While Mr. Graves fluttered about, heating up the water for the tea and trying to not trip over all the books that littered his floor like a landfill, he threw questions at Anusha, quizzing her about anything and everything related to being a plague-bringer. She answered to the best of her ability, but I didn't need to be telepathic to know he was wearing her out. So, I suggested that they just sit and relax while I get to making the tea. Tlato kept them company, so I was alone in the kitchen.

I don't know why, but I figured he either didn't want to wander around the house and make Mr. Graves feel uncomfortable, or he didn't want to leave Anu alone with my old teacher and make her uncomfortable.

As I brought out the tea on a platter with four teacups, a little cup of lemon slices, and a little jar of sugar cubes, Tlatoany shot me an amused grin.

"I keep forgetting your family probably taught you to be all fancy and made you learn stuff like what specific foods to serve with different teas," he teased with a fairly stiff face. I rolled my eyes.

"They made me learn a lot of things. But they never taught me about tea. That was all Mr. Graves."

Before I could continue my story, and before Tlato could respond, Anu asked my former teacher a question. "What has you so interested in plague-bringers, Mr. Graves? My ancestors were killed centuries ago, but there is very little record of them. Why do you care about their story?"

To my great surprise and concern, Mr. Graves didn't respond immediately, instead mumbling a few words and correcting himself before finally explaining, "I love history, my dear. Ancestry and legacy are very important in New Rome and in the Legion. And so, I've learned to appreciate the stories of modern demigods' elders."

Anusha seemed just as displeased with the answer, but she nodded without another word, eyes narrowed at the man's tense face.

I sat down and poured myself a cup of tea, dropping in two sugar cubes to balance out the bitterness. Anusha took the plain tea and sipped it silently. The discomfort in the room was practically palpable. Everything felt so intense. The squeaking of the leather chairs, the clink of cups against saucers, even the quiet scrape of sugar cubes sliding against one another.

After finishing her tea, Anusha drew in a deep breath through the nose and exhaled through the mouth. She turned to Mr. Graves, facing him fully, and glared right into his eyes. "I am not a smart person, Mr. Graves. The schools I went to as a kid and go to now aren't great, and I have a hard time picking up on stuff like sarcasm. But I know a lie when I hear one. My gut tells me things like that, and it is never wrong. Ever."

Mr. Graves shifted away from her, scooting backward on the long yellow leather couch he occupied. His glasses slipped down his nose, and he pushed them up with a quivering, bony finger. He began visibly quaking, shoulders jumping like there was an earthquake.

Anu smiled coldly, her eyes much crueler than I ever thought possible. "You know this well, sir. I am the plague-bringer. I am not afraid to use my powers. I won't now because you're very clearly terrified of me. I want you to keep that energy. I want you to always remember, for the time I'm here, how powerful I am. How I don't need to spend time thinking about how to hurt you. I don't even need to lift a finger or foot. All I gotta do is breathe real hard, and you'll be a pile of bleached-white bones before I'm out the door. You understand that?"

While I didn't like that one of my close friends who had saved my life was now threatening the life of someone so close to my family, I knew too that my teacher was lying. I knew him well enough to know that.

When he'd come over to my house for a weekend and play poker with my mom and uncle, he would always lose. Mr. Graves' tells were painfully obvious. He'd start rubbing his lips and tilt his head down so far that his glasses start sliding down the bridge. And then his shoulders start shaking like he's laughing at the greatest joke ever told.

And when Anusha finished her little threat, he started rubbing his lips and continued shaking his shoulders. He nodded his head imperceptibly, as if afraid that any movement would trigger Anu to turn him into a skeleton.

She crooned softly. "Good. Now. I want you to tell me without lying. Why do you care so much about the plague-bringers? Why do you want to know about me?"

Mr. Graves bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, maybe trying to gauge how fucked he'd be if he told her versus if he didn't. He made the wiser choice and explained everything. "I am a part of The Rejuvenation. A movement of demigods trying to reclaim the world and keep the gods out of it. Olympus has ruined much for the world, causing devastating wars, ruining human civilization by forcing demigods to fight monsters until death. By making human women and men suffer to raise those demigods alone with little help. And the powerful demigods they do create, demigods who want to help the world, end up instead destroying the world with natural disasters and unending wars."

Anusha paused at that, and her eyes lit up with something fearful. I absolutely hated that. I couldn't find a way to cope with it. I always looked to her for confidence. The entire time I was in Camp, when the quest started, when anything happened, I knew if she was feeling relaxed and calm, I didn't have to worry about my or Tlato's safety. She was our rock. But when a plague-bringer, of all people, is afraid, you're probably done for. Her hands balled into fists, and she forced them to stay in her lap and not move.

