Why couldn’t things be easy?

  It would have been so convenient if Hera (Juno, whatever) gave them the cow straight up, preferably tied up like a hog and delivered to them with free shipping. But no. Despite Piper’s best flattery, the queen of Olympus decided that her champion needed a good challenge. And that was just the first of their worries.

  “You will find the bull at the beach just outside the city.” The goddess said, looking elegantly apathetic at their frustration. “Jason, you are my champion. You will be the greatest of heroes, but every hero has his trials.”

  Piper wanted to argue that Jason had gone through enough trials already. Was saving the world once not enough? Was fighting the Gaia until the world ended not sufficient?

  But Juno knew none of what they had gone through. And Jason, like the true Roman that he was, did not argue, nodding resignedly instead. “Very well, Lady Juno. I…will not fail.”

  As if just realizing she was there too, Juno then turned to Piper with narrowed, glittering eyes. “And you, Piper McLean…you should not be here, not yet.”

  Piper’s heart skipped a beat. “Wh–what do you mean?”

  The goddess studied her dangerously like she was an experiment that had gone wrong. Juno was the one to bring them together, after all. Her plans spanned their entire lives, such as with Frank’s stick and being Leo’s nanny. Piper had somehow met Jason unexpectedly early, which couldn’t have happened, at least from the queen's perspective.

  A Greek. A Roman. Piper remembered with a start of terror that the gods would erase the memories when Greek and Roman demigods would meet each other to keep the separation between camps strong. What if Juno was thinking of doing that to Piper and Jason?

  Beside her, Jason was starting to look a little nervous now. “Um, Lady Juno–”

  “You cannot be here, daughter of Aphrodite,” Juno spoke with a calm finality. “The godly decrees must be maintained; the Greeks and Romans must be kept separate.”

  Jason went pale. “Lady Juno, she’s my friend. The feud between Greeks and Romans–”

  “If you know about the feud, then you must also realize how important this is.” The goddess cut him off. “You two already know of each other’s existence…how unfortunate. I will have to fix that.”

  Piper gulped, taking a small step back. She couldn’t forget Jason! She couldn’t forget Frank and Hazel.

  “Please, Lady Juno.” Jason tried again. “How bad could it be? We can show you that we can work together!”

  Juno turned her head sharply to her champion. “That is not the issue, Jason. Your meeting will lead to more if left unchecked, and bloodshed will inevitably arise between the two sides.”

  “You will see each other again; but not right now.” The queen sighed, beginning to raise her hands. “You two have a greater destiny than you know…but for it to come to pass, we must approach it with caution. Be patient, and await my plans, heroes.”

  Her hands began to glow, and Piper panicked. “Wait, Lady Hera!”

  Calling her by her Greek name did the trick. The goddess froze as if she had been struck, her form flickering. Piper took a deep breath. She couldn’t risk forgetting…and she didn’t want Jason to go through amnesia again.

  So pouring everything into her charmspeak, Piper said, “You don’t have to wait. Start with us, right now, Lady Hera. We can bring Greeks and Romans together, I know we can!”

  It was Hera now, whose eyes flickered with hesitation as Piper’s charm washed over her. “You do not understand, child. There are centuries of strife, and too much at risk. If something goes wrong, you–”

  “It’s the prophecy of Seven, right?” Piper asked, and by the look of surprise on Hera’s face, she was correct. “That’s what we are part of; that’s what you’re bringing us together for.”

  Hera paused again, gritting her teeth. “Not yet.”

  The goddess was ancient and powerful. Frankly, it was a miracle that Piper had made it this far, but she had to keep going. Otherwise, she might forget everything she knew about Jason…not to mention the giant rabbit hole they would go down if Hera accessed their memories.

  She needed to convince her somehow, someway.

  What did Hera want? What was Hera’s goal?

  “They don’t agree with your plan,” Piper remembered, dripping soothing sympathy into her voice. “Zeus is too stubborn, too paranoid. They don’t understand that each and every moment waiting raises the risk of the Giants destroying us all.”

  She had hit the nail on the head. Hera paused, looking stricken. It was working. Piper’s charmspeak was slowly wearing away at the goddess’ mental walls, using her own frustration against her.

  “Why wait longer, Lady Hera? Let us work together, and show you that your plan doesn’t need to wait. It is perfect for what we need right now.” Piper persuaded. “Jason is your champion, your first move. You need to prepare him for what will come in the future. What better way to do that than to introduce him to the other side early?”

