A.N – Alright, now it's Annabeth's POV. Each chapter is gonna be either hers or Sadie's, most likely on an every-other basis.


Chapter Two — ANNABETH

"Mommy!" I smiled as my daughter rushed at me. I leaned down to catch her and then swept her up in a big hug. Luke, following his beloved older sister's lead, toddled over and held up his hands. Before I could figure out how to pick him up, too, Percy did, waiting for me to reposition Ally on my hip before giving me Luke. My third child, Ethan, was sitting on the floor, LEGOs scattered about. His eyes were drooping, heavy with sleep, though he did smile and cry "Mama!" when he saw me.

Ally pulled back and said, "Mommy, are you better now? Daddy said you were looking at the babies 'cause you were sad. I asked him why you were sad and he said our brother or sister got lost and you can't find 'em." I looked at my daughter and almost started crying again. Ally was very smart for her age, and understood things better than most five-year-olds. She would feel insulted if I brushed this off or covered it up. So I said

"Well, honey, Daddy's right. Mommy was sad. I was sad because I was going to have another baby, but - but now I'm not." Ally cocked her head, then gave me a kiss.

"It's okay, Mommy," she said. "Once Baby realizes what a great Mommy and Daddy they'll have, and what great siblings they'll have, they'll come back, I promise." I laughed at that and kissed her back. Luke started squirming, so Percy took him and put him down next to Ethan. The brothers then promptly fell asleep on each other.

I smiled at the sight. Shifting Ally so we were both more comfortable, I said, to Percy's and Ally's great relief, that I was ready to go home.

"Did you feel it?" I asked Percy later, when we were getting ready for bed. He seemed confused, but then realization flickered on his face and he nodded.

"Yeah. Any idea what 'it' was?" I sighed and shook my head. It was frustrating not knowing what Sadie Kane was. When we shook hands, I had felt a spark of power surge through me. It was foreign and disconcerting, and I hadn't liked it, despite how friendly Sadie was.

"I suppose she could be a demigod," I mused, "but I've never felt that power rush - not even from you or Thalia or Nico - Jason or Hazel either, so she's not Roman." I sighed again. Percy put his arm around me as we sunk back into the covers.

"You'll figure it out, Wise Girl," he soothed. "You've had...a pretty rough day. This Sadie person probably isn't anything to worry about. Are you planning to go tomorrow?" I considered this. Despite how unsettled her aura had made me, I felt comfortable with Sadie. I realized I would like to see her again. I nodded. "Yeah. And hey, maybe I'll figure out what she is."

"Sounds good," Percy said after some thought. He turned the light off and was soon out like a light, but I stayed awake for a long time, wondering what in the world could be in store for me.

...

I glanced at my watch, then tapped my foot. She wasn't very late, but my ADHD wouldn't let me keep still. Thankfully I had been able to slip out of the house without any of the kids waking up. It was Sunday, so there were no Saturday cartoons they would get up early for. In fact, I had nearly been out the door before Percy shuffled out of our bedroom, yawning and rubbing his eyes, to kiss me goodbye.

Ah. There she was. I waved to get her attention, and she waved back in acknowledgment. I smiled when she finally caught up, and something shiny got my eye - she had three necklaces on. This surprised me a bit, because I wouldn't have pegged her as an overly-flashy person. One necklace was that of an Egyptian ankh, the symbol for eternal life; the second was a simple circle; both the ankh and the circle was gold. The third necklace looked sort of like an angel. I narrowed my eyes and racked my brain for the symbol. I had seen it before, but I wasn't sure where or what it meant.

"Hey, Sadie," I greeted, resolving to ask her about it later.

"Hey," she returned. "Sorry I'm late; we had some...monkey business at the house. My...ah, my nephews like to, uh, roughhouse a bit." I nodded, understanding. The kids could get pretty crazy with their games, especially when Ally used her small control over water.

"So your nephews are visiting, or something?" I said as we walked, heading for a small cafe Percy and I go to sometimes. Sadie shook her head.

"My brother lives with us," she said. Then she reconsidered. "Or, well, we sort of live with them. Well, see, we share the house — it's technically our uncle's, but he's away a lot. We've spent most of our life there, and it's big enough, so we just stay there." She ended her explanation with a shrug.

"Seems reasonable," I said. I bit my lip, then decided to ask, "What does your necklace mean? The angel. And, well, the circle, too. I know 'ankh' means life."

Sadie seemed surprised that I asked, but answered easily enough, "The circle is a shen amulet — it's supposed to represent eternal love, something like that." She smiled, almost shyly. "My husband made it for me – he has a matching one. He – he's a jewelry maker." I nodded approvingly. She continued, "The angel is a tyet – knot of Isis – an Egyptian goddess, you know. It was a gift from my dad. He was an Egyptologist."

Egyptian. Hmm. That seemed important somehow. I stored away that information for later.

"So what do you do?" Sadie asked me. I sat up straight, quite proud to answer,

"I'm an architect." I felt a sort of smug satisfaction when I saw the new respect on her face. I had a pretty good job, too, at a good firm. Of course, nothing could compare to the work I'd done on Olympus, but nobody else really needed to know about that. "What about you? What do you do?"

I saw her eyes light up, and I knew she enjoyed her job as much as I enjoyed mine. "I'm a fashion designer," she said. A fashion designer and a jewelry maker. Pretty good combination.

"What about your brother?" I asked, a bit curious.

"Oh, Carter, he's a professor, specifically Egyptian history. Zia, my sister-in-law, is a self-defense instructor."

"Pretty diverse," I commented. Sadie just smiled.

"Yeah, I guess. How about your husband, what's he do?" Then almost as an afterthought, she added, "How long have you been married, anyway?"

"We've been married seven years," I answered. "And he – well, he watches the kids. He is available as a substitute teacher, but he likes being at home, and since being an architect is good money, it works out." Sadie nodded.

So we went on like that for a while. I didn't get any closer in figuring out what Sadie was or where her power came from, but I found it didn't matter. It was unlike me, but I decided I didn't care very much. She didn't seem dangerous, and she was very friendly, sarcastic, funny...she kind of reminded me of Thalia.

At some point she spotted something behind me, and grinned. Glancing at me, she said before getting up, "Now you can meet my husband." I twisted around in my chair to see a tall African-American man approaching. When he reached her, Sadie gave him a big kiss before turning to me. I stood up and smiled.

"Annabeth, this is my husband Walt Stone. Walt, this is my friend, Annabeth Chase-Jackson. I was telling you about her yesterday." I offered my hand, which he took, also smiling. Suddenly though, as soon as we shook hands, two things happened: one, I was nearly crushed by the power – and the stench – of death radiating off Sadie's husband. It made me think of Nico, and Hazel, except to a much higher degree, nearly that of their father, but not quite. And two, Walt paled, and then his face twisted into a snarl as he glared at me, his warm brown eyes turning icy cold. His lips curled back from his teeth, and he looked very much like a feral dog about to pounce.

Sadie saw his reaction and she leaned in, hissing in his ear. He looked at her and, though he didn't say anything, she continued berating him. I didn't quite catch what she said, but I did hear one word: Anubis.

Walt turned back to me, and his features were calmer, but his "It's nice to meet you" sounded forced. Taken aback, I managed a "Likewise" before Sadie practically dragged him to their car.

I watched them go, feeling utterly confused and a little insulted. Whatever had I done to receive such a reaction?