The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

eight

Ariana loved the campfire.

The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups depending on their cabins.

Ariana looked around; Jason in the front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner emblazoned with a hammer.

Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen Apollo campers with guitars and strange, old-fashioned harps- lyres.

Every night it was the Apollo cabin who lead the song along since their dad was the god of music or whatever.

Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold.

Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause and Chiron trotted up.

He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first-"

"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled.
Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a Ares banner with the emblem of a boar's head.

"Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to Leo's group. Leo winked at Piper and shot her with a finger gun.

Ariana watched in amusement though it saddened her slightly as it reminded her of Percy and how he was not there.

Next to him Nyssastood uncomfortably.

She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.

"Really hard," the girl said.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically.

"Shut the fuck up. It's not Nyssa's fault!" Ariana shouted.

Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones- bang, bang, bang and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" someone asked.

The fire dimmed even further.

Chiron gestured to Ariana. She took a deep breath and stood.

"Me and Annabeth didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like we thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis -everyone's out looking."

"We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest." Annabeth continued.

"I's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem.

They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.