Yes, I am TRULY sorry about this really late update! I was working on more than one project and I still am, but here is the update.
This Chapter: Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Piper find more about the Imbocans- and learn that there is something even more horrifying in place, and a trap is about to spring. Alex deals with the shock of what he has done and Aglaia keeps her face masked… For a reason. The Avengers suddenly start to develop an idea on how to stop the Aztec gods from wreaking vengeance everywhere, but first they have to go in search for certain humans.
To 2nd Guest Reviewer: Thank you! I hope you like this one!
To sid.kush32: Thank you. I actually meant to write vertically, not horizontally- I keep mixing those words up- silly me, I know! Yes, I realised I forgot the tiger-skin that he was usually seen with in the pictures. I read that unless he was furious with you for a reason- for committing evil, or harming someone he loved- then he was usually very gracious and benevolent. Yeah- it's very similar to what Nico did and felt when he cursed Bryce Lawrence. However, I took things from Greek mythology- namely the curses. I saw how Tantalus, Pelops and Atreus were cursed. Those were mere mortals that cursed them, but I think Zeus might have put more than some ideas in his son's head. He also lent some of his power. What happened to Nuala was horrible- she was Alex's only family as a kid. He's going to have to explain a lot of things to the other demigods.
To Aquafin: Yup. Kids of the Big Three and their emotions- Percy came close to killing Polyphemus and Nico cursed Bruce Lawrence. When enraged those kids do the craziest things. Thank you.
To 1st Guest Reviewer: Yes. Just like that. It's supposed to scare the living day-lights out of anyone.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the series, the Avengers- as that's Marvel. Or Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series. Or the Kane Chronicles- that's Rick Riordan. The Wicker Man belonged to Anthony Shaffer. All of H.P Lovecraft's works are his own. And all mythologies belong to their respective peoples!
Percy knew something was up when they made a get-away.
Firstly, he was mighty pleased that they had gotten away. Neither he, nor Jason, nor Annabeth, Piper or anybody could have stood staying in a tannery full of human skins for so long.
But when they had found a safe place- or at least they thought, Percy knew they couldn't keep the game up. One look at the others confirmed this: the Imbocans would soon guess what they were playing. How they thought and worked.
And he couldn't ask Jason to conjure more storms. It was too dangerous for him to keep eating Ambrosia or drinking Nectar to boost him. Percy would have done it himself, except that they couldn't afford to deal with Dagon's fish-people and Dagon himself.
Not to mention the Wi-Fi sucked. The Hephaestus cabin had some mighty fancy tech and even their cells made of Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold with special batteries would repel monsters instead of attracting it. Same with their laptops. But while they could find a signal, there was chance that a god like Dagon would notice.
And for some reason, it really was working like crap over there.
"Now what?" Jason asked.
Annabeth frowned. "We can't keep this up, you know we can't." She said. "So…"
"How the heck are we supposed to find an escape route?" Percy muttered. "Even to the nearest village full of humans- wouldn't they track us down, or what? And the yacht's destroyed-" then his eyes widened.
"Hippocampi." Then he scowled. "But if there are more of those things down there…" And Annabeth didn't finish the sentence.
"Yeah, this place is really rubbish," Jason said, kicking a pile of garbage with his foot. I can't imagine they were planning to stay here very long. He could smell the garbage, the damp, rotting and dried seaweed, drenched again in salt water, same as the fish, the rotting corpses too.
"Do you think they cannibalise each other?" He asked. "Humans too?"
"Who can say?" Piper shrugged. "They definitely don't take kindly to newcomers and out-of-towners."
Nobody could disagree with that.
"You know…" Percy said wistfully. "Do you remember Clarisse and Chris' and Travis and Katie's weddings?"
"Yeah," Jason, Piper and Annabeth said simultaneously.
"What about them?"
"Well, we didn't think we would live long enough to get married, any of us," Percy said wistfully. "Beckendorf and Silena… Lee and Michael. Luke." Annabeth's head bowed down but Percy was now untroubled with jealousy. "A demigod wedding was a milestone. A milestone most kids our kind never reach. And then we had the city. Not just the camp." He smiled down at Annabeth. "Thanks to you and Aglaia."
"Aglaia had the idea," Annabeth confessed. "And she was the one who found the younger kids for the kindergarten."
"Well, we really wouldn't have managed it either way," Percy said wistfully. "And just… Being there… Watching them laugh and talking plans for their honeymoons… It made me realise that even though we live in such a crazy world, it was worth it. Every tiny thing we went through. Every obstacle. You know your brother and Aglaia convinced us to make peace with Hera." Annabeth sighed.
"Yeah," Jason admitted. "Because well, she had a point. It was worth it. Meeting you guys. Seeing Annabeth all over again and holding her close like I never thought I would see her- even if she judo-flipped me."
Annabeth blushed and Jason and Piper chuckled, remembering those times.
"And you two would have never gotten together, if it wasn't for her," Percy pointed out. "Things are weird. The universe is crazy. But it's moments like those that make things worth it. I wish people had never died, but every time we go through something like-" Percy gestured to where they were- an abandoned shop, boarded up in front. "This, we look at ourselves then, and say it was definitely worth it."
Jason looked at Piper, took her hand and smiled. "Yeah," he agreed. "Actually it was more than worth it."
Piper blushed, but she smiled back at Jason.
Percy smiled. "I just hope," he said, his smile fading a little. "That-"
Then he froze. "What was that?" He demanded.
They stiffened and jolted straight.
