Summary: All is well at the Brooklyn house. The kids are going about their daily lives, when a new girl comes through their door, running from a monster with djed in hand. When it comes time for her to pick a path, she surprises everyone, including herself, by choosing the path of our favorite god of evil, Set! Set, only ever having Amos as a follower before, decides he wants to meet this new girl. Will chaos or romance ensue? Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, Set isn't all bad?

Set after Serpent's Shadow, but the Gods weren't banished. Set/OC, Sadie/Anubis/Walt, Carter/Horus

Rated M for future chapters, and language

AN: Hellllooooo! Thanks for choosing to read my story! It's the first story I've ever posted for people to read, so no flames! Constructive criticism is ok, and much appreciated, assholes are not. I don't own it, (sadly) Rick Riordan does. Anyway, enough of my blabbering, read on!

LAYLA POV

What a beautiful sunset. I thought sarcastically to myself. I sighed as I slid down the wall of the abandoned school, letting my bag drop to the floor. It only holds a few items; some food, what little money I've gathered, my mother's locket, and my father's pocket knife. My lifestyle doesn't exactly allow a lot of possessions. I closed my eyes, and willed myself to sleep. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, but right before the blissful peace took over, I felt a pull, almost as if someone was pulling me. forward. I opened my eyes to see what was going on, but no one was in the classroom but me. The tugging feeling was still there, however; in fact, it got stronger, something I didn't think was possible.

I tried to ignore it, and once again tried to fall asleep, to no avail. The force, whatever it was, just wouldn't give up.

"Alright already! I'll go!" I grumbled angrily. No one messes with my sleep.

I grabbed my backpack and, slinging it over my shoulder, stood up and started off, out of the classroom. As I walked, I passed a group of lockers. I looked at them, and immediately felt a strong urge to open the one in the center. It was the only one with a lock; strange, as this school has been abandoned for years. as I mulled that thought over, my hands moved on their own accord. As i grasped the lock, three numbers popped into my head: 13/32/33. I put in the combination, and it swung open to reveal a...thing. It was an amulet, of what I did not know. I felt compelled to take it, although I didn't know why. The moment my fingers touched it, I heard a loud CRASH! I shoved the thingy into my pack, as the building started to shake. Shit! I thought, as I sprinted to the nearest fire escape. Whatever was downstairs, I did not want to meet.

When my feet hit the ground, I took off running. The last thing I needed was the NYPD blaming me for whatever was happening to the school. All of a sudden, I felt the pull again, and this time, I didn't think, I just followed it. I was suddenly aware of someone-or something-following me. It took all of my willpower to not turn and look. I looked instead at the signs around me, and a realization hit me: I've been here before. Brooklyn.

I could feel myself slowing down, and my follower gaining on me. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I found myself at an old and abandoned warehouse. Great. Another abandoned building. Because I've had SUCH good luck with those in the past! I chuckled darkly to myself, when something caught my eye. Is that...no. It can't be! But it is! How-! I screamed as something very large and black slammed into the wall, not two feet away from me.

"HELP!" I screeched, not caring who heard, as long as I got help.

The beast didn't move for a few seconds; i thought, no hoped it was dead, or at least knocked out. As I watched it for any signs of life, it slowly pulled itself up, shook its head, and looked around. For me. The realization hit me just as hard as if the beast hadn't missed. I looked at the door; it had no handle! I tried everything to open it; I pushed and kicked the door, desperately trying to open it. Nothing's working! I gave up trying to push it open as the creature backed up, getting ready to charge again, and screamed at the door "JUST OPEN ALREADY!" And what do you know, the door slid open! I dashed in, slammed the door behind me, and leaned against it, eyes closed, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Who is she?" I heard a voice say. My eyes snapped open, and almost screamed. Several sets of eyes stared back at me; I looked to the oldest, who looked to be the one in charge. He was tall, with dark, braided hair, almost hidden under a fedora. He had on a long, dark coat, and..is that a leopard-skin cape?! My eyes widened.

"I'm Amos" he said. "Are you ok?" It finally hit me just how tired I was, and my whole body slumped.

"Hi Amos" I said weakly, before I promptly passed out onto their floor.

-LINE-DIVIDER-:D-

Amos

"Felix, go and get Jaz, tell her to meet us in the infirmary. Carter, Walt, carry her there." I ordered. There's something about this girl...

"Are you sure we should trust her, Amos? We don't know anything about her!"

