[damnatio memoriae]

If it weren't for the tedious tasks that Tessa had assigned herself to do, she probably would have run off screaming throughout camp. It had been a week since the supposed sighting of the Masks around the barrier, and since then, Tessa had immersed herself in running errands for her friends at camp to keep her head out of the madness for as long as possible. Despite the monotony, the darting back and forth between cabins and the Big House and the arena and more helped clear Tessa's head.

Since Dale had sent Tessa away from the front lines during the fight, Tessa had found herself standing once more on the precipice she'd been on for three years. She'd felt somewhat out of it while rounding up campers and keeping an eye on them, not in the sense that she felt as if she was superior, but in the sense that something within her just felt...off. Normally, Tessa's combat skills would kick into place at the inkling of a fight, but during the madness, it was as if they'd been dormant. She hadn't felt a connection to the sword she'd fought with for nearly a decade, nor to the godly energy that flowed through her veins when she needed it.

To say the least, it was rather uncomfortable for Tessa. As she slowly got used to life at camp once more, she wasn't anticipating feeling like she was back at square one; learning to use her powers, learning to fight. But apparently, that's where she was.

With a sigh, Tessa hopped down the steps of the Big House, flipping through the pages in the folder that Mark had handed her in exchange for the inspection scroll. Her turquoise irises scanned the page lazily, until spotting a black and white photograph of a Victorian-looking building and its name pasted above it. Tessa froze in her tracks, rereading the header: BUFFALO STATE HOSPITAL.

Feeling like she'd been hit through the eyes, Tessa lowered the file, looking up and around in incredulity. So, Mark hadn't given her another list of chores after all; instead, he'd given her a case file for a mission she hadn't anticipated for at least another week. But as her knowledge of the situation regarding the Masks came to the forefront of her memory, Tessa supposed that time was one thing they couldn't waste.

The sound of laughter snapped Tessa out of her reverie, and with a deep breath, she dragged a hand through her chocolate hair and continued walking down the trail from the Big House. She read the mission dossier in its entirety, paying close attention to what exactly was prompting them to act. Before Tessa knew it, she'd gone through the twenty-page file.

According to the dossier, some mortals up in Buffalo had reported seeing a person in a mask near the abandoned mental institution, and since Halloween was long over, they called it in to the police. However, with some hacking help from Kaden and Dale, the demigods of Camp Half-Blood received the tip as well. Any sighting of masked figures around the country went straight to the demigod camps, and task forces traveled at their earliest opportunity to scope it out.

Nearing the heart of camp, Tessa took a moment to stop and gather her thoughts. A knot of anxiety was forming within her, one that knew about Tessa's odd disconnection to the mythological world, one that knew that this disconnection would do her no favors on the mission tonight. Tessa bit her lip, already thinking of ways she could get out of going, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, and felt a familiar skip through her heart that she couldn't shake.

"Kaden," Tessa said, eyes widening a bit in surprise. "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in New Rome?"

The son of Venus, hands in the pockets of his jeans, smiled sheepishly. "Hello to you too, first." Tessa looked away, a blush on her cheeks, but returned her gaze to Kaden. "Second, given the situation, I've declared Julius as praetor pro tempore in my leave. I'm here to stay until this stuff is figured out."

Tessa made a face, the image of Julius Finnicum trying to manage Camp Jupiter prominent in her mind. "Of all people, you chose Julius?"

Kaden fought a smile. "He volunteered."

Tessa chuckled lightly. "I'm sure he did, but why not one of the candidates for praetor?"

"When it comes to elections, Romans are sticklers for protocol. Unfortunately, assuming the position of praetor pro tempore breaks that protocol."

"And taking a leave of absence doesn't?"

Kaden winked. "I won't tell if you won't."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Nerd."

Kaden laughed, and for just a moment, it was like they hadn't broken up, like Tessa had never walked away. They could have been sixteen again, on top of the world instead of carrying it on their shoulders. Tessa stopped laughing at that; the moment run cold.

