Chapter 17
Harry emerged from hearth at Camp Half-blood at precisely 8 am, wearing a small backpack, containing sandwiches for everyone, as well as a couple of bottles of water. Smiling to himself, he looked around for his friends.
Instead, his smile froze.
Louis, the Guys, Silena, and Annabeth weren't alone.
Chiron was with them.
Ice settled in Harry's gut. While he liked Chiron, the centaur was still an adult. Added to that, Harry was planning on taking his friends and breaking the rules. Stupid, arbitrary rules, but rules nonetheless.
Adults were trouble when rules were being broken. Mister Ares was right, it was better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, and now it was likely that Chiron would say 'no' and keep an eye on them to prevent them from going anyway.
"Hello everyone," Harry said, trying to remain 'normal', while keeping an apprehensive eye on the centaur.
"Annabeth tattled!" Silena tattled instead of a greeting, apparently not getting the concept of 'hypocrisy'.
"I did not!" Annabeth said back, crossing her arms. "I just wanted to let Chiron know what we were doing so he wouldn't get worried."
"Which, coincidentally, would be 'tattling'," Louis said with a grin, ruffling the blonde's hair, making her pout.
Chiron was keeping quiet as the demigods started debating the proper legal definition of 'tattling', while Harry kept a worried and apprehensive silence. The centaur's silence was unnerving him.
"So you were thinking about taking a trip to Rome, Lad?" the centaur finally asked, when it became apparent that Harry was going to keep quiet.
The boy nodded. "Yes, Mister Chiron," he replied honestly. A lesson he'd remembered well – when caught, admit to it. Lying would only make things worse.
"Quite a dangerous enterprise," the Trainer of Heroes noted.
Harry shrugged. "Not really. I can take everyone through the fire, both getting there and getting back. It's perfectly safe."
"Even across such distances?" Chiron wondered, peering down at the young demigod.
"Sure," the young boy replied, somewhat more at ease now that it became apparent that Chiron wasn't going to start yelling. "I took the fire to the Chinese Celestial Plane without issue. If I can get there, I can get anywhere."
Chiron was silent, apparently debating something to himself. "So it would seem," he finally admitted. "However, there are more dangers than just the trip."
"Millions go see Rome every year," Harry answered. Miss Athena would be cross with him if he gave up a debate without trying. He wondered when Chiron would pull the adult trump card and said 'because I said so, that's why'. Adults always pulled that card, so he was wondering how much more it would take and when it would show up.
"True. Those millions aren't demigods, however," Chiron said, reasonably.
"Statistically, at least some of them would have to be," Harry stated.
The Trainer of Heroes seemed to smile at the reply. Whether it was because Harry remained polite, or because the argument was well-crafted, or both, Harry didn't know. He took the smile as a positive, and felt some of the ice in his gut release.
"Rome is more than just a city, Harry," Chiron explained. "It is a historical place, with layers built upon layers. It once served as the capital of a large empire. Many things slumber in its depths. A visit to the Old Countries is never a good idea for a modern demigod."
Harry frowned. "What old countries do you mean, Mister Chiron?" he asked.
"The Mediterranean has been closed to demigods since the fall of Rome, Lad," Chiron said. "Plus, it is protected. The Pillars of Hercules are aptly named. Most of Europe is a bad idea for modern demigods because of it. Ancient monsters still roam the continent."
Harry smiled faintly. "I was born in the UK, Chiron," he answered. "Europe's my birth place. Well. Somewhat. Mostly."
Chiron gave a small laugh. "Yes, I remember your homeland's issues with 'the continent'. In any case, I do not feel this trip would be safe. A group of 6 demigods would be a prime attraction for monsters."
Harry pointed to Louis. "We've got our own responsible adult," he said, throwing the Son of Apollo under the bus without hesitation. Said Son of Apollo put on a brave grin while simultaneously trying to give Harry the stink-eye. Harry felt that he was failing at both.
Chiron gave another short laugh. "While I have trust in Louis'… responsibility… I do feel that one nearly-adult demigod wouldn't be sufficient protection for such a trip."
Harry blinked, and thought for a moment. That almost sounded like Chiron was giving him an opening for something!
Slowly, he grinned. "Would you perhaps like to come along, Mister Chiron?" Harry asked, reasonably sure that the Trainer of Heroes was trying to finagle an invitation out of him. He rather liked Chiron under most circumstances, and having someone around who actually experienced things firsthand could be highly educational.
The centaur laughed and shook his head. "I am needed here, and while I would love to see the old continent again, I have spent more than my fair share of time in its woods. No, I was thinking about someone else."
Harry remained silent for a few moments. "Please tell me it's Mister Dionysus," he said, sounding perfectly serious. Having the God of Wine along could be fun, he thought. His sarcastic comments could be just as much fun as Chiron's educational explanations would have been.
The five others looked horrified. Chiron burst out laughing. "While Mister D's reaction to me asking him to accompany you would undoubtedly be highly amusing, he wasn't who I had in mind either."
The boy waited for a few moments, then cocked his head when Chiron wasn't saying anything else. Without a doubt, the centaur found it funny to keep them in suspense.
"Do we know this mystery person who will be accompanying us, or will you have us guess, Mister Chiron?" Harry asked, somehow able to keep his tone friendly and not at all sarcastic. Hestia would look disappointingly at him if he used sarcasm.
Chiron shook his head. "I have a Satyr in mind. I do believe you will find him an excellent companion."
Louis suddenly got a smile on his face. "Is it Billy?"
Chiron sent the Son of Apollo a look. "Yes, it's Billy," he replied. "One day you need to learn not to steal my thunder, Lad."
"Excellent! it's Billy!" Louis cheered, ignoring Chiron's further reply. "You guys will love Billy. He's the one who got me to camp. He probably has the world's biggest collection of jokes."
"No 'probably' about it, Sunshine," a voice stated from behind the demigod in question. As the demigods turned to face him, the satyr took off his hat and executed a perfectly acceptable courtly bow. "William Redwood, world's biggest purveyor of jokes, gags, and other funny stories, at your service."
