The Trials of Aphrodite

♦ Chapter Seven ♦

"And just how are we going to avoid a volley of arrows from Apollo, a lot of spears, swords, and very sharp objects that can kill, scorpion ballistae, and lethal water cannons?" I demanded.

"Easy," Kayla said. "We avoid them."

"Thanks, that clears everything up."

"We actually have the upper hand," Via told me.

"How?" I asked.

"Kayla is a daughter of Vulcan, the blacksmith god. And she's the one to talk to when you want weapons or armor. Her skill helped earn her a spot into this cohort, the most prestigious. She can make anything."

"Tell me how this is relevant."

Kayla flashed me a grin. "I can make anything. Which means I have a lot of goodies in store for the other campers. This is gonna be fun! I can finally try out my land mines."

If my eyes could get any wider, they did. "Land mines?" I squeaked. 

She nodded absentmindedly. "Uh-huh. You're lucky you're in the First, Ren. We have the sharpest blades in the legion, all thanks to me," she said proudly.

"What about me?" one of her brothers protested. "I helped too!"

"Whatever. But I'm the best."

"Stop bickering!" Cynthia snapped. "You're both good at tinkering. Now shut up."

"Tinkering?" Kayla growled.

"Any other advantages?" I inquired of Via.

Via shook her head. "Well, John's a son of Mars, but he's a little soft. He shows mercy."

"Hey!" the boy complained.

"I guess, being a daughter of Mercury, I can sneak around better. I'm good at stealing things—like banners, for instance."

"And I'm pretty much useless," I summed up.

"Well . . . yeah. Sorry," Via said.

"I get that a lot. Well, let's try to win a game that we have about a five percent chance of winning."

"That's the spirit, Ren!"

I fought valiantly and brought honor to the First Cohort, right?

HAHAHAHAHA, no. 

But that's just my luck.

We kept low on the west side of the fort, and I could see the First Cohort marching to the front gates, Mike leading them, sword in hand. They were being pelted with rocks and shot by the scorpions, and even more craters appeared on the Field of Mars. Water cannons sent jets of liquid that carved trenches in the dirt. Several THRUM sounds made my teeth rattle in my mouth.

I made a heroic whimpering sound.

The Second and Third Cohorts marched in front of the First Cohort, screaming battle cries like "CHAAARGE!" or "FOR JUPITER!" or "OH MY GODS PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

The defenders were definitely doing a swell job at defending. The Fifth Cohort discharged more water cannons, and I spotted Hazel riding a tan-colored horse and swinging her spatha into enemy lines. I hoped she didn't spot me anytime soon.

Conveniently, a defender spotted our group from atop the fort. "Hey, look!" he shouted to his friends. "Victims!"

Barbarians.

By now, the entire legion had engaged in combat. Swords clashed, spears punctured flesh, and an elephant trampled a couple of Romans like a child stomping on an anthill. Reyna shouted every time she witnessed foul play, and several rescue eagles swooped down and saved Romans that toppled over the fort. They caught them in their claws and guided them to safety.

One defender, most likely a child of Apollo, nocked an arrow and aimed it at me. My heart pounded in my ears.

I don't know what compelled me to do it, but I wasn't expecting the results I got. Strength surged into my bones, and I steeled my courage.

"STOP!" I screamed.

My voice was enhanced fifty times as it traveled across the field, and every camper halted in the middle of fighting. Reyna's pegasus stopped circling and flapped in one spot. The giant eagles stopped in their tracks. The Romans dropped their weapons and stared at me on the other side, slack-jawed.

Charmspeak. I'd just used charmspeak on every single soldier in the legion.

My companions' eyes flitted from me to the other campers, as perplexed as I.

How in the world did I do that? Last I checked, I hadn't been able to use my godly powers.

The momentary strength I'd had receded just as quickly as it had come. The adrenaline rush left me, and I had an overwhelming sense of fatigue.

The legion was still frozen. I decided to take full advantage of the moment.

I waltzed into the enemy base and took the banners, and the Romans were powerless to stop me. 

Reyna and Frank dismounted Guido, Reyna looking like she was trying to suppress a laugh. "The game is won! Assemble for honors!" 

The campers slowly regrouped on the Field of Mars, and their expressions read: What the frick just happened?

The Romans had their share of injuries. Some cradled broken arms or had slight limps. Some were badly singed, and the water cannons and the fires combined made for some very intriguing hairdos. Some had bleeding cuts and gashes on their faces. Many had been burned, and a few had black eyes. But it was all minor. Medics rushed to and from the campers to heal them.

I didn't feel too amazing with my performance, and my friends were bombarding me with questions.

"How did you do that?" Hazel asked me. "My friend Piper can be pretty persuasive, but that? That's power worthy of a goddess!"

