Nico

"What did you do?" I demanded. The Stoll brothers were as confused as he was.

"What are you talking about?" Travis pushed something further into the shadows.

I walked into the cabin and checked under the bunk-beds and behind the footlockers. "Where did Henry go?"

The brothers became alarmed. They helped me search for a minute before a water balloon fell on Connor's head. Drops of water got on my face and I swiped them off. Travis cackled wildly and poked fun at his brother.

I got a hunch, and inspected the ceiling. On the rafters, Henry was holding her hand over her mouth to keep from being heard. She graced the rafters of the cabin with ease and balanced on them like a gymnast. She untied another water balloon and dropped it over Travis, evening out the score.

It was Connor's chance to laugh and insult his brother. I laughed along with him, and Henry joined in. The brothers heard her and peered at the space above their heads.

"How did you get up there?" Travis challenged. "We had to get a ladder to put that stuff up."

Instead of revealing her trick, Henry jumped down from the rafters and feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Again, the brother exchanged looks. "You are definitely a daughter of Hermes."

The idea made me cringe. "Just because she can prank doesn't mean she's a child of Hermes," I said.

"Well, she got us, and it takes more than experience to get us. You have to be a child of the prankster god himself."

I wasn't sold on that. "Alright, I think we should get back to the Big House, Henry." Walking out of the cabin, I noticed Henry was even taller than when she went in. What was making her grow was beyond me. The Nectar and Ambrosia could have been working overtime to fix Henry's growth and immune system.

We left the cabin and Chiron was exactly where we left him. "Where did you get this book?"

"It was with me when I woke up," she said. "I don't know how I got it."

While Chiron wasn't satisfied with that answer, he left it at that, and they all trudged back to the Big House. On the way, I examined Henry. She filled out her formally baggy clothes more and gained a few inches in a few minutes. She'd gone from 5'0 to 5'2 and I felt like she was still growing.

We got back to the crowd, and my friends had released Leo and allowed him to continue working on Festus. Mr. D was gone, probably off threatening to use his godly power on one of the younger campers.

"So, Nico," Hazel smiled at both of them. "Who's your new friend?"

"I'm Henry," she introduced. Somehow bolder and less timid than earlier. "And you are?"

"I'm Hazel. That's Frank, Jason, and Piper." All of them waved to Henry when Hazel counted them off.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked. They'd come all the way from Camp Jupiter, which was in California. The ride on Pegasi back must have been a week at least.

Hazel's face was gaunt. "We've been trying to contact you guys for months. Emails, the internet, phone calls, nothing worked. So Reyna sent us to check on you guys and make sure you weren't under fire. By the way, Reyna says hi."

I was glad to hear Camp Jupiter was doing alright, and that Reyna was okay. I missed them all, and wished Reyna had come with them for the visit. But she was Praetor, and had duties to the camp that could not be avoided.

"Is there anything going on here?"

I shook my head. "Not since Apollo fell to Earth, stripped of his immortality, and went on a quest to stop the new Triumvirate from conquering America." Hazel's eyes went wide. "I'll tell you the whole story later."

"Annabeth," Chiron called to her. "You wouldn't mind giving Henora – or Henry – a tour of the camp grounds, would you?"

She agreed to do it. "No problem." The only one who put up a fuss was Percy, for obvious reasons. Annabeth guided Henry across the camp and out of their view.

"She reeks of death," Hazel commented once they were gone. "Is that normal?"

"She had a curse called the Touch of Death. Anything that touched her died. That's why there's dead grass over there."

She scanned the ground and found the patch of withered plants. "That sounds even worse than my curse," she mumbled. Instinctively, I peered at Hazel's feet. No gems or jewels breached the surface and nothing glimmered on the ground. She was managing her curse better, and I was glad to see it.

"Does she still have the curse?"

"No," I answered. "Dionysus lifted it, but I don't know how. He said the curse could only be enacted by a deity from the Underworld."

She pondered this, and came up with I question I had yet to think of. "Do you think it could have been our father?"

I considered this, and the thought didn't seem too far from being true. I knew my father could be hard on mortal for certain reasons. But stealing memories was more of a Hera thing. Then again, Hera wasn't an entity of the Underworld.

"I don't know. I hope not."

.................

Later on, Annabeth finished giving Henry a tour of the camp and returned to the Big House. Jason and Piper went off to their cabins and to say hi to their other friends. Leo tinkered with Festus and angrily shouted in Spanish. Frank and Hazel lingered around and talked among themselves.

Henry walked up to Festus and examined his eyes, entranced by their reflections of the light.

Annabeth came up behind me and muttered, "She's got to be a daughter of Athena."

Again, that premise didn't quite fit in my mind. "Why?"

She grinned broadly and looked back the way she came. "She loved the architecture of the buildings and could tell the structural difference between all of the cabins. She recognized the Amphitheater instantly."

I sighed, conflicted. "Well, the Stolls think Henry's a daughter of Hermes because she used their own pranks against them and caught them before they could prank her or me."

Annabeth was as impressed as I'd been. "She pranked the Stolls?"

"AHHHH!!!" two people screamed as they ran past. It was Connor and Travis, and they were scratching at their bodies and flailing their arms. "Get them off! Get them off!" they repeated.

Henry snickered and clamped her mouth shut. Watching the Stolls jump and scrambled about while satisfying an itch or some kind must have amused her. Still, I got the funny idea that Henry had something to do with it. That's when I remembered her saying something about fire ants.

"Henry?" She was doubled over in fits of laughter. "Did you release the Stolls' fire ants?"

She peered up at me through teary eyes. Thankfully they were tears of joy rather than tears of sadness. Still, the tears were black as shadows. "M-m-maybe?" she giggled. Glancing at the Stolls again was too much for her, and she fell on her back from an overdose of glee.