"Billy!" Louis shouted, grabbed the satyr despite him still being swept up in his bowing, and gave him a huge bear hug.
Harry studied the newcomer. He was dressed like what early 20th century people would have called a 'mad inventor', with dark brown pants held up with suspenders, a light brown shirt, topped with a brocade vest, over which he had thrown a turn of the century tailcoat which he hadn't closed.
A small chain led to a pocket watch stuck in the satyr's breast pocket, and from a heavy belt around his waist dangled an old-fashioned sextant on one side and a box decorated with a wind rose on the other – obviously a compass of some kind.
He seemed funny enough, and was about as tall as Louis was, but built a fair bit stockier. He had two goat's horns on his head, which he was probably planning on hiding underneath the Victorian hat, complete with goggles that could be flipped down or up, that he was still carrying in one hand.
Harry knew Satyrs had goat legs, which they usually hid within prosthetics, and Billy appeared the be no different. Both his 'feet' appeared to be made from solid metal, giving the impression that the satyr had two robotic feet.
"Before I do give my agreement, though," Chiron said, interrupting the happy reunion, "I would like to know where you were specifically planning on traveling to. If I recall, you will need a burning fire at your destination, and those are not so common these days."
Harry grinned. "We're going to the Temple of Vesta," he answered. "The hearth is still there, even without a fire burning in it."
"Vesta's temple?" Chiron asked, suddenly looking worried.
Harry nodded enthusiastically, choosing to ignore Chiron's sudden worry. "Vesta's the name the Romans called Hestia with, and while most of the temple is in ruins, the hearth remains standing."
Chiron opened his mouth. Closed it. Thought for a moment. Opened his mouth again. "That..." the centaur tried, trailed off, thought for a moment, then added, "that's not… precisely…"
"I gazed yesterday evening, I can travel to it with no issue," Harry said, trying to quell Chiron's unease. "It's a perfectly valid destination for fire travel."
Chiron shook his head, seemingly struggling with something. The demigods looked at each other, then looked at Billy, who gave an elegant Victorian shrug, before they looked back to Chiron.
"Are you alright, Mister Chiron?" Harry asked.
The centaur rubbed his eyes. "There are many things that I am not at liberty to discuss," he finally said, before giving a large sigh. "If I forbid you from going, I feel that you will find a way to sneak out regardless."
"Probably true," Harry admitted truthfully. The demigods gaped at him, while Billy burst out laughing.
"The kid has stones, Boss," the satyr told Chiron.
"Billy, for the last time, I am not your boss," the centaur replied tiredly, still rubbing his eyes. It seemed this was a standing discussion between them. Drawing a breath, Chiron looked at Harry. "You can go, but please, for the love of the gods, be careful. That city is ancient and holds many secrets, and many dangers. Stay in the tourist areas."
Before Harry could say anything, the centaur turned to Billy. "Take care of them. Or I will hear why."
The satyr bowed with a flourish. "They shall be as safe as I can possibly make them, Boss."
Chiron sighed, and debated silently for a few more moments. The demigods, plus their temporarily assigned satyr, waited eagerly for his decision.
"Very well, you may go," he said. When they started cheering, the centaur had to shout to be heard. "HOWEVER!" They quieted down, and he resumed on a normal level. "However, I expect you all back no later than dinnertime tonight. I am well aware of the time difference between here and Rome, so that will give you plenty of time to explore the city. Dinnertime. Do not be late, or this first trip will be your last trip. And yes, Harry, I will inform Lady Hestia."
The boy closed his mouth. Having Hestia take away his fire traveling abilities – or worse – would be a disaster. He was pretty sure Hestia wouldn't go that far, but he couldn't take the risk, just in case.
"Agreed?" Chiron asked, when nobody dared utter a word.
They all nodded. "Very well, then. Have a safe trip."
"Thanks Chiron!" Annabeth shouted, first off the line. They all thanked the centaur, and Harry waved his hand to the fire, reaching out to the hearth located in Vesta's temple, in the heart of Ancient Rome.
He could feel fire igniting in it, right before the fire in front of him turned green. "Nice, connection established," he said with a grin, before turning to his companions. "Let's go!"
Billy grabbed his shoulder. "Not so fast," he said. "It behooves me, as your protector, to go first. So I shall."
Harry grinned, the guy spoke a bit like Miss Zoë would, only without using thee or thou. The satyr smiled, dipped his head at them, and moved through the fire as if he did so every day. Harry smiled, he liked it when people trusted Hestia's abilities without hesitation.
"So, who's next?" he asked.
They all seemed to move at once, and before Harry realized it, he was left behind. Grinning, shaking his head, he moved to the fire and let it take him to Vesta's Temple.
"Here we are, safe and sound," Harry said as he joined his friends, who were gaping at the ruins of Vesta's temple, as well as the other ruined architecture around it.
The temple had been located next to the ancient Forum Romanum, and as such, had plenty of important neighbors in its day.
"So, where do we go… first..." Harry asked, trailing off, when the fire drew his attention. With a flare and a whoosh that seemed incredibly familiar to him, a figure was deposited behind them.
For a moment, Harry thought that Hestia had joined him, and he actually took a step towards the figure, when his instincts warned him and he took a second look. Her features looked sharper than Hestia's, although she had the same hair color and the same kind of soft eyes. She was dressed in a simple brown robe that had subtle differences with Hestia's, but seemed to be made from the same kind of cloth.
"Ehm… hello?" Harry ventured. Maybe Hestia had a sister she hadn't told him about? This new visitor really looked like her!
"Visitors!" the figure said with a smile, before looking over her shoulder at the hearth. "It has been so long since the hearth in this temple was lit. Especially after it was completely demolished hundreds of years ago." She turned back to face the group. "Luckily, it was rebuilt some decades back."