The faintest of darkness filled Kaden's eyes as he noticed Tessa's cessation of laughter. His own trailed off, until he cleared his throat. "Well, since we're both heading to that asylum later today, you should probably get checked for your injury."

Tessa bristled at that. "Kaden, I appreciate it, but I'm fine. I'm healed." She lifted the hem of her shirt, where the wound Matthew had given her had essentially closed.

Kaden wagged a finger at her. "It's still not entirely healed. If you let me help, I can speed up the process."

"Kaden, really, I'm fine—"

"Thalassa Arielle Brennan, by the powers vested in me as a doctor, I forbid you from going on this mission while injured if you do not let me help you."

Tessa clamped her mouth shut in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Kaden smirked a bit, proud of himself. "Now put away that pride of yours and let me help you."

Tessa opened and closed her mouth, like a fish, trying to think of a comeback. Each time she tried, Kaden would arch his eyebrows in amused anticipation. That only infuriated her even more, but with a sort of fury she recognized as that which she felt when Mark wouldn't stop telling her puns.

"Fine," Tessa said in defeat, waving her hand lazily. "To the infirmary we go."

Kaden smiled, and escorted Tessa to the infirmary nearby. They weaved around the few Apollo kids manning their positions, and eventually, Tessa found herself in an immaculate room, filled with cabinets, a scale and tables, and a cot. Tessa sat on the edge of the cot, watching as Kaden gathered the supplies he needed. A few moments later, he pulled a stool over to where Tessa sat, and got to work.

"Have you been doing much physical activity since you got hurt?" Kaden asked, brushing his fingers over Tessa's wound. A flare of awareness ran through Tessa, and only a dull pain followed as her wound seemed to wake up.

"Hard to exercise or fight when everyone's snapping at you not to," Tessa responded, tilting her head.

Kaden glanced up at her, sympathy in his emerald eyes. "We're just trying to keep you safe, Tessa."

"I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself safe," Tessa said, but it felt like a lie. She knew Kaden knew that too, because he stopped his inspection to sit up straight and look at her.

"Tessa," He began. "I know that you must feel pretty helpless right now, but you've gotta see where we're coming from. You were gone for three years, and your first day back, you get a really bad cut." He knit his eyebrows together, as if a revelation had dawned on him. "Did you fight back?"

"Of course, I fought back!" Tessa said, leaning back in defense.

Kaden threw his hands up in surrender. "Just a question. I've just never seen you get a wound this bad before. Normally it's the other guy."

Tessa's mind went to her disconnection, and she bit her lip. Should she tell Kaden about it, or was it all just a product of her anxious, paranoid mind? "Just out of practice, I suppose."

Kaden didn't seem entirely convinced, and Tessa's heart raced as he looked into her eyes, trying to see past the lies. Drop it, drop it, drop it.

Finally, Kaden sighed, getting to his feet. "Three years will do that to you, I guess." He discarded his gloves and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Tessa asked.

Kaden opened the door, turning to look at her. "I'll be right back, I just have to grab something." And with that, he ducked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Tessa, alone to her thoughts, felt withered. She couldn't remember the last time she lied to Kaden; in fact, she never lied to Kaden. That was why their relationship had been so strong, they told each other the truth, especially when it was imperative. But now...Tessa was keeping secrets left and right, ones that she probably shouldn't. Kaden was a doctor, he could help her. But that part of her that wanted to go back to her apartment, to her false reality, forced her to keep her mouth shut.

Tessa sighed and stood, walking over to investigate the contents of the cabinets. As she was reaching for the top cabinet, remembering something about doctor's offices harboring saltine crackers for uneasy stomachs, she spotted a clipboard on the counter. She would have ignored it, had she not seen her name scrawled on it in Kaden's slanted handwriting.

Tessa froze, her eyes darting to the door and back to the clipboard. Kaden would be back any second, she shouldn't mess with stuff that wasn't hers.

That's about you, kid. You have every right to know what's on it, the voice in the back of Tessa's head whispered.

