1 Hour Earlier…

A bead of sweat ran down Sadie's brow. She had less than a minute left: not enough time to formulate a strategy, and barely enough time to hold her position long enough. Hurry up, Carter.

They were on their final minute. Fifty-five…

At the moment, Brooklyn House overflowed with chaotic noise. Dozens cheered and screamed, roaring for blood.

Oh, they would get blood alright. But it sure as hell wouldn't be hers.

She struggled to keep herself focused under the relentless gunfire hammering her shield. She couldn't hold out for much longer. Her other three comrades hadn't arrived yet, so she had to keep their hold on the point with the only one other remaining.

"Sadie, hold on!" Felix yelled loudly at the top of his lungs. A second later, he was silenced a second by 8a bullet right between his eyes.

The only hope she had now was that one of their special abilities is almost ready to be deployed. Not that luck was something one would really want to rely on in a time like this.

"Hurry up, Carter!" yelled a voice Sadie was too occupied mentally to recognize. "Give em' hell!"

Sure enough, with speed that rivaled any Olympic runner, her brother charged into battle, the sword in his hand slashing and hacking his way to her like a lethal windshield wiper. She decided it was safe to allow her shield to recharge and swung her hammer at the two enemies in front of her in an attempt to drive them back. It worked, but she sacrificed nearly half her remaining energy in the process thanks to the lone Soldier's rocket launcher.

Thirty…

Carter rushed forward, deflecting the bullets aimed at her with his own special skill. The enemies around them attempted to move out the way, but it was too late: within seconds they became little more than diced meat.

Sadie finally released the breath she'd been holding in when Jaz flew in to join the fight, a beam of healing energy emanating from her staff, replenishing all of Sadie's energy. The remaining two enemies can't handle the sudden onslaught and are cut down within seconds. The third…where is the third?

Then an all too familiar cry broke through the air.

RYUU GA WAGA TEKI WO KURAU!

"Watch out!" she shouted, even though everyone knew by then to get out of the way. She tried to dodge the deathly red beam, but she was too slow. She and Carter fell under the heat of the final enemies' devastating attack.

Ten…

Jaz was the only one left alive now holding the point, but Sadie knew she was doomed too. Their final foe closed in, arrow slicing through the air, striking Jaz down in only a single arrow…

And fell dead as well a second later, having been so fixated on the victory seemingly right in front of his eyes that he'd completely missed Zia's arrival. It was her deliberately placed bullet, right in the back of his skull, that carried them through.

Zia jumped down and ran back to the point just as the timer counted down its final seconds.

VICTORY! Flashed the familiar blue banner across Sadie's laptop as pandemonium erupted throughout the living room. Fireworks and confetti filled the air as their fellow magicians roared in celebration.

And with that, the final round of their week-long Overwatch tournament ended. Everyone had gotten addicted to the game since its release, so organizing the event proved to be quite simple. The prize was simply an excuse from cleaning duties for the winning team, but that hadn't stopped Sadie from betting five dollars to Walt if their team lost. Sadie's team included her, Carter, Jaz, Zia (who had only just started playing a week ago), Felix and Julian. While Walt had Alyssa, Cleo, Tucker, Sean, and Big Al, the only adult chaperone who'd participated. Zia's status as the only newbie, thankfully, had no effect on their chances of winning.

"YES!" Sadie screamed as she jumped from her seat. On the table across from his, Walt rolled his eyes as he and the rest of his team groan. "Pay up, Stone!"

Her boyfriend sighed, reaching into his pocket for the twenty-dollar bill Sadie had been waiting for all night. "I admit, I might've underestimated you guys just a bit."

"Oh, definitely. Did you really think Zia was that bad to miss the only target left in the area?"

"It was the heat of the moment, I guess," he admitted. "I won't make the same mistake twice."

"So, Walt." Carter walked up to them, a confident grin on his face. "Still not ready to kiss Hanzo goodbye and join the Genji club?"

Walt snorted adorably (because he totally did). "As if. I could've easily headshotted you if the other two weren't in my way." He turns to Cleo and Alyssa, who both look down at their feet.

"Sorry," they said at the same time.

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't make such a big deal out of it, Carter. He's still loads better than I am. We just got lucky."

And in a way, they did. She had been worried about Al's aptitude with Roadhog. An FPS veteran, he'd gotten to level twenty-five within a week. Still, his skill wasn't enough to make up for her team's impenetrable defense.

Carter shrugged his shoulders. "Still got play of the game."

"Oh, please." She shook her head. "When I first started learning, weren't you the one who told me that it doesn't give you much of an XP boost anyway? It's just another excuse to boost your ego, as if you needed any more anyway, Pharaoh."

