โRiding Arion was the best thingย that had happened to Leo all dayโwhich wasnโt saying much, since his day had sucked. The horseโs hooves turned the surface of the lake to salty mist. Leo put his hand against the horseโs side and felt the muscles working like a well-oiled machine. For the first time, he understood why car engines were measured in horsepower. Arion was a four- legged Maserati.โ
Ahead of them lay an islandโa line of sand so white, it might have been pure table salt. Behind that rose an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders.
Leo sat behind Hazel, one arm around her waist. The close contact made him a little uncomfortable, but it was the only way he could stay on board (or whatever you called it with a horse).
Before they left, Percy had pulled him aside to tell him Hazelโs story. Percy made it sound like he was just doing Leo a favor, but thereโd been an undertone likeย If you mess with my friend, I will personally feed you to a great white shark.
According to Percy, Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. Sheโd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago.
Leo found that hard to believe. Hazel seemed warm and very alive, not like the ghosts or the other reborn mortals Leo had tangled with.
She seemed good with people, too, unlike Leo, who was much more comfortable with machines. Living stuff, like horses and girls? He had no idea what made them work.
Hazel was also Frankโs girlfriend, so Leo knew he should keep his distance. Still, her hair smelled good, and riding with her made his heart race almost against his will. It mustโve been the speed of the horse.
Arion thundered onto the beach. He stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly, like Coach Hedge yelling a battle cry.
Hazel and Leo dismounted. Arion pawed the sand.
โHe needs to eat,โ Hazel explained. โHe likes gold, butโโ โGold?โ Leo asked.
โHeโll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. Iโll call you.โ
Just like that, the horse was goneโnothing left but a steaming trail across the lake.
โFast horse,โ Leo said, โand expensive to feed.โ โNot really,โ Hazel said. โGold is easy for me.โ
Leo raised his eyebrows. โHow is gold easy? Please tell me youโre not related to King Midas. I donโt like that guy.โ
Hazel pursed her lips, as if she regretted raising the subject. โNever mind.โ That made Leo even more curious, but he decided it might be better not to press her. He knelt and cupped a handful of white sand. โWellโฆone problem
solved, anyway. This is lime.โ
Hazel frowned. โThe whole beach?โ
โYeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. Itโs not really sand. Itโs calcium carbonate.โ Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hand into the lime.
Suddenly he froze. He remembered all the times the earth goddess Gaea had appeared to him in the groundโher sleeping face made of dust or sand or dirt. She loved to taunt him. He imagined her closed eyes and her dreaming smile swirling in the white calcium.
Walk away, little hero,ย Gaea said.ย Without you, the ship cannot be fixed.
โLeo?โ Hazel asked. โYou okay?โ
He took a shaky breath. Gaea wasnโt here. He was just freaking himself out.
โYeah,โ he said. โYeah, fine.โ He started to fill the bag.
Hazel knelt next to him and helped. โWe shouldโve brought a pail and shovels.โ
The idea cheered Leo up. He even smiled. โWe couldโve made a sand castle.โ
โA lime castle.โ
Their eyes locked for a second too long. Hazel looked away. โYou areย soย much likeโโ โSammy?โ Leo guessed.
She fell backward. โYou know?โ
โI have no idea who Sammy is. But Frank asked me if I was sure that wasnโt my name.โ
โAndโฆit isnโt?โ โNo! Jeez.โ
โYou donโt have a twin brother orโฆโ Hazel stopped. โIs your family from New Orleans?โ
โNah. Houston. Why? Is Sammy a guy you used to know?โ โIโฆItโs nothing. You just look like him.โ
Leo could tell she was too embarrassed to say more. But if Hazel was a kid from the past, did that mean Sammy was from the 1940s? If so, how could Frank know the guy? And why would Hazel think Leo was Sammy, all these decades later?
They finished filling the bag in silence. Leo stuffed it in his tool belt and the bag vanishedโno weight, no mass, no volumeโthough Leo knew it would be there as soon as he reached for it. Anything that could fit into the pockets, Leo could tote around. Heย lovedย his tool belt. He just wished the pockets were large enough for a chain saw, or maybe a bazooka.
He stood and scanned the islandโbleach-white dunes, blankets of grass, and boulders encrusted with salt like frosting. โFestus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but Iโm not sure whereโโ
โThat way.โ Hazel pointed up the beach. โAbout five hundred yards.โ โHow do youโ?โ
โPrecious metals,โ Hazel said. โItโs a Pluto thing.โ
Leo remembered what sheโd said about gold being easy. โHandy talent.
Lead the way, Miss Metal Detector.โ
The sun began to set. The sky turned a bizarre mix of purple and yellow. In another reality, Leo mightโve enjoyed a walk on the beach with a pretty girl, but the farther they went, the edgier he felt. Finally Hazel turned inland.