"Our leader is Ash. A hero. A Savior. She will lead us to a future where the gods stay out of human lives and human affairs. We will make them live as the Egyptian gods must, not interacting at all with humanity. She told her highest officials, the Red Komodos, that the Sminthian demigods would be the key to defeating Olympus. She never explained how."

With grey-blue eyes, he turned to Anusha, his face like melting steel. "I am one of the Red Komodos, and because of my connection to the University in New Rome, as well as to the Legion, Ash ordered me to begin research on the Sminthians."

"Slow down, old man. What's a Sminthian?"

He sighed. "In one word? You. Smintheos is an epithet of your father's, referring to the mice and rats that carry diseases that Apollo can bring or avert. The term 'Sminthian' refers to a plague-bringer."

Tlato put his hands up, now glaring harshly at the man. "What the hell did you just say? About New Rome. What was that?" He glared harder when Mr. Graves ran a hand over his hair.

"The Rejuvenation exists everywhere. We permeate all of society. Even in the demigod safe-havens. Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter and New Rome, everywhere you can think of. Hell, many of us have taken up positions in power. The police, the government, major financial institutions, welfare groups, anywhere and everywhere."

Anusha put her face in her hands and then grabbed my former favorite tutor by his collar, dragging him onto the ground. "What's your mission? WHAT IS THE ENDGAME?"

He grunted at the force of her pull. "The destruction of Olympus or the silence of the gods. If they do not stay out of humanity's existence, they must be destroyed." Scrambling for some sense of control and finding none, she punched him so hard, the crack of his jaw echoed throughout the house. Mr. Graves just grunted, shaking off the hit with a roll of his shoulders. "Getting stressed, are you? Maybe you can stop me. Maybe you can stop a few hundred monsters. But how will you stop an army five-thousand strong? How will you work against them? You can't. You will never defeat us."

Anusha fell backward into the chair and began rocking back and forth, shoving Tlato and me away when we tried to reach out to help her.

Already tired of the lying and taunting, I opened my watch, drew my sword, and pointed it at his throat, attempting to not enjoy the feeling of watching his face pale in seconds. "You will tell us everything you know, and you will hand over all of your Sminthian research to us. And one more thing, how do you get into contact with Ash? Who is she? Where is she? We want details. NOW."

His face softened suddenly, and he reached a hand out to me, stopping when I pressed the sword closer. Still, he didn't stop the welcoming, sad expression. "Reginald. Dear boy. I've taught you since you were but a baby. Will you forget all of that in favor of your friend? Just imagine. Imagine how much you could-"

"Shut up. Just shut up. You've lied so much. So so much. I don't know how long you've been working with this woman, but you betrayed all of us. Every demigod in Camp Half-Blood and in Camp Jupiter. You got grievances with the gods? Go talk to them. Don't be a bitch and do all this stupid passive-aggressive shit." I put a hand to my forehead and sighed.

"Never mind. You're not worth my anger. Just know that you can't convince me to do anything. Anusha and Tlatoany literally gave me life. They brought me out of a coma. You genuinely don't have anything that would make me want to betray them and join your bullshit movement. You can't convince me that your cause is better than mine. And on that note, get up. You're gonna give me what I asked for. Now. I'm going with you because I don't trust you anymore."

Mr. Graves' eyes grew misty and weak, face slacking with heartache. He'd practically taught me everything I knew as a kid. I stopped learning from him after finishing elementary school. And my mother and Uncle never missed an opportunity to spend time with him and invite him to family functions.

But now? I couldn't feel pity for him. I had felt so excited and happy to meet my old teacher again. I wanted to tell him all about my adventures since discovering he was also a part of the demigod world. But he broke my heart when he came out as a maniacal follower of some crazy dictator-esque lady. And then I realized: I could only trust my family and Anusha and Tlatoany. Everyone else had to be put under a microscope. Until they gave me significant reason to doubt them, I'd trust only my loved ones.

So, when he realized he couldn't change my mind, he looked carefully at Anusha. "The gods let your people be slaughtered. They allowed for what was basically genocide. They destroyed your ancestors with their inaction. You can make sure it never ever happens again. You can protect the future generations of Sminthians, Anusha. You have that power. You can make all of them pay. Why should you have to defend the ones who ruined everything for your people? And I don't just mean the Sminthians." My savior's eyes widened, and her jaw tightened.

"I mean your home country. Your direct lineage. The gods, by allowing the demise of the Sminthians, allowed Europe to wreak havoc on the rest of the world, ruining centuries upon centuries of other civilizations' development and history."

