Veronica Sawyer was an iconic name. And so that was what she called herself.
She would've liked to be simple, with the basic life of demigods for a backstory-mortal parent didn't want her, she ended up a year-rounder. But the Fates didn't like Veron...
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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝟓: 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫
December 16, 2007
THEY HELD THEIR COUNCIL MEETING AROUND A PING-PING TABLE IN THE REC ROOM.
Her father waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Chiron was quick to remind him that wine was against his restrictions and most of the people in the room were underage. With a pout, a sigh, and a snap of his fingers, Dionysus turned the wine into Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either other than Veronica.
Chiron sat (in wheelchair form) beside Dionysus at one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca (who had essentially become Zoë's own lieutenant) took the other end. Thalia, Percy, and Grover sat on the right. Beckendorf, Silena, Evie, and the Stoll brothers sat on the left. Veronica kept to the side, sitting on her own as she observed the meeting.
"This is pointless," Zoë said helpfully.
"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped, scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls. He sprayed them with topping and snacked on them delightedly.
"There is no time for talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."
"And go where?" Chiron asked.
"West!" Bianca decided.
Veronica took in how different Bianca looked after just two days with the Hunters. She'd put her dark hair in a braid, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes were deep and intense. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, from taking showers in liquid moonlight.
"You heard the prophecy," Bianca insisted. "Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get six Hunters and go."
"No," Evie spoke, her voice eerily calm as she narrowed her eyes. "Absolutely not."
"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."
"Again, no," Evie said. "You have to take some campers, too. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail."
"No!" Zoë denied. "The Hunters do not need thy help."
"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."
Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. " Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."
"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said gently. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."
"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it smelled delectable. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"
