Alternate Part Title: Annabeth II / Kayla II / Piper II (TLH)
Chapter Title: Piper Has A Weird Vision
Piper soon realized, or rather found out the hard way, that Annabeth's heart wasn't in the tour. To be fair, despite having decided to tag along for this despite barely saying anything at all, neither did Kayla's heart seem to be in it either.
Annabeth talked about all this amazing stuff the camp offered—magic archery, pegasus riding, the lava wall, fighting monsters —but she showed no excitement, as if her mind were elsewhere. Kayla, despite not saying anything at all, was the same way to be honest. Annabeth pointed out the open-air dining pavilion that overlooked Long Island Sound. (Yes, Long Island, New York; they'd traveled that far on the chariot.) She explained how Camp Half-Blood was mostly a summer camp, but some kids stayed here year-round, and they'd added so many campers it was always crowded now, even in winter.
Piper honestly wondered who ran the camp, and how they'd known Piper and her friends belonged here. She wondered if she'd have to stay full-time, or if she'd be any good at the activities. Could you even flunk out of monster fighting? Was that even possible? A million questions bubbled in her head, but given Annabeth's and Kayla's current moods at the moment, she decided to keep quiet.
As they all climbed a hill at the edge of camp, Piper turned and got an amazing view of the valley—a big stretch of woods to the northwest, a beautiful beach, the creek, the canoe lake, lush green fields, and the whole layout of the cabins—a bizarre assortment of buildings arranged like a Greek omega, Ω, with a loop of cabins around a central green, and two wings sticking out the bottom on either side. Piper counted twenty five cabins in all, with what seemed like a twenty sixth cabin under construction. One glowed golden, another silver. One had grass on the roof. Another was bright red with barbed wire trenches. One cabin was black with fiery green torches out front.
(** Monster King Cameo Theme Starts Playing **)
One cabin in particular caught her eye. It was located just a couple down from the cabin that had vines growing all over it. Compared to all of the other cabins, this one looked like a picturesque summer camp cabin at least for a place like this. What made it different than the others was the figure that was sitting on the chair on the porch. He looked like a complete shadow with a human frame, for he was completely black with what seemed to be purely white eyes with a peculiar looking crown on top of their head. From what it looked like to Piper, the figure couldn't be any taller than Jason, for it looked to be about his height. Then she blinked, and just like that, the mysterious figure at the cabin was gone as if it had never even been there at all, but the chair was still rocking back and forth. Piper was so confused now. Who was that?
(** Monster King Cameo Theme ends here **)
All of it seemed like a different world from the snowy hills and fields outside.
"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," Annabeth said. "As you can see, the weather is controlled, too. Each cabin represents a Greek god—a place for that god's children to live. Some kids though here are in these cabins due to be an honorary member.. Kayla is one of these, as is Colton.. for more than one cabin. I'll get to that later."
She looked at Piper like she was trying to judge how Piper was handling the news.
"You're saying Mom was a goddess."
Annabeth nodded. "You're taking this awfully calmly."
Piper couldn't tell her why. She couldn't admit that this just confirmed some weird feelings she'd had for years, arguments she'd had with her father about why there were no photos of Mom in the house, and why Dad would never tell her exactly how or why her mom had left them. But mostly, the dream had warned her this was coming. Soon they will find you, demigod, that voice had rumbled. When they do, follow our directions. Cooperate, and your father might live. Still though, that part about Kayla and Colton was interesting. What had Annabeth meant when she had said that Kayla and Colton were honorary children of multiple cabins?
Piper took a shaky breath. "I guess after this morning, it's a little easier to believe. So who's my mom?"
"We should know soon," Annabeth said. "You're what—fifteen? Gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. That was the deal."
"The deal?" Piper asked.
"They made a promise last summer ... well, it's a long story.." Kayla spoke up, deciding now to do so. "...but in a nutshell, they promised not to ignore their demigod children anymore, to claim them by the time they turn thirteen. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but you saw how fast Leo was claimed once he got here. Should happen for you soon. Tonight at the campfire, I bet we'll get a sign. Though knowing the Gods — and given how they've started to slip back into old habits, I doubt it."
Piper wondered if she'd have a big flaming hammer over her head, or with her luck, something even more embarrassing. A flaming wombat, maybe. Whoever her mother was, Piper had no reason to think she'd be proud to claim a kleptomaniac daughter with massive problems. Even so, Kayla's words did not really give her any encouragement. "Why thirteen?"
"The older you get," Annabeth said, "the more monsters notice you, try to kill you. 'Round thirteen is usually when it starts. That's why we send protectors into the schools to find you guys, get you to camp before it's too late."
"Some kids though aren't that lucky.. used to be you had to come to camp when a monster found you during early middle school.." Kayla muttered. "Got even worse at one point.. though thanks to Colton mostly, it's gotten better to this point."
Piper shuddered at the thought of all that. "So protectors.." she said simply. "You mean.. like Coach Hedge?"
Kayla just nodded.
Annabeth also nodded. "He's—he was a satyr: half man, half goat. Satyrs work for the camp, finding demigods, protecting them, bringing them in when the time is right."
Piper had no trouble believing Coach Hedge was half goat. She'd seen the guy eat. She'd never liked the coach much, but she couldn't believe he'd sacrificed himself to save them.
"What happened to him?" she asked. "When we went up into the clouds, did he ... is he gone for good?"
