Eye of Hecate

Jason

The council is nothing like I imagined. For one thing, it's in the Big House rec room, around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs is serving nachos and sodas. Somebody brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, a counselor tosses him a Snausage.

I look around the room and try to remember everyone's name. Thankfully, Ozzy, Leo and Piper are sitting next to me. It's Leo and Piper's first meeting as senior counselors, and Ozzy. got invited as a guest of honor. Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, has her boots on the table, but nobody seems to care. Clovis from Hypnos cabin is snoring in the corner while Butch from Iris cabin is seeing how many pencils he can fit in Clovis's nostrils. Travis Stoll from Hermes is holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it'll burn, and Will Solace from Apollo is absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. The counselor from Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen something-or-other, is playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really has magically disconnected Miranda's nose, much to Ozzy's delight, and Miranda is trying to get it back. 

I hoped Thalia would show. She promised, after all—but she's nowhere to be seen. Chiron told me not to worry about it. Thalia often gets sidetracked fighting monsters or running quests for Artemis, and she'll probably arrive soon. But still, I worry.

Rachel Dare, the oracle, sits next to Chiron at the head of the table. She's wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress, which seems a bit odd, but she smiles at me.

Annabeth doesn't look so relaxed. She wears armor over her camp clothes, with her knife at her side and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. As soon as I walked in, she fixed me with an expectant look, as if she's trying to extract information out of me by sheer willpower.

"Let's come to order," Chiron says. "Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you'd kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. First of all, I'd like to formally introduce our newest camper, Osiria Kane, daughter of Hecate." 

Ozzy blushes faintly and waves. The counselors offer greetings, but it's clear they're waiting for the real purpose of the meeting.

"Now, as you can see, Jason, Piper, and Leo have returned successfully...more or less. Some of you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in."

Everyone looks at me. I clear my throat and begin the story. Ozzy, Piper and Leo chime in from time to time, filling in the details I forget. I leave out certain bits about Ozzy's Egyptian past, since she told me about her talk with Chiron, but I make sure to still tell how impressive she was when she fought the giants, which she seems to appreciate.

It only takes a few minutes, but it seems like longer with everyone watching me. The silence is heavy, and for so many ADHD demigods to sit still listening for that long, I know the story must sound pretty wild. I end with Hera's visit right before the meeting.

"So Hera was here," Annabeth says. "Talking to you."

I nod. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her—"

"That's smart," Annabeth says.

"—but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from."

"Romans." Clarisse tosses Seymour a Snausage. "You expect us to believe there's another camp with demigods, but they follow the Roman forms of the gods. And we've never even heard of them."

Piper sits forward. "The gods have kept the two groups apart, because every time they see each other, they try to kill each other."

"I can respect that," Clarisse says. "Still, why haven't we ever run across each other on quests?"

"Oh, yes," Chiron says sadly. "You have, many times. It's always a tragedy, and always the gods do their best to wipe clean the memories of those involved. The rivalry goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy and burned it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded the race that would someday become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly different personalities."

"More warlike," I say. "More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline."

"Yuck," Travis puts in.

Several of the others look equally uncomfortable, though Clarisse shrugs like it sounds okay to her.

Annabeth twirls her knife on the table. "And the Romans hated the Greeks. They took revenge when they conquered the Greek isles, and made them part of the Roman Empire."

"Not exactly hated them," I say. "The Romans admired Greek culture, and were a little jealous. In return, the Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but they respected their military power. So during Roman times, demigods started to divide—either Greek or Roman."

"And it's been that way ever since," Annabeth guesses. "But this is crazy. Chiron, where were the Romans during the Titan War? Didn't they want to help?"

Chiron tugs at his beard. "They did help, Annabeth. While you and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans' base in California?"

"Hold on," Travis says. "You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos."

"No," I say. I remember flashes of the battle—a giant in starry armor and a helm mounted with ram's horns. I remember my army of demigods scaling Mount Tam, fighting through hordes of snake monsters. "It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself."

Annabeth's eyes are as stormy as a ventus. I can almost see her thoughts moving, putting the pieces together. "The Bay Area. We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? The Roman camp—it's got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans' territory. Where is it?"

Chiron shifts in his wheelchair. "I cannot say. Honestly, even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason's memory, too, has been burned away."

"The camp's heavily veiled with magic," I say. "And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it."

Rachel Dare laces her fingers. Of all the people in the room, only she doesn't seem nervous about the conversation. "But you'll try, won't you? You'll build Leo's boat, the Argo II. And before you make for Greece, you'll sail for the Roman camp. You'll need their help to confront the giants."

"Bad plan," Clarisse warns. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."

"You're probably right," I agree. "But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don't have to be enemies. A peace offering."

"Hmm," Rachel says. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Eight heroes of Olympus—some Greek, some Roman."

Ozzy flinches, but she keeps her mouth shut. I can tell she's struggling with her secret. I know she's proud to be part of her House of Life, and of how deep all her Egyptian magic goes. It must be driving her crazy not to be able to give them some credit.

Annabeth nods. "Your Great Prophecy—what's the last line?"

"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth says. "She's letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us. Medea, Midas—there'll be more, I'm sure. Maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, and find the doors, and close them."

"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse points out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."

There's silence as the campers let that happy thought sink in.

"I'm going," Annabeth says. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."

"I was hoping you'd offer," I say. "You of all people—we'll need you."

"Wait." Leo frowns. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?"

Annabeth and I study one another, and I know she's put it together. She sees the dangerous truth.

"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," I say. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."

"Yeah?" Leo says. "So?"

"An exchange goes two ways," I say. "When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp—they're not so friendly. You prove your worth quickly, or you don't survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he's going to be in serious trouble."

"Him?" Ozzy says. "Who are you talking about?"

"My boyfriend," Annabeth says grimly. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood—"

"Exactly," I agree. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."