Roman Chronicles, Book 1: Apollo, Chapter 13, Ian's Plan

The cherry cookie was disgusting. I threw it in the air, expecting it to land behind me in the reddened dirt. But, as this was Camp Half-Blood, a tiny hawk made of metal with bolts for eyes zoomed out and caught it. It nibbled it then choked. It dropped the cookie then sped towards it. The beak of the metal bird ripped it into tiny crumbs that fell down on me. The bird screeched a threat then flew away. I dusted cookie dust from my shoulders and walked into the Hades cabin to find Ian sketching blueprints. He looked up at me and grinned. "Hey, Roman. 'Sup?" Yeah. He was good looking alright. "Go sketch somewhere else." I growled. He took off his aviators. "Excuse me?" He snarled. "What did you say?" I sighed. "Whatever." I sat next to him to see what he was drawing, and man. He was an amazing artist. "Wow. Are you sure you aren't an Athena?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded. "Yeah. I can make anything." He twirled his hand and a panther appeared. Except... it was golden. It had glowing red eyes that were rubies and a tail that was shimmering diamonds. Ian waved his hand. The panther dissapeared. He kept drawing. I yawned and went to the bed. Though it was only 8:30, I fell asleep.

The nest morning, I did the normal routine. 7:00- Get dressed. 7:07- Brush teeth. 7:15- Archery in the Woods. 7:30- Sword fights with Nico. 8:00- Comb hair. 8:10- Review day schedule. 8:15- Breakfast 8:45- More Archery and Sword fighting. 9:45- Clean Hades cabin for next day's inspection. That was all I got to. I woke up at 7:00, and hour earlier than normal. I needed to get all the energy out. I picked up Nico's last leather jacket from the floor and dumped it into the laundry bin. Then I heard a raspy voice. Ah, she has yet to discover the true lengths of thy prophecy. It was one of the fates. She was holding scissors as sharp as knives. She held up a glistening golden thread and snipped it. Then she faded away. I closed the laundry bin and dragged it outside. Nico came running towards me. "McCain. He's dead." I followed him to a stretcher. A boy with short brown hair, faded grey eyes, and tanned skin was staring up blankly in a dead gaze. I turned away and took the laundry bin. The fates were cruel people. I was walking back when I noticed Ian shaking his hands at a blank spot between the Zeus and Hades cabin. "Go! Go, dumb magic!" Then, a tall building appeared. It was just like Ian's drawing. Made of glazed wood. There was a door made of lapis lazuli. The roof was obsidian dotted with diamonds, like the night sky. The windows were polished, cut crystal, and the curtains were purple velvet. There are fox, wolf, butterfly, and snake topiaries lining the front. Stars, planets, leaves, and clocks line the bottom of the roof. There's even a glass circle that has water rushing in circular motion. "Ian... what is it?" I asked. Ian grinned. "Gaea and Ouranos cabin." I was startled. "And... you got Chiron's permission, I suspect?" I asked. Ian scratched his head. "Well... C would have said yes, right?" I did a face-palm. "You. Didn't. Get. Chiron's. Permission." Ian nodded. "Well... I was talking the other day to some ghost. He had heard of you. And he said you didn't need Chiron's permission for anything." I felt nervous. There was only one ghost I knew. "Who... who was it?" Ian turned stone cold. "He said you killed him. He said his name was Nicholas Sapientia."