It was a car- not just any car- an old Rolls Royce driving into view- so out of place in this filthy, rotten town, seen through the boarded planks of the front door.
"What the heck," Percy said, keeping a steady grip on Riptide in its pen-form.
They slowly edged towards the front door, keeping low.
They have a car, Jason mouthed to them.
I know, Annabeth mouthed back. But it's too risky.
And she didn't think it was for any old Imbocan monster. No, this had got to be for someone special.
She sneaked closer.
Annabeth's grey eyes peered through the plank nailing the doggy-door. Her eyes went wide.
Definitely the monsters, alright. But one of them was opening the door, holding one grotesquely deformed pallid, slimy hand with three tentacles and two fingers with claws, onto the car door. It was a while before the monster saw something inside the car windows, and swung the door open.
Someone came out, Annabeth was in shock she was expecting another monster. Another Imbocan. Annabeth thought, but she noted that the figure was dressed in an expensive coat and grey-black trousers, with hand-tooled leather shoes that looked at threat in this damp, filthy place.
He turned his head, and Piper and Annabeth stifled small gasps. Percy and Jason were in shock as well.
He was human. Furthermore he was handsome.
The man was obviously Spanish. With golden-bronze skin, and nicely-carved features, a patrician profile, chin and jaw with a short-trimmed beard that only made him look even better- like a Spanish prince, though not quite. His eyes were dark- like extremely dark maple syrup or molasses. He did not look the least bit deformed as far as Annabeth could see, wearing expensive leather gloves and a trilby hat. No webbing between his leather-covered fingers. And the hat shape looked normal- no weird bulges or anything.
The Imbocans gathered around him, moving in their shuffling, stunted movements. They bowed their heads to him, showing him some sort of respect. Annabeth was stunned. How? How could this be?
The man nodded simply to them and walked right up the steps to a porch of a grand old house, half-Georgian style, half-Spanish colonial. He proceeded to walk inside, the doors held open by the deformed Imbocans.
Annabeth looked horrified and Percy, Piper and Jason.
"Señor, hemos hecho lo que ordenaste," One of the deformed, stunted Imbocans murmured. Its voice was deep, vibrating, as if the vocal chords as well as everything else, were part-human and part… Thing.
"Bueno," the man nodded at the creature. "¿Así que todo está listo?"
"Si, Señor." The creature kept bowing its head, and Percy thought it was probably going to fall off, or topple the body over. It looked too heavy and too joined to its body to move much.
"La trampa es el ajuste uno se nos ha prometido llegará. ¿Pero y los demás? ¿Los que ya están aquí?" The creature cowered, as another one hissed, foam bubbling out of its mouth. Percy was reminded of a less-than-pleasant memory; the giant crab aboard the Princess Andromeda when he was nearly
"No se atreven a desafiar a nuestro Padre Dagón directamente. Se esconden detrás de sus padres, los dioses menores, pero incluso ellos no pueden igualar y no saber o recordar el poder, los horrores de los Grandes Viejos, Padre Dagón, el más grande entre ellos." The man replied coldly.
The creatures bowed and scraped before him. Piper's multi-coloured eyes were massive now- massive and wide with horror.
She was a daughter of Aphrodite. She was fluent in French, but all the other Romance languages had its place too.
Including Spanish. Though she was no Leo.
She waited until the man- and all the other creatures had moved inside the house.
Jason glanced at her worriedly. Piper had never been so pale. She had never looked so ill, so horrified.
"Piper?" He whispered. "What is it?"
Piper was unable to speak. Not for a while.
"He told them that we were nuisances," Piper said helplessly. "And that even our parents can't challenge them-"
"Might be bluffing," Jason scoffed. Annabeth agreed, Percy enthusiastically so.
"And that they won't even know, or at least remember, what horrors are in store for them." Piper finished.
"Horrors?" Percy and Jason echoed.
"'Remember'?" Annabeth asked warily. "You mean they might remember something?"
"Well," Percy began. "Remember my dad? He said that he can't place the thing- Dagon. He might've met him- long ago."
"Dagon," Piper whispered. "They called our parents lesser gods and said that Dagon was one of a bunch called the Great Old Ones."
"Great Old Ones," Percy repeated.
"We have to find more about them," Annabeth said determinedly. Jason gave her an incredulous look. "How? We're currently on the run, hiding from them in gory places, because they've skinned humans alive- we might not mean anything much to that guy-" Jason gestured towards the direction of the house- "But I don't think they're going to let us get in their way. Especially if they one, know we're out here somewhere, and two, have parents that pose a threat to their gods."
He was right, Percy admitted. But they just couldn't leave. Not now. And they had to find out what happened to Aglaia's uncle too. And her aunt. And whoever was with them.
But could they be dead too? Like the human skins in the tannery? Percy felt sick. Maybe they were among those remains. No, no, no. He had to do something.
"We're in something big," Percy muttered. "Something very big. Much bigger than we thought.
"Even if we could go there," He glanced at them sharply. "And by some miracle they don't sniff us out, see us, trap us, corner us, or catch us, where are we going to find all this information?"
Annabeth took a deep breath. "The temple."
"The old church?" Piper sounded surprised. "But they could… And it's at the very heart of the village."
"Say that even if we broke in there," Jason put forwards desperately. "Where is all that info? How much and how do we sort everything out? We need to talk to someone." And then his eyes widened and he glanced at Percy.
"Capture one of them," they both said simultaneously.
