Chapter Text
Jason wasn't sure what to expect upon leaving the Underworld.
But nothing happened.
Beckett led the way from Hades's Palace passed the Fields of Punishment and Asphodel to Charon at the River Styx as if walking beside a dead guy was the most normal thing in the world. Though, Jason guessed, he wasn’t dead anymore. The spirits, the guards, the judges, even Cerberus let them pass without a second glance.
“Did you see Rachel Dare for a prophecy before coming here?” he asked.
Beckett nodded. “It’s not an official quest without a prophecy. The Oracle said:
Run Child of Winter, the first of four waits.
You shall cross blades with champions of great.
You shall spill blood and ruin sacred ground,
With golden leaves the winner will be crowned.”
Jason repeated the prophecy to himself a few times. Only the first line made sense to him. “Why are we going to Washington?”
“Because we know for a fact one of the golden apples is there. Apparently, a temple dedicated to Hera has been safeguarding it for millennia. They use it as a prize for a competition during some festival,” she explained.
“‘With golden leaves the winner will be crowned’.”
“Hera refuses to just take the apple with the festival so close, so we need to go and win it.”
“Any idea what the second and third lines mean?” he asked.
“I’d like to say I do, but prophecies are meant to be ambiguous. Only the Fates know what will happen to fulfill it. Though I’m not looking forward to ruining sacred ground. It just sound like bad luck.”
Neither of them said anything as they crossed the boundary of Erebus and started the small trek to the edge of the River Styx where Charon waited.
Beckett stepped in front of him suddenly and Jason almost knocked her over trying to stop. She bit her lip.
“Okay, I should probably mention that I haven’t been on a quest in a few years and never on one this big and important, but I’m not inexperienced or anything, I mean I’ve been going to camp since I was five and have been trained by some pretty good fighters, and since it will be just us, I wanted you to know that I’m not going to lord over you just because I received the prophecy and that technically makes me quest leader and I would much rather be partners in this,” she rambled in one breath.
Jason blinked.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?”
He smirked. “Yeah, okay. I’ve been on a mission with two freshly claimed demigods who didn’t know anything about being a demigod, so I wasn’t too worried, but it’s nice knowing you can take care of yourself in a fight,” he said. He held out a hand. “So, partners?”
Beckett took it and they shook. “Partners.” They continued for the river and she sagged with relief. “I was really worried we wouldn’t see eye to eye. If you turned out to be like Thalia, I would’ve been doomed.”
“You two don’t get along?”
She shrugged. “We’ve never really talked much, actually. But, well….I know she doesn’t like Hera and I’m a big fan of Hera. I owe her a lot. I can’t really hold myself back when someone badmouths her. I’d probably end stabbing Thalia before we’d find the first apple.”
Jason understood that. Thalia was pretty rough around the edges. She could be a bit much at times. She was headstrong, brave, and hotheaded. It’s why she fit in so well with the Hunters of Artemis.
He let Beckett go ahead of him when they reached the dock.
Charon did a double take when they stepped aboard the otherwise empty gondola. "How did you get in here?" the ferry man asked Beckett.
"I walked in," she answered. Beckett didn't say duh, but Jason heard it. She dug ten gold drachmas from the pocket of her shorts and tossed them to Charon. "Any more questions?"
"Where to ma'am?" he asked with big sparkling teeth.
She smiled. "Just across the river."
Beckett patted the spot next to her. Jason sat down and Charon pushed the boat away from the dock. No one said anything, but he noticed the light drum of her fingers as they waited for the opposite shire to appear through the mist.
Jason doubt Charon could hear them over the rush of the river, but he leaned down and whispered, "How did you get in?" It was a fair question. No one just walks into the Underworld without being seen.
She took a minute to think, then turned to him. Only an inch separated the tips of their noses. "I made a wish,” she answered.
Jason jerked back. He hoped his cheeks weren't as red as he feared. "What?"
"I'll explain when we get off. Butterscotch candy?” She dug a piece from her pocket. She looked behind them “Charon? Want one? I’ve got plenty.” The ferryman took one as did Jason.
None of them said anything else as the boat crossed the Styx. Maybe it was an effect of the Underworld’s atmosphere, but it was the best tasting thing Jason had eaten in a long time.
The boat slid to a stop beside a small pier. Beckett jumped out with Jason right behind her. They thanked the ferryman and watched as he pushed away, disappearing back into the fog.
Just six months ago, he stepped on that same boat and entered Elysium without any hesitation. Leaving, with his memories and old life intact, felt surreal. He feared he hit his head and was dreaming everything.