Biting her lip, Tessa reached for the clipboard. There were only a few pages, with information about the infirmary being scrawled in Ancient Greek at the top. From Reese and Flynn, Tessa knew that the medics were supposed to report medical information in Ancient Greek, as many healing incantations and medicines and such were in Ancient Greek, but seeing as Kaden was Roman and was more inclined to Latin, he reported everything in English. Which made things on Tessa's end even easier.

Name: Tessa Brennan

Age: 21

Symptoms: aggression, mood swings, panic attacks, withdrawal from friends and family, nightmares, hallucinations

Possible Diagnosis: Panic disorder, PTSD, insanity

Tessa's heart stopped. Insanity? With wide eyes, she ran through Kaden's notes, her heart racing. This wasn't information on her injury, this was a psych evaluation. And according to Kaden, she was going insane.

A familiar constricting feeling wrapped around Tessa's heart, and the floodgates to her anxiety opened. The clipboard fell from her hands to the immaculate hospital floor below, and Tessa staggered back to the cot. Could she really be going insane? She knew she had a panic disorder, she'd known that since she was thirteen. Post-traumatic stress disorder, possibly, but insanity?

Every noise from beyond the room was as loud as a clap of thunder in Tessa's head. Every flash of light was a lightning bolt. She was lost in a storm of anxiety, trying to catch a breath on the hurricane-force gales surrounding her. She could hardly hear when the door opened and Kaden appeared, the eye to her storm but also the temperature drop right before the clouds broke.

"Tessa?" Kaden asked, imperative filling his voice. He hurried over to Tessa, kneeling before her, emerald eyes beseeching. "What's wrong?"

Tessa gulped down a breath of air, clearing her head. She began to force her anxiety back, wrath taking over. "You should know." She spat. "Since you're declaring me insane."

Realization filled Kaden's eyes, as well as guilt. "Tessa, it isn't what it looks like."

"Really?" Tessa interrupted. "Because it looks to me like I'm going insane to you."

"I have to list all possibilities for what you're going through," Kaden said, his voice placating. "It's nothing but brainstorming."

Tessa made an exasperated sound. "How long have you been evaluating my mental stability, Kaden? How long?"

Kaden pressed his lips together. "Since I visited you. I wanted to help you, Tessa. I wasn't sure what could have made you stay away for so long, so I tried to see if it was anything psychological." He met her eyes. "I just want to help you."

Tessa took a shaky breath. "Anxiety, yes. PTSD, maybe. But insanity?" Her voice cracked, her vision locking on a point in the distance as her nerves took over once more. "Am I really going insane?"

As her brain usually did when she was having an anxiety attack, all reason and logic escaped Tessa. All that existed was the worst possible scenario, which became the answer to her problems. She ran through the list of symptoms she'd been experiencing, all of them true, and how they contributed to insanity. Maybe the masks didn't correlate to the asylums they popped up in, but Tessa herself.

Tessa gasped for air, Kaden's voice ringing in her ears. His charmspeak was as powerful as a tidal wave, pulling her back to the present. There he was, kneeling before her with absolute concern in his eyes.

Tessa shook her head, her lips trembling as tears fell in rivulets down her face. "I'm not insane. I can't be."

"I know, Tess, I know." Kaden nodded. "You're not insane. You're okay." He reached up, cupping Tessa's face in his hands and brushing away her tears with his thumbs. "You're okay. Just breathe, okay? I'm here. I'm not going to leave you."

And as thundercloud and thundercloud of anxiety and panic ripped through Tessa's mind, throwing her against the rocks of her head, she sat before Kaden, waiting for the storm to pass while wondering if it ever would. Wondering if this was to be her life; a life of storms and chaos and danger with no sign of relief.

~~

By the time that Tessa, Kaden, Mark, Reese, and Dale reached the Buffalo State Hospital in upstate New York, night was falling. It had been a long drive, one that Tessa had tried to sleep through to shake the remaining grips of her earlier anxiety attack to no avail, and frankly, no one was sure they wanted it to be over.