โYou sure this is a good idea?โ he asked. โWeโre close,โ she promised. โCome on.โ Just over the dunes, they saw the woman.
She sat on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. A black-and-chrome motorcycle was parked nearby, but each of the wheels had a big pie slice removed from the spokes and rim, so that they resembled Pac-Men. No way was the bike drivable in that condition.
The woman had curly black hair and a bony frame. She wore black leather bikerโs pants, tall leather boots, and a bloodred leather jacketโsort of aย Michael Jackson joins the Hellโs Angelsย look. Around her feet, the ground was littered with what looked like broken shells. She was hunched over, pulling new ones out of a sack and cracking them open. Shucking oysters? Leo wasnโt sure if there were oysters in the Great Salt Lake. He didnโt think so.
He wasnโt anxious to approach. Heโd had bad experiences with strange ladies. His old babysitter, Tรญa Callida, had turned out to be Hera and had a nasty habit of putting him down for naps in a blazing fireplace. The earth goddess Gaea had killed his mother in a workshop fire when Leo was eight. The snow goddess Khione had tried to turn him into a frozen dairy treat in Sonoma.
But Hazel forged ahead, so he didnโt have much choice except to follow.
As they got closer, Leo noticed disturbing details. Attached to the womanโs belt was a curled whip. Her red-leather jacket had a subtle design to itโ twisted branches of an apple tree populated with skeletal birds. The oysters she was shucking were actually fortune cookies.
A pile of broken cookies lay ankle-deep all around her. She kept pulling new ones from her sack, cracking them open, and reading the fortunes. Most she tossed aside. A few made her mutter unhappily. She would swipe her
finger over the slip of paper like she was smudging it, then magically reseal the cookie and toss it into a nearby basket.
โWhat are you doing?โ Leo asked before he could stop himself.
The woman looked up. Leoโs lungs filled so fast, he thought they might burst.
โAunt Rosa?โ he asked.
It didnโt make sense, but this woman lookedย exactlyย like his aunt. She had the same broad nose with a mole on one side, the same sour mouth and hard eyes. But it couldnโt be Rosa. She would never wear clothes like that, and she was still down in Houston, as far as Leo knew. She wouldnโt be cracking open fortune cookies in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.
โIs that what you see?โ the woman asked. โInteresting. And you, Hazel, dear?โ
โHow did youโ?โ Hazel stepped back in alarm. โYouโyou look like Mrs.
Leer. My third grade teacher. I hated you.โ
The woman cackled. โExcellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?โ
โYouโshe taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving,โ Hazel said. โShe called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didnโt do andโ No. Sheย hasย to be dead. Whoย areย you?โ
โOh, Leo knows,โ the woman said. โHow do you feel about Aunt Rosa,
mijo?โ
Mijo.ย Thatโs what Leoโs mom had always called him. After his mom died, Rosa had rejected Leo. Sheโd called him a devil child. Sheโd blamed him for the fire that had killed her sister. Rosa had turned his family against him and left himโa scrawny orphaned eight-year-oldโat the mercy of social services. Leo had bounced around from foster home to foster home until heโd finally found a home at Camp Half-Blood. Leo didnโt hate many people, but after all these years, Aunt Rosaโs face made him boil with resentment.
How did he feel? He wanted to get even. He wanted revenge.
His eyes drifted to the motorcycle with the Pac-Man wheels. Where had he seen something like that before? Cabin 16, back at Camp Half-Bloodโthe symbol above their door was a broken wheel.
โNemesis,โ he said. โYouโre the goddess of revenge.โ
โYou see?โ The goddess smiled at Hazel. โHe recognizes me.โ
Nemesis cracked another cookie and wrinkled her nose.ย โYou will have great fortune when you least expect it,โย she read. โThatโs exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that theyโll be rich! I blame that tramp Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who donโt deserve it!โ
Leo looked at the mound of broken cookies. โUhโฆyou know those arenโt real prophecies, right? Theyโre just stuffed in the cookies at some factoryโโ
โDonโt try to excuse it!โ Nemesis snapped. โItโs just like Tyche to get peopleโs hopes up. No, no. Iย mustย counter her.โ Nemesis flicked a finger over the slip of paper, and the letters changed to red. โYou will die painfully when you most expect it.ย There! Much better.โ
โThatโs horrible!โ Hazel said. โYouโd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?โ
Nemesis sneered. It really was creepy, seeing that expression on Aunt Rosaโs face. โMy dear Hazel, havenโt you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?โ
โThat doesnโt mean Iโd want them to come true!โ
โBah.โ The goddess resealed the cookie and tossed it in her basket. โTyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, sheโs in a horrible way right now. Me? Iโm not affected. I am called Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal.โ
โWhat are you talking about?โ Leo asked. โWhat are you doing here?โ
Nemesis opened another cookie. โLucky numbers. Ridiculous! Thatโs not even a proper fortune!โ She crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet.
