Warriors➳Jason Grace [discontinued]

Chapter three

Scarlet loved hot chocolate.

So on the way out of camp, Hazel bought Percy an espresso drink and a cherry muffin. Scar bought herself her favorite drink and a cookie.

They passed a building that had steam coming out of a row of chimneys. Laughter and watery sounds echoed from inside, like an indoor pool.

"Bath house," Hazel explained when she saw Percy staring at the building. "We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

Percy sighed in anticipation.

"So you guys are divided into different cabins ?" he asked suddenly.

"Sort of." Scarlet ducked as a kid riding a giant eagle swooped overhead. "We have five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten-like room mates, kind of."

"And all campers are children of the gods ? The gods have been busy." Percy exclaimed.

Scarlet chuckled and Hazel laughed. "No, not all of them are children of the god. Some of them are legacies, second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents."

"Oh."

"Yeah, Octavian, for example, he's a legacy, descendant of Apollo. He's got the gift of prophecy, supposedly."

"Supposedly?"

Hazel and Scarlet locked eyes, both making a sour face. "You'll see."

Percy looked around him.

"So, the legion, is that what you call yourselves ?"

"Yeah, our motto is Fulminata, which mean 'Armed with lightning'. The Twelth Legion was around for the entire Roman Empire," Scarlet explained. "When Rome fell, a lot of legions just disappeared. We went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome going. We've been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was strongest. The last few centuries, we've been in America."

"And you and Hazel are in the Fifth Cohort," Percy said,"which maybe isn't the most popular?"

Hazel scoweled and Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Yeah," replied Hazel. "I joined up last September."

"So...just a few weeks before that guy Jason disappeared."

Percy immediately knew he'd hit a sore spot. Scarlet went rigid and a ferocious snarl appeared on her face. Hazel looked down. They went silent.

"I need to do something," Scar said quickly. "I'll meet you at Octavian's." And she rushed off.

"Come on," Hazel said a few seconds later, leading Percy the opposite direction. "I'll show my favorite view."