The Hidden Oracle (38 page)

“That’s my
mamacita
,” Leo said.

“What have I told you about calling me
mamacita
?”

Leo grinned sheepishly. “In the morning we’ll start getting our supplies together. As soon as Festus gets a tune-up and an oil change, we’ll be good to go.”

I considered what supplies I would take with me. I had depressingly little: some borrowed clothes, a bow, a ukulele, and an overly theatrical arrow.

But the real difficulty would be saying good-bye to Will, Austin, and Kayla. They had helped me so much, and they embraced me as family more than I had ever embraced
them
. Tears stung my eyes. Before I could start sobbing, Will Solace stepped into the light of the hearth. “Hey, everybody! We’ve started a bonfire in the amphitheater! Sing-along time. Come on!”

Groans were mixed in with the cheers, but most everyone got to their feet and ambled toward the bonfire now blazing in the distance, where Nico di Angelo stood silhouetted in the flames, preparing rows of marshmallows on what looked like femur bones.

“Aw, man.” Leo winced. “I’m terrible at sing-alongs. I always clap and do the ‘Old MacDonald’ sounds at the wrong time. Can we skip this?”

“Oh, no.” I rose to my feet, suddenly feeling better. Perhaps tomorrow I would weep and think about good-byes. Perhaps the day after that we would be flying toward our deaths. But tonight, I intended to enjoy my time with my family. What had Calypso said?
Live fully and without fear.
If she could do it, then so could the brilliant, fabulous Apollo. “Singing is good for the spirits. You should never miss an opportunity to sing.”

Calypso smiled. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for once I agree with Apollo. Come on, Leo. I’ll teach you to harmonize.”

Together, the three of us walked toward the sounds of laughter, music, and a warm, crackling fire.

Achilles
    the best fighter of the Greeks who besieged Troy in the Trojan War; extraordinarily strong, courageous, and loyal, he had only one weak spot: his heel

Admetus
    the king of Pherae in Thessaly; Zeus punished Apollo by sending him to work for Admetus as a shepherd

Aeolus
    the Greek god of the winds

Agamemnon
    king of Mycenae; the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War; courageous, but also arrogant and overly proud

agora
    Greek for
gathering place
; a central outdoor spot for athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life in ancient Greek city-states

Ajax
    Greek hero with great strength and courage; fought in the Trojan War; used a large shield in battle

ambrosia
    food of the gods; has healing powers

amphitheater
    an oval or circular open-air space used for performances or sporting events, with spectator seating built in a semicircle around the stage

Aphrodite
    the Greek goddess of love and beauty

apodesmos
    a band of material that women in ancient Greece wore around the chest, particularly while participating in sports

Apollo
    the Greek god of the sun, prophecy, music, and healing; the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis

Ares
    the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena

Argo
    the ship used by a band of heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece

Argonauts
    a band of heroes who sailed with Jason on the
Argo
, in search of the Golden Fleece

Artemis
    the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo

Asclepius
    the god of medicine; son of Apollo; his temple was the healing center of ancient Greece

Athena
    the Greek goddess of wisdom

Athena Parthenos
    a giant statue of Athena; the most famous Greek statue of all time

ballista
(
ballistae
, pl.)    a Roman missile siege weapon that launched a large projectile at a distant target

Batavi
    an ancient tribe that lived in modern-day Germany; also an infantry unit in the Roman army with Germanic origins

Briseis
    a princess captured by Achilles during the Trojan War, causing a feud between Achilles and Agamemnon that resulted in Achilles refusing to fight alongside the Greeks

Bunker Nine
    a hidden workshop Leo Valdez discovered at Camp Half-Blood, filled with tools and weapons; it is at least two hundred years old and was used during the Demigod Civil War

Caesar Augustus
    the founder and first emperor of the Roman Empire; adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar (
see also
Octavian)

Calliope
    the muse of epic poetry; mother of several sons, including Orpheus

Calypso
    the goddess nymph of the mythical island of Ogygia; a daughter of the Titan Atlas; she detained the hero Odysseus for many years

Camp Half-Blood
    the training ground for Greek demigods, located in Long Island, New York

Camp Jupiter
    the training ground for Roman demigods, located between the Oakland Hills and the Berkeley Hills, in California

Cassandra
    the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba; had the gift of prophecy, but was cursed by Apollo so that her predictions were never believed, including her warning about the Trojan Horse

catapult
    a military machine used to hurl objects

Cave of Trophonius
    a deep chasm home to the Oracle Trophonius; its extremely narrow entrance required a visitor to lie flat on his back before being sucked into the cave; called “The Cave of Nightmares” due to the terrifying accounts of its visitors

Celestial bronze
    a rare metal deadly to monsters

centaur
    a race of creatures that is half-human, half-horse

Ceres
    the Roman god of agriculture; Greek form: Demeter

Chiron
    a centaur; the camp activities director at Camp Half-Blood

chiton
    a Greek garment; a sleeveless piece of linen or wool secured at the shoulders by brooches and at the waist by a belt

Chrysothemis
    a daughter of Demeter who won Apollo’s love during a music contest

Circe
    a Greek goddess of magic

Cloacina
    goddess of the Roman sewer system

Clytemnestra
    the daughter of the king and queen of Sparta; married and later murdered Agamemnon

Colosseum
    an elliptical amphitheater in the center of Rome, Italy, capable of seating fifty thousand spectators; used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas

Colossus Neronis (Colossus of Nero)
    a gigantic bronze statue of Emperor Nero; was later transformed into the sun god with the addition of a sunray crown

Cretan
    of the island of Crete

Crommyon
    a village in ancient Greece where a giant wild sow wreaked havoc before it was killed by Theseus

cuirass
    leather or metal armor consisting of a breastplate and backplate worn by Greek and Roman soldiers; often highly ornamented and designed to mimic muscles

Cyclops
(
Cyclopes,
pl.)    a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead

Cyrene
    a fierce huntress with whom Apollo fell in love after he saw her wrestle a lion; Apollo later transformed her into a nymph in order to extend her life

Daedalus
    a skilled craftsman who created the Labyrinth on Crete in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept

Daphne
    a beautiful naiad who attracted Apollo’s attention; she was transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape him

Demeter
    the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos; Roman form: Ceres

dimachaerus
    a Roman gladiator trained to fight with two swords at once

Dionysus
    the Greek god of wine and revelry; the son of Zeus; activities director at Camp Half-Blood

Domus Aurea
    Emperor Nero’s extravagant villa in the heart of ancient Rome, built after the Great Fire of Rome

Doors of Death
    the doorway to the House of Hades, located in Tartarus; doors have two sides—one in the mortal world, and one in the Underworld

drakon
    a gigantic yellow-and-green serpentlike monster, with frills around its neck, reptilian eyes, and huge talons; it spits poison

dryads
    tree nymphs

Erebos
    a place of darkness between earth and Hades

Eros
    the Greek god of love

Erythaea
    an island where the Cumaean Sibyl, a love interest of Apollo, originally lived before he convinced her to leave it by promising her a long life

Fields of Punishment
    the section of the Underworld where people who were evil during their lives are sent to face eternal punishment for their crimes after death

Gaea
    the Greek earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters

Germani
(
Germanus
, sing.)    tribal people who settled to the west of the Rhine river

Golden Fleece
    this hide from a gold-haired winged ram was a symbol of authority and kingship; it was guarded by a dragon and fire-breathing bulls; Jason was tasked with obtaining it, resulting in an epic quest

Gorgons
    three monstrous sisters (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa) who have hair of living, venomous snakes; Medusa’s eyes can turn the beholder to stone

Great Fire of Rome
    a devastating fire that took place in 64
CE
, lasting for six days; rumors indicated that Nero started the fire to clear space for the building of his villa, Domus Aurea, but he blamed the Christian community for the disaster

greaves
    shin armor

Greek fire
    an incendiary weapon used in naval battles because it can continue burning in water

Grove of Dodona
    the site of the oldest Greek Oracle, second only to the Delphi; the rustling of trees in the grove provided answers to priests and priestesses who journeyed to the site

Hades
    the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld

harpy
    a winged female creature that snatches things

Hebe
    the Greek goddess of youth; daughter of Zeus and Hera

Hecate
    goddess of magic and crossroads

Hephaestus
    the Greek god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite

Hera
    the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister

Hermes
    Greek god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead; god of communication

Herodotus
    a Greek historian known as the “Father of History”

Hestia
    Greek goddess of the hearth

hippocampi
(
hippocampus
, sing.)    half-horse, half-fish creatures

hippodrome
    an oval stadium for horse and chariot races in ancient Greece

Hittites
    a group of people who lived in modern Turkey and Syria; often in conflict with Egyptians; known for their use of chariots as assault weapons

House of Hades
    a place in the Underworld where Hades, the Greek god of death, and his wife, Persephone, rule over the souls of the departed

Hunters of Artemis
    a group of maidens loyal to Artemis and gifted with hunting skills and eternal youth as long as they reject men for life

Hyacinthus
    a Greek hero and Apollo’s lover, who died while trying to impress Apollo with his discus skills

Hypnos
    the Greek god of sleep

ichor
    the golden fluid that is the blood of gods and immortals

imperator
    a term for
commander
in the Roman Empire