The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

source for them.’
    ‘Your friends lied,’ Octavian said. ‘They told us the harpy was just muttering gibberish. They stole her!’
    Grover huffed indignantly. ‘Ella isn’t your property! She’s a free creature. Besides, she wants to be at Camp Half-Blood. She’s dating one of my friends, Tyson.’
    ‘The Cyclops ,’ Reyna remembered. ‘A harpy dating a Cyclops …’
    ‘That’s not relevant!’ Octavian said. ‘The harpy has valuable Roman prophecies. If the Greeks won’t return her, we should take their Oracle hostage! Guards!’
    Two centurions advanced, their
pila
levelled. Grover brought his pipes to his lips, played a quick jig and their spears turned into Christmas trees. The guards dropped them in surprise.
    ‘Enough!’ Reyna shouted.
    She didn’t often raise her voice. When she did, everyone listened.
    ‘We’ve strayed from the point,’ she said. ‘Rachel Dare, you’re telling me that Annabeth is in Tartarus, yet she’s found a way to send this message. She wants
me
to bring this statue from the ancient lands to your camp.’
    Rachel nodded. ‘Only a Roman can return it and restore peace.’
    ‘And why would the Romans want peace,’ Reyna asked, ‘after your ship attacked our city?’
    ‘You know why,’ Rachel said. ‘To avoid this war. To reconcile the gods’ Greek and Roman sides. We have to work together to defeat Gaia.’
    Octavian stepped forward to speak, but Reyna shot him a withering look.
    ‘According to Percy Jackson,’ Reyna said, ‘the battle with Gaia will be fought in the ancient lands. In Greece.’
    ‘That’s where the giants are,’ Rachel agreed. ‘Whatever magic, whatever ritual the giants are planning to wake the Earth Mother, I sense it will happen in Greece. But … well, our problems aren’t limited to the ancient lands. That’s why I brought Grover to talk to you.’
    The satyr tugged his goatee. ‘Yeah … see, over the last few months, I’ve been talking to satyrs and nature spiritsacross the continent. They’re all saying the same thing. Gaia is stirring – I mean, she’s
right
on the edge of consciousness. She’s whispering in the minds of naiads , trying to turn them. She’s causing earthquakes, uprooting the dryads ’ trees. Last week alone, she appeared in human form in a dozen different places, scaring the horns off some of my friends. In Colorado, a giant stone fist rose out of a mountain and swatted some Party Ponies like flies.’
    Reyna frowned.
‘
Party Ponies?
’
    ‘Long story,’ Rachel said. ‘The point is: Gaia will rise
everywhere.
She’s already stirring. No place will be safe from the battle. And we know that her first targets are going to be the demigod camps. She wants us destroyed.’
    ‘Speculation,’ Octavian said. ‘A distraction. The Greeks fear our attack. They’re trying to confuse us. It’s the Trojan Horse all over again!’
    Reyna twisted the silver ring she always wore, with the sword and torch symbols of her mother, Bellona .
    ‘Marcus,’ she said, ‘bring Scipio from the stables.’
    ‘Reyna, no!’ Octavian protested.
    She faced the Greeks. ‘I will do this for Annabeth, for the hope of peace between our camps, but do not think I have forgotten the insults to Camp Jupiter. Your ship fired on our city.
You
declared war – not us. Now, leave.’
    Grover stamped his hoof. ‘Percy would never –’
    ‘Grover,’ Rachel said, ‘we should go.’
    Her tone said:
Before it’s too late.
    After they had retreated back down the stairs, Octavian wheeled on Reyna. ‘Are you
mad
?’
    ‘I am praetor of the legion,’ Reyna said. ‘I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome.’
    ‘To get yourself killed? To break our oldest laws and travel to the ancient lands? How will you even find their ship, assuming you survive the journey?’
    ‘I will find them,’ Reyna said. ‘If they are sailing for Greece, I know a place Jason will stop. To face the ghosts in the House of Hades, he will need an army. There is only one place where he can find that sort of help.’
    In Jason’s dream, the building seemed to tilt under his feet. He remembered a conversation he’d had with Reyna years ago, a promise they had made to each other. He knew what she was talking about.
    ‘This is insanity,’ Octavian muttered. ‘We’re already under attack. We must take the offensive! Those hairy dwarfs have been stealing our supplies, sabotaging our scouting parties – you
know
the Greeks sent