Anusha's face grew redder with each moment, and it took everything I had to not move out of my spot and grab her by the shoulders to shake her until she snapped out of her funk.

For a horrifying moment, Anusha's eyes wetted. I wanted to scream, but my voice was stuck. She began to tilt her head down and cry without making a single noise. And she gave Mr. Graves a heartbroken, pained look. "Is that a guarantee or a guess?" I reached a hand out to her, and she ignored me. My breath froze in my throat.

He smiled warmly, standing with confidence, despite my sword still being pointed at him. "That's a vow." He tucked into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The man dialed some phone number really quickly, fingernails clacking on the glass of the smartphone's screen as he typed. He held the device up to his ear and hummed in affirmation at what the person on the other side asked.

The tutor-turned-traitor held the phone out to Anu, who grasped it with quaking hands. Mr. Graves took a seat and sipped his tea. She walked to the window behind him and looked out of it. One hand held the phone to her head while the other remained at her back.

Relief flooded my body like a dam breaking during monsoon season. Anu had crossed her fingers behind her back, and Mr. Graves was none the wiser. Tlato and I secretly smirked at one another. Our friend was much smarter than she gave herself credit for.

"Hello?" Anusha nearly toppled over when the person responded. And with a growl of defiance, she rose to her feet and hissed in a tone that had me wanting to run away to my mother. In fact, the whole room began stinking of sulfur, rotting flesh, and what could only be described as suffering.

"I know exactly who you are, Ash. Your own foolish little henchman told me. I know you, and I am coming for you. Neither Zeus, nor Ouranos, nor Fate can protect you from me. You will regret ever having betrayed me. The countdown begins now." Tears streaked down her cheeks, and her voice dropped half an octave. "Say goodbye to your dreams. To your power. To your future. It all ends with me, liar. It will always end with me. Always."

When we turned back to him, Mr. Graves crumbled to the ground, as if pretending to beg for mercy. Anusha threw the phone right at his head, smirking when it bounced off the back of his cranium.

"Too bad so sad, Graves. Go get what Reggie asked for. You know what I'm capable of." When he didn't move, she snarled, voice deepening randomly. "GO."

He scrambled to his feet, avoiding her, and sprinted to his office to retrieve what I had asked for. Tlatoany gave Anu an unimpressed scowl. "What was all that about?"

She sighed. "I'll tell you once we're out of here." We huffed and let her go about getting her bag. Tlato and I had donned ours when she was on the phone.

Mr. Graves did return with the documents, but he also returned with a giant sword. He wiped at his mouth and sneered. "You're not the only ones with experience. I've been at this game before you kids were born."

Anusha laughed until she choked on her own spit for a few seconds. "Good for you, gramps." Mr. Graves gritted his teeth and scowled.

The three of us friends locked eyes and grabbed our weapons. I rushed him first, being the closest and fastest. While I kept him occupied with a bunch of high slashes and strikes that he barely blocked, Tlato lunged for his legs and toppled the old guy, then sitting on his back to keep him down. Anusha ran over to give him some kind of cough-based disease and snatched the papers and scrolls, tucking them into her bag. She smirked down at him.

"Buddy, you made a big mistake messing with the most powerful trio of demigods to be best friends since Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo befriended Thalia Grace." Tlato groaned at the cheesy declaration and knelt down, eyes locked on Mr. Graves sternly.

"Did you give us everything we need, or have you hidden something from us?" His voice also deepened, and he smiled. "You know what Anu is capable of. If you push her, she'll get mad. Nobody should make her mad if they want to live to see tomorrow. You gave us everything we asked for?" When Mr. Graves' face paled at the truthful threat, he nodded, whimpering weakly as he coughed.

I could see the truth in his eyes, so I knelt down and spoke softly. "You betrayed me. You have been working for the very woman that wants to ruin Camp Half-Blood."

Tears burned in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. I growled as threateningly as I could, which may or may not have worked. "If I ever see you again, you will regret having betrayed me and my mother and uncle and cousins in favor of helping some lying authoritarian maniac. I will make you sorry," I swore while standing up. Mr. Graves shivered and scooted back on the ground to avoid me as I got to my feet. Anusha rested a hand on my shoulder and guided me out.

My eyes kept focused on Mr. Graves, who turned his head to frown at me as my friends and I left.

Tlato returned his sword to his bag, and Anusha twirled her knives to bring back the drum sticks, which she fastened into her pants' belt loops. I hit the button on the base of the sword's hilt and kept the pocket watch on a chain I hung around my neck.

Anusha must have picked up on my dejected mood because she walked around to my right side and tossed an arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek.

Tlato just patted my back. "I'm sorry, Reginald."