"Jason? Something wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Tell me about the wish you made."
Beckett explained the gift from Hera and her journey down to the Underworld as they walked through dense fog. The water coaster sounded a bit terrifying, but Beckett seemed to enjoy it. Leo would've loved it. She told him about how she wished to reach Hades’s Palace unseen after eating a gummy and getting sniffed by Cerberus.
Jason whistled. “Four wishes that can work in another god’s domain? Those will be handy.”
“No kidding,” she said as they rounded a pile of rock. She stopped. Bracketed by two torches of green Greek fire was an opening. A set of stairs ascended into the darkness. Beckett dug out two flashlights from her bag. “Looks like we’re getting a workout.”
Side by side, Jason and Beckett began a long climb. Neither spoke. The shadows suffocated their lights, and they could see only three steps ahead of them. The Stairmaster had nothing on this. Their breaths grew heavy as they passed a hundred steps. Only the echo of their steps broke through the silence.
"Hold up, Beckett.”
She stopped. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Can you take a few steps?" She looked confused, but did what he asked. Something wasn't right. "You don't make any noise when you walk."
She held up a foot. "J'ai une démarche légère."
"What?" He knew it was French. He heard Piper speak it enough, but that didn't mean he understood it.
Beckett laughed. It was light and airy. "I'm light-footed," she explained, "I could sneak out after curfew at camp long before I was claimed. Super helpful. It's why I got asked to help with quests so often. A lot of campers thought I was a daughter of Hermes because of it."
"Bet you're a terror during capture the flag," he said as they continued up the stairs.
Beckett hummed, her smile flattened a little as if she was remembering a sad memory. "Sure, if anyone remembered me."
If anyone remembered her? What did that mean?
Jason wanted to ask her, but the stairs leveled out. The air thinned. The shadows weren’t as dark as before. Even the rocks changed. He knew they were outside the reach of Hades.
He shivered against the cold. He was dressed on blue jeans, sneakers, and a plain white shirt. Not exactly appropriate for a stroll a few hundred feet underground.
Lights lined the path and around a corner they found a map with a little red 'you are here' dot. Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
Beckett swung her worn leather backpack off and reached inside. She didn't look or rummage around before pulling out a hoodie. It was big and dark green with a white silhouette of snow-capped mountains. Curved around it in white letters was: Green Mountain Academy.
"Here," she said, passing it to him, "This should fit you, might be a little small though. It will do until we can buy you some clothes. We’ll look weird if you're walking around in just a shirt this time of year."
Jason threw the hoodie on. It fit perfectly. "What month is it?" he asked, a little scared of the answer.
"September," she answered. She gave him a flat look as if she were trying to judge his reaction. "Hera said you fought Caligula in the spring."
He almost corrected her, but decided against it. It didn't really matter that he died. He was alive now. But six months? He was technically seventeen now, a junior in high school. He wondered how many temples got completed since then.
No one bothered them as they made for the exit. When they reached the steps leading out of the cave, a female park ranger nodded to them. Beckett tensed like she was facing off against a wild boar.
"Enjoy the cave?" the ranger asked.
"It was great. The self-guided tours are a game changer," Beckett answered with an overtly sweet smile. She was clenching her hands so hard her knuckles were white.
"We're already planning our next visit," Jason added. He winced. He made it sound like they were on their honeymoon. Beckett didn't look upset though, so he counted that as a win. He didn’t need to make things awkward between them so soon.
The ranger smiled. "Oh, wonderful. All information you might need is at the visitor center. Enjoy the rest of your stay at Mammoth Cave State Park."
They thanked the woman and headed down a random path away from the crowds.
Beckett sighed with relief when they made it out of earshot. "She led the tour I snuck in on. I was worried she remembered me," she explained.
They were safely away from the main path. The forest was starting to swallow the trial they took, and Jason couldn’t see or hear anyone else. Beckett jumped and sat on a park bench. Her feet swung almost a foot off the ground. She really was short.
"So what's the game plan?" he asked.
"Well, we know where the first golden apple is, and we have plenty of time to get there. My biggest concern is transportation. We have enough money to buy plane tickets, but we need to be as covert as possible. I sent the pegasus I rode in on back to Camp Half-Blood, Gale wouldn't have been able to carry us both," she said.
"I think I can get us a ride," he said.
Jason wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. When Beckett mentioned flying horses, his mind went to one horse in particular. The one who had been with him in his final moments. He let out a long whistle.
Beckett looked around with curiosity. For a moment, Jason worried it didn’t work – that his old friend forgot about him, but then a heavy gust of air ripped through the forest.
