WINTERTIME AT Camp Half-Blood never failed to amaze Magdalena.

  There was a light dusting of snow on the grounds and falling from the sky, with frost coated on the chariot track and strawberry fields. The buildings were all decorated with Christmas lights and there were little small fires lit up around the pavilion. It felt very calm and comfortable within the borders of camp— a place where they could all just relax in safety.

  "Holy smokes!" Nico said as they got out of the bus. "Is that a rock climbing course?"

  "Yeah," Percy replied as he helped a stumbling-Magdalena wedge herself out of the death-bus. He steadied her as she wobbled onto the ground, heaving a great sigh before managing to stabilize herself on her own.

  "Land," Lena breathed out, sighing in relief. "Sweet, beautiful land."

  Percy rolled his eyes amusedly. "You're a mess," he stated, briefly turning his eyes away from her when saw Magnus stumble out of the bus and fall straight on his face into the snow.

  "Owwww," he groaned, his voice muffled from it being smushed flat into the ground.

  "You both are a mess," Percy corrected.

  "A mess that is now on solid ground," Magdalena replied, patting Percy's arm with a smile.

  "Is that lava coming down from it?" Nico asked, still staring at the obstacle course.

  "Adds a little extra challenge," Magnus said, brushing the snow off his shirt.

  "Follow us, Nico," Percy said. "We'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoë, I assume you've met— "

  "I know Chiron," Zoë sniffed indignantly. "Inform him that the Hunters will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, come with me."

  "I can lead you there," Grover offered.

  "We know where to go."

  "Honestly, it's no bother. You can get lost pretty quick here, if you don't— " he fell over a burnt kayak and shot up still talking— "just like my daddy goat would say! Let's go!"

  Zoë rolled her eyes, but she figured she wasn't losing Grover in the near future. Her and the rest of the Hunters shouldered their bags and walked toward the cabins. Bianca whispered something to Nico before she left, and Nico just scowled and turned away, not answering.

  "Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called to the Hunters. He winked at Percy. "Be on the look out for those prophecies, Jackson. We'll see each other soon."

  "What do you mean?"

  He didn't answer, and instead hopped into the bus again. "See ya, Magnus and Magdalena!" He called. "And be good, both of you! No slip-ups!"

  Percy didn't know what he meant by that, but it seemed the two siblings did, because they just stared at him like he'd just told them something awful. He shot them a wicked smile and burst off in his sun-bus through a large blast of light and heat.

  Nico was still scowling. Magdalena, with her heart now beating at a stable rate, was curious on what Bianca had said to him.

  "Who's Chiron?" He asked. "He's not one of my figurines."

  "Activates director," Percy replied. "He's . . . Well, you'll see."

  "If those Hunter girls hate him," he grumbled. "That's enough explanation for me. Let's go."

  As they approached the Big House, they saw it was also decorated festively with red and yellow fireball-lights that kept the porch warm. There was a fire crackling in the hearth inside, and the smell of hot chocolate wafted through the air. In the parlor, Mr. D and Chiron were quietly playing a game of cards.

  It was quiet around camp with so little campers around. Beckendorf was seen stoking the forces near his cabin, and the Stoll brothers were off trying to pick the lock on the camp store. There was a snowball fight between a few Ares kids and some wood nymphs in the steamer fields, and that was pretty much it.

  Chiron smiled when he saw them. His brown beard was shaggier for the winter, and he had on a thick sweater with a hoof print knitted on the front. There was a blanket spread over his lap that practically covered his entire wheelchair.

  "I am most relieved to see you guys! And this must be— "
 
  "Nico Di Angelo," Percy explained. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

  Chiron sighed in relief. "You were successful, then."

  "Well . . . "

  "Shame," Mr. D said blandly. "Another one gone?"

  Magdalena had been trying to avoid looking at Mr. D for the sake of her own sanity, but he was hard to ignore when he had on a neon orange leopard track-suit on with purple sneakers, as if the god had ever run a day in his immortal life.

  "What are you talking about?" Thalia asked. "Who's gone?"

  Grover stumbled into the room a few moments later, a mad grin plastered on his face. He had a black eye and red splotches his cheeks that looked like handprints. "The Hunters are settled in!"

  Chiron set down his cards. "I see we have a lot to catch up on." He looked at Nico. "Grover, why don't you take Nico to the den and play our orientation film for him."

  "But . . . Yes, right. Of course."

  "Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? Bianca is a little strict on— "

  "It's PG-13," Grover said.

  "Nice!" Nico gladly followed Grover out of the parlor.

  "Now," Chiron said, looking at Magnus, Magdalena, Thalia, and Percy. "Why don't you four take a seat and fill us in with the whole story."

  ONCE THEY finished, Chiron looked to Mr. D. "We need to send a search for Annabeth at once."

  "I'll go," all four demigods said at once.

  Dionysus scoffed. "Absolutely not!"

  The complaints spewed out like rapid fire from all of Annabeth's friends, but Dionysus raised his hand for silence. He had that dark angry glint in his purple eyes that meant something godly and horrible would happen to them if they didn't shut up.