โTo answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. They become quite schizophrenic, Iโm afraid. Splitting headaches. Disorientation.โ
โBut weโre not at war,โ Leo insisted.
โUm, Leoโฆโ Hazel winced. โExcept for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome.โ
Leo stared at her, wondering whose side she was on. โNot on purpose!โ
โI knowโฆโ Hazel said, โbut the Romans donโt realize that. And theyโll be pursuing us in retaliation.โ
Nemesis cackled. โLeo, listen to the girl. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?โ
Leoโs mouth tasted like calcium carbonate. โMe.โ
The goddess snorted. โWell, donโtย youย have a high opinion of yourself. Youโre just a pawn on the chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Heraโor Juno, if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Donโt expect any more help from your patron!โ
Leoโs head throbbed. He had mixed feelings about Hera. Sheโd meddled in his life since he was a baby, molding him to serve her purpose in this big prophecy, but at least she had been on their side, more or less. If she was out of the picture nowโฆ
โSo why are you here?โ he asked.
โWhy, to offerย myย help!โ Nemesis smiled wickedly.
Leo glanced at Hazel. She looked like sheโd just been offered a free snake. โYour help,โ Leo said.
โOf course!โ said the goddess. โI enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice.โ
โSacrifice?โ Hazelโs voice was tight. โI lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother is missing. Isnโt that enough sacrifice for you?โ
Leo could totally relate. He wanted to scream that heโd lost his mom too. His whole life had been one misery after another. Heโd lost his dragon, Festus. Heโd nearly killed himself trying to finish theย Argo II. Now heโd fired on the Roman camp, most likely started a war, and maybe lost the trust of his friends.
โRight now,โ he said, trying to control his anger, โall I want is some
Celestial bronze.โ
โOh, thatโs easy,โ Nemesis said. โItโs just over the rise. Youโll find it with the sweethearts.โ
โWait,โ Hazel said. โWhat sweethearts?โ
Nemesis popped a cookie in her mouth and swallowed it, fortune and all. โYouโll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life.โ She smiled. โAnd speaking of your brother Nico, you donโt have much time. Letโs seeโฆitโs June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome.โ
Hazelโs eyes widened. โHowโฆwhatโ?โ
โAnd as forย you, child of fire.โ She turned to Leo. โYour worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help youโฆfor a price.โ
Leo smelled smoke. He realized fingers on his left hand were ablaze, and Hazel was staring at him in terror.
He shoved his hand in his pocket to extinguish the flames. โI like to solve my own problems.โ
โVery well.โ Nemesis brushed cookie dust off her jacket. โBut, um, what sort of price are we talking about?โ
The goddess shrugged. โOne of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world.โ
Leoโs stomach churned. โYouโฆwant an eye?โ
โIn your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here.โ She handed him an unbroken fortune cookie. โIf you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem.โ
Leoโs hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. โWhat problem?โ โYouโll know when the time comes.โ
โNo, thanks,โ Leo said firmly. But his hand, as though it had a will of its own, slipped the cookie into his tool belt.
Nemesis picked another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. โYou will have cause to reconsider your choices soon.ย Oh, I like that one. No changes needed here.โ
She sealed the cookie back up and tossed it into the basket. โVery few gods can aid you on your quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only deepen. Only one thing could reunite Olympusโan old injustice finally set right. Ah, how sweet that would be, to see the scales balanced! But it wonโt happen unless you accept my help.โ
Hazel muttered, โI guess you wonโt tell us what you mean. Or why my brother Nico has only six days to live. Or why Rome is facing destruction.โ
Nemesis chuckled, rising and swinging her sack of cookies over her shoulder. โOh, itโs all connected, Hazel Levesque. As for my offer, Leo Valdez, think it over. Youโre a good kid. A hard worker. We could do business. But Iโve kept you long enough. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. My poor cursed boy gets ratherโฆagitated when darkness falls.โ
Leo didnโt like the sound of that, but the goddess hopped on her motorcycle. Miraculously, it was drivable, despite its Pac-Man-shaped wheels. With a rev of the engine, Nemesis vanished in a cloud of black smoke.
Hazel bent down, noticing all the broken cookies and fortunes had vanished except for one crumpled slip of paper. She picked it up and read, โYou will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair.โ
โFantastic,โ Leo grumbled. โLetโs go see what that means.โ