  The glow from Hera’s hands spluttered weakly, but she shook her head furiously as if to clear her mind from Piper’s words. “No. No. How can I trust two demigods with the safety of two camps, two legacies?”

  Piper felt desperation creeping up into her voice. She didn’t try to hide it; emotion made charmspeak stronger, not weaker. “The same way you are trusting seven demigods to destroy Gaia! To succeed, you have to take risks!”

  “It’s too early,” Hera muttered, her eyes darkening. “It could ruin the whole exchange…”

  “Or it could strengthen it.” Piper countered, causing Hera to look at her in surprise. “It could stop the war between Rome and Greece. It could create the foundation of a future alliance.”

  The queen of the gods sighed, lowering her hands sluggishly. Her expression was conflicted, but Piper could see something significant in her face. It was hope. “Piper McLean, do you truly believe that? Do you truly have faith that you can take that chance and make it a reality?”

  Her warning made Piper pause, because now it was personal. This wasn’t just a discussion of principalities anymore; Hera was addressing Piper directly.

  But the hesitation was brief. Her words weren’t of blind faith; it was a duty. Piper needed to bring everyone together. Not just for herself and the Seven, but also for Reyna, for Thalia, and for her siblings at Camp Half-Blood. Piper had to do this for everyone they failed to save.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I will watch. Show me your faith, Piper McLean.” Hera straightened, gazing regally into the clouds. “For now…I will leave you be.”

  Piper felt her shoulders sag as Jason sighed in relief. “Thank you, Queen Hera.”

  The queen of Olympus glowed brightly and disappeared in a flash of light. As the dots faded from Piper’s eyes, so did the adrenaline and desperation she had while charmspeaking. She felt like she had been hit by a tidal wave, the magnitude of what she had just done crashing onto Piper.

  Barely keeping herself from collapsing, Piper whispered, “What. Just. Happened.”

  “Pipes…that was amazing.” Jason breathed out. “How did you do that?”

  Piper shrugged weakly. The novelty of charmspeaking a goddess (not just any goddess, but Queen Hera herself) was currently unimportant. Despite her voice being her most powerful ability, right now Piper could barely squeak. “D-did I just take responsibility in healing the rift between Greece and Rome?”

  “Uh…yeah. I guess you kinda did.” Jason realized.

  Piper blinked hard, but she still felt like she was in a daze. “I–If I fail, it’ll all be on me. It’ll all be my fault.”

  Jason stepped in front of her, waving a hand in her shell-shocked face. “Don’t be ridiculous. All of us are here to help you, just like you’ll help all of us. Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood…they were able to work together before.”

  “After Leo blew up half the city.” Piper pointed out, suddenly breathless as her lungs seemed to stutter. Her heart was pounded in her chest, setting her skin feverish. It was safe to say Piper was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. “That can’t happen again. I have to stop it–but how–I can’t do it. I’m so stupid for promising it to Hera, what was I thinking?!”

  It was just too much. Piper had so much to worry about, from the visions from Katoptris, to building her relationship with Jason, to her role in the Aphrodite cabin. She couldn’t handle the responsibility of keeping the peace between two sides that hated each other for generations!

  Likely realizing she was starting to freak out, Jason quickly acted and wrapped his arms around her. “Calm down. You can do this. You always kept us together, Piper, despite how different we were. No matter how bad it got, you were the one who always spread love and care. You’re the best person for this.”

  Piper buried her face into his chest to focus on his heartbeat, trying to match her panicky breathing with his calm, steady pulse. She selfishly used him like a shelter in her storm, an anchor amongst the raging waves of her emotions.

  “You’re the most charismatic person I know. If anyone can do this, you can, and you have so many people backing you up.” Jason reminded her. “And besides, you just charmspoke a goddess , Pipes. I think you can convince the demigods too.”

  But could she? Piper didn’t really want to use her charmspeak like that, to force people to do what they didn’t want to do without them even realizing it. That felt too much like Medea’s seduction, or Hera and Aphrodite pushing false memories onto her and Jason. The thought of doing so to so many people felt even more invasive, and Piper hoped that she wouldn’t have to do something like that. Things wouldn’t get that bad, would it?

  She took a deep breath—one thing at a time. Piper couldn’t focus on this right now. So she put it into the corner of her mind, deciding to think (stress) about it later. “Let’s go catch that stupid bull.”