"Hard to say." Annabeth's expression was pained. "Storm spirits ... difficult to battle. Even our best weapons, Celestial bronze, will pass right through them unless you can catch them by surprise, or if you're Colton as the Monster King, you have basically no issue then."
"Jason's sword just turned them to dust," Piper remembered. She also wondered what exactly the Monster King was. There it had been again, those same two words that had made Jason and his three companions aside from her and Leo freeze up in fear back at the Grand Canyon. She wanted to know why this Monster King seemed to be such a big deal to them, even though they didn't remember why.
"He was lucky, then. If you hit a monster just right, you can dissolve them, send their essence back to Tartarus" Annabeth replied.
"Tartarus?" Piper asked. She did not like the sound of that name at all.
"A huge abyss in the Underworld, where the worst monsters come from. Also happens to be a person too — since Tartarus is also a primordial.." Annabeth explained, with Kayla nodding along. "Kind of like a bottomless pit of evil. Anyway, once monsters dissolve, it usually takes months, even years before they can re-form again. But since this storm spirit Dylan got away—well, I don't know why he'd keep Hedge alive. Hedge was a protector, though. He knew the risks. Satyrs don't have mortal souls. He'll be reincarnated as a tree or a flower or something."
Piper was now even more interested on the Monster King now. "What exactly is the whole deal with the Monster King? Jason and the others.. they froze up as if they had heard that before.." she muttered.
"Weird.. most of us didn't even know it even existed until August of this year.. only Colton, Kayla, and Michael had known about it since like June of last year.." Annabeth said back, and Piper still felt a little confused.
"I'll explain it all later, like I said.." Annabeth continued.
In the meantime, Piper tried to imagine Coach Hedge as a clump of very angry pansies. That made her feel even worse than better unfortunately.
She gazed at the cabins below, and an uneasy feeling settled over her. Hedge had probably died to get her here safely. Her mom's cabin was down there somewhere, which meant she had brothers and sisters, more people she'd have to betray. Do what we tell you, the voice had said. Or the consequences will be painful. She tucked her hands under her arms, trying to stop them from shaking. And then there was that figure — who was that?
"It'll be okay," Annabeth promised. "You have friends here. We've all been through a lot of weird stuff. We know what you're going through."
I doubt that, Piper thought.
"I've been kicked out of five different schools the past five years," she said. "My dad's running out of places to put me."
"Only five?" Annabeth didn't sound like she was teasing. "Piper, we've all been labeled troublemakers.. except Colton. I ran away from home when I was seven."
"Seriously? Why is Colton an exception?"
The look on Kayla's face, somber as it was, when she turned again to look at her told Piper all she had needed to know. Colton's entry had been even worse.
"I'm sorry I asked.." Piper muttered. "Poor thing."
"Poor thing is right.." Annabeth muttered. "It's even a miracle that Clarisse turned him around from the scared little kid who lost both his adopted father and his mother at the same time in front of his own eyes into a walking force of nature."
Piper looked horrified. "Yeah.. he had it rougher than pretty much anyone else here.." Kayla added. "Except maybe Luke or Percy."
"So why were you all labeled troublemakers?" Piper asked again after taking a moment to clear her throat.
"Oh, yeah. Most of us are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or dyslexia, or both—" Annabeth started.
"Leo's ADHD," Piper interrupted.
"Colton's both ADHD, dyslexic, and comes with a side of autism.. makes him all the more sweeter.." Kayla muttered, a smile briefly appearing on her face as she remembered the kisses, the nights she slept with him.
"Right.. anyway.." Annabeth continued. "..we're ADHD because we're hardwired for battle. Restless, impulsive—we don't fit in with regular kids. You should hear how much trouble Percy—" Her face darkened. "Anyway, demigods get a bad rep. How'd you get in trouble?"
Usually when someone asked that question, Piper started a fight, or changed the subject, or caused some kind of distraction. But for some reason she found herself telling the truth.
"I steal stuff," she said. "Well, not really steal ..."
"Is your family poor?"
Piper laughed bitterly. "Not even. I did it ... I don't know why. For attention, I guess. My dad never had time for me unless I got in trouble."
"Rich folk then.. I'm guessing.." Kayla said, and Piper looked surprised. "Don't look at me.. girl.. I can tell someone is rich folk from looking at them, since I'm one myself."
"Yeah.. obviously.. you're Darren Knowles' daughter.." Piper said back.
"Yep.. and you're Tristan McLean's daughter.." Kayla said back. "Honestly, for all I've heard about you, it's kinda nice to finally get to meet you in person. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances."
"Thanks.." Piper muttered. To be fair, that did make her feel a little bit better.
Annabeth nodded. "I honestly can relate to my dad never having time for me. But you said you didn't really steal? What do you mean?"
"Well ... nobody ever believes me. The police, teachers—even the people I took stuff from: they're so embarrassed, they'll deny what happened. But the truth is, I don't steal anything. I just ask people for things. And they give me stuff. Even a BMW convertible. I just asked. And the dealer said, 'Sure. Take it.' Later, he realized what he'd done, I guess. Then the police came after me."
Kayla took a look at Piper in interest. It seemed that she was formulating possibilities in her head.
Piper waited. She was used to people calling her a liar, but when she looked up, Annabeth just nodded.
"Interesting. If your dad were the god, I'd say you're a child of Hermes, god of thieves. He can be pretty convincing. But your dad is mortal..."
"Very," Piper agreed.
