"COME YOU YOU MAGGOTS!"  General Mithras yelled, "Not you my little flower petal, you could out do them any day." He added, looking down at me and winked. He looked back at the 40ish warriors all trying to do an obstacle course, "WHAT ARE YOU? A BUNCH OF WET BLANKETS! LETS SEE SOME HUSTLE!"

I had already finished the course and now stood beside Mithras and smirked. Crossing my arms. I was covered in dirt, sweat and soot. I had been here for weeks now. I knew I woke up by the woods February 14- thanks to the visit by Cupid. I had been on the run for two weeks and I had been with Mithras for all of March and April, it was now mid May.

My memory had slowly been coming back. Bits of information here and there. I knew I had been claimed by Apollo when I was 15. I had gone to a camp for Greek Demigods, gone on a quest into an underground labyrinth, rescued Helios, released the spirit of Helios/Sol. Taken on a curse for love, rescued a Phoenix and a Sun Chariot horse, helped save camp for Greek Demigods from an invasion. I had then saved Olympus with the help of my brother and other Greek Demigods- I had killed at least 3 Titans. I had killed many many monsters, and now I was here. That was about the extent of all I knew. I didn't know the names other than Percy and Raph. There were many faces that appeared over and over, but nothing stuck.

I had figured out I had fire powers and an immunity to fire. I felt pain, but it didn't seem to be as bad as others, and I was never injured. My skin was like iron and my bones were like steel.

Mithras had explained it was called the Curse of Achellies, it was a Greek thing. By dipping in a river called the Styx I became invisible in battle.

"I don't see how that could be a curse." I frowned.

"Maybe not yet. But over time, I'm sure you will see the effects." He had said pointing his fork at me.

"Is there a way to get rid of it?"

He shrugged, "never looked into it. My warriors never came with it. As far as I was aware, only Achilles ever tried it. And the idiot kid who tried to host Kronos not too long ago."

"Well me and Percy would be three and four."

The next day in the training ground we tested the theory, every warrior came at me at once and I managed to take them all out.

I ducked and twisted, slashed and stabbed, blocked and parried.i couldn't kill these guys as they were all immortal, but I managed to disarm them all and knock them all flat.

"Now if all you weak little babies could fight like her we wouldn't have to train so hard!" Mithras yelled, his face red as he yelled at them all to get up and run laps.

"She's a 17 year old girl and took down a warrior of your caliber! Now move your ass Vlad! Knees up, you wet noodles!"

He winked at me and told me to go change. My clothes were in tatters after that fight.

He had taught me everything. I had become part of their turma. I even got the tattoo of the cult of Mithras. After going through the ritual initiation.

"It used to be more... extreme." Marcus whispered to me.

"What? Really?" I whispered back, leaning closer. He was one of the original Roman warriors in the group. He was quite young, early 20's, but he was one of the oldest in the turma. He had helped build the wall and the Barracks here.

"Oh yeah, when I joined, we did this in a dark cave, it was all hush hush and secret. I had to drink the blood of a sacrificed virgin, have water from a sacred stream dumped on my head, I had to go into a pit in the lower level of the secret cave temple- had to drink some hallucinations and I had to face demons and spirits, it tormented me for ever, almost died. Had to fight the Bull Beast."

"What?!" I gasped, "are you serious?"

Marcus giggled, "fuck no. It was all blown out of proportion. Nothing like that at all! Sacrifice a young bulk calf, had water from who the fuck knows where dumped on my head, do a secret hand shake and then tell the group why I wanted to join. And then we had supper together, that bull calf was roasted and we ate as brothers, Sol joined the party feast...he was quite the party animal back in the day. Things get exaggerated."

I slapped a hand over my mouth and tried to contain the giggles. Mithras glared at us from the front of the room. He was trying to give us a class of battle strategy.

"Ya..." He shrugged and leaned closer as he whispered while taking notes, "we didn't stop the rumors, so they just got more wild. But it's a brother hood- ya we had some sisters in our group- not many, but a few. But we're a family of warriors. That's what's important, the rituals aren't important, if you join Mithras warriors, you're one of us and you won't be left behind. Were family. You have our back we have yours."

I nodded.

"Well I like the sound of that."

"You're already part of the family Nora. Mithras has a soft spot for female fighters."

"He melts around Nana."

"Ya, but he also has a soft spot for you."

"Well I am his god daughter."

Marcus snickered.

"A god daughter?"

