They sailed . . . and sailed . . . and sailed. The address on the note took them a long time to decode, smearing and smudging had worn away the words and rubbed them together. They pieced parts from each note together, slowly getting it to make sense. They found out that the meeting place was at the Outer Banks, the long strip of land right off the mainland of North Carolina. It had blue water and beautiful beaches, not too mention the most alluring landscape. Annabeth was fascinated when they arrived by the history of the islands. The southern-most island was where Blackbeard was beheaded, and stories of ghosts and phantoms were more common in the Outer Banks than in any other coastal region in the U.S.
The boat Zephyr had given them disappeared as soon as day broke. When the sun rose over the horizon, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia watched the sparkling waves. They were the only ones on the beach, and it was a truly remarkable sight. Percy checked his watch that doubled as an expandable shield. It read 5:03 AM. He sighed, lying down in the sand with his hands behind his head. They were all too high on adrenaline to sleep, and so they did pointless – yet fun – activities to pass the time. They built sandcastles, surrounding them with moats and walls to protect them from the crashing waters that barreled against them. The three went swimming, making sure to stay close to Percy in case of sharks. It was a few hours later when a few tourists came, but they moved down the beach, away from their line of vision. Annabeth and Percy went shell-hunting, which Thalia stayed behind, respecting their privacy, knowing – deep down – that they were made for each other.
Thalia laid on the beach, listening to the pounding of the waves, when she heard voices not far from her.
"I do not trust the Greeks," a girl teenager spoke, her voice harmonic yet sounding acidy and bitter.
"We have no choice," a deeper, more commanding voice spoke grimly. "You have seen the signs, Nidhogg has been released."
Nidhogg? Who – what – was that? She knew Annabeth would know, but she couldn't risk giving away her position. So she lay there, absolutely quiet, perfectly aware.
"But why must the other camps get involved?" The girl's voice spoke again, "We could handle it ourselves, create a regiment, build an army. We can stop it."
"No one can stand against Nidhogg," a quiet, sly voice spoke suddenly. Thalia hadn't been aware of a third presence. "The gods have grown ignorant, and so we must take matters into our own hands. But we cannot move against Nidhogg alone; we need help. Even if that help will be soon disposed of . . ." The voice's master cackled. Thalia had an idea that he was referring to her, Percy, Annabeth, and the other campers coming.
"No, Jason," the deeper voice said, "they are our allies, and we will treat them with all due respect." The one called Jason muttered something but remained otherwise quiet. "Alice, when are the Egyptians to arrive?"
"They can travel instantaneous from one place to another as soon as the sun rises," Alice, the female, said, "but they most likely appeared elsewhere, unknowing if the beach was occupied or not."
Thalia's head turned rapidly, trying to sort through everything she was hearing, when she heard the muffled footsteps right behind her head. She immediately snapped up, brandishing her spear, aiming it precariously at a teenaged boy's throat. His features were light and thin, but he was probably strong. His eyes were a starling green and slanted upward. He carried the same mischievous looks that the Hermes kids did, except this one looked more like he would do something out of malice and spite than for kicks.
He chuckled to himself, the sound high-pitched and clear. "Well looky here, seems we aren't the first ones to arrive." The other two voices she had heard came running down the beach, standing before Jason and Thalia who still held her spear at his throat.
The tall, broad guy held up his hands, showing no harm. "I'm Matt, a son of Odin, this is Alice," he pointed to the girl besides him with black hair and ice blue eyes, "daughter of the goddess Hel, and that there is Jason, son of the trickster Loki."
"Charmed," Thalia muttered, bringing her spear back down. "I am Thalia, daughter of Zeus. I am the leader of Artemis' Hunters."
"Aaah, yes, the forbidden child," Matt said, interested. "I am not suppose to exist either. One of the Egyptians who is coming is a child of a powerful god too. None of us are suppose to exist, too influential, am I right?"
Thalia nodded, surprised at how much he knew. Did the Egyptians know as much too? Were the Greek Half-Bloods the only ignorant ones?
"Thalia!" Annabeth and Percy called as they came running down the beach, weapons poised. Matt, son of Odin, pulled out a spear, while Jason wielded two deadly knives. Alice just stood there, energy radiating off her.
Thalia put her hand in front of each of them, her face an expressionless mask. "Percy, Annabeth, these are the kids from the Norse camp . . ."
The six all sat down in a circle under the morning sunlight, awaiting the arrival of the Egyptians. Finally, at noon, three figures stood silhouetted on the beach. Something about them seemed to just scream "inhuman".
But that was before they saw their animal heads.
The Norse demigods were unphased as the three half-bloods joined them, two of them having beast heads. One wore the face of a gray cat, her slit-pupil eyes and yellowed teeth, her triangular ears and her rosy nose. The other had the head of a glorious falcon and demanded honor and esteem.
"I am Isabella, daughter of the goddess Isis," the leader said, sitting beside Thalia who in turn sat beside Matt. "This is the daughter of the goddess of Bastet, Lauren," she motioned toward the cat-girl, "and the son of the god Horus, Ben," waving towards the falcon-boy. When she saw the three Greek Half-bloods staring intently at the two, she cleared her throat. "Maybe it would be best to assume human forms for the time being." The two nodded and, before their eyes, the two's heads began to twist and shift until they became human.
"We Egyptian kids have the ability to shift from our parents' animal form to human, and the animal headed side that you just witnessed," Lauren explained, sitting down beside Isabella, Ben doing the same. "But those of us who are the children of animal-gods have no control over the elements of nature as the rest of you are," she pointed to the other seven around her, excluding Ben. "But Isabella cannot become an animal, her power lies in sorcery and magic."
"That could come in great handy," Matt said, smiling at Isabella's blushing. "Maybe we could teach each other a thing or two. I also know the magic and how to wield, craft, and shape it." She nodded, but did not speak.
"So why have you brought us here?" Percy said suddenly, cracking the silence.
"We did not bring you here, boy, you came here of your own free will," Alice, daughter of Hel, said suddenly. He could tell that he and she were not going to be friends, although he doubted if one could be a friend with the daughter of such an evil and deranged goddess.
"We have requested you coming," Matt said, shooting Alice a sharp look, "because there is a growing threat, and it must be addressed." He looked at Isabella, who nodded.
"What is this 'threat'"? Annabeth asked, concerned.
"We mustn't speak of it here," Ben, son of the falcon-god, Horus, said quickly, interjecting. "This is not the meeting place, we must go there if we wish to dig deeper in this."
"What do you mean, 'if'"? Thalia asked suspiciously.
"It is your choice whether you will help us or not. I cannot tell you what you are getting yourself into before you agree, and there is no backing down once you've accepted," he responded.
"We accept," Annabeth, Percy, and Thalia said at once, not hesitating.
"Good," Lauren said as she led them off the beach, "otherwise we would've had to kill you." Percy laughed a little until he realized that the cat-girl was completely serious. A shudder went through all three Greek demigods at once.