Sorry it took me more than a week. Here's the next chapter! It's a little longer than the last two.
Annabeth rode atop a cream-colored pegasus, soaring over Brooklyn. She didn't have a clue as to what she was looking for, but she knew that whatever it was would stand out in some abnormal, magical way.
The daughter of Athena had to admit that she was confused when Percy had absolutely refused to go with her. He didn't even give her a good reason why he was acting that way, just stubbornly shook his head rebuffed any attempt to change his mind.
In the end, Annabeth left without him. She could handle this by herself anyway.
She'd been flying for at least an hour, and Annabeth was considering turning back and trying a different city when an unusual building caught her eye.
Annabeth loved architecture. All of her friends knew that. Practically everyone in Camp Half-Blood knew of her dream to become an architect. The first word that popped into her head at the sight of the five-story mansion built out of lime was "gorgeous"!
She would have stopped her pegasus right there and gaze at the beautiful building for days. A full minute had passed before she shook herself out of it. Inwardly, she scolded herself. Nico's life was in danger. There was no time to dawdle.
But if I ever come back here, she couldn't help but think dreamily, I will definitely give it a thorough examination!
She steered her pegasus in a dive towards the ground. This was exactly what she was looking for.
The whole mansion practically oozed strange magic. If she looked closely, Annabeth could see Egyptian hieroglyphics floating about the exterior of the house. They were probably there for protection, to keep monsters and mortals out. Would they prevent her, a demigod, from going in?
She'd already sent her pegasus back to Camp. Facing the house, she cautiously stepped forward, her hand out in front of her in case something fired from the invisible barriers.
She felt herself pass through the force field, but nothing zapped her into ashes or anything, so that was a good sign.
The hunk of wood before her looked enough like a door, but it didn't have a handle or anything that could be used to open it. Not knowing what else to try, Annabeth knocked.
She waited a few moments. Nothing happened, like she figured.
I'll walk around and see if there's another entrance. she decided. And so she set off.
A porch wrapped all the way around the perimeter of the house. Annabeth followed it in hopes of finding a back door, but no luck.
The sun was sinking below the horizon. Annabeth checked her watch. It was 6:45pm; Nico had less than five hours to live, and Annabeth was starting to wonder if her idea hadn't been such a brilliant one after all.
Four hours left. Annabeth refused to believe that this was hopeless. There was simply an option she hadn't seen yet.
Right now she was actually climbing onto the terrace. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't the most difficult thing she'd ever done. There were much harder things in life than climbing a smooth wall. Tartarus, for example. But she really didn't want to think about that horrible place.
She finally scaled the wall, and the second her sneakers touched the floor, something behind her roared. Not daring to breath, she turned around to see an enormous albino crocodile swimming in a pool. Now it was crawling out, slowly making its way towards her. Annabeth got the feeling the crocodile was a guardian of some sort. She also felt that if she didn't act quickly, she was going to be the croc's next meal.
Annabeth didn't want to hurt it, but she would if she had to. The crocodile opened its jaws and charged.
The thing about crocs: they move slowly, but they can also strike lightning-fast if they feel the need. Annabeth barely jumped out of the way in time. The crocodile hit the wall behind her with a loud crack, but it quickly turned and lunged again, its tail sweeping the floor behind it. Annabeth dodged again.
It was fast, but luckily Annabeth was faster. But she knew she couldn't keep this up forever.
A door slammed open. Two teenagers— a boy and a girl— ran out. The boy quickly stepped in front of Annabeth, facing the crocodile, his hands held up defensively. "Whoa! Philip, it's alright. Calm down. We've got this."
The croc looked at him dubiously, but after a moment obeyed and backed off.
The boy looked now faced Annabeth. He was African-American, and he couldn't have been much more than fifteen years old. He was about to say something to her when the girl cut him off.
"Annabeth?"
She had blond hair with dyed purple streaks. Annabeth recognized her immediately.
Sadie Kane.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you found this place, knowing that you're a brainiac and all." Sadie spoke, taking a step forward. She was wearing linen clothes and combat boots, just like when Annabeth first saw her. Sadie swept her arms out dramatically. "Welcome to Brooklyn House, a.k.a the Twenty-first Nome."
"What do you want?" the boy burst out.
Sadie rolled her eyes. "I suppose I ought to introduce my brother. This is Carter. He's just as brainy as you are. You'd get along fabulously." The blond girl spoke in a rather annoyed tone that Annabeth knew was not directed at her.
They didn't look like siblings, but the daughter of Athena decided it was better not to ask. Instead she said, "We need a skilled healer. Is there one here?"
"Yeah, why?" Sadie replied, confused. "If you needed my help, why didn't you just call me?"
"Too risky. Cell phones attract monsters like moths to a light. There is a protective barrier surrounding the Camp, but…" Annabeth shook her head. "That's not the point. One of my friends was badly poisoned by a serpent's bite. Nothing our best healers do has helped. See, the monster that attacked him…we think it wasn't Greek. It may even have been Egyptian. So I came to you for help. Do you know what the monster is?" the daughter of Athena asked.
"What did it look like?" the Egyptian magician queried.
"It was like one long serpent, with a head on either end. There were dragon feet in the middle of the body." As Annabeth described it, a chill ran down her back as she remembered the hideous creature. Hazel's loud scream as she watched her brother fall to ground still echoed inside her head. It was a terrible sound she would not forget easily.
The Kane siblings' faces paled drastically.
"That's a tjesu heru." Carter's voice shook a bit. "There's only one way to cure its poison. How long has it been since your friend was bitten?"
Things were even worse than Annabeth originally feared. "About nine hours. We think his maximum time is twelve."
"We'd better move fast. I'll go get Jaz." Sadie sprinted off.
She returned about three minutes later with another blond girl. This one looked like she'd fit in with the children of Aphrodite. She was tall and pretty like a cheerleader, but Annabeth could somehow tell that she was a skilled healer.
"Right," Annabeth said. "What's the fastest mode of transportation you have? I can guide you to Camp."
Carter put his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. A shrill shriek came from the rooftop. Was it just her, or did it sound to Annabeth like: "FREEEEEAAK!"?
A huge griffin soared downward towards the teens, pulling a large, Egyptian-style boat behind it. One of the first things Annabeth noticed about the seven-thousand-pound beast was its wings; they beat as fast as a hummingbird's. She got the feeling that she would be shredded like paper if she tried to sit on its back, which is why she climbed into the boat after Sadie and Jaz.
"You're not coming?" she asked Carter, who stood still as one of Medusa's victims.
"Nah. I'm good. You guys go. I figure someone ought to explain where Sadie and Jaz have gone off to." The magician had his arms crossed and a slight glare worn on his face. Annabeth had a feeling his reason for staying was more than what he was letting on. But there was no time to argue. They were running out of time.
"Wait up!" a male voice called. A tall, buff dark-skinned teen with a buzz cut ran out of Brooklyn House and, in one fantastic leap, landed in the boat next to Jaz.
"Walt Stone," he introduced himself to Annabeth, and held out his hand. "I hope you don't mind if I tag along."
"No problem," Annabeth replied, a little taken aback.
At Sadie's command, the griffin shot off into the dark sky, the boat pulled close behind. Help was on the way.
Yeah, Walt was probably a bit out of character, but it was a quick update I added. He'll definitely be more in character next chapter. Anyway, hope you liked it! Please review. :)
