Chapter 17: A New Home

Chapter 16

Steve and I walked outside to a very odd reunion.

Alex was hugging Mr. Tall Dark and Leathered, while the rest of the bikers were getting off of their bikes. The dude looked up, and I could swear that there was a war going on in his eyes. I blinked, and it was gone.

“Steve, good to see you again,” he said with a heavy Russian accent. “Little Sasha says that she was successful in recovering the shield only because of you two. Spa-ci-ba.”

“Hush Ivan, your freaking Steve out again.” Alex admonished. Ivan cleared his throught.

“Sorry,” he said in a more American accent. “Dad had us up in Siberia dealing an outbreak of abominable snowmen. Language transfer spell kinda sticks with you.

“So. Your a Roman huh?” He looked at me as if sizing me up. “I would say not that impressive, but then Alex here told me about some of the things you have done. If half of what my sister here says is true, I hope little Clarise has enough sense not to mess with the upcoming peace talks.”

Peace talks? I decided not to ask.

“I helped, thats what matters. Alex did most of the hard stuff.” I figured that was a good response. Ivan burst out into laughter.

“Sure kid, whatever. Lets get my boy’s settled in and eating, once were done we can take you back to camp.” He said, and with his arm over Alex’s shoulder, walked back to the restaurant.

For the next few hours we pigged out on the buffet which, according to Ivan, was supplied by Ares as a thanks for recovering the shield. He was going to leave it at that, but Hephaestus stepped in and made him also provide us a trip home. After we finished eating the Bikers - all children of Ares by the way - got onto their bikes. Alex climbed into a side cart on her brothers bike, Steve got into a second side cart belonging to a big heavyset fellow decked out in more metal than leather. I got the sidecar with a girl who would have been hot, if not for the X shaped scar across her face that she insisted on explaining signified her first two kills.

For the next day I got to hear an explanation about every scar on her body, each one symbolizing a kill she had made in the service to her father. Oh joy.

After what seemed a hundred years, mostly due to the scar stories, we reached Long Island, New York. Specifically farm road 3.141, at the bottom of a large hill with a tree atop it. Something was wrapped around the tree, but I didn’t care if I had to take on every monster in creation, I was getting off that bike.

I hopped out and stretched my legs, Alex was standing next to her brother and saying something, and Steve was walking towards me. When he reached me, he indicated I should follow him and continued on towards Alex.

“C’mon Ivan, come see Chiron. I’m sure that you have been forgiven for the nuke thing.” Alex was saying as we walked up. Nuke thing? Apperantly they like to party hard.

“Nah, its cool. We need to get back to those snowmen before they realize we’re missing. Don’t want them to eat up another village. Later sis, and Roman. Keep her out of trouble, ya?”

“Sure thing.”

Then the bikers spun around, kicking up a lot of dirt, and drove off. The road was pretty straight, so we should have been able to see them further down, but when the dust settled they were gone. Alex sighed, then turned and walked up the hill. Steve and I followed.

At the top we were met by a dragon who was wrapped around the tree. I was about to break out my weapons, when Alex patted the dragon on its nose with a “Hey Peleus,” and walked down the hill. The light shined off something and hit my eyes, and when I looked it was the Golden Fleece. I don’t mean a replica, I mean THE Golden Fleece. I stared in shock, when Steve poked me in the back to get me moving again.

“Peleus was hired to watch the Fleece,” he explained. “He gets kind of antsy if you are too close to it or stare at it where he can see if he doens’t know you. Don’t worry about it, once he gets to know you, you can take a look at the Fleece.”

We walked down the hill and campers started to approach. All of them wore orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts, but that was where the similarities ended. They were all of different shapes and sizes, hair colors and skin colors. It looked like every kind of group of people you could imagine was here in one way or another. A bunch of them were wearing weapons, and a group of archers surrounded Steve and I.

“Who is the new comer Steve?” one asked.

“Back off Austin,” Steve replied.

“He is with us archer boy, you got a problem with that?” Alex entered the conversation.

“No problem, but were up to protect the borders today, gotta check, you know how it is.”

“Yeah, were taking him to Chiron, so don’t worry about it.” Alex said as she grabbed my arm and dragged me towards a big blue house. I was looking around at all the sights. A set of cabins forming a rectangle around something, and each was so different - one of gold, one of silver, one made of steel, another looked like a war bunker, yet another looked like it came from the sea. A wall in the distance that spewed lava and fire - which I guess was no problem for me - and a forest bordering everything I could see.

