{EVANGELINE}

Evangeline had survived a seventy-foot drop to her almost death, the sea of monsters, and the labyrinth, and she had lifted up the sky, but nothing had prepared her for how much Leo could talk.

The brunette was in the front with Butch, who was handling the reins, while Leo, Jason, Piper, and Lorelai were in standing in the back of the chariot. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

"This is so cool!" Leo spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"Camp Half-Blood," She answered. "The only safe place for people like us."

"Half-Blood?" Piper asked. "Is this some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half-god, half-mortal."

Evangeline glanced at the blond, something about him did not sit right with her. "For someone who has amnesia, you seem to know a lot about this. But yeah, demigods. As you already saw your friend here got claimed by Iris."

The new daughter of Iris hadn't uttered a single word since they had boarded the chariot. Lorelai stared at the ground, and her eyes kept changing color from blue to green to dark red.

"Iris is the god of?" Leo asked.

"Rainbows," The brunette said.

Leo choked. "You're mom is a rainbow goddess?" He looked at Lorelai.

"Got a problem with that?" Butch glanced at the boy.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Evangeline said. "He gets along great with Pegasi." She spared a glance at the blonde girl.

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

That seemed to snap Lorelai out of her stupor. "No, please, don't."

Butch huffed. "We'll see about that."

Leo cleared his throat and turned to Evangeline. "What about you? Who's your, um, parent?"

"Hades," she said. "The god of the dead."

"Like the guy who runs the underworld?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes."

Leo spoke up, again. "So can you control dead bodies and stuff?"

"Yes."

"What else can you do besides the whole, appearing out of nowhere from the shadows thing?"

"It's called shadow travel," Evangeline said.

"Right," he said. "Have you ever killed someone?"

"I'm about to," The daughter of Hades mumbled under her breath.

"Can you turn into a ghost?"

"No, Leo, I can't turn into a ghost." she sighed.

"Have you ever tried it?" He asked, raising a brow.

"No."

"Then how can you be so sure?" He pressed.

"If you don't stop asking questions in the next second, I will turn you into one." She threatened.

The Valdez boy nodded. "Okay, shadows."

"Don't call me that."

"Sure," he said. "As you wish, Casper"

Evangeline clenched her fist, maybe she should be the one to push Leo off the chariot.

"Demigods," Piper spoke up. "You mean you think you're...you think we're—"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

He was right, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The winds roared. The brunette glanced back and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—they were in the form of horses.

Piper started to say, "Why are they—"

"Anemoi comes in different shapes," Evangeline said. "Sometimes human, sometimes horses, depending on how chaotic they are. Now hold on, and try not to fall off."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred.

Evangeline made her way back to the shore, soaking wet. She glanced back at the naidas who waved her goodbye.

Nearby Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wreaked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses hadn't been harmed, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere.

Jason, Leo, and Lorelai were already on the shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking them questions.

The brunette helped Piper to her feet. "Thanks," Piper muttered, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth.

A couple of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower-type things and blasted them with hot air: and about two seconds later their clothes were dry.

"Eve!" Will Solace pushed through the crowd with a bow and quiver on his back. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Yes, because the chariot is more important than actual people," She said sarcastically. "I'll have some builders fix it, William."

Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up the four new demigods. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"

"This one has been," Evangeline pointed to Lorelai. "Everyone meet the newest daughter of Iris!" She announced.

All eyes turned to Lorelai who gave a slight wave before she looked somewhere else.

Will looked back at the brunette. "Any sign of Percy?"

"No." The daughter of Hades spoke coldly.

The campers muttered. Drew Tanaka, a daughter of Aphrodite, stepped forward. Her dark hair was in ringlets, and she had plenty of jewelry and perfect makeup.

The daughter of Aphrodite glanced at Leo and Lorelai, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worth her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a dumpster.

"Well," Drew said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"

The daughter of Hades started to say, "Listen, Jeremy—"

"It's Jason."

"Whatever," Evangeline waved him off. "You'll get your answers soon. And you—" She turned to Drew. "Every demigod is worth saving."

"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Piper stepped forward, but the brunette interrupted. "Stop it."

"Make these three feel welcome," Evangeline ordered, with a pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, these three get claimed."

"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Lorelai spoke up.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers back away. The demigods were all bathed in a strange red light as if someone had lit a torch.

That's when Evangeline saw the blazing holographic image—a fiery hammer floating above Leo's head. "That," she said. "is claiming."

"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake.

Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

"This can't be good," Butch muttered making his way next to Lorelai. "The curse—"

"That's enough," Evangeline cut him off. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"

"By a god," Jason finished. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

All eyes turned toward the blond.

"How did you know that?" Evangeline asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even like Star Trek. What are you talking about?"

