Earthwoman, Percy Jackson

3. O Fortuna!

THE FORUM HAS erupted into chaos.

Angry Romans burst from every corner, throwing anything they can get their hands on. Lila is suddenly grateful for Terminus, banning weapons from the city, for if they were allowed they would've been dead a thousand times. Instead, she's hit with an onslaught of rocks, plates and debris. One shard of ceramic hits her jaw, another her shoulder, and her orange t-shirt. Percy's toga is in pieces, barely hanging from his body, but he's not been hit yet. He leads her through the crowd into the middle of a fountain, where Frank and Hazel are standing. 

"You're firing on us!" Frank yells at Lila angrily. He's not particularly intimidating, but he survived the quest to Alaska so Lila assumes he's scarier than he looks. "What's going on?" 

"I don't know!" Lila protests, drenched in fountain water. Percy's doing a good job of stopping the other demigods and avoiding their missiles, but Lila looks like a drowned rat. She's clearly got some god after her. Maybe the god of fountains hates her for something. "This wasn't the plan!" 

Hazel and Frank look at each other, and then nod, accepting her words. It's remarkably easy to gain their trust - not because they are trusting, but because she has Percy supporting her. Plus, it can't hurt that Hazel and Lila are siblings, in some strange way. 

Lila doesn't really want to hurt anybody - these are the people she's trying to save, after all, so she ducks behind the fountain. It's mostly useless; they're surrounded by all sides. She can't blame the Romans - the Argo II is still launching volleys of flaming catapults toward the forum. 

"Annabeth!" she hears Percy yell. "What - " 

"I don't know!"

"I'll tell you what!" an annoying, screechy voice answers. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

Lila's heart drops to her feet. Leo wouldn't, surely. She knows him well - they'd spent time together in Percy's absence, with Lila often helping out Leo with his designs and building of the ship. She couldn't do maths or design machines, but she could follow instructions. It tended to get lonely, with Annabeth always busy, Nico missing, Clarisse living her life in the mortal world. 

"He wouldn't!" Lila whispers to Percy. "Leo would never."

Annabeth must have echoed the sentiment, for Octavian shrieks again. "I saw it with my own eyes!" Another building explodes. "You see? Romans, kill the invaders!"

Lila lets a few vines slip out from beneath the paved stones, winding around Octavian's ankle and tripping him up so he falls straight onto his face. Frank and Hazel both grin. 

Annabeth steps into the fountain. "We have to leave. Now." 

Percy nods, squeezing Lila's hand quickly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel doesn't hesitate, though she does look absolutely petrified. Lila supposes that's more courageous, to fight past and battle your fear than to be free of it at all. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time." 

Lila frowns. "What?"

"How?" Annabeth echoes. 

Hazel answers with a high-pitched whistle that sends Lila's ears ringing. In reply, a blur appears beside the fountain, whinnying. Hazel immediately climbs onto the horse's back without so much as a whimper of hesitation. 

Lila is incredibly confused. "You have a magic horse?"

"I'll explain later," Percy mutters. 

Hazel unsheathes her golden sword, glowing the same shade as Jason's did. "Send me an Iris message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous. Arion, ride!"