Hello all, I'm sorry for the delay. Finals and final projects got me so behind on writing, but break has started so hopefully I'll be able to get back to a weekly post schedule! Hope you like the latest chapter!

~Secrethalfblood

Cpov

The next few days passed in what felt like an unending blur. Micah and the Underworld campers had formed a search squad, sending Evelyn's friends out in twos and threes trying to find her, scouring the places she might be, locations she was known to frequent, or she might go if she was wounded but they'd all come back without her.

My blood went cold at this thought because I knew wounded was probably the best-case scenario.

If Evelyn hadn't come back, it was because she couldn't. She knew exactly what would happen to her friends if people knew she wasn't there to shield them. Especially if Micah was looking for her. She wouldn't put them though this if she could come back. She wouldn't put me through this. And if it was worse than that... if she'd been more than just wounded…

I shook my head trying not to think about it.

The worst part was I could do nothing to help. I kept going over the moment in my head, but I had no idea who took Evelyn, who would want to take her, or what they'd done to her that kept her from coming back. I'd wanted to join the scout parties, but they consisted entirely of the Underworld campers and they wanted nothing to do with me.

'You've done enough.' Was all Micah had said when I'd asked. They hadn't found Evelyn at Hecate's sanctuary. None of them wanted my help, and while I didn't blame them, I hated it.

Even if they didn't despise me I was useless. Ev was gone. I couldn't think, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I was barely keeping it together.

Sometimes, it felt like what was happening wasn't real. Like my brain couldn't process the fact that we couldn't find her. Half the time I expected to turn around and she'd be right there, stepping out of a shadow and rolling her eyes telling me not to worry. Other times, the gravity of the situation hit me and it was so heavy, I wondered if I'd ever see her again.

Time moved in weird ways. Sometimes hours trickled by without my notice, others, it felt like it had stopped altogether. I occasionally went to activities, but for the most part I avoided people. Whole chunks of the day would pass where I did nothing, practically catatonic, without even realizing it.

I didn't understand how the rest of the campers were doing it. They were going on with the normal routine as if nothing had happened. As if the world hadn't stopped. Like one of us wasn't missing. No one knew where Ev was and it was like no one but the Underworld campers and I seemed to care.

Most of the time I was numb, but occasionally, I'd be so angry at them for not caring, for going around like nothing was wrong, I wanted to scream. I wanted yell, I wanted to break things, to do something, but it didn't matter what I did because none of it would bring her back, and it only got worse when I'd heard several counselors like Broderick and Angela herself had refused to help.

I hadn't talked to Angela for two days now, no matter how often she tried. I wasn't talking to any of my siblings really. The only thing that seemed to break me out of this weird daze were the skirmishes that were breaking out between the campers.

The Underworld kids that had been left behind, younger siblings or those with no mission or combat experience, seemed to be in a state of barely controlled panic. They moved around the camp in wide-eyed packs, sticking together, whispering and looked worried. It was clear Micah and the others hadn't told them what was going on, but they couldn't help but notice she was gone, and the others were looking for her. Their greatest protector was missing, and the older campers, people like Micah, their last line of defense from the other campers were periodically leaving only not to find her. It was pretty much open season on Underworld campers.

Out-numbered and out gunned, the youngest of the Underworld campers were being targeted. Chiron did what he could to keep the fighting under control but he couldn't be everywhere.

I felt my fingers clench tightly around the coin in my pocket as I walked through the camp, feeling the cuts on my knuckles stretch and start to split open. I'd earned the injury from pulling an Ares brother off of Micah's brother Evan, and the resulting fight. I ignored cuts hardly feeling the pain, aware of the whispers that were following me as I walked but not caring, only mildly interested when I felt the first drops of blood sliding from the wound.

People had been talking about me since I'd been back, no doubt wondering why I was so upset about 'the Underfreak', but I didn't care. I didn't care about much at the moment.

Normally, I wouldn't resort to physical violence when it came to anger, but it had just sort of happened. I couldn't stand what was seeing. I knew how Evelyn would feel if she knew what was being done to her friends and that she wasn't able to stop it and it infuriated me that people like Broderick and his cronies were going after little kids. I completely lost control. But I wasn't in control of a lot of things right now.

My friends had dropped me but I didn't care. Even the ones I hadn't blown up on I still resented. It didn't bother me that none of them had cared enough about me to help me when I needed it, but none of them cared that Evelyn was in trouble which I couldn't forgive.

