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LUCIA HAD TO CALM PERCY DOWN BEFORE HE GOT TO LEO. She was afraid he'd throttle him the first chance he got. It was true Percy had every right to be upset, but Lucia got to know Leo over the past few months, and he didn't seem the type to purposefully sabotage a vital quest. Now Accidentally? well...

As Annabeth, Coach Hedge, and some others interrogated him upstairs. Lucia worked below deck, in the Sick-bay.

Considering she was the only child of a Medicinal god. Lucia was the ship's official medic. It was now her job to take care of everyone and make sure their injuries were healed. She wouldn't mind it so much if Coach Hedge would just stop asking her to look at the oblong rash on his back.

Lucia spent her time looking after an unconscious Jason, checking over his Vitals. The cut on his head was pretty bad but she bandaged it up and fed him Nectar. He got a nasty hit, but Jason was a warrior. He was going to be fine. She was sure of it as she checked him over. He was already looking better, and his heart rate beat steadily in Lucia's ears.

Piper had been extremely frightened. The daughter of Aphrodite stayed beside her the entire time she was working.  Lucia observed how Piper was with Jason and it was clear that they were important to each other. She knew they were boyfriend and girlfriend but honestly, sometimes they showed such little affection, Lucia would forget.

The Healer had to reassure Piper once more. "Jay is going to be alright his vital signs all seem normal. We're only waiting on him to wake up now. Just watch over him if you like." Lucia said squeezing her arm for comfort.

From outside the door, Percy called, "Sunlight, you there?."

Lucia looked at Piper one more time. She nodded goodbye. "Call me if he wakes up." She ordered and made her way out of Sickbay.

There Percy stood waiting for her. Lucia looked up at him, "Everything okay?"

He nodded, "Besides the ship being destroyed and us making an enemy out of a camp full of Romans? perfect." he said looking at her with a goofy grin.

Lucia rolled her eyes. She shoved him gently but was smiling from ear to ear. "Can you be serious?"

"I'm always serious I don't know what you mean?" He said, making them both laugh. He then stopped to ask. "How's Jason?"

"He's going to be fine." Lucia nodded.

"Awesome, that means I get to steal you away." He pulled her into his side, walking them to the staircase that led to the deck.

"I was gone thirty minutes max." She grinned, as she followed

"Thirty minutes too long."

The stairs creaked as they went up them. When they reached the deck Annabeth and Leo stood, their faces grim.

All around Lucia, the beautiful new ship was in shambles.

The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The satellite array that powered the onboard Internet and TV was blown to bits, which had made Coach Hedge mad.

Their bronze dragon figurehead, Festus, was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball. Lucia didn't know anything about Automaton dragons. But she figured something had broken which would explain why the ship was listing and shuddering as it flew, the engine wheezing like an asthmatic steam train.

Leo's heart stumbled when he saw Lucia. "Is Jason—?"

"He's resting," She reassured. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

Percy gave him a hard look. "Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?"

"Man, I—I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry—"

"Sorry?" Percy growled.

Lucia put a hand on her boyfriend's chest. "Stay calm."

Annabeth interrupted, "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

Leo told them about the damage and the supplies they needed. He was bemoaning the shortage of Celestial bronze when Festus began to whir and squeak.

"Perfect." Leo sighed with relief.

"What's perfect?" Annabeth said. "I could use some perfect about now."

Leo managed a smile. "Everything we need in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."

༄

ONCE THEY GOT THERE, IT WASN'T A PRETTY LANDING. With the oars damaged and the foresail torn, they could barely manage a controlled descent.

The others had been strapped in below. —except for Coach Hedge, who insisted on clinging to the forward rail, yelling,

"YEAH! Bring it on, lake!"

Jason had been transferred to sleep in his room. Leo was manning the helm alone.

The loud ringing of the all-clear bell chimed through the ship as they landed.

The Argo II was designed like an ancient trireme, only twice as big. The first deck had one central corridor with crew cabins on either side. On a normal trireme, most of the space would've been taken up with three rows of benches for a few hundred sweaty guys to do the manual labor, but Leo's oars were automated and retractable, so they took up very little room inside the hull. The ship's power came from the engine room on the second and lowest deck, which also housed the sickbay, storage, and stables.