While the hospital wasn't in a similar area to Mallory's experience or Jesse's, it was altogether abandoned. The hospital grounds almost resembled a college campus to Tessa, with large green lawns, abandoned nonetheless. The sun had fallen beneath the horizon, casting everything in shadows as the group emerged from the car. And as Tessa looked up at the hospital itself, she suddenly felt very small in all sense of the world.

The asylum was a chain of large, brick buildings, each with intricate towers and steeple roofs. The central building loomed before Tessa and her friends like a haunted mansion, which in a sense, it very well could have been. With night casting shadows on the dusty windows and ghastly tree branches, the Buffalo State Hospital was practically inviting the paranormal, as well as those foolish enough to enter as well.

"Well," Reese chimed. "This doesn't look very pleasing."

Dale snorted, her gold irises luminous in the falling darkness. "That's an understatement." She cast her gaze back to the building, and Tessa saw her best friend's hesitation written all over her face. "This place'll give me nightmares for weeks."

Kaden crossed over to where Tessa, Dale, and Reese stood, Mark in his wake. He tossed them all flashlights, which only reminded Tessa of the countless horror movies Mark had forced her to sit through when they were younger. "Why someone would come here in general boggles my mind. Someone in a mask, that boggles it even more."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of this, Kaden," Mark slapped his friend's shoulder. "We've seen scarier. I bet this investigation will be a cake walk."

"Well, if you're so confident, how about you lead us in, Mark?" Tessa retorted, a smirk lacing her lips.

Mark whipped around to look at her, his almond eyes widening. "There's no need for that." He laughed sheepishly.

"Come on," Kaden nudged him. "It'll be a cake walk."

The Japanese boy inhaled sharply, looking from Kaden to Tessa. "I don't like you guys ganging up on me again. I thought we left that to the past."

"What would give you that notion?" Tessa asked. She aimed her flashlight at the trail leading to the institution's front door. "Now, lead the way, Taste the Rainbow, before the monsters come get us."

Mark grumbled something about that not being a valid taunt given their being demigods, but trudged to the front of the group. He led them to the threshold of the institution, and fiddled with the doorknob. "Oh, well, looks like its locked. We'll have to come back when we're not the only ones crazy enough to be out here." He turned to leave, but Reese looped his arm through Mark's and spun him back around.

"Not so fast, Rainbow Road," Reese said, stopping the son of Iris in his tracks. "Not our first break-in for a mission."

"Uh, guys?" Dale said, aiming her flashlight at the door. "No need to break in."

Tessa knit her eyebrows together in confusion, looking away from Mark and Reese's miniature argument to the front door, which now had swung wide open. Chills ran down Tessa's spine and every bit of common sense she possessed was telling her to run away.

"If they're expecting us, it'd be rude not to come in." Kaden figured, but Tessa could see that he was just as shaken as the rest of them. And with that, he stepped into the abandoned building, leaving no option to turn back.

Reese followed Kaden, followed by Tessa, Dale, and Mark brought up the rear. They all filed into the foyer of the decrepit asylum, pieces of crushed tile and plaster crunching beneath their shoes. The beams of their flashlights darted around the drafty room, and with each one, Tessa expected to see some figure out of a horror movie fall into their line of light.

"So, what's the plan?" Reese asked. "This place is huge, we can't investigate it all without splitting up."

"We're not splitting up," Tessa, Dale, and Mark said in unison. Reese lifted his bow arm in what Tessa assumed was an attempt at surrender.

"They're right," Kaden conceded. "Even if we split up, it'd still take us hours to search this whole place from top to bottom. And frankly, I'm not sure anyone wants to be here any longer than necessary."

"Besides," Dale started, inching towards the nearest curving hallway. "I don't think any of us actually wants to find what we're looking for." Her flashlight beam fell atop of peeling wallpaper, making it look like a clawed beast had shredded the walls.

