The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

ten

SNEAKING OUT

"How's the wound?" Hazel asked.

Ariana was also interested in the wound. She didn't like to know Apollo was injured and they could do minimal to help him.

They walked hand in hand, next to Hazel, out the main gates, heading for the Field of Mars. Just ahead of them, Meg cartwheeled down the road, though how she did this without regurgitating the four hot dogs she'd eaten, Apollo had no idea.

"Oh, you know," Apollo said, in a terrible attempt to sound upbeat, "all things considered, I'm okay."

"I should have realized earlier," Ariana said, sounding very panicked. "Your death aura is getting stronger by the hour-"

"Can we not talk about my death aura?"

"I wish Nico were here. He might know how to fix you." Hazel said gloomily.

Ariana nodded, with a frown. Nico doesn't even know that she was alive. "That's his speciality."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Apollo said, "but... What is Lavinia doing?"

About a hundred yards away, Lavinia and Don the faun stood on a bridge across the Little Tiber-which was very much not on the way to the Field of Mars-having what looked like a serious argument.

Perhaps Apollo shouldn't have brought this to Hazel's attention. Then again, if Lavinia wanted to go unnoticed, she should have chosen a different hair color-like camouflage, for instance-and not waved her arms around so much.

"I don't know." Hazel's expression reminded Ariana of a tired mother who had found her toddler trying to climb into the monkey exhibit for the dozenth time. "Lavinia!"

Lavinia looked over. She patted the air as if to say, Just give me a minute, then went back to arguing with Don.

"Am I too young to get ulcers?" Hazel wondered aloud.

The comment made both Apollo and Ariana laugh.

"Trust me, I feel like that when I'm at Camp HalfBlood." Ariana mused. "The younger Campers barely have a brain cell between them. Gods know how Chiron has done it for this long."

As they got closer to the Field of Mars, Ariana saw legionnaires breaking into cohorts, moving to different activities spread across the wasteland.

One group was digging defensive trenches. Another had gathered on the shore of an artificial lake that hadn't been there yesterday, waiting to board two makeshift boats that looked nothing like Caligula's yachts. A third group sledded down a dirt hill on their shields.

Hazel sighed. "That would be my group of delinquents. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to teach them how to slay ghouls."

She jogged away, leaving Apollo and Ariana alone with his cartwheeling sidekick.

"So where do we go?" Apollo asked Meg. "Frank said we had, er, special jobs?"

"Yep." Meg pointed to the far end of the field, where the Fifth Cohort was waiting at a target range. "You're teaching archery."

Apollo stared at her. "I'm doing what now?"

"Frank taught the morning class, since you slept forever. Now it's your turn." Ariana told him, with a small smile.

"But-I can't teach as Lester, especially in my condition! Besides, Romans never rely on archery in combat. They think projectile weapons are beneath them!"

"Gotta think in new ways if you want to beat the emperors," Meg said. "Like me. I'm weaponizing the unicorns."

"You're-Wait, what?"