Lucia sat in the large mess hall or lounge, Percy, Annabeth, and Frank—sat dejectedly next to her around the dining table.

Leo had made it nice. The cupboard was lined with magic cups and plates from Camp Half-Blood, which would fill up with whatever food or drink you wanted on command.

Lucia thought it useful, especially in getting fruit. Will had gone on a rant before they left on how simple it was to get scurvy at sea, and got to Lucia's head. So now she had ordered Leo to mandate one serving of fruit in everyone's meal per day. ( yes, Percy gets blueberries.)

There was also the magical ice chest with canned drinks, perfect for picnics ashore. The chairs were cushy recliners with thousand-finger massage, built-in headphones, and sword and drink holders for all your demigod kicking-back needs. There were no windows, but the walls were enchanted to show real-time footage from Camp Half-Blood—the beach, the forest, the strawberry fields—She knew Leo had good intentions with that invention, despite now feeling more homesick than happy.

Percy stared longingly at the sunset view of Half-Blood Hill, where the Golden Fleece glittered in the branches of the tall pine tree. "So we've landed," he said. "What now?"

Frank plucked on his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean...that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books? It sounded like more than one..."

"The what?" Leo asked.

Frank explained how their harpy friend was freakishly good at memorizing books.

At some point in the past, she'd inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of Rome.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guessed. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."

Percy kept staring at the image of Half-Blood Hill. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want..." He made a fist. Lucia's hand covered it. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

Lucia was even more worried about their safety now, On top of the problems they already had with Gaea and the giants. They had now stirred up a camp of angry Romans. But she kept quiet.

She laced her fingers with Percy's. "Let me think about the prophecy—but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"

"The easiest thing is tar." Leo was glad to change the subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store, or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

Leo felt everyone's eyes on him. "Guys...I don't know what happened. Honestly, I—"

Annabeth raised her hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned...Lucia felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened—"

Frank grunted. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"

"I'm fine now," he insisted,

"Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."

"Split up?" Percy said. "That sounds like a really bad idea."

"It'll be quicker," Hazel put in. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows as if reappraising Hazel's merits.

"You're right. The same reason we needed the Argo II...outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three or four. Be aware that even that's risky. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."

Percy still didn't look happy about it.

Hazel smiled. "Great, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth, Lucia, and Percy into town for the tar?"

"It's okay, I'll go with the other team," Lucia disagreed, "If we can split into three and three, that is our best option. There's no point in putting ourselves at risk if we can help it. "

Frank frowned but nodded. "I... I suppose. So you and Hazel—"

"We'll go with Leo to get the bronze and lime," Lucia said. "We can all meet back here once the sun is set."

"But—?" Percy began, he glanced toward Leo before looking back at her, he didn't trust the son of Hephaestus yet. "Do you want me to go with you and Hazel instead?"

Lucia smiled in appreciation, "We'll be okay." she reassured. He squeezed her hand like he was afraid of letting go. "Plus do you know what lime looks like?"

Percy opened his mouth to say something,

"Don't start, you know I don't mean the fruit."

"What about me?" Annabeth offered,

"No," Lucia appreciated them worrying about her, but she didn't want to be babied or treated like glass. She was capable of handling herself...In some ways maybe she was still learning, but it was progress...The progress she wanted to make. "I need you to make sure my boyfriend doesn't act like a complete seaweed brain, Beth. Plus I feel better knowing you guys are together."

"Sunlight?" He complained,

Annabeth pursed her lips, "Okay, stay safe."

Percy's green eyes captured hers for a moment, they pleaded to her violet ones, "Come back."

She squeezed his hand. "I will."

Annabeth nodded, "Leo, if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"

"With luck, just a few hours."

"Fine," she decided. "We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but be alert. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

༄

RIDING A HORSE THAT COULD RUN EIGHT HUNDRED MILES PER HOUR, was both terrifying and exhilarating. Arion's hooves turned the surface of the lake into salty mist.

Lucia placed her hand against the horse's side to feel the muscles working and to comb through his brown coat, The creature was nothing short of breathtaking.

"You're beautiful," Lucia told him,

The free-spirited horse whinnied in approval.

Ahead of them lay an island—a 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 Lucia who sat behind Hazel. He had an arm loosely around her waist. She could feel how tense he was in the awkward position. The close contact made her feel a little weird, but it was the only way he could stay on the animal without falling off.