She approached Harry. "My name is Vesta," she said, studying him intently. "And you carry the touch of Hestia upon you."
Harry nodded. "Hi Vesta," he said, trying to hide his confusion. He thoughts the Romans had just renamed the Gods? Vesta seemed different from Hestia! "I'm Harry. These are my friends," he motioned to the others, who seemed to have frozen and were trying not to be noticed.
"Welcome, all," the Roman goddess said after Harry finished introducing them. She focused back on him. "So it was you who relit my hearth here, in this ruined temple."
Harry nodded. "Hestia told me I can travel through fire, but I found the hearth here as a destination, and I could light it remotely."
Vesta smiled, but her smile was somehow sharper than Hestia's was. "Those of us who are of the Fire and the Hearth can share our resources," she explained. "You must be quite favored by Hestia for her to allow you this freedom."
"Hestia's great," Harry replied, nodding. He studied Vesta closer. "You look really like her," he added.
Vesta seemed amused. "That is normal. We share existence, after all," she answered, looking from Harry to his friends. "Although I am not sure that you were supposed to know that."
Harry blinked. "Ehm… sorry?"
The Roman goddess smiled. "I disliked that rule anyway. Family should be together."
"So there are Roman demigods, too?" Annabeth asked, surprised, before realizing she had just interrupted a goddess, and blushed. "Sorry, Lady Vesta."
"There are indeed Roman demigods, and they have their own camp," Vesta confirmed. "You may wish to be careful with your questioning, however. Roman deities are stricter and less forgiving than their Greek personas."
"Sorry, Lady Vesta," Annabeth whispered again, looking pale.
"Don't worry, dear, I know how that goes. Just a friendly warning, that's all," Vesta answered with a tiny smile. "I just wanted to see what went on in my old temple. I don't often get visitors here anymore."
She sounded sad about that.
Harry took a step, and had to physically stop himself from hugging her. She looked so much like Hestia. Instead, he decided on a verbal reply.
"I'm sorry to hear that. This place is really interesting," he said, looking out over the rest of the Forum.
"There are too many mortals around," Vesta explained, then seemed to gain a faraway expression. "This used to be my primary temple. It was beautiful. Before it burned down and was rebuilt. And it burned down again and was rebuilt again." She sighed. "Mortals were so careless back then."
"Mortals are still careless today too," Harry said with a grin.
Vesta laughed softly. "True." She smiled at him, and patted one shoulder. "I can see why my Greek self likes you, Harry. I should let you go on with your trip."
"Greek Self?" Annabeth asked, before slapping a hand in front of her mouth. "Sorry, Lady Vesta."
Vesta gave Athena's daughter a motherly sort of smile that seemed to come straight out of Hestia's repertoire. "Don't worry about it, Dear. We share existence, as I said. Same being, different names and personalities, depending on the differences between Greek and Roman."
"Like Multiple Personality Syndrome?" the inquisitive demigod asked.
Vesta seemed amused at the question. "Crudely stated, but on a very basic level, yes. Of course, there is more to it, the influence of different domains and different kinds of worship, but that would require a lecture that I am sure would both go on too long, and bore your friends."
Annabeth blushed. "Sorry, Lady Vesta. Thank you for explaining."
"No worries, Dear," the motherly Roman Goddess said. She looked at Harry, then at the others. "I should go. Have a safe trip, young ones."
"Thanks, Vesta!" Harry said excitedly, right before the goddess vanished.
"Well now, wasn't that interesting?" Billy stated, half to himself and half to his charges. "How about we have a look around the Forum before we go explore the city?"
Harry was all for it, as were the three sons of Apollo and Silena. Annabeth seemed subdued and quiet, lost in her own mind. That worried him, he had assumed that Annabeth, little architecture buff that she was, would immediately start spouting out facts and figures about the various buildings around them.
"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned, as he walked closer to her while the others were exploring a nearby ruin.
The girl blinked, seemingly coming back to the here and now. "Oh? Yeah, I'm fine," she said, still looking contemplative. She looked at him. "You know, I don't think I like the Romans," she then said.
Harry looked surprised, then glanced at the ruins of the Temple of Vesta nearby, drawing the attention of the others. They ambled closer. "We may want to walk off, I don't think we want to have this conversation near the temple of a Roman Goddess. It's not exactly polite."
The others agreed immediately, and together they set out. All of them remained quiet, looking at Annabeth, waiting to hear what had upset her.
Finally, the girl sighed. "Fine," she said. "Now that I know Roman gods exist, I'm upset over how they treated my mother. They turned her from a War Goddess into a goddess of arts and crafts with a minor focus on defensive actions. It was humiliating."
Harry nodded, as did the others.
"That was 2000 years ago, though," Harry said. "None of those Romans are alive today."
Annabeth shot him a glare.
"Of course, that doesn't mean you should just forget about it, either," he added, backpedaling.
The Daughter of Athena gave a sharp nod.
"Let's enjoy Rome instead," he said with a hopeful smile. "I'm sure there are lots of things for us to see."
Annabeth looked – nay stared – at him for a few moments. It was a stare that Harry had come to associate with Athena, and seeing it on the girl's face definitely proved she was the goddess in question's daughter.
Finally, she gave a sharp nod. "You're right," she said. "There's no sense is getting worked up over something that happened two millennia ago. Even if I won't soon forget it."
Harry grinned at her, and draped an arm over her shoulders. "I'm proud of you," he said on a teasing tone.
She shook the arm off with huff and a grin.
Silena, laughing, hugged Harry instead. "If you want someone to hug, I'm always available!" she said, continuing to laugh.
Annabeth pouted and the male contingent laughed. Harry felt great as he did so; he loved laughing and joking with his friends.
00000
At first, despite what Harry would have thought before, walking around a historic city with someone like Annabeth wasn't much fun. She was undeniably brilliant, and extremely interested in architecture of all kinds, and was therefore a font of useless facts and figures that bored regular people to tears.
