THE HEALER| Heroes of Olympus

thirteen

After our bout with the pirates, we decided to fly the rest of the way to Rome. Jason insisted he was well enough to take sentry duty, along with Coach Hedge, who was still so charged with adrenaline that every time the ship hit turbulence, he swung his bat and yelled, "Die!"

We had a couple hours before daybreak and Jasper insisted I go back to sleep. I should've known better.

I dreamed I was standing on the front porch of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood. The sleeping face of Gaea appeared on the side of Half-Blood Hill—her massive features formed from the shadows on the grassy slopes.

Her lips didn't move, but her voice echoed across the valley.

"So this is your home," Gaea murmured. "Take a last look, Eliana Corbyn. You should have returned here. At least then you could have died with your comrades when the Romans invade. Now your blood will be spilled far from home, on the ancient stones, and I will rise."

The ground shook. At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree burst into flames. Disruption rolled across the valley—grass turning to sand, forest crumbling to dust. The river and the canoe lake dried up. The cabins and the Big House burned to ashes. When the tremor stopped, Camp Half-Blood looked like a wasteland after an atomic blast.The only thing left was the porch where I stood.

Next to me, the dust swirled and solidified into the figure of a woman. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleepwalking. Her robes were forest green, dappled with gold and white like sunlight shifting through branches. Her hair was as black as tilled soil. Her face was beautiful, but even with a dreamy smile on her lips she seemed cold and distant. I got the feeling she could watch demigods die or cities burn, and that smile wouldn't waver.

"When I reclaim the earth," Gaea said, "I will leave this spot barren forever, to remind me of your kind and how utterly powerless they were to stop me. It doesn't matter when you fall, my sweet little pawn—to Phorcys or Chrysaor or my dear twins. You will fall, and I will be there to devour you. Your only choice now...will you fall alone? Come to me willingly; bring the boy. Perhaps I will spare this place you love. Otherwise..."

Gaea opened her eyes. They swirled in green and black, as deep as the crust of the earth. Gaea saw everything.

Her patience was infinite. She was slow to wake, but once she arose, her power was unstoppable. My skin tingled. My hands went numb. I looked down and realized I was crumbling to dust, like all the monsters I'd ever defeated.

"Enjoy Tartarus, my little pawn," Gaea purred. But she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at different figure. It reminded me of someone...Percy?

A metallic CLANG-CLANG-CLANG jolted me out of my dream. My eyes shot open. I realized I just heard the landing gear being lowered.There was a knock on his door, and Jasper poked his head in. The bruises on his face had faded. His brown eyes glittered with excitement.

"We're descending over Rome. You really should see this." he said.

I groaned and rubbed my face. He immediately looked concerned.

"You had a vision didn't you?"

I nodded. There was no use in hiding them anymore. I didn't even wait for him to ask, I just began to recount what I had seen to him.

He agreed it wasn't good but there was nothing I could do in my cabin. So I followed him up to the deck.

The sky was brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. The sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below them shone and sparkled like the entire city of Rome had just come out of the car wash.