LEO'S POV

By sundown I'd checked all over Manhattan and Long Island, but I couldn't find Kori anywhere.

I had no choice but to go to Mt. Olympus alone. I stood in front of the towering Empire State Building, trying to muster up the courage to venture inside. After a brief internal battle, my feet reluctantly carried me across the threshold.

A security guard in a pale blue uniform sized me up as I approached the counter.

"I need to go to the 600th floor," I told him firmly.

He chuckled. "What are you talking about, kid, there's no 600th—"

His voice died when I set my hand ablaze in front of him, the flames licking at my fingertips. I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I've been summoned. Do you really want to keep the gods waiting, buddy?"

The security guard quickly produced a key from his breast pocket and handed it to me with a nervous laugh. "No, no, we wouldn't want that! I'm just following protocol. You know how it is."

I quenched the fire in my palms and took the key wordlessly, using it to enter the magical elevator. Once I pressed the 600 button, the elevator rocketed upwards, terrible elevator music filling my ears. With each floor climbed, I felt the pit in my stomach grow larger and heavier.

Before I knew it, the elevator dinged and the doors parted, revealing Mt. Olympus hovering 300 feet in the air above the city.

I'd taken field trips here a few times with other demigods when I was younger, but being summoned here was different. I had no idea what was in store for me, and I didn't even have Kori's reassuring smile to calm my nerves. With great care on the ivory steps, I made my way up the mountain.

Once I entered the city, I spotted a booth with the words Bounty Hunter Help Desk etched in stone. A red skinned guy with shaved horns like Hellboy bared his fangs and beckoned me over. Reluctantly, I walked closer and realized this was his way of smiling. His name tag was printed in Greek: Hi, my name is Jeff!

"Let me guess, you're a bounty hunter?" His voice was gruff but his tone was friendly. When I nodded he continued, "What can I help you with, brave hero?"

"Uh, I was summoned here, but I'm not sure by who. My name is Leo Valdez."

He typed something into what looked like an Ancient Greek version of a MacBook. "Ah, Mr. Valdez... Hmm it says here the goddess Hekate requested your presence along with a Kori Anne Fillapelli."

My heart stopped. "H-Hekate? W-why does she want to see us?"

"It doesn't say, but you should be more concerned with the fact that your friend isn't here. Lady Hekate will not be pleased." The demon guy looked like he felt bad for me, and I started to feel sick.

