Where You Go ― Jason Grace

vi. new weapons, old scars, and strange dreams

THE AMPHITHEATER WAS SILENT for a moment in the wake of Rachel's prophecy. As her helpers brought her to a corner to rest, Piper spoke up. "Is that normal?" She stiffened anxiously as everyone's eyes went to her. "I mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy—Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just—"

"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."

"We don't have much choice," Jason said. "Hera took our memories. We need them back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

Nyssa, the girl who'd spoken up about the dragon in the woods, stood up. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son—our dad—down a mountain just because he was ugly."

"Real ugly," someone snickered.

"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think—why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason and Ophelia's quest. It's their choice who goes. Obviously Jason's the child of lightning and Ophelia's the daughter of travel. The prophecy calls for two more quest members."

Someone in the crowd yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."

"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."

"It's connected," Piper blurted out. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance—it's all connected."

"How?" Drew demanded. "If you're so smart, how?"

Piper faltered, not seeming to have an answer. Thankfully, Annabeth saved her.

"You might be right, Piper," Annabeth said. "If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end—by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."

"It says who we pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and the dove shall break the cage."

"The forge is the symbol of Vulcan—sorry, Hephaestus," Ophelia said.

Nyssa's shoulders slumped as if she'd just taken on a massive burden. "If you have to beware the earth, you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport. The flying chariot's broken, and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe our cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper." She hesitated for a moment. "I can volunteer for the quest."

Ophelia had completely forgotten about Leo until he suddenly stood up. "It's me," he said. A few of his cabin-mates tried to pull him back down, but he resisted. "No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"

Ophelia considered him for a moment. She hadn't interacted with him much since waking up, and he didn't seem like he could really fight, but it made sense for him to go—he'd come to camp with them after all. Was that really just a coincidence?