After we had our plan it was time to execute it, we all went separate ways and decided it would be better if Zoey didn't see us- on account we were going behind her back. So Erin and Shaunee took Stevie Rae to their room, and Annabeth went to her own- to get Aphrodite to go and meet Will. Will was in the Library reading to calm his nerves and his phone in his pocket. Damien, Nico, and I went to our dorm to wait for Will to text us the location.

Damien decided to calm our nerves to teach us how to cross-stitch while we talked as casually as we could. I was doing a trident and Nico was doing a dog, and Damien was working on the pattern he worked on last night, the labyrinth of Nyx. Cammy was laying down purring next to him and Nico sat up.

"How long will you think Aphrodite would take to get a new refrigerator? What if they already had one?" Nico asked, clearly worried about Will.

Damien looked at him then looked at his own phone, "I don't think she would take long, I don't know if she already had a new one."

I then looked at Nico, "I hate to say this- but do you really think Aphrodite would give up the chance to rub it in Zoey's face that the blood that was used was from one of her friends? The plan will work."

Nico nodded then sighed, "I'm sorry… It's just I don't want him to get hurt more than he already has to..."

Then I realized this was the first time in a long while I've seen Nico so vulnerable. I felt upset and sympathetic. I thought about how I would have felt if it was Anabeth in this situation. I shook my head, "Don't be sorry Nico- I understand."

Damien nodded and smiled, "It's okay- we all are worried, and we understand why you're worried as well."

Nico smiled and nodded, "This somehow is scarier then Gaea… well maybe not Gaea but when Will got into Octavian's face." He said then chuckled a bit. "Will got right up in his face- right after Octavian said Apollo showed him the future, and said; 'No, I am a son of Apollo, you anemic loser.' and completely fact checked all the nonsense Octavian spued before that." He chuckled, "Right before that he made me realize that a lot of the reason people stayed away from me- was because I made myself somewhat unapproachable. I owe a lot to him."

I smiled and chuckled a bit. I loved how Nico started to look like his younger self as he talked about Will. He really was fitting in with the Nerd Herd and was opening up to others. Even with the uneasy feeling in the air- at least in this room, it was calm for a while. I knew Damien got the same feeling because then we all went on a spiral of having Nico tell us stories about Will and talking about celebrity crushes.

Then we all got a text from Will.

Will: Philbrook Museum, I'm going there now with Deino, Enyo, and Pemphredo. Meet me there.

Erin: Creek?

Damien: Sounds like a plan.

Stevie Rae: Meet y'all there

We then got up and put on a jacket before heading out. We all walked to the creek and saw that Annabeth had already gotten there before us. She was sitting near the creek watching for us then waved when she saw us. The Twins and Stevie Rae soon followed after us. We all then made a game plan to get to the museum without anyone following us. We then quickly moved to meet Will at the museum.

With the secrecy I felt a tug at my soul as we walked through the streets of Tulsa. I looked at Nico and he was messing with his ring. I quickly put my hand in my pocket and pulled out Riptide. I smiled a bit and then bit my lip. Riptide would protect us if we fell into any unnatural trap right? I took a deep breath when we got to the museum. I looked around and saw that there were no guards at all. Nico closed his eyes for a moment, mumbling something then led us to this Gazebo that looked to be right out of Olympus.

I looked at Annabeth who looked at me then put her yankee hat on and disappeared. I smiled and nunged Damien and the others Pointing to the plants. We all got behind them, not before Nico somehow got Will to know that we were there. I saw Will immediately relax and Enyo held a blade in her hand and Pemphredo sat down.

Nico then took me and him to a dark corner of the Gazebo and used the shadows to cloak us. I saw he was gritting his teeth. Not knowing what else to do I grabbed his hand trying to calm him down. Nico looked over at me then just looked back at Will, but his anger started to subside.

I let go of his hand as I heard footsteps coming closer, I saw that Will had gotten a black cloak put over him and his foot was shaking as he held his wrist and his hand glowed ever so slightly. He had his head down and I felt Nico grab my hand tightly, I looked to see Aphrodite walking to the middle of the gazebo and saw Enyo, Deino, Pemphredo and another dark daughter take their place around the circle.

"I will cast the circle and call the spirits of our ancestors to dance within it with us," Aphrodite said, her voice carrying similar to Neferet yet there was a hint of uncertainty. A hint of 'I don't belong here' hidden by a mask of arrogance.

I got a bad feeling that this was all going to go to shit. As I watched Aphrodite call the elements and her circle I felt power. I felt power being used wrongly. Like when Luke used his own body as a vessel for Kronos. As I watched Aphrodite work I felt this weird feeling and couldn't help but look around the circle and spotted Zoey. She had her eyes closed but her mouth was pierced into a contemplative state. Like she herself was contemplating Aphrodite's act. Eric stood close to her and I could help but smile at them.

I looked around and noticed everyone had a look of seriousness as We all watched Aphrodite. Nico glared at Aphrodite and I was scared at what he might do. She started her ritual moving in a way that was seductive- but bad seductive. She lit a long braid of grass over the purple spirit flame, so that it lit quickly. She let it burn for a while then blew it out. I smelt the smoke and it smelt almost sweet? I looked over to Zoey and she had an extremely worried expression on her face. She looked as if she wanted to say something- but it was too late as Aphrodite started to call upon the spirits, her voice becoming eerie and wispful. Smoke curled thickly around her making her voice sound like she was a stereotypical witch in movies- chanting over a boiling cauldron.

On this Samhain night, hear my ancient call all you spirits of our ancestors. On this Samhain night, let my voice carry with this smoke to the Otherworld where bright spirits play in the sweet grass mists of memory. On this Samhain night I do not call the spirits of our human ancestors. No, I let them sleep; I have no need for them in life or death. On this Samhain night I call magical ancestors- mystical ancestors- those who were once more than human, and who, in death, are more than human.

I felt a bad feeling start to rise in my chest as I watched the smoke swirl and take on forms. I felt my stomach turn cold and took out Riptide and ran my hand to take off the cap at any point. Aphrodite continued to wave the smoke and I continued to see that people were forming in the smoke. Suddenly the circle was filled with spectral figures that had dark, cavernous eyes and open mouths. They didn't look anything like Elizabeth and that's when I believe my gut and Dragon's remarks about what I saw the other night. Aphrodite put down the grass- still smoking and picked up the goblet. Even from where I was in the shadows- it seemed like Aphrodite was physically more pale than usual. Like summoning the ghosts means she takes on some of the attributes of a ghost. Her red dress was super bright within the circle amongst smoke and grey mist.

Mist. There was mist tonight- Nico looked at me and nodded. We both had a feeling something was going to happen. Then as if on cue- Aphrodite raised the goblet and spoke.

"I greet you, ancestral spirits, and ask that you accept our offering of wine and blood so that you may remember what it is to taste life." The smokey shapes churned and roiled with excitement, "I greet you, ancestral spirits, and within the protection of my circle I-"

"Zo! I knew I'd find you if I tried hard enough!"

Zoey's ex-boyfriend's words cut through the night, cutting off Aphrodite's words, setting off a chain of chaos actions.