Marcus swore.

"Language." Came Chiron's tired voice through the Iris message he had opened between them.

Marcus' answer was yet more swearing. Thankfully, Phil and Chastity were a bit more eloquent in their responses.

"I thought they weren't ready for another mission?" Phil asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"So did they." Chiron replied. "But an opportunity arose that we couldn't pass up."

"Oh?" Chastity asked, sarcastically sweet. "And what exactly was this grand opportunity Chiron?"

Chiron sighed heavily, his face betraying his frustration with their reactions. "Another artifact. You know as well as I do how important they are to both sides right now, and after what you just told me, I'm glad I sent them when I did. Hopefully they'll have beaten the… Red Shirts there."

Marcus spun at that, stalking back to the Iris message from where he had been fuming. "After what we just told you, you should be even /more/ concerned! You sent Maddie-"

"And Jason, and Joel." Chastity added, a slight pout to her voice that he didn't understand.

Marcus waved away her additions. "You sent them on a mission where they could run into New Olympians and you're not even concerned?! What will they do if Maddie goes Berserker Mode when I'm not there to help her?! She could kill Jason and Joel just as easily as whoever is stupid enough to face her!"

"It was her choice Marcus." Chiron replied quietly. "She didn't want any more of your group disappearing without her, and whether you like it or not, she is one of our most powerful demigods. I can't afford to keep her here whenever you're away."

"Besides," Phil cut in, "Jason is becoming more and more skilled in manipulating the Mist. If they can't calm her, they can hide from her until we arrive."

Marcus crossed his arms, a scowl coming to his face. "That doesn't exactly inspire confidence Phil…"

Chastity rolled her eyes. "Look Marcus, I agree that we need to back them up. After all, those two idiots are probably getting Maddie in more trouble than even you could right now, but arguing over whether or not she should have gone is pointless. Let's just go, you can play knight in brooding armor, and we can all high tail it back to camp."

While Marcus couldn't find a fault in her logic, that didn't mean he had to like it, but he held his tongue. "What's this big, important artifact they were sent to find?" He grumbled instead.

"A book." Chiron said, his tone grave. "Written by Alabaster Torrington."

Marcus frowned thoughtfully. He shared a glance with Chastity, who looked just as confused as he did. The name wasn't one they had ever heard of mentioned among the great demigods of the past. "Torrington? Who in Hades is that?"

"While not a great demigod from the Age of Jackson, the artifact we discovered might be that much more important because of it." Chiron answered.

"Kay, cool. Way to give an answer without giving an answer." Chastity mumbled. Marcus couldn't help but give her a small smile for that one. It felt good to finally be back on the same page. He glanced at Phil and saw him hiding a smile as well.

"Torrington was a child of Hecate." Chiron said, quickly losing his patience.

"Goddess of Magic. The Mist. Necromancy." Marcus scowled. He saw where this was going, and he didn't like it one bit. If Aaron knows something like this exists… there's only one person I see him sending.

"Exactly." Chiron nodded. "So a book written by him could contain powerful magics, a way to focus the Mist, channel it into any number of illusions, or even a way to make those illusions more than just that…"

"Where is it?" Phil asked, leaning forward. Marcus could almost hear his thoughts aligning with Chiron's. Phil was a soldier, he knew the value of accurate information, as well as subterfuge in war. Something that could augment Jason's Mist skills… He was already able to hide a group of Half Bloods while in the middle of an enemy rally… Imagine what he could do with more power. Assassination. Sabotage. The possibilities just stacked up. But he knew Jason. He was a clutz. A goofball. A shy kid. That may be too much pressure for him to carry alone.

"I've already talked to Randy. He's taking you to the place where our reports indicated Torrington hid the book, on the edge of one of the Great Lakes."

Marcus stared out the window. Night had fallen by the time their call with Chiron had finished, and the bus now drove through the night to get to the cabin that Chiron had mentioned. Marcus' thoughts bounced around his head. Worry. That was forMaddie, obviously. Confusion. His life was changing, quickly. First, this new noticing of Chastity that he didn't understand. Then there was Maddie going off on her own. Chiron's orders or no, she wouldn't normally do that… Maybe she's starting to take your bad habits to heart. Anger. That was aimed squarely at Chiron. Marcus clenched his jaw in frustration. He knew that the centaur had to use whatever he could to protect the camp, and if that meant using Marcus as a soldier so be it, but Joel? Jason? Maddie? Chastity? They were just living their lives. They had never asked to be dragged into this. Hell, Phil wasn't even in his own time. He had been shot forward in time to fight in a war that he had no real stake in other than his godly parentage. And his parents hadn't even been the one to shoot him forward! It was Artemis.

Marcus' scowl deepened. Artemis. Out of all the Gods and Goddesses he'd ever interacted with, he had never had the "pleasure" of meeting her, and yet she had affected his life in ever increasing ways. He glanced over to where Phil was resting, a few seats ahead of him on the bus. That bow… The feeling he got from it was almost like Maddie's powers of healing but… not quite. Her healing was warmer. If anything they felt like the warm touch of the sun. Which was fitting since they came from Apollo, but that bow didn't have that same warmth to it… Artemis' aura… it has to be.

Marcus turned back to stare out the window at the passing darkness. A bow blessed by Artemis… and she shot him through time… Marcus felt that there was a puzzle in front of him, the answer plain as day if he could only fit the pieces together, but somehow he was missing it. Staring out the window into the dark, he could almost feel like he saw Lyssa's green eyes staring back at him. What is it she said…!

"And the brooding begins." Chastity's voice came from behind him, her tone teasingly mimicking his own usual serious tone.

"Thought you were sleeping." Marcus replied, without turning.

He felt her slide into the seat next to him. "I was. Then I felt something weird…"

Marcus turned to her, his face serious, alert for danger. "What?"

Chastity met his look with one just as serious. "I felt a disturbance… a brooding in the air…" Breaking, a teasing smile coming to her face. "And here I thought you'd finally started loosening up after that little race with Phil. Here you are, back to your old habits."

Marcus shrugged. "Hard not to brood on everything happening right now…"

"Look, I'm sure they're fine." Chastity's tone softened. "I get that you're worried, but we're doing the only thing we can. Getting there as quickly as possible. You have to get some rest."

Marcus barked a laugh. "As if I could. Knowing the danger we're most likely charging headfirst into… the danger Maddie and the others are already probably dealing with… I'm too keyed up to sleep."

Chastity cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, almost without meaning to, allowing her hair to fall onto his shoulder. "Well, I know a few ways to tire you out Marcus…"

Marcus responded with a raised eyebrow and a secret smile. "With your boyfriend right there Songbird? And you called me naughty."

Chastity gasped with mock indignation, though she did sit straight again, her hand to her chest. "Marcus! I would never. I was simply meaning we could continue your music lessons!"

Marcus groaned. "Gods above anything but that!"

Chastity laughed lightly and stood, her hand brushing his shoulder. "Fine, fine. Don't say I never tried to teach you anything useful." She smiled at him, and to him she seemed like an angel in the dim lights of the bus. "Just get some rest okay?"

He watched her walk back to where Phil was sleeping in his seat. Despite himself, he felt his eyes growing heavy the second her hand left his shoulder. Leaning back against the window, his last thought left him with a small smile as he fell asleep.

Did she really need to use a Sleep spell…?