Before they left, Percy pulled her aside to tell Hazel's story.

According to Percy, Hazel was the daughter of Pluto. She'd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago.

Lucia found that hard to believe. Hazel seemed warm and very alive.

Arion thundered onto the beach. He stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly like Coach Hedge yelling a battle cry.

They all dismounted. Arion pawed the sand.

"He needs to eat," Hazel explained. "He likes gold, but—"

"Gold?" Lucia asked.

"He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

Just like that, the horse was gone—nothing was left but a steaming trail across the lake.

"Fast horse," Leo muttered, "And expensive to feed." 

"Not really," Hazel said. "Gold is easy for me."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy."

Hazel pursed her lips as if she regretted raising the subject. "Never mind."

Lucia knew not to press her. She knelt and cupped a handful
of white sand. "So, where do we start."

"You did it," Leo said, "We got one thing done."

"Huh."

"That is lime."

She frowned. "The whole beach?"

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hand into the lime.

Then he froze.

"Oye?" Lucia poked his shoulder to get his attention. "You okay?"

Leo took a shaky breath. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, fine." He started to fill the bag. Hazel knelt to help.

"We should've brought a pail and shovels," Hazel commented.

Leo smiled. "We could've made a sand castle."

"A lime castle," Hazel corrected.

Their eyes locked for a second too long, which made Lucia feel like an intruder.

um?

Hazel looked away. "You are so much like—"

"Sammy?" Leo guessed.

Hazel fell backward, into Lucia's side (she yelped). "You know?"

"I have no idea who Sammy is," Leo said. "But Frank asked me if I was sure that wasn't my name."

"And... it isn't?"

"No! Jeez."

"You don't have a twin brother or..." Hazel stopped. "Is your family from New Orleans?"

"Nah, Houston. Why? This Sammy a guy you used to know?"

"I... It's nothing. You just look like him."

Tension filled the air. What kind? Lucia had no clue, all she knew is that it was awwwwwkward

"um—" Lucia helped Hazel sit upright, "Why don't we—get this done"

They finished filling the bag in silence. Leo stuffed it in his tool belt and the bag vanished into the magical pocket.

He stood and scanned the island. "Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but I'm not sure where—"

"That way." Hazel pointed up to the beach. "About five hundred yards."

"How do you—?" Lucia began

"Precious metals," Hazel said. "It's a Pluto thing."

"Handy talent," Leo said.  "Lead the way, Miss Metal Detector."

༄

THE SUN BEGAN TO SET AND LUCIA COULD FEEL HERSELF GETTING GROGGY.

The sky turned a bizarre mix of purple and yellow. She watched as the colors swirled like watercolors when a knot began to form in her stomach. Finally, Hazel turned inland.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Leo asked.

"We're close," the younger girl promised. "Come on."

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 biker's pants, tall leather boots, and a bloodred leather jacket—sort of a Michael Jackson joins the Hell's Angels 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.

Leo looked hesitant, But Hazel and Lucia forged ahead, so he didn't have much choice except to follow.

As they got closer, Lucia noticed disturbing details. Attached to the woman's belt was a curled whip. Her red-leather jacket had a subtle design to it—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.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked before he could stop himself.

The woman looked up.

Lucia's heart sank to her stomach. Her mouth fell agape.

"Aunt Rosa?" Leo asked.

"Is that what you see?" the woman asked. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

"How did you—?" Hazel stepped back in alarm. "You—you look like Mrs. Leer. My third-grade teacher. I hated you."

The woman cackled. "Excellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?"

"You—she taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," Hazel said. "She called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didn't do and— No. She has to be dead. Who are you?"

"Oh, Lucia knows," the woman looked at her with contempt. "Tell me? Do I look like him?"

Yes.

"Nemesis." Lucia exhaled. "The goddess of revenge...You're Ethan's mom."

"Ah," The goddess smiled, "I knew you would recognize me, child."

Nemesis cracked another cookie and wrinkled her nose. "You will have great fortune when you least expect it," she read. "That's exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame that tramp Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it!"

Leo looked at the mound of broken cookies. "Uh...you know those aren't real prophecies, right? They're just stuffed in the cookies at some factory—"

"Don't try to excuse it!" Nemesis snapped. "It's just like Tyche to get people's hopes up. No, no. I must counter her."

