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ELECTRIC LOVE

CHAPTER TWO
[ N A T A L I A ]

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"NO," NATALIA ANSWERED, shaking her head at the redhead as Annabeth ran down the hall to get a med kit. "You couldn't have killed her."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Jason asked, staring at Rachel.

"My name's Rachel," she responded. "I'm the Oracle here at Camp Half-Blood. Basically, I tell the future and give Prophecies."

Natalia kneeled down next to Piper and noticed her chest rise and fall. "She's still breathing."

"We've got to heal her," Jason announced. "There's a way, right?"

Chiron kneeled down next to Natalia, placing a hand on Piper's forehead and grimacing. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "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."

Natalia's eyebrows knit together in confusion as she stood up, crossing her arms. "Like a Prophecy?"

"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 then ran in, clutching a leather pouch and kneeling next to the unconscious girl. "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?" Jason asked.

Natalia stiffened, and Annabeth glanced up at her nervously. She looked down at her blonde friend with a knowing expression.

"Natalia?" Chiron asked. "What's wrong?"

"U-Uh, I'm sorry about not telling you this Chiron, but before Annabeth, Butch, and I left, I had this . . . dream. I was standing in the dark, and all of the sudden a woman's voice came and told me that I needed to free her. This could be the same thing that happened to Piper."

Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart; a ward to fend off evil.

"Still, Jason, how did you know that?" Annabeth asked.

"Jason, tell them. Annabeth, the medicine bag, please," Chiron asked.

He began to trickle medicine into Piper's mouth. At the same time, Jason told his story about how the room froze, a woman's voice appeared saying to free her, and that she was his patron.

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

"Your patron," Annabeth said slowly. "Not your Godly parent?"

"No, she said patron. She also said my dad had given her my life."

A frown appeared on Natalia's face. "I haven't heard of anything like that ever. But you said that one Anemoi on the skywalk claimed to be working for a mistress . . . maybe it's the same person?"

"I don't think so," Jason said. "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 turned to Chiron. "Not Kronos. Please tell me it's not that."

The Centaur looked miserable. "It is not Kronos. That threat is ended. But . . ."

Natalia raised an eyebrow. "Go on, Chiron."

He ignored her. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."

"Or now," Jason said. "Sir, Mr. 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 said softly. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her Cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment, and to Natalia a little earlier today."

"Hera?" Annabeth snarled, and Natalia's eyes narrowed at the mention of her name. "She took you over? She did this to Piper?"

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

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

Chiron nodded hesitantly. "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?"

Natalia scoffed. "Whoever did, I would like to thank them personally."

"Natalia," Chiron said sternly. "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 Jason for help—"

"Fine," she responded, resisting an eye roll. "Well, if Hera's captured, then it could've be done by a Titan. Atlas captured my mother a few years back. Plus, the Gods used to trap each other all the time. What's worse than a Titan?"

Jason stared at Seymour the leopard. "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."

"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?" Jason 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 said, and Natalia let out a sigh. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with Demigods."

"That's true," Annabeth responded. "But Jason's got a point. Why him? Why take his memory?"

"And Piper and Natalia are involved somehow," Rachel said, and Natalia stared at the ground. "Hera sent them the same message — free me. And, Annabeth, this must have something to do with Percy's disappearing."

Natalia looked up at Chiron. "You've been awfully quiet. What are we facing?"

"My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry," he responded, looking much older than he did a few minutes ago.

Annabeth blinked, and took a step to stand next to Natalia. "You've never . . . you've never kept information from us. Even the last Great Prophecy—"

"I will be in my office," Chiron said in a heavy voice. "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, Natalia, you should speak with Jason. Tell him about — about the Greek and Roman Gods."

Natalia frowned. "Chiron . . ."

He did not respond, but merely rolled away. Her brown eyes narrowed at his retreating figure. "γαμημένο κένταυρο," she cursed.

"I'm sorry," Jason said, and Natalia sighed as she stared at him. "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 and Natalia to talk to you about the Gods . . ."

However, her voice trailed off when Natalia turned her attention to something. She walked over to the coffee table, where a gold sword was lying. Natalia gingerly picked it up and stared at it.

"Is this gold?" Natalia asked. "Usually, we use Celestial Bronze . . . where'd you get it? Do you remember?"

"No," Jason said. "Like I said, I don't remember anything."

Annabeth nodded, and Natalia set down the sword. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means . . ."

"Cabin Fifteen," Natalia answered, and then turned to the redhead. "Can you keep an eye on her, Rachel?"

"Sure," Rachel responded. "Good luck, you three."

"Hold on," Jason said. "What's in Cabin Fifteen?"

Natalia stared at him, him turning slightly red under her gaze. "A possible way to get your memory back."