  Back to the present, which was no less turbulent.

  The aforementioned ‘stupid bull’ was unfortunately very stubborn. They had found it with ease, as Juno said. It expectedly was strong and fast, and with its deadly horns, it guarded every opening.

  Oh, and as an added bonus, the bull could surf better than Piper could, striding atop the crashing waves like a bovine Jesus. She didn’t remember that particular point mentioned in any of the myths, but apparently, being created by Poseidon had its perks.

  Anyway, Jason might have been able to fry it with lightning, but they needed to take it alive, so they engaged in a deadly game of water tag with the bull, trying to get close enough to attack the bull without killing it or being gored by its horns. Annoyingly, each time the surf picked up, the bull would ride the wave's crest out to safety, forcing Jason to fly out and prod it back toward shore.

  Behind her, a fight just as intense was happening. A swarm of bees zipped back and forth, buzzing incessantly as they seemed to fly in violent circles for seemingly no reason, at least from Piper’s view. However, since they were definitely distracted, she figured Frank was doing a good job, and decided not to think too hard about how a battle between two swarms of bees would work.

  Piper couldn’t help but sigh as she watched Jason chase the bull across the water’s surface. Dimly, she remembered promising to teach Annabeth and Hazel how to surf once everything was over. As she stared disdainfully at the raging bull, Piper hoped this experience wouldn’t affect her love for riding the waves.

  Ugh. Cows. They were in Piper’s life far too often in her opinion, and just the thought of them made her a little ill.

  The Cretan Bull suddenly came charging onto the sand, Jason hot on its heels. Piper was tempted to just throw her knife, right between its eyes. Instead, she jumped, the bull’s horns narrowly missing her neck as she twisted onto its back. Piper couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose as she grappled on its leathery hide. The Cretan Bull’s smell reminded her of all the reasons she became a vegetarian in the first place.

  Just like she did to Achelous the river bull god, Piper wrapped one arm around its throat and pressed her knife to the bull’s neck.

  “Stop–fighting–us. Be a good bull.” She put power into each syllable, and the Cretan Bull began to buck slower and slower, disoriented. As it slowed down to a stumble, Jason struck the side of its head with a flying punch.

  An electric shockwave knocked the bull into the sand and sent Piper flying, but she wasn’t worried. A gust of wind soon caught her, gently setting her onto the ground.

  “Nice punch, Superman.” Piper grinned.

  “Ha ha.”

  A swarm of bees flew over, and Piper prepared to fight again. However, suddenly it was not a group of buzzing insects, but Frank covered in bee stings. “What now?”

  “We’ll bring the cow back to Aristaios.” Jason said. “Frank, can you…?”

  The son of Mars looked at them in confusion, before Piper cleared her throat awkwardly and gestured at the unconscious bull. Frank’s face slowly went from confusion to realization, then to irritation.

  With a sigh, their friend lumbered over to the large bull. “Fine.”

  Jason wrapped an arm around her as Frank transformed into a dragon, picking up the bull with his scaly claws. The ever-present buzz of Aristaios’ bees suddenly began to grow louder, and Jason looked over his shoulder. “One second.”

  He flicked his hand out, and a harsh breeze surged past them. Piper looked behind her quickly, but Aristaios’ bees had already been tossed and scattered haphazardly across the beach in the blink of an eye, like dust in the wind.

  She couldn’t help but stare, impressed. “New trick?”

  “It just felt natural.” Jason shrugged, somewhat awkward. “It should buy us some time.”

  He lifted them into the air, and Piper tried not to stare at his glowing veins. Like Percy’s scales and hair, they were proof that the Seven were changing, their powers growing stronger. Already she had seen Jason doing things he had never done before with ease, and Piper could scarcely believe Annabeth’s description of Percy during his battle with Ares.

  Piper resisted the urge to look at herself with her mirror blade, to see if she was changing too. She still couldn’t quite believe her charmspeaking worked so well on the queen of the gods. It was a strange feeling, but it was like emotions had been summoned by Piper’s words. Like something new had been unlocked and poured into her voice to give it more worth and regality.

  It had been exhilarating…but also scary.

  Piper felt like she of all people should have been in tune with her emotions. But she had no idea how to feel about this change, just like how she didn’t know how to feel about the visions from Katoptris, her new relationship with Jason, or even her promise to Juno.