  "From what I've heard from you four," Mr. D said, "we've broken even on this little escapade. Regrettably, we have lost Annie Bell— "

  "Annabeth," Magnus snapped. "You know her name."

  "Yes, whatever," he said, waving it off. "And you have managed to find a small annoying boy to take her place. I don't see any benefit in risking any more half-bloods on a pointless rescue. There is a great possibility that this Annie girl is already dead."

  "She's not dead," Magnus said hardly, sitting up in his seat. "You should know that, even though you're hardly a god to even— "

Thalia elbowed him, shooting him a warning look. No matter how angry she was too, Thalia knew it was in their best favor to not to anger Dionysus. Even if he wasn't the strongest god on Olympus, he still had the power to kill any of them within a millisecond if he pleased. 

  "Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but his voice was struggling to hold its usual cheeriness. He had practically raised Annabeth when she stayed at camp year-round. "She is very intelligent. If our enemies have her in their grasp, she will give herself as much time as she can. She may even act in cooperation."

  "That's true," Thalia said. "Luke needs her alive."

  "And in that case," said Dionysus, "I fear she'll need to use her smarts to escape on her own."

  Magnus visibly stiffened. Percy shot up from the table.

  "Percy." Chiron's voice was filled with warning. Percy knew in the back of his head that Dionysus wasn't somebody to mess with. Even when he was just an impulsive ADHD teenager like him, he wouldn't spare Percy any slack. But Percy was so livid he didn't care.

  "You're happy that another campers gone," Percy said. "You'd love if we all disappeared!"

  Mr. D sighed tiredly. "And the point to this is . . . ?"

  "My point," Percy growled. "Is that just because you were sent here as punishment doesn't give you the right to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. You should start to help it!"

  The only sound in the room was the crackling fire. There was a sinister light reflected in Mr. D's eyes. He began to say something— most likely a curse that would turn Percy into ashes— but Nico flew into the parlor, Grover on his tail.

  "SO AWESOME!" He screamed, looking at Chiron. "You're a centaur!"

  Chiron conjured up a wary smile. "Yes, Mr. Di Angelo. Though, I tend to stay in human form within this wheelchair for first impressions."

  "And, wow!" He turned to Mr. D. "You're the wine dude!"

  Mr. D looked away from Percy and looked at Nico with loathing. "The wine dude?"

  Magnus laughed at Mr. D's expense, staring at the disgusted look on the god's face. But, one sharp look from Chiron shut him up fast.

  "You're Dionysus, aren't you?" Nico said. "No way, your figurines in my collection!"

  "My figurine."

  "For the game I play, Mythomagic. You've only got five-hundred attack points, and mostly everyone thinks you're pretty lame, but I think your powers are totally sweet!"

  "Ah." Mr. D looked truly amazed, which most definitely saved Percy's life. "That's . . . Endearing."

  "Percy," Chiron said tightly. "You four run off to the cabins and inform everybody that we will have having a game of capture the flag tomorrow evening."

  "Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "There's hardly enough— "

  "It's our tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, for when the Hunters stop by."

  "Right," Thalia muttered. "Real friendly."

  Chiron looked back at Dionysus, where Nico was still filing him in on how the defense point system worked in his game. "Go, now," he said to them.

  "Let's go, Percy," Magdalena said, yanking him to his feet and shoving him out of the door to the Big House before Dionysus remembered that he was wanted to kill him.

  "You already made enemies with Ares," Magdalena reminded the boy as they walked toward their cabins. "You think you need another immortal nemesis?"

  She was right, obviously. He'd fought Ares in his first summer at camp, turning all of his children into his enemies, along with the god himself. He didn't need to lose Dionysus to his bad side, too.

  "Sorry," Percy said. "I couldn't help it. It's so unfair."
 
  They stopped near the armory and gazed at Half-Blood Hill, where Thalia's pine tree still stood tall with the Golden Fleece shimmering on a low branch.

  "Percy, the world is unfair," Thalia said. "I just wish sometimes . . . "

  Her voice trailed off, her tone so depressed it was hard to hear. She looked out of place in the white snow with her dark hair and black clothing, like some sort of raven.

  "We're going to find Annabeth," Magnus promised. "We just need to figure out how."

  "First I discover Luke is gone," Thalia said. "Now Annabeth— "

  "I went through the same thing last summer," Magdalena said. "I understand what you're feeling, but you can't think that way. It'll drive you to insanity."

  "You're right," she said, gaining a little confidence. "We're going to find a way."

Down the hill at the basketball courts, some of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with some child of Ares, and the Ares kid reaching for his sword and the Hunter not far behind.

"Magnus and I will go break that up," Thalia said.

"I am?" Magnus asked.

Thalia glared at him.

"I mean . . . Yay! I am!" Magnus responded cheerily, feigning enthusiasm. One look from Thalia was all he needed to listen to whatever she told him to do. It was that simple. Percy had started to notice this to be a reoccurring pattern in his dynamic with Magdalena and with Thalia. They both had that sort of power over him. Maybe Magnus was just very susceptible to feminine influence. Or he was just a pushover to women. Who knew?

