DON'T BLAME ME! (p. jackson) (#2) (ON HOLD)

- two

AS THEY WALKED, THEY COULD SEE THEIR BREATH IN THE AIR.

piper stayed quiet most of the tour, occasionally whispering a question to annabeth, because it was clear rose's heart wasn't in it.

as they climbed half-blood hill at the edge of camp, they turned and got an amazing view of the valley—a big stretch of woods to the northwest, a beautiful beach, the creek, the canoe lake, lush green fields, and the whole layout of the cabins—a bizarre assortment of buildings arranged like a greek omega, Ω, with a loop of cabins around a central green, and two wings sticking out the bottom on either side. twenty cabins in all. one glowed golden, another silver. one had grass on the roof. another was bright red with barbed wire trenches. one cabin was black with fiery green torches out front.

"the valley is protected from mortal eyes," annabeth said. "the weather is usually controlled, too, but we all wanted to see the snow. each cabin represents a greek god—a place for that god's children to live."

she looked at piper like she was trying to judge how piper was handling the news.

"you're saying mom was a goddess."

annabeth nodded. "you're taking this awfully calmly."

piper took a shaky breath. "i guess after this morning, it's a little easier to believe. so who's my mom?"

"we should know soon," annabeth said. "you're what—fifteen? gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. that was the deal."

"the deal?"

"they made a promise last summer... well, long story... but they promised not to ignore their demigod children anymore, to claim them by the time they turn thirteen. sometimes it takes a little longer, but you saw how fast leo was claimed once he got here. should happen for you soon. tonight at the campfire, i bet we'll get a sign."

"why thirteen?"

"the older you get," rose said, "the more monsters notice you, try to kill you. 'round thirteen is usually when it starts. that's why we send protectors into the schools to find you guys, get you to camp before it's too late."

"like coach hedge?"

annabeth nodded. "he's a satyr: half man, half goat. satyrs work for the camp, finding demigods, protecting them, bringing them in when the time is right."

"what happened to him?" she asked. "when he went up into the clouds, did he like... die?"

"hard to say." rose's expression was pained. "storm spirits... difficult to battle. even our best weapons, celestial bronze, will pass right through them unless you can catch them by surprise."

"jason's sword just turned them to dust," piper remembered.

"he was lucky, then. if you hit a monster just right, you can dissolve them, send their essence back to tartarus."

"tartarus?"

"a huge abyss in the underworld, where the worst monsters come from. kind of like a bottomless pit of evil. anyway, once monsters dissolve, it usually takes months, even years before they can re-form again. but since this storm spirit dylan got away—well, i don't know why he'd keep hedge alive. hedge was a protector, though. he knew the risks. satyrs don't have mortal souls. he'll be reincarnated as a tree or a flower or something." she almost smiled at the idea of hedge as a clump of daisies.

"it'll be okay," annabeth promised. "you have friends here. we've all been through a lot of weird stuff. we know what you're going through."

"i've been kicked out of five different schools the past five years," she said. "my dad's running out of places to put me."