  Honestly, Piper was beginning to wonder if she understood her feelings at all.

  Man, it had been a tough day. As Percy had expected, the night before the last day of school, Grover appeared in his dreams. He had to watch his best friend chased down by Polyphemus, then wake up in a cold sweat with the Cyclops’ bellowing voice fresh in his mind.

  Without time to even recover, he had to go straight to school finals. Sadly, that was probably the easiest part of the day. Their science final was to mix chemicals until something exploded, which Tyson was a big help in. The English final was to recreate Lord of the Flies , and Percy delighted in seeing Matt Sloan bite off more than he could chew after Tyson swatted him into the swings.

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  Unfortunately, things didn’t stay so easy when Annabeth declined to help him with his social studies test, despite his pleas. He knew she was there, of course. But that didn’t make talking to the empty space before him look less weird to his classmates.

  Finally, dodgeball with the Canadians went…surprisingly well. With a little encouragement, Tyson gave the cannibal giants a taste of their own medicine, cannonball-flavored.

  Annabeth got them a ride with the Gray Sisters, and they got the coordinates to Polyphemus’ island. Percy tried very hard to thoroughly purge his memory of the greasy eyeball he used as blackmail. They made it to Camp, fought off the Bronze Bulls, and made it just in time to catch Chiron at the Big House.

  Annabeth ran up and hugged him, understandably distraught as the centaur packed his saddlebags. Percy couldn’t blame her, feeling hollow himself.

  “Alas,” Chiron sighed, his eyes glinting gravely. “Someone had to take the blame. And some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances.”

  Percy tried not to curse the gods for their unfairness, especially Zeus. It was always someone else’s fault for him. It was all too reminiscent of how the King of the Gods stupidly closed off Olympus, then blamed everyone but himself when Gaia rose anyway. Maybe if he himself had done something to help his own daughter , they wouldn’t have this issue.

  “Because you’re the son of Kronos, like half of them also are?” Percy scoffed angrily. “This is crazy! You’ve been the director here since Camp Half-Blood was created!”

  Their teacher just sighed sadly. “Do not invoke the titan lord’s name, Percy. Not now. Regardless, I failed to keep the camp safe. That was my duty, and the gods decided I was unfit for it after the tree was poisoned, and after I could not find a cure for it.”

  Annabeth darkly muttered, “But they won’t actually help us fix the problem, of course. Just point fingers and throw the blame around.”

  “We already know who did it, anyway!” Percy said in exasperation. “You said the venom came from the depths of Tartarus! Kro–Luke must have done it.”

  “Do not do anything rash, you two,” Chiron warned, watching their emotional faces. “Percy, it’s much too dangerous for you to even be here. But since you are, stay . Train and learn. Do not leave. Hasty action will only bait you into the titan lord’s traps.”

  Percy avoided the centaur’s piercing gaze, focusing on the dying tree on the distant hilltop. Thalia was one of his closest friends and one of the greatest heroes he knew. Now, her tree stood as the only thing left of her, and Luke stepping so low to poison it infuriated Percy.

  (“You don’t understand the half of it. I was going to let you take the Fleece…once I was done with it.”)

  So maybe Luke did all this to bring Thalia back. It would be crazy and desperate, but Percy was familiar with that. But he just couldn’t understand risking the lives of so many close to him, many of them who had looked up to Luke like he was their big brother.

  He couldn’t stay here, no matter what Chiron said. Percy didn’t respond to Chiron, remaining silent in his scrutinizing eyes.

  Annabeth wiped a tear from her face. “I’ll keep him safe, Chiron. I promise.”

  Chiron sighed, relenting and turning away from Percy. “Very well. Remember the prophecy, child. Hopefully, my name will be cleared and I will return. Until then, I will go visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. Perhaps they know of some cure that I have forgotten. One way or another, this matter will be resolved…without me.”

  Annabeth stifled a sob, and Percy gently took her hand. A conch horn blew across the valley, signaling assembly for dinner.

  “Go. Meet your new activities director at the pavilion.” Chiron said. “I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you’re safe. And remember my warning! You are in grave danger! Do not be hasty.”

  The centaur clopped away even as Tyson called after him. “Pony! Don’t go!”

  His little brother began bawling just as much as Annabeth, leaving Percy to awkwardly pull them into a group hug as the sun set behind the dining pavilion, campers coming up from their cabins to eat.