Nemesis flicked a finger over the slip of paper, and the letters changed to red. "You will die painfully when you most expect it. There! Much better."

"That's horrible!" Hazel said. "You'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"

Nemesis sneered. It was creepy, especially with how much she looked like Ethan. "My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?"

"That doesn't mean I'd want them to come true!"

"Bah."

The goddess resealed the cookie and tossed it in her basket.

"Tyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. Me? I'm not affected. I am called Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal."

"What are you talking about?" Lucia asked. "What are you doing here?"

Nemesis opened another cookie. "Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That's not even a proper fortune!" She crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet.

"To answer your question, Lucia, 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 get multiple personalities, I'm afraid. Splitting headaches. Disorientation."

"But we're not at war," Leo insisted.

"Um, Leo..." Hazel winced. "Except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome."

Leo stared at her, "Not on purpose!"

"That doesn't matter to them." Lucia sighed, "All they know is that you attacked, meaning, The Romans will be pursuing us to retaliate."

Nemesis cackled. "Leo, listen to the girl. She knows revenge. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

she knows revenge. Lucia winced, she saw Agatha's body falling and pool of blood in her mind.

Leo looked terrified. "Me."

The goddess snorted. "Well, don't you have a high opinion of yourself? You're 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 Hera—or Juno, if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron!"

"So why are you here?" He asked.

"Why, to offer my help!" Nemesis smiled wickedly.

The trio exchanged looks.

"Your help," Leo said.

"Of course!" said the goddess. "I 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."

"Sacrifice?" Hazel's voice was tight. "I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother is missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"

Lucia could heavily relate. She wanted to scream out all of the things she had lost. Both physically and not. How her whole life had been one misery after another.

"Right now," Lucia said, trying to control her anger, "all we want is some Celestial bronze."

"Oh, that's easy," Nemesis said. "It's just over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

"Wait," Hazel said. "What sweethearts?"

Nemesis popped a cookie in her mouth and swallowed it, fortune and all. "You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life." She smiled. "And speaking of your brother Nico, you don't have much time. Let's see...it's June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

Hazel's eyes widened. "How...what—?"

Lucia felt an instant panic flow through her. Neeks.

"And as for you, child of fire." She turned to Leo. "Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the eighth wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you...for a price."

Lucia smelled smoke. She realized Leo's fingers on his left hand were ablaze. Her eyebrows furrowed as Hazel stared at him in terror.

He shoved his hand in his pocket to extinguish the flames. "I like to solve my own problems."

"Very well." Nemesis brushed cookie dust off her jacket.

"But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?"

The goddess shrugged. "One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."

"That was you?" Lucia hissed, "You hurt him."

"So did you." Nemesis glared, and Lucia fell silent.

Leo's stomach churned. "You...want an eye?"

"In your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here." She handed him an unbroken fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem."

Leo's hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. "What problem?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"No, thanks," Leo said firmly. But his hand slipped the cookie into his tool belt.

Nemesis picked up another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. She looked towards Lucia. "You know very well that vengeance is a response to injustice. That is why I don't think you are useless. Still, you're too bright. And I dislike you."

Lucia frowned, golden girl.

Nemesis looked like she had more to say to Lucia, but she only smirked, as if saying. 'You can figure it out yourself'.

"Very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. One thing might bring unity to Olympus again—an old wrong finally avenged. Ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! But it will not happen unless you accept my help."

"I suppose you won't tell us what you're talking about," Hazel muttered. "Or why my brother Nico has only six days to live. Or why Rome is going to be destroyed."

Nemesis chuckled. She rose and slung her sack of cookies over her shoulder. "Oh, it's all tied together, Hazel Levesque. As for my offer, Leo Valdez, give it some thought. You're a good child. A hard worker. We could do business. But I have detained you too long. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. My poor cursed boy gets quite...agitated when the darkness comes."

Lucia hated the sound of that, but the goddess climbed on her motorcycle. It was drivable, despite those Pac-Man–shaped wheels, because Nemesis revved her engine and disappeared in a mushroom cloud of black smoke.

Lucia bent down. All the broken cookies and fortunes had disappeared except for one crumpled slip of paper. She picked it up and read, "You will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair."

"Fantastic," Leo grumbled. "Let's go see what that means."