Annabeth shook her head, apparently mystified. "I don't know, then. With luck, your mom will claim you tonight."
"Maybe it'll be Aphrodite, goddess of love.. one of the goddesses I am a honorary daughter of.." Kayla added. "I don't know. We'll see."
Piper almost hoped it wouldn't happen. If her mom were a goddess, would she know about that dream? Would she know what Piper had been asked to do? Piper wondered if Olympian gods ever blasted their kids with lightning for being evil, or grounded them in the Underworld.
Annabeth was studying her. Piper decided she was going to have to be careful what she said from now on. Annabeth was obviously pretty smart. If anyone could figure out Piper's secret...
But then again, there was also Kayla and for a rich kid and Darren Knowles' daughter, she could tell that she wasn't the stereotypical rich kid's daughter either.
"Come on," Annabeth said at last. "There's something else I need to check."
They all hiked a little farther until they reached a cave near the top of the hill. Bones and old swords littered the ground. Torches flanked the entrance, which was covered in a velvet curtain embroidered with snakes. It looked like the set for some kind of twisted puppet show.
"What's in there?" Piper asked.
Annabeth poked her head inside, then sighed and closed the curtains. "Nothing, right now. A friend's place. I've been expecting her for a few days, but so far, nothing."
"Your friend lives in a cave?"
Annabeth almost managed a smile. "Actually, her family has a luxury condo in Queens, and she goes to a finishing school in Connecticut. But when she's here at camp, yeah, she lives in the cave. She's our oracle, tells the future. I was hoping she could help me—"
"Find Percy," Piper guessed.
All the energy now drained out of Annabeth, like she'd been holding it together for as long as she could. She sat down on a rock, and her expression was so full of pain, Piper felt like a voyeur. Kayla put a hand on her shoulder. "If you feel bad, I get it.." she said simply. "Even though I too am in the same state because of Colton being missing, I feel just as bad for her, Thalia, and Jake for our boyfriends being missing."
"Jake? That's a guy's name.." Piper muttered.
"My brother Michael and Jake are gay.." Kayla explained. Piper simply nodded. "Oh."
Piper's eyes drifted to the crest of the hill, where a single pine tree dominated the skyline. Something glittered in its lowest branch—like a fuzzy gold bath mat.
No ... not a bath mat. It was a sheep's fleece.
Okay, Piper thought. Greek camp. They've got a replica of the Golden Fleece.
Then she noticed the base of the tree. At first she thought it was wrapped in a pile of massive purple cables. But the cables had reptilian scales, clawed feet, and a snakelike head with yellow eyes and smoking nostrils.
"That's—a dragon," she stammered. "That's the actual Golden Fleece?"
Then she noticed what looked like a wooden wall in a couple locations up in the trees, connected to each other by a network of wooden bridges that had all been very solidly constructed. "And what's with the network up in the trees?" she asked.
Kayla did the explaining in Annabeth's place. "Long story short — yes that is a dragon. Yes, that is the actual Golden Fleece.. and the reason that network of pathways up in the trees exists is.. because of my boyfriend. He doesn't fight like the rest of us do — he uses guns instead of bows and arrows. Believe me when I say though — he is just as deadly a marksman as I am.." said the daughter of Apollo, with a temporary look of pride on her face now.
Piper was amazed.
Annabeth just nodded along, but it was clear she wasn't really listening. Her shoulders drooped. She rubbed her face and took a shaky breath. "Sorry. A little tired."
"You look ready to drop," Piper said. "How long have you all been searching for your boyfriends?"
"Three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes" Kayla muttered, feeling down again.
"And you've got no idea what happened to them?"
Annabeth and Kayla shook their heads miserably. "We were so excited because we both started winter break early. We met up at camp on Tuesday, figured we had three weeks together. It was going to be great. Then after the campfire, he—he kissed me good night, went back to his cabin, and in the morning, he was gone. We searched the whole camp. We contacted his mom. We've tried to reach him every way we know how. Nothing. He just disappeared."
"Similar story with me.." Kayla muttered. "Colton slept with me in the same bed as me the night he disappeared. When I woke up the next morning, he was just gone."
Piper was thinking: Three days ago. The same night she'd had her dream. "How long were you guys together? Both of you all, I mean."
"Since August," Annabeth said. "August 18th."
"Almost exactly when I met Jason," Piper said. "But we've only been together a few weeks. How about you, Kayla?"
"Colton and I got together last year in late June.." she replied.
Annabeth winced. "Piper ... about that. Maybe you should sit down."
Piper knew where this was going. Panic started building inside her, like her lungs were filling with water. "Look, I know Jason thought—he thought he just appeared at our school today. But that's not true. I've known him for four months."
"Piper," Annabeth said sadly. "It's the Mist."
"Missed ... what?"
"M-i-s-t. It's a kind of veil separating the mortal world from the magic world. Mortal minds—they can't process strange stuff like gods and monsters, so the Mist bends reality. It makes mortals see things in a way they can understand —like their eyes might just skip over this valley completely, or they might look at that dragon and see a pile of cables."
Piper swallowed. "No. You said yourself I'm not a regular mortal. I'm a demigod."
"Even demigods can be affected. I've seen it lots of times. Monsters infiltrate some place like a school, pass themselves off as human, and everyone thinks they remember that person. They believe he's always been around. The Mist can change memories, even create memories of things that never happened—"
Kayla put a hand on Piper's shoulder. "You poor thing.." she simply muttered. She couldn't really imagine how that must feel at all.
