chapter sixty-five

─── everyone's futures are looking terrible

          𝔏eo had taken one look at Luke's face and decided that riding with Hazel instead of me might be the better way to go. Luke had stifled a laugh in response, kissed me quickly, then dodged a kick from Blackjack and headed off with Annabeth and Frank.

I was sure that those three were going to have an easy task ahead of them, considering all three of them were vaguely mature.

Me, Hazel and Leo on the other hand were going to have a different sort of time, but I could only hope nothing went wrong. I knew that was a tall ask, but as long as no one was possessed again, it was a job well done in my opinion.

Blackjack and Arion both seemed to try and get us to our desired island at a slightly more reasonable place but the only reason I think that was happening is because the two were too busy spitting insults at each other and trying to kick the other one off of their path. I kind of just left them to it, finding their insults rather amusing.

-feather brained, good for nothing burger

At least I'm not going to be used for glue! Blackjack spat back at  Arion, who gasped as if he'd been shot, before squealing loudly and trying to bite her. Blackjack seemed to prance in mid-air as I rolled my eyes. So emotional. You must be a terrible war horse.

I'm an incredible war horse! 

Not as good as me. Blackjack deadpanned. Boss gal fought armies and a giant sitting on my back so therefore, I'm better.

"Oh look, the island." I called, thanking all the gods as we came into land. I jumped off as we touched ground, turning back to my horse. "I'll call you when I need you. Stay close."

Of course, cause I'm a good horse. Arion almost kicked Blackjack at that as she pranced off with a snort. Arion snapped back at her, before rushing off too as I turned to Hazel and Leo.

"Our horses should not be left alone together." I warned her as my eyes went wide. "They've been insulting each others mother's for the past ride."

"Is that what the squealing was about?" Leo's eyes went wide. "That's kind of funny."

"Blackjack is just a very mare-y mare."

"What's that mean?" Leo blinked a few times.

"She's a menace." I nodded my head before grinning. "She's such a good horse."

I got shot a look in return from Hazel, before Leo crouched down, cupping a handful of white sand.

"Well, look, there's one problem solved anyway. This is lime." Both Hazel and I had equally confused looks plastered on our face.

"The whole beach?" That seemed a bit too good to be true.

"Yeah, see. That granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hands into the line. He froze immediately, his breath picking up as my eyes narrowed. I reached for Riptide, just in case I needed to fight but he snapped out of it in a moment. 

"Leo? You okay?" Hazel checked as Leo took a shaky breath.

"Yeah." His voice cracked in a very unconvincing way. "Yeah, fine."

Hazel knelt to the floor, helping with the lime as I looked around. "We should've brought a pail and shovels."

"We could've made a sand castle." Leo smirked slightly. "I'm pretty sure I could make it structurally sound with some columns."

Their eyes locked for a second, and I felt I was interrupting something as they shared a glance. I pulled a face, before pulling back slightly from them.

Hazel yelped and fell over, as I cocked an eyebrow.

"Alright?" I checked.

"Yeah, yeah." Hazel nodded. "Leo just-he just looks like someone I know."

We finished filling the bag in silence, as Leo opened a compartment on his tool belt and stuffed it in. It disappeared, causing my eyes to narrow. What type of belt was that and where could I get one? It seemed really useful to be honest.

"Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but I'm not sure where-"

"That way." Hazel pointed up the beach. "About five hundred yards."

"How do you-?" Now it was Leo's turned to look stunned.

"Precious metals." Hazel shrugged. "It's a Pluto thing."

"Right then, let's get this show on the road." I patted both of them on the back and started the trek up the beach.

∘☽༓☾∘

By the time we got to where Hazel had suggested, the sun was starting to set, turning the world around us golden. 

"You sure this is a good idea?" Leo questioned, as Hazel led us inland. 

"We're close, promise." Hazel shot us a reassuring smile, as I hummed. 

Just beyond the dunes, sat a woman. For a moment, her form flickered, and I caught sight of golden eyes and a cruel smirk. My heart leapt into my chest, my hands starting to tremble as I choked back a sound. These were the same golden eyes that used to haunt my dream, the same cruel smirk that had taunted me into killing.

Hazel and Leo were still walking, though Leo was in a similar state to me. 

Those golden eyes tracked my movement until we came to a stop.

"What are you doing?" Leo called, and the eyes darted away, latching onto Leo instead. "Aunt Rosa?"

His voice trembled, face paling as the cruel smirk seemed to tilt into an amused smile.

"Is that what you see?" It was a woman speaking, or at least I thought it was. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

"How did you-" Hazel had migrated to stand closer to me. "You-you look like Mrs Leer. She was my teacher. I hated you."