And while he thought over this, Percy had no idea that Magdalena had that power over him too. He just hadn't come to terms with it quite yet.

"Percy, you and Maggie should go around the cabins and tell everyone about capture the flag."

Percy nodded. "You should be team captain."

"Oh, I can't," Thalia shook her head. "You've been here longer than me. You should be captain."

"Um, hello?" Magnus interrupted, gesturing to himself. "I've been at camp longer than both of you. Why am I not an option?"

"Because you don't even know your left from your right," Thalia stated flatly.

Magnus looked offended. "That is so not true."

"Well, we can just . . . Co-captain or something," Percy compromised, cutting off Magnus from any further argument.

Thalia didn't look very pleased with that idea, and Percy definitely didn't look thrilled either. But she nodded anyway.

Just as Magnus and Thalia left for the courts, Percy called, "Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Westover. I shouldn't have gone off without you guys."

Thalia shrugged. "It's alright, Percy. I probably would've done it too." She shifted uncomfortably, like she was debating on saying something else. "You know, you mentioned my mom and I lashed out on you. It's just . . . After a woke up, I went to find her after seven years. I learned that she'd died in Los Angeles. She . . . She drank a lot and had been driving late at night sometime two years ago, and . . . " Thalia swallowed hard.

Magnus cautiously put a hand on her arm, squeezing it softly. Magdalena had a crestfallen look on her face.

"I'm sorry," Percy said.

"We weren't that close, anyway. I left when I was ten. The greatest two years of my life were when I was traveling the country with Luke and Annabeth. But still— "

"That's why you were so nervous in Apollo's chariot."

Thalia looked at him warily. "What do you mean?"

"How you got all stiff and anxious. You were thinking about your mom, scared to be behind the wheel."

Magdalena and Magnus exchanged nervous looks. They saw the look Thalia had gotten in her eyes when Percy said that— and how dangerously similar it was to Zeus's. It was the look he gave when he was about to strike a million volts down on somebody.

"Right," she muttered. "That's what it was."

She grabbed Magnus's hand and marched off to the basketball courts, Magnus trailing behind her.

MAGDALENA WASN'T in the mood for dinner that night.

She went anyways, as it was required, but the food just tasted bland to her, like cardboard. The fires and heat lamps kept the pavilion from freezing, but they all still had to sit with their respected cabins, leaving Percy alone. Thalia sat by herself as well, but they couldn't even sit together.

Stupid camp rules. Magdalena had always hated it. Especially when she was younger, she always wanted to sit with Annabeth at her cabin's respected table. She remembered the time she managed to sneak herself over to the Athena cabins's table, nestling her way between Annabeth and one of her siblings. She'd barely managed to finish three bites of her meal before Dionysus was picking her up by the back of her shirt and dragging her back over to the Hermes table, assigning her stable cleaning duty for the next week as she was carried across the dining pavilion like a stray cat. She didn't speak to the god for the next month.

Nico sat at the Hermes table, as new campers always got put in their cabin if they're unclaimed. The Stoll's and Magnus had been trying to convince the boy that poker was a way better game than Mythomagic, to which Magdalena immediately shut them all down. She had warned Nico to never listen to a single thing those three boys said to him when they were all together.

"They're a bunch of dingus's," she had told him.

"What's a dingus?" Nico asked.

"Unimportant," Magdalena waved his question off. "Just remember to not listen to a single word any of them say to you."

  The only cabin that really seemed to be enjoying themselves was the Artemis table. The Hunters feasted and laughed like a big happy family. Zoë was at the top of the table like she was their mother. She laughed less than the others, but she cracked a smile every now and again. Magdalena had always thought she looked a lot nicer when she was smiling. Bianca seemed to be enjoying herself too. She'd been trying to learn how to arm-wrestle with the big girl who'd been attacking the Ares camper at the basketball courts earlier. She was losing every round, but Bianca didn't seem to care.

After they were done eating, Chiron made his traditional toast to the gods and warmly welcomed the Hunters to their camp. The clapping was forced for the most part. He announced their "good-will" game of capture-the-flag for the next evening, and that got a lot more excitement.

Afterwards, everybody made their way back to their cabins for an early night in. Magdalena was exhausted, which helped her tuck in for bed was ease. That was the nice part. The bad part was that she had many dreams that night, and they were nothing close to peaceful.

In her dream, Magdalena stood on a hillside overlooking a long field of battlegrounds. There was smoke rising from parts of it, and teenagers walked around the area, snuffing the fires out and beginning to reassemble the buildings and make-shift forts that were littered around it.

"I figured you'd be up here," a voice said from behind her. Magdalena turned at the sound, not surprised by who she saw. He always seemed to know where to find the girl, no matter where she was tucked away at.

"It's quieter up here," Magdalena responded, turning to look at the boy beside her, who had dirt streaks on his face and messy hair. They'd just finished their traditional war game of the week, the pair of demigods exhausted and worn down. But, they'd been successful in their battle, coming out victorious, giving them the honor of rubbing it in everyone else's faces until the next game. Magdalena didn't really care for the glory of it all— in reality, she didn't enjoy the war games much. She more so preferred to stand off to the side while everyone else did the dirty work for her. Of course, she'd helped out when it was needed, which was quite often most times, but she just got annoyed any time she actually had to do any real fighting. It just meant she was going to be sore the next day.