I smiled, trying to realize that being upset and sad wouldn't help us. So, I figured out some way to feel chill again. "It's not your fault. You didn't do this. I'm just glad I have you guys with me. I'm not entirely sure what I would have done if I were alone in there."

Poking my cheek, Anu joked, "Probably, you would've up and ran off."

"Ha ha, very funny, Rat Girl." She fake-winced at the retort, laughing. Tlato and I couldn't help joining in. We laughed all the way to the bus station to continue our journey.

Anu's smile disappeared once we began waiting for the bus to arrive. I dared to ask the question on my mind.

"Anu, who picked up the phone?"

Her breath shook, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "My mother."

She didn't say a word for the rest of the day, only nodding and shaking her head when we asked whether or not she wanted food and drink. Tlatoany and I didn't bother her, mostly out of respect. As far as we knew, Anusha's whole life was falling apart. We wouldn't put her under greater stress than already lived in her heart.

Eventually, we stepped off of the bus in Indianapolis after the driver took two more breaks in between. Anusha spent the eleven hours of the ride just looking out the window and listening to music loud enough for me to hear, even from my aisle seat. I worried about her, but she gave me no reason to interfere, eating when we did and drinking as much water as she could get. Even Tlato wasn't able to convince her to get some rest, and they were best friends.

With dim, loveless eyes, she would turn her head and watch me for a few minutes before letting her eyes wander through the window again. I couldn't understand what she was doing or why, but I knew she was probably thinking about her mother and why everything went wrong for herself.

Occasionally, I returned her looks, but she would avoid my eyes like I'd wronged her.

It didn't exactly hurt, but something felt wrong in my chest when she rotated her head to keep me out of her peripheral vision.

Tlatoany stayed there with her in body but not in spirit. He held onto her hand the entire time because if he let go, she'd dig her fingernails into her wrist to pick at the skin like she wanted to dig out her veins and arteries. And that had me so worried that I wanted to tie mittens to her hands to protect her, but she didn't seem to want to be near me.

I didn't express any of my concerns. Yeah, I know. I, an emotionally intelligent guy who cares way too much for people he barely knows and has never met before, end up not saying jack shit when I'm worried about my friend who literally saved my life? Sounds like an oxymoron. Believe me, I get it.

But Anusha didn't seem to want my help. And I was not about to force advice on her after knowing how she reacts to unwanted suggestions.

However, I also didn't want to make her resent me by prodding into her life and make the situation worse. Strangely enough, though, when the bus stopped for the last time before the final stretch, and Tlato got up to head to the bathroom, Anu reached over and took my hand.

She spoke like something had broken in her. Because something did break inside her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she whispered right in my ear. Heat rolled off of her and warmed my face.

"I'm trying to not look you in the face because your family friend ruined everything, and I don't want to look at you while thinking of him because that might make me hate you. I've been reevaluating everything about my brain and how I think, and I feel like I'm so fucked. I'm scared that I won't know to not judge or resent you for what he did." Her confession broke my heart, I won't lie.

But she leaned in closer and kissed my cheek, tears still flowing down hers. And it took all I had in me to not hug her until she didn't cry anymore.

And when she pulled back, I tried to smile as comfortingly as possible. She smiled back through the tears, and all I could say (because I'm a total dumbass) was, "You should do commercials for Colgate! Your teeth are so white!"

Her face slacked for a moment, out of surprise, I assume. Her tears stopped too. I took that as a temporary victory. Anusha gaped at me for an entire minute. But then, her open mouth slid up and morphed into a grin, and she then tossed her head back and laughed so hard she scared a little kid in the seat behind her, startling him awake from his nap. The mom glared daggers into the back of Anu's head, but my friend didn't seem to care. She laughed until she couldn't breathe and had to cling to the armrest to not fall forward.

She rubbed at her eyes and kept chuckling and snorting, even after Tlatoany came back and settled into his chair. His expression made it seem like he saw a ghost, he was so baffled.

Anusha got up and leaned over our giant friend, and pressed a hand to my left cheek. She began kissing my right cheek several times, making me turn red from my chest all the way to my hairline. A few guys in the aisle seats noticed and began murmuring and laughing amongst themselves at seeing my face. One of them even whistled, winking at Anusha. She only pulled back when she was completely done. She wore this kind of cocky satisfaction on her face as she winked back at the guys across the aisle. The guy who whistled laughed, standing up and leaning over to bump fists with her, Anu's smile bright enough to blind the gods themselves.

"Your boyfriend?" the guy asked in a very distinctive dude-bro voice.