  “It’ll be okay,” Percy reassured, believing his words this time. “We’ll fix things soon enough.”

  Annabeth shakily nodded, her grey eyes clearing. “Yeah…but we still have to deal with Tantalus.”

  “Ugh. Seriously, who hired him?” Percy grumbled.

  He patted a sniveling Tyson on the back. “Come on, big guy. Let’s go get dinner, alright? Chiron won’t be gone forever.”

  “Pony come back?”

  “Yeah. Pony will come back.” Percy promised.

  They filed in with the other campers, splitting off into their cabin tables. Percy managed to catch up with his friends, even if some of them were a little skittish as Tyson followed him around like a lost puppy. Thankfully, there were those like Piper who had no such qualms, and she welcomed the baby cyclops with a dazzling smile.

  “Welcome to camp, Tyson. You’ll find it great here.” She said, positively radiating.

  “Um…hi.” Tyson shyly replied. “You are pretty.”

  “Thanks! Nice to know that manners don’t run in the family.”

  Percy blinked, taking an embarrassingly long time to snap out of confusion. “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

  She just winked, and he couldn’t really couldn’t mad. Percy settled for rolling his eyes at her. “By the way, how’d the bee thing last week go?”

  In a very unladylike gesture, Piper threw her head back and groaned. “It wasn’t just the stupid bees. We had to catch Hera’s dumb cow.”

  Percy thought he remembered a cow being mentioned. “But you guys succeeded, right?”

  “Well, yeah,” Piper wrinkled her nose. “But then I get to camp and some robot bulls attack? Like, why do I keep having to deal with so many cows? Did I mention I hate cows, by the way?”

  “Maybe once or twice.” Percy shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips as he tried and failed to be sympathetic.

  Percy supposed he should have gone to meet the new camp director, but he also could not express how little he cared about what Tantalus or Dionysus wanted. He went around catching up with his friends (‘Yes I know he’s a Cyclops, but I promise he’s friendly, Connor’), leisurely making his way to the Poseidon table with Tyson.

  “If it isn’t Peter Johnson.” A familiar voice drawled before Percy could reach his table, and he withheld a sigh.

  “It’s Percy Jackson.”

  “Yes, well as you young people say…whatever.” Mr. D sipped on his Diet Coke. “Where do you think you’re going with your little monster friend?”

  Tyson fidgeted, his one eye looking at Percy nervously. “Um…”

  “To my table. Is there anything wrong with that?” Percy challenged. Like always, there was a small chance that Dionysus would take offense and incinerate him, but hopefully, he was too apathetic to do anything yet.

  “Oh, no.” A pale, thin man in an orange prison jumpsuit looked hungrily at him. Actually, Tantalus always looked hungry, but that was beside the point. “The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it.”

  “ Him.” Percy automatically corrected. “You’re the new camp director?”

  Tantalus’ baggy eyes seemed to be fractured. “Who is this one again?”

  “Poseidon’s child. The one you need to watch.” Mr. D supplied helpfully.

  “Ah! That one.” Tantalus sneered. “Yes, I am the new camp director. And I’ll be watching you, Percy Jackson. I don’t want any problems at my camp.”

  He casually reached for his plate of barbecue with a fork as he talked, as if trying to sneak up on it without it noticing. Unfortunately, the whole plate skittered away when Tantalus got close, throwing itself into the coals of the brazier, followed by Ancient Greek curses.

  Percy snorted. “ Your camp? You’re barely a replacement. The food agrees with me.”

  The satyrs behind him shook their heads vigorously, trying to warn Percy. Tantalus glared at him, but Percy was used to angry looks.

  “I’m the director of the camp, boy. You’d do well to listen to me.”

  “Or what? You’ll sic your good friend Mr. D on me?” Percy raised an eyebrow. “He keeps you around for entertainment at best.”

  Dionysus snickered softly but quickly replaced it with an aggravated sigh. “That’s enough, Perry Johansen. Go to your table.”

  Percy held eye contact with the god for a split second. Dionysus was always smarter than he let on. The god of madness was unpredictable. At times, he could even be helpful, like the time he healed Chris or saved them from the Manticore Thorn. But usually, he was just irritating.

  He gave a mock salute to the directors and turned to Tyson. “Don’t worry, big guy. I’ll be right over there. We’ll get you a good place to sleep tonight.”

  Which would be his cabin, but whatever. Tyson nodded trustingly. “Okay. I believe you. You are my friend.”