After a quiet chat and some suggestions from Harry, she limited herself to interesting or amusing facts and the group became glued to her lips as she gave some interesting details about yet another historic building.
In between Annabeth educating them on fun facts of ancient Rome, Billy cheered up their bouts of walking with a nearly endless stream of jokes and clever word plays that had them all laughing until tears streamed down their cheeks.
A few hours later, the sandwiches and the bottled water were long gone. The late-August heat still got to the group despite Harry's water and they took a break outside one of the many, many cafes dotted around the city. This one happened to have outside tables that overlooked the waters of the river Tiber. It was a very nice place to be, all in all.
While they sipped their cool (but not cold) beverages, Annabeth laughed and pointed out a couple that looked like Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn driving by on an old baby-blue Vespa.
'Gregory' and 'Audrey' waved amicably at the demigods and their Satyr as they crossed an old bridge over the river and disappeared from sight.
"Of all the things I expected to see in Rome, two lookalikes pretending to be from 'Roman Holiday', wasn't one of them," Annabeth confessed. "It was a fairly nice movie, even if it was a bit silly, don't get me wrong, but it's not something you expect people to imitate, you know?"
They all nodded and laughed and joked, and meanwhile their drinks level dropped.
After a second round, and feeling quite refreshed, the merry band paid (using euros that Billy 'just happened' to have), and went back to sightseeing.
Feeling a nudge from his instincts, Harry suggested they stay on the shores of the river Tiber and see what there was to see further downstream.
Seeing some buildings in the distance that looked interesting, Annabeth agreed, which pulled the others in as well and soon they were walking downstream.
They followed the river as best as possible, sometimes forced to follow the roads into the city before emerging from it further down.
"Why exactly are we following the river?" Louis asked Harry, after they had been walking for an hour.
Harry felt his instincts nudge him. "I have a feeling," Harry said. "It's like… if we do this, we'll find something. I can't explain it better, it's part of the skills I inherited from my mom."
"Good enough for me," Silena chirped. "If Harry's mom wants us to follow the river, I vote we follow the river."
Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Agreed. It's never a good idea to ignore things like this."
Louis and the Guys nodded as well.
Billy just shook his head. "That's looking for trouble, I reckon. Are we sure about following the kid's feelings across a 2500 year old city?"
The demigods, except Harry, huffed in perfect synchronicity.
"I thought you said he was cool," one of the Guys told Louis, while continuing to stare at the Satyr.
"I said he was funny," Louis defending himself. "And he has been. Up until now."
"Hey now," Billy protested.
"Maybe we should go home. The old man needs a nap," the second one of the Guys said. "Maybe we can wrangle another Satyr out of Chiron. You know, one with a spine."
Billy was pouting now. "That will teach me to try and be the voice of reason. I was just trying to point out danger, far be it for me to try and stop you. By invoking Horror Movie Rules, and pointing out potential danger, I will be the one who gets to say 'I told you so' and survive at the end of the adventure," he said, pout turning into laughter.
Harry laughed with him, not nearly as offended as the others had been on his behalf. "Fine. We get in trouble, you get to say 'I told you so'," he promised the Satyr.
"Good enough for me!" Billy exclaimed with a smile. "So, Navigator, which we do we go?"
Harry felt the nudge, but decided to play it up for fun. Pulling a six-sided die from his pocket, he said, "Odds, we go right. Evens, we go left."
"You're kidding, right?" Billy asked while the others were giggling or chuckling.
Harry rolled the die, and bent down to pick it up. As he had expected, the die told them to go in the direction he felt the nudge. "Four. Evens, we go left," he said, standing up and pocketing the die.
The group laughed at Billy's doubtful look, and started walking, the Satyr taking a few long strides to catch up. "You knew we had to go left, right?" he asked Harry.
"Yup," the boy replied with a grin.
Billy laughed. "What would you have done if it had been an odd number?"
"It wouldn't have been," Harry answered. "Son of the Goddess of Fortune, remember? Probability wants me to go left, so probability would make sure I rolled an even number."
Billy stared at his young charge for a few moments. "I'm never playing poker with you. Or any sort of game of chance. I'm definitely taking you to a casino and watch you clean up, though."
Harry laughed, and thought about Hermes' maths parties. He wasn't sure those were common knowledge, or even if he was allowed to tell mortals about them, so he kept them quiet. That didn't keep him from thinking about them, though.
"We need to go in there," Harry said, stopping them and pointing to a large marble building. Its front was covered in grime and residue from smog, but the demigods could still make out the underlying beauty.
It also had a massive entrance, barred with sturdy iron gates, and heavily padlocked.
"And me without my lock picks," Billy muttered sarcastically. "So your 'feeling' has us all arrested for breaking and entering into a historic building?"
"We need to go in there," Harry responded, ignoring the sarcasm, and pointing to a set of stairs leading down to a basement level.
Billy playfully grumped about this being a bad idea, and made a show about reluctantly following the curious group of demigods. His antics had them all grinning. Soon they had trouped down the stairs and were on the basement level, facing an old wooden door with a heavy-looking metal pull-ring.
Harry yanked on the ring, and the door remained shut.
"Breaking and entering," Billy reminded them with a grin.
Annabeth leaned over to study a metal plate with a keyhole that was situated above the ring. In order to get a better look, she put her hand on the ring to pull herself up slightly.
The moment she touched the ring, a shape burned itself into the middle of the door.
It resolved into a silhouette of Athena's sacred animal, the owl. Smoke came from the keyhole the next moment and the door swung open by itself.
"Maybe we're about to enter Miss Athena's secret book club," Harry suggested, before grinning at Annabeth. "Lucky for us we brought the correct door key."
The daughter of Athena didn't know whether to be pleased or upset with the comment, and her resulting look at Harry was half-hearted.
"A dark hole underground, that's definitely never been an issue," Billy said with a smile that was less confident than it had been. "I once again would like to invoke horror movie rules. Never, ever, go into a basement," he added with a laugh.
