โLeo figured he had the morst luckย in the group, and that was saying a lot. Why didnโtย heย get to have the long-lost sister or the movie star dad who needed rescuing? All he got was a tool belt and a dragon that broke down halfway through the quest. Maybe it was the stupid curse of the Hephaestus cabin, but Leo didnโt think so. His life had been unlucky way before he got to camp.โ
A thousand years from now, when this quest was being told around a campfire, he figured people would talk about brave Jason, beautiful Piper, and their sidekick Flaming Valdez, who accompanied them with a bag of magic screwdrivers and occasionally fixed tofu burgers.
If that wasnโt bad enough, Leo fell in love with every girl he sawโas long as she was totally out of his league.
When he first saw Thalia, Leo immediately thought she wasย wayย too pretty to be Jasonโs sister. Then he thought heโd better not say that or heโd get in trouble. He liked her dark hair, her blue eyes, and her confident attitude. She looked like the kind of girl who could stomp anybody on the ball court or the battlefield, and wouldnโt give Leo the time of dayโjust Leoโs type!
For a minute, Jason and Thalia faced each other, stunned. Then Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.
โMy gods! She told me you were dead!โ She gripped Jasonโs face and seemed to be examining everything about it. โThank Artemis, itย isย you. That little scar on your lipโyou tried to eat a stapler when you were two!โ
Leo laughed. โSeriously?โ
Hedge nodded like he approved of Jasonโs taste. โStaplers โexcellent source of iron.โ
โW-wait,โ Jason stammered. โWho told you I was dead? What happened?โ
At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barked. Thalia looked back at the wolf and nodded, but she kept her hands on Jasonโs face, like she was afraid he might vanish. โMy wolf is telling me I donโt have much time, and sheโs right. But weย haveย to talk. Letโs sit.โ
Piper did better than that. She collapsed. She wouldโve cracked her head on the cave floor if Hedge hadnโt caught her.
Thalia rushed over. โWhatโs wrong with her? Ahโnever mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle.โ She frowned at the satyr. โDonโt you know nature healing?โ
Hedge scoffed. โWhy do you think she looksย thisย good? Canโt you smell the Gatorade?โ
Thalia looked at Leo for the first time, and of course it was an accusatory glare, likeย Why did you let the goat be a doctor?ย As if that was Leoโs fault.
โYou and the satyr,โ Thalia ordered, โtake this girl to my friend at the entrance. Phoebeโs an excellent healer.โ
โItโs cold out there!โ Hedge said. โIโll freeze my horns off.โ
But Leo knew when they werenโt wanted. โCome on, Hedge. These two need time to talk.โ
โHumph. Fine,โ the satyr muttered. โDidnโt even get to brain anybody.โ
Hedge carried Piper toward the entrance. Leo was about to follow when Jason called, โActually, man, could you, um, stick around?โ
Leo saw something in Jasonโs eyes he didnโt expect: Jason was asking for support. He wanted somebody else there. He was scared.
Leo grinned. โSticking around is my specialty.โ
Thalia didnโt look too happy about it, but the three of them sat at the fire. For a few minutes, nobody spoke. Jason studied his sister like she was a scary deviceโone that might explode if handled incorrectly. Thalia seemed more at ease, as if she was used to stumbling across stranger things than long-lost relatives. But still she regarded Jason in a kind of amazed trance, maybe remembering a little two-year-old who tried to eat a stapler. Leo took a few pieces of copper wire out of his pockets and twisted them together.
Finally he couldnโt stand the silence. โSo โฆ the Hunters of Artemis. This whole โnot datingโ thingโis that likeย always, or more of a seasonal thing, or what?โ
Thalia stared at him as if heโd just evolved from pond scum. Yeah, he wasย definitelyย liking this girl.
Jason kicked him in the shin. โDonโt mind Leo. Heโs just trying to break the ice. But, Thalia โฆ what happened to our family? Who told you I was dead?โ
Thalia tugged at a silver bracelet on her wrist. In the firelight, in her winter camouflage, she almost looked like Khione the snow princessโjust as cold and beautiful.
โDo you remember anything?โ she asked.
Jason shook his head. โI woke up three days ago on a bus with Leo and Piper.โ
โWhich wasnโt our fault,โ Leo added hastily. โHera stole his memories.โ
Thalia tensed. โHera? How do you know that?โ
Jason explained about their questโthe prophecy at camp, Hera getting imprisoned, the giant taking Piperโs dad, and the winter solstice deadline. Leo chimed in to add the important stuff: how heโd fixed the bronze dragon, could throw fireballs, and made excellent tacos.
Thalia was a good listener. Nothing seemed to surprise herโthe monsters, the prophecies, the dead rising. But when Jason mentioned King Midas, she cursed in Ancient Greek.
