Ella recites a new prophecy about the tomb of Tarquin (the last king of ancient Rome). The wording of the prophecy is cryptic, featuring mentions of a wildcat, spinning lights, and the number 254. Ella recommends that Frank and Apollo seek out the king’s tomb in order to find more information that will help her to further clarify the relevant prophecies. A prophetic fragment about firewood makes Frank suddenly tense up, and he quickly leads Apollo away. Apollo recalls that Jupiter’s wife “Hera had inexplicably tied [Frank’s] life force to a small piece of wood, which […] Frank now carried around with him at all times. If the wood burned up, so did Frank” (85). Frank and Apollo return to Camp Jupiter for Jason’s funeral, which Apollo must lead. Meg is also among the mourners.

During the ceremony, Reyna and Frank explain that the Triumvirate has cut off the camp’s usual magical means of communication. Suddenly, the wolf goddess, Lupa, arrives with her pack and summons Apollo into the Temple of Jupiter for a private discussion.

Inside the temple, Lupa communicates telepathically, conveying to Apollo that her wolf pack is weakened and that he must find a way to summon divine help. She confirms that the emperors have awakened the undead king Tarquin, who will attack the camp on the night of the blood moon. She orders Apollo to seek out the king’s tomb and then tells him, “[Tarquin’s] stench is on you. Be careful in his tomb. The emperors were foolish to call him forth” (97). She also warns him that to summon divine aid from Olympus, he must first “defeat the great silence” (97).

Lupa gives Apollo hope that with the successful conclusion of this trial, he will be closer to regaining his godly existence. However, Lupa cautions that more sacrifice is inevitable. After she grants him her blessing and vanishes, Apollo rejoins the funeral and relays her messages to Reyna and Frank. Later, Meg tells him that he must present a plan at the senate meeting on the following day.

Apollo dreams of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin: the last king of Rome, during the years of the man’s original reign. In the dream, Apollo witnesses the ancient Cumaean Sibyl offering to sell the then-living Tarquin nine prophetic books. When the king refuses her price, she burns six books and sells him the final three for the original high price. 

When Apollo wakes, he recalls the Sibyl’s decrepit appearance and feels deeply guilty about having cursed her simply because she had refused to enter a romantic liaison with him. Meg arrives to take him to the emergency senate meeting.

At the Senate House, they sit with Lavinia Asimov, who reveals that her mother is the Muse Terpsichore. She begs Apollo for any details about her divine mother, but his mortal mind can recall very few, and he is discomfited by her question. Praetor Reyna calls the meeting to order, reprimands Lavinia for chewing gum, and asks Apollo to brief the senate.

Apollo tells the senate that Commodus and Caligula will attack with Tarquin’s undead army in three days, when the blood moon rises; he explains that the blood moon strengthens the powers of the undead. He proposes that they find Tarquin’s tomb so that they can retrieve ritual instructions from the Sibylline Books and use them to summon divine aid. Ella recites the relevant prophetic lines, and Tyson displays the tattooed prophecy.

Lavinia deciphers the prophecy, identifying the location as a nearby carousel in Tilden Park. Reyna calls for a quest. Meg volunteers herself and Apollo, and Hazel Levesque joins as the centurion. When Lavinia irreverently pops her gum, an annoyed Reyna drafts her as well. The senate approves the quest.

Apollo, Meg, Hazel, and Lavinia meet to plan their quest. They decide to enter the tomb at night for stealth, so in the meantime, they rest until sundown. Unable to sleep, Apollo broods on his past mistakes as a god.

He recalls that when the young, beautiful Cumaean Sibyl refused his amorous advances, he pettishly cursed her to an extremely long life, but without the benefit of corresponding youth. He connects his guilt to Reyna’s own curse from Venus, which prevents any demigod from mending her heart, and decides to seek guidance before the quest.

At sundown, Apollo consults the Arrow of Dodona, a prophetic arrow that communicates with him telepathically. The arrow advises him to avoid fighting Tarquin, listen for any useful intelligence, take what he needs, and leave the area quickly. Frank arrives with Hannibal the elephant and references the fact that thanks to Hera’s curse, his own mortality is tied to the piece of firewood that he carries. Despite his own predicament, he tries to encourage Apollo.

Meg, Hazel, and Lavinia arrive, fully prepared for the quest. After Hazel and Frank have a brief, private conversation, the four questers depart for Tarquin’s tomb.