Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Hey, the halfway point! YAY! And yesterday's Friday the 13th went fairly well for me- whew.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

Chapter Ten: We Hitch a Ride with Not So Dead Egyptians

After lunch, Mr. Kane led them down the riverbank. The walk had been long and quiet, the sun nearly to its zenith. Kneeling, Mr. Kane traced a set of hieroglyphs in the mud. Annabeth and the Kane siblings squinted at them, clearly trying to translate them.

A boat woven out of coils of plant fiber, with two unlit torches in the front and a big rudder in the back, materialized in the river just next to the bank. Mr. Kane hopped on, saying, "Come along."

"Okay…" went Harry slowly, boarding the boat. In the middle was a hut made from woven reed mats. Carter and Sadie were right behind him. Sniffing, Muffin leaped on as well to get picked up by Sadie. Exchanging looks, Annabeth and Clarisse got on.

Sitting down, Annabeth asked, "You're an Egyptian magician, aren't you? I thought they were wiped out 2000 years ago…"

"Yes, well, most of the House of Life believes the Greek and Roman gods and heroes faded away after the collapse of the Roman Empire. My brother knows otherwise… but that's Amos."

"Wait, what?" went both Carter and Sadie, taken aback. Then Carter asked, "There's no sail, Dad. How are we going to move the boat?"

Mr. Kane looked very bemused as he walked towards the rudder. "It'll be a demonstration of yours and Sadie's heritage. Everyone either go inside or stand your ground, because the trip will be a bit rough."

Carter made as if to go in, but when no one moved he stayed as well.

The boat lurched forward, moving at an incredible speed. Harry felt a bit dizzy. The landscape blurred before being swallowed up in thick fog. Strange sounds echoed in the dark: slithering, hissing, distant screams, whispering voices that Harry couldn't understand. Then he felt dizzier as the sounds grew louder until suddenly the boat slowed. The noises stopped and the fog melted away to reveal vivid neon lights and pale sand. Harry inhaled the scent of the ocean.

"Where are we?"

"I think Miami," Annabeth chuckled weakly, her grey eyes wide. "What was that?"

"The Duat," explained Mr. Kane, adjusting his suit jacket. "It's rather complex. Rather like the Greek Mist in some regards, but very different in others."

"I know about the Mist- it's what hides monsters' and gods' true selves from mortals," Sadie grinned. Mr. Kane nodded his head at his daughter. "That's correct, Sadie."

Pulling up onto the beach, he said, "I will have to leave you here. You two are stronger together, Carter and Sadie. And I can tell these demigods are powerful as well. All together I'm sure you will succeed on this quest and the ones to follow. This boat should withstand almost anything the Greek mythos can throw at you."

Carter and Sadie nodded nervously. Hugging his children, Mr. Kane asked, "You both have the amulets I gave to you?"

They nodded.

"Good. Keep them on." Mr. Kane then turned to Muffin. "Guard them well, please."

"I'll explain more when you return- right now, it's clear you need to begin your voyage," Mr. Kane promised his children before disembarking the boat. Waving goodbye, he disappeared into the crowd.

"Okay, is anyone going to explain anything?" went Harry. Carter nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

Clarisse checked her wristwatch. "It's barely noon! How did we travel halfway down the country that fast?"

"Weren't you listening?" sighed Annabeth. "We traveled through the Duat- it's what Harry and Sadie have been doing. Well, mostly Sadie apparently."

"I helped," went Harry, wounded.

"Oh, that thing. No wonder I feel a bit off," snorted Clarisse. Harry glared at her. "Hey, it saved our lives leaving the Princess Andromeda, blood brat!"

"Still made me wanna puke, and that doesn't happen easily," she argued.

"Uh… explanations, please?" went Carter. "And I think people are starting to stare at us."

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth went to the back of the boat and started steering them parallel to the coast, heading south to the Sea of Monsters. "So the House of Life still exists- maybe even thrives. Fascinating."

"Yeah, maybe we'd find it fascinating too if we knew what it was," Sadie grumbled.

"Oh, right. I only know bits and pieces- much of the data has been either lost or concealed from demigods. Apparently way back the Egyptian magicians formed the House of Life, working with the Egyptian gods. But the readings implied it collapsed after the, well, collapse of Egypt with Cleopatra's defeat. Apparently the House of Life just went into hiding, kind of how we demigods did."