"But Jason's not a monster!" Piper insisted. "He's a human guy, or demigod, or whatever you want to call him. My memories aren't fake. They're so real. The time we set Coach Hedge's pants on fire. The time Jason and I watched a meteor shower on the dorm roof and I finally got the stupid guy to kiss me..."
She found herself rambling, telling Annabeth and Kayla about her whole semester at Wilderness School. She'd liked Jason from the first week they'd met. He was so nice to her, and so patient, he could even put up with hyperactive Leo and his stupid jokes. He'd accepted her for herself and didn't judge her because of the stupid things she'd done. They'd spent hours talking, looking at the stars, and eventually—finally—holding hands. All that couldn't be fake.
Annabeth pursed her lips. "Piper, your memories are a lot sharper than most. I'll admit that, and I don't know why that is. But if you know him so well—"
"I do!"
"Then where is he from?"
Piper felt like she'd been hit between the eyes. "He must have told me, but—"
Kayla sighed. Yep, she was affected by the mist, she thought to herself. No question about it.
"Did you ever notice his tattoo before today? Did he ever tell you anything about his parents, or his friends, or his last school?"
"I—I don't know, but—"
"Piper, what's his last name?"
Her mind went blank. She didn't know Jason's last name. How could that be?
She started to cry. She felt like a total fool, but she sat down on the rock next to Annabeth and just fell to pieces. It was too much. Did everything that was good in her stupid, miserable life have to be taken away?
Yes, the dream had told her. Yes, unless you do exactly what we say.
Kayla just sat down next to her and hugged her. "I know how you feel.. this isn't really the first time Colton was ripped away from me.. the first time it happened last summer.. I melted down completely. Had the worst meltdown in Apollo Cabin history in nearly 20 years.. my father had to calm me down himself.." she told her. "Anyways, that time.. that was when I realized that I had fallen in love with him."
"Yeah.. Hey, look.." Annabeth said. "We'll figure it out. Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out with you guys for real."
Not likely, Piper thought. Not if the dream had told her the truth. But she couldn't say that.
She brushed a tear from her cheek. "You brought me up here so no one would see me blubbering, huh?"
Annabeth shrugged. "I figured it would be hard for you. I know what it's like to lose your boyfriend. Kayla had it worse.. she spent nearly two weeks thinking the boy she loved was dead. That was after she realized she fell for him."
Now it was Piper's turn to feel bad for Kayla. "You poor thing.." she muttered, hugging Kayla back now, who sobbed a little at the memory of all that.
"He came back though.. as did Percy.." Annabeth said. "..thankfully. His realization that he was also in love with Kayla was why Colton even put with Percy on the way back to camp despite them being rivals."
Piper's brow quirked. "Rivals?" she asked.
"Again.. long story.. even now though, it's still ongoing.." she muttered. "Though.. it's clearly shifted Colton's way now. That's for sure."
Piper sighed. "Still though.." she muttered. "I still can't believe ... I know we had something. And now it's just gone, like he doesn't even recognize me. If he really did just show up today, then why? How'd he get there? Why can't he remember anything?"
"Good questions indeed," Annabeth said. "Hopefully Chiron can figure that out. But for now, we need to get you settled. You ready to go back down?"
Piper gazed at the crazy assortment of cabins in the valley. Her new home, a family who supposedly understood her—but soon they'd be just another bunch of people she'd disappointed, just another place she'd been kicked out of. You'll betray them for us, the voice had warned. Or you'll lose everything.
She didn't have a choice.
Somehow though, it seemed like that the more that she learned about Percy, Colton, Michael, and Luke — plus the others, the less she wanted to.
"Yeah," she lied. "I'm ready."
Kayla got up, and Annabeth simply smiled. "Great.." she muttered. "Let's go."
- — - — - — -
On the central green, a group of campers was playing basketball. They were incredible shots. Nothing bounced off the rim. Three-pointers went in automatically.
Piper watched in awe as she, Annabeth, and Kayla walked by.
"Apollo's cabin," Annabeth explained. "Bunch of showoffs with missile weapons—arrows, basketballs."
"Hey!" Kayla said next to her. "Don't talk about my siblings like that!"
"Sorry.." Annabeth sighed. "My bad."
"Some of us may be showoffs, but as Colton would tell you — and he actually said this himself, we can also be some of the most precious things on the planet.." Kayla continued, and Piper nodded.
"That's nice.." Piper replied.
They walked past a central fire pit, where two guys were hacking at each other with swords.
"Real blades?" Piper noted. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Colton literally uses a gun.. since he usually stays away from close quarter combat unless he either has to or he feels like it.." Kayla said. "..don't assume he's bad at it though. I'm the same case. I may use a bow, but don't think I'm bad with a sword either."
Piper gulped. "Good to know.." she muttered.
"That's sort of the point," Annabeth said. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." She nodded to a gray building with a carved owl over the door. Through the open doorway, Piper could see bookshelves, weapon displays, and one of those computerized SMART Boards they have in classrooms. Two girls were drawing a map that looked like a battle diagram.
"Speaking of blades," Annabeth said, "come here."
She led Piper around the side of the cabin, to a big metal shed that looked like it was meant for gardening tools. While Kayla leaned up against the side of the cabin, Annabeth unlocked it, and inside were not gardening tools, unless you wanted to make war on your tomato plants. The shed was lined with all sorts of weapons—from swords to spears to clubs like Coach Hedge's. There were even shotguns in there too, though there did not seem to be any currently missing.