"Ya. He's my Godfather. Sol and him were besties. Sol is my father. Grandpa Mithras and Nana Calantha..kind of adopted me like their own because Sol is gone."

"God father..." He snickered again. And turned it into a cough.

"He made me an offer I can't refuse!" I whispered in my horrible Italian accent, making Marcus laugh even harder. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Would you two shut up and pay attention! This is important if we have to deal with a shield wall!" Mithras snapped.

"Sir, no one fights with shields anymore!" A crusader complained.

"Gaia will throw whatever army she can at us. Most likely monster and turn coat demigods with fucken shields! We must be prepaid! Now shut up and everyone give me 20!"

The room grumbled but we all got into the floor and did the pushups.

That week I officially joined the brotherhood of Mithras warriors and got the cult tattoo on the inside of my forearm. With my first line.

Marcus explained each year you're, part of the cult you get another line under the symble. Just like the Roman service in the legion. He went on to explain that all centurions who join the Legion, get a tattoo of the SPQR letters, along with their godly parent's symbol - if you had one or a patron god and a line for each year served.

Once I understood and was initiated officially into Mithras's Turma, the brotherhood of Warriors. I got the tattoo too. Mithras was slightly hesitant about me getting a tattoo, but I laughed and did it anyways. Nana Calantha had patted his hand and shook her head.

"She is head strong and independent. It's why you love her so. Let her officially join. You know she will ask Vlad to do it anyways."

Mithras huffed and threw his hands into the air.

I also asked Vlad, (one of the Viking warriors who did the tattoos for the group.) if he could mix the symbol of a Sun for Apollo and Sol into the symbol. He came back with one of the coolest tattoo designs, and it took over the entire inside of my arm and I loved it. I also asked if he could do a big one down my back and if he could mix a Greek helmet, long sword, a half wolf and Laurel crown and I was not disappointed. He did a fantastic job.

I had also joined the Mithras family. Mithras and Calantha had adopted me as one of their own children. I slept in the house and not the barrack rooms. Maximus and Cato became younger cousins. I taught them some sign language and we got away with some awesome pranks because we could communicate.

When I wasn't with the guys in training or in the class learning battle strategy or in a safe space training with just Mithras and my fire powers and my other Demigod powers. I was learning slowly how to use my gift of Sight. I still wasn't sure how it worked, it seemed to work well at night after some unicorn drought tea. But trying to call it up during the day I was still having trouble doing it. It was like I was out of range and it was all fuzzy and static.

But if I wasn't training I was in the kitchen with Nana Calantha learning how to make the best apple pies and cinnamon buns.

🔆

I had learned that Friday nights were barrack movie nights- which were always action movies. Nana always made cookies and popcorn, and the guys set up a huge projector and it was movie nights. They would all show up in sweat pants or pjs, pillows and blankets in toe. After two weeks of this, big huge train killers in fuzzy bunny slippers didn't bother me anymore.

"Gladiator?" Vlad called from the back, "what's that?"

I spun around, "you don't know Gladiator?! With Russell Crow?!" I yelled. I rounded on Mithras. "what kind of Roman god are you?!? You haven't shown them Gladiator?!"

He shrugged. "We like what we like."

"Pfft. Jackie Chan, Rocky and Jason Statham are great and all...But Gladiator! Troy! Have you losers even seen Star Wars? What about any of the James Bond movies?"

There was dead silence.

"All right you Pansies!" I yelled, "change of fucken plans! Double feature! Were going back to our roots. Gladiator and then Troy!"

There was a roar and a few thumbs from swords on shields.

"Sir, she's just as scary as you!" One of the Saxon warriors, Alfred, whisper-yelled.

"And don't you forget it!" I yelled back. There was some chuckling from the guys. "I still can't believe you've never seen these!" I shook my head in disbelief as I cued up the movies.

"We like to watch movies that have the General sons, Little Flower." Hendrix explained, he was one of the early 2000 Marin core military men.

"Wait...Chuck Norris? And Sylvester Stallone...are-"

"My son's yes." Mithras yelled from his spot on the couch. Calantha smiled, curled up beside him.

"Our sons, dear."

"Yes My Spring Blossom. Our sons."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times. "Of course they are. Action heroes... Makes perfect sense! Anyone else?"

"Dwayne Johnson."

"What?! The Rock is a demigod?" I cried throwing my hands up into the air. "Let me guess, Chuck Norris is also your son?!"

Mithras smirked and winked. Calantha also let a small giggle out.

