reflection ● jason grace

Janus sure is two-faced

"Janus!" Daria called from the same cave they had been in only a few hours earlier. "We have the die."

"Good," the god hummed. There was something even eerier about the darkness than last time, but Daria stood, die in one hand and her sword in the other.

Jason moved closer to her; she could feel his breath warm on her neck. "It feels so small," he muttered. It made sense. The son of Jupiter being afraid of the underground.

"Put it in the middle of the floor," the god said. "And you are free to leave."

"Wait," Clara stepped forward, directly into the middle where Janus wanted the die. "Swear on the River Styx that you won't harm our camp anymore."

Daria bit her lip. There was nothing worse than breaking your oath on the River Styx, not even death. But, it was a good way to leverage someone. Daria gripped her sword tighter, waiting for a response.

"Give me the die first," the voice said breezily. Something wasn't right. She could feel Nathan tense behind her.

"No." Jason stood firm, shoulder to shoulder with Daria. He flipped Ivlivs, landing on the gladius. "Show yourself."

There had been a light breeze running through the cave earlier, so light that Daria hadn't really noticed it. Now, the wind began picking up speed, a dangerous velocity, almost like a hurricane. Daria and her friends held their ground. Barely.

This was a trap. Daria clutched the treasure in her fist. Janus, the wind, the familiar voice, everything pointed to one person."I know it's you, Atticus." Daria could hear her heart thudding in her chest. The wind nearly drowned out her words. "No point in hiding."

"Atticus, huh?" Jason twirled his sword the way a practiced fighter might. "Should've known when you were too scared to face us."

"Give me that die, Dars," Atticus repeated in his steady voice. He still hid in the shadows. The wind picked up.

Nathan joined their line of three, his staff in his right hand. "Don't call her Dars."

"You see," Atticus continued. Ignoring the others and staring straight at Daria as if she was the only one in the room. "Janus was here. At one point. He is, after all, the one who opened the gate for the monsters. But Jupiter got mad at him, so he had to go into hiding. Not to worry, however, the master has a plan to take care of that pest."

Jason growled. "You dare-"

"Save your breath," Atticus laughed. Daria felt a deep chill travel down her spine. She didn't want to believe that this was the person she'd once known. It hurt. A lot. "Assuming Daria is as stubborn as usual, you'll need your strength to fight."

Daria stepped forward to join Clara. She held up the die between her fingers and the wind died down, possibly because Atticus thought she was relenting. "This die," she felt a bit silly talking to a wall, but she tried to imagine Atticus's stupid face. "What does it do?"

He walked out of the shadows then, and Daria could no longer pretend that she hated him. If you hadn't seen him before, you might mistake Atticus for a Roman god. He looked different than he had in her dream. His hair curled behind his ears in a way that it wouldn't have if he was praetor at camp.

"None of your business," Atticus raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've rethought my offer."

"Hold up," she heard Jason's voice behind her like she knew she would. "What offer?"

"It's not important," Daria said. She didn't know if it was because of her own defiance or because of Jason, and Clara and Nathan. "Because I'm turning you down. Again."