crescent, while the senate simply exploded in protest.
"He's still a probie!" one yelled.
"Impossible!" said another.
"Water cannon up my nose!" yelled a third.
"Silence!" Octavian's voice sounded a lot more commanding than it had the previous night on the battlefield, even though it still sounded forced too. "Our praetor recognizes that no one below the rank of centurion may lead a quest. For good or ill, Frank must lead this quest—so our praetor has decreed that Frank Zhang must be made centurion. Exception will be made in the case of Lavinia Asimov. Her quest has been noted in what we have of the Sibylline Books for a long time.. and so despite her low rank, she will lead that quest.. and that is final."
He really did not like it at all to be honest.
Either way, Octavian's words didn't seem to amuse Reyna, for a look of irritation flashed across her face. "There is an opening for centurion," she said. "One of our officers, also a senator, has decided to step down. After ten years in the legion, she will retire to the city and attend college. Gwen of the Fifth Cohort, we thank you for your service."
Wait? Gwen retiring?
I did not see that coming at all. I guess what happened last night had rattled her more than I had thought.
Everyone turned to Gwen, who managed a brave smile. She looked tired from the previous night's ordeal, but also relieved. I couldn't blame her. Being nearly skewered with a pilum only for the guy in front of her to save hers and his life as well, college sounded pretty good — at least in her case, from my perspective.
"As praetor," Reyna continued, "I have the right to replace officers. I admit it's unusual for a camper on probatio to rise directly to the rank of centurion, but I think we can agree...last night was unusual. Frank Zhang, your ID, please."
Frank removed the lead tablet from around his neck and handed it to Octavian.
"Your arm," Octavian said.
Frank held up his forearm. Octavian raised his hands to the heavens. "We accept Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata for his first year of service. Do you pledge your life to the senate and people of Rome?"
Frank muttered something like "Ud-dud." Then he cleared his throat and managed: "I do."
The senators shouted, "Senatus Populusque Romanus!"
Fire blazed on Frank's arm. For a moment his eyes filled with terror, and Percy and Luke both looked afraid that Frank might pass out. Colton was absolutely amazed at it all. Then the smoke and flame died, and new marks were seared onto Frank's skin: SPQR, an image of crossed spears, and a single stripe, representing the first year of service.
"You both may sit down.." Octavian said, and both Colton and Frank did, with Colton patting Frank on the back as they did with a smile on his face and saying a few words to Frank that I couldn't make out. Octavian glanced at the audience as if to say: This wasn't my idea, folks.
"Now," Reyna said, "we must discuss the quests."
Colton didn't say anything as he returned to me and Lavinia. The senators shifted and muttered as Frank returned to his seat. Percy and Frank then discussed something, muttering so that I couldn't really make it out. Hazel joined in after a while.
"Centurion Zhang, do you have a plan for the quest?" Octavian asked. Frank was too busy in the conversation. Colton simply facepalmed.
"Centurion Zhang," called Octavian. "Did you hear the question?"
Frank blinked. "Um...sorry. What?"
Octavian turned to the senate and smirked, like what did I tell you? Colton simply glared at him.
"I was asking," Octavian said like he was talking to a three-year-old, "if you have a plan for the quest. Do you even know where you are going?"
"Um..."
Hazel put her hand on Frank's shoulder and stood. "Weren't you listening last night, Octavian? Mars was pretty clear. We're going to the land beyond the gods—Alaska."
There was instant squirming and an aura of unease settling in the room now. The senators squirmed in their togas. Some of the ghosts shimmered and disappeared. Even Reyna's metal dogs rolled over on their backs and whimpered.
Finally Senator Larry stood. "I know what Mars said, but that's crazy. Alaska is cursed! They call it the land beyond the gods for a reason. It's so far north, the Roman gods have no power there. The place is swarming with monsters. No demigod has come back from there alive since—"
Since you lost your eagle," Percy said.
