chapter five

─── i have a patron but i don't think it's a good thing

          𝔏uke was quick to take Piper from the two girls, picking her up with ease and setting her on the couch. Annabeth disappeared to get a med kit as I hovered by Piper's head, checking for a pulse. She was pale, barely breathing.

"We've got to heal her," I insisted. "There is a way, isn't there?"

Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," She said, shaking her head as I turned. She better remember quicky because this was someone that I knew (I think) and I didn't like that she was hurt. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Annabeth and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then—I just blanked out. Annabeth said I spoke in a different voice."

"A prophecy?" Chiron questioned and I noticed that Luke had gone more silent, backing off a little as I wondered what was going on.

"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me."

Annabeth ran in with a leather pouch. She knelt next to Piper. "Chiron, what happened back there—I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her—"

"To free her from a prison?" I guessed, as Annabeth turned to stare at me. She was looking at me like I'd just killed her cat or something.

"How did you know that?"

Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart, like a ward against evil.

"Cressida, tell them. Annabeth, hand me the medicine bag."

Chiron trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth while I explained what had happened when the room froze—the dark misty woman who had claimed to be my patron.

No one spoke as I finished, causing me to begin to stress. Had I made a mistake telling them? Were they going to kill me or something?

"So, does this happen often?" I questioned. "Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"

"Your patron," Annabeth seemed to be trying to put it all together. "Not your godly parent?"

"No, she said patron," I nodded my head. "She said that she named me and blessed me."

Annabeth frowned. "I've never of heard anything like that before. You said the storm spirit on the skywalk—he claimed to be working for some mistress who was giving him orders, right? Could it be this woman you saw, messing with your mind?"

"I don't think so," I shook my head. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice—"

Annabeth froze, before turning to look at Chiron and Luke. "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

The centaur looked miserable as he held Piper's wrist and checked her pulse. Luke took a deep breath, grabbing his sword and slinging it back onto his back as he stood.

"It's not Kronos," Luke confirmed, shaking his head as everyone sighed in relief. "We would know if it was him. After P-After everything, he's not coming back."

"But..." Chiron muttered.

"But what?" Annabeth asked.

Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."

"Or now," I agreed with Annabeth. "Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"

"Oh," Rachel shook her head, her hands trembling. "Oh, no. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin. Her voice. She showed herself to Cressida at the same moment."

"Hera?" Annabeth's glare turned dark. "She took you over? She did this to Piper?"

"I think Rachel's right," I nodded. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this—this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"

"It is?" Annabeth scowled. "I've never heard that."

Chiron nodded reluctantly. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."

"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"

"A lot of people," Luke murmured.

"Maybe we should thank them-" Annabeth was interrupted by Chiron. 

"Annabeth," His glare was fatherly, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Cressida for help—"

"We know a Titan can capture a god," Luke listed. "Atlas with Artemis and the gods used to capture each other all the time in traps."

"But something worse than a Titan?" Annabeth hummed, scratching her head.

"Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month." I looked at the leopard head, as Luke threw it another Snausage.

"Which is how long Olympus has been closed," Annabeth said. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."

"But why use her energy to send me here?" I asked. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School field trip, and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods—let them know where she is so they bust her out?"

"The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel reasoned, before second guessing herself. "That's right isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."

"You're right," Luke nodded. "It's our use to them, why we're all still here if you will. Hera needs someone who would willingly come and free her."

"But Cressida has a point. Why her? Why take her memory?" Annabeth asked.

"And Piper's involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message—Free me. And, Luke, this must have something to do with Andromeda disappearing."

Annabeth fixed her eyes on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? What is it we're facing?"

The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."

"You never..." Annabeth blinked. "You've never kept information from us, any of us! Even the last great prophecy-"

"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. And Annabeth, you should speak with Cressida. Tell her about—about the Greek and Roman gods."

"But..." Annabeth didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Chiron turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Annabeth's eyes turned stormy. She muttered something in Greek.

"Annie, that's rude." Luke stood, shaking his hair out as Annabeth turned towards him. "But fair."

"Do you know?"

"I've just got here." Luke deadpanned before kissing her head and turning. "I'll see you later."

