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I nearly fell over.

"Grandpa?!" I said, still shocked. "What the Hades are you doing here?! W-why do you look so...so"

"So not old?" Grandpa asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah," I said. "Like what happened to all your wrinkles and stuff?"

Grandpa burst out laughing.

"You definitely are your mother's daughter!" He choked.

"You mean Artemis?" I asked.

Grandpa suddenly looked serious. "Don't say her name here."

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

"I'll explain in the camp," He replied, motioning for me to follow him.

"What's on your forearm?" I asked, spotting what looked like a tattoo on his right inner forearm.

Grandpa held up his arm so I could see it. On his arm was a tattoo with an eagle on it above the letters SPQR. Below the letters were 20 little lines. 

Before I could ask more about it, a giant eagle came soaring down from the sky and landed next to me. Dad transformed into his usual self and looked at me furiously.

"What were thinking?!" Dad thundered. "You could have been killed!"

"Relax, Orion," Grandpa said. "She's fine."

"Oh," Dad said, turning to look at Grandpa. "Hey, Dad."

It was quite weird to see a 35-year-old call a 17-year-old "Dad."

"Ah!" Grandpa said, catching sight of Zoë. "Zoë Nightshade! It's been a while! How are you?"

He held out his hand, and Zoë shook it, rather reluctantly it seemed.

"Hello, Zachery," Zoë said coolly.

"Is someone going to explain what the Hades is going on?" Aidan asked, limping over.

Aidan saw Grandpa, fell over, and let out a moan of pain as he landed on his injured leg.

"Ooh," Grandpa said, kneeling down beside Aidan. "That looked like it hurt, kiddo."

"No, I feel wonderful," Aidan said sarcastically. "Can you just please get these dam spikes out of my leg and heal me?!"

Grandpa chuckled. "Alright, alright."

He pulled the spikes out of Aidan's leg, with much howling from Aidan, then healed him up.

"Can you stand?" Grandpa asked, standing up.

"Yes," Aidan said, getting gingerly to his feet and putting weight on his leg. "Thanks, Grandpa. That's a lot better."

"Praetor, who are these people?"

It was one of the guards of the tunnel. She had come over, carrying the pieces of her broken spear and was talking to Grandpa.

Grandpa stiffened.

"These are my grandchildren, Legionnaire," He said, very formally, gesturing to me and Aidan.

"That is my son and his friend," Grandpa said, pointing to Dad and Zoë.

"What of the wolves?" The guard asked, pointing toward Agro and Pher, who stood guard next me and Aidan. "Are they messengers of Lupa?"

Agro growled, hackles raised and fangs bared.

We are no messengers of Lupa! Pher growled. We have served Artemis for thousands of years! We want nothing to do with these Romans and their gods!

"Romans?" I said, confused. "What do you mean, Pher?"

The guard looked at me funny, like I was crazy. I glared at her again, and she quickly looked away.

"My grandchildren come with the blessing of Diana," Grandpa said. "The wolves are gifts from her. They serve as my grandchildrens' guardians. That is why one attacked."

"How would a male come with the blessing of Diana?" The guard asked, frowning.

"We shall discuss it later," Grandpa said. "Now, if you will excuse us, we must go. There is a Senate Meeting to attend to. Go get a new spear and then back to guard duty please, Legionnaire."

Grandpa led us through the tunnel the guards had been guarding, and we walked through it.

"Grandpa, what was that all about?" Aidan asked.

"Nothing," Grandpa said, though I could tell he was lying.

When we were almost through the tunnel, Grandpa stopped.

"Put your daggers away, and let me do the talking," He said.

"Why?" I asked, sheathing my daggers.

"Just do it," Grandpa said.

When we got through the tunnel, Grandpa led to the foot of a river and stopped.

Horns blared, and people wearing the same armor as the guards came pouring out of marble building with red-tiled roofs toward us, weapons drawn.

"Legio, strigatus!" Grandpa yelled. "Formate antis!"

I had no clue what he had just said, but it made the people stop, separate into five groups, and stand at attention.

"Centurion," Grandpa said, speaking to the boy across the river from him. "Take them to see the Augur. We shall see if they are allowed safe passage. Or if they will die."

"Wait, what?!" I yelled, reaching for my daggers.

Grandpa shot me a warning look, and I desisted.

"Yes, Praetor," the boy said.

"Follow me," the boy said to us after he had crossed over the bridge spanning the river. "My name is Barrett, by the way."

"What about Raiden?" Aidan asked, gesturing to her unconscious body, which Snow was carrying. "We can't just leave her like this!"

"Elena! Calvin!" Grandpa barked. "Take her to the Healers."

Two people came forward; a girl with raven-black hair and hazel eyes and a boy with red hair and green eyes. The two grabbed Raiden by the arms and legs and carried her across the river and out of sight.

"The rest of you," Grandpa said, speaking to what seemed to be the other leaders of the groups. "Come with me. There is a Senate Meeting to attend to."

"Follow me," Barrett said.

I glanced at Dad, who nodded, and we followed the boy back over the bridge and through the walled-in area of red-tiled marble buildings. The people stared at us as we walked through, and a few muttered amongst themselves.

"Graeci," one man said to the guy next to him.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked, catching up with the boy.

"To the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus," Barrett replied.

"The temple of what?" Aidan asked. "What the Hades does Optimus Maximus mean?!"

"It means 'the best and the greatest,'" Zoë explained.

"So we're going to the temple of the planet Jupiter?" I asked, sniggering. "I didn't know planets were worshiped."

Barrett looked offended.

"It's the temple to the god Jupiter," He said irritably. "Not the planet!"

"Who's the god Jupiter?" Aidan asked, frowning. "I've never heard of him."

"The King of the Gods," Dad said. "Jupiter is the King of the Gods and greatest and best of all the Roman Gods."

"But I thought Zeu-" I began, but Dad shook his head, so I shut my mouth.

We walked in silence after that. Barrett led us out of the walled area, down a path, across another bridge, up a hill, and into a pavilion, where a marble alter stood before a statue in the center. The statue was of muscular man holding a lightning bolt wearing a purple toga. I assumed it was Jupiter.

The building itself was a round pavilion with a ring of white columns the size of redwoods supporting a domed, gilded ceiling. There was a marble floor that was etched with many colorful mosaics and some inscriptions that I couldn't read.

"That statue is about as big as Zeus's ego," Aidan muttered under his breath.

I snorted.

"Don't insult Jupiter, boy," a voice said.

I jumped and looked up.

A skinny, tall boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin as pale as death was staring shrewdly at Aidan.

"Don't remember asking you for your opinion, blondie," I said to him coldly.

The blonde boy narrowed his eyes at me. Like Grandpa, he was also wearing a white toga, over a baggy t-shirt and cargo pants.

"These people are here for judging, Octavian," Barrett said to the boy. "To see if they may be allowed safe passage."

Octavian smirked and turned back to the marble alter, which I now saw was littered with stuffing and the remains of stuffed animals. He was also holding a Celestial Bronze dagger.

Octavian grabbed a stuffed bear, raised his dagger, and shouted, "Apollo, God of Prophecy, show me the will of the gods!"

He then proceeded to rip the teddy in half with his dagger and examine its innards.

"Yep," Octavian said, after look at the the innards for a few minutes. "Tell Zachary they can be granted safe passage."

"Why did he just murder that poor teddy bear?!" I demanded of Dad when we had left the pavilion thing.

"He's an auger," Barrett explained. "A person who has the power of prophecy and reads the future."

"But I thought Oracles read the future," Aidan said, frowning. "You know, like the Oracle of Delphi and all that?"

"That was the Greeks," Barrett said, leading us back down the hill and up the path. "We Romans have augers."

"I'll take it from here, Centurion," a voice said from in front of us.

A seventeen-year-old woman was mounted a beautiful buckskin stallion with a black mane and tail was speaking to us. The woman rode the horse without reins or a saddle.

The woman was wearing a purple t-shirt with black jeans under a white toga with purple Nike shoes. She had raven black hair in a braid curling around her shoulder, one fiery orange eye, and one sea-green eye. Her eyes were warm and twinkling.

Barrett nodded. "Yes, Praetor."

He walked away.

I turned to the woman.

"Hi, Grandma," I said.