Chapter One
The office in the southwest corner on the fourth floor belonged to Annabeth Chase. The blinds were never closed, so for most of the day the room was full of warm light. A wall rack full of massive portfolios overflowing with work stood to the right of the door. Each folder had a tag, and the labels were written in Greek. The shadowy corner between the 'folios and the drawing tables was empty. And underneath the windows were the drawing tables.
Annabeth herself paced between two tables. Both tables had the beginnings of blueprints, one for an aquarium and the other for an apartment complex. Her long blonde hair was pulled severely back into a bun, and a pair of owl earrings hung from her ears. Under her dress shirt - worn with jeans - was a necklace with thirteen beads on it. Periodically, she would pause and press two fingers to the beads as if in silent prayer.
"You could sit down like the rest of us, you know," said one of her coworkers from the doorway. Annabeth jumped and changed her grip on the pencil she was holding so she could use it as a weapon. She relaxed when she saw who it was.
"Don't do that," she snapped. "One of these days, I'm going to seriously hurt you, Felix. And I'll be very sorry."
"And I won't?" said Felix.
"No," said Annabeth. "You'll be dead."
"Trained for SWAT or something?" joked Felix.
"Something like that," said Annabeth. "My mother's family takes summer camp and self defense very seriously. Almost too seriously for our own good."
"You're kidding," said Felix. "I'm not," said Annabeth. "Any particular reason you came to see me? I'm a little busy."
"You're also really antsy," said Felix. "You're more unfocused than usual. What's up? Did you meet someone or something?"
"I'm waiting for a package," said Annabeth. "It was supposed to be here yesterday. So yes, I'm antsy. That package is important."
"Personal mail at work?" said Felix. "You know that's frowned on, Annabeth."
"I'm sure they'll find that it's okay," said Annabeth. "Speaking of love lives, how's yours?"
"Nightmarish," sighed Felix. "I had a nasty breakup over the weekend. My ex left me for his mom's best friend's daughter. Asshole."
"That sucks royally," said Annabeth sympathetically. "He's so going to cheat on her though. Or she'll cheat on him. Either way, you deserve someone better."
"Thanks," said Felix. "Free for dinner tonight?"
"Sure," said Annabeth. "Come over to my place and we'll just veg. You look like you need it."
"You need it more," said Felix. "You look half dead."
"Too many projects due at the same time," said Annabeth. "And my best friend came to visit over the weekend. I never get to see her, really - she travels a lot for work, but my life always gets hectic whenever she does visit."
"Is she super demanding or something?" asked Felix.
"No, just used to being in charge," said Annabeth. "Which is a job requirement, I guess. Thalia's just a magnet for trouble, which is fine, but I'm still tired."
"Oooh, sounds like fun, then," said Felix.
"Ms. Chase?" said the floor secretary, Maria, from the hallway. "There's a Mr Walker here to see you. He says he has an appointment with you."
"He does," said Annabeth. "Send him right in, please."
"I'll talk to you later then," said Felix, returning to his own office. Annabeth leaned against her desk and waited for her visitor.
"Hello Annabeth," said 'Mr Walker' cheerfully.
"Hello Lord Hermes," said Annabeth. "I got you a Coke and a ham and cheese sandwich."
"Thank you," said Hermes. "I haven't eaten in a while. Say hello, George and Martha."
"Hello George and Martha," said George the snake. "Do you have a rat for me?"
"Don't be rude, George," scolded Martha the snake. "Hello Annabeth."
"They're not rats," said Annabeth, "but I did get a couple of mice from the pet store. They might be a little frozen in the middle, though."
"That's alright," said Martha. "Thank you."
"Mice are almost as good as rats," said George.
"George!" said Martha.
"Thanks for thinking of these two," said Hermes. "The only other person who regularly does that is Percy - ah, still a taboo subject, I see."
"It's not a problem," said Annabeth, flinching a little. "I just don't want to talk about him. It's too hard."
"Yet you haven't taken revenge on him," said Hermes. "And you aren't planning to either. You still love him, and you're going to have to square with that. You love Nico too, albeit differently, and you're going to have to square with that too."
"And what, forgive them?" said Annabeth bitterly. "Not happening in this lifetime."