Larry was so startled, he fell back on his podex. Colton continued.
"What he said.." he started. "Look, all four of us might be new here, but we've already connected the dots. What happened in the 80s.."
"He mentioned it!" one of the ghosts whimpered.
"..doesn't have to define the Fifth Cohort forever.." Colton continued. "..that's why Mars picked the cohort. This is the Fifth's chance for redemption."
Gwen smiled, Dakota's jaw dropped, Frank was wondering what exactly he was seeing, Hazel was amazed, and Percy and Luke just stared at Colton, giving him thumbs up.
"Besides.." Colton continued. "Two quests — one for Jupiter's sword and the other to free Thanatos — being given to the Fifth? Sounds like the Fates want the Fifth to regain its honor and then some. You can nag on me all I want, but you know I'm right."
"Blasphemous!" shouted one of the other senators.
"—But don't you get it?" Percy spoke up. "The Fifth Cohort led that expedition. We failed, and we have to be responsible for making things right. That's why Mars is sending us. This giant, the son of Gaea—he's the one who defeated your forces thirty years ago. I'm sure of it. Now he's sitting up there in Alaska with a chained death god, and all your old equipment. He's mustering his armies and sending them south to attack this camp."
"Really?" Octavian said. "You seem to know a lot about our enemy's plans, Percy Jackson."
"Mars literally told us so, dumby.." Colton stated, growling at the end as he did so. Octavian just glared back at him.
Percy took a deep breath.
"We're going to confront this son of Gaea," he said, managing to keep his composure. "We'll get back your eagle and unchain this god..." He glanced at Hazel. "Thanatos, right?"
She nodded. "Letus, in Roman. But his old Greek name is Thanatos. When it comes to Death...we're happy to let him stay Greek."
Colton continued, "And in the meantime, me, Lavinia, and Michael will go south and find the sword of Jupiter." He still didn't like saying Jupiter's name, for it still sounded forced.
Octavian sighed in exasperation. "Well, whatever you call him...how do you expect to do all this — both groups — and get back by the Feast of Fortuna? That's the evening of the twenty-fourth. It's the twentieth now. Do you even know where to look? Do you even know who this son of Gaea is?"
"Yes." Hazel spoke with such certainty that even Percy was surprised. "I don't know exactly where to look, but I have a pretty good idea — at least for our quest. The giant's name is Alcyoneus."
That name seemed to lower the temperature in the room by fifty degrees. The senators shivered. Colton's face darkened too, as if he knew a lot that I didn't.
Reyna gripped her podium. "How do you know this, Hazel? Because you're a child of Pluto?"
Nico di Angelo had been so quiet, I think we all forgot that he was even there. Thus, we were all caught by surprise when he stood up in his black toga.
"Praetor, if I may," he said. "Hazel and I...we learned a little about the giants from our father. Each giant was bred specifically to oppose one of the twelve Olympian gods—tousurp that god's domain. The king of giants was Porphyrion, the anti-Jupiter. But the eldest giant was Alcyoneus. He was born to oppose Pluto. That's why we know of him in particular."
That definitely seemed plausible, I will admit.
Reyna frowned. "Indeed? You sound quite familiar with him."
Nico picked at the edge of his toga. "Anyway...the giants were hard to kill. According to prophecy, they could only be defeated by gods and demigods working together."
Dakota belched. "Sorry, did you say gods and demigods...like fighting side by side? That could never happen!"
Colton snorted. "They should.." he muttered. "A whole lot of bullshit would have been avoided if they did."
I wondered what he even meant by that. It did sound familiar, but I was not sure why.
"It has happened," Nico said. "In the first giant war, the gods called on heroes to join them, and they were victorious. Whether it could happen again, I don't know. But with Alcyoneus ... he was different. He was completely immortal, impossible to kill by god or demigod, as long as he remained in his home territory—the place where he was born."
