DISCLAIMER: I think everyone gets the point. I don't own anything. (Except maybe Skye. I made her up, after all.)
We go out of Camp Half-Blood's boundary line. I'll miss the camp. It served as my only refugee when my parents were murdered, and now, I have to go to a new place and start all over.
To get there, there is a griffin with a sled-like thing attached to its body. I suppose this is the Egyptian way of doing things, but this griffin seems particularly deranged. It has a crazed look in its eyes, as if it would never be completely full. I swallow nervously. I hope it won't gobble me up.
"Freak, be nice. This is Skye, a daughter of Athena and Thoth." Carter says cautiously to the griffin.
"FREEAAK!" The griffin squawks. Carter takes the squawk as a yes.
"Ok, then. Are you up for another trip through the Duat?"
The deranged chicken-bird griffin thing's wings buzz like crazy, which Carter takes as another yes.
"Alrighty then. Skye, you and Freak will get along splendidly. Hop on in the sleigh-boat! Don't touch Freak's razor blade wings. They'll rip you to shreds."
"Thanks for the warning," I mutter. I can tell because those demented wings are buzzing way too fast, so fast that I can't tell what shape the wings are. Avoiding the Egyptian griffin's wings, I climb awkwardly onto the sleigh-boat.
"Okay. Quick summary. The Duat is a magical dimension that intertwines with the mortal world. It's very fast to travel in, and you might feel like you're riding a rollercoaster. For this trip, we'll just skim the surface of the Duat."
"Um, question?" I raise my hand though I am the only other person who's in the the sleigh-boat. "How deep is the Duat?"
"Oh, no one really knows. Apparently it goes on and on forever!" Carter grins like mad. His grin reminds me of a Jack-o-Lantern on Halloween night. "Freak, take us to Brooklyn House!"
With a sudden jerk, Freak takes the boat into the air. We fly for a little while until the griffin dips into the Duat for faster travel.
I hear voices whispering to me through a red mist. When I glance over at Carter, his eyes are closed and he is gritting his teeth. I doubt he enjoys Duat trips on sleigh-boats. This place is starting to freak me out, and I'm relieved when we exit back into the mortal world of sunshine.
"Welcome to Brooklyn! That over there is the school we all go to," Carter points at a huge campus-like park. In the middle of it stood a school-like building with lots of halls leading off to different, smaller buildings. "It's called the Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted. All the students there are gifted in some sort of art. And over there, by the East River is Brooklyn House." He then moved his finger to an old warehouse.
There is no way that is Brooklyn House. But even as I look, a 5 story tall building made of limestone and metal winks into existence. Just to be sure I'm not hallucinating, I look away from it. It disappears until I look back at it. Even then, I have to concentrate.
"How do mortals not see that?"
"Think of it like a spirit. All those detectors can 'apparently' sense spirits and animals can, too. But normal human sight is too weak and therefore can't see it."
"Oh. That makes more sense. It's sort of like the Mist." Carter stares at me like I'm from another planet, which is pretty close to the truth.
Freak sets down on the roof of the crazy limestone-metal mansion. A girl of 14ish with these crazy blue highlights in her caramel-coloured hair is glaring at Carter with her arms crossed.
"Well, then brother dear. You left without a note, or a shabti impersonator and everyone has been looking for you. Zia is so worried. Who's that?" The girl directs her question at me.
"Skye, meet my sister. Sadie, be nice. We'll explain in the library. Bring Walt and Zia."
The library is huge. It appears to be sunk into the ground, which doesn't make sense because the warehouse is underneath the mansion.
"Wow! This place is amazing!" I exclaim, even though it's beyond weird. Camp Half-Blood made more sense than this place. However much more sense it made, I will always love smelling the scent of paper in books, and the sounds of fresh white pages turning underneath a careful hand.
"Welcome to the headquarters of the 21st Nome!" Carter spreads his arms wide in a ta-da gesture. "We train all of the Blood of the Pharaohs that make it here, and we've begun to branch into the other nomes as well. They choose their path, and work until they can possibly become the Eye of a god without burning up. Zia will explain more once she gets here."