Tessa fought the chills spider-walking down her spine. "Let's just clear each floor and work from there." She said with an exhale.

And with that, the five demigods headed down Dale's chosen hallway. With each slight echo, each subtle noise, Tessa looked over her shoulder, expecting to find some poltergeist or monster following them. But she saw nothing, which only left her with a lingering premonition that someone was definitely with them in this building, just not exactly visible.

But there nonetheless.

~~

Whatever called this asylum home must have been waiting for them to be far from the entrance.

Tessa, Kaden, Reese, Dale, and Mark had just reached the third floor of the asylum's central building when a resounding boom echoed throughout the halls. It sounded like thunder had clapped within a room, and as one, Tessa and her friends peered over the banister of the staircase they'd just finished climbing. They could see all the way down the foyer, and they waited, but there was nothing there.

"Think it's the Masks?" Mark asked, aiming his flashlight down below.

Reese shook his head. "They wouldn't want to let us know they were here. Their MO is mostly jumpscares and surprises."

"Yippee," Dale muttered halfheartedly.

Tessa peered over the banister when she saw something rush past the corner of her eye. A sound like wings flapping filled her ears, and when she turned, she couldn't help but scream.

A figure with leathery gray skin stared back at her. It had pinprick-like black eyes, and a face that looked like it was sluggish and frozen. Sinewy gray wings stretched from its back, and while it seemed as frozen as a statue, Tessa knew that it was fully aware of each one of them.

"Silly children," The creature's voice echoed through Tessa's head. She registered the sound, but the creature's mouth hadn't opened. "This place is not for half-bloods."

"What are you?" Reese demanded, stringing an arrow. "Speak, or I'll fire."

The sound of more flapping wings echoed through the large landing they were on. Tessa found herself and her friends backing into a circle as more of those leathery creatures surrounded them.

"I'm sure you would fire, son of Apollo. You've shot many people. Do you know what your victims have to say to you? We are here to tell you." The figures spoke in eerie unison without speaking at all, and it took every ounce of will for Tessa to remain resolute.

"You're the Arae," Tessa spoke, the memory of her monster-fighting classes coming back to her. "Spirits of curses."

If the figures could smile, Tessa was sure they were. "You are very bright, daughter of Poseidon. But I fear your intellect will not spare you from your fate. Nor will it save your friends from their own."

Tessa furrowed her brow as the sound of Reese drawing back his bowstring snapped through the air. However, Reese cried out in pain and Tessa whirled around to see the son of Apollo falling to his knees, his golden bow clattering out of his hand. Blood was leaking from Reese's shoulder, from a wound about as thick around as the shaft of an arrow.

"What have you done to him?" Kaden snarled, his golden sword glinting in the light of their flashlights.

"In the General of the Regiment's dying moments, she cursed Reese Hale to be run through with his own arrow just as he had her." The Arae resonated.

Tessa met Kaden's gaze. "Every enemy we've faced, they've cursed us to feel what they did. The Arae execute that curse. We need to move, now!"

"You can run from your past, Thalassa." Tessa locked eyes with the dark holes of the arai. "But you cannot hide from it."

Tessa felt frozen in that moment, and with a flare of pain in her side, she realized that her wound from Matthew's sword had begun to bleed yet again. The traitor's curse, no doubt.

Mark clapped his hands and light filled his palms. He threw the blast forward, and as if it were a flash grenade, he turned and ran in the opposite direction, shielding his eyes. "Come on!"

Kaden rushed for Reese, helping his best friend to his feet and hurrying after Mark. Dale grabbed Tessa's arm, shaking her out of her reverie, and they rushed after their friends while the curse spirits watched from where they stood, cats toying with their pray.

"Now do we have a plan?" Reese moaned. "Because lack of one has done me no good."

"You can't escape the Arae!" Tessa exclaimed as they ran. "They'll just keep coming."

"Yes, we will." The voice of the Arae filled Tessa's head, and she drew Tempest, rearing back as her friends ran on.