"You don't want to see Miss Athena's secret book club?" Harry asked, innocently. "Because a secret book club is something I could see Miss Athena set up."
Annabeth nodded slowly as she thought about it. "Yeah," she finally said. "That's definitely something I could see my mom do. Make it a test of knowledge and wisdom before you get to enter or something. Maybe this building is at the end of a map or a set of clues or something, and Harry's abilities cheated our way here."
"Hey!" Harry protested.
The others laughed.
"I definitely want to see Miss Athena's secret book club," Harry said. "Who's with me?"
They all, including Billy, raised their hands.
"Billy? Change your mind?" Louis teased
The Satyr grinned. "I'm stuck between two Horror Movie rules – never go into the basement, and never go off alone. So either I go with you guys into the basement, or I end up alone up here. I'll take my chances with you guys."
"I feel loved," Louis said, theatrically.
"You should," Billy replied with complete honesty, before grinning. "If we end up in trouble, I'm working myself up to the 'I told you so' of a lifetime. Besides, if I left you guys, Chiron would have my horns on his wall."
They all laughed at the image.
"Probably have your skin as a rug, too," Louis added to the joke when their laughter started to peter out. Billy pulled an over-the-top dramatic face, but the other demigods had a good chuckle.
Fortified with laughter and joking, the group stepped through the doorway and into the dark.
After a few moments, their eyes started to adjust to the semi-darkness, and found themselves into a basement that was a hotchpotch of different architectures. Contemporary electrical wiring and modern plumbing was attached to ancient brick walls, and the ceiling was supported both by steel scaffolds and Roman marble pillars.
The room was stacked with crates, too – apparently someone had used it for a storage place at one time.
"Well, that's underwhelming," Louis stated coolly.
"That's Billy's fault – he kept saying that there was danger ahead," one of the guys replied. "So, obviously, we all expected a monster of some kind to leap out and eat our faces."
"This crate is filled with spools of string," Annabeth said, from where she had pried one of the crates open. "It has all kind of types and colors, too."
"This one has cheap knock-off gladiator swords," Silena said from another crate.
"Curiosity killed the cat," Harry admonished gently. "Whoever owns those won't be happy to see them broken into."
"But satisfaction brought it back," Silena snarked, although she did have a vaguely embarrassed look on her face. Annabeth, having closed her crate, looked about the same.
"Hey, look at this," Harry said, having explored deeper into the basement. He flipped a switch, and electric lights came on, illuminating what he was pointing to.
At the back of the basement, someone had done excavation work. A white marble set of steps had been uncovered, leading deeper.
At the bottom of the steps, an ancient Roman mosaic floor was decorated with pictures of Satyrs and other wildlife. Harry grinned at the sight of deer; Artie would love that scene, he thought.
The others had caught up by now, and were gasping their appreciation for the floor, which had obviously been the floor of some ancient villa of some kind.
"Whoa," Billy said. "That's awesome."
The others nodded in silence, and Annabeth, little architecture buff that she was, was already trying to correlate what she knew with what she was seeing, trying to figure out a time period.
The walls, exposed by the harsh electric lights, had obviously been painted at one time, but the paint had now mostly vanished.
The room was not that large, about 6 meters square, and the group could see its entirety from where they were standing on the steps. None wanted to be the first one to actually set foot on those exquisite mosaics.
"I wonder where that hole leads," Harry said, pointing to a corner on the far side of the room, where the mosaic had been pulled up and a hole had been created. "It feels like we ought to explore it."
Billy glanced to Harry. "If we damage those mosaics and have to pay for the damages, I am going to be very cross with you."
The boy grinned back in response. "This floor's been here for 2000 year or so. Who knows how many people walked on it? Besides, we're demigods, not hooligans. None of us will damage it, right guys?"
"Right," the two guys replied in unison, causing everyone to share a laugh.
Still, nobody set foot on the floor.
Until Silena groaned. "Oh, fine, you bunch of pussies," she said, and confidently strode onto the mosaic floor and over to the hole.
The spell broken, they all followed.
The hole dropped straight down into a large cavern. Deep below, they could hear water running, but the floor was invisible.
"It smells musty, like mold, not like a sewer," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's an old aqueduct line?"
"No way down, either," Louis said, looking at Harry. "Well now, mister 'we should explore the hole in the ground', how are we getting down there?"
Annabeth nodded. "Because I'm not jumping, if that's what you're thinking."
Almost like an answer, something glowed from beneath them. Athena's owl blazed into being at the bottom of the cavern, revealing a brickwork canal 12 meters below. The fiery symbol taunted them with its presence.
"Well, it seems like we have to go that way for Miss Athena's secret book club," Harry said, pointing to the owl.
"I don't think it's a book club," Annabeth muttered. "Mom wouldn't put one this deep. The humidity is too high to have a book club here. The books would rot in days."
"Whatever it is, it's that way," Harry repeated, still pointing to the owl.
"I vote with Billy. Let's not taunt Murphy. I could do with one of those famous Italian ice creams," one of the guys said.
The other guy nodded. "I'm with him."
Harry pouted at them. "You're going to leave me, Annabeth, and Silena down here to explore that aqueduct by ourselves?"
Silena and Annabeth turned to look at him. "Why are we staying?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked.
"It involves Annabeth's mom, so she has to stay," Harry answered. "And she's my friend, so I am staying with her. That means that you, as a better friend than those pillocks, will be staying as well," he added with a cheeky smile. His eyes showed his worry, though.
Annabeth nodded reluctantly. Silena sighed, and nodded as well. "Yeah, we're staying." she looked at the three sons of Apollo and the Satyr. "You guys go eat ice cream. We'll explore that creepy hole in the ground and find Annie's mom's secret whatever it is."
Billy, Louis, Jack, and Jim shared a look. They sighed in unison. Then their shoulders dropped.
"Fine, we're staying," Louis declared. "We couldn't just leave you cute little children here by yourselves!" he added, and grabbed Silena under one arm, and Annabeth under another.