  Percy went back to his table, a nymph bringing him a plate of olive-and-pepperoni pizza. He scraped a portion into the brazier, giving a quick prayer to Poseidon (had to make sure Tyson was claimed today, after all). He thought about Grover, and the Fleece trapped on Polyphemus’ island. The sooner they could leave and bring it back to camp, the better. Percy snuck a glance at the Ares’ table. Clarisse had one arm in a sling and a gash on her cheek, but still looked like she was ready to go on the warpath.

  Tantalus stood up, a conch horn drawing everyone’s attention. Percy didn’t listen to the skinny man’s speech, zoning out his reedy voice until Tantalus reinstituted the chariot races despite Clarisse’s protests.

  “Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!” Tantalus praised. “Hero of the day!”

  He wondered why Tantalus favored Clarisse so much. It was kind of weird. It wasn't even as if Clarisse liked the guy either. “But, our patrol duty–”

  “This is a summer camp, Clarisse.” Tantalus grinned. “We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?”

  “But the tree–”

  The camp director ignored her, waving a hand toward Tyson. “And now, we have a slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here.”

  Uneasy murmurs and sideways looks angled toward Percy. He ignored them, narrowing his eyes at their jerk of a director. A little ways beside him, Annabeth sent fierce glares at those around her, daring them to speak up.

  “Now of course, Cyclops have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast to the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks.” Tantalus continued with a self-satisfied grin still on his face. Percy wanted to punch it. “But who knows? Maybe this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! Perhaps the stables? Hermes’ cabin, possibly?”

  Silence. Travis and Connor stared at the tablecloth, avoiding all eye contact.

  “Come now,” Tantalus chided. “The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?”

  Percy gritted his teeth. Thankfully, everybody suddenly gasped, finally shutting Tantalus up. A brilliant green light formed into a dazzling holographic trident above Tyson’s head, and an awed silence fell across the dining pavilion.

  There was no sense of shame or embarrassment this time for Percy, though. He proudly smiled as Tyson tried to swat the glowing trident, mystified. He quickly shot a look at Piper at the Aphrodite table, and she cleared her throat, standing.

  He wasn’t about to let Tantalus make a joke out of this again. Tyson deserved better than that. Before Tantalus could speak, Piper’s voice rang out across the pavilion. Sometimes, it was very convenient to have a persuasive friend.

  “It is determined.” She announced, and as if possessed all the campers rose from their seats. “Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Lord of Horses.”

  Tantalus looked shocked, looking around frantically as the campers began to kneel. However, even he couldn’t seem to say anything.

  “Hail, Tyson, son of the Sea God.”

  After the drama, Tantalus probably wanted things to calm down so he could regain control of the camp. However, Annabeth was determined not to give him the chance. Especially not after he had rejected her plan for the new cabins.

  She had been working on the blueprints for the entire year! Now she couldn’t even start them with Chiron gone and Tantalus being a prick. Apparently, it would ‘ruin the harmony that the campers already have’, and that she had ‘done enough to cause trouble’, according to Tantalus. The director seemed to blame Annabeth and Percy for all and anything that went wrong at camp.

  “We’ll get approval for a quest. Tonight.”

  Percy looked startled. “Already?”

  She and her friends walked along the camp’s edge, patrolling the border. Even though Tantalus insisted they didn’t need to, they all knew that was a load of bull. Including them, some campers secretly kept up the patrol, working out a schedule during their free time.

  Piper leaned over to Percy, stage-whispering. “She’s still mad Tantalus shot down her plans.”

  “Ah, right.” He nodded sagely.

  “During campfire, you mean?” Leo fiddled with a small machine. “In front of everybody?”

  “Yeah. The whole camp will hear. They’ll pressure him.” Annabeth nodded. “He can’t refuse.”

  Percy hummed. “But he’ll just give the quest to Clarisse.”

  “Didn’t stop us last time.”

  “Touche.”

  She sighed. “It’s important to at least recognize the need for a quest. With how Tantalus is running things, camp won’t make it to the end of the summer if we keep waiting.”

  A hiss nearby alerted her, and she noticed a scaly monster emerging from the trees, slithering toward them. It looked like a giant snake the size of a person, maybe a drakon of the smaller species. It barely slowed down as it passed through the barrier, making Annabeth frown in worry. How long did the camp have at this rate if monsters kept passing through this easily?