The boy nodded in agreement. "You did good today," he commented, nudging her shoulder with his. "For being so new to everything."

Magdalena scoffed. "What does that mean?"

The boy smiled. "I'm just saying you're a natural," he explained. "Considering you've only been here for a few months, and leave sporadically from time-to-time, both you and your brother manage yourself well. The others who stay year-round get loads more training, and you still manage to kick all of their asses."

Magdalena smiled, looking at the boy beside her. For being as young as he was, he'd acquired a fair amount of muscle since the time she'd first met him last summer. Even though their meeting had been brief back then, she still had been able to size him up pretty well. She'd first noticed it when him, her, and Magnus all went on their quest together last summer. But he'd still been pretty scrawny then. Now, it was clear he was starting to really grow more muscle, especially in his arms from all the training he does. She could tell now that he was growing fast, getting stronger by the day. It was admirable, to be honest. To herself and to the others.

"I keep myself in shape," she said. "You just don't notice it."

The boy rolled his eyes. "How could I when you always manage to sneak off for weeks at a time without notice?"

Magdalena shrugged, a small smile dancing on her lips. "Maybe you just need to start paying more attention."

The boy smirked a little, looking at her with a glint in his eyes. "Maybe if you stayed for longer, I could," he replied. "Where do you go, anyway?"

Magdalena turned her gaze toward the horizon, where the sun was starting to set, turning the sky orange and pink. "Home," she said simply.

"And where is that?"

"A place called none-of-your-business-ville," Magdalena said, looking at the boy with a smirk.

The boy just sighed and shook his head. "You're impossible, Maggie," he complained. "How am I supposed to know you better if you don't tell me anything about yourself?"

Magdalena only smiled at his words, and patted the boy's arm. "That's for you to figure out, Twinkle Toes."

Then, just like she always did, Magdalena turned and walked away from the boy, disappearing back down the hill as if she was never there to begin with.

  That's how it always was with Maggie Caelestis. She was such a mystery to everybody at camp, that it was almost like she wasn't even real— like she was some sort of spirit, or mystical being that just came and went whenever she pleased. Magnus was more open and outgoing than her, quickly getting comfortable with the boy and a few others in their cohort. Maggie, on the other hand, was a tougher lock to open. She was kind, of course, and respectful, but nobody knew anything about her except her brother. And he didn't say anything of her either. He kept Maggie's private life in his sister's own hands, which was very respectable, but also highly irritating to anyone who wished to know more than the girl's name.

  All Jason Grace wanted was to get to know Maggie Caelestis. And, of course, anything he wanted always ended up running far, far away from him, just out of reach. It was a tough lifestyle to get used to, but, Jason had never been one to back away from a challenge.

And he watched her as she went, a confused frown on his face as her figure slowly disappeared. "Twinkle Toes?" He murmured to himself, before following the girl's tracks back down the hill.

  PERCY WAS walking with Magdalena the next day after breakfast, and he told her about the dream he'd had the night before about Annabeth.

  After he'd finished, Lena looked more nervous than before. Her fingers pulled on the fraying strings of her jacket— something she tended to do when she had a lot on her mind.

  "A cave ceiling fell on her?" She asked, looking deep in thought.

  "Yeah. What do you think that means?"

  "I don't know," Lena said, shaking her head. She looked a little tired, like she'd been having nightmares too. She hid it better than he did, but over time Percy's gotten better at reading Lena's cues. She kept her hair up so that people thought she was ready to take on the day, and she wore nicer clothes to give off the impression that she was more energetic and awake than she actually was.

  Currently, she had on leggings and an athletic-material long sleeve, a thin white puffer jacket over it. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail and she had concealer under her eyes to hide the dark circles. Percy had believed it when he first saw her, but then she started to talk, and he heard how exhausted her voice sounded.

  "Grover told me something else," Percy continued, deciding to not press the girl about her lack of sleep. "About Zoë having a nightmare last night, too."

  "How did he know that?" Lena asked.

  "He's a stalker with hooves," Percy stated, to which Magdalena snorted, but didn't deny it.

  "Apparently she'd gone to the Big House to talk to Chiron in the middle of the night, saying something about Artemis being in trouble and that she needs the Hunters' help."

  "Chiron would never allow them to leave," Lena said. "He wouldn't risk it."

  "He didn't," Percy confirmed. "Zoë asked for permission to leave and he refused. Zoë thinks Artemis is lost. That's what she told Chiron."

  "Lost," Magdalena repeated, thinking back to what Artemis said about Annabeth. Her face fell in silent grievance at the remembrance of their missing best friend.

  Percy swallowed. "Yeah," he said. "But . . . How can someone like Artemis get kidnapped? How is that even possible?"

  "It happened to Persephone," Magdalena reminded him.

  "Okay, but isn't she like, the goddess of flowers?"

