ENTRAPPED ₂

25

MADELEINE WASN'T SCARED OF GHOSTS, WHICH WAS LUCKY. Half the people in camp were dead.

Shimmering purple warriors stood outside the armory, polishing ethereal swords. Others hung out in front of the barracks. A ghostly boy chased a ghostly dog down the street. At the stables, a glowing red figure with the head of a wolf guarded a herd of unicorns.

None of the campers paid the ghosts much attention, but as Madeleine's entourage walked by, with Reyna in the lead, Frank and Hazel on either side, and Percy's arm brushing hers, all the spirits stopped what they were doing and stared at them. A few looked angry. The little boy ghost shrieked "Graecus!" and turned invisible.

Madeleine felt deeply uneasy. After two weeks of it just being her and Percy, all of this attention didn't feel right. A good thief was never seen.

"Am I seeing things?" Percy asked. "Or are those―"

"Ghosts?" Hazel turned. She had startling eyes the color of gold, and for a moment, Madeleine knew her. "They're Lares. House gods."

"House gods," Percy said. "Like... smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"

"They're ancestral spirits," Frank explained. He'd removed his helmet, revealing a babyish face that didn't go with his military haircut or his big burly frame. "The Lares are kind of like mascots. Mostly they're harmless, but I've never seen them so agitated."

"They're staring at us," Percy said. "That ghost kid called us Greggus. What's that mean?"

"Graecus," Madeleine corrected quietly. "It's Latin for Greek."

Hazel gave her an odd look, but she nodded. "Once you've been here awhile, you'll start understanding Latin, Percy. Demigods have a natural sense for it."

"So... is Greek bad, then?" Percy asked. His knuckles brushed Madeleine's. "That kid seemed pretty upset."

Frank cleared his throat. "Maybe not bad. You two have got that type of complexion, the dark hair and all. Maybe they think you're actually Greek. Is your family from there?"

Percy and Madeleine looked at each other. Percy shrugged a little. "We don't know. Like we said, our memories are gone."

Family. Madeleine thought she could choke on the word. All she knew was herself, the clothes on her back, and Percy Jackson. He was as close to family as she got, and that wasn't reassuring, seeing as he didn't even know himself.

"Or maybe..." Frank hesitated.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Probably nothing," Frank said. "Romans and Greeks have an old rivalry. Sometimes Romans use graecus as an insult for someone who's an outsider―an enemy. I wouldn't worry about it."

He sounded pretty worried. Madeleine twisted her rings around her fingers, body tensed for a fight. Percy rested a hand on the small of her back. It was a warning.

They stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T.

A street sign labeled the road to the main gates as VIA PRAETORIA. The other road, cutting across the middle of camp, was labeled VIA PRINCIPALIS. Under those markers were hand-painted signs like BERKELEY 5 MILES; NEW ROME 1 MILE; OLD ROME 7280 MILES; HADES 2310 MILES (with an arrow pointing straight own); RENO 208 MILES, and CERTAIN DEATH: YOU ARE HERE!

The buildings were freshly whitewashed, laid out in neat grids. The barracks had shady porches, where campers lounged in hammocks or played cards and drank sodas. Each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying Roman numerals and various animals―eagle, bear, wolf, horse, and hamster.