𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

33

"That's right," Hadrian said encouragingly. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are," Percy said, "and how to close them."

Hazel took a deep breath. "Yes. Good."

"Uh..." Leo shifted in his chair. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we're walking into a trap?"

Hazel looked at Leo like he'd made a rude gesture. "We have no choice!"

"Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico... he knew about both camps, right?"

"Well, yes," Hazel said.

"He's been going back and forth," Leo said, "and he didn't tell either side."

Hadrian moved his chair back slightly and leaned on the backrest, his hair was brown, but lighter than usual. "The gods work in mysterious ways, Leo. Maybe they told him not to introduce the camps until we were ready"

"But Leo's raising a fair point" Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."

Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He glared at Leo. "Nobody had better be saying that."

Leo blinked. "Look, guys. All I mean is—"

"Hazel," Jason said. "I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as... well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful."

Hadrian almost laughed at how ironic the words from Jason's mouth were. Here he was, a traitor, who was planning to betray them for the person he loved the most. And Jason was worried about some son of Hades.

Hazel's arms shook. A silver platter zoomed toward her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. "You... the great Jason Grace... the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now you..." Hazel stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

"Hazel!" Leo called after her. "Ah, jeez. I should—"

"You've done enough," Frank growled. He got up to follow her, but Annabeth gestured for him to wait.

"Give her time," Annabeth advised. Then she frowned at Leo and Jason. "You guys, that was pretty cold."

Jason looked shocked. "Cold? I'm just being cautious!"

"Her brother is dying," Hadrian said taking a bite of his croissant.

"I'll go talk to her," Frank insisted.

"No," Annabeth said. "Let her cool down first. Trust me on this. I'll go check on her in a few minutes."

"But..." Frank huffed like an irritated bear.

"Girl stuff, man" Hadrian looked at him, "Trust her"

"Fine. I'll wait."

From up above came a whirring sound like a large drill.

"That's Festus," Leo said. "I've got him on autopilot, but that must be the overheating signal. I'm gonna check on the engine room. Assuming we reach Atlanta by nightfall, where should we land? Cause I don't want to wake you guys up at night"

Everyone turned to Percy.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "You're Captain Salt Water. Any ideas from the expert?"