  "Springtime," Magdalena corrected.

  "Same difference. Artemis is way more powerful than that. Who could have the power to kidnap her? And why?"

  Magdalena stared at the ground in front of her, the gears in her brain working overtime. Now that Annabeth was gone, all of the smart-decisions had sort of fallen on to her. She wasn't nearly as intelligent as Annabeth, but she wasn't stupid. Magdalena knew her facts, and Percy knew that too. He was relying on her to figure this out.

  "I can only think of one person," Lena finally said. "Kronos."

  "But . . . There's no way he's that strong already. Right?"

  The last time they'd seen Kronos, he'd been nothing but little pieces of his true form. And they didn't exactly see him either. After the Titan War thousands of years ago, the god had cut him off into tiny pieces with his own scythe and sprinkled them around Tartarus. But then, last summer, they'd seen a golden coffin while aboard Luke's demon-cruise ship, Luke claiming that he was reviving the Titan Lord. Kronos had the ability to manipulate people's dreams and trick them, but it was hard to believe he could overpower Artemis in his current state.

  "I'm not sure," Magdalena said. "We would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would've made it clear from their nerves. But, it is weird that you and Zoë happened to have a nightmare on the same night. It's almost like— "

  "They're connected," Percy said.

   Magdalena bit the inside of her cheek, her blue eyes dark and stormy, like the deep ocean. "Maybe you should talk to Zoë," she suggested warily. "If she hears about the vision you had, there's a chance she'll cooperate and want to help."

"Yeah," Percy said absently. "Or . . . "

  His eyes turned toward Half-Blood Hill, where Mr. D and Argus were feeding the baby dragon they'd gotten to protect the Golden Fleece. He also knew that Chiron was teaching archery, so the Big House was completely empty. There was someone else . . . Something else he could go to for guidance.

  "Follow me," Percy said, grabbing Magdalena's hand as he began to march towards the Big House.

  "Percy, what are you doing?" Magdalena asked as she stumbled behind him, her hand trapped in his own.

  "I have an idea."

  "That doesn't reassure me."

  Percy spared a glance back at the girl and rolled his eyes. "Just trust me, will you?"

  Magdalena pursed her lips. "Do I even have a choice?" She muttered, but still followed the boy toward the Big House nonetheless.

  Percy led her through the Big House and up the stairs to where the Oracle was. Magdalena stopped in her tracks once she saw where he was taking her.

  From their interlocked hands, Percy jolted to a harsh stop when Lena froze, looking at him warily.

  "Percy, that's a bad idea," she said. "The Oracle won't help you."

  "How do you know?" Percy asked. They didn't even care to remove their hands from one another's, so they were locked in an awkward arm-length hand-hold, like they were playing tug of war.

  "The Oracle won't speak unless there's a prophecy to be given," Lena explained. "She won't just spit out advice for you just because you need it."

  "Have you ever tried?" Percy asked challengingly, raising an eyebrow.

  He'd got her there. Percy knew from the look on her face.

  Magdalena scowled at him. She tugged on his hand, pulling him forward a couple steps. "No," she said.

  Percy smirked at her, then pulled her hand towards him, sending her back where she originally was. "Yes."

  Tug. "Percy, you're being stupid."

  Another pull. "No, I'm not."

  Magdalena pulled Percy harder this time, the boy nearly stumbling into her. She repeated her words from earlier, her voice sharper now. "The Oracle won't help you."

  Percy, with his boyish smirk now faded, yanked Magdalena forward, and this time, she crashed straight into his chest, their faces inches apart. "Prove me wrong, then," he said, his voice a low whisper.

  Magdalena stared at him, a scowl on her face. From how close they were to each other, she could feel the thump, thump, thump of his heart beating in his chest. If she moved any closer, their noses would be touching.

  "Fine," she muttered, her jaw clenched. She pulled herself away from Percy and beckoned him forward. "Lead the way, Magellan."

  "Who's Magellan?"

  Magdalena sighed, dropping her arms to her sides. "Just open the door."

  They went up the attic steps and entered through the trapdoor. The room was musty and dim, filled with all sorts of junk. There were shields with claw marks on them, swords bent at awkward angles, and a truckload of taxidermy. For example, a stuffed harpy and a bright red python.

  In front of the window, on a broken old stool, the pruny mummy that was the Oracle sat in a faded tie-dyed Hippie dress.

  Magdalena didn't want to move any closer, but Percy urged himself and her forwards, pushing her with his hand against her back.

  "Hey there," Percy said to the Oracle. "Uh, how've you been?"

  "Oh, yeah, that'll get her talking," Lena muttered. Percy glared at her.

  "I have a question," Percy said, his voice growing. "Annabeth is lost, and I need to know how I can save her. Can you tell me?"

  Nothing. The sunlight glowed through the dusty window, illuminating the flecks of dust floating in the air.

  They waited in silence.

  Then, Percy got angry. He was being left on heard by a mummy.

  "Okay," Percy snapped. "Fine. I'll do it myself."