I rolled my eyes, as I replied, "Sadie, what would you have us do? Leave her here, passed out on our floor? Or perhaps throw her out altogether, and let the set animal have its way with her?" She blushed and ducked her head, ashamed. I glanced back at the girl; she looked to be around 16, with dark brown hair, with a reddish tint to it. I smiled slightly as I noticed a brilliant red streak in her hair; she's going to be a trouble maker, I can already tell. She had on a pair of faded, ripped jeans, a deep red hoodie, and an old pair of converse, all covered in a fine layer of dirt. But who is she? I asked myself. Sadie's not wrong; I don't even know her name yet!

I bent down and picked up her bag, meaning to take it to her in the infirmary, when something fell out. I looked at it, and immediately recognized it: the djed. I smiled wider; she was definitely one of us. I replaced the djed in the duat locker, then followed the trainees to meet this mystery girl.

When I got in there, the girl was laying on one of the beds, with most of our trainees gathered around her.

"Give her some space will you?" I said, chuckling to myself as I went to stand with Carter, Sadie, and Jaz. "Do we know when she will wake up"

"Any second now." Jaz, our resident healer, replied.

Sure enough, as soon as the words left her mouth, the girl's eyes fluttered open.

She moaned, rubbing her head."W-where am I?"

I smiled reassuringly. "You, my dear, are at the Brooklyn House, headquarters of the 21st Nome!" I spread my arms for affect, and she smiled back. "You already know my name, but don't believe we know yours!"

She sat up, wincing slightly, and said, "Layla. Layla Shani Griffen."

"Nice to meet you Layla. As I said earlier, I am Amos Kane. This is my niece Sadie, and my nephew Carter" I said, gesturing at each person as I introduced them. "And these are Zia, Walt, Jaz, Felix, and Bast."

Her eyes widened. "Bast...as in the goddess, Bast?"

I raised my eyebrow. "But of course."

LAYLA POV

She's a goddess?!How are they all so calm about this?! What does this all have to do with me?

"So, um, you have an Egyptian goddess living with you...?"

Amos just smiled again, and nodded. "I'm surprised you knew that just by her name."

"ya well, my mom used to teach me about Egyptian mythology, before.." I stopped, blinking back tears, trying desperately not to cry. And of course failing miserably.

"Before what, dear?" Amos said kindly, with a smile just as kind.

"My parents...they died when I was very young. I've lived by myself ever since."

The one boy..Carter, I think, cut in. "Weren't you in a foster home, or orphanage or something like that? You've had to have someone!"

I shook my head, a small smirk on my face. "They tried keeping me in foster homes. I never stayed in one long. Eventually I just..left." Noticing the shocked looks on their faces, I changed the subject. "So I've heard the myths and all, but I thought they were just that: myths. So will someone please explain what the hell is going on here?"

The blond girl, Sadie, jumped in, cutting off Amos before he could explain anything, her brilliant blue eyes shining brightly. "In the old myths, some of the pharaohs were said to have hosted gods. That's true. They also, along with the House of Life, studied magic, each person studying the path of a god or goddess. When Egypt started to fall, the House of Life blamed the gods, and banished them from our world, making it illegal to host one, or even follow the path of one. The gods were trapped deep in the Duat, except for a select few; until my parents unleashed them, that is. Now, we, as the 21st Nome in the House of Life, along with our chief lector (she nodded at Amos; that explains the cape..) are training those with the blood of the pharaohs in magic, following the path of the gods like we should."

"So..the god are real. And you are the descendants of pharaohs, and are training to be magicians. And now I'm supposed to do the same."

"umm...ya..." She said, looking worried.

I grinned. 'Awesome" She grinned back, all traces of worry gone. "So..any other deities around here I should know about?"

She thought for a moment, then answered "Well, I sometimes host Isis, and Carter Horus. Our friend Bes and his girlfriend Taweret stop by a lot. Oh and our dad, who hosts Osiris, will sometimes show up. Besides that, there's Bast and Anubis, who live here."

"Wow."

"Yep. Come on, I'll show you your room, and give you the tour. That is, if you're up for it..."

" I'm fine" I lied as I pulled myself up, ignoring the sharp pain in my head. "Wait, where's my stuff?" I looked around frantically. It has to be here! It's all I have left of my parents! I could feel tears start to prick my eyes and I brushed them away before they could fall. I won't cry in front of them. I won't.

Amos bent down and grabbed something from under the bed. My bag! I quickly took the bag from him and ripped it open, making sure everything was there. My locket, the knife..I sighed. Everything's there. I smiled gratefully at Amos. "Thank you" I breathed.

He nodded at me, smiling. "What's so important in there?" he implored curiously.