"Where are you?" Tessa called out. Her sword would flared with pain at each movement, but her wrath was beginning to numb the sensation. "If you're so almighty, show yourselves!"

That was the wrong thing to say.

A searing pain erupted in Tessa's shoulder and she cried out in pain. She heard Kaden cry out for her as Tessa staggered. Tempest clattered to the floor as Tessa reached to pull aside her sweater, and sure enough, her skin had blistered over as if exposed to extreme heat.

"When the Palikoi were captured by the Olympians for their alliance to Deimos, they were very adamant in your demise, Thalassa. Their power over heat affects you still." The Arae echoed in her head.

Blinking through the combined pain, Tessa saw an arai standing before her. With shaking hands, Tessa snatched Tempest from the ground and stumbled down the hallway, after her friends. That couldn't be right. Kaden had cried out for her, he must have heard her scream. Where was he? Where were her friends?

Tessa aimed her flashlight through every doorway, limping along. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. Her side was drenched in blood, her shoulder stinging with heat, every step was a mile.

"Aether and his Masks recruited you, didn't they?" Tessa's voice reverberated through the vast hallways. She looked behind her, and just where the hallway curved, the arai stood, approaching her when she wasn't looking. Tessa grit her teeth and kept moving, but another searing stab of pain was her response.

Her flashlight fell from her hands as Tessa's left hand trembled. She watched as a wound opened up on it, a jagged hole through her palm. She screamed at the top of her lungs at the pain, her knees buckling from nausea.

"You're a very talented shot, Thalassa. Your knife pierced Deimos' hand, ultimately ending your battle." The Arae's voice echoed through her head.

Kaden, Reese, Dale, Mark; where are you guys? Tessa thought. She bit her lip, fighting the pain as she reached for her flashlight. When she picked it up, the arai was standing not even a foot before her, despite following her from behind.

Tessa shrieked and scrambled backwards, but the pain from her hand was too much. She fell to the dirty ground, breathing heavily. Her heart was racing, and which each pulse, she was losing more blood from two severe injuries. Her vision was starting to go fuzzy.

"While the General also cursed Reese Hale, she cursed you too, Thalassa. I'm sure this next curse will be quite familiar." The Arai said, staring straight into nothing.

Tessa tried to fight off the curse, but they just kept coming. Blood spread across her abdomen from the sword wound she gave the General, multiple scratches and cuts from battles with Vinny, Matthew, the vampiress Lamia, appeared all over her skin. The pain was almost numbing, and Tessa abandoned her flashlight, forcing herself to her feet as tears streamed down her face.

She hobbled away, hyperventilating. Her friends had left her, of course they had. She'd abandoned them for three years, hadn't she? They had every right to leave her for dead. She was weak, she was a murderer, she was a monster and this was her punishment.

Tessa reached the landing she'd run from, the Arai close behind. She staggered for the stairs, vision blurry from tears and blood from a cut on her head and her loss of blood from the various wounds all over her body. With every last drop of will she possessed, she tried to call upon her power, for water to materialize around her and help heal her wounds...but nothing happened.

Tessa's eyes widened as she blinked through her tears, staring at her bloodied hands. She flexed them, searching for that familiar connection to the sea, and couldn't feel it.

"No," Tessa whimpered. "Please, no."

The Arai shot another curse at her and Tessa's back arched as she collapsed to the ground, entirely helpless. Tempest had fallen out of her grasp, and with as many wounds as she had, she stood no fighting chance.

That's when Tessa felt the severity of the next curse strike her very soul. She saw flashes of light, images of Masks, echoes of chanting. She was in a hospital room, screaming at the top of her lungs as people poked and prodded in her head. She was running through alleys, sirens in the distance. She was in a cavernous room, a man with blood on his hands running right for her.

"Who?" Tessa gasped for air, her throat feeling like it was closing up. "Who did this?"

Tessa never got an answer, because as the Arae ripped another curse at her, she lost whatever grip she had on consciousness. She was lifted up, and carried away in the haze of her mind as everything faded to black.