"So? Does Colton use a shotgun or..?" Piper asked, and Annabeth turned now to look at her.
"He's not that kind of guy honestly.." Annabeth replied. "Primarily, he uses a old-fashioned Whitworth rifle muzzle-loader from the 1860s."
"1860s? You mean from the Civil War?" Piper asked.
Annabeth nodded. "Wow.." Piper said. "Talk about unorthodox."
"You can say that again.." she said, before just gently tapping a box behind her. That's when Piper noticed that right behind Annabeth was literally multiple stacks of boxes labeled "Whitworth ammo" and "MG42 ammo".
She was stunned. "How do you guys have all of this ammo? And what does MG42 mean?" she asked. What she got only left her even more amazed.
"You can thank Beckendorf for this. He's the former head counselor of Cabin Nine, Leo's cabin. He is an amazing guy who can fix or build anything — he made all of these rounds simply through reverse engineering and studying how they were made too. A lot of these rounds can do different things instead of just punch a hole in a monster.." Annabeth stated. "As for the MG42, it's a machine gun from WWII. A German one, at that. Colton got one of these rapid firing guns for his birthday the same year he and Kayla got together. He and Michael are the camp's MG team, and believe me, they are a duo that you never want to go up against."
Piper shivered at all of that. "Point taken.." she muttered.
"Now.. every demigod needs a weapon.. as you can probably see by now," Annabeth said. "Hephaestus makes the best, but we have a pretty good selection, too. Athena's all about strategy—matching the right weapon to the right person. Let's see ..."
Piper didn't feel much like shopping for deadly objects, but she knew Annabeth was trying to do something nice for her.
Annabeth handed her a massive sword, which Piper could hardly lift.
"No," they both said at once.
Annabeth rummaged a little farther in the shed and brought out something else. Another shotgun to be exact.
"Really?" Piper asked.
"Mossberg 500." Annabeth checked the pump action like it was no big deal. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt humans. It's modified to shoot Celestial bronze, so it only kills monsters."
"Um, I don't think that's my style," Piper said.
"Mmm, yeah," Annabeth agreed. "Too flashy. And then again, we already have two gun users. Well, technically three. Michael just loads ammo for the MG42, Colton fires it. Colton's older sibling Austin uses a M1 Garand from WWII, but he's been out at college with his girlfriend Caeli, who also happens to be from the Apollo Cabin."
"Wow.. that's amazing.." Piper said.
"Indeed.. to be fair though, all three of them have proved to be absolutely incredible on more than one occasion.. especially Colton.." Annabeth muttered, and Piper was now ever more curious despite her unease.
Annabeth put the shotgun back and started poking through a rack of crossbows when something in the corner of the shed caught Piper's eye.
"What is that?" she said. "A knife?"
Annabeth dug it out and blew the dust off the scabbard. It looked like it hadn't seen the light of day in centuries.
"I don't know, Piper." Annabeth sounded uneasy. "I don't think you want this one. Swords are usually better."
"You use a knife." Piper pointed to the one strapped to Annabeth's belt.
"Yeah, but ..." Annabeth shrugged. "Well, take a look if you want."
The sheath was worn black leather, bound in bronze. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. The polished wood handle fit beautifully in Piper's hand. When she unsheathed it, she found a triangular blade eighteen inches long—bronze gleaming like it had been polished yesterday. The edges were deadly sharp. Her reflection in the blade caught her by surprise. She looked older, more serious, not as scared as she felt. It was absolutely weird, to be honest.
Annabeth couldn't help but look on in awe.
"It suits you," Annabeth admitted. "That kind of blade is called a parazonium. It was mostly ceremonial, carried by high-ranking officers in the Greek armies. It showed you were a person of power and wealth, but in a fight, it could protect you just fine."
"I like it," Piper said. "Why didn't you think it was right?"
Annabeth exhaled. "That blade has a long story. Most people would be afraid to claim it. Its first owner ... well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen."
Piper let that sink in. "Wait, you mean the Helen? Helen of Troy?"
Annabeth nodded.
Suddenly Piper felt like she should be handling the dagger with surgical gloves. "And it's just sitting in your toolshed?"
"More like 'weapon shed' as Colton calls it, but yeah. We're surrounded by Ancient Greek stuff," Annabeth said. "This isn't a museum. Weapons like that—they're meant to be used. They're our heritage as demigods. That was a wedding present from Menelaus, Helen's first husband. She named the dagger Katoptris."
"Meaning?"
"It's basically a mirror," Annabeth said. "Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen even used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle yet — not that I know of."
Piper looked at the blade again. For a moment, her own image stared up at her, but then the reflection changed. She saw flames, and a grotesque face like something carved from bedrock. She heard the same laughter as in her dream. She saw her dad in chains, tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.
She dropped the blade.
"Piper?" Annabeth shouted to the Apollo kids on the court, "Medic! I need some help over here!"
"No, it's—it's okay," Piper managed.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I just ..." She had to control herself. With trembling fingers, she picked up the dagger. "I just got overwhelmed. So much happening today. But ... I want to keep the dagger, if that's okay."
Kayla came running in. "False alarm.." Annabeth said to her, and Kayla just nodded.
Annabeth now waved off the other Apollo kids. "Okay, if you're sure. You turned really pale, there. I thought you were having a seizure or something."
