Changing the Future

Chapter 59

When I returned to Camp Half-Blood a few hours later, I found Leah standing right outside of Hera's cabin with a torch in her hand, her eye twitching irritably as Rachel led Annabeth back to cabin six.

"I should drop this torch and let this place burn," Leah seethed, having quickly become protective over Annabeth since the last time they met, which was in August. I didn't bother asking how she'd gotten through the barrier, more concerned about the fact that some god would still curse her for burning down cabin two.

"Easy girl," I said, lowering Leah's hand, placing my own palm against the base of the fire and absorbing it, extinguishing the torch. "I know you're upset, but we can't go setting cabins on fire when we're upset."

"The Hunters of Artemis did it a few years back!" a passing daughter of Hebe said, which only made Leah smile smugly as I grabbed her by the wrist, leading her to one of the picnic tables by the cabins.

"Point is," I continued, "even the Hunters were wrong to burn down the cabins. It took them years to rebuild...Anyways, I know you're upset about Hera's actions."

"Damn right I am," Leah said, slamming her hands against the table so aggressively that the wood creaked. "She has absolutely no right, goddess or not, to kidnap the boy that kept her posh ass on her throne and make Annabeth, who also played a major role in keeping her alive, suffer like this! This isn't fair!"

I winced. "You might want to be careful about how you speak about the Queen of Olympus," I warned, noticing the growing storm clouds overhead. "If Hera doesn't strike you down herself, I guarantee Zeus will. That being said, I agree with you. I think there was a better way to go about what Hera has planned than kidnapping two boys."

"Two? There's another boy?" Leah looked like she was about to march up to Olympus and slap Hera across the face herself. Not that I would've blamed her. Before I came to this Earth, I thought the exact same things, even coming up with a page full of insults I could call Hera for being so reckless and insensitive about her actions.

I gave Leah the Reader's Digest version of everything that had happened over the past five days, starting with Percy's disappearance. By the time I finished, Leah was a brighter shade of red than the Ares cabin, her jaw clenched, her hands tight fists by her sides.

"I can't believe it!" Leah fumed. "My God, this is...ugh, how is Percy's mom taking this, by the way? I can't imagine the news went over well with her."

"It was heartbreaking to send that Iris-message," I admitted, remembering the way Sally had collapsed to her knees, her voice breaking as she begged for me to say that I was joking, that Percy was just wandering somewhere inside the camp's borders. I remember saying those dreadful words again, hearing her sob something awful, my own heart wrenching in my chest as I heard the cries of a distraught mother over her only child.

"Well, if I can't help by knocking some sense into Hera, what can I do? I will literally send the boys to scour the entire U.S. if that's what it takes."

I chewed on my bottom lip. "I'm sure Annabeth would appreciate the enthusiasm. I'd ask her first, though, because while I'd love for you guys to help, I don't want to put you five into any unnecessary danger."

Leah rolled her eyes at me, placing a hand on her hip. "Seriously, you act like you didn't spend the past few months training us in this kind of thing. And, by the way, the five of us continued with different types of self-defense classes, so we all practice with each other, keeping us in shape."

My eyes traveled to the silver pendant glimmering at the base of her throat – a simple arrow hanging from a black leather cord. Her fingers moved upward, tracing the head of the arrow with the tip of her index finger.