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, as she made her way through the crowd. "the god of blacksmiths and fire."

The hammer faded, but the Valdez boy kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"

Evangeline turned to the son of Apollo. "Would you take him, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."

"Sure, Eve."

"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not Vulcan! Lorelai am I a Vulcan?"

The daughter of Iris shook her head. "I don't know."

"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.

Annabeth turned to Jason. "Hold out your arm,"

Jason did as told and the daughter of Hades saw a darkly etched tattoo on his right forearm: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that an eagle with the letters SPQR.

"I've never seen marks like these before," Annabeth glanced at the brunette.

"Where did you get them?" Evangeline asked the boy.

Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

"They look burned into your skin," Lorelai noticed.

"They were," He said. Then he winced as if his head was hurting. "I mean...I think so. I don't remember."

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," The brunette decided. "Drew, would you—"

"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's an interesting... guy." With that, she led Jason toward the Big House.

The crowd began to disperse, and Annabeth took Piper on a tour leaving Evangeline with Lorelai.

"So," Lorelai spoke up. "Who's Chiron?"

"You'll meet him later," the brunette said. "but right now, we should get you to your cabin."

"My cabin?"

"It's where the other children of Iris are," The Merlyn girl dragged Lorelai along with her.

The daughters of Iris and Hades made their way toward the cabin area.

Evangeline noticed how Lorelai kept playing with the fabric of her peplos and looking around as if something was going to pop out from the ground. "You're name," she said, earning the blonde's attention. "It sounds so familiar."

The girl looked away from her. "Must have heard it on the news about me blowing up some schools or something,"

"No," the brunette shook her head. "I can't quite put my finger on it but I've heard your name before."

Lorelai furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay, let me know when you remember."

Evangeline hummed in response.

"How long have you been here?" Lorelai asked.

"Eight years,"

"Eight years?" The blonde's eyes widened. "You've been here for eight years?"

"Not all the time," Evangeline explained. "I live in the Underworld sometimes."

"You live in the Underworld?" The daughter of Iris asked.

"You don't seem too scared by that," The brunette noticed.

"Why would I be scared?" Lorelai said. "Living in the Underworld must be awesome."

That answer took aback the daughter of Hades. Evangeline had expected Lorelai to be scared but the girl looked like she'd just found a pot of gold. "You're probably the first to say that," she told the blonde.

Lorelai smiled brightly and the brunette noticed the dimples that formed on her face when she did.

Soon enough they arrived at Cabin Fourteen.

The cabin looked like an ordinary cabin on the outside, but the walls were white and covered with various rainbow-colored gems.

On the inside, the cabin's walls were white and prisms were placed everywhere. Rainbows were painted on the walls, and the furniture was cloud-like with rainbow backings. The windows of the cabin were all made of stained glass, and in the corner was a fountain that spouted liquid rainbows instead of water.

Near one of the windows, Butch had cleared up a bed for Lorelai, next to him was another daughter of Iris. A twelve-year-old girl with red hair and brown eyes, she had arrived in late September with a satyr from New Jersey. Evangeline hadn't paid much attention to the new campers that had joined in the last months as she was either in the Underworld or visiting Percy in New York.

The little girl smiled at the blonde. "Welcome to Cabin Fourteen," She held her hand out for Lorelai to shake. "I'm Olivia Greenbriar."

The blonde shook her hand with the young girl's. "Lorelai," she stated.

"You're a lot older than I imagined," Olivia said. "Most kids get claimed when they're—"

"When they're twelve," Lorelai finished with a hint of annoyance. "I've heard that sentence three times today. I get it. I'm the forgotten one."

Butch cleared his throat. "Well, we prepared a space for you," He motioned to the newly made bed behind him. "You can get changed out of that," He looked at the rainbow peplos the blonde wore.

"I'll go get you some new clothes." Olivia volunteered. "and I can show you around, come on."

"Maybe later," Lorelai shook her head. "I'm not in the mood right now." 

"Oh, don't be a Debbie downer," Olivia grabbed Lorelai's hand and started dragging her along. "This will be fun."

Once the two left, the daughter of Hades turned to Butch. "Now that everybody is settled," Evangeline said. "I will be leaving."

"Travis said someone's here to see you," Butch told her.

"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "Who?"

The son of Iris shrugged. "Don't know, some mortal. She's waiting outside near Thalia's tree."

"A mortal?" Evangeline arched a brow. 

"Yup," Butch said. "Outside, near the barrier." 

Evangeline opened the door and walked out of the Iris cabin. 

Evangeline could lie and tell you that she wasn't shocked to her core when she saw who the person waiting for her was, but what was the point in lying?

She had heard about the woman for many years but had never actually met her in person.

