The Mark of Janus (Book 2)

Chapter 6

I laid on my bunk, crying for a long time. Slowly, my crying made me even more exhausted. Any energy I had put towards staying awake was now gone. I quickly drifted off to sleep.

I immediately dreamed, as I knew I would.

I was standing at a table with Janus, and another god. He had long black robes that shifted with the faces of the damned if you looked closely enough. He had a well trimmed beard, and a staff.

"Pluto." I bowed. In other circumstances I would have called him Hades, but seeing as Janus was strictly a Roman god, I stuck with the Roman names.

"Primrose." He nodded. "Please sit." A chair appeared and I warily took a seat.

"Why did you call for me?" I asked.

Both of Janus' heads were frowning. Not a good sign. "You're going to lead someone to the doors."

"I don't know where they are." I muttered.

Janus gently put a hand to my cheek, examining my eyes again. "You will, my dear. You have my mark."

Pluto nodded stiffly. "That is only part of the plan." He rested a hand on his staff. "Janus has been striking a deal with me."

I nodded, silently pleading him to keep talking.

"In order for you to be a guide, but also finish your quest, you will need my assistance."

"What does that mean?" I almost whispered.

Janus looked even more upset. "Primrose, you're going to die."

I was ripped away from the dream before I could ask any questions.

I sat up, my hand on my chest, breathing heavily. I didn't know how to react. I couldn't tell anyone. But I didn't want to keep this secret to myself. It was the worst possible timing. I was just starting to get my life back together. I had my brother back, I had great friends, and I had an amazing, caring boyfriend. It was all going to be taken away from me.

I pulled on a sweatshirt and padded down to the mess hall. For now, I was gonna have to act normally.

I rubbed my eyes and grabbed a Dr. Pepper from the cooler, cracking it open. I thumped down on a chair, taking a sip of my drink.

Leo chuckled. "Morning, Dr. Pepper." He sat down across from me.

I glared at him. "Shut it, Valdez." I hoped the nickname didn't stick.

He shrugged. As the rest of the Eight filed in he spoke. "So what now?"

Piper frowned, nodding. "Frank said he saw some eagles following us. We have to distance ourselves from the Romans." The mood was dampered. "I suppose we could try to talk to them again. I didn't use my charmspeak as well as I could have." She reasoned.

"It wasn't your fault, Pipes. Or Leo's." Jason nodded. "Whatever happened was Gaea's doing. She was trying to drive the two camps apart."

Piper shrugged. "But if we could explain that--"

"We don't have any proof. The best thing is for us to get as far away as we can from the Romans for now."

"Doesn't help that Octavian hates us." I muttered.

Hazel nodded. "Reyna might listen, but Octavian definitely wouldn't. The Romans want to restore their dignity. They'll shoot first, ask questions later."

I stared at her for a second. She was a daughter of Pluto. I wondered if she could sense that I was going to die. I hoped not. She didn't show any reaction when she looked at me, but you could never know.

Piper nodded. "You're right. We have to hurry. And not only because of the Romans."

"Nemesis said we only have 6 days until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed." Hazel frowned.

I felt a surge of fear rise up and I tried to push it down. I was going to die in 6 days. Maybe less. Pluto and Janus didn't tell me that, but I had a feeling that was what they were planning. It wasn't a lot of time to get my affairs in order.

"I saw two giants, dressed alike. Maybe twins." I looked up at Piper. I was really only half listening.

"Twins like in Ella's prophecy. We have to try and figure those lines of the prophecy out." Annabeth nodded.

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone. The mark of Athena burns through Rome." Percy nodded. "Annabeth, that has to be you. Juno mentioned something about a hard task for you in Rome. She said she thought you couldn't do it. But she's wrong."

They were so sweet together. It was disgusting. Just kidding. It was cute.

"Reyna was about to tell me something before the shots were fired. It was something about why the Greeks and Romans couldn't get along."

Leo nodded. "Nemesis said something about a score that needed to be settled."

"The one thing that might bring the two sides of the gods together. A wrong rightfully avenged." Hazel piped up.

Percy frowned. "I was only Praetor for about two hours. Jason, you ever heard about a legend like that?"

Jason frowned. "I'm not sure."

"How can you not be sure?" Percy sounded slightly annoyed, even though he tried to keep his voice neutral.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "He's still getting memories back."

"What about the other lines?" Hazel fiddled with a ruby that lined the edge of her plate. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath. Who holds the key to endless death."

Frank continued. "Giants' bane stands gold and pale. Won through pain of woven jail."

"Giants' bane is good. Anything that will help us defeat them is good. And maybe it will help get the gods' schizophrenic act together." Leo stated.

"We need gods to defeat the giants."

Jason turned to Frank and Hazel. "I thought you two defeated that giant without any god's help."

"Alcyoneus was a special case. He was only immortal in Alaska, where he respawned. We just pulled him over the border to Canada. I wish it was always that easy. We'll need the gods' help."

The room was silent for a couple of moments. I knew that a couple of the gods would be willing to help. Juno, Pluto, Janus. But a lot of the other gods hated both me and Percy combined. Ares, Zeus. Many others.

Leo stammered. "So, we'll finish repairs in the morning?"

Annabeth nodded. "We'll have to land by a city, in case we need supplies. But somewhere out of the way, so the Romans won't find us. Any ideas?"

Piper smiled uncomfortably. "How does Kansas sound?"