"My mother's locket..and my father's knife...It's all I have left of them.." I explained quietly. He gave me a look, one full of pity. I hate that. "So, um, about that tour..."

Sadie perked up immediately. "Come on! We can put your things in your room first!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me out. "Carter can move to another room." She said, as soon as we were out of earshot.

She smirked evilly, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"This is his room?" I asked as we reached the door.

"Not anymore". She opened the door, and I gasped. The walls were a deep, full red, and the bed was ebony white, and hand carved with hieroglyphics. Instead of a pillow, there was an odd headboard, with more hieroglyphics on it.

I must have been staring at it, because Sadie explained "It's full of protective charms, to keep your soul in your body while you sleep."

"Of course..wouldn't want it to run away" I muttered.

"You'll get used to it. I promise.", she laughed.

I opened the closet to throw in my bag, but there was no space! Where did all these clothes come from? "Where..?"

"Did the clothes come from?" I nodded. "Magic!" Sadie wiggled her fingers at me, laughing. Before I knew it, we were collapsed on the bed in hysterics, gasping for breath.

"We're not interrupting anything, are we?" We heard Amos say, causing us to both jump up. We were greeted with an amused Amos and a pissed off Carter standing in the doorway. His facial expression sent Sadie and I into another fit of giggles.

"What happened. To. My. Room?!" Carter growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Sadie said innocently, while I tried to keep a straight face. "Try down the hall."

"Where?" he asked as calm as possible.

"You know...right next to Horus's room..." She winked at him, causing him to blush deeply.

"Wait.." I said, confused. "Don't you host Horus?"

"Umm well yeah most of the time, but..."

Sadie interrupted "Sometimes he comes in person to be with Carter!" He blushed even darker, causing the rest of us to snicker.

"It's not like that.." he mumbled.

"Of course not, dear brother. He's just helping you train." Sadie agreed. She winked at me; she obviously didn't believe a word of what she just said. She then grabbed my hand, and, pushing the boys out of the way, dragged me down the hall. As we passed each door, she'd rattle off a name. "This is the girl's side. That's my room, then Jaz's, Zia's, Cleo's, Shelby's, Alyssa's, Bast's, and Isis' or Taweret's, depending on who's here. Then we have Anubis', Walt's, Horus's, Carter's, Felix's, Julian's, Amos's, and Khufu's."

"Who lives in the two at the end?"

"Bes or Dad mainly, or any new visitors we get. There's more bedrooms upstairs, but no one stays in them" she shrugged.

"Oh."

"The bathrooms are down there," She pointed down the hall, "girls on right, guys on left. The floor above us is just more empty rooms, but the floor below us is the library and the training room. Everything else-the kitchen, great room, pool, and dining room-are on the bottom floor."

At the mention of a kitchen, my stomach rumbled. "Any chance it's dinnertime?" I asked hopefully.

She laughed, but thankfully nodded. "Come on. You can meet everyone else now. After dinner we can pick your path."

Yes! Food! And...meeting people..yay me.

SET POV

Sigh. Why am I here again? Oh ya. No one likes me.

It's not fair. I'm not just the god of evil. I'm also the god of storms, and the desert! My job is to help keep order! Without me, the balance would be off between good and evil. But no one cares about that. Well...almost no one. Someone did, once, a long time ago...but he's gone now. All because of my bitch of a sister in law...I could feel tears pricking my eyes. I would normally hold them in; the god of evil does not cry. But no ones here to see anyway, so, just this once, I let them fall. Oh Ra...I cried. Waheshny kter...leih?! I could hear the door to my chambers opening, so I pulled myself up and wiped the tears away. I closed my eyes for a brief second to compose myself, when I felt something warm brush against my fingers, causing a rare smile to show on my face, for just a moment. "Ahela, Sha. what brings you here?"

"anet 7ezin lihe?" Sha thought.

"I'm fine, Sha," I sighed. "What's this?" Looking further into Sha's mind, I saw her memories from earlier. She found another magician, and...oh gods, she's beautiful! She has yet to pick a path...I thought hopefully. What does it matter? It's not like she'll pick me anyway. No one ever does. I slid back down the wall and closed my eyes, getting as close as a god could to sleeping, as Sha curled into my side. "tiṣbaḥ 'ala kẖayr, Sha.."

whooo! whelp there it is. Please review! also sorry if Set seemed out of character, but that's how I envision him when he's alone, and has his defenses down.

Translations:(Egyptian)

Waheshny kter - I miss you so much

lieh?! - why?!

ahela - hello

anet 7ezin lihe? - why are you sad?

tiṣbaḥ 'ala kẖayr - good night