  Percy whipped around and ran straight into a large wooden table full of souvenirs. There were all sorts of items that heroes stored in there— trophies from quests, or memorabilia that was too painful to hold onto. Magdalena knew Luke had put a dragon claw in there at some point— the one that gave him the scar on his face.

  Percy's eyes were glued on a pink sink scarf with a tag attached to the material. He grabbed it and looked at the words. Magdalena stood by his shoulder, reading of it as well:

SCARF OF THE GODDESS APHRODITE
RECOVERED AT WATERLAND, DENVER, CO.,
BY ANNABETH CHASE AND PERCY JACKSON

"Whoa," Magdalena mumbled. "Was that from your first year at camp?"

  Percy nodded wordlessly. He'd completely forgotten about it. Two summers ago, Annabeth had yanked the fabric from his and said something along the lines of, Oh, no. No love magic for you!

  Percy figured she'd thrown it in the dumpster. But, here it was. He couldn't believe it was still there, after all this time.

  Percy set the scarf down and looked at the mummy. She was motionless, but there were shadows dancing over her face that made her look like she had a gruesome smile.

  Percy and Magdalena looked at eachother.

  "Tell me I was right, and we can leave," Lena said.

  "Shut up."

  They raced out of the attic.

  DINNER WAS tense that night. Every camper was anxious for the capture-the-flag game, all the them mutually wanting to destroy the Hunters. It would be a small game, with only thirteen Hunters and around the same amount of campers.

  Zoë Nightshade looked frazzled, continually sending Chiron resentful glared, as if she couldn't believe he was forcing this game upon her. None of the Hunters looked too stoked, really. In contrast to the night before, there was no laughter of jokes between them. They all sat together in the pavilion, nervous whisper floating among them as they equipped their armor.

  Camp Half-Blood's team had Beckendorf and a couple other guys from his cabin, and a few from the Ares cabin (though, it was still odd that Clarisse wasn't around. Apparently she was on some top secret mission for Chiron, and hadn't been back in weeks). The Stolls brothers and Nico were there, along with Magnus and Magdalena, and a few kids from Aphrodite. Usually Aphrodite's children didn't participate in the games, but when they caught word they were fighting the Hunters, they were more than eager to go.

  "'Love is worthless'," Silena Beauregard mumbled as she put her armor on. "I'll show them. I'll pulverize them!"

  "Yeah, you tell 'em," Magnus grinned, fist-bumping the girl. Silena scowled and glared at the Hinters.

  Only Percy and Thalia remained.

  "I can lead the offense," Thalia said. "You patrol defense."

  "Oh." Percy faltered. He had just been ready to say the same thing to her, except the other way around. "Wouldn't you be better on defense? With your shield and all."

  Aegis was already strapped on Thalia's arm. Even their own team was keeping a fair distance from the girl, not wanting to be near the bronze Medusa head.

  "I was thinking it'd make better offense," Thalia said. "You've have more practice with defense, anyway."

  Percy couldn't tell if that was a jab at him or not.

  "Okay, no biggie," Percy lied.

  Magdalena sent a knowing look at Magnus, and the two of them just shook her heads. This was not going to end well.

  "Cool." Thalia went to help the Aphrodite kids with their armor. Nico Di Angelo came sprinting up to Percy, Lena, and Magnus with a huge smile.

  "Percy, this is so cool!" His helmet was crooked, and his breastplate was about seven sizes too big for him.

  Nico hefted his sword with effort. "We get to kill the Hunters, right?"

  "Uh . . . No."

  "But, aren't the Hunters immortal?"

  "They're immortal unless they die in battle. Besides— "

  "Wouldn't it be so awesome if we just, like, resurrected right after we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and— "

  "Nico, this isn't a silly game. There's real swords. They will hurt you."

  Magnus chuckled. "Okay, mom."

  Percy was about to argue that, but then he realized he did sound like his mom. Whoa. That needed to be stopped.

  Percy gave Nico a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, man. It's cool. Just stay with the team. Keep away from Zoë. It's going to be fun."

Magdalena nodded, giving Nico a comforting smile. She readjusted the crooked helmet on his head so that it sat upright on his head, instead of falling sideways. Nico sent her a toothy grin in thanks.

"Heroes!" Chiron announced, clomping into the main area. "The rules are clear! The boundary line ends at the creek. Camp Half-Blood— team blue— will guard the west woods. The Hunters of Artemis— team red— will protect the east. I will be serving as referee and medic. No purposeful maiming! Any and all magical items are allowed. Take your positions!"

"Blue team! This way!" Thalia called, the campers cheering and following her. Percy had to jog to keep up, tripping over a random shield, making him look less like a co-captain, and more like an idiot.

They put their flag on the top of Zeus's Fist— a large cluster of boulders at the center of the west woods. When looking at it from a certain angle, its shape was close to a large fist bursting from the ground. From another angle, it just simply looked like a bunch of big rocks in the middle of a forest.

It was a smart place to put the flag. The boulder was around twenty feet tall and difficult to climb, so it was easily visible, as the rules required it to be. It didn't even matter that the guards had to be at least ten yards away from it.