I couldn't do much, but I could make sure that when she did come back, it wouldn't be to what was left of her friends.

'If she comes back.' A small voice in the back of my mind said quietly and I winced.

'She'll come back.' I thought desperately. 'She has to.'

I'd just made it to the dining pavilion to try and force myself to eat something for lunch when I saw Micah's scouting party preparing to take off for its second sweep. I watched them for a while, wondering where they were searching when an arrogant voice caught my attention.

"Yeah custom made by Demetrius, you know, that scrawny kid from Cabin 9? Tip is coated in Gorgon blood, the poisonous kind."

I turned to see Broderick with a group of people, mostly his siblings and April. He was bragging about his new weapon, a spear he'd supposedly designed himself and had commissioned by one of the Hephaestus campers. It was a slim weapon, made of what looked like a dark metal, a titanium blade at the tip, with razor sharp edges.

"And if that isn't sick enough," he continued. "It's got a quick release with a concealed blade. The point is hollowed so that injects pit scorpion venom the second you make a solid contact." he let out a vicious laugh. "Two poisons in one, not enough Nectar or Ambrosia on Olympus to bring someone back from that combo."

I noticed April's eyes dart in my direction. Her expression looked conflicted, as if she wanted to say something, but I looked away not really caring if she did or not. I wasn't really sure what to do about her. She'd surprised me over the past few days, managing to talk Broderick out of a few fights before they started, but she didn't seem to try very hard to stop the violence once it already started.

Already whispers of a full-scale battle between the two camp factions were circling, and while Chiron made it clear he wouldn't tolerate this, I didn't know how he planned to stop it. Knowing Micah and Broderick, they'd been waiting for this fight a long time. I only prayed they found Evelyn before it did.

I knew I should probably say something to April, apologize for what I'd done to her and how I acted, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I just didn't have the energy to care. Instead I kept walking, my mind, as always, on Ev. Hoping she was ok.

"You know. I'm actually kind of disappointed." Broderick continued his voice suddenly louder, as if he wanted it to carry further as I was walked away. "I had the inspiration for the design when I was thinking about the Underfreak."

I froze.

"You know, what it might take to finally get rid of her once and for all."

Rage caught within me, blistering and uncontrolled, spreading like wildfire in an open field during a drought.

"Seems now we'll never know, huh Cass?" He asked and I could hear his smirk. "Guess we have you to thank for that."

With unbridled fury, I turned, not caring how many of them there were or what would happen next. I was ready to pour every last bit of terror and anger and frustration I felt on to Broderick and his stupid friends. I took a step, rage coursing through me like poison, but was surprised when I felt someone grab my shoulder.

I looked down to see Maya, Micah's girlfriend and Evelyn's friend standing next to me. She was seething in anger, but she was still holding me back.

"Shut up Broderick." She snarled through gritted teeth and he raised an eyebrow.

"Make me pipsqueak." He said sounding amused.

At this she let out a bitter noise. Something close to condescending laugh.

"Please, I know exactly what I need to do to make you do anything." She scoffed. "And if it's too hard for your tiny little brain to comprehend what I mean by that. Look to your left moron. It might clear a few things up."

That shut him up. He went scarlet as April, who was standing right next to Broderick, turned obviously expecting to see something in the distance, while everyone else looked right at her.

"C'mon Cass." She muttered dragging me away from the group.

"I'm going to kill him." I growled my voice shaking has my hands clenched into fists.

"Don't be an idiot. He could rip your head off."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because he's an imbecile who goes about trying to impress girls the wrong way." She snarled.

"No, not that." I said shaking my head. "Why did you stop me?"

"Because you were about to be pounded into a pulp." She said as if this was obvious.

"I don't care." I said repeated darkly.

"Well I do." She said stiffly. "And so would Ev. So stop making everything about you."

Instantly, like water thrown to flame, the fury within me died. I glanced at her and while her tone was quiet, her jaw was set. But she didn't look angry. She looked sad.

I didn't understand this.

"Why do you care what happens to me?" I asked softly.

I figured she'd hate me like the rest of her friends.

She hesitated for a moment, as if she wasn't really sure how to say what she wanted, but eventually she replied.

"Because when Broderick and his sister went after me, you made sure I was ok." She said quietly. "You made sure Ev was ok too. You said if we had problems with the Ares kids, we should come to you."

I paused and looked at her in surprise. She remembered that?

