Chapter Text
Everything in Camp Jupiter was calm until a boy came charging through the Little Tiber while giving a homeless lady a piggyback ride.
It started when the horns blew. Hadley stopped mid-punch at a training dummy and looked in the direction of the sound. People had already begun running toward the commotion and Hadley was close on their tails. She saw Reyna, already clad in armor and her purple praetor cloak, and joined her at her side as they ran toward the River.
"What's going on?" Hadley asked.
"Not sure," Reyna answered. She quickened her pace, speeding ahead of the other girl.
They reached the gates where dozens of campers were already waiting with their weapons ready. Reyna and Hadley pushed to the front of the crowd, none one questioned the praetor but several sent Hadley a dirty look as she moved past them. Reyna called for the gates to be opened and all the kids poured out into the clearing.
Hazel -who had been guarding the entrance with Frank- and a boy Hadley had never seen before stood at the bank of the Little Tiber with an old lady who seemed entirely calm about the situation. Behind them, Frank was halfway across the river when two gorgons caught him. They swooped out of the sky and grabbed him by either arm. He screamed as their claws dug into his skin.
The sentries yelled and aimed their weapons, but there was no way to get a clean shot, not with Frank so close to the gorgons. Hadley was ready to charge into the river but the boy next to Hazel thrust out his hands. Reyna blocked Hadley with her arm, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of them. Suddenly, whirlpools formed on either side of Frank. Giant watery hands erupted from the stream, copying the boy's movements. The giant hands grabbed the gorgons, who dropped Frank in surprise. Then the hands lifted the squeaking monsters in a liquid vise grip.
Hadley watched in shock as he controlled the river. Behind her, several kids shouted and started backing away. If the boy heard them, he didn't show it. He made a smashing gesture with his fists, and the giant hands plunged the gorgons into the Tiber. The monsters hit the bottom and broke into dust. They tried to reform but the river pulled them apart and soon every trace of the gorgons was washed downstream. The whirlpools vanished and the current returned to normal.
Hazel rushed back into the river to help Frank- who looked perfectly fine- while the boy stood at the bank, his clothes and skin steaming, with a confused expression.
The boy had messy black hair with a small grey streak that was falling in front of his sea-green eyes that looked determined yet incredibly tired. With his muscular physique, Hadley could have mistaken him for a statue if he hadn't been moving. She could tell he'd been through a lot recently from the scratches and dirt covering him but could still tell he still had plenty of fight in him. As he stared at the Romans, Hadley could sense an aura of power stronger than most half-bloods. He almost could have been a Roman god.
"Well, that was a lovely trip," the old woman said. "Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."
Reyna made a choking sound. "Percy... Jackson?"
She sounded as if she recognized the name. Hadley looked over at her curiously, and the boy- Percy- did the same. Reyna just stared as if she had seen him in her nightmares.
Percy stared at Reyna, then turned his gaze to the second girl, hoping she might have some idea of what was going on. Something felt oddly familiar about her like she was someone he was supposed to know. Her dirty blonde hair was tied into a messy braid with several pieces falling out around her face. Her hazel eyes had a certain intensity that looked like she was ready to fight anything that may come through the tunnel next (he wasn't positive she had ruled him out as a target) and even from where he stood, he could tell they had golden flecks in them. She crossed her arms and her toned muscles told him she could back up the confident look in her eyes at a moment's notice.
Percy was sure that if he had met her before, he couldn't have forgotten this girl- even with his case of amnesia.
The old woman laughed with delight. "Oh, yes. You'll have such fun together!"
Then, just because the day hadn't been weird enough, the old lady began to glow and change form. She grew until she was a shining, towering goddess in a blue dress, with a goatskin cloak over her shoulders. Her face was stern and stately. In her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower.
Everyone stared in shock for a moment until Reyna knelt, then the others followed her lead.
Hazel was the first to speak. "Juno."
"Juno, huh?" Percy said. "If I passed your test can I have my memories and life back?"