She shook her head, snorted. "Not exactly. More like a platonic soulmate. I saved this guy, and now we're besties. It just be like that, ya know?"

Gravely, he nodded, smiling back at her with a chipped tooth. "Yeah. I get that. One of these fucks got me out of a big issue with the pigs, and I've been hanging around 'em since."

Anu giggled sweetly, nodding her head while listening to his tale. I just huffed, pouting at Tlatoany and complaining about the kisses (because I blushed like a firetruck) and then about how much better she is at getting along with strangers.

Tlato just patted my shoulder. "I know how you feel. She'll probably do that a few more times until she's used to you. And she's just like that. She's a social butterfly of the scariest kind. You and your siblings got nothing on her, man. Also, what exactly did you say to make Anu react like that?!" He raised a strong eyebrow at me, one corner of his lips pulled up high in amusement. "I've never seen her go from emotional breakdown to probably dying of laughter so fast."

I shrugged awkwardly, looking at the ground. "All I said was that she should do Colgate commercials because she smiled and I saw how super white her teeth are, and then she started laughing."

"…Huh. I mean, you're not wrong." He snickered when Anu smacked his shoulder.

"Shut it, sunshine. You should work with L'Oréal or something. You and your fancy-ass hair."

Tlato huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Think of a better compliment, man. Come on." Anu rolled her eyes and scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Fine. Your hair really is beautiful. I feel like half of Camp has hair envy because of you," she praised with a smirk. Tlatoany hummed and nodded slowly, looking over at me.

"And you? What do you think about my hair?"

I smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm with Anu. You've got the prettiest hair I've ever seen, and I live in a city like LA, home to some of the prettiest women in the world," I promised. Tlato flushed a faint red and looked away, blushing deeper when Anu mumbled something to him in Spanish.

He pushed her face away when she made this shit-eating grin. "Shut up. Oh my god, I hate you sometimes."

She just laughed and rolled her eyes. "Suuuuure," came her sarcastic retort.

The three of us tried to enjoy the rest of the ride, despite the looming sense of dread that hung over us. Mr. Graves was just one man who knew about Anusha and the other Sminthians. There were others who knew about her predecessors in great detail. So, either these people knew exactly what to expect from us and could take down the strongest of our trio without much worry, or they feared us enough to stay away from us because of Anusha's powers.

Eventually, we fell asleep, but not before taking the caffeine pills Anusha brought with her to keep us awake and alert in case of any monster attacks. We couldn't afford to pass out while traveling on a bus with non-demigod humans who can't fight off evil creatures of destruction.

Just like one of my many bus rides with Izzy, a massive thumping woke all three of us. A monster attack. I could recognize that sound anywhere. But this was loud enough to frighten the other passengers, all of whom began screaming. Even the bus driver seemed to freak out secretly at the sudden weight on top of the vehicle. Anu and Tlato locked eyes, murmuring softly amongst themselves before looking over at me silently. I couldn't understand their stares for a while.

And then it hit me that, in that moment, I was the expert that had to deal with the situation. I explained in feather-soft tones, "Monster. Doesn't sound like a hellhound, which is the one that attacked mine and Izzy's bus a few weeks ago. Don't know what it is, but this is a good enough diversion to sneak out without anyone noticing. But before that, Anu, can you dissolve this thing?"

She bit her lip, closing her eyes and furrowing her brows. The heat of her powers radiated off of her, but the nostril-burning stench of sulfur never followed. Maybe she was keeping it at bay to not further startle the other passengers. She gave me a hesitant frown, whispering back, "Not sure. This thing seems big, and I can't pull enough disease from the surrounding area. And the stuff I have now isn't strong enough to dissolve it from here. I'll need to head deeper into the woods to kill this thing."

I put my forehead in my hands, and she grinned in secret. "Maybe I don't need to! I'll knock everyone out. African sleeping sickness can do the job. I'll kill that thing and come back here. Amnesia might be able to keep this off of everyone's mind. We can pretend to be just as confused as everyone else, and it'll be a mystery to everyone but us," she suggested.

Tlato and I shared a look, and I grabbed her hands. "Do you promise to come back to us?" My eyes began burning, and I still don't know why. She was more powerful than both of us. She had a better chance of defeating this thing than either of us. "Do you promise?" She smiled at me and nodded, hugging me tightly.

"I promise." She turned around and pressed her cheek to Tlato's. A snap of her fingers and the other occupants of the bus fell asleep in what seemed like record time. The creature stilled at the sudden silence. Anu climbed over me, walked to the doors, and forced them open. The twirling of her drum sticks drew the attention of the massive pit scorpion, which clambered off of the roof of the bus and took a shot at her with its barbed tail.

Anu ran back and scrambled away, blowing a gust of plague gas at it. The creature hissed at the movement and sprinted after her, stinger hitting the ground rather than actually injuring my friend. She growled at it, arms wide and legs low, taunting it to follow her. She leapt out of the way as soon as it lunged forward. The thing trailed her into the forest, and it took Tlato gripping my hand and not letting me leave to prevent me from following after Anusha. I didn't know how well she could handle an entire monster on her own in the open like this. The last time she killed a monster was at Camp, when she was saving me and Izzy from hellhounds. And those things were babies.

After what felt like an eternity, our friend emerged from the forest, eyes manic with this weird kind of excitement. I only understood when I saw how confident she moved. She found a new disease. Or a new pathogen, I guess. Anu climbed back onto the bus and sat down again, explaining ecstatically how she discovered a strain of super-chicken pox that only she could take down because it wouldn't be vulnerable to antiviral medications for some reason. I didn't understand the science behind it (I'm more of a humanities kind of guy), but I was happy that she still found things to appreciate and love about the quest. I was just a ball of stress at that point.

With a slow inhale, she undid the disease-based sleeping spell she put on everyone, and the three of us pretended to wake up too, yawning and rubbing our eyes. Everybody seemed confused and awkward, but no one said anything. But just in case, Anu let out some of the brain damage stuff she kept in her knives after sparring sessions at Camp, which left people even more confused.

To make sure everything was handled and the monster attack unbeknown to the other passengers, Anu and I asked around if anyone remembered what had happened, and no one recalled anything. Relieved that her plan worked, Anu and I knocked out while Tlato stayed up to read some poetry book until the end of the trip.

When the bus stopped again, it was at the station, so we collected our belongings and climbed off, keeping a watchful eye on the other passengers and people milling around the area.

Anusha didn't seem particularly startled, but she jumped when I put a hand on her shoulder, so maybe she wasn't as relaxed as she appeared.

"Whoa! You okay?" I didn't want to force her to tell me anything, but I really was getting very worried about her, and I have a hard time hiding my emotions. My mom calls me an open book. My uncle calls me a poster.

She sighed, nodding her head. "Yeah. Just the adrenaline from the fight hasn't worn off yet. I think if I get a nice shower and sit down for a bit without worrying about our safety every five minutes, I can calm down." That made sense.

"Yeah, I get that. Don't worry, just one more hour of bus rides, and we can get a room for a few nights before continuing."

Anusha pouted at that, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do we need to take buses and stuff? Is there really no faster way?"

I shook my head, tossing an arm around her shoulders while following Tlato. "Nope. Sorry, doll. Taxis are too slow. The Pegasi don't like you, no offense. And I'm not sure there's another way across the country since the railways aren't great in the US."

She rolled her eyes. "And why do you call me that?"

"What, 'doll'?"

She bobbed her head, keeping her eyes trained on the crowd. I spoke honestly. "Because you're as pretty and elegant as a doll. Most of the time. Other times you're more like one of those old-timey wrestlers. Just angry and strong enough to throw a tank at Jesus. But you're also sometimes like those people who do cool stunts for viral videos. Just interesting and startlingly talented."

Anusha tossed her head back and laughed before walking faster. She pulled me along. I guess she didn't want to get lost and lose Tlatoany again. "Wow, laying on the flattery real thick, aren't we? Is there something you want, sunshine?"

I grinned. "A binder would be nice because I can avoid the dysphoria, but also, I'm just telling the truth. You're very cool and funny and scary and sweet and nice. But also, sometimes, you just need to chill out. You seem stressed out all the time for no apparent reason." At that, Anusha rolled her eyes so hard, her eyeball muscles probably tore.

"It's called anxiety, dude."

"Oh yeah. Shit. Sorry."

"Can you idiots stay on track? I need you guys to help me find something," Tlato groused. We snickered at his grumbling tone and walked around him so each of us could hold one of his arms.

He only complained a little at that, maneuvering his arms so he could hold his phone and map and still let us hold onto him. "I'm looking for this symbol. Apparently, it's a tattoo worn by members of the Rejuvenation, and there's a company full of them. See if you can spot anything or anyone wearing this symbol." Anu and I got to work scanning our surroundings and walking around a bit to see if we could find anything that looked like what Tlato showed us.

But, frankly, it was really hard to find. When the three of us regrouped in front of an old abandoned warehouse a mile away from the bus station, Anusha explained what she saw. "It wasn't really the symbol itself, but it seemed important. I've come to trust my gut over most everything else, and I feel like this is important."

I turned to Tlatoany, who said nothing as our friend described her experience. "What do you think, man? Should we go check it out?"

He bit his lip and nodded. "Okay. Just. Make sure you guys are hyper aware of everything. We don't know this city, and I don't want to drag a monster into the open and endanger civilians." We agreed and let Anu lead the way. It was in a much darker part of town, random gaggles of young men hanging out in the shadows of the alleyways. Anusha didn't seem startled at all, just giving them a side-eye whenever one of them glared at us particularly hard. They only stepped back and returned to their business.

"What the fuck was that? Aren't you spooked? This place is full of sketchy people, and I'm not just saying that because every building seems rundown and the whole place looks to be deteriorating." I genuinely hoped these guys didn't think I was saying something classist or anything like that. That was not my intention, but I worried about what they thought of me. (Being a writer does not mean you're good at speaking too, you know.)

Anu snorted. "Why would I be? These are the same kinds of bitches I see in my hometown. And besides, I'm the most powerful person in this city right now. Why should I be scared?" I tried to not huff, but her overconfidence sometimes seemed really brash and irresponsible. Not that I would have said it to her face.

After a few turns into creepy alleyways and passing some random street corners, we saw what she had been describing to us. A massive old-school factory, with tall rusted doors and random heavy-duty machinery scattered all over the grass and surrounding areas. A horrifying chill ran up my back when I noticed how pitch-black the inside of the building was. Like ink, it seemed opaque. No light came in or left the building.

Anusha did nothing but stare up at the signage above the door, a painted capital omega cut right down the middle by the pole of a flag whose blood-red banner bore a black sickle crossed with a grey and white feather. To anybody else, it would look like random graffiti, considering how it was spray-painted on. But to my friend, it clearly meant something more.

Tlato placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise. He and I frowned together. "Anu, what happened?"

She shook her head and sighed. "Something just seems familiar about that symbol. I don't know what it is, but…"

I leaned over and looked her in the eyes. "Should we go in and investigate?"

She slowly nodded, biting her lip. And then, simultaneously, we had the same realization. The black sickle crossed with the white and grey feather…Tlatoany opened up his phone and showed us the symbol we were supposed to find. The three of us shared glances and pulled out our weapons.

Anusha stood still for a moment and drew the diseases in the surrounding area to her for defense. The purple light of her powers, which surprisingly are visible only to demigods, illuminated her face. I would say other people would feel unsettled if they saw it, but it was a comforting sight to me. Anu and her powers really became a point of protection and safety for me and Tlato, who'd come to rely on her because of her emotional and physical strength.

As the bravest of us, Tlato pushed the door open gently with one hand, avoiding the sharp and rusted edges, and took the first step inside. I followed, and Anu entered last, probably to defend against any attacks from behind her.

The only sounds in the entire factory came from our cautious, hesitant steps and labored breathing. Suddenly, a crashing sound of some kind. Anu ran off to explore and sighed in annoyance at seeing what had caused the noise. A bird had flown in, squeaking and singing before leaving again, as if it knew to not be here.

The three of us took our time to carefully walk around the machinery and equipment and search for anything that would indicate a human or demigod presence. All we saw was graffiti on the walls and some of the engines. And a few dead cigarette butts and packets of what could have been cocaine. Overall, it just seemed like an empty building where people liked to either get high or vandalize things. Nothing of substance.

Anu kept insisting that she knew we had to be there, that something was important about the place, but Tlato disagreed. I didn't know what to think, but I know I hated being in there.

Unfortunately, though, we didn't have much of a choice. Because when we approached the door to leave, a couple of monsters stepped in and closed the door behind them, growling and hissing. I recognized the clothes of the guys Anu had stared down, and I immediately regretted ever having agreed to her plan.

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Come on, assholes. I haven't even eaten yet, and you're already here for a fight?!"

One of them, a ten-foot-tall giant of some sort, smirked with his ugly teeth. The same kind of monster as that fake old man who had driven me and Izzy through New York. "We have to eat too, don't we?" Tlato gripped his sword in both hands, gritting his teeth. He spun it around a few times. I could only stand stiffly, almost dropping my blade a few times. Anu, on the other hand, had the same cocky body language she almost always does.

I couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but I trusted that if anything went wrong, she could handle it. She would handle it. Not because she was the best fighter, but because her plagues would wipe out anything that scares us.

With a shared glance of agreement, Anusha, Tlatoany, and I stood our ground. I prepared myself to go at the highest speed I could manage. Sadly, I had undergone less training with my powers and abilities than Anu and Tlato, who readied themselves silently. Anu drew the diseases of our surroundings to us, while Tlato started muttering under his breath, eyes shifting at lightspeed to analyze the monsters' movements. The creatures lunged first, claws and swords swinging.

Anusha handled the giant while Tlato and I handled the dracaenas and the weird dog-men that had been secretly masquerading as normal gangsters. For some reason, they undid their illusions before starting the fight. Maybe so they could relish in seeing our fear and fright. Hey, that rhymes!

Anyways, I couldn't pay much attention to how my friends were fighting with how busy I was trying to take down the two dog-dudes that had decided I would be a great snack. Thankfully, my speed let me evade their teeth and claws, but my sword bounced off their skin like it was nothing. It wasn't because their skin is impenetrable but because I had no idea how to use my sword.

It took me and Izzy and a clever little plan to defeat a dracaena. And it took my speed, Izzy's supersonic screeches, and Anusha's uncontrolled plagues to take down the hellhounds that tracked me all the way to Camp.

These dog-men constantly baffled me. But at one point, I recognized a key flaw in their fighting. They were a pack. They fought just like wolves do: together. So, if I could separate them, maybe I would have a better chance of taking them down! And besides, fighting one monster at a time is easier than fighting several at once. Anu seemed to know that too.

In the middle of slashing at one of them, I slid under his legs, which I soon regretted. Just like a lot of cis guys in America, these things did not bathe. I wanted to puke at the stench but kept running forward and around, hiding in the machinery. Enraged, the leader of the pack ordered the others to hunt me down. And just like I'd hoped, each of those monsters came after me individually.

I had been hiding behind a few of the large industrial vats probably used in melting metal scraps or something, and I think the monsters began smelling me because two of those things actually found me. I waited behind a different part of the equipment and whistled when the dog-men got close enough.

Claws outstretched, they ran at me, but I was too fast for them. I decided to take a page out of the comic books I read as a kid and ran through and around the two of them, keeping them isolated but slicing through their skin every time I came close. Their roars weren't as loud as I thought they'd be, but eventually, they got tired. Losing all that ichor must have drained them or something because by the time I landed my last two big hits, they burst into dust just like that snake lady Izzy and I took down.

I took a moment to pause and catch my breath before continuing. With newfound confidence and courage, I went after the last two dog-men on my own, making one of them chase me and then taking him out with a few specific slashes through his neck and back. But the last one seemed to be smarter and bigger than the rest. The few scratches he made in my side burned like hydrochloric acid dropped into an open flesh wound.

Having taken out their opponents, Anu and Tlatoany came to my rescue, cutting through the dog-man and making him burst into a puff of smoke with a bunch of random diseases. I dropped to the ground like a rock soon after, too tired from the excessive running. Anusha laughed, patting my cheek as she knelt down and began working on my injuries. "Be careful, dumbass."

Tlato smirked down at me, still standing. He leaned against a wall of the building with both arms crossed. "This is probably the first time I've seen you run like that. I mean, you probably could use some more training, but I have a feeling you know how to train with your powers, track star."

I rolled my eyes. "Lay off, bud. I haven't run like that since I was saving…" I got quiet. I couldn't finish that sentence. Where there was supposed to be a heart, only felt a hole in my chest that was partly filled with guilt. Anusha seemed to understand, squeezing my shoulder as she helped me up. Tlato's face softened, and the two of them pulled me into a hug.

Anu murmured gently, raking her fingers through my hair, "I swore by the Styx to my father that I would bring Izzy back. And I will. Even if I don't survive. Even if everything else goes to shit, we'll save Izzy. That is the one thing I know we can and will do, or so help me Fate."

I pressed my face into Tlatoany's shoulder, and he rubbed my back in silence, sighing like the wind during summer: sweet, sad, soft. "You'll be okay. We'll get her back. We won't lose Anu, but we'll definitely get Izzy back. I promise." With a pat to my back and a careful smile, Tlato held out my bag to me and grabbed my hand. "Let's keep going. We've got a lot of area to cover before we should take our next break. And I think you said something about getting a chest binder from the store or something. Anu?"

She grinned. "Compression sports bra. Let's go get that now. After, ya know, cleaning up a little." Sniffling, I rubbed my eyes and nodded.

"Let's find a hotel. And from there, we can go get some food and that sports bra you were talking about." Arms around one another's shoulders, the three of us strolled out of the old factory in silence, until Anusha stopped.

Her face contorted into a sneer, and she grabbed an old bottle of spray paint left outside the door and drew on the door itself a symbol. A snake coiled around a sun made of a circle surrounded by seven triangles, and one of her knives on the snake's left and pointing upwards, and the other on the snake's right pointed downwards. And under that, in Malayalam, I believe, she wrote out a word.

When I asked what the word was, she smirked. "Rajachari."