The two girls protested, before Silena stomped hard on Louis' foot, and Annabeth tried to bite the arm holding her. The Son of Apollo released them immediately.
"Cute little children?" Silena asked with an arched eyebrow.
Louis grinned. "More like cute little ragemonsters," he replied, grin widening. "Anyway, we're staying. This'd better be worth it!"
Harry felt a nudge. "I'm sure it is," he said. "We still need to find a way down there, though." he felt another nudge from his probability senses, and didn't know why he asked, "is there anything we can use for a ladder, or something we can make a ladder out of?"
Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Wait here!" she ordered, and raced off, climbing the marble steps back to the basement.
"She's mental," Louis muttered.
Harry elbowed him. "She's just driven," he defended his friend.
Within minutes, Annabeth was back, glowing with pride, carrying in her arms something built from string and plastic swords.
Proudly, she unrolled her creation; it was a rope ladder made by twisting and braiding string for strength, without becoming too thick. Every so far, a plastic sword had been incorporated into the makeshift ladder for hand- and footholds.
"Tada!" she said, victoriously, as the ladder unrolled down the hole. When the end reached the bottom, she tied it to one of the support columns of the ancient villa room.
"That is brilliant," Harry said with a large grin.
"Definitely!" Silena agreed, laughing. "Brilliant use of those supplies, Annabeth!"
The daughter of Athena looked like she couldn't be prouder.
"I just hope those swords hold my weight," Louis complained.
"Or mine," Billy seconded. "Nice work, but… plastic swords? Really?"
Annabeth turned her head, as if their comments were beneath her.
"Maybe we should put the old men on a diet first," Jack – or Jim – teased. "I, for one, am looking forward to exploring the dark and dank cave of utter mystery."
"Dark and dank cave of utter mystery?" Harry asked, surprised.
The guy shrugged. "It makes it sound less scary and more mysterious," he answered with a grin. "Before Billy and Louis start complaining about danger again."
Harry felt another nudge. He frowned, not having expected it. The nudge from his instincts came back, stronger. Shrugging, he stood up. "One second," he told the others, and backtracked.
With some amusement, they all watched him go. He returned five minutes later, his backpack significantly fuller. "I gathered a backpack full of string, you never know if Annabeth needs to weave another rope-ladder," he joked.
The others nodded. That made sense.
"I'm first!" Silena suddenly shouted, scurrying down the rope ladder as if she were born to it.
Annabeth blinked. "Hey! it's my ladder! I should go first!" she shouted down at the descending daughter of Aphrodite.
"Whoa!" Silena shouted up at them. "Be careful, there's a canal in the middle of the tunnel, with a ledge on either side. Make sure you hit the ledge when you come down!"
"Thanks for the warning!" Annabeth shouted down, before making the trip herself.
Once Annabeth shouted that she had made it safely down, Harry made his way down before anyone could complain about it.
The guys made it down, too, although the swords did bend underneath their feet. They bent back on their own, so nobody was too worried.
Louis seemed less keen, but drew a breath and forced himself to descend. All the way down, he could feel the swords bend worrisomely. Keeping his eyes closed, he repeated a little mantra. When he reached the floor, he resisted the urge to fall to his knees and thank his father for a safe passage.
"Your turn, Billy!" he shouted up the hole instead.
"Do I have to?" the Satyr asked. "Satyrs don't do well underground! Everything smells the same! I can't detect any monsters here!"
One of the guys looked up. "You can always go back and tell Chiron you left us here!"
"That's playing dirty," Billy shouted back, but soon they heard him descending. The swords and the twisted strings complained, but held out as the Satyr made his way down, and soon they were all reunited at the bottom.
Luckily, they had all managed to miss the canal that ran down the middle, and were able to land on the brickwork edges instead. Freezing-cold water ran at a quick pace down the center canal, which thankfully looked like it was maybe five or ten centimeters deep.
The tunnel seemed intact, and for a moment the entire group seemed to debate on which way to go.
"I think it's that-" Harry said, pointing in one direction. Suddenly," Athena's owl blazed to life in the direction he had been pointing, about 20 meters down the tunnel. "Way," he finished redundantly.
"Nah!" Billy said sarcastically. "The big burning owl is just trying to mislead us!"
Harry shook his head, smiling. Annabeth huffed theatrically. "If that is how you think of my mother's sacred animal, then we have nothing else to talk about," she said imperiously, resolutely turning away.
Billy laughed in turn. Annabeth managed to keep up the pretense for about ten seconds, before bursting into giggles. It felt good to be able to laugh, this deep under ground.
"We don't have any light, though," Silena pointed out.
Billy grinned, pulled open one flap of his tailcoat, reached in, and pulled out a flashlight. "Always be prepared, my dear," he told her imperiously.
"I never figured out how he did that," Louis told the others. "But whenever something like this comes up, he has a tool to help. Flashlights, knives, screwdrivers."
The Satyr smiled and pulled out a small set of screwdrivers, and a small pocket knife. "Lots of inner pockets," he explained. "Lots and lots of inner pockets. That, and experience – whenever I need something I don't have, I find a pocket version and put it in a pocket so it doesn't happen again."
Harry frowned and looked at him. "That makes you sound old," he said. "Just how old are you?"
The Satyr smirked. "Turned 52 two months ago," he said proudly, chest stuck out.
"You have to share your secrets, then," Silena said, suddenly very interested in the conversation. "Because you don't look a day over 25. Most girls will kill you for that secret."
The Satyr smiled widely. "Be a Satyr, my dear, and you'll age at half the rate of you humans. I look 25 when I'm actually 50."
The daughter of Aphrodite pouted. "The money I could have made bottling your secret anti-aging formula..." she complained.
Annabeth was vibrating. "Can we go on?" she demanded. Then, realizing she had been too bossy, she added, on a softer tone, "please?"
Harry smiled, and draped an arm over her shoulders, which was a bit awkward on the narrow ledge. "Let's go," he offered. "Billy? Can you go on front with the flashlight?"