He handed me a blue ticket and pointed to one of the palaces in the distance. "Lady Hekate is waiting for you inside that palace behind a black door with a symbol of a torch. Please do not keep her waiting. And enjoy your visit to Mt. Olympus!"

~~~~~~~~ MEANWHILE ~~~~~~~~

KORI'S POV

Before I knew it, the sun was setting before me in a beautiful mix of reds, oranges, and pinks across the sky. I sat Indian style atop a high-rise apartment in Brooklyn, Drake and Rihanna serenading my ears.

I was sweating profusely and starting to lose my patience waiting for the Pharaoh to reveal himself. Using my powers to shroud myself in the Mist all day left me feeling fatigued and thoroughly spent. I'd shed my jacket hours ago but still panted heavily like I'd just run a 5K.

I reached up to wipe the sweat from my face, and my sweater caught on something by my ear. My fingers wrapped around a soft tube a bit thicker than a pencil and pulled it from behind my ear.

Surprised laughter escaped my lips as I examined the tightly rolled blunt in my hands. "Hey, I was looking for you!"

I chewed my lip and scanned the horizon. The darkness of night was already fast approaching. A few glittering stars peeked shyly from behind the clouds. I hadn't seen or felt any sign of the Pharaoh all day. Maybe he was too exhausted from consuming so much power last night. Maybe he was somewhere else entirely.

Whatever the case, I had to release my grasp on the Mist or I'd surely pass out from overexertion. A sweet kiss from my girlfriend Mary Jane would help me recuperate energy twice as fast and twice as fun.

I released the coil of tension inside my stomach, and my body eased back gratefully as if every cell had been holding onto a breath and was finally allowed to let it go. I shuddered with relief and stuck the fragrant cigar between my lips, fumbling around in my jacket pocket for a lighter.

A spark. A deep inhale. Herbal smoke filling my lungs. An exhale.

I took another long drag. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and a familiar yet indescribable feeling overcame my body. Time passed differently as I stepped into a tiny bubble, my own little dimension.

My eyes danced left and right, gazing at the trees and birds and people passing back and forth below me. Rainbows danced in my vision as I began to see the auras of every living creature without even trying, the marijuana in my system reacting and manifesting in my powers. The colors looked so vibrant, and they made my lips curl into a warm smile.

Before I knew it, my thoughts fell to Leo, and I couldn't fight the blush spreading across my cheeks. That curly haired son of a bitch sure knew how to eat. I'd be lying if I said that I had ever felt anything so damn good before.

Gods, he probably thought that I was a heartless bitch for leaving at the break of dawn like that.

Guilt gnawed at my bones, but I knew if I'd stayed he'd never agree to come search for the Pharaoh with me. I could just picture him now with that adorable scowl on his face whenever he tried to tell me off.

"Kori, you're crazy for going after that chicken man," he'd say. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

I chuckled and took another drag, eyelids growing heavy. Leo was the one who didn't like to fight. He was a thinker. A builder. There was nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to get strong so that I could protect him and everyone else at Half-blood HQ.

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were considered the strongest bounty hunters in our ranks, and they were all away on important quests. This was my time to step up and prove my strength to the others. Especially my half-sister.

Neviah was one of those demigods who'd been at Half-blood HQ longer than they hadn't. She was strong, smart, and taught me everything that I know about fortune telling. Of the remaining bounty hunters, she was definitely one of the most powerful and regarded with high favor by the gods. Unlike me— always screwing up and getting into trouble since I arrived.

My mind's focus changed again to my failed mission, and I scowled with frustration. The only one who could possibly be more angry than me about the screw up was Hekate. I shuddered at the thought of facing the goddess's fury, and I applauded anyone brave enough to face my mom when she was pissed.

At that very moment, a falcon flapped its wings and perched on the roof beside me, stirring me from my thoughts. Its amber eyes bore into mine, glowing ominously in the night. I stared at it, admiring the shimmering red and gold aura around its brown feathers.

"Hey cutie," I cooed, and it hopped a little closer. I noticed the bird eyeing the smoking blunt in my hand and laughed. "Oh you want some of this, huh?" I took a long drag and exhaled in the bird's direction.

To my amusement, it squawked in protest and fluttered about in circles. Then, it coughed.

I froze and narrowed my eyes. I've never heard a bird cough. Now that I think of it, I've never even seen a falcon in New York. It's mostly just pigeons and a few crows. Never a falcon.

"Dispel!"

Using the last bit of my magic supply, I cast a charm on the falcon to reveal its true form. If the bird had any sort of transmutation magic on it, my charm would disable it.

Just as I expected, the falcon was no falcon at all.

Its wings and beak began to tremble, feathers falling off of its body left and right. Within seconds, the small falcon had transformed back into a dark skinned guy with curly hair and a familiar scowl in white linen robes. He acted like it was totally normal that he'd just been caught spying on me as a bird. My hazy red eyes registered his aura, red, gold, and blinding as ever.

"What the hell?! It's you!" I'd be able to recognize this handsome motherfucker anywhere.

"I thought I told you to stay out of Brooklyn." Pharaoh plucked a rusty brown feather from his head and stood up.

I shrugged and grabbed my whip. "Ya know, my teachers always did used to say I had trouble following directions."

He grit his pearly white teeth, clearly not amused. Gods, I hoped he took my bluff. I was still too low on energy, magic or otherwise, to fight right now. I searched his face for a hint at his next move.

Damn, I forgot how hot he looked when he was pissed off. His chest heaved, and his sculpted jaw clenched. My half-lidded eyes wandered his body lazily, and I was able to catch glimpses of powerful biceps underneath his airy shirt as it blew in the wind. I bit my lip and wondered vaguely if he knew how fine he was.

I saw his lips move, but I didn't hear what they said. Maybe if I did, I could've reacted. But I didn't, and what happened next through me for a loop.

There was a flash of red light, and I caught a glimpse of his ivory boomerang pointed in my direction, then a cry of pain escaped from my lips. I looked down in shock to see red energy coiling around my body like a boa constrictor, pinning my arms to my sides and suspending me in the air. The more I struggled, the tighter my magical bonds seemed to become.

"Give me one reason not to kill you right now," Pharaoh's voice was low and husky, only inches from my face. His amber eyes were trained on my own, and I could tell that he meant every word that he said.

My legs trembled in fear. Yet despite my compromising position, I could feel myself growing wetter and wetter by the second.

"P-please," I managed, my cheeks burning.

"Please what?" He growled. "You released evil spirits into my territory then have the balls to come back the very next night. After I spare your life. I'd say you're fucking asking for it."

As he spoke, the pulsing red energy around me squeezed tighter, and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out again.

"Mmf... gods!" I was instantly breathless from the rough treatment. "Fuck— I mean... you're the one who... hah... fucked it up..."

"Fucked what up?" His gorgeous eyes searched my face for answers. "Were you planning an attack on Brooklyn House?"

"What? I don't even... know what that is!" I panted.

"Then what were you doing in Brooklyn?" He demanded. "Answer me!"

He was so sexy, and I didn't know if he was doing it on purpose, but his magic was pulsing and squeezing me in just the right places. My face felt flushed, so I could only imagine how red my cheeks were.

I couldn't meet his gaze and focused instead on speaking through my labored breathing. "I was performing a ritual... for the goddess of magic."

"Isis? That doesn't make any sense. Don't you lie to me!"

His anger manifested as a wave of energy from the red magic rope, and I screamed as the shock surged through my body.

"I'm not lying!" I shouted desperately. Despite my arousal, I had to look him in the eyes or he was never going to believe me. "Hekate! It was a ritual... for Hekate. I swear... on the River Styx."

The Pharaoh's eyebrows knit together. He still appeared unconvinced, and I was starting to feel like I might explode if he kept squeezing me like this. I could feel that my panties were soaking.

To my surprise, he muttered something under his breath, and the coiling red magic around me disappeared. I fell to my hands and knees in front of him, coughing and sputtering as air swelled in my lungs. My face was so hot and red that I couldn't bear to look at him.

"Who... is Hekate?" He asked quietly.

"I told you, she's the Greek goddess of magic," I responded, still avoiding his gaze. "And she's also my mom."

"What?!"

"Yeah, yeah, there's the big reveal," I muttered, sneaking a peek in his direction. I'd never seen him with so much shock on his features. He stared down at me like he was looking at me for the first time.

"So you're... a Greek demigod?" he breathed.

I took a deep breath and finally felt like my legs were strong enough to stand on. I looked the guy up and down, still not sure how I felt about him.

"That's right. And you... you're not Greek... and you're not Roman. What are you?"