A goddess indeed. I would have laughed if I hadn't been feeling so confused.

"You're pretty special, Sis," Mike praised. "Even I can't do that!"

If my son called me Sis once more, I would stab him in the eyes with a pair of pointy high-heels. 

Reyna palmed me a small medal—the Mural Crown—and studied me anxiously. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she seemed to think better of it. The praetor complimented me and turned to talk with Frank Zhang.

The medal was cold to the touch. I slipped it in the pocket of my jeans for now.

Hazel's brother and the blond I'd seen in the watchtower walked up to me. The blond had a permanent smile plastered to his face, and I had to admit he looked quite handsome.

"I'm Will Solace," he said, shaking my hand, still smiling. I wondered if I would ever see the day this boy frowned. "Son of Apollo. You're Ren, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"That was pretty cool what you did on the battlefield. I was impressed."

"Um . . . thank you," I said.

Nico looked ready to go full ninja mode and attack me. While Will always smiled, Nico had a constant scowl on his face. They were exact opposites.

Ah, but from the way they held hands and looked at each other, I could tell they were dating. One of the many perks of being a love goddess.

Sorry, former love goddess.

"I still don't trust you," the son of Hades said bluntly. 

"Isn't that nice?"

"You're keeping a secret," he persisted. "I'm going to find out what it is."

"Um, okay," I said, my voice tinged with fear. 

"Nico, stop scaring her," Will chided. "She doesn't have any secrets. You're just freaking her out."

Freaking me out? Yes. No secrets? No.

"Whatever." He stormed off, his boyfriend trailing behind him like a lovesick puppy.

"One of the stranger people I've paired together," I muttered. 

"What?" Via asked.

"Um, nothing. So we won the game?"

"Yeah, I guess. That's never happened before, though. You must be really powerful."

If 'powerful' meant very, very useless and confused, then yes, I was powerful.

I chatted with a couple of other legionnaires until two familiar teenagers walked my way.

The boy had windswept black hair and sea green eyes. Percy Jackson. The girl had wavy blond curls and gray eyes. Annabeth Chase. Excitement bubbled up in my chest.

"That was awesome," Percy said. "So you're Camp Jupiter's newest recruit?"

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you," Annabeth chimed in, shaking my hand and smiling. "I've never seen charmspeak that powerful. You must be a child of Venus."

Ha, no. I was Venus. But I wouldn't let that little detail slip.

"Yes," I repeated. "It's nice to meet you as well. I've heard the stories."

"I hope you never have to go through what we have," Percy replied. "Prophecies suck."

They really did. Though I was afraid I had one coming for me. 

"They must. I truly hope I don't."

"We'll be in New Rome this week," Annabeth said, "so you can visit anytime. We're usually at the pastry shops, because Percy likes their cookies. He actually got the baker to make blue ones just for him."

"I save Olympus," Percy joked, "and I get blue cookies. Sounds like a sweet deal to me. They can't top my mom's, though."

I allowed myself a small smile.

"I think you'll like Camp Jupiter," Annabeth told me. "It's a great place to train. We'd better go to one of those bakery places Percy loves."

"They just got a new batch of cake pops," Percy explained. "Yum. 'Bye, Ren."

I've never met a demigod so obsessed with food. I shook my head as Percy and Annabeth walked away.

Several campers screamed, and I whipped around to see what the commotion was.

A column of fire swirled in the air, and as it dissipated, a humanoid figure appeared in the center of the field. The legion slowly knelt, and I followed their lead.

She looked to be only eight years old. She had straight brown hair that fell to her collarbone, rosy cheeks, and a determined expression. She donned a plain brown cloak with a hood, which was currently not over her head. But her eyes attracted the most attention—they were bright yellow, even stranger than Hazel's eyes. Heat pulsed from her in waves. She was undoubtedly a goddess.

"Lady Vesta," Reyna said. As if my day wasn't strange enough already. "What brings you here?"

Hestia's Roman form, I thought. I stared at her in shock.

Did I imagine it, or did the goddess of the hearth glance in my direction? "I'm afraid I bring terrible news," she said grimly, her voice as sweet and innocent as a child's. "Concerning Venus's symbol of power."

Dun, dun, dun! Sorry. Too soon?

Trivia Question: What's the name of Jason and Thalia's mortal mother, the '80's starlet?

Digital blue brownies for you all, you wonderful people. (::) (::) (::) (::) 

Hush, they aren't cookies. They're brownies. Freakishly demented digital blue brownies.

You know how in The Trials of Apollo, Apollo has his moments where he gets back a bit of his godly power? It's the same thing with Aphrodite. She'll go into 'divine mode' a few times in this story. I hope you guys like where the plot is going. I take suggestions, and I'm open to criticism, so you can insult my entire being and I won't care. As long as I get comments :).