โI knew we shouldโve burned down his mansion,โ she said. โThat manโs a menace. But we were so intent on following LycaonโWell, Iโm glad you got away. So Heraโs been โฆ what, hiding you all these years?โ
โI donโt know.โ Jason brought out the photo from his pocket. โShe left me just enough memory to recognize your face.โ
Thalia looked at the picture, and her expression softened. โIโd forgotten about that. I left it in Cabin One, didnโt I?โ
Jason nodded. โI think Hera wanted for us to meet. When we landed here, at this cave โฆ I had a feeling it was important. Like I knew you were close by. Is that crazy?โ
โNah,โ Leo assured him. โWe were absolutely destined to meet your hot sister.โ
Thalia ignored him. Probably she just didnโt want to let on how much Leo impressed her.
โJason,โ she said, โwhen youโre dealing with the gods,ย nothingย is too crazy. But you canโt trust Hera, especially since weโre children of Zeus. Sheย hatesย all children of Zeus.โ
โBut she said something about Zeus giving her my life as a peace offering. Does that make any sense?โ
The color drained from Thaliaโs face. โOh, gods. Mother wouldnโt have โฆ You donโt rememberโNo, of course you donโt.โ
โWhat?โ Jason asked.
Thaliaโs features seemed to grow older in the firelight, like her immortality wasnโt working so well. โJason โฆ Iโm not sure how to say this. Our mom wasnโt exactly stable. She caught Zeusโs eye because she was a television actress, and sheย wasย beautiful, but she didnโt handle the fame well. She drank, pulled stupid stunts. She was always in the tabloids. She could never get enough attention. Even before you were born, she and I argued all the time. She โฆ she knew Dad was Zeus, and I think that was too much for her to take. It was like the ultimate achievement for her to attract the lord of the sky, and she couldnโt accept it when he left. The thing about the godsโฆ well, they donโt hang around.โ
Leo remembered his own mom, the way sheโd assured him over and over that his dad would be back someday. But sheโd never acted mad about it. She didnโt seem to want Hephaestus for herselfโonly so Leo could know his father. Sheโd dealt with working a dead-end job, living in a tiny apartment, never having enough moneyโand sheโd seemed fine with it. As long as she had Leo, she always said, life would be okay.
He watched Jasonโs faceโlooking more and more devastated as Thalia described their momโand for once, Leo didnโt feel jealous of his friend. Leo might have lost his mom. He might have had some hard times. But at least he remembered her. He found himself tapping out a Morse code message on his knee:ย Love you.ย He felt bad for Jason, not having memories like thatโnot having anything to fall back on.
โSo โฆโ Jason didnโt seem able to finish the question.
โJason, you got friends,โ Leo told him. โNow you got a sister. Youโre not alone.โ
Thalia offered her hand, and Jason took it.
โWhen I was about seven,โ she said, โZeus started visiting Mom again. I think he felt bad about wrecking her life, and he seemedโdifferent somehow. A little older and sterner, more fatherly toward me. For a while, Mom improved. She loved having Zeus around, bringing her presents, causing the sky to rumble. She always wanted more attention. Thatโs the year you were born. Mom โฆ well, I never got along with her, but you gave me a reason to hang around. You were so cute.
And I didnโt trust Mom to look after you. Of course, Zeus eventually stopped coming by again. He probably couldnโt stand Momโs demands anymore, always pestering him to let her visit Olympus, or to make her immortal or eternally beautiful. When he left for good, Mom got more and more unstable. That was about the time the monsters started attacking me. Mom blamed Hera. She claimed the goddess was coming after you tooโ that Hera had barely tolerated my birth, butย twoย demigod children from the same family was too big an insult. Mom even said she hadnโt wanted to name you Jason, but Zeus insisted, as a way to appease Hera because the goddess liked that name. I didnโt know what to believe.โ
Leo fiddled with his copper wires. He felt like an intruder. He shouldnโt be listening to this, but it also made him feel like he was getting to know Jason for the first timeโlike maybe being here now made up for those four months at Wilderness School, when Leo had just imagined theyโd had a friendship.
โHow did you guys get separated?โ he asked.
Thalia squeezed her brotherโs hand. โIf Iโd known you were alive โฆ gods, things wouldโve been so different. But when you were two, Mom packed us in the car for a family vacation. We drove up north, toward the wine country, to this park she wanted to show us. I remember thinking it was strange because Mom never took us anywhere, and she was acting super nervous. I was holding your hand, walking you toward this big building in the middle of the park, and โฆโ She took a shaky breath. โMom told me to go back to the car and get the picnic basket. I didnโt want to leave you alone with her, but it was only for a few minutes. When I came back โฆ Mom was kneeling on the stone steps, hugging herself and crying.