"Interrogate them," Piper's eyes widened and she stood.
"Okay then," Annabeth said fiercely.
"And if they're anything in the temple, well get it to get us," Percy said eagerly. "We'll be able to find out what they did to Aglaia's uncle."
Jason nodded, looking pleased. "Exactly. We need to get the others on their way here on standby- at least until we need to leave."
Piper nodded, they all started to plan.
Alex was more stunned and too horrified to contemplate clearly what he had done.
What had he done? And how did he do it?
No child of the Big Three had done what he did. None of them possibly could!
"It wasn't me," was all he mumbled, if he ever spoke at all, when he boarded the ship. "It wasn't me."
Aglaia had gotten as much information on what happened from the Kanes and Lexie. She needed to speak to Lexie- later. For now, her main concern- apart from her missing uncle- was Alex.
Alex was too in shock to absorb what he had done. How did he do it? Alex didn't know. It didn't sound like him.
"It wasn't me," he mumbled again. He looked up at the others. "It wasn't me."
Aglaia was wearing a mask, which she had used in order not to shock Beckendorf, Silena and the Apollo boys. She had discarded it after a while, later.
"Alex," she whispered. Alex leaned back to her. "It wasn't me. So how?"
She took a deep breath. "Do you remember the story of Tantalus?" The four recently-returned campers looked sour. "He was cursed. And his son Pelops too. And his son Atreus. Tantalus fed his son to the gods- or at least tried to. And when Pelops was returned, he did everything he could to marry Princess Hippodamia, even begging my father for horses and a chariot to best Hippodamia's father who had horses given to him by Ares." Pelops himself was at one point romantically linked to Aglaia's father, Poseidon, who had a soft spot for the boy and because of that gave him chariot and horses. "But Pelops was too worried he might not win and marry Hippodamia. He got his servant to sabotage the king's chariot and the king ended up being killed in the race. But the servant wanted only one thing; some time alone with the bride. Pelops promised him, but one day, when he tried to get close with her, Pelops went back on his word and threw him off a cliff. The servant fell, cursing Pelops and his descendant on the way down." Aglaia grimaced.
"After that, Pelops' son, Atreus was seriously upset because he supposedly caught his wife cheating on him with his brother, Thyestes. Either that, or he forced her. So after a long while, Atreus pretended he wanted to reconcile with his brother. But Atreus was bitter because he had had to kill his own wife for her treachery. He blamed Thyestes for depriving him of the woman he loved. So he invited Thyestes back, killed Thyestes' sons and like his grandfather-" Aglaia shook her head. "Cooked them in the stew. And he told Thyestes what he had done. Thyestes raged and cursed Atreus and his descendants. My point is," she sighed, shaking her head, not really wanting to tell him all this. "They were mortal. Atreus' own sons were Agamemnon and Menelaus- husbands of Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy. And we all know how their story goes," she muttered, unwilling to relate any more.
"My point is, that these mortals still managed to do it. The gods or the Fates must have had a hand in this." She looked at him quizzically. "Did you feel… Like you were in complete control."
Alex shook his head frantically. "No." He whispered. "No… It felt… Like… All I felt was anger. And rage. Everything else… Even my own thoughts…" He went paler as he said this.
"Your own thoughts were pushed back?" Calypso asked curiously. Alex swallowed and nodded. She sighed and closed her eyes. "The gods intervened. I'm sure of it. What you've done to them… I wouldn't be surprised if they placed a part of their spirit inside of you. Perhaps it was your father, Zeus."
"Where did you even get the idea?" Aglaia asked quietly. "To make the island completely barren and blasted? To turn the people sterile, so that they wouldn't have any descendants? To make their food taste like blood and ashes?" She looked at Calypso. "Zeus brought down his wrath upon so many people. Entire nations and kingdoms. City-states. He destroyed their cities, reducing them to ash. He allowed famine and plague to stalk the land. Their punishment for crimes like the ones in Summerisle. Once he even flooded the kingdoms of mankind, because they consumed human flesh." She took a shaky breath. "It could only have been him."
"So don't stress yourself out, man." Leo warned. "It's not your fault they're a bunch of selfish, human-sacrificing jerks."
Alex shook his head. "You don't know… The power I felt. The hatred and rage- I wanted to get back at them so badly. I didn't think. I didn't know." He looked up at them and they recoiled at what they saw in his eyes. Pain. Torment. This wasn't something you see so openly at Alex's eyes.
"Lord Summerisle-" he bit out the name. "Had fled. I searched for him and his goons. They ran to the school grounds. There was an air-raid shelter there- probably what they used for World War Two. The teacher was herding the children inside. He was trying to get in with them, before I grabbed him. What if I couldn't get to him that easily?" Alex whispered. He looked truly tormented. "What if the children or their school teacher tried to shield him as well as his thugs? You have no idea, I felt so much rage and so much hate, I would have destroyed everything there. And I did. I cursed them. I would have destroyed everyone too, but for some miracle," he shook his head. "Some part of me was still there. They were just children, I told myself. They were just children. I couldn't harm children. Even if that never happened to me or Nuala." He choked. "But the amount of power I felt… Was intoxicating. And my rage and hatred was fuelling it- directing me to blast that whole place." He shook his head. "After all that happened- after all the people I saved, after my sister-" he choked on his words. "Was sacrificed… I would have become like them. I was the same as them.
"But you didn't kill those children," Aglaia said quietly. "But I could have!" Alex said fiercely. "But you didn't. Something held you back. That something wasn't Zeus or any of the Olympian gods. It was you."