"So, let me get this straight. Both the Greek and Egyptian pantheons exist at the same time in this world?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"So it would seem- the Egyptian perspective and influence is just as valid as the Greek after all. I mean, look at the obelisks, the pyramids, the sphinxes, the fascination with mummies, and of course order versus chaos. Those all came from Egypt!" Annabeth told them.

"Back up the crazy train- er, boat," went Carter as they sailed by the Florida coast. "Are you saying the Egyptian gods are real? And the Greek ones?"

"Carter, we're in the crazy boat, heading to the Sea of Monsters- aka the Bermuda Triangle." Sadie paused. "That makes me want to sing that one Muppet song…

The eight year old started singing. "Ooh Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you, Bermuda, Bahama… come on pretty mama."

Carter just looked at them all strangely.

Harry got out Caledfwlch, reverting it to its true form. "This is my sword, Caledfwlch. I'm… well, to make a long story short, I have the powers of a son of Poseidon."

"I'm a daughter of Ares."

"And I'm a daughter of Athena."

"Well, I guess the Greek gods going around having a bunch of kids makes sense since that's a lot of what they did in the myths," Carter mumbled. There was a distant peal of thunder- apparently someone (Zeus?) was annoyed by that. Then he eyed Annabeth oddly. "Wait- daughter of Athena? Isn't she one of the virgin goddesses?"

Sadie was still singing "Kokomo" under her breath, looking over the side of the boat into the waves, having lost interest in the discussion.

Annabeth sighed. "It's complicated… I and my half-siblings essentially form from the merging of the thoughts of Athena and our respective father."

"Whoa."

"It's pretty weird," agreed Harry, turning Caledfwlch back into a ruler before plopping down on the deck. "So… are we there yet?"

Clarisse snorted. "You'll be able to tell when we reach the entrance of the Sea of Monsters."

"It'll probably be late evening… you all should get some rest now. I can steer. Maybe someone can wake up and take over at some point…?" suggested Annabeth.

"I'm the son of Poseidon; I think I ought to steer; you rest, bird brain."

"Thanks, Hairball."

As the others went into the hut Harry heard Carter ask Sadie, "Bird brain and hairball?"

"Yeah- they have nicknames for one another. Harry is Hairball, Annabeth is bird brain, and Clarisse is blood brat. Maybe I'll get a nickname after this quest!"

"Okay…"

Trusting to his instincts, Harry steered the boat towards the entrance of the Sea of Monsters. The quest was about to begin in earnest.

It was cloudy and nearing sunset when Clarisse emerged from the hut, stretching her arms over her head restlessly.

"How'd you rest?" he asked.

"Not well," Clarisse admitted, rubbing at her face. "Father is still a bit peeved about our battle last summer. Plus he's not too keen on me having so much help on this quest, what with me technically being in charge and all. But it's only fair that you and Annabeth come along since I helped last summer, Sadie and Muffin came because otherwise Tantalus might have eaten them and Carter's coming because Mr. Kane wants someone he knows to keep an eye on his daughter. She is eight and not a demigod."

"But she is a witch," pointed out Harry. "Er, magician."

"Yeah. I need to make a sacrifice to my dad- maybe he'll lend me a cannon to use on the entrance."

"Um, don't we just enter? It's not like it's the Underworld…"

"No. It's worse."

"Well, we're on a rather flammable boat here…"

"I know that, Hairball. But we're going to need a long range weapon to get by them."

Harry didn't know what Clarisse meant by 'them' but she looked pretty serious about the subject.

"Okay, okay. Look through my duffel bag- maybe start up a tiny fire in the vitamin jar cap. Do NOT eat a vitamin or open the thermos at all- it contains winds apparently. Got them both from Hermes."

"Sweet." Clarisse got the vitamin lid cap and placed it on the deck. "Now what?"

"Hm. Put a bit of ambrosia or nectar in there and set it on fire using Maimer?" suggested Harry, watching the horizon for the entrance.

Clarisse did so, muttering under her breath. In the front of the boat, between the two torches, a Civil War era cannon materialized in a poof of golden sparks a minute later.

"Sweetness… Dad came through. Now I just have to earn that coming through. Oh boy."

"Why a Civil War cannon?"

"Because Dad has influence over the losing side of any war."

Harry thought this over. "Why not the winning side?"

"Because the losers owe a debt to him for failing the ideals he stands for," Clarisse explained, looking over the cannon. "Well, we're all set for entering the Sea of Monsters now."

"Yeah," agreed Harry, still keeping an eye out for said entrance. He could feel that it was close.