  Though the monster began to get closer, Leo didn’t even look up from his machine. “You want to take this one, Perce?”

  The son of Poseidon shot him a look. “You’re not going to help me?”

  “It’s just one snake. Do you really need help?”

  Percy opened his mouth, then closed it. Grumbling, he walked down to engage the monster. Annabeth withheld a smile as he reluctantly faced off the serpent, who futilely tried to intimidate the demigod with its drakon glare.

  “So, you have a plan, right?” Piper asked her, lazily watching the battle start.

  “Of course,” Annabeth said. “We have the coordinates for Polyphemus’ island. We’re going whether Tantalus lets us or not.”

  Leo frowned. “Where is the Fleece, anyway? I keep hearing you guys talk about the ‘Sea of Monsters’. What exactly is that?”

  “It’s the sea Odysseus sailed through in his journeys. Along with Jason, Aeneas, and all the others.” Annabeth impatiently explained. “Right now, it’s off the east coast. The Bermuda Triangle.”

  Leo formed an ‘o’ shape with his mouth. “That makes a lot of sense.”

  “It’s the sea all heroes sail through on their adventures,” Piper recalled. “We flew over it on the Argo II, didn’t we?”

  “Didn’t seem that crazy.” Leo shrugged.

  Annabeth rolled his eyes at him. “You should go on the quest then.”

  “No thanks.” The mechanic grinned. “I’ve got work to do here. But I’ll back you up during the campfire, don’t worry.”

  Fighting the drakon ahead of them, Percy yelled in response, “You could back me up, too! Right now, preferably!”

  “Nah, you got this, dude! I believe in you!”

  “Hurry up, Percy. We have to get to dinner.” Piper called.

  He jabbed the snake in the eye, making it flail in pain with a screech. “You try fighting this then!”

  Despite his complaining, Percy managed to finish off the monster not long later, dissipating into golden dust. They all headed toward the dining pavilion, and as they split up Annabeth reminded them to meet up during the campfire later. From her seat with the rest of the Athena cabin, Annabeth studied Tantalus surreptitiously. The crazy director was trying to hunt down the meatballs on his plate, none the wiser.

  He wouldn’t agree to a quest, especially not one that Annabeth or Percy were on. He had some sort of vendetta against them but treated Clarisse like a queen. Even though the chariot race hadn’t happened yet, Annabeth had no doubt he would pick her as the quester if he were given the choice.

  Now, the attack of the mechanical bulls was still fresh from yesterday. The scorch marks were still present on Half-Blood Hill, making people even more skittish about approaching it. It only made Thalia’s tree an even more depressing sight. Though the chariot race and bird attack hadn’t happened yet, Annabeth felt confident the campers would rally behind the goal of finding the Fleece.

  But as for Clarisse…

  Annabeth sighed loudly, ignoring the questioning looks from her siblings. Clarisse was kind of a problem. Like Annabeth herself, the daughter of Ares was very prideful, except she was also brazen and violent in expressing said pride. Not a great combination. While Clarisse could definitely be a huge help in the quest, whether she would decide to help them was another question. Annabeth would have to think about that more...

  Later at the campfire, the Apollo’s cabin led the sing-along, trying to get everybody’s spirits up. It was somewhat successful, but Annabeth knew she wasn’t the only one wracked with worry about camp. The magic bonfire burned quietly, its flame a dull yellow.

  When the last song was over, Tantalus stepped forward. “How lovely. Now then, we have some announcements about tomorrow’s schedule–”

  “Sir!” Percy interrupted, grinning as he saw Tantalus’ eye twitch. “We have an idea to save the camp.”

  “Well. If it has anything to do with chariots–”

  Annabeth took over, standing up next to Percy. “The Golden Fleece. We know where it is!”

  The bonfire turned orange instantly, rising a few feet. Percy explained his dream about Grover and Polyphemus’ island. “The Fleece is in the Sea of Monsters. We should go out and bring it back to camp!”

  Tantalus chuckled nervously. “And what would that do?”

  “The Golden Fleece has powerful magic. According to legends, it can make crops grow faster, protect those around it, and cure any living thing.” Annabeth emphasized. “The Fleece can save the camp. I’m certain of it.”

  “We don’t need saving. Nonsense.” Tantalus dismissed.

  Leo coughed loudly as everyone stared at the director. “Right, cause those killing machines yesterday were just a fluke.”

  Even Tantalus started looking uncomfortable under all those gazes. “B-besides, the Sea of Monsters? That’s hardly an exact location. You wouldn’t even know where to look.”

  “Yes, I do.” Percy countered. “30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. Those are sailing coordinates courtesy of the Gray Sisters, by the way. They point to the Atlantic off the coast of Florida, right in the Sea of Monsters!”

  “Wow, look at you.” Piper grinned, looking a little impressed. “Annabeth, you might have some competition.”

  Annabeth rolled her eyes at that, ignoring the satisfied look Percy sent her. “We have the location and the purpose. We just need a quest!”

  Obligingly, Piper took up the chant. “We need a quest! We need a quest!”

  “Now hold on a second!”

  Under Piper’s voice, the rest of the campers ignored Tantalus’ objections and joined in. “WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!”

  Tantalus’ eyes blazed with anger. “Fine! You brats want a quest so bad?”

  “YES!”

  “Very well then. I will authorize a quest by a chosen champion, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying.” He sounded a little too apathetic on the prospect of the second option. “The champion will consult the Oracle, and choose two companions for their journey! And I think our champion choice is obvious.”

  He shot a withering glare toward Percy and Annabeth. “The champion should be one who has earned the camp’s respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest…Clarisse!”

  The Ares cabin erupted into cheers. Annabeth just sighed, unsurprised.

  Clarisse looked shocked. “I-I accept the quest!”

  “Wait! It was Annabeth’s idea!” Malcolm, Annabeth’s half-brother shouted from the other side of the campfire. Many from the Athena cabin clamored in agreement. Everybody started talking and taking sides, as the bonfire rapidly rose and flared crimson.

  “Actually, wasn’t it Percy’s idea?”

  “He already had his chance last year!”

  “Clarisse defeated the bulls—”

  “Did you already forget what happened last summer?”

  Tantalus called for silence, but the campers continued to shout and argue, and soon a marshmallow was thrown. Tasty treats began flying back and forth, while Tantalus grew redder and redder, possibly because he was jealous he couldn’t join.

  “Quiet, you bra–” A marshmallow stick flew and hit him in the eye (marshmallow unattached, of course), cutting him off. “Ow!”

  A full-on s’more war went into effect, as each camper had to fend for themselves. Annabeth ducked under a rogue white projectile, letting the chaos unfold.

  Clarisse was yelling about how she was going to save the camp, but no one was listening to her. Annabeth walked over, trying not to get any sticky s’mores in her hair.

  “Clarisse!” The daughter of Ares turned toward her with no small amount of hostility, but Annabeth just pointed at the Big House. “What are you waiting for? Go on, consult the Oracle.”

  Clarisse blinked in surprise, the harsh words she was about to throw at Annabeth choking away. “You’re not going to argue with me?”

  “Like you’d listen to me.” Annabeth pointed out. “I don’t like Tantalus but…this is your quest. This is your time to lead.”

  Clarisse looked at her suspiciously, no doubt wondering what plan she had this time. Eventually, the warrior nodded slowly, beginning to trot toward the Big House. No one dared to stop her.

  Annabeth watched her go. This was Clarisse’s quest to lead. Annabeth would just tag along, of course. She had to make sure Camp and Grover were saved, so she mentally apologized to Chiron.

  Something hit her from behind, softly sticking to the back of her head. She immediately heard panicked whispers and slowly turned around to see a sheepish Leo and Percy caught red-handed, standing like deer in headlights.

  Annabeth grabbed the marshmallow out of her hair. She stared at them, and they stared back.

  “…Percy threw that.” Leo suddenly said, then immediately darted away.

  “Leo! Wait, you—damn you, Valdez!” Percy shook a fist at the retreating demigod.

  She raised an eyebrow at him as he frantically tried to defend himself. “I was trying to hit–mmfffph!”

  A well-aimed marshmallow cut him off, and Percy stumbled, trying not to choke. Behind Annabeth, Piper crowed victoriously. “Fire in the hole!”

  Annabeth grinned wickedly at Percy, who managed to gulp down the marshmallow. “Hey, hey, hey. I’m sorry, Wise Girl. Can’t you forgive me?”

  “All’s fair in love and war, Seaweed Brain.”

  As Percy was assaulted by a barrage of marshmallows, Annabeth couldn’t help but think this was a perfect beginning to their second summer at Camp.