by Rick Riordan
Meg bopped Baby Chuck on the nose, which made him giggle and spit grenade shavings. “What are you guys going to do in Oklahoma?” she asked.
“Coach, of course!” said the coach. “They’ve got some great varsity sports teams in Oklahoma. Plus, I hear nature is pretty strong there. Nice place to raise a kid.”
“And there’s always work for cloud nymphs,” Mellie said. “Everybody needs clouds.”
Meg stared into the sky, maybe wondering how many of those clouds were nymphs making minimum wage. Then, suddenly, her mouth fell open. “Uh, guys?”
She pointed north.
A gleaming shape resolved against a line of white clouds. For a moment, I thought a small plane was making its final approach. Then its wings flapped.
The ground crew scrambled into action as Festus the bronze dragon came in for a landing, Leo Valdez riding on his back.
The crew waved their orange flashlight cones, guiding Festus to a spot next to the Cessna. None of the mortals seemed to find this at all unusual. One of the crew shouted up at Leo, asking if he needed any fuel.
Leo grinned. “Nah. But if you could give my boy a wash and wax, and maybe find him some Tabasco sauce, that would be great.”
Festus roared in approval.
Leo Valdez climbed down and jogged toward us. Whatever adventures he may have had, he seemed to have come through with his curly black hair, his impish smile, and his small, elfish frame intact. He wore a purple T-shirt with gold words in Latin: MY COHORT WENT TO NEW ROME AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT.
“The party can now start!” he announced. “There’s my peeps!”
I didn’t know what to say. We all just stood there, stunned, as Leo gave us hugs.
“Man, what’s up with you guys?” he asked. “Somebody hit you with a flash grenade? So, I got good news and bad news from New Rome, but first…” He scanned our faces. He expression began to crumble. “Where’s Jason?”
PIPER broke down. She fell against Leo and sobbed out the story until he, thunderstruck, red-eyed, hugged her back and buried his face in her neck.
The ground crew gave us space. The Hedges retreated to the Pinto, where the coach clasped Mellie and their baby tight, the way one should always do with family, knowing that tragedy could strike anyone, anytime.
Meg and I stood by, Jason’s diorama still fluttering in my arms.
Next to the Cessna, Festus raised his head, made a low, keening sound, then blasted fire into the sky. The ground crew looked a little nervous about that as they hosed down his wings. I supposed private jets didn’t often keen or spew fire from their nostrils, or…have nostrils.
The air around us seemed to crystallize, forming brittle shards of emotion that would cut us no matter which way we turned.
Leo looked like he’d been struck repeatedly. (And I knew. I had seen him struck repeatedly.) He brushed the tears from his face. He stared at the cargo hold, then at the diorama in my hands.
“I didn’t…I couldn’t even say good-bye,” he murmured.
Piper shook her head. “Me neither. It happened so fast. He just—”
“He did what Jason always did,” Leo said. “He saved the day.”
Piper took a shaky breath. “What about you? Your news?”
“My news?” Leo choked back a sob. “After that, who cares about my news?”
“Hey.” Piper punched his arm. “Apollo told me what you were up to. What happened at Camp Jupiter?”
Leo tapped his fingers on his thighs, as if carrying on two simultaneous conversations in Morse code. “We—we stopped this attack. Sort of. There was a lot of damage. That’s the bad news. A lot of good people…” He glanced again at the cargo hold. “Well, Frank is okay. Reyna, Hazel. That’s the good news….” He shivered. “Gods. I can’t even think right now. Is that normal? Like, just forgetting how to think?”
I could assure him that it was, at least in my experience.
The captain came down the steps on the plane. “Sorry, Miss McLean, but we are queued for departure. If we don’t want to lose our window—”
“Yeah,” Piper said. “Of course. Apollo and Meg, you guys go. I’ll be fine with the coach and Mellie. Leo—”
“Oh, you’re not getting rid of me,” said Leo. “You just earned a bronze dragon escort to Oklahoma.”
“Leo—”
“We’re not arguing about this,” he insisted. “Besides, it’s more or less on the way back to Indianapolis.”
Piper’s smile was as faint as fog. “You’re settling in Indianapolis. Me, in Tahlequah. We’re really going places, huh?”
Leo turned to us. “Go on, you guys. Take…take Jason home. Do right by him. You’ll find Camp Jupiter still there.”
From the window of the plane, the last I saw of Piper and Leo, Coach and Mellie, they were huddled on the tarmac, plotting their journey east with their bronze dragon and their yellow Pinto.
Meanwhile, we taxied down the runway in our private jet. We rumbled into the sky—heading for Camp Jupiter and a rendezvous with Reyna, the daughter of Bellona.
I didn’t know how I would find Tarquin’s tomb, or who the soundless god was supposed to be. I didn’t know how we would stop Caligula from attacking the damaged Roman camp. But none of that bothered me as much as what had happened to us already—so many lives destroyed, a hero’s coffin rattling in the cargo hold, three emperors who were all still alive, ready to wreak more havoc on everyone and everything I cared about.
I found myself crying.