"Of fucken course he is!" I shook my head. "So you know all the Chuck Norris jokes then."

There was an instant up roar from the guys.

"No!"
"Don't tell him!"
"We didn't tell him for a reason!"
"No! Flower blossom! Why?!"

"Silence you maggaoty worms!" Mithras snapped, he eyed them up, and then he pointed a huge finger in my direction, "Explain. Right now! What kind of jokes?"

All the warriors sitting on the ground groaned, a few facepalmed. I crossed my arms and smirked.

"Chuck Norris doesn't do push ups-"

"He most certainly does do them!" Mithras roared in outrage. I held my hand up to stop him and he clamped his jaw with narrowed eyes.

"Chuck Norris doesn't do push ups. He pushed the world down."

There was dead silence for a few seconds. And then little Maximums snickered and then the whole room burst into wild laughter.

"Brilliant!" Mithras cried. "another one!"

"Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light."

Mithras was howling with laughter. I was giggling now. I can't believe he had never heard these before. I shook my head in disappointment at the turma.

"Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits." I paused for a second as they laughed. "If you want a list of Chuck Norris' enemies, just check the extinct species list."

The entire room was howling with laughter. Cato was not the only one rolling on the floor. I was pretty darn proud of myself. I had 40ish of the biggest baddest warriors on earth rolling around the floor giggling at Chuck Norris jokes.

"Okay...two more! Chuck Norris can speak Braille. Chuck Norris can have both feet on the ground and kick ass at the same time."

"How many are there?" Mithras asked between wild laughter.

"So many! I could go in all night! But then we couldn't watch these awesome movies! I'll tell you more at breakfast!"

It took a while for the laughter and giggles to die down, but I turned the movie on and went to snuggle in beside Nana Calantha. She pulled me into her side and kissed my temple.

"I haven't heard these big grown trained killers laugh that hard in a long time."

"Chuck Norris jokes will get them every time!" I whispered.

"Now I won't hear the end of it!" She sighed.

"Sorry." I shrugged.

After the two movies they all rounded on Mithras and shouted in disbelief that he had withheld these movies.

"Brad Pit is a son of Apollo! That's my half brother!" I yelled over the guys. The chaos that erupted was even better. I chuckled as I watched them all traps out of the movie room and to their respective sleeping quarters. I yawned and helped clean up. Maximus and Cato grumbled and mumbled and yawned as they protested going to bed. Their mother shoed them up the stairs to bed.

I had an arm full of blankets when I was half way down the hall when pain exploded through my head and my knees hit the floor. Heat rippled in front of my face and I saw Raph.

Raph was dressed in black cargo pants, and an orange shirt that had a picture of a Pegasus and the words Camp Half-blood. He wore his sword on his hip and spear and shield on his back. Slung around his shoulder on a strap was what looked like a paint gun full of bright green and pink paint balls.

He was sitting at a Starbucks coffee table outside, he had a map of the United states. There were many red X's through some places and a few yellow circles.

He groaned and ran a hand down his face.

"Where did you go, Sunshine?" He whispered. He uncapped a red marker and made another x over a city name.

A girl with a red bandana and a red oversized shirt and army jacket plunked down across from him. She looked worn out and miserable.

"Look Raph... We've been looking for her for like ...four months! You might have to consider-"

"No." He snarled. "I won't. Last time I spoke to Nico he said she wasn't dead. He would know! He also asked his dad, Hades. They know her spirit isn't in the underworld. She was taken. And I won't stop until I have her back, Clary. You wanna go back to camp? Fine, go. I'm not stopping you. But I ain't going with you."

"Raph...they need their sword master back." She tried to reason. "Also, when was the last time you spoke to that kid? He's weird and creepy...he disappears for weeks on end."

"No Clarisse!" He yelled slamming his hands down on the table. The older couple beside them jumped and gave them angry looks. "I'm not going back. I'm gonna keep looking. So either shut up and come with me, or go back. Glitter will take you back. I'll use the bike."

"Fine. Good luck man. I hope you find her. Seriously. IM me or whatever..." The girl got up and walked away.

Raph slumped and rubbed his eyes. I saw the tears in them.

"I miss you Sunshine. And when I find who took you...there will be vengeance."

The scene shifted. He was walking down a dark alley. He walked his back straight and chin up, no fear in his eyes or in his demeanor, he wore no visible weapons, just his leather jacket. He was the favored son of Ares, he didn't need a weapon to be intimidating. He stopped half way down the alley and stood still. Smoke and steam rose from the grates. There were a few squeaks and the sounds of rats rummaging around in the garbage cans. There was a creepy fog rolling in. The light in the alley flickered.