"I'm fine," Piper promised, though her heart was still racing. "Is there ... um, a phone at camp? Can I call my dad?"
Annabeth's gray eyes were almost as unnerving as the dagger blade. She seemed to be calculating a million possibilities, trying to read Piper's thoughts.
"We aren't allowed phones," she said. "Most demigods, if they use a cell phone, it's like sending up a signal, letting monsters know where you are. But ... I've got one." She slipped it out of her pocket. "Kind of against the rules, but if it can be our secret ..."
Piper took it gratefully, trying not to let her hands shake. She stepped away from Annabeth and turned to face the commons area.
She called her dad's private line, even though she knew what would happen. Voice mail. She'd been trying for three days, ever since the dream. Wilderness School only allowed phone privileges once a day, but she'd called every evening, and gotten nowhere.
Reluctantly she dialed the other number. Her dad's personal assistant answered immediately. "Mr. McLean's office."
"Jane," Piper said, gritting her teeth. "Where's my dad?"
Jane was silent for a moment, probably wondering if she could get away with hanging up. "Piper, I thought you weren't supposed to call from school."
"Maybe I'm not at school," Piper said. "Maybe I ran away to live among the woodland creatures."
"Mmm." Jane didn't sound concerned. "Well, I'll tell him you called."
"Where is he?"
"Out."
"You don't know, do you?" Piper lowered her voice, hoping Annabeth was too nice to eavesdrop. "When are you going to call the police, Jane? He could be in trouble."
"Piper, we are not going to turn this into a media circus. I'm sure he's fine. He does take off occasionally. He always comes back."
"So it's true. You don't know—"
"I have to go, Piper," Jane snapped. "Enjoy school."
The line went dead. Piper cursed. She walked back to Annabeth and handed her the phone.
"No luck?" Annabeth asked.
Piper didn't answer. She didn't trust herself not to start crying again.
Annabeth glanced at the phone display and hesitated. "Your last name is McLean? Sorry, it's not my business. But that sounds really familiar."
"Common name."
"Yeah, I guess. What does your dad do?"
Kayla now answered for her. "He's a film star.. Cherokee artist.." she said to Annabeth. "Stared in the film 'King Of Sparta'. My mortal dad and I saw a re-release of it in theaters once." Piper nodded.
"Oh.." Annabeth simply said.
Piper had to admit, while not her standard response which just wasn't the whole truth but wasn't a lie at the same time, Kayla did explain it pretty well and in a way that didn't sound like she was downplaying what her dad was in anyway. With Piper's response though, most people just figured her dad sold Indian souvenirs at a roadside stand on a reservation. Sitting Bull bobble-heads, wampum necklaces, Big Chief tablets—that kind of thing.
Annabeth didn't look convinced — a little bit though, but she put the phone away. "You feeling okay? Want to keep going?"
Piper fastened her new dagger to her belt and promised herself that later, when she was alone, she'd figure out how it worked. "Sure," she said. "I want to see everything."
- — - — - — -
All the cabins were cool, she would admit with at least one exception, but none of them struck Piper as hers. No burning signs—wombats or otherwise—appeared over her head.
Cabin Eight was entirely silver and glowed like moonlight.
"Artemis?" Piper guessed.
"You know Greek mythology," Annabeth said.
"I did some reading when my dad was working on a project last year."
"I thought he did Cherokee art."
Piper bit back a curse. "Oh, right. But—you know, he does other stuff too."
"Oh yeah.. that film.." Annabeth said, remembering what Kayla had said.
The aforementioned girl behind the two of them just sighed. "Dad always said that movie was one of his favorites.." she muttered.
"Anyway," Annabeth continued, "Artemis is goddess of the moon, goddess of hunting. But no campers. Artemis was an eternal maiden, so she doesn't have any kids."
"Oh." That kind of bummed Piper out. She'd always liked the stories of Artemis, and figured she would make a cool mom.
"Well, there are the Hunters of Artemis," Annabeth amended. "They visit sometimes. They're not the children of Artemis, but they're her handmaidens—this band of immortal teenage girls who adventure together and hunt monsters and stuff. Well.. used to be all girls up until recently — when right before the gods made that deal, two boys were made a part of the hunt.. Luke Castellan and Colton Reynolds."
Piper was stunned. "How..?" she asked.
"Again, it's a long story.." Kayla muttered. "I might not look like it, but I am one too."
Piper was stunned. "How many gods are you an honorary daughter of?" she asked.
"Several actually, including a couple of Titans and of Typhon too.." she said. "Colton has a couple more than me." Piper's jaw just hung open in shock.
It took her a while before she closed it. "That sounds cool. They get to be immortal?"
"Unless they die in combat, or break their vows. Did I mention they have to swear off boys? No dating—ever. For eternity. Unless you know.. you happen to be Kayla or Thalia, who are dating Colton and Luke respectively."
"Oh," Piper said. "Never mind."
Annabeth laughed. For a moment she looked almost happy, and Piper thought she'd be a cool friend to hang out with in better times.
Forget it, Piper reminded herself. You're not going to make any friends here. Not once they find out.
They passed the next cabin, Number Ten, which was decorated like a Barbie house with lace curtains, a pink door, and potted carnations in the windows. They walked by the doorway, and the smell of perfume almost made Piper gag — as did Kayla.
"Gah, is that where supermodels go to die?"
Annabeth smirked. "Aphrodite's cabin. Goddess of love. Drew is the head counselor."