It was ridiculous. Gods don’t cry. But as I looked at Jason’s diorama in the seat next to me, all I could think about was that he would never get to see his carefully labeled plans finished. As I held my ukulele, I could only picture Crest playing his last chord with broken fingers.
“Hey.” Meg turned in the seat in front of me. Despite her usual cat-eye glasses and preschool-colored outfit (somehow mended, yet again, by the magic of the ever-patient dryads), Meg sounded more grown-up today. Surer of herself. “We’re going to make everything right.”
I shook my head miserably. “What does that even mean? Caligula is heading north. Nero is still out there. We’ve faced three emperors, and defeated none of them. And Python—”
She bopped me on the nose, much harder than she had Baby Chuck.
“Ow!”
“Got your attention?”
“I—Yes.”
“Then listen: You will get to the Tiber alive. You will start to jive. That’s what the prophecy said back in Indiana, right? It will make sense once we get there. You’re going to beat the Triumvirate.”
I blinked. “Is that an order?”
“It’s a promise.”
I wished she hadn’t put it that way. I could almost hear the goddess Styx laughing, her voice echoing from the cold cargo hold where the son of Jupiter now rested in his coffin.
The thought made me angry. Meg was right. I would defeat the emperors. I would free Delphi from Python’s grasp. I would not allow those who had sacrificed themselves to do so for nothing.
Perhaps this quest had ended on a suspended fourth chord. We still had much to do.
But from now on, I would be more than Lester. I would be more than an observer.
I would be Apollo.
I would remember.
aeithales ancient Greek for evergreen
Aeneas a prince of Troy and reputed ancestor of the Romans; the hero of Virgil’s epic the Aeneid
Alexander the Great a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 336 to 323 BCE; he united the Greek city-states and conquered Persia
ambrosia the food of the gods; it gives immortality to whoever consumes it; demigods can eat it in small doses to heal their injuries
Aphrodite Greek goddess of love and beauty; Roman form: Venus
arbutus any shrub or tree in the heath family with white or pink flowers and red or orange berries
Ares the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena; Roma
n form: Mars
Argo II a flying trireme built by the Hephaestus cabin at Camp Half-Blood to take the demigods of the Prophecy of Seven to Greece
Artemis the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo
Asclepius the god of medicine; son of Apollo; his temple was the healing center of ancient Greece
Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom
Bellona a Roman goddess of war; daughter of Jupiter and Juno
blemmyae a tribe of headless people with faces in their chests
Britomartis the Greek goddess of hunting and fishing nets; her sacred animal is the griffin
cabrito roasted or stewed kid goat meat
caligae (caliga, sing.) Roman military boots
Caligula the nickname of the third of Rome’s emperors, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, infamous for his cruelty and carnage during the four years he ruled, from 37 to 41 CE; he was assassinated by his own guard
Camp Half-Blood the training ground for Greek demigods, located in Long Island, New York
Camp Jupiter the training ground for Roman demigods, located in California, between the Oakland Hills and the Berkeley Hills
Cave of Trophonius a deep chasm, home to the Oracle Trophonius
Celestial bronze a powerful magical metal used to create weapons wielded by Greek gods and their demigod children
Chicago Black Sox eight members of the Chicago White Sox, a Major League Baseball team, accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money
Claudius Roman emperor from 41 to 54 CE, succeeding Caligula, his nephew
Commodus Lucius Aurelius Commodus was the son of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius; he became co-emperor when he was sixteen and emperor at eighteen, when his father died; he ruled from 177 to 192 CE and was megalomaniacal and corrupt; he considered himself the New Hercules and enjoyed killing animals and fighting gladiators at the Colosseum
Cyclops (Cyclopes, pl.) a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead
Daedalus a skilled craftsman who created the Labyrinth on Crete in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept
Daphne a beautiful naiad who attracted Apollo’s attention; she transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape him
Delos a Greek island in the Aegean Sea near Mykonos; birthplace of Apollo
Demeter the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos
denarius (denarii, pl.) a unit of Roman currency
Dionysus Greek god of wine and revelry; the son of Zeus
Doors of Death the doorway to the House of Hades, located in Tartarus; the doors have two sides—one in the mortal world, and one in the Underworld
dryad a spirit (usually female) associated with a certain tree
Edesia Roman goddess of banquets
Edsel a car produced by Ford from 1958 to 1960; it was a big flop
Elysium the paradise to which Greek heroes were sent when the gods gave them immortality
empousa a winged bloodsucking monster, daughter of the goddess Hecate
Enceladus a giant, son of Gaea and Ouranos, who was the primary adversary of the goddess Athena during the War of the Giants
Erymanthian Boar a giant wild boar that terrorized people on the island of Erymanthos until Hercules subdued it in the third of his twelve labors
Erythraean Sibyl a prophetess who presided over Apollo’s Oracle at Erythrae in Ionia
Euterpe Greek goddess of lyric poetry; one of the Nine Muses; daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne
Feronia the Roman goddess of wildlife, also associated with fertility, health and abundance
Furies goddesses of vengeance
Gaea the Greek earth goddess; wife of Ouranos; mother of the Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters
Germanicus adoptee of the Roman emperor Tiberius; became a prominent general of the Roman empire, known for his successful campaigns in Germania; father of Caligula
