"Uh, Lou, I know this isn't relevant, but there's a lot of frozen food in the trunk."

"It's on ice 'n' it's nice ta know you've got your priorities straight." Jessica smiled sheepishly. Louisa was restringing her bow as an enemy archer had shot it. The enemy arrow had skimmed past Louisa's upper arm, leaving a flesh wound. Blood was slowly soaking Louisa's sleeve, having neared her elbow already.

"I'm trying to keep as normal as possible, Lou."

"Isn't that nice? Ha, done." Louisa said proudly. She notched an arrow and fired out the passenger window at the empousa who had caught up. The empousa exploded, thankfully away from the open window, yellow monster dust splattering across the empousa's sisters.

Louisa closed the window.

"Uh, Lou?"

"Mmm?"

"Red light." Louisa looked round. She scowled and cursed in ancient Greek. "I don't want to know what that means, do I?"

"No, 'cos ya'd tell me ta wash my mouth out with soap or somethin'." Louisa grumbled. There was a dull thud followed by sharper more repetitive ones. An empousa had landed on the roof and was trying to punch her way in. "Look, they're after me- I'll go, you go home."

"What? No!" Louisa pointed an arrow at her foster mother.

"Frankly, ya don't have a choice. Besides, the frozen food stuff ain't gonna last forever on ice 'n' I don't want food poisonin' on top of a monster infest, OK?"

"You are not going out there alone."

"You gonna stop me?" Louisa challenged. Jessica tried to think how, but Louisa had already opened the passenger door.

"Lou!"

"See ya later, Jessica." Louisa shot the empousa on the roof before it ripped her head off, kicked the passenger door shut and sprinted off. Jessica stared after her in wonder.

The girl was senile. Absolutely bonkers. Mad. Off her trolley. Lost her marbles. Every statement that described insanity wasn't good enough. There needed to be more!

The light decided to turn green.

As Jessica drove, she formulated the starts of an idiotic plan.

Get home.

(Put shopping away- and quickly).

Try and find Louisa's secret stash of demigod weapons.

Jessica knew Louisa had some somewhere. Poseidon had warned her and she had found a knife in the toilet cistern, which had been kind of funny after the initial shock.

What Jessica hadn't planned on was Harvey.

Harvey was at her home.

And he had seemed to move in.

"Alright, Jess?" He asked with smile. "Where's Lou?"

"Um, well, she, uh…"

"Did she run off?" Jessica looked at him. His expression was concerned, but was that a glimmer of hope in his eyes?

"She had to. There're some things after her." Jessica kept her voice at monotone.

"Things? Like what?"

Male… now I know why Lou finds him annoying.

"Dangerous things that can get her hurt! A lot! Or worse!"

"OK, OK, let me help." Jessica nearly had a heart attack. Harvey and Louisa were always arguing, but now Harvey was offering to help Louisa? It didn't make sense. "Look, she's a demigod, I know."

"How-?"

"I'm one too, just not as powerful." Jessica stared at him. "Mom's a minor goddess. Louisa's mom or dad, whoever they are, clearly isn't."

"You're a demigod." Jessica said.

"Yes."

"You. Demigod." Harvey nodded, smiling slightly. Now she had two demigods in her life? "Oh gods, I need to sit down." Harvey chuckled. Jessica sunk onto the nearest chair. Two demigods? How had that happened? "When were you going to tell me?"

"First date?" Harvey smiled sheepishly. Jessica groaned.

"Lou was right. You are trouble." Harvey's smile faded in annoyance.

"Yeah, and Lou's in trouble. Where did you last see her?" Jessica didn't get to answer. The kitchen window opened of its own accord and a thick tendril of water snaked through, landing on her carpet. The water rose and formed the shape of a man.

A second later, Poseidon stood in her kitchen, grim faced.

"P-P…" Harvey stammered. He had seen Poseidon before, but hadn't recognised him. Now he did.

"Poseidon, yes. Jessica, Louisa's all over Hephaestus TV."

"Hephaestus TV?" Poseidon gave a wry smile.

"Yes." He held his hand out and an orb of water the size of a basketball formed hovering over his palm. The orb cleared and became as defined as the latest TV model.

Louisa was hiding behind a parked car, restringing her bow. She had a gash running from under her eye to her jawline, a three claw mark on her shoulder and her hair was coated with yellow monster dust.

"Lou…" Jessica pulled herself together. "Can't you do something?" She cried at the sea god. He frowned.

"We are not allowed to help directly with our children's affairs."

"What? That's stupid!"

"In some cases, I agree. But it is of ancient law." The orb melted as the view panned to show the army of oncoming monsters, led by the hydra. "But Harvey can help. He can see better through the Mist and has had a certain degree of training from his mother."

"Who is your mom?" Jessica asked, looking at her friend.

"Later." Harvey said, but he didn't sound promising.

"I can offer transport to get you quickly to my daughter. Other than that, I cannot be of much assistance."

"She's your daughter though. There has to be something you can do!" Poseidon frowned in thought.

"Maybe if she was closer to the sea, I could help her more."

"OK, I'll try and get her closer to the sea. No biggie. How do I get there?"

"Pegasus of course." Poseidon smiled, reminding Jessica of the cheeky smile Louisa got seconds before Jessica triggered one of her pranks.

"Oh." Harvey said quietly.

"What can I do?" Poseidon looked at her, thinking furiously.

"Louisa may need a bag packed."

"Why?"

"I will explain later. Just get the bag packed please."

"For how long?"

"A few weeks." Before Jessica could protest, Poseidon turned and led Harvey out of the apartment.

A few weeks? A few weeks? Was the sea god taking her foster daughter away?