"I'm not sure why, but in your own weird Son of Aphrodite way, you've always made sure we were alright. And right now you clearly aren't. So, the way I see it," she paused and looked a little uncomfortable, but pressed on nevertheless. "It's our turn to look out for you. That, and it's what Ev would want. She clearly sees you as one of us or something close to it. And that's good enough for me."

"One of you guys. What does that mean?" I asked.

"Look," she said forcing me to a bench next to the basketball courts. No one was around us and she was fixing me with a suspicious look. "I don't know what was going on with you and Ev before you guys left camp together, or what happened when you did, but something clearly was." She said crossing her arms over her chest. "I know where that sword came from." She gestured towards Evelyn's blade on my belt. "That was her favorite weapon before she could handle wielding Stygian iron all the time. She wouldn't give it to just anybody. And I'm sick of wasting time with these useless search parties. They're not finding anything and I think the best way of saving her is sitting in front of me. You clearly mean something to her, and if Micah won't listen to me then I guess I'll have to do it myself."

"I can't help you." I said shaking my head, hopelessness washing over me yet again. "I didn't recognize what took her. I don't know where she is."

"There's got to be something." She said stubbornly glaring at me. "Evelyn cares about you, and from what it looks like, she's trusted you with more than she trusted some of us with."

Her tone was tight, controlled, and I knew she was trying not to show how much this bothered her and focusing on the situation instead.

"So think." She continued flatly. "You two spent a lot of time together on that mission. There's got to be something you know that can help us. Something that we don't."

"I-" I started expecting my brain to freeze or spiral into a mess of panicked thoughts like it had done recently, but her steadiness seemed calmed me.

Her gaze met mine, and while here eyes were brown, they weren't nearly as dark as Evelyn's, or as intense. But Maya hadn't lived the sort of life Evelyn had. Hadn't seen the things that Evelyn had had to see. Her eyes were kind, but didn't seem to look through me like Evelyn's did. They didn't have the ability to look at a person or a situation and calculate it, break it down, while revealing nothing of herself, all the while, deep down, hoping that whoever did get to know her, might accept her.

I thought back over the mission. Everything over those days that Evelyn had allowed me to get to know. All the places we'd been, all the things we'd talked about. I hadn't realized it then, but looking at Maya now, I realized how unusual that might be for Evelyn. To let someone really get to know her and suddenly, something fell into place. A switch was flipped and I felt my brain firing on, not all, but at least some cylinders. I was finally starting to think straight.

Maya was right. I did know something she didn't. Something Evelyn had shown me, that no one at camp knew. I hadn't thought much of it at the time but looking back, I should have been amazed that Evelyn had shown me at all. She hadn't even told her friends.

"I think I might actually know someone who might be able to help us." I said amazed I hadn't thought of this before, and Maya looked at me in surprise. "But we need to leave now. And we might not get a very warm welcome."

"Where are we going?"

"New York." I answered.

"And what's there?" she asked with a frown.

"A friend of Evelyn's." I said getting to my feet. "His name is Hank. He knows a lot more about Evelyn's life outside of camp than I think anyone does, her demigod life at least. He might be able to help."

She still looked a little suspicious and while she'd said she thought I could help, it was clear she still wasn't in love with the idea of working with an Olympian camper.

'Well, she's going to have to get over that.' I thought wryly.

In the end, I didn't really care what she thought about me. But if she could help me find Evelyn, I would work with her. I'd do anything.

"Alright." she agreed with a nod, and while her voice was soft, it was determined. "We can use my search team's chariot. Let's go."

…

It took me a while to find the 'Tipsy Satyr', not least because according to the internet, it didn't exist.

We'd touched down in the city at about midday, but it was well into the evening before we got anywhere close. When I finally managed to find the right street, it took a while to find the staircase that led to the bar entrance. As we approached, I saw a young couple rushing out of it.

"AND STAY OUT!" Hanks voice shouted irritated and I saw a crossbow bolt bounce off the concrete just outside the door.

The couple hurried up the stairs looking flustered, and the door slammed shut but not before the hours sign was purposefully readjusted to 'closed.'

"You sure this is the right place?" Maya asked her eyes going wide as they darted anxiously from the arrow to the entrance. Clearly, she was apprehensive and while I didn't blame her, as of right now, this was our best chance at finding Evelyn.

"This is it." I said jogging down the stairs and opening the door.

"I said we're closed!" Hank yelled from behind the bar and I ducked as a bottle was thrown at me.

The glass shattered and the smell of sour wine washed over me.

"If you snap one more picture for your Instagram I swear-"

But he cut himself short when he realized we weren't the unfortunate couple he'd just chased out. Judging by his words, I figured they had assumed they'd stumbled across a trendy dive bar in NYC and thought they'd post about their experience and while I hadn't known him long, I knew Hank would not be happy about that. Not if he wanted to continue living under the radar.

"Beat it." he snapped. "I don't serve ninety percent of the people who walk in here, and I'm not about to serve a couple of kids."

"We're not here for drinks." I said making sure to step in front of Maya in case he got any ideas about throwing more bottles. "We need your help."

"Get out of here." He said sounding aggravated and waving me off as he started making his way towards the back room. He picked a glass up off the counter and started to clean it with a towel that had been thrown over his shoulder but froze when I said.

"Hank."

Slowly, he turned to look at me his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How do you know my name?" he asked warily, clearly caught off guard, but his trepidation was quickly turning into anger. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Cassian Holt. We've met before."

"I don't remember you."

"I didn't exactly look the same." I explained. "I was here just a few days ago, with Evelyn."

He paused for a second, his eyes narrowing farther, clearly trying sort through his memories over the past week or so but I could see when he arrived to the correct one, because he looked less suspicious.

"So." He said his tone calculated. "You're Aphrodite boy."

"Yes." I confirmed as carefully, Maya stepped out from behind me. "This is Maya. She's a friend of Evelyn's as well."

"Dammit Ev." he muttered rubbing the back of his head looking stressed, but now facing me completely me all the same. "How many kids are you going to send me…"

His tone turned gruff.

"Well? What do you want?" he snapped. "Where is Evelyn anyways? What's the that little punk gotten herself into now?"

"She's missing." I said feeling my heart constrict at the words.

For the second time in the passed few minutes, I heard something shatter and I realized he'd dropped the glass he'd been polishing, but he didn't move to pick up the pieces.

"What?" he asked sharply.

"Something took her." I said quietly and his expression went dark.

"What took her?"

"I don't know." I admitted shaking my head. "We were hoping you could help us figure that out. It might help us find her."

He hesitated for a second, apparently thinking, before ignoring the glass shards and walking towards the back room.

"Come with me." He called gesturing for us to follow him and after a quick glance at each other, Maya and I stepped behind the bar.

"Who is this guy?" Maya asked quietly as we passed the register.

"He's a friend of Ev's. He runs this place."

"And he knows who she is?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, he's a demigod as well."

"Oh." She said sounding a little surprised. "How does she even know him?"

I explained what I knew of Hank and Evelyn's relationship as we walked into the backroom which was tiny and packed with the usual things you'd expect to see at a bar. Bottles, extra chairs, broken furniture from what looked like bar and monster fights. On the far side was a curtain which I could only assume Hank had walked through since he wasn't here.

I pushed it aside and felt a shock go through me. The room hidden behind the curtain was much bigger than I expected it to be. It was almost the size of the entire bar. These walls too were covered with a mix of books, scrolls, and weapons. A wide safe, about waist high, was tucked in a corner and I noticed a weird, crystal chandelier hung low from the ceiling falling in the center of the room over a worn wooden table. It didn't look expensive. The crystals were jagged and prismic in shape, held together by silver wiring, and it looked as if he'd created it himself. It was bizarre, almost sinister looking, but at the same time it glittered in a pretty, lethal sort of way.

"What the-" Maya started looking a little stunned by Hank cut her off.

"I have spent decades, creating the most extensive underground information network the mythological world has ever seen." He said rifling through books, throwing them to the floor in frustration when he didn't seem to find what he was looking for. "And I'll be damned if it won't be able to find one freakishly powerful little girl. Ah."

He pulled a book off a shelf and I heard a 'thunk' as some sort of mechanism was released, opening a panel in the wall.

"You are looking at my life work." He said gruffly, reaching into the secret compartment and tossing a battered leather book onto the table with a heavy 'thud.' Dust rose off the cover, causing Maya to sneeze, but again he ignored her.

"Every contact I have that is worth anything is in there." He said giving the book a pointed look and Maya reached for it.

"You know all these people…?" She asked weakly as she flipped through the pages. The book was massive and looked as it had been added to and edited over the years.

Photos and illustrations of contacts covered the pages, as well as information about them. Aliases, known family and friends, debts they owed him… weaknesses.

"Yes," he said answering Maya's question bringing me back to the present and our current situation. "I know all of them, and most of them owe me a favor in some way, shape, or form. We're going to talk to them all until we get a lead. A kid as powerful as Evelyn don't just disappear." He glowered at the book. "Someone has got to know something."

"Alright. But how?" Maya asked sounding a little overwhelmed. The codex ranged from local nymphs to Olympians themselves. "It's not like we can just go around knocking on doors. Even if we had Ev and her ability to shadow travel, this would take forever."

Hank didn't answer, instead walked over to the safe and opened it.

"Like this." He said reaching for a light switch while kicking over the safe and I was stunned to see an avalanche of gold drachmas slide on to the floor as the lights went off. The chandelier flared into life, throwing patches of rainbow all over the room.

"Iris messages." he said grabbing a fist full of coins and tossing them on to the table.

We each grabbed a few coins and Maya turned a few more pages, clearly trying to find someone she thought would be a likely candidate and I saw just how extensive his records were. He'd even classified how much of a threat each person he perceived to be. My heart faltered as Maya stopped on a page with familiar face.

It was Ev. The picture was dated, taken several years ago by the look of it, but there was no question that it was her. She looked to be barely older than eleven or twelve, her dark hair in high pigtails which only highlighted her age. This must have been before her switch to band shirts or her irritation at being photographed, because her t shirt was light pink and looked as if it had been dragged through a battle field. She was smiling brightly at the camera, her fingers held up in the peace symbol. Gauze was patched to her cheek and the wrist that was in frame was wrapped with medical tape.

I realized this must have been when they'd first met, after their run in with the minotaur, because she was obviously sitting at the bar. While the picture was old, the information on the page was not. Under the name 'Evelyn "Emerald" Blake' were several lines of text, all information he'd gathered about her over the years. Quests and missions she'd been a part of, Gods who liked her, Gods who didn't. People who owed her favors. All the favors he'd done for her. He even knew about her oath with Micah.

That made me uneasy.

How did he know all this? Had she really told him what her father called her? Or had he figured it out? And if so, how had he?

I glanced up at Hank cautiously, surprised he'd felt the need to keep tabs on a little kid, even if she was a daughter of one of the Big Three.

Next to her name was a classification, in bolded leaders so it couldn't be missed.

'DANGEROUS: Powerful. To be watched.'

This shocked me. Hank was her friend, or at least he pretended to be. He'd known her since she was this goofy little girl in the picture and I felt my stomach twist. Despite the fact he was currently trying to find her, he didn't trust her. He never had. Even when she was so young.

Maya shook her head, apparently trying to collect herself as she turned the page, but not before I read what was at the very bottom.

'Weaknesses/Points of Pressure: Loved ones (Family & friends)'

There was a list of people Evelyn knew, each with an explanation of who they were and how close they were to her. He didn't have all her friends, but he definitely had the major players including Micah, and Maya, which, I realized anxiously, he'd failed to mention he already knew. Nick and her mother were on there as well.

A pang of surprise went through me as I saw the last entry. It was written in a different color and letters showed no signs of fading. As if it had been written recently.

'Aphrodite boy?'

Hank clearly had had no idea who I was before today and I wondered if that was why Evelyn had refused to tell him. Maybe that was why he'd looked so annoyed. Had she known he was keeping tabs on her like this? Or had just guessed he'd had some sort of records system for his network and didn't want to get me involved. Either way I guess it didn't matter. It looked as if it was too late now.

"Start with people who have ties to both Olympus and the Underworld." Hank instructed breaking me from this line of thought. "Focus on minor gods and relatively unimportant names if you can. People tend to be a little more careless with what they say around people they don't think are that important, if any rumors are spreading, it will be going through them." He grimaced before saying. "And if we're dealing with a major player here, we don't want them to know we're asking questions."

"A major player?" Maya asked quizzically.

"He means a major God." I said quietly, feeling my body go cold.

'An Olympian.' My mind added bitterly, because who else could it be? No sane being from the Underworld would take a child of Hades.

Maya must have been thinking along the same lines, because she glanced at me for a second, an instinctual distrust entering her eyes before she quickly looked away.

"Get calling." Hank said quietly tossing a coin into the nearest spectrum, reciting the offering, and naming one of the nymphs.