"Often, I warn Athena about the power of her pride," said Hermes. "Everyone warns the children of the Big Three about pride, but Athena's children are just as prone to it. And you have reason to be proud, with your cleverness and talents. But I will warn you, as I once warned your mother, pride will cost you what you hold dearest, and you will pay dearly in return. She didn't listen to me, of course."
"What did my mother lose?" asked Annabeth.
"It's not my place to tell that story," said Hermes gently. "Ask Athena if you must know. It isn't part of known mythology for a reason."
"Great," said Annabeth. "Speaking of my mother, did she send anything for me?"
"She did, in fact," said Hermes. "Here you are. Sign here please."
Annabeth signed. "Thank you, Lord Hermes. For the package and the advice. You might want to leave through the front doors or they'll think I've killed you."
"Do you make a habit of killing your visitors?" asked Hermes.
"Oddly, no," said Annabeth. "But the office worries anyway."
"See you around," said Hermes. "and be prepared to see the full extended family sooner than you expect or want to. Think about what I said."
"Of course," said Annabeth. "I guess I'll see you then."
"That depends on whether or not I'm invited," said Hermes. He walked out of the office and stepped into the elevators. Felix and Maria watched him go, then turned to look at Annabeth.
"What?" said Annabeth. "He was just checking up on a project. He likes to see my work."
"And the scary part is," said Maria, "we actually believe you." Felix shook his head and retreated to his own workroom. Annabeth opened her package and mailed faintly. Nectar and ambrosia, just like she'd asked for. At least if she got hurt now, she could heal herself.
Slowly, the building emptied as people went home for the day. Annabeth looked over her projects, pleased with the progress she'd made since Hermes' visit. She suspected that by forcing herself to focus on the designs, she was blocking out the advice given to her by the god of communication. She could still leave the blame with the two people who deserved it for the most part. Still, even with Hermes' advice in the back of her mind, the buildings would be among her finest mortal creations. Her brother Daedalus would be so proud of her for the way she was using the ideas - compiled over centuries - that he had left her. Annabeth hoped that her mother, Athena, would also be pleased.
Felix waited at the door while she sorted out her workstation. It was a habit she had developed in the early days of her relationship with Percy. She'd never known when she might get a new sibling, so she'd kept her piece of Cabin Six neat and clean so she didn't lose any pieces of her projects. When they'd gotten too old for camp, she'd kept the habit in her dorm room and it had carried over into her work life. It soothed her to know exactly where every little thing was, and it amused Felix to watch this ritual.
"It's funny," said Felix, "nothing else you do is orderly at all. But your office is always organized, everything gets labelled and your projects are always done early or on time. Why are your labels in Greek? I keep meaning to ask."
"It's easier on my dyslexia," said Annabeth. "Greek is my mother tongue of sorts, so sticking with it is easier than trying to fight it. What kind of food do you want? We'll do takeout and just pick something up along the way."
"I'm kinda in the mood for Greek food, now that you mention it," said Felix. "Come on, there are a few good spots on the way to your place."
"I'm sure there are," said Annabeth.
"So how come you never mentioned that you're Greek?" asked Felix as they walked out of the building. "Chase isn't a Greek name."
"It's on my mother's side," said Annabeth. "I was raised by my dad, but I spent a lot of time with my mom's extended family. And most of the time, we'd all curse incessantly at each other in Greek and throw sharp objects around."
"Sounds like fun," said Felix. "I wish my family was that kind of awesome. Uh, not to freak you out, but I think we're being followed."
"Tall, well-built guy with a bit of an ugly face and a lost expression?" asked Annabeth without looking.
"That's the guy," said Felix.
"His name is Pedro," Annabeth informed him. "He lives between the dumpsters behind my building. He works in the back of the jeweller's shop in our building fixing watches and he's really good at it. Unfortunately, minimum wage and Manhattan don't go very well together. Kind of sad, really, but he counts himself lucky."
"How do you know all that?" asked Felix.
"I let him crash on my couch from time to time," said Annabeth, "particularly when it's cold. And I feed him sometimes. It's the least I can do."
"You know, for all you do your best to shut people out," said Felix, "you're actually a very sweet person. More people should do that. Try to look out for the homeless with the little bits extra they've got."
"He's only a little kid," said Annabeth. "He looks like an adult, but he's just a little kid. It makes being kind much easier."
"Hey, he's gone," said Felix.
"He's probably got a brother who lives down that alley," said Annabeth. "He'll catch up to us pretty soon."