"Figures," Piper grumbled.
"Used to be Silena though.." Kayla added. "Sweet girl. Beckendorf's girlfriend.. she stepped down after well.." She trailed off. "It's.. related to the whole Monster King thing."
Piper did not like the sound of that.
"They're not all bad in Cabin Ten though," Annabeth said. "Like Kayla said, the last head counselor they had, Silena.. she was great."
"Why did she step down though?" Piper asked.
Annabeth's expression darkened a little. "We should keep moving."
They looked at the other cabins, but Piper just got more depressed. She wondered if she could be the daughter of Demeter, the farming goddess. Then again, Piper killed every plant she ever touched. Athena was cool. Or maybe Hecate, the magic goddess. But it didn't really matter. Even here, where everyone was supposed to find a lost parent, she knew she would still end up the unwanted kid. She was not looking forward to the campfire tonight.
And then, there was that one exception. The Typhon Cabin.
(** Monster King Cameo theme starts playing **)
Walking by the same cabin she had seen that figure sitting in the rocking chair on its porch earlier, she couldn't help but feel a very powerful aura coming from that cabin. A force of fear, power, terror, and might so powerful that for a moment, Piper felt she was standing next to Godzilla. It was so weird.
(** Music ends here **)
"We started with the twelve Olympian gods," Annabeth explained. "Male gods on the left, female on the right. Then last year, we added a whole bunch of new cabins for the other gods who didn't have thrones on Olympus—Hecate, Hades, Iris—.. Despite rising up against Olympus, since some of the demigods that chose Kronos were made his honorary kids due to what led up to the deal, Kronos was also given a cabin.. Luke's the — should I say, was the head counselor of that one before he disappeared."
"What are the two big ones on the end?" Piper asked.
Annabeth frowned. "Zeus and Hera. King and queen of the gods. Thalia is supposed to be in the Zeus Cabin.. though she usually stays with the Hunters.. or when she's at camp, in the Kronos Cabin with Luke."
Piper headed that way, and Annabeth followed, though she didn't act very excited. Kayla simply followed along behind both of them. The Zeus cabin reminded Piper of a bank. It was white marble with big columns out front and polished bronze doors emblazoned with lightning bolts.
Hera's cabin was smaller but done in the same style, except the doors were carved with peacock feather designs, shimmering in different colors.
Unlike the other cabins, which were all noisy and open and full of activity, the Zeus and Hera cabins looked closed and silent.
"Are they empty?" Piper asked.
Annabeth nodded. "Zeus went a long time without having any children. Well, mostly. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the eldest brothers among the gods—they're called the Big Three. Their kids are really powerful, really dangerous. For the last seventy years or so, they tried to avoid having demigod children."
"Tried to avoid it?"
"Sometimes they ... um, cheated. I've got a friend, Thalia Grace, who's the daughter of Zeus. But she gave up camp life and became a Hunter of Artemis.. but with what happened that I mentioned earlier, it's more a bit in between now. My boyfriend, Percy, he's a son of Poseidon. And there's a kid who shows up sometimes, Nico—son of Hades. Except for them, there are no demigod children of the Big Three gods. At least, not that we know of. Colton and Kayla aren't considered big three kids, yet due to the whole Monster King and Queen stuff and all the honorary titles, both are actually more powerful."
Piper looked at Kayla, stunned. "Yeah.. I'm way more powerful than I look.." she said simply.
"And Hera?" Piper looked at the peacock-decorated doors. The cabin bothered her, though she wasn't sure why.
"Goddess of marriage." Annabeth's tone was carefully controlled, like she was trying to avoid cursing. "She doesn't have kids with anyone but Zeus. So, yeah, no demigods. The cabin's just honorary. Colton and Kayla are currently the only ones that even fit as honorary right now."
"You don't like her," Piper noticed.
"We have a long history," Annabeth admitted. "I thought we'd made peace, but when the guys disappeared ... I got this weird dream vision from her."
"Telling you to come get us," Piper said. "But you thought they would be there."
"It's probably better I don't talk about it," Annabeth said. "I've got nothing good to say about Hera right now."
"Neither do I.." Piper muttered.
Piper looked down the base of the doors. "So who goes in here?"
"Almost no one. The cabin is just honorary, like I said. No one goes in, except Kayla and Colton every once in a while."
"Someone does." Piper pointed at a footprint on the dusty threshold. On instinct, she pushed the doors and they swung open easily.
Annabeth stepped back. "Um, Piper, I don't think we should—"
"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" And Piper walked inside. Naturally, Annabeth and Kayla followed.
Hera's cabin was not someplace Piper would want to live. It was as cold as a freezer, with a circle of white columns around a central statue of the goddess, ten feet tall, seated on a throne in flowing golden robes. Piper had always thought of Greek statues as white with blank eyes, but this one was brightly painted so it looked almost human—except huge. Hera's piercing eyes seemed to follow Piper.
At the goddess's feet, a fire burned in a bronze brazier. Piper wondered who tended it if the cabin was always empty. A stone hawk sat on Hera's shoulder, and in her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower. The goddess's hair was done in black plaits. Her face smiled, but the eyes were cold and calculating, as if she were saying: Mother knows best. Now don't cross me or I will have to step on you.
There was almost nothing else in the cabin—no beds, no furniture, no bathroom, no windows, nothing that anyone could actually use to live. For a goddess of home and marriage, Hera's place reminded Piper of a tomb. The only item even worth noting was this half finished statue in the corner.