The Satyr mock-complained while he got to the front, his strong torch creating a beam of white in the darkness.
"You can give me the light if you prefer," Harry offered. "I don't mind going first."
Billy grinned over his shoulder, the movement half-hidden in shadow. "I'd never hear the end of it if I get you killed," he replied. "So I'm sticking in front."
"Hestia would be sincerely disappointed in you if I ended up in Mister Hades' care," Harry added with a nod.
Billy shuddered at the very idea of the kind and gentle Goddess of the Home being upset with him. He'd rather face an angry Chiron.
They reached the point where the owl had been, it having faded quite some time ago. Billy pressed on, but Harry stopped them.
"I think we need to go this way," the boy said, pointing to a hole pounded in the wall with some heavy object. Billy shone the torch down the hole, revealing it went down into a narrow Roman room with another mosaic floor. Benches lined the walls, like some kind of Roman waiting room.
On the other end of the room was an altar of some kind, made of stone. Billy stuck his head down the hole, and found that in the wall near the hole was a door, but it had been filled in with masonry.
He pulled his head out and relayed to the others what he had seen and found.
"That definitely sounds like Lady Athena's secret book club meeting room," Louis said with a half-joke. "Maybe it was an old shrine to her?"
The others nodded agreeably, and Harry grinned as he clambered through the hole without waiting for anyone. He jumped the last 30 centimeters to the mosaic floor, then helped Annabeth and Silena down. The three sons of Apollo and their Satyr companion were tall enough to just lower themselves to the floor.
While Harry watched them get down, Annabeth studied the room. "I don't like the look of the ceiling," she told them. "Stress fractures everywhere, and the capstone of that arch has broken in half. We may not want to spend a lot of time here."
Silena was studying the rest of the room, meanwhile. The mosaics on the floor depicted various animals and people, starting with a crow, then a lion, followed by a couple of Roman warriors with different weapons. The final three pictures were too damaged to make out.
She took a step forward, heard something crunch, and looked down to find the entire floor covered with skeletons. Skeletons that hadn't been there a moment earlier, when she studied the mosaics.
She let out a squeal.
"Silena? What's..." Harry's voice trailed off at the sight of the many skeletons that littered the floor. "Those weren't there earlier."
Silena didn't reply, but had instead grabbed Harry into a monumental hug and buried her head in his shoulder.
"Creepy," Louis declared.
"Not Lady Athena's hidden clubhouse," Billy confirmed with a nod while he studied one skeleton that looked more complete than the rest, dressed in renaissance clothing. The skeleton's frilled collar, and its skull, had been heavily burned. "This place is definitely giving me the creeps." He pointed to a statue that was placed on the stone altar, of a man that had sunk halfway into the rock, holding up a torch and a dagger. "Do you guys think that has something to do with this guy being burned?"
"From the amount of bones here, more than one poor schmuck got killed here," one of the guys said softly.
"Let's head back," Annabeth muttered fearfully. "I vote we talk with my mom first." she turned, then gasped. The hole they had come through had disappeared.
Intruders, en ethereal voice spoke, sounding through the chamber as if coming from everywhere and nowhere.
Inexcusable, a second voice answered the voice, sounding just as otherworldly. A low rumble went through the space, making dust fall from the unstable ceiling and causing the floor under their feet to wobble up and down like a miniature earthquake.
Along the benches, a dozen ghosts became visible, glowing men dressed in Roman robes made of purple cloth. They glared angrily at the mortals, as if they had been interrupted in a meeting.
Billy bleated like a goat, ran to the bricked-up door, and started pounding on the brickwork, before shoving his shoulder against it and trying to push open the passage. Louis was right next to him.
"Ghosts!" Harry said, excitedly. "Cool!"
The two girls and the two Guys gave him a flat look, before turning to look at the newly arrived apparitions. At the other side of the room, behind the alter, a ghost who looked like he might actually be as old as the room was, got shakily to its feet as if hampered by arthritis.
"Identify and explain yourselves!" he barked when he managed to reach the altar.
"I'm Harry!" Harry said, smiling widely. "And we're just passing through, as soon as our companions manage to open the door," he added, pointing to where Billy and Louis were still trying to shove a solid brick wall out of the way. Both looked like they would have preferred Harry hadn't drawn attention to them.
The old ghost stared hard at the young boy. "This is the cavernous altar of the God Mithras," the old ghost declared theatrically. "You have disturbed the sanctity of our rituals! None can look upon our mysteries and live!"
"Well that's not very nice," Harry admonished. "Besides, we didn't see anything. We'll just pound down that exit over there and be on our way."
The ghosts actually seemed to debate the idea, as they babbled to each other in Latin. Unfortunately for Harry, while he had learned a great many things since Hestia took him under her wing, Latin wasn't one of them. He glanced at the others – they all shook their heads. None of them knew Latin either.
The old ghost snapped something, and silence descended. "Who are you descendant from!?" he demanded Harry.
"I'm the son of Tyche," Harry answered honestly. The ghosts muttered angrily.
"A Greek god!" the old ghost shouted. "Greek gods don't hold power here! This is the shrine of Mithras, God of the Roman Warriors, God of the Legion, God of the Empire!"
"He wasn't even Roman!" Annabeth protested. "Wasn't he Persian or something!?"
Harry looked proudly at her for knowing that tidbit, and the young demigoddess pulled herself up at the sight of it.
"Sacrilege!" the old ghost shouted as if stung by a wasp, banging his staff on the floor to billow for silence. "Mithras protects us! As Pater of this brotherhood-"
"Pater means 'father'," Annabeth said to the others. She had hoped to be quiet enough, but the old ghost had the ears of a fox.
"Do not interrupt!" he snarled at her. "I must protect our sacred secrets! It is my duty!"
Annabeth seemed to be getting into the spirit of things, if the angry color on her cheeks was anything to go by. "What secrets!? A dozen ghosts in a creepy cave?"
