eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange T-shirts like Annabeth’s. Piper looked back at the water and saw those strange girls just below the surface, their hair floating in the current. They waved like,
“Annabeth!” A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. “I said you could
“Will, I’m sorry,” Annabeth sighed. “I’ll get it fixed, I promise.”
Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. “These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven’t they been claimed already?”
“Claimed?” Leo asked.
Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, “Any sign of Percy?”
“No,” Annabeth admitted.
The campers muttered. Piper had no idea who this guy Percy was, but his disappearance seemed to be a big deal.
Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster. Piper knew this girl’s type. She’d dealt with a lot of girls like this at Wilderness School and every other stupid school her father had sent her to. Piper knew instantly they were going to be enemies.
“Well,” the girl said, “I hope they’re worth the trouble.”
Leo snorted. “Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?”
“No kidding,” Jason said. “How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?”
Piper had the same questions, but a wave of anxiety washed over her.
“Jason,” Annabeth said, “I promise we’ll answer your questions. And Drew”—she frowned at the glamour girl—“all demigods are worth saving. But I’ll admit, the trip didn’t accomplish what I hoped.”
“Hey,” Piper said, “we didn’t ask to be brought here.”
Drew sniffed. “And nobody
Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her, but Annabeth said, “Piper, stop.”
Piper did. She wasn’t a bit scared of Drew, but Annabeth didn’t seem like somebody she wanted for an enemy.
“We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome,” Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. “We’ll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they’ll be claimed.”
“Would somebody tell me what
Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Piper thought she’d done something wrong. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her. She turned and almost forgot how to breathe.
Floating over Leo’s head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.
“That,” Annabeth said, “is claiming.”
“What’d I do?” Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. “Is my hair on fire?” He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.
“This can’t be good,” Butch muttered. “The curse—”
“Butch, shut up,” Annabeth said. “Leo, you’ve just been claimed—”
“By a god,” Jason interrupted. “That’s the symbol of Vulcan, isn’t it?”
All eyes turned to him.
“Jason,” Annabeth said carefully, “how did you know that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Vulcan?” Leo demanded. “I don’t even LIKE
“Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus,” Annabeth said, “the god of blacksmiths and fire.”
The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. “The god of
Annabeth turned to the guy with the bow. “Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine.”
“Sure, Annabeth.”
“What’s Cabin Nine?” Leo asked. “And I’m not a Vulcan!”
“Come on, Mr. Spock, I’ll explain everything.” Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.
Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. Usually Piper didn’t like it when other girls checked out her boyfriend, but Annabeth didn’t seem to care that he was a good-looking guy. She studied him more like he was a complicated blueprint. Finally she said, “Hold out your arm.”
Piper saw what she was looking at, and her eyes widened.
Jason had taken off his windbreaker after his dip in the lake, leaving his arms bare, and on the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo. How had Piper never noticed it before? She’d looked at Jason’s arms a million times. The tattoo couldn’t have just
“I’ve never seen marks like this,” Annabeth said. “Where did you get them?”
Jason shook his head. “I’m getting really tired of saying this, but I don’t know.”
The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason’s tattoo. The marks seemed to bother them
“They look burned into your skin,” Annabeth noticed.
“They were,” Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching. “I mean … I think so. I don’t remember.”
No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Annabeth as the leader. They were waiting for her verdict.
“He needs to go straight to Chiron,” Annabeth decided. “Drew, would you—”
“Absolutely.” Drew laced her arm through Jason’s. “This way, sweetie. I’ll introduce you to our director. He’s … an
The crowd began to disperse, until only Annabeth and Piper were left.
“Who’s Chiron?” Piper asked. “Is Jason in some kind of trouble?”
Annabeth hesitated. “Good question, Piper. Come on, I’ll give you a tour. We need to talk.”
IV
PIPER
PIPER SOON REALIZED ANNABETH’S HEART wasn’t in the tour.
She talked about all this amazing stuff the camp offered—magic archery, pegasus riding, the lava wall, fighting monsters —but she showed no excitement, as if her mind were elsewhere. She pointed out the open-air dining pavilion that overlooked Long Island Sound. (Yes, Long Island, New York; they’d traveled
Piper wondered who ran the camp, and how they’d known Piper and her friends belonged here. She wondered