"What are you going to do?" I stood up, watching Annabeth and Luke talk.

"I need to call Sally, tell her that it's not Andi that we found and that we're still looking," Annabeth nodded, before Luke nudged her again. "Don't worry about it, Annie. Wherever Andi is, she's probably giving someone grief. You know her. I'll see you at dinner, Cressida."

I gave him a half-hearted wave, though his words did sound slightly threatening, before turning back to Annabeth.

"I'm sorry. I think my being here—I don't know. I've messed things up coming to the camp, somehow. Chiron said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it."

"What oath?" Annabeth demanded. "I've never seen him act this way. And why would he tell me to talk to you about the gods..."

Her voice trailed off. Apparently she'd just noticed my sword sitting on the coffee table. She touched the blade gingerly, like it might be hot.

"Is this gold?" she said. "Do you remember where you got it?"

I shot her a look. 

"Right, still an amnesiac." Annabeth shook her head. "Look, if Chiron won't help and Luke doesn't know then we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means...Fifteen! Rachel, keep an eye on Piper."

"Sure," Rachel promised. "Good luck, you two."

"What's Fifteen?" I asked, looking between the pair.

"Maybe a way to get your memory back." Annabeth promised.

We headed toward a newer wing of cabins in the southwest corner of the green. Some were fancy, with glowing walls or blazing torches, but Fifteen was not so dramatic. It looked like an old-fashioned prairie house with mud walls and a rush roof. On the door hung a wreath of crimson flowers—red poppies, I thought.

"You think this is my parent's cabin?" I asked.

"No," Annabeth shook her head. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You've forgotten everything," she said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."

Inside, even though it was almost dinnertime, three kids were sound asleep under piles of covers. A warm fire crackled in the hearth. Above the mantel hung a tree branch, each twig dripping white liquid into a collection of tin bowls. I almost put my hand in it, but stopped.

Soft violin music played from somewhere. The air smelled like fresh laundry. The cabin was so cosy and peaceful that I almost collapsed onto one of the spare bed, sleep taking over. Annabeth nudged me. "Snap out of it."

I yawned, suddenly feeling the need to sleep more than ever before.

"Fifteen does that to everyone," Annabeth warned. "If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than Five. At least with Five, you can learn where the land mines are."

"Land mines?" That woke me up. Must be Mars cabin.

She walked up to the nearest snoring kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis! Wake up!"

The kid looked like a baby cow. He had a blond tuft of hair on a wedge-shaped head, with thick features and a thick neck. His body was stocky, but he had spindly little arms like he'd never lifted anything heavier than a pillow. Useless in war then.

"Clovis!" Annabeth shook harder, then finally knocked on his forehead about six times.

"Wh-wh-what?" Clovis complained, sitting up and squinting. He yawned hugely, and Annabeth and I yawned as well.

"Stop it," Annabeth shook herself out of it. "We need your help."

"I was sleeping."

"You're always sleeping."

"Good night." 

Before he could pass out, Annabeth yanked his pillow off the bed.

"That's not fair," Clovis complained meekly. "Give it back."

"First, help," Annabeth said. "Then sleep."

Clovis sighed. "Fine. What?"

Annabeth explained about my problem. Every once in a while she'd snap her fingers under Clovis' nose to keep him awake. Clovis must have been really excited, because when Annabeth was done, he didn't pass out. He actually stood and stretched, then blinked at me. "So you don't remember anything, huh?"

"Just impressions," I muttered. "The feeling of missing something and feelings, like..."

"Yes?" Clovis said.

"Like I know I shouldn't be here. At this camp. I'm in danger."

"Hmm. Close your eyes." I did reluctantly. My thoughts became murky, as if I were sinking into a dark lake. The next thing I knew, my eyes snapped open. I was sitting in a chair by the fire. Clovis and Annabeth knelt next to me.

"—serious, all right," Clovis was saying.

"What?" I tried to push myself up. "How long-?"

"Just a few minutes," Annabeth said. "But it was tense. You almost dissolved."

I grew slightly panicked.

"Usually," Clovis said, "memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this..."

"Lethe?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Clovis said. "Not even Lethe."

"Lethe?" I asked.