They stared at her.
"You know what it's like to be powerless and utterly helpless, even if that was so long ago," Aglaia continued. "You know what it's like to have the only family you ever truly loved taken away from you- ripped from you so violently and cruelly. You know what it's like to find love and loyalty again. To build something out of the ashes of your life. It takes time, it brings you enormous pain. But also some peace in the end. Some peace, hope and love. Some sense of renewal. I gave the idea for New Athens. Annabeth and Leo and I poured our hearts out to it, but so did you. You did it because you wanted to build something better- something safe for all the innocent demigods and legacies- their families- so that they would have a future someday. A happy life and a happy future and existence that you never experienced before in the past. Because you wanted better for them. Because you wanted something- because you wanted them to be safe and to live their lives in peace. If that isn't a good person's deed- a selfless act, then I don't know what is." She turned away.
Iron Man was exhausted and beyond sick of it all.
What happened?
Well, more bodies found.
Not only dead, but decapitated. Yep, that was the gross bit. The most horrifying thing of all? Some of those people were small children who had been found clobbered or their hearts removed, before being stabbed or beheaded. They were adorned beautifully in the Aztec style with skin dyed in shades of blue and green, garlands of flowers woven thickly in their hair, draped around their neck and arms or sparse garments. Or gold jewellery, that looked like they had been scavenged. Not Aztec style jewellery. Some were rich people, clearly. They wore expensive clothes and designer jewels. But some were priests, Catholic priests wearing their chasubles as if to mass, blood-stained as if they were martyred.
Tony and Steve turned their heads simultaneously while Thor looked grim.
"Greed," he murmured. "They are bloodthirsty because they crave people's fear, and thus, power over them." He shook his head. "But to this extent…"
"Is there any way to get into contact with them?"
"Why?" Tony snorted. He looked at all of them, except Thor. "Any of you want to face those guys again?"
They all looked away. Scott looked like he was going to be sick.
"Right." Tony said slowly. "So maybe, if we can't kill them, we work on a way on sending them to naptime for, I don't know, maybe a thousand years?"
They all looked at one another.
"That's…" Natasha began hesitantly. "Not a bad idea." She looked at Thor. "Is there any way to send them back to sleep? What do you remember about those guys?"
Thor frowned deeply. "I remember little. I was hardly there for them. My father forbade any battles. He said it was time for them to go to sleep." Thor looked quizzical. "I did not know what he meant by that. Only that they eventually faded from memory and anyone's notice. Even the ones that used to worship them."
Tony gasped dramatically. "That's it! You got it sunshine!" He beamed.
"Err… What?" Natasha asked. Bruce looked concerned at Tony, wondering if Tony had gone off the deeper end more than usual.
"Remember the demigods?" Tony asked excitedly. "I asked them how this whole pantheon-culture-civilisation thing works! And they told me more about the gods- and their adventures." He took a deep breath. "Listen, years back, those guys fought some Undead Roman Emperors."
"Roman emperors that came back from the dead?" Natasha asked sceptically.
"No- no I mean, that they never died." Tony said. "They became immortal."
"Immortal?" Bruce exchanged shocked looks with Thor. "Immortal- how?"
"Those guys were the worst of the worst," Tony continued. "Nero- the Emperor Nero whom the Christians called the Beast, was their leader. At least that's what those guys said. They existed because they made themselves gods- they were remembered- imprinted in every nasty piece of history mentioned, immortalised by Hollywood, gory-fied by History Channel documentaries, and so forth. Nero was the most notorious. That guy would make Attila the Hun look like Rhodey on a good day."
"Hey," his friend warned.
"So it immortalised him," Tony said, snapping his fingers. "He said the emperors made themselves gods. They built temples, encouraged propaganda."
"Like a Cult of Personality?" Bruce asked uneasily. Tony nodded. "Exactly. How is it even possible, that all these different mythological universes could coexist side-by-side with God and science?" Tony asked. "Because people believed it! People made it happen. You heard what those demigods said: the gods were manifestations not just patrons and personifications of whatever part of their culture and civilisation they were from. They gave the inspiration, the ideas-everything- and their kids were used to carry it out. But they themselves weren't unaffected by the culture and civilisation. They grew different mental personas- and physical too-" he glanced uneasily at Thor. "So that meant that they were affected by the way people saw them! The Romans saw Mars- not the planet, the war guy- as differently as the Greeks saw Ares. What if that was what made them them?" Tony asked eagerly.
"Oh Odin, here we go again," Thor muttered.
Bruce snapped his fingers and stood up. "And if we can stop their worship, stamp it out-"
"That would be hard," Natasha frowned. "You can't stop people from worshipping or remembering other people. I'm pretty sure after he died, people stopped worshipping Nero. And if people are scared enough and see all the supernatural activity that's going on- well, if they see priests and nuns being murdered-"
"They might be frightened enough to worship the old gods," Bruce frowned.
"Besides, what, are we going to demolish Tenochtitlan?" Clint asked incredulously.
"Parts of Nero's palace remained." Natasha murmured. "That was probably why they remained alive for so long. But we can't destroy Tenochtitlan or any important Aztec site."
"No," Tony winced. "Paradise has been butchered and destroyed enough- even with bloodthirsty gods like those, no human has a right to destroy anything that's left of a great culture or civilisation."
Clint looked at Thor. "They would mostly be angry at you. And the Olympians."