  Nico was put on guard duty alongside the Stolls and Beckendorf, which kept him pretty much out of harms way.

  "Silena, you'll lead a decoy left," Thalia said.

  "On it!"

  "Magnus, go with her. Laurel and Jason, too. You three are all good runners. Create an arc around the Hunters, and get as many as you can. I'll lead the main raiding party to the right and catch them off guard."

  Everyone nodded, the plan sounding pretty solid. Thalia said had so much confidence in her voice it was hard not to believe it would work.

  Thalia turned to Percy. "Anything from you, Percy?"

  "Keep sharp on defense," Percy said. "We only have four guards and two scouts, a small number for such a big forest. I'll be roving, so call out if you're in trouble."

  "And don't abandon your post!" Thalia said.

  "Unless there's a good opportunity," Percy replied.

  Thalia glared. "Just stay in position."

  "Of course, unless— "

  "Percy!" She grabbed his arm and shocked him. Everybody was prone to shocking one another in the winter, but whenever Thalia did it, it hurt.

  "Sorry," Thalia muttered, but there wasn't a whole lot of guilt in her tone. "Alright, everybody understand their jobs?"

  All the campers nodded. They all went with their respected groups.

  "Watch out for Thalia and Percy," Magnus mumbled to his sister before he went with Silena. "The two of them look like ticking time bombs. One wrong word from either of them, and they're both detonating."

  Magdalena nodded in agreement. "The only two children of the Big Three want to rip each other's heads off," she said through a sigh. "Great."

  Magnus chuckled, and gave Lena a brotherly kiss on her forehead before running off to join his squadron.

Magdalena figured it'd be best if she stayed with defense for this game, considering the fact that she needed to keep an eye on Percy, and she constantly needed to make sure Travis and Connor were doing what they were supposed to. She also wanted to look out for Nico— she was a little worried about how he'll do in something as intense as a war game on his second day at camp. She felt protective over the boy, having almost a motherly urge to keep his innocent, pure self sheltered from the horrors of the godly world.

Percy had managed to get to the top of Zeus's Fist to watch for any incoming danger. Lena stayed on the ground with the rest of the defensive group.

"Not on the offensive this time, Mags?" Travis asked, bumping her shoulder with his.

Lena shook her head. "I'm tired of fighting," she admitted. "I've been doing too much of it recently."

Connor scoffed. "We're half-bloods," he said. "Fighting to us is the equivalent of folding laundry to mortals."

Lena gave him a look. "Folding laundry isn't a strictly-mortal activity."

Connor shrugged. "Well, I certainly don't do it."

Travis laughed. "You don't even wash your clothes until Maggie forces you to because they smell like firework smoke."

Connor smiled deviously, not caring to deny the statement. "Speaking of fireworks, you know what I've been thinking— "

Percy jumping down from the top of Zeus's Fist cut the Stoll brother off from saying whatever nasty trick he'd been planing on pulling next.

"That was so not good for your knees," Magdalena said in disapproval.

"Thalia's about to get swarmed," Percy said urgently, ignoring the girl's comment. "With all the Hunter's gone, the flag will be unprotected. I have to go get it!"

"Percy, no," Magdalena immediately argued. "We need to stick to our plan. I'm sure Thalia is aware— "

"Thalia doesn't know anything!" Percy exclaimed, a fresh burst of frustration blooming in his chest. He was so tired of hearing all the praise Thalia always got from everyone. Where did his respect go? Why didn't they trust him? It was especially irritating to hear Thalia getting praised from Lena of all people. That seemed to annoy him the most.

Lena arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Percy groaned in annoyance and grabbed his sword. "I'm going to get that flag," he said with finality. "Will you guys be able to hold down the fort?"

Magdalena scowled. "Percy— "

Beckendorf waved him off. "Is that even a question?"

"Okay. I'm going in."

The Stoll brothers and Nico all cheered as Percy sprinted off toward the boundary line.

"Stop encouraging him!" Magdalena scolded all four boys, which shut them up fast. The daughter of Astraeus let out a sound of irritation and unsheathed her sword from its concealed form of a ring on her finger. "Ugh, he's such an idiot!"

"Hey, Percy's got this covered," Connor reassured with a smirk. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

Magdalena glared at the boy. "Clearly you don't know him very well," she said icily. Then she turned as raced off towards where he'd gone, just as fast as Percy had left.

  She ran through the trees, swerving and dodging any obstacles in her path. She followed the faint trail of footprints Percy had left behind in the thin layer of snow that coated the ground. She knew he had a big head start on her, but she was faster than she let on. Running track since middle school had definitely helped with her stamina, on top of already having accelerated speed and endurance as a demigod.

Magdalena thought she was about to break through to where Percy had gone, but when she saw a silvery arrow whistle through the air and attach itself to a Percy-shaped shadow couple dozen yards ahead of her, she knew she was too late. Percy went down hard and fast, sprawling into the snow.

  "Percy, you moron!" Magdalena yelled angrily, running faster to get to him.

  "Percy!" Another voice, Thalia, yelled from the left. "What are you doing?"