Tree limbs bent. Bushes shook. Beckett’s hair whipped around and she had to hold it down to see, but she didn't squint against the violent wind. A small cyclone gathered beside him. It broke apart to reveal a dark steed with black hair and a body made out of thunder clouds. Lightning rippled across its massive body.
The horse saw him and reared back, neighing loudly. He stomped, creating little claps of thunder against the ground, and nudged Jason in delight.
Jason laughed. "Hey, old pal. How have you been?"
"That's a storm spirit " Beckett said in awe.
"His name’s Tempest," Jason said. He patted the horse and let him nuzzle against him. "Tempest, this is Beckett, daughter of Boreas. You guys are actually half-siblings."
Tempest stepped forward and did something Jason had never seen him do before. The venti stretched a front leg out and lowered his head into a bow. Jason sputtered. Was he trying to be charming?
Beckett laughed and floated off the tabletop. "My brother has manners," she said and dipped into a dramatic bow. She straightened and petted his head. "You don't mind giving us a lift, do you, Tempest?"
The horse nodded and kicked the ground.
"That solves that. But there is one think I want to check before we head off," Jason said.
"What?"
"The limitations,” he answered, looking at the gold bands around his wrists. “I think it's best I learn what they are before we head out."
Beckett nodded. "Alright, let's see what you can do."
She stayed back beside Tempest, giving him plenty of space.
Jason remembered the first time he used his powers. He had just jumped into the Grand Canyon to catch Piper when a rogue venti tried to kill them. Before they hit the bottom, he wished not to and the wind granted his wish. Commanding the wind was simple actually, no crazy movements required. He just told it what he wanted it to do via thought power. Watch.
Up.
Scratch that, don’t watch because nothing happened. Normally, he’d lift off his feet and float a few inches. He tried to pull the wind into a tight ball in his hand instead, but again, nothing happened. Not even a breeze.
“No wind control,” he said.
Beckett nodded. She pulled her feet up from under her and sat cross legged midair. “I got us covered with that, though my control is greater the colder the air is,” she said.
Right, Boreas was the god of the northern wind.
Jason was actually happy that he couldn’t use the wind. That meant he had plenty of offensive power for their quest. Little sparks erupted from his fingertips. He wrapped hand around them and a lightning bolt the length of a baseball bat appeared. Thunder rumbled overhead.
Tempest neighed and pranced as if applauding him. Beckett stared in amazement before smiling and throwing her arms up with a cheer.
“Now, that’s fire power,” she said.
Jason threw the bolt, hitting a tree and left behind a human-sized mess of smoldering bark and wood. Not bad for a guy who was dead the last six months. He felt good, maybe a little rusty, but that was an easy fix.
“What can you do?” he asked.
Beckett snorted. “Nothing like that. Mainly just freezing things. Agni insists that I can get stronger, but I don’t think I’ll be turning anyone into a life-sized icicle anytime soon.”
He smiled. “Well, Snow Miser, I guess we can head—”
“Ah, there you two are!”
Jason and Beckett jumped and spun around to find the park ranger from before smiling at them. All the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The woman stood with her hands behind her back, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The woman looked at Jason and Beckett, then at Tempest. The storm spirit huffed and his ears flattened as his lips peeled back in a snarl.
Jason glanced Beckett. She was locked on the ranger with a hard glare. No doubt she was thinking the same thing as him. That park ranger wasn’t human. She snuck up on them too easily and she didn’t seem at all phased at an unsaddled horse in the middle of a forest.
“I was looking everywhere for you,” the ranger said.
“And why were you looking for us?” Beckett asked. She stretched the straps of her bag and looked to Jason. She was trying to say something, and he hoped he understood her right.
“What could you want with us?” Jason asked, stepping forward to put himself between Beckett and the unknown monster.
“An awful lot, boy,” she answered. “Or should I call you ‘Son of Zeus’?”
“Jupiter actually, I’m Roman.”
The woman did a little happy dance. “I’ve never eaten a Roman before,” she giggled.
Her skin turned sickly green and thickened like snakeskin. Her mouth filled with sharp fangs and her eyes filled with blood. Her nails grew to sharp points. Her body shook and her clothes began to rip as her body bulged with muscles. Her legs fused into a thick tail.
“Dracaenae,” Jason said.
The monster’s laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. “You know of my kind, boy?”
“I’ve killed plenty of your kind.”
“Ah, but you have no sword. How do you intend to kill me?”