Thor nodded gravely. "Yes, they would. White-skinned people, including blondes-" he winced and his edges started to blur, but eventually he brought himself back before he could transform himself again. "The gods of the peoples who came and brought their culture and civilisation to the New World, as it was known then. They will want revenge." Thor grimaced.
"You're changing back and forth," Natasha said quietly. Thor shook his head. "I will manage it." He said determinedly.
"My point, is that once they have acquired enough power, we know that they will challenge Asgard and Olympus," Thor stated. "And the Egyptians once they've managed to find a way into their spirit realm. They plan to acquire their power not merely with sacrifices but with worship. The sacrifices," he frowned. "Keep their worshippers under control as well as provide them with additional strength. Makes them fear their gods, not merely providing them with human energy. They must have been tremendously powerful in their time. No- take away their worship- even if it does not provide sacrifices- and they will be severely weakened." He looked at them. "Most people already find it difficult to remember their individual names. Or their stories and legends."
Steve nodded. "He's right," he said suddenly. "That's how they faded away. People just forgot. It was European colonisation. But they couldn't be bothered learning about their stories and legends the way that they learned about the Greeks and the Vikings."
"And for a time, the Egyptians, they said that they were banished to the Duat." Bruce caught on. "And they only started to emerge and make contact with humans again when people began rediscovering their civilisation all over again, and took an interest in it. Then they learned Egyptian history- probably beginning with what they found in archaeology and written records of Egypt during Ptolemaic and Roman times."
"And then the myths," Wanda frowned. "But you can't just make everyone forget their culture, their history. Even though it's mostly gone." She had a point.
"We won't," Steve assured her. "We just have to stop everyone from worshipping them." Bruce added.
"That's not going to be easy," Clint stood up. "People are beginning to panic." He tossed down a newspaper. It was in Spanish, but they could see the picture of a man wearing Aztec clothing.
"See this," Clint said, pointing. "This guy's been calling himself a High Priest. He appears from time to time, it's hard to keep track of where he's going to appear next, but he's encouraging worship of the Aztec gods and to keep them safe. And," Clint put in. "We forgot to look for the little ringleaders like we were supposed to. The so-called priests who are spreading this sort of message."
Tony clapped his hand to his forehead, and Bruce groaned, covering his face with his hands. Scott looked gobsmacked and then sheepish, Peter just stared at everyone and their reactions. Steve sighed, exasperated, and Rhodes winced. Even Natasha sighed and Wanda grimaced.
"'S okay," Clint shrugged. "We were under a lot of stress. So was I. I just picked this up, saw the random picture and found a translator. My Spanish is school level." He admitted, looking sheepish. "I forgot too."
"We just need to find them, get them to tell us what they know, and find our way from there," he said. "Plus, you heard Percy Jackson- there's more bloodthirsty gods in Imboca, Spain, plus a whole load of human-sacrificing and mutilating monsters," Clint said with barely-concealed hatred. "And I don't know about the ones up in Scotland either- that island, called Summerisle."
"I do," Natasha handed him another paper.
"Okay, so how about we find this priest, track him down, get him to tell us everything and we go from there?" Tony suggested, repeating Clint's words.
Clint sighed and gave him a look.
The creature they had taken when no one was apparently looking and the fog had descended heavily upon the town- along with more lightning strikes- was now tied up.
Piper glared at it. So did Annabeth.
"Okay," Percy said. He looked at Piper. "Piper, can you ask him what the hell happened to everyone in this town- all the humans, that is?"
Piper fixed the creature with a deadly gaze and demanded the question in Spanish.
It glared at them with its beady-black eyes on stalks. It had the disgusting mouth of a crustacean.
Piper said a warning in Spanish. The creature scoffed. Piper glared at Jason and the others. "Should we…" She trailed off.
Percy shrugged. "I normally would never, ever, ever in a million years agree to this, even to monsters, they don't deserve that. But after seeing what you did to those people in the tannery," he glared at them. "I'd suggest you not to push it," he said threateningly.
"I can always talk him into speaking." Piper admitted.
"Please do," Percy gestured.
Piper fixed the creature with her stare and said something in Spanish- using Charmspeak.
The creature cringed and grimaced. Piper had, after all, enchanted the Earth Mother.
It began rasping- in its awful, disgusting voice- out what it knew.
"He said that they are the Deep Ones," Piper frowned. "That they were once human. This town of Imboca was poor. It was the worst-hit in all of Spain, during several economic crises." She knew that a small, insignificant place like Imboca would never have gained as much attention as Majorca or Ibiza. Or Barcelona. They would have depended on fishing alone. And even then, the Balearic and Canary Islands and other coastal towns would have beaten them.
"And then one day, Captain Orpheus Cambarro appeared." Percy frowned.
"Who's Captain Cambarro?" Percy asked. Jason stared.
The Deep One part-rumbled, part-choked and part-rasped its reply. "Captain Orpheus Cambarro- a ship captain," Piper said slowly. "The one we saw entering the house."
Jason stiffened. "That was him?" He and Annabeth exchanged alarmed looks.
"Go on," Percy's eyes blazed. "Cambarro had gone missing, while out at sea. He returned. And one day at mass, he barged into the church," Piper said, translating everything the Deep One said.
"He asked them what they were doing, worshipping a God that does not seem to answer," Piper's eyes were flashing. She loathed the Deep Ones for what they did. And Dagon. But she felt a tiny bit of sympathy for what the Imbocans must have gone through. "Cambarro promised them a way- he said there was another god- whom others have turned to, to save them."