Hadley pursed her lips and continued to stare at the ground. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she was holding back a laugh or a gasp. She couldn't believe the idiocy of this boy to talk to the queen of the heavens that way. Although, she was impressed with his nerve, even if it was likely to get him disintegrated. Not just anyone would talk back to a goddess. Those who did, didn't have the chance to tell anyone about it.
The goddess smiled. "In time, Percy Jackson, if you succeed here at camp. You've done well today, which is a good start. Perhaps there's hope for you yet."
She turned to the other kids. "Romans, I present to you the son of Neptune. For months he has been slumbering but now he is awake. His fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortuna comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in battle. Do not fail me!"
Juno shimmered and disappeared. As soon as she was gone Hadley was on her feet, she stared at Percy as he shared confused looks with Frank and Hazel. Reyna stepped forward, examining Percy warily.
"So," she said coldly, "a son of Neptune, who comes with the blessing of Juno."
"Look," Percy said, "my memory's a little fuzzy. Um, it's gone, actually. Do I know you?"
Reyna hesitated. "I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion. And... no, I don't know you."
Hadley had a feeling that wasn't the truth.
"Hazel," Reyna said, "you and Frank bring him inside." She paused, staring at Percy as if she thought he might decide to attack them. With reluctance, she added, "Hadley, you come too. I want to question him at the Principia."
Hadley knew Reyna didn't really want her to come, the girls had never been close other than having a mutual friend. But the praetor was aware that after the display of power they all saw, they would need plenty of strength should the mystery boy turn out to be an enemy.
"Then we'll send him to Octavian," Reyna continued. "We must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with him."
"What do you mean," Percy asked, "'decide what to do with' me?"
Reyna's hand tightened on her dagger. Clearly, she was not as amused as Hadley about his backtalking a goddess and punching gorgons with a river. "Before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. Juno said your fate is in our hands. We have to know whether the goddess has brought us a new recruit..."
Reyna studied Percy as if she found that doubtful.
"Or," she said more hopefully, "if she's brought us an enemy to kill."
Hadley looked at Frank and Hazel and nodded in the direction they had to go as she and Reyna turned to leave. They quickly followed behind, bringing Percy with them.
Hadley glanced back at the three of them as Percy looked around in awe and confusion. There was something about him that drew her in, she was curious. She didn't miss the way he looked at her earlier.
"What do you think of him?" Hadley asked Reyna.
"We will find out." Her face could have been made of stone and have more emotion.
"Okay," Hadley chuckled. "Ominous."
Her eyes darted back to the newbie. There was something about him, maybe it was the power Hadley could sense behind his confused gaze or the way he came charging through the Tibre fighting gorgons as if he's done it for years. She wasn't sure what it was, but he was important. She wanted to know more, and she was pretty sure Reyna had information.
"Crazy that we've never seen him before and he was able to fight the gorgons by himself." Hadley watched the praetor carefully. "Not to mention being a son of Neptune. Those are very rare."
Reyna remained silent but glanced at her suspiciously.
"And Lady Juno made him sound important. I wonder what that's about."
Reyna returned her gaze to the horizon. "I know what you're doing. And I don't know anything about him."
"But earlier when Juno-"
"That's enough, Hadley," Reyna said, clearly getting annoyed.
"If he's important-"
"Hadley." She snapped, giving Hadley a look that told her not to push any further.
Hadley let out a dissatisfied sigh. "I'm going to talk to him."
Reyna said nothing, still not looking at the girl next to her. Her shoulders seemed to lose their tension slightly as Hadley slowed her pace to fall in step next to Hazel. Percy was awestruck by his surroundings. His eyes never stayed in one place for too long. That was until he started staring at a little ghost boy.
"Hi, Hadley," Frank greeted Hadley timidly. She gave him a wave and a crooked smile.
"Am I seeing things?" Percy asked. "Or are those-"
"Ghosts?" Hadley finished.
Hazel turned to him. "They're Lares. House gods."
"House gods," Percy said. "Like... smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"
Hadley snorted and covered her mouth with her hand.
"They're ancestral spirits," Frank explained. He'd removed his helmet, revealing a babyish face that didn't go with his military haircut or his big burly frame. "The Lares are kind of like mascots. Mostly they're harmless, but I've never seen them so agitated."