Lighting crackled around his clenched fists. A weapon would’ve been nice, but he’d make do. “I don’t need a sword to fry your scaly butt to a crisp.”
Beckett stepped back and swung her bag off. She flipped open the top flap. She reached inside, but never got a chance to pull anything out.
The dracaenae screeched. It was worse than nails on a chalkboard now.
Jason’s ears rang. A wave of dizziness washed over him. Before he could clear his head, the monster was in front of Beckett. She swung at Beckett and sent her flying thirty feet straight into a thick tree trunk. She hit the ground hard and bounced with a groan.
“Beckett!” he yelled.
The dracaenae spun around with a vicious hiss. Her glowing red eyes locked on him. “It’s been a while since I’ve crossed paths with a demigod. And to eat one as strong as you, I’ll be sure to savor every bite. Then I’ll eat the lesser god’s blood.”
Jason couldn’t take a single step before the reptile lady was in his face. He jerked back, but not far enough. The monster grabbed him by the sweatshirt and threw him a good twenty yards into a thick bush. He rolled out of it the best he could.
Okay, so his reflexes were still a bit sleepy. Time to wake up.
Meanwhile, Tempest bucked wild. The dracaenae roared as the horse reared and almost kicked her.
Jason jumped to his feet and charged at the monster. With a fistful of lighting, he swung at her, but the dracaenae dodged. The thing was as fast as Mercury. Each punch he threw missed by an inch. He couldn’t land a single hit, so he tried to drive the woman back and chanced a glance at Beckett.
She was scrambling toward her dropped bag. “Sword, sword, sword,” she said to herself. She reached into her bag, but instead of a blade, she pulled out an….envelope. “What the?”
The dracaenae spun and slammed her tail into him while he was distracted. Jason landed at the base of a tree, the wind knocked out of him. He sat up coughing. The pseudo park ranger jumped. Before she could reach him, a blast of icy wind hit her. She smashed into the picnic table. The monster and everything around her was frosting over.
It was Beckett blowing a deep breath. When she stopped, her breath was foggy.
“Don’t underestimate the northern wind,” she said. She stood with a celestial bronze sword in hand. She threw it to him. “Not so fast in the cold, are you?”
Beckett was right. The woman was struggling to stand. Her movements had slowed to a slug’s pace. Who knew dracaenae were actually cold blooded?
Jason didn’t waste any time. Sword in hand, he stood over the monster and swung, taking her head off in one clean swoop. Her body burst into gold dust and seeped back into the earth.
“You okay?” he asked Beckett.
She rolled a shoulder and winced. “Just a bruised back, nothing an ambrosia square can’t fix. You?”
“Just my ego,” he answered, “I guess I’m more out of practice than I thought.” He looked at her bag and point at it with his sword. “So, enchanted bag, huh?”
Beckett scowled at it.
She grabbed her bag and shook it like a ragdoll. “Now, look here. You are a magical bag that is supposed to summon anything that’s been put inside at my will. I needed a sword and you gave me an envelope. How is an envelope a sword?”
Jason chuckled and picked up the offending item in question. It was small, crisp white with his name in gold script. He could feel something hard inside. He stabbed the blade into the ground then opened envelope and dumped the contents.
It was two rings, one a little thicker and wider than the other, fell into his hand. They were simple silver bands with Ancient Greek inscribed on the outside: ἀριστεύς. Champion. It was easy to see they were a matching set, like wedding bands.
Jason and Beckett looked at each other.
“I know she’s the goddess of marriage, but that’s a bit presumptuous,” Beckett said with a light blush.
He cleared his throat and picked up the bigger ring for a better look. Except the ring vanished. Instead, he held a roman gladius. The blade was breathtaking. It glimmered translucent white mixed with light green. The weapon was perfectly balanced in his grip like it was made for him.
“Adamantine,” Beckett said with wide eyes. “That stuff is indestructible.”
Jason thought back to an old weapon and wondered. He casually tossed the sword into the air. As it flipped, it transformed into a spear.
Beckett scoffed, “Show off.”
He handed her the other ring and instantly, it turned into a Greek sword identical to his. She turned it over with a smile. Jason could almost see something inside her settle. It suited her. The sword, not the smile, not that he thought she looked ugly when she smiled. She looked cute. He wondered what it said about him if he thought a girl looked cute with a deadly weapon in her hand.
Tempest neighed and scuffed at the frosty ground.
Jason willed his new weapon to ring form and slipped it onto his right thumb.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Beckett nodded and slipped her onto her left index. She put the Celestial Bronze sword back in her bag.
“Let’s go.”
