𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢━━Nico di Angelo

36

Ajax liked the great outdoors- but climbing a two-hundred-foot cliff on a stairway without rails, with a bad-tempered weasel on his shoulder? Not so much.

Jason walked behind him so he could catch him if he fell. Ajax appreciated that, but he didn't want to be the damsel in distress again. He would rather Jason not catch him if he fell, than having Jason fly him to the top, Ajax bridal style in his arms.

He glanced to his right, which was a mistake. His foot almost slipped, sending a spray of gravel over the edge. Gale squeaked in alarm.

"You all right?" Jason asked.

"Yes." Ajax's heart jackhammered at his ribs. "Fine."

He had no room to turn and look at him. He just had to trust Jason wouldn't let him plummet to his death. Since he could fly, he was the only logical backup. Still, he wished it was Nico at his back, or Piper, or Leo or Frank or Hazel. Or even...well, okay, maybe not Coach Hedge. But still, Ajax couldn't get a read on Jason Grace.

Since he'd gotten on the Argo II, Jason seemed skeptical of him. He was vehemently against him when everyone found out that he was dead. He even fought with Piper about it.

Ajax just couldn't imagine someone like Piper being with someone like Jason. He was too uptight, like everything a soldier- no a leader should be. Piper on the other hand was more of a wildcard. Still, whatever made her happy.

Ajax didn't like the way Jason presented himself, with those icy blue eyes and that careful reserve, like he was calculating every word before he said it.

That's what it took to be a leader. Still, he didn't quite know what to think of the guy. What if they got themselves in trouble at the top of this cliff, and Jason decided that saving Ajax wasn't in the best interest of the quest?

He glanced up. He couldn't see the thief from here, but he sensed he was waiting. Ajax wasn't confident he could produce an illusion of enough gems and gold. Manipulating the mist on a small scale was easy, all he had to do was focus his powers. But on a large mirage? That would take immense concentration and he couldn't let himself falter for even half a second or he could doom all of his friends.

Gale the weasel jumped off his shoulder and scampered ahead. She glanced back and barked eagerly.

"Going as fast as I can," Ajax muttered.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the weasel was anxious to watch him fail.

"This, uh, controlling the Mist," Jason said. "Have you had any luck?"

"Yeah, I mean it's my power. That's what I do"

"Are you sure you can do it on a large scale?"

"No," Ajax admitted.

He didn't like to think about his failures—the seagull he couldn't turn into a dragon, Coach Hedge's baseball bat stubbornly refusing to turn into a hot dog. It seemed like a really glitchy hologram- not real enough.

"You'll get it," Jason said.

His tone surprised Ajax. It wasn't a throwaway comment just to be nice. He sounded truly convinced. He kept climbing, but he imagined Jason watching him with those piercing blue eyes, his jaw set with confidence.

Gods, Ajax was sure Piper wouldn't appreciate him thinking about her boyfriend like that.

"How can you be sure?" he asked.

"Just am. I've got a good instinct for what people can do—demigods, anyway. You said Hecate chose you out of all her children to come back from the dead and help us. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't believe you had it in you."

Maybe that should have made Ajax feel better. It didn't.

He had a good instinct for people too, or maybe it was more of what he felt with his powers. He understood what motivated most of his friends—even Nico, who wasn't easy to read.

But Jason? He didn't have a clue. Everybody said he was a natural leader. He believed it. Here he was, making Ajax feel like a valued member of the team, telling him he was capable of anything. But what was Jason capable of?

He couldn't talk to anyone about his doubts. Frank was in awe of the guy .Hazel however, Ajax had noticed, seemed a little wary around him. Piper, of course, was head-over-heels. Leo was his best friend. Even Nico seemed to follow his lead without question.

But Ajax couldn't forget that Jason had been Hera's first move in the war against the giants. The Queen of Olympus had dropped Jason into Camp Half-Blood, which had started this entire chain of events to stop Gaea. Why Jason first? Something told Ajax he was the linchpin. Jason would be the final play, too.

To storm or fire the world must fall. That's what the prophecy said. Jason Grace could cause some pretty huge storms.

He glanced up and saw the rim of the cliff only a few yards above him.

He reached the top, breathless and sweaty. A long sloping valley marched inland, dotted with scraggly olive trees and limestone boulders. There were no signs of civilization.

Ajax's legs trembled from the climb. Gale seemed anxious to explore. The weasel barked and farted and scampered into the nearest bushes. Far below, the Argo II looked like a toy boat in the channel. Ajax didn't understand how anyone could shoot an arrow accurately from this high up, accounting for the wind and the glare of the sun off the water. At the mouth of the inlet, the massive shape of the turtle's hell glinted like a burnished coin.

Jason joined him at the top, looking no worse for the climb.

He started to say, "Where—"

"Here!" said a voice.

Ajax flinched. Only ten feet away, a man had appeared, a bow and quiver over his shoulder and two old-fashioned flintlock dueling pistols in his hands. He wore high leather boots, leather breeches, and a pirate-style shirt. His curly black hair looked like a little kid's do and his sparkly green eyes were friendly enough, but a red bandana covered the lower half of his face.

"Welcome!" the bandit cried, pointing his guns at them. "Your money or your life!"

Ajax was certain that he hadn't been there a second ago. He'd simply materialized, as if he'd stepped out from behind an invisible curtain.

"Who are you?" Ajax asked.

The bandit laughed. "Sciron, of course!"