  Thalia tried to reach him too, but another arrow was sent toward her and exploded on the ground in don't of her. A plume of dark yellow smoke rose around her team, making them all start coughing and retching. Magdalena could already smell the gas— the horrific scent of sulfur.

  "That's totally unfair!" Thalia choked out. "Fart arrows are considered unsportsmanlike conduct!"

  Percy got to his feet and bolted toward the creek again. Magdalena was starting to cough from the smoke as well, causing her to fall behind. Arrows flew past Percy, but he kept going forward.

  There were screams from the west woods. Nico and Beckendorf were running toward them, chasing none other than Zoë Nightshade, who had their flag in her hands. She was gaining quick on Percy, racing toward him like a panther with the way she dodged campers.

  "No!" Percy yelled and ran faster.

  He was just barely two feet from the water when Zoë sped across to her side of the creek, slamming Percy down just for good measure. The Hunters celebrated as both teams emerged from the woods on either side of the creek. Chiron came out of the woods with a grim look. The Stoll's were on his back, looking like they both had some nasty concussions. Connor had two arrows lodged into his helmet like antennae.

  "A win for the Hunters!" Chiron said with no enthusiasm. "Their fifty-sixth time in a row."

  "Perseus Jackson!" Thalia's voice cut through the air like a knife, the girl marching toward him. She was so angry there were blue sparks deflecting off her armor.

  "What— were— you— THINKING?" She bellowed.

  "Yeahhh . . . " Magnus dragged out, sidling up besides Magdalena. "This is going to be bad."

  Percy's hands were clenched. He'd already had enough bad things happen to him that day. He didn't need this. "I had their flag, Thalia!" He waved it in her face. "I saw the opportunity and went for it!"

  "I WAS ALREADY AT THEIR BASE!" She screamed. "But the flag was gone. If you had just stayed out of it, we would've won."

  "You were completely swarmed!"

  "Oh, so it's my fault?"

  "That's not what I said."

  "Argh!" Thalia shoved Percy, a shock going through his body that sent him ten feet backwards into the creek. A couple campers gasped. Some of the Hunters snickered.

  "Sorry!" Thalia yelped, paling. "I didn't mean to— "

  Percy looked like he was about to explode with anger. A wave grew from the water and smashed into Thalia's face, drenching her from head to toe.

  Percy rose. "Yeah," he growled. "I didn't mean to, either."

  Thalia was shaking with rage.

  "Stop it!" Chiron ordered.

  Thalia ignored him, and raised her spear. "You're asking for it, Shark Boy."

  Weirdly enough, it didn't bother Percy when Magdalena called him that— or, he'd just gotten used to it— but hearing Thalia call him that was not cool.

  "Let's see it, Pinecone Face!"

  "Oh dear gods," Lena muttered, putting a hand over her face in distress. A son of Poseidon and a daughter of Zeus were about to take turns obliterating each other, and there was simply no way of stopping it. Honestly, she shouldn't even be surprised. Ever since Thalia and Percy had first met, Lena had been waiting for one of them to blow up at the other. It was like watching two wrestler's prowl around each other in the fighting ring, waiting for the other to make the first jab.

  Riptide was raised high from Percy, but he didn't even have time to strike before Thalia yelled, and lighting struck down from the sky, hit her spear, and blasted Percy in the chest.

  Percy fell hard. His clothes were smoking, burn holes peppered all over his shirt.

  "Thalia!" Chiron said. "Enough!"

  Percy stood up and summoned the entire body of water around him to rise, creating an icy vortex of hundreds of gallons of water.

  "Percy!" Chiron said in desperation.

  Percy was just about to launch it at Thalia, when he suddenly stopped. He turned toward the woods and lost all of his concentration and anger, the vortex of water splashing back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she looked to see what he was staring at.

  Something was coming out of the woods. A figure was shrouded in a green veil of mist, but when it got closer everybody gasped.

  "This is not possible," Chiron said. Magdalena had never heard him sound of distraught. "It . . . She has never left the attic. Ever."

  And nevertheless, the Oracle of Delphi was walking toward them, stopping once she reached the center of the crowd. The mist surrounding her turned the snow into a bad shade of green.

  Nobody dared move an inch. The Oracle's gravely voice hissed inside all of their heads. Many of them covered their ears in fear.

I am the spirit of Delphi, she said. Messenger of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the great Python.

The Oracle unmistakably lurched its eyes at Zoë Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask.

Zoë stepped forward nervously. "What must be done to save my goddess?"

Green mist flowed out of the Oracle's mouth. Lena saw a blurry image of a mountain, with a girl standing at the abandoned peak. Artemis was the girl, but she was tied in chains, latched against the rocks. She was on her knees with her hands above her head, as if to defend herself, like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

Then the mist curled back into the Oracle's mouth like a serpent, the mummy setting down on a stone. She was just as motionless as she was in the attic, like she was to sit by that creek for the rest of eternity.

ANNA'S NOTES!
The Percalena banter in this act of the book is going to be UNREALLLLLL

Also HI JASON😭😭😭☺️☺️☺️
Rick count your fucking days bc you'll never be able to come back from what you did to him