The Trials of Aphrodite: Righting the Wrongs

Everybody Wants a Dove Tattoo

The Trials of Aphrodite

♦ Chapter Five ♦

I thought about my impending doom while drinking a cup of water with lemon.

When Mike had said camp food, I didn't know what to think. I'd expected hamburgers, hot dogs, and all of that junk. (Never underestimate hot dogs. They're out to get me.)

Invisible wind spirits-aurae-waited on everyone and seemed to know exactly what they wanted. Plates and cups flew around the room, creating a yummy tornado of food. I tried to stand up, but a hot dog smacked me in the face.

Now, what did I tell you?

Mike burst out laughing. I glared at him. Ah, it truly hurts when two of your children disrespect you. It's not easy being a mother, you know. Especially when you have two dozen kids. I sat down and took careful sips of my water.

Laughter echoed through the room, and friendly chatter refused to leave me to my thoughts. As soon as I drained my glass, another aurai whisked it away. I sighed and propped up my cheek with my arm.

"Why so glum?" my son asked, digging into a chicken leg. Sadly, though he was handsome, he had the manners of a pig. I wrinkled my nose.

"Oh, I'm fantastic. Confused, but fantastic."

He licked his lips and sucked the grease from his fingers, and I badly wanted to provide for him a napkin. "You'll get used to it, Ren. It is a little confusing. Hey, you should meet the gang."

He turned to the others at the table and pointed to the girl who'd accepted me into the cohort earlier. "That's Olivia Vyas."

The girl punched him in the arm. "It's Via. If you call me Olivia again, you might find your insides on the outside."

Via had raven-black hair, narrowed brown eyes, tan skin, and thin pink lips. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and it fell straight down her back. She had even straighter bangs, and her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"She's a daughter of Mercury," he continued as if nothing happened, "and one of the First Cohort's centurions. Oh, and she'll bite your head off if you annoy her."

She rolled her eyes and shook my hand. "If you ever find yourself wanting to murder Kahale," she said, "come talk to me. We'll discuss how best to kill him."

I grinned. "That sounds great."

What is wrong with me? My friends always told me that if someone wants to remove the internal organs of another person, I should say heck, no!

Or was it heck, yes?

Oh, forget it.

Anyway, I was introduced to the rest of the cohort: Kayla Thompson, daughter of Vulcan, Cynthia Adams, daughter of Pompona, John Sailor, son of Mars, and several other teenagers I've forgotten the names of.

"So, how do you become a full member of the legion?" I asked.

"Well," Via said, swallowing a portion of her cheeseburger, "You have to complete one year of service, or perform an act of valor. You get a tattoo with one stripe. The stripes signify the years you've been at camp. Seniority is really respected here. So, basically, if you get a stripe on your arm, you become a legionnaire. You're on probatio right now, which is the lowest rank."

I cringed. "A tattoo? Can't you just draw a stripe with a Sharpie?"

The First Cohort erupted into laughter.

Cynthia snorted. "Romans love tradition. And do you know how many times you'd have to redraw that stripe? So we burn a tattoo into your arm. It's more permanent than a permanent marker."

Mike grinned and flashed me his tattoo. Two doves over the words S.P.Q.R. were burned into his hairy forearm. The ten stripes represented ten years of service.

I paled. "Do I have to get the doves too?"

He laughed. "Yep. Nothing like white birds burned into your skin."

More conch horns sounded from the end of the hall. If I heard them everyday I would drive myself crazy.

"Time for war games," John said. "This is gonna be fun!"

Everyone stood up and rushed to grab their weapons and armor from the wall.

"Right," I said, my eyes wide. "Fun."

I just realized that Ren Amore's entire name means 'love.' I intended for her to have that last name, but I had no idea that Ren meant 'love.' I guess I'm just awesome like that.

Trivia Question: Which Amazon flirted with Percy in The Son of Neptune?