Percy said, "Dagon."
"Dagon," the Deep One said. "Padre Dagon."
Percy gave the thing a disgusted, filthy look.
"Cambarro promised them the worship of Dagon- to make everyone prosper," Piper said, taking deep breaths to rein herself in. "He brought together a group of followers and summoned Dagon from the sea. Dagon… And his Deep Ones. They were immortal creatures that served and were protected by Dagon deep below in the ocean. They built incredible cities, like-" she frowned trying to pronounce the word. "Y'ha-nthlei," she said uncertainly. "A Cyclopean, many-columned underwater metropolis, enough to rival the great cities of Babylon and Tenochtitlan. "The Deep Ones lived below for millennia, sheltered and protected from the eyes of humans and gods alike, by Dagon whom they worshipped and adored. One day, Dagon emerged- he revealed himself to the Sea-people who had been driven out of their homeland by a volcanic eruption- and great earthquakes and Tsunamis. They came from the Aegean."
"Philistines," Percy and Annabeth said simultaneously, Annabeth who had been silent until then.
"And they wandered for one generation, and half of another generation's lifetime, desperate, homeless and destitute. They had little to trade for anything. They tried to conquer some lands in Egypt, but the Egyptians beat them back. So they were left more desperate in the seas, with little food and fresh water. Even the fish seemed to have deserted them. Until one night, Dagon rose out of the deep. He had heard their cries. He gave them food, drink and medicine, sent by the Deep Ones. Once that had been done he guided them to abandoned islands- for temporary settlement until he could give them another place to live in. He also provided them with iron and taught them how to use it, which was superior to the bronze alloy of other peoples, for crafting tools and weaponry. The Deep Ones arose out of the sea and taught them how to make special types of wines, certain foodstuffs, and gave them gold- fantastically wrought gold jewellery."
"He seems very generous," Annabeth scoffed. It always comes with a price.
"And in return, the Philistines promised him sacrifices of humans and promises of interbreeding." Piper stood there stunned.
"Interbreeding?" The three of them echoed.
"Breeding Deep Ones with-" Piper faltered and all the colour left her face. "Humans." She choked out.
Jason drew in a sharp breath. "What?"
The Imbocan and Piper continued to speak and translate. "Dagon promised that their offspring will have immortality. By siring or conceiving a child with the Deep Ones, the children will look human, but when they are adults, they would begin to-" she quivered. "Change."
There was a horrifying silence. For several moments actually.
"But that's impossible," Annabeth protested. "There's nothing that mentions the Philistines doing any of these things. Before and after they came to Canaan." But then again, she knew that some things were not mentioned by the Hebrews in their Torah and the Christian Bible. It was just too profane, she supposed. She knew that the Ancient Israelites would have come into contact with more than one enemy- the Canaanites sacrificed babies as mentioned previously. The Hebrews refused to elaborate in their holy texts just how the Canaanites did it, but the archaeologists found out what the phrase 'walking through fire' meant and why the Hebrews considered it an abomination to allow children to do just that. And they also never mentioned why the Amalekites were so loathed and vilified that it was vital for them to be utterly exterminated to the last sheep and oxen. Only that they were believed to have sacrificed children, and were thus, impure and cursed.
Annabeth swallowed.
The Imbocan was still speaking. "This was not the first time Dagon came upon a people who were desperate," Piper translated. "They sacrificed and fed him with humans. They provided breeders for Deep One offspring. The offspring grew up and eventually were felt the need to swim deep into the water to join its brethren and live in the underwater cities. However, they kept it a closely-guarded secret amongst themselves. But somehow, the Israelites sensed what was happening. Their prophets told them to stop the peoples who did such things- the Canaanites and Amalekites. But the Philistines remained. The Canaanites and Amalekites did not worship Dagon by his name, but another name for one of his kin. Dagon protected the Philistines, and gave them everything. The hybrids that were too obviously non-human, were shut away or sent to live in the water completely, sheltered by the Deep Ones. Dagon and the Deep Ones had sensed something unusual about the Hebrews. After all, how many people insisted upon worshipping only one God? When the Philistines captured what the Hebrews called the Ark of the Covenant, they thought they had triumphed over the Hebrews. They believed that the Israelites were merely performing magic under the name of their God. They had no idea that their Ark, supposedly the source of all their power, was the instrument of another kind."
The Imbocan glared hatefully at them with its beady black eyes.
"Dagon tried to warn them," they both continued. "But the Philistines believed that they had already won. Dagon slipped back in the deep. The Deep Ones retreated with him. They took it to several places in their country. But disaster struck."
Yes, Annabeth thought. Disaster did strike the Philistines. The statue of Dagon broke, toppling over in one of their temples. And again and again. Then came plague that fell upon the Philistines.
But of course the Imbocan, devoted to Dagon, wouldn't tell them of his god's weakness.
"The Philistines sent it back, on the advice of the Deep Ones who were diviners." Piper kept translating. "They defeated the first king. But another king soon arose. He had succeeded the old Israelite king who had died in battle. David was his name." Piper faltered as she too, recognised that name. But she went on.
"David went to war with the Israelites against the Philistines as a young boy. At first they thought him a mere child. But he killed one of their giants, who carefully hid his reasons for becoming so inhumanly large. Before this, they did not sense any sort of magic on the boy. But he had an aura about him, and killed the champion with one stone from his slingshot.