Clovis pointed to the tree branch dripping milky drops above the fireplace. "The River Lethe in the Underworld. It dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently. That's the branch of a poplar tree from the Underworld, dipped into the Lethe. It's the symbol of my father. Lethe is not a place you want to go swimming."

Annabeth nodded. "Andi went there once. She told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan, saw it from a distance and that was all she needed to sleep. Gave Luke a heart attack when she revealed that."

I was glad I hadn't touched the branch then. "But...that's not my problem?"

"No," Clovis agreed. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen."

The fire crackled. Drops of Lethe water plinked into the tin cups on the mantel. One of the other campers muttered in his sleep as I tried to process what was going on.

"Stolen," I felt panicked. "How?"

"A god," Clovis said. "Only a god would have that kind of power."

"It was Juno," I waved that off, trying to get up, as my hands trembled. I didn't know how to react to this news. "But how did she do it and why?"

Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"

"She means Hera," Annabeth said. "For some reason, Cressida likes the Roman names."

Clovis hummed.

"What? Does that mean something?"

Clovis hummed again, before I realised that he was snoring.

"Clovis!"

"What? What?" His eyes fluttered open. "We were talking about pillows, right? No, gods. I remember. Greek and Roman. Sure, could be important."

"But they're the same gods," Annabeth said. "Just different names."

"Not exactly," Clovis said.

I sat forward. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Clovis yawned. "Some gods are only Roman. Like Janus, or Pompona. But even the major Greek gods—it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities."

"But..." Annabeth faltered. "Okay, so maybe people saw them differently through the centuries. That doesn't change who they are."

"Sure it does," I snapped my fingers under his nose before he could go to sleep. He yelped. "I mean...Yeah, I'm awake. So, um, personalities. The gods change to reflect their host cultures. You know that, Annabeth. It was the same in Roman times, and the gods were Roman almost as long as they were Greek. It was a big empire, lasted for centuries. So of course their Roman aspects are still a big part of their character."

"Makes sense," I muttered.

Annabeth shook her head, mystified. "But how do you know all this, Clovis?"

"Oh, I spend a lot of time dreaming. I see the gods there all the time—always shifting forms. Dreams are fluid, you know. You can be in different places at once, always changing identities. It's a lot like being a god, actually. Like recently, I dreamed I was watching a Michael Jackson concert, and then I was onstage with Michael Jackson, and we were singing this duet, and I could not remember the words for 'The Girl Is Mine.' Oh, man, it was so embarrassing, I—"

"Going back to Rome?" Annabeth interrupted.

"Right, Rome," Clovis said. "So we call the gods by their Greek names because that's their original form. But saying their Roman aspects are exactly the same—that's not true. In Rome, they became more warlike. They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful—the gods of an empire."

"Like the dark side of the gods?" Annabeth asked.

"Not exactly," Clovis hummed. "They stood for discipline, honour, strength—"

"Good things, then," I said, nodding my head as my eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made Rome last so long. It's what made the empire so strong."

Clovis gave me a curious look. "That's true. But the Roman gods weren't very friendly. For instance, my dad, Hypnos...he didn't do much except sleep in Greek times. In Roman times, they called him Somnus. He liked killing people who didn't stay alert at their jobs. If they nodded off at the wrong time, boom—they never woke up. He killed the helmsman of Aeneas when they were sailing from Troy."

"Nice guy," Annabeth said. "But I still don't understand what it has to do with Cressida."

"Neither do I," Clovis shrugged. "But if Hera took your memory, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the queen of the gods, I'd hope she was more in a Hera mood than a Juno mood. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Annabeth stared at the branch above the fire, dripping Lethe water into the cups. She looked so worried. Then she stood and tossed Clovis his pillow. "Thanks, Clovis. We'll see you at dinner."

"Can I get room service?" Clovis yawned and stumbled to his bunk. He collapsed with his butt in the air and his face buried in pillow.

"Will he suffocate?" I asked.

"He'll be fine, it's you I'm worried about." I grimaced.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Cressida's not having fun at the moment, having lost her memories. Luke is convinced that Andi is giving someone hell somewhere (and he's not wrong, can confirm she's being a nuisance).

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx