Chapter Thirteen: Tara. I Get A Traditional Death As A Present

Here is the thirteenth chapter of Heroes: The New Level.

I Get A Traditional Death As A Present
Once Nico got his breath back, we introduced ourselves to the Romans. Thhey'd already met Annabeth and Nico, of course, but I had barely even met my fellow Greeks. Plus, the Romans have a new standout demigod, Eddie Jaden.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "My name's Eddie, and this is Vicis Tincidunt Vivamus."

The name was a strange one, sure. But not as strange as when I realized he was talking about his watch. "You named your watch?"

He laughed. "No, the kid who made it gave it the name. It's Latin for Time Blade. See, it turns into a weapon... and apparently personal weapons are supposed to have names."

I thought for a moment. Sure, I'd only been at Camp Half-Blood for a few minutes, but why hadn't I ever gotten - or even heard of - a personal weapon? I knew Annabeth and Nico both had knives, but I'd thought they were just random tools.

"...And Chiron thinks it probably involves you guys, too," Annabeth finished explaining to the guy... Jason.

He and Reyna nodded. "So where do we go from here?" Reyna asked.

"Search for powerful demigods and monsters," I said. "A really powerful demigod might be one of the ones involved in the Merge, like me and Eddie. A monster that's in multiple mythologies would also be a strong key."

"Like the one who made you almost commit suicide?" Nico suggested to Annabeth. "Sphinxes are just as Egyptian as they are Greek, and Egypt has a lot of ancient cultures and stuff."

Reyna nodded. "It is our best bet. All we must do is track down a sphinx and a powerful demigod. If they are in the same location, it will be the place to search for a means to combat whoever is leading the Merge."

"We can get one of the constructs," Jason suggested. "The Vulcan and Minerva kids made a lot of stuff lately, like Eddie's watch. I remember them talking about something built like an infrared scanner that scans for energy - you know, like a Scouter. We can search using it."

We walked further through the camp until we got to where the constructs were held. Jason was right! There was some amazing stuff in those areas. "Here," Eddie said, taking a short wooden stick. "This is the sensor. Don't ask me how, I just know."

For a second, I wished I had that kind of power. But I shrugged it off and went back to the group. Eddie messed around with the stick - twisting it, bending it, writing letters in the air with it - until it started glowing.

When Eddie turned the stick, the glow changed in color and intensity. When it settled on bright white, he looked at us. "This way."

I did some mental calculations - from the sun's position it was pointing southeast, we were in San Francisco... "The power is in Mexico?" I asked.

"Looks like it," Eddie said. "Ready to move?" He was looking at Nico when he asked.

Nico shook his head. "It'll be a while before shadow travel is an option. We'd better stay here for a bit until we're ready."

With a nod, Jason and Reyna went back to Temple Hill. Eddie and Annabeth started walking the other way, comparing notes about something called the Wolf House. That left Nico and I.

"So how long does someone usually stay at Camp before getting a personal weapon?" I cut to the chase.

Nico shrugged. "It depends. Piper got hers right away, Annabeth got her 'special knife' before she arrived, I didn't get mine until a few months after I first arrived."

"Oh."

Nico sighed. "But, if you want... I've been making a sword. A mix of Stygian iron and celestial bronze. The bronze makes it powerful and traditional. The iron means that only a child of Hades or Pluto can use it. You can have it, but it doesn't have a name yet, though."

An idea came to me from who-knows-where. "Paradosiaki Thánato," I said. "Traditional Death."

He smiled. "A great name. And once I can get it, it's yours." He looked at Vicis Tincidunt Vivamus. "What do you know, it's been an hour already. Shadows are ready to roll."

Additive Words
Tara has her new weapon - Paradosiaki Thánato. The demigods are looking for a sphinx and powerful demigods - hmm... Aztlan? If they get there fast, then that means Tara and Eddie are going to meet up with Raymond and Natalie very soon. The siblings Eddie and Annabeth seem to be getting along alright. But now the questions: What will happen when they realize the sphinx escaped? Who is it that is leading the Merge? What will happen in the next chapter? When will Tara be able to hold Paradosiaka Thánato as her own?

Here are the links.

Prologue: Lan. It May Start Soon

Chapter One: Tara. Some Weird Kid Fights Something

Heroes: The New Level

Wait for Chapter Fourteen, coming soon.