"He soon proceeded to exterminate the Deep One hybrids when he found out what they were and what they did. He kept it a closely-guarded secret, for fear that panic would run wild." They both continued. "Plague struck the Deep Ones which terrified them, as they were immortal and would not normally succumb to such things. They screamed that the Hebrew God was slaughtering them. The Philistine cities, wealth, temples and everything they had, were totally destroyed. The lands were sown with salt. And no one lived there for millennia." The Deep One hybrid glared at them as he continued. "The Deep Ones were driven to near-extinction. Dagon vanished. For some reason, no one heard from him. Only millennia later, did they learn that Dagon had entered a death-like sleep like his kin."
"A death-like sleep?" Jason asked warily.
"His kin?" Annabeth said sharply. "Did he mean the Deep Ones or…"
"The Great Old Ones," the Deep One and the daughter of Aphrodite translated for him. "And the Outer Gods."
Piper looked confused.
"Okay, let's get this over with," Percy ordered. Piper stared the creature down and ordered him to continue with what happened to this village.
"The Deep Ones were awoken and Dagon too, and they heard the summons and gave the Imbocans gold and fish. The lean times had ended. But they demanded human sacrifices to feed on and other humans to breed with. The people were alarmed and refused, threatening to call the authorities in Madrid. Cambarro and those who followed him were arrested, but that night, the Deep Ones came. Outraged, they on Dagon's orders, slaughtered half the town at night. Those that survived quickly converted to the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Dagon did something to them. He performed magic. To hasten the transformation and give them immortality quickly, he ordered the Imbocans to breed with the Deep Ones but also made them drink and eat some things he gave them. It also began to turn the people into Deep Ones."
Percy let out a breath. "Alright. First off, where is the Crown Prince of Greece?"
Piper forwarded the question in Spanish.
The Imbocan glared at them, before Jason stepped forwards, his hand sparking with electricity.
"In the temple, the old church, what used to be the rectory, with his wife, held prisoner and as a bait."
"A bait?" Percy asked sharply. "What's Dagon planning?"
The creature gave a hideous sound- laughing.
"Nobody know what Dagon plans," it spoke in stunted English. Annabeth and Piper's eyes widened. "We follow Dagon's orders only. What Dagon know, he tell only Orpheus Cambarro- High Priest." It said.
Percy knelt down so he was eye-level with the Imbocan.
"So you can tell me why the Crown Prince of Greece is being used as a bait," he said quietly. "And who are the other gods you were talking about?"
"Great Old Ones, and Outer Gods," The Imbocan spoke. He was obviously not comfortable with English. "Many gods… Come from stars."
"Outer space," Annabeth hissed. Like the Asgardians- or at least one aspect of them.
Percy, Piper and Jason's eyes widened at that.
"Father Dagon," the Imbocan said. "His wife, Mother Hydra." The demigods looked alarmed. "But more. Many, many more."
Percy forced back his reluctance. "Like?"
"Outer Gods and Great Old Ones," he answered. Piper's eyes widened as she remembered that man- Cambarro- mention the Great Old Ones.
"Who are they exactly?" Percy asked icily. "The Outer Gods? Tell us everything."
"Outer Gods live and come from stars," the Imbocan rumbled. He shivered repulsively. "Azathoth. First One. King of gods." Jason leaned forwards eagerly. This had to be his father's, Odin's and Ra's equivalent. An enemy who would rise up and threaten them. "He is… Nuclear Chaos. Blind Idiot god." They blinked.
"That is what they call him," The Imbocan rumbled. "He floats at centre of universe. Always sleeping. Other gods don't want him to wake. They make him sleep, with drums and flutes. If he wakes, he destroy everything, including planets."
None of them could respond properly. Jason's face was ashen. They could not imagine facing another one like Gaea. Not again.
"Azathoth have children," the Imbocan continued. "Three. He is Outer god. They are outer gods. Nyarlathotep, Nameless Mist and Darkness. Nyalathotep is Crawling Chaos. Change shapes- one thousand shapes. So terrifying, humans go crazy. But he can change. Look like human. He lies. He bring messages from Outer Gods. He likes lies. Everywhere he go, everyone vanish. Nameless Mist have children too. Yog-Sothoth one of them. Darkness, third child of Azathoth. Darkness give birth to Shub-Niggurath.
"Yog-Sothoth is Outer god, son of Nameless Mist. Sees everything. Every secret. Past. Present and Future. He is gate. He marry Shub-Niggurath. Daughter of Darkness and Yhoundeh. Nug and Yeb their sons. Twin Blasphemies. Nug is father of Cthulhu. Nug is also father of Hastur the Unspeakable. But Cthulhu famous. He first marry Idh-yaa- Mighty Mother. Have children. Ghatanothoa, Dark god. Firstborn. Ythogtha, second son. More gods."
"That's a lot of gods," Percy said suspiciously, trying to keep himself calm.
"A lot of gods," The Imbocan agreed, sounding pleased. "But Father Dagon has place in hearts. Mother Hydra too."
"Is Mother Hydra like anything we know?" Percy asked sardonically.
"No. They very different."
"Okay, then," Percy said allowing his voice to soften. "Why is the Crown Prince and Princess of Greece a bait and for who? Me?"
"No," The Imbocan said. "Not you. Dagon want somebody. Dagon and Cambarro. They want somebody else."
Annabeth drew in a breath. "Who?"
"Someone you know," he replied.
Percy froze and cursed.