"They're staring at me," Percy said. "That ghost kid called me Greggus. My name isn't Greg."
"Graecus," Hadley chuckled. "It's Latin. Demigods have a natural sense for it, so the longer you're here the more you'll get it. Graecus means Greek."
"Is that bad?" Percy asked.
Frank cleared his throat. "Maybe not. You've got that type of complexion, the dark hair and all. Maybe they think you're actually Greek. Is your family from there?"
"Don't know. Like I said, my memory is gone."
"Or maybe..." Frank hesitated.
"What?" Percy asked.
"Probably nothing," Frank said. "Romans and Greeks have an old rivalry. Sometimes Romans use graecus as an insult for someone who's an outsider- an enemy."
"You don't have to worry about that. " Hadley waved off Frank's statement. "There was a short period of time the Lares called me names too. It's no biggie."
"Why were they calling you names?" Percy asked.
Hadley lifted her chin as she looked at him with a straight face. "It's no biggie."
They stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T.
A street sign labeled the road to the main gates as Via Praetoria. The other road, cutting across the middle of camp was labeled Via Principalis. Under those markers were hand-painted signs like Berkely 5 miles; New Rome 1 mile; Old Rome 7280 miles; Hades 2310 miles (pointing straight down); Reno 208 miles; and Certain Death: You are here!
The buildings were freshly whitewashed, laid out in neat grids. The barracks had shady porches, where camper lounged in hammocks or played cards and drank sodas. Each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying Roman numerals and various animals.
Along the Via Praetoria, rows of shops advertised food, armor, weapons, coffee, weapons, gladiator equipment, and toga rentals. A chariot dealership had a big advertisement out front: Caesar XLS w/antilock brakes, no denarii down!
At one corner of the crossroads stood the most impressive building- a two-story wedge of white marble columned portico like an old-fashioned bank. Roman guards stood out front. Over the doorway hung a big purple banner with the gold letters SPQR embroidered inside a laurel wreath.
"Your headquarters?" Percy asked.
Reyna faced him, her eyes still cold and hostile. "It's called the Principia."
She scanned the mob of curious campers who had followed them from the river. "Everyone back to your duties. I'll give you an update at evening muster. Remember, we have war games after dinner."
Hadley quietly pumped her fist, she couldn't wait for an excuse to fight (almost)everyone at camp. The crowd dispersed reluctantly. Some muttered comments about Percy's chances.
"He's dead," said one.
"Would be those two who found him," said another.
"Better be careful with Victoria's failure so close," muttered a third. "She has to be cursed."
"Yeah," the first one agreed. "Let him join the Fifth Cohort. Greeks, geeks, and jinxes."
Several kids laughed, Hadley took a step towards them and they all jumped back. She couldn't hold back a smile at their reaction.
"Hadley," Reyna scolded. Hadley rolled her eyes and glared at the retreating half-bloods. "Hazel. Come with us. I want your report on what happened at the gates. Hadley, you can come too."
"Me too?" Frank said. "Percy saved my life. We've got to let him-"
Reyna gave Frank such a harsh look that he stepped back.
"I'd remind you, Frank Zhang," she said, "you are on probation yourself. You've caused enough trouble this week."
Frank's ears turned red. He fiddled with his lead nametag.
"Go to the armory," Reyna told him. "Check our inventory. I'll call you if I need you."
"But-" Frank caught himself. "Yes, Reyna."
He hurried off. Reyna waved Hazel, Hadley, and Percy toward the headquarters. "Now, Percy Jackson, let's see if we can improve your memory."
The principia was even more impressive inside.
On the ceiling glittered a mosaic of Romulus and Remus under their adopted mama she-wolf. The floor was polished marble. The walls were draped in velvet. Along the back wall stood a display of banners and wooden poles studded with bronze metals- military symbols. In the center was one empty display stand.
In the back corner, a stairwell led down. It was blocked by a row of iron bars like a prison door. In the center of the room, a long wooden table was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jelly beans. Two life-sized greyhounds- one silver, one gold- flanked the table.