gladius a stabbing sword; the primary weapon of Roman foot soldiers
Golden Fleece the much-coveted fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which was held in Colchis by King Aeëtes and guarded by a dragon until Jason and the Argonauts retrieved it
Hades the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld
Hadrian the fourteenth emperor of Rome; ruled from 117 to 138 CE; known for building a wall that marked the northern limit of Britannia
harpy a winged female creature that snatches things
Hecate goddess of magic and crossroads
Hecuba queen of Troy, wife of King Priam, ruler during the Trojan War
Helen of Troy a daughter of Zeus and Leda and considered the most beautiful woman in the world; she sparked the Trojan War when she left her husband Menelaus for Paris, a prince of Troy
Helios the Titan god of the sun; son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia
Hephaestus the Greek god of fire, including volcanic, and of crafts and blacksmithing; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite; Roman form: Vulcan
Hera the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister; Apollo’s stepmother
Heracles the Greek equivalent of Hercules; the son of Zeus and Alcmene; born with great strength
Hercules the Roman equivalent of Heracles; the son of Jupiter and Alcmene; born with great strength
Hermes Greek god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead; god of communication
Herophile the daughter of a water nymph; she had such a lovely singing voice that Apollo blessed her with the gift of prophecy, making her the Erythraean Sibyl
Hestia Greek goddess of the hearth and home
Hyacinthus a Greek hero and Apollo’s lover, who died while trying to impress Apollo with his discus skills
hydra a many-headed water serpent
Hypnos Greek god of sleep
Imperial gold a rare metal deadly to monsters, consecrated at the Pantheon; its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors
Incitatus the favorite horse of Roman emperor Caligula
Janus the Roman god of beginnings, openings, doorways, gates, passages, time, and endings; depicted with two faces
Jupiter the Roman god of the sky and king of the gods; Greek form: Zeus
Katoptris Greek for mirror; a dagger that once belonged to Helen of Troy
khanda a double-edged straight sword; an important symbol of Sikhism
kusarigama a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of a sickle attached to a chain
Kymopoleia Greek goddess of violent storm waves; daughter of Poseidon
La Ventana a performance and event venue in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Labyrinth an underground maze originally built on the island of Crete by the craftsman Daedalus to hold the Minotaur
legionnaire a member of the Roman army
Leto mother of Artemis and Apollo with Zeus; goddess of motherhood
Little Tiber the barrier of Camp Jupiter
Lucrezia Borgia the daughter of a pope and his mistress; a beautiful noblewoman who earned the reputation of being a political schemer in fifteenth-century Italy
Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 CE; father of Commodus; considered the last of the “Five Good Emperors”
Mars the Roman god of war; Greek form: Ares
Medea a Greek enchantress, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and granddaughter of the Titan sun god, Helios; wife of the hero Jason, whom she helped obtain the Golden Fleece
Mefitis a goddess of foul-smelling gasses of the earth, especially worshipped in swamps and volcanic areas
Meliai Greek nymphs of the ash tree, born of Gaea; they nurtured and raised Zeus in Crete
Michelangelo an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance; a towering genius in the history of Western art; among his many masterpieces, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatic
an
Minotaur the part-man, part-bull son of King Minos of Crete; the Minotaur was kept in the Labyrinth, where he killed people who were sent in; he was finally defeated by Theseus
Mount Olympus home of the Twelve Olympians
Mount Vesuvius a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy that erupted in the year 79 CE, burying the Roman city of Pompeii under ash
Naevius Sutorius Macro a prefect of the Praetorian Guard from 31 to 38 CE, serving under the emperors Tiberius and Caligula
Neos Helios Greek for new sun, a title adopted by the Roman emperor Caligula
Nero ruled as Roman Emperor from 54 to 58 CE; he had his mother and his first wife put to death; many believe he was responsible for setting a fire that gutted Rome, but he blamed the Christians, whom he burned on crosses; he built an extravagant new palace on the cleared land and lost support when construction expenses forced him to raise taxes; he committed suicide
Nine Muses goddesses who grant inspiration for and protect artistic creation and expression; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; as children, they were taught by Apollo; their names are Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, and Calliope
Niobids children who were slain by Apollo and Artemis when their mother, Niobe, boasted about having more offspring than Leto, the twins’ mother
nunchaku originally a farm tool used to harvest rice, an Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain or rope
nymph a female deity who animates nature
Oracle of Delphi a speaker of the prophecies of Apollo
Oracle of Trophonius a Greek who was transformed into an Oracle after his death; located at the Cave of Trophonius; known for terrifying those who seek him
Orthopolis the only child of Plemnaeus who survived birth; disguised as an old woman, Demeter nursed him, ensuring the boy’s survival
Ouranos the Greek personification of the sky; husband of Gaea; father of the Titans
Palatine Hill the most famous of Rome’s seven hills; considered one of the most desirable neighborhoods in ancient Rome, it was home to aristocrats and emperors
Pan the Greek god of the wild; the son of Hermes