"You can come out, I know you're there." He called. His voice was deep and rumbly. It echoed off the brick walls.

Suddenly about 8 huge grown men stepped out of the shadows. They all looked mean and nasty, like they all enjoyed violence and death and the sounds of screams. The rest of the group definitely weren't human. They looked half wolf, red eyes, long dirty nails, all their hair was stringy and matted, even their teeth looked elongated and sharp. I realized with horror, they were werewolves. They surrounded Raph who didn't move or show signs of fear.

"Where's your leader, Lycaon?"

The werewolf's hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur - wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others. The furs didn’t look cured and looked like they were starting to rot. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a long distance runner’s. He had pale skin pulled tight over his skull. He just sneered at Raph.

"He doesn't speak with Greek scum."

"Settle down Lycaon. I'm right here." A higher voice called. His voice fit with his looks. At first he didn't look like much. He was tall and skinny, with straw-colored hair, oversized jeans, a baggy T-shirt. He was probably about eighteen, but so skinny and sickly pale, he could’ve passed for younger.

At first he looked harmless, with a crooked smile and a slightly crazy look in his eyes, but as he got closer to Raph, I wasn’t so sure. There was creepy undertaking glint in his eyes, a harsh curiosity, like he would let the werewolves rip him apart just so he could see how it worked.

"You must be Octavian, Augur of Camp Jupiter." Raph said inclining his head.

"And you're Raphael Marino. Camp Half blood's sword and weapons master."

"You've done your research." Raph said, his voice was calm and controlled.

"I make a point to know my enemies." He spat, looking Raph up and down. Which was kind of funny considering Raph was a foot taller and could break Octavian's neck with three fingers.

"I'm not the enemy. You know Gaea is waking."

"Hmm. So the rumors say."

"Why bring the thugs? I just wanted to talk." Raph said, indicating to the huge guys and the werewolves.

"One can never be too careful. Greeks are untrustworthy and enjoy stabbing us in the back."

"As you can see, I have no weapons." Raph said holding his arms out.

"So you say."

Raph nodded and two guys stepped forwards and patted him down, ripped his jacket off and checked everything. Raph stood stiff and unmoving. His jaw clenched, and his muscles were tight, but he didn't do anything.

"Now if you're satisfied. I'd like to know if you have seen one of our own. She's a daughter of Apollo-"

"Apollo doesn't have daughters. Everyone knows that." Octavian spat.

Raph frowned at the kid. "he does ... There just aren't many."

"Lier!" The scarecrow kid shrieked.

"Well, have you seen her? She went missing and I have a feeling the gods are messing with both camps; I heard one of your praetors went missing around the same time."

"Says who?"

"I've done my research, same as you."

The kid narrowed his eyes. I could see the evil in his eyes. There was nothing I could do, I saw the kid nod slightly, the werewolves and men jumped Raph. They had him pinned so fast he could only take out one guy before they had a knife to his throat, and spiers and claws keeping him still. The back of his knees were kicked out. And he was held still, arms pinned behind his back.

Their lead werewolf had his teeth grazing Raph's neck. His teeth were sharpened like fangs, and looked yellow in the flickering light. The long teeth grazed over the pulse in Raph's neck almost lovingly, longingly. His eyes glowed bright red.

"Easy Lycaon." The scarecrow boy sneered. The Werewolf reluctantly backed away.

The Werewolf grabbed a handful of Raph's hair instead and yanked his head back. Octavian stepped closer, Perring down at him, I could see the madness in his watery eyes.

"Now...you can tell me everything I want to know about your stupid camp."

"You're expecting me to talk." Raph spat, all the hatred boiled in his dark eyes.

"Oh I'm counting on you resisting." The boy whispered maliciously. The spark in his made me cry out.

The heat waves died and I collapsed into someone's arms, tears streamed down my face, hissing and sputtering and turning to steam.

"They have him! They have him!" I wailed.

"Who, Flower Blossom, who has who?"

"Octavian...he has Raph...and their going to torture him!"

I let a heart broken sob escape and I cried into Mithras's chest.

🔆

That took a dark turn!

If you can work with me and use your imagination -

1. the top 2 pictures are the Mithras's cult symbol & mixed somehow with the half sun if Apollo /Sol design.

2. The Greek helmet, sword and wolf somehow combined together, in an awesome tattoo down her back for Raph.