"I already know who you see, Andromeda." The eyes turned back to me. "You know who I am, do you not?"

"You show us who we hate." I muttered, trying to find my voice though it came out as a croak. 

"Not hate. I show you justice, and retribution."

"And revenge." I licked my lips, my voice a little stronger now. "You show us who we want to get back at."

I gulped slightly.

"Lady Nemesis." She hummed, leaning back as those golden eyes seemed to peer into my soul. I tried not to straighten under her stare. I could remember the throne hall in New York better now, watching Ethan fall after he tried to take on Kronos. I could remember Luke killing him. "I'm-I'm so-"

"Don't." She snapped, her form changing fast until I caught sight of her true appearance. Her eyes were dark, calculating and calm, but her face was twisted down into a sad sort of frown. Ethan Nakamura looked just like his mother. "Do not offer your half hearted apologies."

"They're not half-hearted." I shook my head, as Hazel and Leo turned to look up at me. "Ethan was a good kid. He was a hero."

"And he's dead." Nemesis snapped, standing up. She stared down at me for a second, before looking at the other two. "I am the goddess of retribution and justice. Whenever a civil war brews in the gods, I am called into play. They trust my morals and my judgement."

"But we're not at war." Leo insisted, still looking at her as if she'd murdered his childhood pet.

"Leo, you did recently blow up large sections of New Rome." Hazel pointed out quietly.

"Not on purpose!" Leo looked between me and Hazel. "You believe me, right?"

"Yeah, course, but I would like to point out that the Romans might not see it that way." I shrugged, as Leo's eyes grew horrified, as if the thought was returning to him. 

"You have inadvertently put us into war, boy. Can you guess who the gods blame for this little incident?" Nemesis' eyes narrowed.

"Me?" Leo squeaked. I thought I might have to catch him, considering he swayed and turned a sickly green.

"You have quite a high opinion of yourself." Nemesis huffed, shaking her head. "Demigods are all pawns, and you are the same Leo Valdez. No, they blame the chess master so to speak. They blame Hera, or Juno. Your patron has run. She can offer you no more help."

"So, why are you here then?"

"To offer my help."

"Your help?" I narrowed my eyes. This all seemed too good to be true in my opinion. "What's the price for it?"

"True success requires sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Hazel's voice was tight. "I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now, my brother is missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice?"

Nemesis just turned her dark eyes onto Hazel, before dismissing her.

"Right now, all I want in some Celestial Bronze." Leo deadpanned.

"Oh that's simple. It's just over the rise, with the sweethearts." Nemesis smiled.

"Wait. What sweethearts?" Hazel narrowed her eyes.

"You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, child. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life." Nemesis smiled cruelly. "And, speaking of your brother, you don't have much time left. Let's see...it's June 25th? Yes, well, after today, you have six more days. Then he dies. Along with the entire city of Rome."

"What?"

"Hang on a second!" Hazel and I both protested, but Nemesis had turned to Leo. 

"As for you, child of fire. Your worst hardships are yet to come. You have always been the outsider, the last pick and you will not find a place amongst your brethren." Leo looked like he might cry, face going even paler and breath shaky. "You will face a problem you cannot solve, but perhaps, I could help you, for a price."

"What sort of price?"

"One of my children traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world." Nemesis grew sad again, as I fought the urge to push both Leo and Hazel behind me.

"You want an eye?" 

"In your case, another sacrifice might do. But something just as painful." Nemesis handed him a fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this. It might solve it. And the poor daughter of Poseidon."

I met her gaze head on, trying not to feel sick as her eyes shifted between golden and brown.

"There's so much blood on your hands now, it is hard to keep them clean and a guilty conscious weighs heavy on your shoulders." Nemesis watched me, as I fought to keep my face straight. "You have changed to the point, that even the people closest to you fear you. Maybe then you will realise why all great heroes observe great tragedy. Though, time will tell. Perhaps there is still another lesson for you to learn."

There was a stunned silence, wind whipping around us, before Nemesis smiled.

"I would not expect help if I was you. Most of the gods are...well, let's just say that there is little help to be given. You will not balance these scales without my help, so I would think on that offer." Nemesis smiled, before turning back to Leo. "You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. He does get ever so agitated when the darkness comes."

With that, she disappeared, leaving an empty beach and one fortune cookie sitting on the rock. Hazel cracked it open, before turning back to us with a tense look.

"You will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair."

"Oh yay."

This day could not get any worse in my opinion.

∘☽༓☾∘

{ Cressida }

"So, what is an augur?" Piper approached me cautiously, her eyes watching Octavian as he set about getting the things he needed.