Nico paused to let that sink in. "And if Alcyoneus has been reborn in Alaska—"
"Then he can't be defeated there," Hazel finished. "Ever. By any means. Which is why our nineteen-eighties expedition was doomed to fail."
Another round of arguing and shouting broke out. Colton simply just said to me as all of this happened, "It makes perfect sense now."
I didn't say anything.
"The quest is impossible!" shouted a senator.
"We're doomed!" cried a ghost.
"More Kool-Aid!" yelled Dakota.
Colton had enough. So before Reyna could say anything, Colton just snapped.
"FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, SHUT UP!" he bellowed and everyone yelling immediately stopped, trembling a lot seeing who had spoken. Colton cleared his throat and continued. "So if the giant can't be killed in Alaska, the solution is really simple. Get him out of Alaska by any means necessary.. then he should be easier to kill."
Reyna nodded. "Fair point.." she said. "Anyways.. senators, we must act like Romans. Mars has given us this quest, and we have to believe it is possible. These four demigods must travel to Alaska. They must free Thanatos and return before the Feast of Fortuna. If they can retrieve the lost eagle in the process, so much the better. At the same time, three more of us will venture south and find Argonaut. All we can do is advise them and make sure they have a plan."
Reyna looked at Percy without much hope. "You do have a plan?"
Percy looked like he wanted to say something certain, but instead when he opened his mouth, he said something else. "First, I need to understand something." He turned toward Nico. "I thought Pluto was the god of the dead. Now I hear about this other guy, Thanatos, and the Doors of Death from that prophecy—the Prophecy of Seven. What does all that mean?"
Colton groaned.
Nico took a deep breath. "Okay. Pluto is the god of the Underworld, but the actual god of death, the one who's responsible for making sure souls go to the afterlife and stay there—that's Pluto's lieutenant, Thanatos. He's like...well, imagine Life and Death are two different countries. Everybody would like to be in Life, right? So there's a guarded border to keep people from crossing back over without permission. But it's a big border, with lots of holes in the fence. Pluto tries to seal up the breaches, but new ones keep popping up all the time. That's why he depends on Thanatos, who's like the border patrol, the police."
"Thanatos catches souls," Percy said, "and deports them back to the Underworld."
"Exactly," Nico said. "But now Thanatos has been captured, chained up."
Luke looked confused on that part. I was as well.
Frank raised his hand. "Uh...how do you chain Death?"
"It's been done before," Nico said. "In the old days, a guy named Sisyphus tricked Death and tied him up. Another time, Hercules wrestled him to the ground."
"And now a giant has captured him," Percy said. "So if we could free Thanatos, then the dead would stay dead?" He glanced at Gwen. "Um...no offense."
"It's more complicated than that," Nico said.
Octavian rolled his eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"You mean the Doors of Death," Reyna said, ignoring Octavian. "They are mentioned in the Prophecy of Eleven, which sent the first expedition to Alaska—"
Cato the ghost snorted. "We all know how that turned out! We Lares remember!"
The other ghosts grumbled in agreement.
"The outcome of such expeditions are never set in stone.." Colton simply said. "Just because it happened once doesn't it will happen every time. Why would Mars give out that quest if he thought that would happen again? He wouldn't. He gave it out now because he knows the time is right now, and due to the circumstances."
Nico put his finger to his lips. Suddenly all the Lares went silent. Some looked alarmed, like their mouths had been glued together. Percy wished he had that power over certain living people...like Octavian, for instance.
"Thanatos is only part of the solution," Nico explained. "The Doors of Death...well, that's a concept even I don't completely understand. There are many ways into the Underworld—the River Styx, the Door of Orpheus—plussmaller escape routes that open up from time to time. With Thanatos imprisoned, all those exits will be easier to use. Sometimes it might work to our advantage and let a friendly soul come back—like Gwen here. More often, it will benefit evil souls and monsters, the sneaky ones who are looking to escape. Now, the Doors of Death—those are the personal doors of Thanatos, his fast lane between Life and Death. Only Thanatos is supposed to know where they are, and the location shifts over the ages. If I understand correctly, the Doors of Death have been forced open. Gaea's minions have seized control of them—"
"Which means Gaea controls who can come back from the dead," Percy guessed.
"Like a filter.." Colton added.
Nico nodded. "She can pick and choose who to let out—the worst monsters, the most evil souls. If we rescue Thanatos, that means at least he can catch souls again and send them below. Monsters will die when we kill them, like they used to, and we'll get a little breathing room. But unless we're able to retake the Doors of Death, our enemies won't stay down for long. They'll have an easy way back to the world of the living."
"So we can catch them and deport them," Percy summed up, "but they'll just keep coming back across."
"In a depressing nutshell, yes," Nico said.
"Like Mars said, endless war.." Colton added.
Frank scratched his head. "But Thanatos knows where the doors are, right? If we free him, he can retake them."
"I don't think so," Nico said. "Not alone. He's no match for Gaea. That would take a massive quest...an army of the best demigods."
"Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death," Reyna said. "That's the Prophecy of Eleven..." She looked at Percy, and for just a moment it looked like deep down inside, even Reyna was scared. "If this begins the ancient prophecy, we don't have resources to send an army to these Doors of Death and protect the camp. I can't imagine even sparing eleven demigods—"
"Even though you are literally sending out seven demigods.. right now.." Colton muttered.
"First things first." Percy tried to sound confident, though he could probably feel the level of panic rising in the room. "I don't know who the eleven are, or what that old prophecy means, exactly. But first we have to free Thanatos. Mars told us we only needed four people for the quest to Alaska, three for Jupiter's sword. Let's concentrate on succeeding with those two quests and getting back before the Feast of Fortuna. Then we can worry about the Doors of Death."
That seemed reasonable honestly.
"Yeah," Frank said in a small voice. "That's probably enough for one week."
"So you do have a plan?" Octavian asked skeptically.
Percy looked at his teammates. "We go to Alaska as fast as possible..."
"And we improvise," Hazel said.
"A lot," Frank added.
Reyna studied them. She looked like she was mentally writing her own obituary.
"Welcome to reality, people.." Colton muttered.
"Very well," she said. "Nothing remains except for us to vote what support we can give the quest—transportation, money, magic, weapons."
"Praetor, if I may," Octavian said.
"Oh, great," Percy muttered. "Here it comes." I had a bad feeling about this. Colton looked pissed off again.
"The camp is in grave danger," Octavian said. "Two gods have warned us we will be attacked four days from now. We must not spread our resources too thin, especially by funding projects that have a slim chance of success."
Octavian looked at the seven of us with pity, as if to say, Poor little things. The more time I spent around him, the more I started to hate my sibling. I mean it.
"Mars has clearly chosen the least likely candidates for this quest. Perhaps that is because he considers them the most expendable. Perhaps Mars is playing the long odds. Whatever the case, he wisely didn't order a massive expedition, nor did he ask us to fund their adventure. I say we keep our resources here and defend the camp. This is where the battle will be lost or won. If these three succeed, wonderful! But they should do so by their own ingenuity" he said, and Colton looked like he was about to snap, but held back.
An uneasy murmur passed through the crowd. Frank jumped to his feet. Before he could start a fight, Percy said, "Fine! No problem. But at least give us transportation. Gaea is the earth goddess, right? Going overland, across the earth—I'm guessing we should avoid that. Plus, it'll be too slow."
"Yeah.. that's obvious.." Colton muttered. "Though.. not practical in our case." He was referring to me, Lavinia, and Michael.
Octavian laughed. "Would you like us to charter you an airplane?"
The idea made Percy nauseous. "No. Air travel...I have a feeling that would be bad, too. But a boat. Can you at least give us a boat?"
Hazel made a grunting sound. Percy glanced over. She shook her head and mouthed, Fine. I'm fine.
"A boat!" Octavian turned to the senators. "The son of Neptune wants a boat. Sea travel has never been the Roman way, but he isn't much of a Roman!"
"He's a son of Neptune.." Colton said. "Of course he would go on a boat.."
"Octavian," Reyna said sternly, "a boat is little enough to ask. And providing no other aid seems very—"
"Traditional!" Octavian exclaimed. "It is very traditional. Let us see if these questers have the strength to survive without help, like true Romans!"
He wanted them to fail. I was sure of it. Octavian simply wanted them to fail, for whatever reason. I hated him. Oh, I really hated him now.
More muttering filled the chamber. The senators' eyes moved back and forth between Octavian and Reyna, watching the test of wills.
Reyna straightened in her chair. "Very well," she said tightly.
"Fuck off.." Colton muttered.
"We'll put it to a vote. Senators, the motion is as follows: The quest shall go to Alaska. The senate shall provide full access to the Roman navy docked at Alameda. No other aid will be forthcoming. The adventurers will survive or fail on their own merits. All in favor?"
Every senator's hand went up.
You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself. So they get a boat and we get nothing. Lavinia looked dejected. Colton, however, looked like he had a plan already.
"The motion is passed." Reyna turned to Frank. "Centurion, Legionnaire.." She mentioned Lavinia. "Your parties are excused. The senate has other matters to discuss. And, Octavian, if I may confer with you for a moment."
We all turned and left, and I couldn't help but wonder how exactly we were going to pull this off.
- — - — - — -
Percy looked incredibly glad to see the sunlight. To be fair here, I was too. That place was far too dark for my own liking honestly.
Hazel picked up a large emerald from the path and slipped it in her pocket. "So...we're pretty much toast?"
Luke nodded grimly. "Seems like it."
Frank nodded miserably. "If either of you wants to back out, I wouldn't blame you."
Colton simply had a smile on his face. "On the contrary, we got all the chance in the world on pulling this off. Besides, pulling sentry duty for the rest of the week would be the cowards' option here."
That seemed to inspire everyone else.
"Yeah.. exactly.." Frank said, confident now. "We can do this."
Percy looked deep in thought, but even he eventually smiled.
"I'm with you," he said to Frank. "Besides, I want to check out the Roman navy."
We were only halfway across the forum when someone called out, "Jackson!"
Colton simply said, "Kill me now." He didn't not look pleased.
Turning around, my blood boiled because I could see why immediately. Octavian was jogging towards us. Luke looked really annoyed too.
"What do you want?" Percy asked.
Octavian smiled. "Already decided I'm your enemy? That's a rash choice, Percy — same for the rest of you. I'm a loyal Roman."
Colton looked like he was about to snap again, but held himself back once more. I did hear the hiss of a few words escape his lips. "Fucking doubt it, bastard.." he whispered.
Frank snarled. "You backstabbing, slimy—" Both Percy and Hazel had to restrain him.
Luke and I — along with Colton, we just glared holes into Octavian's head, but the idiot just kept going. "Oh, dear," Octavian said. "Hardly the right behavior for a new centurion. Jackson, Colton, I only followed you both because Reyna charged me with a message. She wants both of you to report to the principia without your—ah—lackeys, here. Reyna will meet you there after the senate adjourns. She'd like a private word with you before you leave on your quest."
"What about?" Percy said.
"I'm sure I don't know." Octavian smiled wickedly. I didn't like that at all. "The last person she had a private talk with was Jason Grace. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Good luck and good bye, Percy Jackson and Colton Reynolds."
I looked at Colton, concerned. He simply just gave a warm smile and hugged me and Lavinia. "I'll be okay.. just get your stuff and wait for me at the edge of camp."
Then he left with Percy, and I was left wondering, how exactly was he going to get us off on the right foot on this quest if we were the poorer relation of the two groups?
Little did I realize what kind of plan Colton had in mind.