A person wrapped in a cloak stepped out of the alleyway in front of them. They walked towards Annabeth and Felix quickly, but the gait was awkward, as if the person had two different legs. When they got close enough, they threw the cloak open to reveal a bone pale woman with blood red eyes and fangs. Her mismatched legs - one bronze and human, the other a donkey leg - explained her odd gait. Hissing, she leapt at Annabeth.
"Die, daughter of Athena!" said the empousa.
Annabeth dodged the empousa's initial strike, drawing her bronze knife from it's forearm sheath. As the empousa lunged at her again, Annabeth ducked under the attack and stabbed the monstrous woman's chest. The empousa dissolved in a cloud of dust.
"I'd rather not die today," said Annabeth, sheathing the knife. "Come on, Felix, we have to go. Like now."
"You just killed her," said Felix, dumbfounded. "How could you just-?"
"We have to go now," Annabeth repeated. "And what exactly did you see? Tell me when we get to my place."
She half-dragged along when her stunned friend couldn't move himself along quickly enough. He recovered enough to walk into her building and follow Annabeth to her apartment. She propped him against the wall and took off her shoes and coat.
"What did you see?" asked Annabeth.
"What... a fanged woman with weird legs, said Felix. "I've never seen one of those before. What was she?"
"An empousa," said Annabeth. "A creation of the goddess Hecate. They're vicious and they generally like to play with their food before they eat it. Not fun, but not common either. Have you always seen things like that?"
"Always," said Felix. "Why did she ignore me and only go after you? And why did she call you 'daughter of Athena'? Is that some kind of cult thing? Are you secretly a member of the Justice League with Wonder Woman?"
"No, I'm not," said Annabeth. "You're mortal, so you don't register on her radar of things to attack and destroy saw much. Don't take it personally."
"You aren't answering my other questions," said Felix.
Annabeth sighed. "Because some people can't handle knowing. And I'm trying to decide whether I want to completely ruin your life with the truth. The gods - Greek, Roman, whatever - are real."
"You're kidding," said Felix.
"I'm not," said Annabeth. "The goddess Athena is my mother. Thus, owl decor all over the apartment. I was a gift from her to my father."
"So you're a demigod," said Felix sceptically.
"Yes," said Annabeth. "The guy who came to visit me at work today? That was Hermes, god of messengers and thieves. He brings me mail from my divine family."
"Either this is a really good joke, Annabeth," said Felix, "or you're completely insane. I don't know what to believe."
"She's neither joking nor crazy," said a voice from the shadowy corner of Annabeth's sitting room. A dark-haired, dark-eyed, black clad young man oozed out of the shadows as if he was made of them. "Hello Annabeth. Long time, no see. I was starting to think you didn't like me."
"I don't," snapped Annabeth. "Why are you here, Nico?"
"Family get together," said Nico. "Clarisse and Chris are getting married, and we're throwing them a party. You're invited, and we'd all like you to come, preferably voluntarily."
"And who is 'we'?"
"Thalia, Percy and me," said Nico. "It's at the Top of the World, next Friday at eight. Bring your friend with you. It'll be fun, just like old times. Everybody wants to see you again. You've been gone too long."
"I don't want to go," said Annabeth.
"Zombies, Hunters or Cabin Ten," said Nico. "How would you like to be transported to the party?"
"Fine, I'll come of my own volition," said Annabeth. "If Felix wants to come, I'll bring him. Okay? Does that satisfy?"
"See you next Friday," said Nico. He stepped back into the shadows, melting into them and out of Annabeth's apartment.
"Did that actually just happen?" asked Felix.
"Yes," said Annabeth, thoroughly disgruntled. "Nico does that sometimes. It's annoying."
"So, um, who is he?" asked Felix.
"Nico di Angelo," said Annabeth, "son of Hades and an Italian woman named Maria di Angelo, circa 1935. Don't ask. He's about twenty-one now. Stuff like that happens an awful lot."
"And Thalia and Percy?"
"Daughter of Zeus and son of Poseidon, respectively," said Annabeth. "Thalia's been my best friend since I was seven and homeless. Now, she's an immortal fifteen year old. Percy is my ex-boyfriend. His mom is awesome; she has a habit of adopting parentless demigods."
"That's complicated," said Felix. "But the party sounds like it could be cool. I'll go with you."
"I'll need the support," said Annabeth grimly. "Tequila?"