Aglaia was well and truly sick of those dreams. She kept herself occupied. She soothed and comforted Alex. She introduced herself to the newly-returned demigods and apologised for wearing the mask, but she needed to. She looked too… Alarmingly different. They seemed taken aback, but Aglaia was unfailingly gracious and then, she spoke with Luke. Helped the Kanes adjust. And connected with Lexie.
"Hey," She said quietly.
"Hey," Lexie said awkwardly. She had heard that Princess Aglaia was famously un-stuck up. But still, she didn't know how to approach her.
Especially since she believed that they were both related.
Aglaia sighed. She shook her head.
"I know this is awkward, and I'm sorry, truly sorry if I shocked you, with my… Little revelation."
"That's okay," Lexie said awkwardly. She examined the princess. She was wearing a mask, still. It looked cast out of molten silvery-gold, but though it covered her whole face it wasn't stiff and solid, it moved with every movement of her face and moulded it so perfectly, yet at the same time, obscured her features.
Aglaia caught her staring and smiled. "This? Leo Valdez, that son of Hephaestus who built this whole ship made it for me- and Lou Ellen too, she's the daughter of Hecate."
"Hecate?" Lexie asked. "The goddess of magic," Aglaia sat next to her and sighed. "This helps. You know… Not only do I live a very public life, I also look… Different."
"But not a bad different," Lexie pointed out.
Aglaia closed her eyes. "People would say that," she asked quietly. She gave Lexie a sceptical look. "Have you ever been stalked by anyone in your life?"
Lexie bit her lip and looked down. "Mark Hamilton," she admitted. "He was my ex-boyfriend. He's also a gangster."
"I see," Aglaia remarked. "Well… I've had it done to me numerous times. This not only disguises me while I'm on missions within the mortal world- as long as I don't speak to anyone- I can't disguise my voice- and it stops people from being too… Overwhelmed by my appearance."
Lexie nodded gravely. She understood. She saw pictures of Princess Aglaia herself as a teen, and then later at the wedding of Piper McLean. She knew how people reacted to her being so… Different.
"But surely that's-" She gestured at it, awkwardly.
Aglaia smiled and winked. "Watch this," she pressed a hidden button beneath her chin and a clicking sound was heard. Then an oozing one. The mask shimmered and…
Lexie gasped. It started to morph. The nose grew longer and slim, the face turned oval, the cheekbones looked different and the lips were full. But something fell over and covered the eye-holes where her eyes peeked through and it shimmered and turned to look like round midnight-blue eyes. It even seemed to shimmer around the edges and sprouted lashes. The eyebrows were long, the skin was fair and hair grew from the top of the mask, covering her black hair and the colour was brown.
"Surprise," Aglaia sounded amused.
"That… That is really…" Lexie's eyes were wide. "Oh my gosh! That is amazing!"
"Leo's a genius and so is Lou Ellen," Aglaia smiled. "This isn't the only one. I can get it to change shape. It manipulates the Mist."
"The Mist which keeps mortals from seeing monsters and other supernatural things?" Lexie asked hesitantly.
Aglaia nodded.
She pressed another button and the mask changed back to what it was before. "I can't lose it," she said. "Only I can take it off." She then sighed. "Although I've worn many… Metaphorical masks over the years."
Lexie was silent. Somehow, she understood what Aglaia meant. Living a very public life, full of public service and royal works, if her life was anything like her relatives, the British royal family, she wouldn't get a moment's privacy. Lexie tried to imagine how she managed to live a double life in the public eye as a princess, while also being a demigod, hunted by monsters, and looking out for the others.
"This… Mark Hamilton," Aglaia began. "Is he still bothering you?"
"Without the shadow of a doubt, he'll be enraged if he hasn't already found out, that I'd gone off to Scotland, especially when Alex got one of his goons and scared him and told him to bugger off." Lexie remembered the confrontation with one of Mark's goons and Alex.
Aglaia grimaced. "He probably thought you eloped with him."
"Yeah, but Gretna Green would be the logical choice," she replied.
"Gretna Green?" Aglaia asked.
"It's where couples traditionally elope and honeymoon in Britain," Lexie explained. "Like Vegas for Americans, only in the south of Scotland. People usually get married there in blacksmiths' shops."
Aglaia stared at her before bursting out laughing.
Lexie laughed with her.
"Do I want to know what Alex did to scare them off?" Aglaia asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
Lexie grinned.
The fear, the pain, the panic still lingered, but looking at Lexie, and maybe the new friends newly-returned, Aglaia felt that they would have a chance.
Spanish words:
"Señor, hemos hecho lo que ordenaste,"- Lord, we have done what you ordered.
"Bueno,"- Good.
"¿Así que todo está listo?"- So everything is ready?
"Si, Señor."- Yes, sir.
"La trampa es el ajuste uno se nos ha prometido llegará. ¿Pero y los demás? ¿Los que ya están aquí?- The trap is set- the one we are promised will arrive. But what about the others? The ones that are already here?
"No son más que meras molestias,"- They are nothing more than mere annoyances/nuisances,
"No se atreven a desafiar a nuestro Padre Dagón directamente. Se esconden detrás de sus padres, los dioses menores, pero incluso ellos no pueden igualar y no saber o recordar el poder, los horrores de los Grandes Antiguos, Padre Dagón, el más grande entre ellos."- They dare not challenge our Father Dagon directly. They hide behind their parents, the lesser gods, but even they cannot match and do not know or remember the power, the horrors of the Great Old Ones- Father Dagon, the Greatest among them.