Everyone joined in the chuckling, even me. It was kind of nice to see someone else get pranked first. I hadn't noticed she release the fire ants, and I bet the Stolls hadn't either ... until it was too late, that is. She could sense pranks before they were launched, saving me from a glitter shower.

Sick of the fire ant bites, the Stolls hopped in the river to drown the insects that covered them. Seizing the opportunity, Percy joined in the fun. He had his own scores to settle with the sons of Hermes, and used his own powers to get revenge.

Percy jogged to the river and raised the water surrounding the Stolls to form a geyser. "Having fun, Stolls?" was all he said before shooting the brothers out the top of the geyser like a volcano. The Stolls were launched a hundred feet in the air, their only cushion while falling was the water Percy had wrap around their bodies and dangle them.

Connor protested in English, whereas his brother cursed in Greek.

Suddenly, Henry wasn't laughing anymore. She was fixated on the Stolls, high in the air with no way of getting down. She sat on the ground, shaking slightly. When she glanced at Percy, she was terrified.

"Percy," I said, "I think you should stop."

He didn't hear me. He went on messing with the Stolls. Leo, Hazel, and Frank thought it was pretty funny, as they'd all been the victims of the Stolls' pranks. Even Annabeth found herself smiling. Henry couldn't look away, though not because she was entertained or enjoying the scene. Percy was terrifying her.

"Percy!" I barked. "Cut it out!" Again, the son of Poseidon didn't respond.

"PERSEUS!" Chiron bellowed. Percy jumped out of his skin, as did many of the campers who heard. Chiron never raised his voice, not even in battle. "That's enough! Put the Connor and Travis down!"

He was reluctant at first. In the end, Percy did as he was told, and placed the Stolls on the ground. It wasn't a graceful landing, and Connor hit the dirt on his rear. They were soaked, and both of them cast a might glare on Percy.

As Percy trudged back to the group, Henry rose to her feet and moved further back. I wasn't the only one to pick up on Henry's new-found phobia towards Percy. Annabeth caught it too, and took her boyfriend's hand.

"You might want to take it easy on the water works in front of Henry," she whispered. She nodded to Henry, who stared at her shoes.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized awkwardly.

Chiron wasn't pleased, and changed the subject to ease Henry's mind. "Here's your book, Henry." He handed the book to her, which she immediately slid back in her backpack and zipped it shut. "That book is very old. Take care of it."

Will came back from the Infirmary and went up to Henry. Almost ignoring me completely ... for some odd reason. "Henora, I need you to come to the Infirmary with me. Just in case you're still sick."

I groaned. "You're going to keep her in there for hours, aren't you?"

"Can it, Death Boy," called back his boyfriend. Though, he didn't say it in his usually playful and teasing way. It was sharper and less kind. It made me wonder if I'd done something to anger my boyfriend.

...............

It was time for dinner, and I stayed with Henry to guide her though the Mess and the mess of Camper. Connor was right behind us in line for food. He sniffed the air and grinned. "Pizza night."

Henry squinted at the food Connor named. "That's pizza?"

Hearing that, it was Connor's turn to be horrified. "Have you ever had pizza?" She shook her head. "Okay, you're having some. Next thing you're going to say is you've never had M&M's."

She got even more bewildered. "What's an Em an Em?"

Connor left his place in line, cut the line by the candy box, grabbed a bag of M&M's, and came back with the bag. "You're going to eat these, and you're going to love them." He dropped the bag on Henry's tray and got back in line behind her.

After grabbing a slice of pizza, Connor invited Henry to sit at Hermes table. "You're probably a child of Hermes anyway."

"Um," she pondered. "I think I'll just sit over there." She left me and Connor and sat on the edge of the Mess. Not at a table, on the floor. She faced the forest, mesmerized by the moving trees and darkening sky.

Connor shrugged and went to join his siblings at their table. I thought about going to Apollo table to sit with Will and his siblings. Then, sitting with Percy and Jason at Poseidon table, as they usually did when all of them were at camp.

Seeing Hazel place her tray at Hades Table, I made up my mind. "Hey, Henry." She looked up at me expectantly. "Do you want to sit with me and Hazel?"

Henry found Hades table and saw only Hazel seated there. I could tell the lesser amount of people was more appealing to her.

"Okay," she replied. She moved her tray and came with me to Hades table. I couldn't place it, but like Chiron, Mr. D, and Festus, I felt like I knew Henry from somewhere else. I blew off the thought, thinking she just had one of those faces. We didn't chat much, and I was fine that.

When Henry sat at the table, Hazel also gave her a look, probably thinking she'd seen Henry before. She too, brushed off the thought and returned to her pizza. "So, Henry. Where are you from?"

I didn't think anything of the question until I remembered how I found Henry. She glanced up at Hazel. "I don't know. I have amnesia ... or something like that." Henry turned back to her food and eyed it, suspicious. Like the pepperoni was dangerous.

"Okay," Hazel said, getting around the lack of background from Henry. "Where did you stay before you came to camp?"

"An abandoned Library," Henry answered, without any showing and form of self-pity or anger. She picked up her pizza and examined it closely. She took a bite, and her face scrunched.

I couldn't tell if I should laugh or feel sorry for Henry. She cringed while still eating her pizza, unsure of what to make of it. What alarmed Hazel was that she'd never eaten pizza before. Hazel had been born decades ago, and still knew what pizza was.

After that, no one really talked. I wasn't the best with conversations. But I knew it was hard to keep talking after someone says they used to live in an abandoned Library. I still had so many questions about Henry, and what could have given her such a powerful curse and stolen her memories.

But I would have to wait to ask those questions. As Chiron stepped to the front of the Mess and called for everyone's attention.