𝗫 𝗜 𝗩

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☠︎︎ 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲 ☠︎︎

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 like a high school lecture hall. A semicircle of tiered seats faced a dais with a podium and two chairs. The chairs were empty, but one had a small velvet package on the seat.

Clarisse, Hazel, and Frank sat on the left side of the semicircle. The ten senators and Nico di Angelo occupied the rest of the front row. The upper rows were filled with several dozen ghosts and a few older veterans from the city, all in formal togas. Octavian stood in front with a knife and a Beanie Baby lion, just in case anyone needed to consult the god of cute collectibles.

Jason walked to the podium and raised his hand for attention. "Right, this is an emergency meeting," he said. "We won't stand on formalities."

"I love formalities!" a ghost complained.

Jason shot him a cross look. "First of all," she said, "we're not here to vote on the quest itself. The quest has been issued by Mars Ultor, patron of Rome. We will obey his wishes. Nor are we here to debate the choice of Frank Zhang's companions."

"All three from the Fifth Cohort?" called out John from the Third. "That's not fair."

"And not smart," said the boy next to him. "We know the Fifth will mess up. They should take somebody good."

Clarisse stood up so fast her chair nearly toppled over. "We were plenty good last night when we breached the wall right under your nose!"

"Sit down." Jason sighed. "Ignore him. As quest leader, Frank has the right to choose his companions. He has chosen Clarisse La Rue and Hazel Levesque."

A ghost from the second row yelled, "Absurdus! Frank Zhang isn't even a full member of the legion! He's on probatio. A quest must be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. This is completely—"

"Cato," Jason snapped. "We must obey the wishes of Mars Ultor. That means certain ... adjustments."

Jason clapped his hands, and Octavian came forward. He set down his knife and Beanie Baby and took the velvet package from the chair.

"Frank Zhang," he said, "come forward."

Frank glanced nervously at Clarisse. Then he got to his feet and approached the augur.

"It is my...pleasure," Octavian said, forcing out the last word, "to bestow upon you the Mural Crown for being first over the walls in siege warfare." Octavian handed him a bronze badge shaped like a laurelwreath. "Also, by order of Praetor Jason, to promote you to the rank of centurion."

He handed Frank another badge, a bronze crescent, and the senate exploded in protest.

"He's still a probie!" one yelled.

"Impossible!" said another.

"Water cannon up my nose!" yelled a third.

"Silence!" Octavian's voice sounded a lot more commanding than it had the previous night on the battlefield. "Our praetor recognizes that no one below the rank of centurion may lead a quest. For good or ill, Frank must lead this quest—so our praetor has decreed that Frank Zhang must be made centurion."

Clarisse understood what an effective speaker Octavian was. He sounded reasonable and supportive, but his expression was pained. He carefully crafted his words to put all the responsibility on Jason. This was his idea, he seemed to say. If it went wrong, Jason was to blame. If only Octavian had been the one in charge, things would have been done more sensibly. But alas, he had no choice but to support Jason, because Octavian was a loyal Roman soldier.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘀 ➪ A Rᴇᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ᴏғ HOOWhere stories live. Discover now