We went to Starbucks.

First thing's first, it's expensive, and we were on a budget. Seriously, five bucks for a small coffee! I miss McDonald's. It's faster, quicker, and the staff don't scream out your name when it's time to collect your drink. I don't know, something about strangers screaming 'NICO' across the cafe bothers me…

On the flipside, my coffee wasn't awful. It was strong enough to wake me up, for the meantime. (Don't tell my boyfriend I was drinking non-decaf coffee.) And besides, Isabella seemed to enjoy her white hot chocolate. She even let me have a sip of it, and I got myself on a bit of a sugar high. I was pretty sure my boyfriend would never let me hear the end of it if he knew I had such a drink. So don't tell him.

Anyway, we were sort of chilling out and relaxing, enjoying our expensive beverages. I rubbed my forehead, trying to collect my thoughts together. Not always easy. I still had no idea who Isabella's godly parent was. It was getting annoying to have mortals gawking at us and I was resisting the urge to throw my expensive coffee at them. It wasn't going to be any better on the train. Mortals would be staring at us there too.

Isabella sighed. "I wish I was ugly… then maybe, things would be easier."

"Things are always hard for demigods," I said. "Life's not fair that way."

"Yeah, but, at least people wouldn't be staring at me all the time," Isabella replied. She frowned. "Dad had to get a security system and completely lock up the house to keep predators out. He even hired a bodyguard at one point." Her voice croaked when she said 'Dad'. I had a feeling that was a sensitive subject, which I understood pretty well.

I raised my brow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Isabella pouted. "School was… awful. A lot of people tried to attack me… monsters, I guess, and no one really wanted to talk to me. The teachers wouldn't let me be alone, though." She looked away. "Dad eventually started homeschooling me."

I gave her a sympathetic nod. "We've all had it rough, kid. Like I said, life's not fair. But that doesn't mean it can't get better. You're better off trying to improve than doing nothing at all, trust me."

Isabella smiled a bit, but then started frowning again. There was an awkward silence between us.

"So, uh…" I attempted to start a conversation, which isn't really a strength of mine. "I found you in a pile of snow at the end of a street… how did you end up there?"

Isabella was about to answer, but she got distracted by something.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Huh?" I asked. I followed her gaze, which was directed at the window. Two girls were standing there, ogling me. They waved cheerfully at me, holding pom poms and clothing that wasn't very, well, kid-friendly.

"You have… fangirls?" Isabella asked, almost laughing.

I narrowed my eyes. "We should go." I stood up abruptly. I had a bad feeling about these girls.

"Aww, but I didn't finish my drink…" Isabella sighed. I walked off speedily, avoiding the glances of mortals. "Wait up!"

Isabella and I slunk out of the cafe. I looked around, staring at all the street names (which weren't that fun to read, thanks dyslexia) and paths. I speed-walked towards the path to the train station, Isabella on my heels. I didn't want to waste energy fighting in case we needed to shadow travel, so I figured it was best to blend in with a large crowd of mortals and hopefully the monsters wouldn't be able to find us.

Unfortunately, this didn't work.

The girls rushed in front of us, giving us huge, lipstick-covered grins. Isabella hid behind me.

"Hey, cutie," one of the girls said. She had long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing so much makeup she could've put the Aphrodite cabin to shame. Well, almost. It would take a lot to out-do the Aphrodite cabin.

I could tell there was no way we could get around these ladies, so I sighed. We were going to have to fight.

I was pretty sure they were monsters, but on the very, very slim chance they could be crazy mortals, I didn't draw my weapon just yet.

"I'm gay," I snapped. "And I have a boyfriend, so get lost."

"Aw, honey, don't be that way," one of the other psychos said. She had curly blonde hair, kind of like Annabeth, but she didn't have Annabeth's grey eyes or overall intelligence. Her green eyes glimmered. She reached out a nail-covered hand, clutching my chin. I didn't care if she was mortal or not, I slapped her arm away.

"I said get lost." I repeated.

"Aww, honey," the first girl giggled. "But you have something that we want."

They both eyed Isabella hungrily. She borrowed her face in my jacket.

"Not a chance," I said. I held up my sword. "We have a train to catch. I won't hurt you if you get out of my way."

The girls laughed like that was the funniest thing they'd heard all day. They began to change form, and they weren't so pretty anymore. They turned into these hideous creatures with pale skin, flaming hair, red eyes and sharp fangs. They each had a donkey leg and a bronze leg. I backed up, and Isabella continued to whimper into my jacket.

Empousai.

"You will not succeed, son of Hades," the creatures hissed. They flew towards me, holding out their claws.

I held up my sword. "Stay back, Isabella."

One of the Empousai almost scratched my face. I luckily dodged her attack, and slammed my sword into her side. She yelped, falling over. The other Empousa screeched and came from above, kind of like the Furies do to me sometimes. (Long story.) I summoned two undead warriors, which kept the Empousa occupied for a little while. The other Empousa was approaching Isabella. Isabella was covering her face, and stepping back.

"Oh no you don't." I growled. I raced towards them. I made the ground disappear under the Empousa's feet. She screamed and flailed about, falling into the darkness. Gods, that sounds dark. Well, that's what I'm all about, I guess. I felt a wave of nausea. I shook it off, turning back to Isabella. She was staring at me with wide eyes.

"That," she breathed in. "Was AWESOME!"

I just weakly smiled in response. Smiling too much hurt my face muscles. The other Empousa had been weakened by my army, so it was easier to take her out. Once I did, I took a breath of relief.

"Come on," I looked at Isabella. "We better go. We don't wanna miss the train."

"My lord." one of the soldiers walked up to me. "More monsters are approaching."

It was right. In the distance, I could see more Empousa coming towards me. I almost dropped my sword. Seriously?

"Delay them," I told my soldiers. "We're not missing that train." And I did not want to waste more energy.

I grabbed Isabella's arm and raced towards the train station. Unfortunately, it was the huge and busy one: Grand Central Station. I clenched the money in my pocket, hoping it would be enough to buy some tickets. We were headed to DC, which was our checkpoint, essentially. Though, knowing the life of demigods, it could get hectic pretty quickly. If we really needed to, we had my zombie chauffeur, but I didn't want to use him unless I had to. He wouldn't be as fast as the train.

I shoved my way past the crowds of mortals, apologising as quickly as I could. Usually I wouldn't be so rough, but in case you didn't notice, we had a schedule. I kept my grip on Isabella's arm, as we made our way to the train. (I hate physical contact, by the way, so that wasn't making me feel any better.)

I managed to hastily buy train tickets, while bouncing up and down on my toes. I guess the sugar high I'd got from the white hot chocolate had made a comeback. I sighed in relief when the attendee gave us our tickets. We might just make it!

And then the Empousai returned.

"Fool!" they cackled, running towards me. I scrambled out of the way, still grabbing onto Isabella's arm. I inched towards the train. With my other arm, I held out my sword. Having two arms has it advantages.

The Empousa launched towards me. I swung my sword, shooing it away. I got closer and closer to the train. Then another Empousa came from the side, forcing me down onto my back. I glowered.

"We are not missing that train." I growled. I stabbed the Empousa in the chest, disintegrating it. I grabbed Isabella's arm, and raced towards the train. The other Empousa came from the side, but this time, I saw it, and stabbed it before it could cause anymore trouble. I wiped my brow. My hand was sweaty and my arms ached. I turned to the train, but…

It was moving away.

I growled.

"Fates be damned," I sighed. I grabbed onto Isabella's shoulder for one last time. "Sorry, kid."

And I shadow-travelled us onto the train.