The two head counselors led Jason over to a new wing of cabins. On the way, they passed Cabin Eight. It seemed to glow brighter when Natalia walked past, obviously telling the confused blonde boy that it was the Artemis Cabin. Finally, they stopped in front of one that looked like an old-fashioned prairie house, with mud walls and a rush roof. A wreath of red poppies hung on the door.

"You think this is my parent's Cabin?" Jason asked.

"No," Annabeth answered. "This is the Cabin for Hypnos, the God of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You have memory loss," Natalia said. "And if there's a God that can help us with that, it's Hypnos."

They walked into the Cabin, and saw that three kids were asleep under the covers. A warm fire crackled, and above the mantle, a branch dropped milky drops from the River Lethe into tin bowls. Soft violin music played around the Cabin, and Natalia looked over to see Jason about to fall asleep.

She jammed her elbow into his side, and he gasped, holding the place where he was struck. He looked down at her with a surprised look to see a playful glint in her eyes. "Snap out of it, sleepy. But don't worry about it, the Hypnos Cabin does that to everyone. Even more dangerous than Ares' Cabin, if you ask me, but at least you can find the land mines there."

"Land mines?"

Before Natalia could respond, Annabeth walked up to one of the beds and shook the kid's shoulder. "Clovis! Wake up!"

Clovis looked like a baby cow. His head had a tuft of blonde hair, and he had a thick head with a thick neck. The rest of his body was stocky, but his arms spindly.

"Clovis!" Annabeth yelled, shaking him harder and knocking him on the head.

"Wh-Wh-What?" Clovis complained, sitting up and squinting.

He yawned so huge that Annabeth, Jason, and Natalia yawned, too.

Natalia shook her head. "Don't do that. We need your help."

"I was sleeping," he answered.

She rolled her eyes. "When are you not?"

"Good night."

Before he could fall asleep, Annabeth took the pillow from underneath his head.

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

"Later," Natalia said. "Help us first."

Clovis sighed, his breath smelling like warm milk. "Fine. What?"

Annabeth and Natalia explained Jason's situation the best they could. However, a couple times they had to snap their fingers under his nose to keep him awake.

He stretched, and looked at Jason. "So you don't remember anything, huh?"

"Just impressions," Jason said. "Feelings, like . . ."

"Yes?"

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

"Hmm. Close your eyes."

Jason looked at Natalia for reassurance. She nodded, and gave him a small smile. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Natalia caught him as he began to fall forwards. She brought him over to the chair by the fire, and Clovis, Annabeth, and her kneeled next to him. She watched his body almost disappear, almost like he was dissolving into thin air. It almost looked like every time her friend, Nico di Angelo, shadow-traveled. And trust her, she'd seen that plenty of times.

"This is serious, all right," Clovis said as Jason opened his eyes, his body becoming more opaque and real.

"What happened?" Jason said. "How long—"

"Only a few minutes. But you almost dissolved," Natalia said, her tone worried.

"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, not even Lethe."

"Lethe?" Jason asked.

Clovis pointed to the tree branch 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, Hypnos. Lethe is not a place you want to go swimming."

Natalia nodded. "I went there once with Percy. It was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan."

"But . . . that's not my problem?"

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

"Stolen," Jason said. "How?"

"A God. Only a God would have that kind of power."

"We know that. It was Juno. But how did she do it, and why?"

Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"

"Hera," Natalia clarified. "Jason likes Roman names for some reason."

"Hmm," Clovis said.

"What?" Jason asked. "Does that mean something?"

"Hmm," he said again.

Natalia realized he was snoring, and clapped her hands in front of his face. "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."

Jason sat forward. "What do you mean, not exactly?"

"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."

Natalia hesitated. "So people saw them differently through centuries. But that doesn't mean they change who they are."

"Sure it does." Clovis then began to fall asleep, and Jason snapped his fingers under his nose. "Coming, mother! I mean . . . yeah, I'm awake. So, um, personalities. The Gods change to reflect their host cultures. You know that, Natalia. I mean, these days, Zeus likes tailored suits, reality television, and that Chinese food place on East Twenty-Eighth Street, right? 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," Jason said.

Annabeth shook her head, clearly 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 Gods, 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—"

Natalia raised an eyebrow. "How about we go back to Rome?"

"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 answered. "They stood for discipline, honor, strength—"

"Good things, then," Jason spoke up, and Natalia looked at him curiously. "I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made Rome last so long."

Clovis gave him a 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 Jason."

"Neither do I," Clovis said. "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 sighed, standing up and throwing Clovis his pillow. "Thanks, Clovis. We'll see you at dinner."

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

"Won't he suffocate?" Jason asked.

"Nah," Natalia said, and then stared at Jason so intense that he noticed silver specks in her eyes. "But I think you're in a lot of trouble, my friend."

★彡

"My friend." Yeah right.