Reyna walked behind the table and sat in one of two high-backed chairs. The rest of them stood in a line on the other side of the table.
"So..." Percy started.
The dog statues bared their teeth and growled. Percy froze.
"Easy, guys," Reyna told the greyhounds.
They stopped growling but kept eyeing Percy as though they were imagining him in a doggie bag.
"They won't attack," Reyna said, "unless you try to steal something, or unless I tell them to. That's Argentum and Aurum."
"Silver and Gold," Percy said.
He watched as Reyna set her dagger on the table.
"We have met," he decided. "I don't remember when. Please, if you can tell me anything."
Hadley's eyes darted to Reyna, watching her expression closely.
"First things first," Reyna said. "I want to hear your story. What do you remember? How did you get here? And don't lie. My dogs don't like liars."
Argentum and Aurum snarled to emphasize the point.
Percy told his story- how he'd woken up at the ruined mansion in the woods of Sonoma. He described his time with Lupa and her pack, learning their language of gestures and expressions, learning to fight and survive.
Lupa had taught him about demigods, monsters, and gods. She'd explained that she was one of the guardian spirits of Ancient Rome. Demigods like them were responsible for carrying on Roman traditions in modern times- fighting monsters, serving the gods, protecting mortals, and upholding the memory of the empire. She'd spent weeks training him, until he was strong and tough and vicious as a wolf. When she was satisfied with his skills, she'd sent him south, telling him that if he'd survived the journey, he might find a new home and regain his memory.
Hadley thought fondly back to her time at the Wolf House, Lupa had always appreciated her desire for fighting. Although the She-wolf did mention something about her acting too rashly. Hadley hadn't listened during that part of her training. Nothing that Percy had explained was out of the ordinary- except for not having any memories.
"No memory at all?" Reyna asked. "You still remember nothing?"
"Fuzzy bits and pieces." Percy glanced at the greyhounds.
Reyna spun her dagger. "Most of what you're describing is normal for demigods. At a certain age, one way or another, we find our way to the Wolf House. We're tested and trained. If Lupa thinks we're worthy, she sends us south to join the legion. But I've never heard of someone losing his memory. How did you find Camp Jupiter?"
Percy told her about the last three days- the gorgons who wouldn't die, the old lady who turned out to be a goddess, and finally meeting Hazel and Frank at the tunnel in the hill.
Hazel took the story from there. She described Percy as brave and heroic.
Reyna studied him. "You're old for a recruit. You're what, sixteen?"
"I think so," Percy said.
"If you spent that many years on your own, without training or help, you should be dead. A son of Neptune? You'd have a powerful aura that would attract all kinds of monsters."
"Yeah," Percy said. "I've been told that I smell."
Hadley laughed but covered it with a cough and put a hand to her chest, feigning shock at her sudden coughing fit. Even Reyna almost cracked a smile.
"You must've been somewhere before the Wolf House," Reyna said.
Percy shrugged.
Reyna sighed. "Well, the dogs haven't eaten you, so I suppose you're telling the truth."
"Great," Percy said. "Next time, can I take a polygraph?"
Reyna stood. She paced in front of the banners. Her metal dogs watched her go back and forth.
"Even if I accept that you're not an enemy," she said, "you're not a typical recruit. The Queen of Olympus simply doesn't appear at camp, announcing a new demigod. The last time a major god visited us in person like that..." She shook her head. "I've only heard legends about such things. And a son of Neptune... that's not a good omen. Especially now."
"What's wrong with Neptune?" Percy asked. "And what do you mean especially now?"
Hazel shot him a warning look and Hadley shook her head.
Reyna kept pacing. "You've fought Medusa's sisters, who haven't been seen in thousands of years. You've agitated our Lares, who are calling you graecus. And you wear strange symbols- that shirt, the beads on your necklace. What do they mean?"
Percy looked down at his tattered orange T-shirt. It might have had words on it at one point, but they were too faded to read. Hadley wondered why he would choose such a bright color while on the run from monsters.
As for the necklace, the four clay beads were each decorated with a different symbol. One showed a trident. Another displayed a miniature Golden Fleece. The third was etched with the design of a maze, and the last had an image of a building with names engraved around it.
"I don't know," he said.
"And your sword?" Reyna asked.
Percy checked his pocket. He pulled out a pen and uncapped it. Hazel gasped, Hadley looked at the sword curiously and reached out as if she wanted to touch it. The greyhounds barked apprehensively.
"What is that?" Hazel asked. "I've never seen a sword like that."
"I have," Reyna said darkly. "It's very old- a Greek design. We used to have a few in the armory before..." She stopped herself. "The metal is called Celestial bronze. It's deadly to monsters, like Imperial gold, but even rarer."
"Imperial gold?" Percy asked.
Reyna unsheathed her dagger. Sure enough, the blade was gold. "The metal was consecrated in ancient times, at the Pantheon in Rome. Its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors- a way for their champions to slay monsters that threatened the empire. We used to have more weapons like this, but now... well, we scrape by. I use this dagger. Hazel has a spatha, cavalry sword. Most legionnaires use a shorter sword called a gladius, like Hadley."
Hadley twisted the golden laurel ring on her left pointer finger. When she took it off it would transform into an imperial gold sword. She resisted the urge to show off.
"But that weapon of yours is not Roman at all. It's another sign you're not a typical demigod. And your arm..."
"What about it?" Percy asked.
Reyna held up her own forearm. She showed him her tattoo: the letters SPQR, a crossed sword and torch, under that, four parallel lines.
Percy glanced at Hazel and Hadley.
"We all have them," Hazel confirmed, she and Hadley held up their arms.
"Every full member of the legion gets one." Hadley agreed.
Hazel's tattoo had the letters SPQR, but she had only one score mark, and her emblem was different: a black glyph like a cross with curved arms and a head.
Hadley had the same letters and the most score marks of the three of them- eight. Above the score marks her emblem depicted a laurel wreath.
Percy looked down at his own arms. A few scrapes, some mud, and a fleck of something that looked like food, but no tattoos.
"So you've never been a member of the legion," Reyna said. "These marks can't be removed. I thought perhaps..." She shook her head, as if dismissing the idea.
Hazel leaned forward. "If he's survived as a loner all this time, maybe he's seen Jason."
Hadley straightened. "Have you? A guy in a purple shirt like mine, with similar marks on his arm-"
"Guys." Reyna's voice tightened. "Percy's got enough to worry about."
Percy touched the point of his sword and it shrank back into a pen. "I haven't seen anyone like you guys before. Who's Jason?"
Reyna gave Hazel and Hadley an irritated look. "He is... he was my colleague." She waved her hand at the second empty chair. "The legion normally has two elected praetors. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, was our other praetor until he disappeared last October."
"You mean he's been gone eight months," Percy asked, "and you haven't replaced him?"
Reyna grimaced. "Elections happen in two ways. Either the legion raises someone on a shield after a major success on the battlefield- and we haven't had any major battles- or we hold a ballot on the evening of June 24, at the Feast of Fortuna. That's in five days."
Percy frowned. "You have a feast for tuna?"
"Fortuna," Hazel corrected. "She's the goddess of luck. Whatever happens on her feast day can affect the entire rest of the year. She can grant the camp good luck... or really bad luck."
"The Feast of Fortune... The gorgons mentioned that. So did Juno. They said the camp was going to be attacked on that day, something about a big bad goddess names Gaea, and an army, and Death being unleashed. You're telling me that day is this week?"
Reyna's fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger. "You will say nothing about that outside this room," she ordered. "I will not have you spreading more panic in the camp."
"So it's true," Percy said. "Do you know what's going to happen? Can we stop it?"
"We've talked enough for now," Reyna said. "Hazel, Hadley, take him to Temple Hill. Find Octavian. On the way, you can answer Percy's questions. Tell him about the legion."
Hadley grimaced slightly while Hazel answered, "Yes, Reyna."
"And Hadley, no starting any fights."
"Verbal or physical?" Reyna gave her a stern look. "Fine."
"Good luck with the augury, Percy Jackson," Reyna said. "If Octavian lets you live, perhaps we can compare notes... about your past."