She saidโshe said you were gone. She said Hera claimed you and you were as good as dead. I didnโt know what sheโd done. I was afraid sheโd completely lost her mind. I ran all over the place looking for you, but youโd just vanished. She had to drag me away, kicking and screaming. For the next few days I was hysterical. I donโt remember everything, but I called the police on Mom and they questioned her for a long time. Afterward, we fought. She told me Iโd betrayed her, that I should support her, likeย sheย was the only one who mattered. Finally I couldnโt stand it. Your disappearance was the last straw. I ran away from home, and I never went back, not even when Mom died a few years ago. I thought you were gone forever. I never told anyone about youโnot even Annabeth or Luke, my two best friends. It was just too painful.โ
โChiron knew.โ Jasonโs voice sounded far away. โWhen I got to camp, he took one look at me and said, โYou should be dead.โโ
โThat doesnโt make sense,โ Thalia insisted. โI never told him.โ
โHey,โ Leo said. โImportant thing is youโve got each other now, right?
You two are lucky.โ
Thalia nodded. โLeoโs right. Look at you. Youโreย myย age. Youโve grown up.โ
โBut where have I been?โ Jason said. โHow could I be missing all that time? And the Roman stuff โฆโ
Thalia frowned. โThe Roman stuff?โ
โYour brother speaks Latin,โ Leo said. โHe calls gods by their Roman names, and heโs got tattoos.โ Leo pointed out the marks on Jasonโs arm. Then he gave Thalia the rundown about the other weird stuff that had happened: Boreas turning into Aquilon, Lycaon calling Jason a โchild of Rome,โ and the wolves backing off when Jason spoke Latin to them.
Thalia plucked her bowstring. โLatin. Zeus sometimes spoke Latin, the second time he stayed with Mom. Like I said, he seemed different, more formal.โ
โYou think he was in his Roman aspect?โ Jason asked. โAnd thatโs why I think of myself as a child of Jupiter?โ
โPossibly,โ Thalia said. โIโve never heard of something like that happening, but it might explain why you think in Roman terms, why you can speak Latin rather than Ancient Greek. That would make you unique.
Still, it doesnโt explain how youโve survived without Camp Half-Blood. A child of Zeus, or Jupiter, or whatever you want to call himโyou wouldโve been hounded by monsters. If you were on your own, you shouldโve died years ago. I knowย Iย wouldnโt have been able to survive without friends. You wouldโve needed training, a safe havenโโ
โHe wasnโt alone,โ Leo blurted out. โWeโve heard about others like him.โ
Thalia looked at him strangely. โWhat do you mean?โ
Leo told her about the slashed-up purple shirt in Medeaโs department store, and the story the Cyclopes told about the child of Mercury who spoke Latin.
โIsnโt there anywhere else for demigods?โ Leo asked. โI mean besides Camp Half-Blood? Maybe some crazy Latin teacher has been abducting children of the gods or something, making them think like Romans.โ
As soon as he said it, Leo realized how stupid the idea sounded. Thaliaโs dazzling blue eyes studied him intently, making him feel like a suspect in a lineup.
โIโve been all over the country,โ Thalia mused. โIโve never seen evidence of a crazy Latin teacher, or demigods in purple shirts. Still โฆโ Her voice trailed off, like sheโd just had a troubling thought.
โWhat?โ Jason asked.
Thalia shook her head. โIโll have to talk to the goddess. Maybe Artemis will guide us.โ
โSheโs still talking to you?โ Jason asked. โMost of the gods have gone silent.โ
โArtemis follows her own rules,โ Thalia said. โShe has to be careful not to let Zeus know, but she thinks Zeus is being ridiculous closing Olympus. Sheโs the one who set us on the trail of Lycaon. She said weโd find a lead to a missing friend of ours.โ
โPercy Jackson,โ Leo guessed. โThe guy Annabeth is looking for.โ Thalia nodded, her face full of concern.
Leo wondered if anyone had ever looked that worried all the timesย heโd
disappeared. He kind of doubted it.
โSo what would Lycaon have to do with it?โ Leo asked. โAnd how does it connect to us?โ
โWe need to find out soon,โ Thalia admitted. โIf your deadline is tomorrow, weโre wasting time. Aeolus could tell youโโ
The white wolf appeared again at the doorway and yipped insistently. โI have to get moving.โ Thalia stood. โOtherwise Iโll lose the other
Huntersโ trail. First, though, Iโll take you to Aeolusโs palace.โ
โIf you canโt, itโs okay,โ Jason said, though he sounded kind of distressed.
โOh, please.โ Thalia smiled and helped him up. โI havenโt had a brother in years. I think I can stand a few minutes with you before you get annoying. Now, letโs go!โ