𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓! [pjo]

VIII; death pacts

━━━death pacts

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

Cal felt a sense of deja vu standing in the Senate House. Maybe it was the fact that it looked like a high school lecture hall; a semi-circle of tiered chairs surrounding a raised dais with three chairs, one holding a velvet package.

The four of them sat themselves down in the second row on the left side, trying to distance themselves from the rest of the senate. The 10 senators and Nico di Angelo sat in the front row. Upper rows were filled with Lares and dozing hosts and veterans giving advice in formal togas.

"I feel like I'm in high school" Cal muttered to the other three. Percy chuckled, Frank snorted, and Hazel shook her head, smiling lightly.

Her eyes zeroed in on Octavian, the animated scarecrow, who was holding a knife and a Beanie Baby Lion. she shook her head at him, looking away. She noticed the brunette from earlier, Asher, sitting in the front row and smirking at her. Reyna walked onto the podium.

"Alright, this is an emergency meeting." She declared, "so we won't do formalities."

"But I love formalities!" a ghost complained.

Callahan snorted.

"First of all," Reyna said, "we're not here to vote on the quest itself. The quest has been issued by Mars Ultor, patron of Rome. We will obey his wishes. Nor are we here to debate the choice of Frank Zhang's companions."

"All three from the Fifth Cohort?" called out Hank from the Third. "That's not fair."

"And not smart," said Asher. "We know the Fifth will mess up. They should take somebody good."

Dakota got up so fast, he spilled Kool-Aid from his flask. "We were plenty good last night when we whipped your podex, Asher!"

"Enough, Dakota," Reyna said. "Let's leave Asher's podex out of this. As a quest leader, Frank has the right to choose his companions. He has chosen Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque, and Callahan Lee."

A ghost from the second row yelled, "Absurdus! Frank Zhang isn't even a full member of the legion! He's on probation. A quest must be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. This is complete—"

"Cato," Reyna snapped. "We must obey the wishes of Mars Ultor. That means certain ... adjustments." Reyna clapped her hands, and Octavian came forward. He set down his knife and Beanie Baby and took the velvet package from the chair.

"Frank Zhang," he said, "come forward." Frank glanced nervously at Percy. Then he got to his feet and approached the augur.

"It is my...pleasure," Octavian said, forcing out the last word, "to bestow upon you the Mural Crown for being first over the walls in siege warfare." Octavian handed him a bronze badge shaped like a laurel wreath.

"Also, by order of Praetor Reyna, to promote you to the rank of centurion." He handed Frank another badge, a bronze crescent, and the senate exploded in protest.

"He's still a probie!"Asher yelled.

"Impossible!" said another.

"Water cannon up my nose!" yelled a third.

"Silence!" Octavian's voice sounded a lot more commanding than it had the previous night on the battlefield. "Our praetor recognizes that no one below the rank of centurion may lead a quest. For good or ill, Frank must lead this quest—so our praetor has decreed that Frank Zhang must be made centurion." Callahan blinked, finally understanding what an effective speaker Octavian was. He sounded reasonable and supportive, but his expression was pained. He carefully crafted his words to put all the responsibility on Reyna. This was her idea, he seemed to say. If it went wrong, Reyna was to blame. If only Octavian had been the one in charge, things would have been done more sensibly. But alas, he had no choice but to support Reyna, because Octavian was a loyal Roman soldier. Octavian managed to convey all that without saying it, simultaneously calming the senate and sympathizing with them. Callahan felt something cold stir in the air as he talked, something malicious. She knew then that he was not an enemy to be taken lightly. From the looks on Percy and Hazel's face, they knew it too.