Sofia Martin Landon's aunt, stood in front of the daughter of Hades pacing back and forth and mumbling something Evangeline couldn't make out. "Mrs. Martin?" she called again.

This time Sofia snapped out of her thoughts. "Right, yes, um," the woman took a deep breath. "Landon, is he here?"

Evangeline arched a brow. "No, I thought he was with you in San Francisco."

The brunette could see Sofia's expression turn to a worrying one. "He was." She said.

"What do you mean was?"

Sofia adjusted her glasses. "Three days ago we got into a fight and in the morning he wasn't there, I figured he came back here, but he didn't leave a note or anything, and Landon no matter how mad he is at me, he always tells me where he is but this time he just left. And if he's not here then where is he?" Sofia's voice cracked at the last part.

The brunette chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know," she murmured.

The daughter of Hades wished she hadn't said that because Sofia's worry turned into panic. "Oh no, this is all my fault." Sofia put her head in her hands. "If we hadn't argued, he would've—oh this is all my fault."

"No, it isn't." Evangeline tried to tell her. "This has nothing to do with you, it's just demigod stuff."

The mortal looked up at her and sighed. "It always is, but why? None of this has happened before."

Evangeline didn't like the coincidences of Landon and Percy going missing on the same day. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But what if—"

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll find him,"

Evangeline could see Sofia's mind racing with a million thoughts. Silence settled over the two, the only thing that could be heard was Peleus the dragon's soft snoring and the distant sound of campers around the camp.

"Evangeline," Sofia spoke softly. "Landon, he's the only family I have left. If he's—"

"He's not, he can't be," Evangeline assured. "I'll find him, I promise." Evangeline had to blink a few times as her eyes started feeling heavy. The brunette could barely keep herself awake, she hadn't slept since Percy's disappearance and it wasn't just the fact that he was missing but also the nightmares that kept her awake.

"You look tired, when was the last time you slept? Or even the last time you ate?" Sofia asked.

Evangeline shifted on her feet. Truth be told, she'd forgotten to eat that day, and the day before, the day before that. She wasn't exactly proud of that. "That doesn't matter."

"I should probably go and let you get some rest," Sofia said. "Travis told me about your boyfriend, how long—"

"Three days, six hours, and about twelve minutes ago," Evangeline grumbled. She had been counting since the minute he disappeared and each minute that passed made her feel like she was drowning.

The older woman gave her a sympathetic look. "Let's hope both of them are safe, wherever they are."

Evangeline nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "We can only hope."

On her way back, Evangeline found Piper and Annabeth standing in front of the Hera Cabin. "Annabeth?" She called.

The blonde looked up from the threshold. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong?" Evangeline could read the expression across the daughter of Athena's face.

Piper pointed toward a footprint on the dusty threshold. "That."

Annabeth stepped back. "Um, I don't think we should—"

"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" And Piper walked inside.

"She's going to get herself killed," Evangeline grumbled as she walked after the girl

The cabin was freezing cold, with a circle of white columns around a central statue of the goddess, ten feet tall, seated on a throne in flowing golden robes. Hera's piercing eyes seemed to be glaring into the brunette's soul.

At the goddess's feet burned in a bronze brazier. A stone hawk sat on Hera's shoulder, and in her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower.

The goddess's hair was done in black plaits. Her face smiled, but the eyes were cold and calculating as if she were saying: Mother knows best. Now don't cross me or I will have to step on you.

There was nothing else in the cabin—no beds, no furniture, no windows, no bathroom, nothing that anyone could actually use to live. Hera didn't have any demigod children so it made sense as to why there was nothing there.

Evangeline saw something from the corner of her eye, behind the statue, at a little alter in the back, stood a figure covered in a black shawl. Only her hands were visible, palms up.

She seemed to be chanting something like a spell or a prayer.

That's when it clicked. "Rachel?" she gasped.

The person in the shawl turned. She dropped her shawl, revealing a mane of curly red hair and a freckled face that didn't go with the seriousness of the cabin or the black shawl. Rachel wore a green blouse and tattered jeans covered with marker doodles. Despite the cold floor, the mortal girl was barefoot.

"Hey!" She ran and gave the daughters of Athena and Hades a tight hug. "I'm so sorry! I came here as fast as I could."

They talked for a few minutes about everything that was going on, and then Annabeth remembered Piper was also there.

"We're being rude," Annabeth apologized on both of their behalf. "Rachel, this is Piper, one of the half-bloods Evangeline rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."

"The friend who lives in the cave," Piper guessed.

Rachel grinned. "That's me."

"So you're an oracle?" The McLean girl asked. "You can tell the future?"

"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel said. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."

"Oh." Piper shifted from one foot to the other. "That's cool."

The redhead laughed. "Don't worry. Everybody finds it a little creepy. Even me. But usually, I'm harmless."