We reached the blue house and Alex started calling out “Chiron!” and I heard a horse walking on wood and figured this Chiron character was just getting back from horse riding or something. Then he rounded the corner, and I saw that he was the horse. At least partly. From the waist down, he was a white stallion. From the waist up, human. A centaur.

“What is it Alex, returned already.” He said as he rounded the corner. Then he saw me. At first, he smiled, then he saw the purple shirt. Then he looked at my arm, where the short sleeved shirt left the tattoo open to see. He closed his eyes.

“Good Gods,” he muttered, “another one. Might as well come inside.” He then backed himself up into a wheelchair that I hope was magical. If it wasn’t he had awesome skills at folding himself up. After he got into the chair he motioned us inside and signaled a camper to call for a “war session.”

I did not like the sound of this.

Inside, the walls were covered with grape vines and masks. They were everywhere, except for a mounted leopards head. As I looked at it, the mouth opened in a large toothy yawn. It licked its lips and looked right back at me, hungrily. Then Chiron tossed it a snausage and it munched on that contentedly.

In about ten minutes we were shuffled into a rec room with a bunch of other campers. Then we told our tale. I let Alex and Steve do all the talking, I just sat back in the corner and listened. One kid, he had short cropped blond hair and blue eyes, caught my attention mostly. He was staring at me as if he recognized me, and something about him caught at my memory. The girl sitting next to him was strikingly beautiful, and it had nothing to do with her appearance. It was just something about who she was that gave off the image of beauty.

And she scared the hell out of me.

When Alex and Steve had finished their tale, the guy on the other side of the blond one spoke up.

“So, he’s Roman right? From the other camp? And he doesn’t remember anything like our boy Jason here?” He asked. Jason. My head started hurting.

“That’s right,” Alex responded. “Oh yeah, and he apparently has a message for you Leo.” Leo, Leo Valdez. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the letter, handing it over to Leo. He opened it up and scanned it. Then handed it over to Jason. That name was like a hot poker stabbing into my head.

One of the other guys at the table got up and walked over to me.

“Your head hurts?” He asked. I nodded.

“My name is Will. Will Solace. Lemme see what I can do.” He started saying something in ancient Greek, but nothing was happening. He frowned.

“Nothing?” he asked. I shook my head.

“Centurion!” Jason said. “Respond.”

“No sir, nothing happened.” I said without thinking.

“Well, it looks like you will be joining our camp,” Chiron said after he looked up from the letter. “Your father seems to think we will be needing your particular skills with metal working. Leo here is your Cabin Leader. He will show you to your bunk.” That appeared to be a dismissal, because everyone got up and started to leave. I stood and walked out the door ahead of everyone else, my senses screaming at me that I was in danger here.

Outside, things were not much better. A tall Asian girl that was drop dead gorgeous in a similar way to the girl who was sitting next to Jason walked up.

“Well. Look at you, tall dark and Roman. I could just eat you up.” She said.

“Buzz off Drew,” said Alex as she came out of the Big House. She grabbed my arm and started to pull me aside. Drew grabbed my other arm.

“I don’t care what you think Alex. You, like the rest of the Ares trash, aren’t good enough to lick my boots.” A crowd was beginning to gather around us. My head was pounding with pain and the urge to break out my weapons and lay waste to most of these campers. Drew was still screeching at Alex, but I was getting tired of this. Alex was holding herself back,

I was getting annoyed. Alex, Steve, and Praetor Jason. Those were the three people at this camp who I knew I could trust. I had fought next to them, bled next to them, and this little bitch thought she could attack one of them?

I didn’t quite realize I had finished the thought process till I felt my fist connect with her face. Drew flew back and landed in a heap, her nose bleeding. There was a loud gasp, and I realized we had drawn quite a crowd. Then they cheered. Alex looked at me in shock, then kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she said. Then she hit my arm. “I can protect myself though.”

Meanwhile Drew pulled out the sword from one of the Apollo campers, trying to get up. The blood loss making it difficult for her to stand. She dropped the sword and passed out.

“Centurion,” Jason Grace walked down the steps of the Big House. “Explain yourself.”

The question was asked in Latin, so I responded with the same language.

“Sir, there are only three people I know I can trust here at this camp. Everywhere I look my instincts are telling me its dangerous. You, Alex, and Steve are what is keeping me from thinking of myself as a prisoner of war. Why I feel like this, I don’t know.”

“Well, I understand how you feel. I was like that also not long ago. But you have five people you can trust here. The three you named, as well as Leo and Piper.” He indicated the dangerously beautiful girl next to him. “I trust them with my life.”

I nodded. If the Praetor trusts them like that, then I would trust them as well.

For better or worse. I was home.