A/N: Sorry guys that I have been inactive lately. My teachers have been piling up homework and tests for me. I haven't got the time to write new chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, only the plot. They belong to Rick Riordan.
Travis's P.O.V
I was terribly confused. Percy and Annabeth called my brother and I for candy. Yet all we got was a guy in a trench coat and that she-demon Kampe. …..Okay that sounded childish and selfish. The guy looked familiar though, I just can't put my finger on it.
"Long times no see little sister," the man said. He focused on me. "I see you brought the Stoll Brothers along with you." He said our names with dislike and disgust.
Annabeth looked surprised, which is rare. "Who are you and what have you done with my children?" she yelled.
"Hey, what do you mean you "brought" us here?" Connor asked. "We didn't have anything to do with him or his little pet." Kampe hissed and spat at him, but did nothing else.
"Really guys, you don't recognize me?" He started to take his coat off. Once he was finished I recognized him instantly.
"Malcolm, is that really you?" Percy asked. He squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Last time I saw you, you were at Camp Half-Blood. That was 5 some years ago!"
"And the last time we saw you," Connor and I chorused, "was when you and your buddies came running after us. Which was what? Like last week?"
Malcolm looked very red. "Oh do shut up Stoll Brothers. It will be better for all of you guys if you just come to me so I can arrest you." He paused. "Annabeth if you're wondering, you're babies are okay, for now. Now hurry up!"
"No can do Malcolm!" retorted Connor. "We've never been caught before and we intend to keep it that way." He then turned to Percy and Annabeth with a sympathetic look on his face. "Sorry guys, we'll help you find your children, just not at this time." And with that we left."
Percy P.O.V
Percy threw his hands up in the air. "Oh come on! We were so close! Malcolm, is there any way to get Brooke and Kieran back without the Stoll Brothers?
"Fine, but I'm doing this for Annabeth not you." He turned to Annabeth. "You'll get your children back, but you have to find them first."
Kampe hissed. "You're giving them a second chance? You promised me that they'll suffer."
Malcolm made a waving gesture with his hand. "Plans change Kampe. Not their fault the Stoll Brothers bailed on them."
Kampe had a murderous look on her face. "But that's too merciful; you should give the children to my friends and let me take care of these two demigods. After all it's only fair."
"Hey I have an idea! Why don't you just show us where they are," I offered in my best sales-man voice. "It's a lot easier if you just tell us and I'm pretty sure I can convince Piper to get the Stoll Brothers to come to you." In the corner of my eyes, I saw Annabeth roll her eyes.
Malcolm had a thoughtful expression on his face. "You have a deal." He opened his mouth to say the location. Then there was a sudden hissing sound and a flash of green. The next thing I knew, Malcolm was lying on the grass in a pool of his own blood. Kampe was nowhere in sight.
I felt so useless. I felt like the worst father in the world. I felt like the lamest hero that has ever lived in the history of heroes. "I could've done something, I could've done something." The thought ran through my head like a bell toll. Annabeth didn't look like that she was bothered but something in her eyes told me otherwise.
"Don't worry I said," in a soothing voice. "We'll find them, just like you found me."
"But what if we can't," Annabeth said in a frustrated voice. "What if they already killed them? After all what we did to Kampe in the Labyrinth, they're probably eating them right now!"
I hesitated. Annabeth was right about some things. Kampe might be getting revenge for what we did to her. Since she can't touch us directly, she found another way to hurt us. We were fools to let her in our house so easily. Finally I found an answer. Just was when I was about to say it, a piece of paper flew through the air. Annabeth snatched the note.
I peered over her shoulder. There was something attached on it, a delicate strand of black hair. There were words beneath it, although it was written what looked like in Latin. Since my Latin was rubbish, I didn't know what it said.
Annabeth read the note in a few seconds. She stared at it for a long time. She then folded the note and put it in her pocket.
"Well, what did it say?" I asked.
"It said that Brooke and Keiran are still alive," she answered.
I sighed. "Well that's good news."
"But," she continued. "We have until the summer equinox to find them. If we don't find them by that time, they'll die."