Harry chuckled at the angry reaction of the sitting ghosts, but the old ghost – the pater – got them silent by sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a piercing whistle.
Harry could have admired it, if only the old ghost wasn't so crotchety.
"Unbeliever!" the old ghost shouted, pointing a bony finger in Annabeth's direction. "Like the others, you must die!"
Harry blinked and looked at the skeletons on the floor with a new eye. The Renaissance skeleton with the half-melted face suddenly got new meaning. He looked from the skeleton to Silena, then to Annabeth, before making eye contact with the Guys. They all shared a similar look on their faces.
The pounding of Billy and Louis intensified.
"And what if we don't want to die?" Harry asked. "You're all ghosts. You can't touch us."
"Kill them!" one ghost, the one seated closest to Harry and the two girls, snarled. He leapt up and tried to throttle Harry. He passed through the boy harmlessly.
"You're dead," Annabeth snapped at him. "Sit down, you're embarrassing yourself and your brotherhood." Her eyes were furiously scanning the room in the mean time. The ghost did indeed look embarrassed, and sat down with his head bent and shoulders hunched.
"You've got different levels," the daughter of Athena added. "With rites of passage. Seven levels, with Pater as the top."
"How does she know this!?" one of the ghost shouted out.
"I'm daughter of Athena," Annabeth answered coolly. Somewhere in her deep grey eyes, something had ignited. She was in her element now, using her skills to deduce the truth behind this chamber.
"The girl knows our secrets!" a second ghost snapped, before turning to look at the old ghost. "Hopefully she doesn't know the ordeals-"
"Silence!" the pater snarled. "Be quiet!"
"The ordeals!" Annabeth shouted. "I know them!" The ghosts gasped again, and Harry's grin widened. He looked at Silena and the guys, and suddenly they were enjoying this too. The danger went out of it when your opponent couldn't touch you. Especially when you got involved into a fight with words and had the daughter of Athena on your side.
"Ridiculous!" The pater yelled. "You lie! Choose your way of death, daughter of Athena. Or let the god choose for you!"
"Fire or dagger," Annabeth declared, her eyes locked on to the statue on the altar. Harry studied it, finally noticing the dagger and the torch in the statue's hands. He could see where Annabeth got her guess from.
The pater looked as stunned as his congregation, and Harry shared another victorious grin with his friends.
"Kill her!" A ghost took up the shout once more. Annabeth's gaze focused on the sigil of a raven pinned to the ghost's toga. She looked at him with as much disdain as an eight year old demigoddess was able to generate. Considering she was the daughter of Athena, and had inherited her famous glare, that was quite a bit.
"You are just a raven, of the lowest rank," she told the ghost who had shouted for their deaths. "Be silent and let your betters speak."
The ghost hunched down. "Mercy," he whispered.
"We do not need to kill you ourselves," the pater said, suddenly speaking normally, but his eyes burning with hatred. "Mithras will do that for us."
The statue on the altar started to glow.
"Now," the pater continued. "Choose an ordeal. Fire. Or dagger."
Harry stepped forward. "If I choose an ordeal, can I take it for the entire group?"
The pater blinked and looked at Harry, as if having forgotten he was there. He laughed. "Survive one. Then perhaps."
"Harry? What are you doing?" Annabeth asked.
"I am immune to fire," Harry whispered to her. "Hestia herself made it so."
The daughter of Athena looked like she had forgotten that tidbit, then leaned in closer. "This is godly fire, though. It may not count."
"Hestia said no fire would harm me, so no fire will harm me," Harry replied softly. "I trust Hestia."
Annabeth looked like she disagreed, but pulled back with no other arguments coming to mind.
"I choose fire," Harry said, stepped forward resolutely.
Annabeth bit the nail on her thumb. Silena scooted closer and pulled the girl into a hug. Annabeth hugged her back. Suddenly, the two Guys had surrounded htem, and were hugging them too.
"We felt like a hug, don't think we're scared or worried or anything," Jack said.
"Yeah, it's a totally normal yet completely random need for a hug," Jim added.
"Thanks, Guys," Annabeth whispered.
They didn't reply, and just hugged her harder. Still, the daughter of Athena's mind worked.
Harry had reached the pater by now. The statue was glowing a vibrant yellow. Annabeth gasped when an idea came to her. "Hide me from their sight, and prepare to yell to Harry to come over here," she told the people hugging each other.
The two guys slid apart slightly, letting little Annabeth Chase slip between them without the ghosts noticing. Taking her dagger, she jumped up and struck at the broken capstone. Her celestial bronze weapon shattered it like spun sugar.
For a moment, she looked proud. Then worried, when nothing happened. Then proud again when the room shook, and the cracks widened.
"Now!" she shouted. "Harry! Over here!"
Harry, still waiting for the ordeal to start, looked up from the white-hot glowing statue to the cracking ceiling and made a run for it, just before bricks started falling from the arches. Louis and Billy let out an inarticulate yell as the bricks unexpectedly gave way. Before anyone could jump, Billy had shone the torch down the passageway.
"Deep drop!" he yelled, turning around and lowering himself by his hands. "I'll drop first and catch you guys!"
With the room collapsing around them, they hardly had the time to spare. Louis half-jumped half-lowered himself. The guys lowered themselves onto a waiting Louis and Billy, and managed to get down without scrapes. The three children basically had to jump for it and trust that the others would catch them.
Harry felt his instincts nudge, gave Annabeth a push, waited two seconds, closed his eyes and mouth to prevent breathing dust and debris, and half-pushed Silena. He wanted to take a deep breath, but knew it would be a folly to do that in the middle of a collapsing room. Luckily, he was in a doorway, and doorways were the sturdiest place to be in an earthquake. Or so he'd been told.
That fact was the only thing that saved his life, as he jumped right before the arch of the passageway collapsed where he had been standing. He hoped his instincts were right this time. They'd gotten him into a major trouble. Again.