"It's not the traditional sense of the word." I turned, explaining quietly as Piper watched me with curiosity. "An Augur normally reads the fortunes and interprets signs from nature to determine the gods favour. In New Rome, it's a little different. Though, you can do that, can't you?"

"Yes." Octavian muttered, before rolling his eyes. "It's pointless though. They're not so big on carrier pigeons any more."

 "So, what he actually is is a Haruspex." I explained, as Octavian nodded, finding his sheath and a few spare toys. "He inspects entrails to divine what the gods want. But also, we can't have him gutting lots of animals every day, so we found that stuffed toys work just as well, as long as you do it right."

"Huh." Piper nodded, looking back over at Octavian. "Did not see that as a career path at school."

"Anyway, we get him to read some stuffing, say a few words, work out whether we're being followed and then hopefully the gods might say something as well, and we're good. And you and I can do some training." I nudged her, grabbing Ivlivs from my pocket as we followed Octavian up onto the deck. "You need anything else?"

"Silence." Octavian deadpanned.

"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes at him, before turning to Piper. "Right, let's go through some basic training. The ones we practiced."

"Doesn't he need silence?"

"No, he's being dramatic." Octavian shot me a look over his shoulder, before rolling his sleeves up and getting to work. Piper nodded, before turning to me and dropping into a fighting stance. "Good, wider base."

She adjusted as I flipped Ivlivs into the sword form.

"Alright. Let's try some strikes." Piper nodded, taking a deep breath and doing as I asked. She was getting better, her form was good and her strikes had more weight behind them. "Good, good. Blocks now."

Piper did as she was told, sweat building up on her forehead as I corrected form here and there, before standing straight. 

"Right. Let's put it all together."

"Do I have to?"

"Yeah." I nodded as she groaned. I swung Ivlivs around my wrist, warming up slightly before going into a slow spar with Piper. Luke wanted her to build her confidence up and he was a better sword teacher than I was, considering I couldn't really remember learning how to fight. I had been taught when I was young and ever since then, it had been second nature.

"I'm done." Piper and I paused, turning to Octavian, who seemed concerned. He brushed his hair back, ruffling it as he shot me a look. I knew that look already. 

"That was quick." I forced a grin. "Can we have a minute, Pipes?"

"Sure." Piper nodded, rushing off as I turned back to Octavian.

"How bad?" I turned back to Octavian, leaning against the railings as he approached. "Manageable or we're screwed?"

"Manageable." Octavian hummed, thinking to himself, before nodding. "Manageable."

"What did it say?"

"They're tracking us. They have a vague location, and they're trying to get the trainees to track us more precisely."

"I thought they couldn't do that without you." I hissed, running a hand through my hair. "Shit, what else?"

"Gods are a no go. Limited or no communication and I'm getting some mixed messages." Octavian shook his head. "Maybe some locations, maybe not. I thought I read something about drowning and an antidote. I'm not sure, it's all hazy. I did five readings, nothing."

"Well, that could definitely be better." I sighed again, before tapping his hand softly until he looked at me. "Thank you, for doing that."

"It's my job."

"Yeah, I know, but still. Thank you." He shot me a soft smile, as I squeezed his hand. "Are you alright otherwise? Need to sleep?"

"Goldie, I was doing thirty or forty readings a day when you were missing. Five isn't really that much effort any more." Octavian shook his head, before rolling his shoulders back as my heart faltered. Thirty or forty readings? Normally if he did more than 10, it would take him a day or so to recover from the mental effort needed to discern the gods voices in his head. "We need to think about what to say to Reyna as well? The Romans are going to be on a war path, and I can't blame them."

"Leo's a good kid, Tav."

"He just attacked our home, our friends. I struggle to see the good in that."

"I'm well aware."

"You said you were waiting to pass judgement, and Goldie, for the life of me, I can't see why you're waiting. This is pretty simple, in my opinion." Octavian shrugged. "Are you holding back because he's your friend?"

"You know me better than that." I folded my arm over my chest. "Leo's a good kid, he wouldn't attack without reason and if Luke thinks that it's possession and Annabeth too, then I want to see whether that is the case. If I judge him and it turns out he was possessed, then that changes the outcome. Someone will be held accountable for New Rome."

Octavian sighed, turning away before nodding.

"I'll trust your call." He turned back, pressing a kiss to my head. "That doesn't mean I like it."

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

So, sorry for the very late update. This chapter was more difficult to write, because there's quite a bit going on and we're starting the changes to this book. Blackjack and Arion are funny, Andi's not having a good time and Nemesis is out to make it worse with cryptic messages. Tav and Cress are sweethearts, but things are starting to happen for them too. Just as a heads up, I am currently in exam season so updates might be a little late or on different days, it just depends on when I can find time to write.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx