The Tyrant's Tomb

or Reyna or Frank, not to mention all those who had died: Jason, Dakota,
Don, Jacob, the Sibyl, Harpocrates…dozens more.
Frank raised his hand for quiet. “Now, I know you two have another
long, hard quest ahead of you. There’s still one emperor who needs his podex
kicked.”
As the crowd chuckled, I wished our next task would be as easy as Frank
made it sound. Nero’s podex, yes…but there was also the small matter of
Python, my old immortal enemy, presently squatting in my old holy place of
Delphi.
“And I understand,” Frank continued, “that you two have decided to
leave in the morning.”
“We have?” My voice cracked. I’d been imagining a week or two
relaxing in New Rome, enjoying the thermal baths, maybe seeing a chariot
race.
“Shh,” Meg told me. “Yes, we’ve decided.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.
“Also,” Hazel chimed in, “I know you two are planning to visit Ella and
Tyson at dawn to receive prophetic help for the next stage of your quest.”
“We are?” I yelped. All I could think of was Aristophanes licking his
nether regions.
“But tonight,” Frank said, “we want to honor what you two have done
for this camp. Without your help, Camp Jupiter might not still be here. So
we would like to present you with these gifts.”
From the back of the room, Senator Larry came down the aisle carrying a
big equipment bag. I wondered if the legion had bought us a ski vacation at
Lake Tahoe. Larry reached the rostrum and set down the duffel. He
rummaged out the first gift and handed it to me with a grin. “It’s a new
bow!”
Larry had missed his calling as a game-show announcer.
My first thought: Oh, cool. I need a new bow.
Then I looked more carefully at the weapon in my hands, and I squealed
in disbelief. “This is mine!”
Meg snorted. “Of course it is. They just gave it to you.”
“No, I mean it’s mine mine! Originally mine, from when I was a god!”
I held up the bow for all to ooh and ahh at: a masterpiece of golden oak,
carved with gilded vines that flashed in the light as if on fire. Its taut curve
hummed with power. If I remembered correctly, the bowstring was woven