"What's a Nome? I know there's a city called Nome in Alaska, but..." I trail off, confused. There can't be that many 'Nomes' around the world!
"There are 360 nomes in the world. Different magicians go to different nomes to train, often to the one nearest to where they live currently. Brooklyn is the 21st Nome, and Egypt is the first, of course."
Just then, the door burst open. An extremely pretty girl with vaguely Arabian features rushes down the steps and runs at Carter. She hugs him fiercely, and Carter starts turning purple, possibly of both embarrassment and pain.
When she finally lets go if him, she says worriedly, "Carter, where have you been? I woke up in the morning, and you were gone! No note, no recording, no anything! I was so worried…" Then she spots me. Those amber eyes are beautiful and deadly at the same time. "You realize you shouldn't exist?"
"Yeah, lots of people have told me that now."
"I'm Zia, by the way. I assume you're Skye Ellison?"
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Zia."
I reach out my hand for a handshake as Sadie and the boy who I think is Walt walked through. They descend the stairs and stop in front of us. All this staring is making me nervous.
"This is Skye," Carter introduced me to the others. "She's the one whose parents are technically both gods."
After a round of greetings, I tell them about my life before today.
"My mother is Athena and my father is Thoth/Richard Ellison."
Sadie rudely interrupts me with, "And how does this work?"
Carter reprimands her, "Sadie! Shut up and let Skye talk!"
I carry on as if no one had interrupted. "Athena is one of the maiden goddesses. Her children are born through her mind, much like she was born fully grown from Zeus' head. They are then carried down from Olympus by Zephyr, the West Wind, in a golden cradle.
"My dad married when I was 3. My stepmother's name was Wendy Darrius. She was really nice to me, unlike my father.
"For my 6th birthday, my father traveled to Egypt and brought back my birthday gift; this khopesh," I hold it out for them to see. "He said it was used by Cleopatra the VII, my ancestor. I believe she used it in the war against Rome."
"Whoa, your ancestor was the Cleopatra? The one who ended the line of pharaohs?" Sadie's eyes widen. I feel guilty, like I've done something horrible. "But I thought her children all died!"
"Sadie, I told you to shut up and let Skye talk! You can ask questions later," Carter glares at Sadie. Typical brother-sister relationship.
I continue, "When I was 9, both of my parents died in a battle. They were fighting near the border of Camp Half-Blood. I ran into past border, and I've stayed there ever since.
"Demigods must be claimed by their parents by the time they turn 13. I was claimed last night. I'm almost 16, and I have no clue why I was claimed so late."
"Ok, I see how it works now," Sadie admits. "But I still don't really get this Greek god business. Does that mean there are Roman gods, too? And what about other gods, like Norse or Chinese?"
"The Greek gods are the Roman gods. The Roman gods are the Greek gods. When the focal point of power moved to Rome, the god's personalities changed slightly. And even now, if they subtly change personalities, the demigods would now become Roman. They're in a place called Camp Jupiter. I have no clue about other gods."
Walt raises a finger, and silences everyone. "Wouldn't they hate us? I mean, the Romans and Egyptians have been enemies since just before the fall of Cleopatra VII."
"They hate you more than they hated the Greeks, which is why they must never know about you. They'd wage a war, and then we would all perish." I seriously don't like Romans, but that's probably because of my blood. Except for Hazel; Hazel is nice. And Frank, too.
Sadie claps her hands, which makes us all jump. "Well, I think that's enough of all that misery. We should explain the Paths. I follow the Path of Isis." Sadie nudges Carter, and none to gently at that. It must be a brother-sister thing.
"I follow the Path of Horus." Carter rubs at his arm grudgingly.
Zia bit her lip. "I was the Eye of Ra. I can control the element of fire."
"I-I follow the Path of Anubis." Walt looks extremely uncomfortable saying this, and I have no idea why. But Sadie, Carter and Zia know. They just nod, like it's what they expected him to say.
"So, what about you? What Path are you thinking of?" Sadie questions me. Like I'd know right now.
"Me? Well, I'll have to research the other gods, first."
Sadie nods. "There you go. You've just answered your own question."
Huh? What does that mean?