No, this wasn't her mom. At least Piper was sure of that. She hadn't come in here because she felt a good connection, but because her sense of dread was stronger here. Her dream—that horrible ultimatum she'd been handed—had something to do with this cabin.
She froze. They weren't alone. Behind the statue, at a little altar in the back, stood a figure covered in a black shawl. Only her hands were visible, palms up. She seemed to be chanting something like a spell or a prayer.
Annabeth gasped. "Rachel?"
The other girl turned. She dropped her shawl, revealing a mane of curly red hair and a freckled face that didn't go with the seriousness of the cabin or the black shawl at all. She looked about seventeen, a totally normal teen in a green blouse and tattered jeans covered with marker doodles. Despite the cold floor, she was barefoot.
"Hey!" She ran to give Annabeth and Kayla a hug. "I'm so sorry! I came as fast as I could."
They talked for a few minutes about both Annabeth's and Kayla's boyfriends and how there was no news, et cetera, until finally Annabeth remembered Piper, who was standing there feeling uncomfortable.
"I'm being rude," Annabeth apologized. "Rachel, this is Piper, one of the half-bloods we rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."
"The friend who lives in the cave," Piper guessed.
Rachel grinned. "That's me."
"So you're an oracle?" Piper asked. "You can tell the future?"
"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel said. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."
"Oh." Piper shifted from foot to foot. "That's cool."
Rachel laughed. "Don't worry. Everybody finds it a little creepy. Even me. But usually I'm harmless."
"You're a demigod?"
"Nope," Rachel said. "Just mortal."
"Then what are you ..." Piper waved her hand around the room.
Rachel's smile faded. She glanced at Annabeth, then back at Piper. "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially since October of this year, since the gods went silent."
Kayla just sighed grimly.
"Went silent?" Piper asked.
Rachel frowned at Annabeth. "You haven't told her yet?"
"I was getting to that," Annabeth said. "Piper, this is what Kayla alluded to by 'slipping back into old habits'. For the past couple of months.. well.. it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much, but usually we can count on some messages now and then. Some of us can even visit Olympus. I spent practically all semester at the Empire State Building."
"Excuse me?"
"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days."
Before Piper could say anything, Kayla spoke up. "The Gods moved from Greece over the centuries to wherever Western Civilization felt the strongest. These days, it's America."
"Oh," Piper said. "Sure, why not?"
"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," Rachel explained. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar—"
Kayla chuckled at that part.
"Titan War?" Piper asked.
"That's the event that led up to the deal.." Kayla explained. "Like I said, long story. The irony of it all is, the guy who pretty much drove almost all of it under Kronos' direction is one of the missing. Luke Castellan, honorary hunter of Artemis and Thalia's boyfriend."
For the second time that day, Piper's jaw dropped open. Like before, it took her a while before she closed it. "Yeah.. that's.. very.. ironic.." Piper muttered.
"Anyway," Annabeth said, "starting about a couple of months ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in. Nobody knows why. It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled."
"Zeus.." Kayla just angrily muttered for some reason that Piper didn't know.
"Your camp director was the god of ... wine?"
"Yeah, it's a—"
"Long story," Piper guessed. "Right. Go on."
"Like a lot of things are around these parts.." Rachel muttered.
"That's it, really," Annabeth said. "Demigods still get claimed, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign the gods are even listening. It's like something has happened —something really bad. Then the guys disappeared."
Kayla looked like she knew what was happening, from what Piper could see, but even she kept her mouth shut.
"And Jason showed up on our field trip," Piper supplied. "With no memory."
"Who's Jason?" Rachel asked.
"My—" Piper stopped herself before she could say "boyfriend," but the effort made her chest hurt. "My friend. But Annabeth, you said Hera sent you a dream vision."
"Right," Annabeth said. "The first communication from a god in a couple of months, and it's Hera, the least helpful goddess, and she contacts me, her least favorite demigod. She tells me I'll find out what happened to the guys if I go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe. Instead, I find you guys, and the guy with one shoe is Jason. It doesn't make sense."
"Something bad is happening.. I think what Colton told us all that day is now progressing.." Rachel agreed, and Annabeth and Kayla both looked at her. Annabeth had a worried expression on her face and Kayla had a look of resignation. Rachel looked at Piper, and Piper felt an overwhelming desire to tell them about her dream, to confess that she knew what was happening—at least part of the story. And the bad stuff was only beginning.
"Guys," she said. "I—I need to—"
Before she could continue, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by the shoulders.
Piper tried to back away, but Rachel's hands were like steel clamps.
Free me, she said. But it wasn't Rachel's voice. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. Free me, Piper McLean, she spoke. Free me or either the earth or her rogue son shall swallow us all. It must be by the solstice.
The room started spinning. Annabeth tried to separate Piper from Rachel, but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped them, and Piper was no longer sure if she was awake or dreaming. The giant statue of the goddess seemed to rise from its throne. It leaned over Piper, its eyes boring into her. The statue's mouth opened, its breath like horribly thick perfume. It spoke in the same echoing voice: Our enemies stir. The fiery one's replacement is only the first. Bow to his will, and their new king shall rise, dooming us all.
FREE ME! FREE ME! She chanted.
FREE ME!
Then Piper's knees buckled, and everything went black. But not before the last thing she heard was that of Kayla screaming.