The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3)(19)

“What are you talking about?” Leo asked. “What are you doing here?”

Nemesis opened another cookie. “Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That’s not even a proper fortune!” She crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet.

“To answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. They become quite schizophrenic, I’m afraid. Splitting headaches. Disorientation.”

“But we’re not at war,” Leo insisted.

“Um, Leo…” Hazel winced. “Except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome.”

Leo stared at her, wondering whose side she was on. “Not on purpose!”

“I know…” Hazel said, “but the Romans don’t realize that. And they’ll be pursuing us in retaliation.”

Nemesis cackled. “Leo, listen to the girl. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?”

Leo’s mouth tasted like calcium carbonate. “Me.”

The goddess snorted. “Well, don’t you have a high opinion of yourself. You’re just a pawn on the chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Hera—or Juno, if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don’t expect any more help from your patron!”

Leo’s head throbbed. He had mixed feelings about Hera. She’d meddled in his life since he was a baby, molding him to serve her purpose in this big prophecy, but at least she had been on their side, more or less. If she was out of the picture now…

“So why are you here?” he asked.

“Why, to offer my help!” Nemesis smiled wickedly.

Leo glanced at Hazel. She looked like she’d just been offered a free snake.

“Your help,” Leo said.

“Of course!” said the goddess. “I enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?” Hazel’s voice was tight. “I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother is missing. Isn’t that enough sacrifice for you?”

Leo could totally relate. He wanted to scream that he’d lost his mom too. His whole life had been one misery after another. He’d lost his dragon, Festus. He’d nearly killed himself trying to finish the Argo II. Now he’d fired on the Roman camp, most likely started a war, and maybe lost the trust of his friends.

“Right now,” he said, trying to control his anger, “all I want is some Celestial bronze.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Nemesis said. “It’s just over the rise. You’ll find it with the sweethearts.”

“Wait,” Hazel said. “What sweethearts?”

Nemesis popped a cookie in her mouth and swallowed it, fortune and all. “You’ll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life.” She smiled. “And speaking of your brother Nico, you don’t have much time. Let’s see…it’s June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome.”

Hazel’s eyes widened. “How…what—?”

“And as for you, child of fire.” She turned to Leo. “Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you…for a price.”

Leo smelled smoke. He realized fingers on his left hand were ablaze, and Hazel was staring at him in terror.

He shoved his hand in his pocket to extinguish the flames. “I like to solve my own problems.”

“Very well.” Nemesis brushed cookie dust off her jacket.

“But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?”

The goddess shrugged. “One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world.”

Leo’s stomach churned. “You…want an eye?”

“In your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here.” She handed him an unbroken fortune cookie. “If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem.”

Leo’s hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. “What problem?”

“You’ll know when the time comes.”

“No, thanks,” Leo said firmly. But his hand, as though it had a will of its own, slipped the cookie into his tool belt.

Nemesis picked another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. “You will have cause to reconsider your choices soon. Oh, I like that one. No changes needed here.”

She resealed the cookie and tossed it into the basket. “Very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. One thing might bring unity to Olympus again—an old wrong finally avenged. Ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! But it will not happen unless you accept my help.”