"You're a demigod?" The girl arched a brow.

"Nope," Rachel shook her head. "Just mortal."

"Then what are you..." Piper waved her hand around the room.

The redhead's smile faded. She glanced at Evangeline, then back at Piper. "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin, and Percy and Landon's disappearances—"

"Landon?" Annabeth's voice raised. "What do you mean Landon's disappearance?"

Rachel pursed her lips. "Did you not know?" She turned and looked at Evangeline.

"How did you know that?" The daughter of Hades asked Rachel. "Sofia just told me a few minutes ago. So how do you know about that?"

The mortal girl chewed on her bottom lip. "I had a dream about him."

Annabeth's face twisted into a scowl. "What kind of dream?"

"Doesn't matter. But the point is all of this is connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last month since the gods went silent."

"Went silent?" Piper asked.

Rachel frowned at the blonde. "You haven't told her yet?"

"I was getting to that," Annabeth said. "Piper, for the last...well, it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much, but usually we can count on some messages now and then. Some of us can even visit Olympus. I spent practically all semester at the Empire State Building."

"Excuse me?"

"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days," Evangeline explained.

"Oh," Piper said. "Sure, why not?"

"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," the redhead explained. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar—"

"Anyway," the blonde cleared her throat, "starting about a month ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in. Nobody knows why. It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled—"

"You're camp director was a god of...wine?"

Evangeline sniffled. "It's a long—"

"Story," Piper guessed. "Right. Go on."

"That's it," The brunette sighed. "demigods still get claimed, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign the gods are even listening. It's like something has happened, my guess is something really bad. Then Percy and now Landon disappearing on the same day,"

"And Jason showed up on our field trip," Piper supplied. "With no memory."

"Who's Jason?" Rachel asked.

"My friend, but Annabeth told me, that Hera sent you a dream vision," Piper looked at the daughter of Hades.

Evangeline frowned. "The first communication from a god that isn't my father in a month, and it's Hera, she contacted me, her second least favorite demigod. She told me that I would find out what happened to Percy if I went to the Grand Canyon skywalk and looked for the guy with one shoe. But instead, I found Jameson—"

"Jason." Piper corrected.

"I'm not hearing a difference," the brunette shrugged. "It all just doesn't make sense. Now Landon's gone too."

"Something bad is happening," Rachel agreed.

Then the redhead looked at Piper, "Guys," she said. "I—I need to—"

Before she could continue, the Dare girl's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by the shoulders.

The McLean girl tried to back away but Rachel's hands were like steel clamps.

Evangeline and Annabeth tried to separate the two but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped them, and Piper froze and stared up at the Hera statue, its eyes boring into hers.

Then Piper's knees buckled and she dropped.

The blonde caught Piper before she could hit the ground.

"Rachel—" Evangeline couldn't finish when Rachel grabbed onto her wrist. The brunette's eyes met her glowing ones.

Then suddenly she was standing in the middle of nothing. There was no one in sight, not a single thing, just plain and empty darkness surrounding her.

Evangeline felt a shiver run up her spine and she turned around and froze once she saw a dark figure, but she couldn't make out anything about it, it was as if it was blending in with the darkness. The daughter of Hades tried to move but her feet were stuck to the ground. The figure reached a hand toward the brunette.

"Evangeline," it said but its voice sounded like a screeching noise. "oh, poor Evangeline." Its cold fingers traced her cheek.

The brunette tried to speak but nothing came out, it was like her whole body was forced to be as still as a statue. She was screaming in her mind but on the outside, not a single sound escaped her lips. It felt like she was slowly being suffocated.

"Poor, little Evangeline, stuck being a pawn in the gods' games, stuck being nothing," The finger that was on her face felt as cold as ice, it was like it was freezing her blood."Stuck doing their dirty work, not for long." The voice chuckled darkly. "But don't worry, I can help you, my dear. I will help you. Just find your way to me."

The dark figure raised its hand and slashed at her just as a white light surrounded the pit.

Evangeline snapped back to reality, gasping for air as her back hit the wall when she stumbled back.

All the air that had been leaving her body came rushing back into her lungs. She felt a sharp stinging pain in her shoulder, it was like she was being stabbed again.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked holding Piper up properly, the blonde's gaze stuck on the brunette. "Evangeline?" Annabeth asked again but her voice sounded like she was miles away.

Evangeline's head was spinning, or was the cabin spinning? She couldn't figure out which one was.

She started to grow dizzy and the next thing she knew, she blacked out.

------✧------

A/N: So, can't believe Landon's gone, wonder where he's at... Aunt Sofia cameo how about that?

I kinda like this chapter but it's not perfect and I hate that it's not, but whatever I tried my best to write it like how I imagined it.

Any theories on who the figure was?