Carter stuck out his tongue. Looked like it was kindergarten all over again.

Moments later, Zia announced her arrival by flicking her finger on the back of Carter's head.

"Ow!"

"Is he running his mouth off again?" she rolled her amber eyes. "Either way, it looks like it really paid off staying as Widowmaker, even though Carter's clearly too lazy to teach me to teach me how to play anyone else."

"Woah, honey-"

"Don't you honey me, Carter Kane." Zia shook her head, but grinned slyly.

Sadie smirked. Even though she should've been tired of Carter's antics by then, she couldn't help but smile. It was times like this she was in awe of how her brother had managed to maintain a relationship for over two years. It wasn't a surprise to her that she and Walt got along fine, but given that it was her brother's very first relationship, she'd been shocked that they'd only ever had to make up once.

"Hey," Walt made a fist. "Good game."

Carter let out a disappointed sigh but bumped it. "Yeah, it was," he said in agreement. "And that's all that matters." He turned to look at the clock. "Oh wow, it's nearly eleven. Way too late for a rebound round?"

"Yup." Al, who was six foot five and built like a basketball player, walked up to them and peer down with a smile. "That was a hell of a game, and I'd love to play more, but we really need to get everyone to bed. We'll clean up tomorrow.

"Agreed." Sadie nodded. "I've already got the ego boost and bragging rights, so I'm gonna hit the sheets."

Walt got onto the gaming table and shouted loud enough for the entire hall to hear, "Alright everyone, games over! Time for bed!"

Everyone groaned but obeyed. Khufu the monkey screeched at those who continue to complain. Sadie and Walt walked back together, hand in hand until they stopped by his door.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

Sadie looked up at him. "Did you? Because I really don't need the money."

"And neither do I. Think of something to buy for next week, alright?

Sadie nodded. That was when they would be celebrating the third anniversary of their relationship. Three years of peace, of having pretty much nothing to worry about but managing Brooklyn House, along with starting High school in the fall. And she didn't even need to threaten to murder anyone! (Well, maybe she did turn a few poor ignorant souls into frogs, but just for a day! She definitely wasn't anywhere near possessive).

After he unlocked the door to his room, Walt kissed Sadie on the cheek, a sweet gesture she'd honestly grown a little tired of, but not enough that she didn't feel like returning it with a smile. "Good night, Sadie."

"Goodnight, Death boy."

Walt closed the door behind him. Sadie made a mental note to stop by the Adidas store to find something for Walt. Something expensive enough to constitute as a worthy offering to the God of Death, lest he punished her with cuddles and kisses.

Not that he would ever make her suffer so.

"Goodnight boys." Sadie waved.

Walt rolled his eyes and closes his door. Yup, he totally still loves it.

She decided to stay in the hall just to make sure everyone made it back to their rooms. Ever since Carter and Sadie reopened the Path of the Gods, they've gotten dozens of new trainees since then, and while a few of them had left to study at other Nomes, a good chunk of the original gang stayed, since most of them already lived and attended school in the Brooklyn area anyway.

It was a Golden Age for the House of Life, and everyone had them to thank. They'd brought back the path of the gods and restored the once dwindling order to exceed its former glory. It had been the best three years of Sadie's life, for sure.

What could possibly ruin all of that?

We shouldn't get cocky, she thought as she stood under the running water in her shower later that night. Danger was part of their job description. Even though it felt like eons ago, her mother's warning from the Land of the Dead had never left her mind. Setne had been defeated and done with, condemned to suffer eternally on her brother's desk, but she didn't believe that's what she was being warned about. Something more serious, more dangerous on the horizon, just waiting for the chance to destroy the world and all that she held dear.

Way to go, Sadie. Way to ruin a great night with bad thoughts.

A loud yawn escaped her throat. She took that, along with the lightheaded feeling in her head, as a cue to finally finish her shower. She was so sleepy she didn't even bother brushing her teeth. She threw her nightclothes on as quickly as she can and shoved herself under the covers. As far as she knew, Walt wasn't planning to sneak in that night, so she tried to sleep as soon as possible.

She soothed her earlier dark thoughts with happier, more hopeful ones. Whatever it was they would face, they would be far better prepared than they were last time, with more and more being trained in the path of the Gods. Who knows? It might not even happen during their lifetimes.

But mere moments after she closed her eyes, she felt the familiar sensation of some outside force tugging on her mind, though this time, it was far more forceful. Before she could even make a choice whether to accept it, she found herself swept into what appeared to be a dark, dim hallway. She floated down into some sort of cell lined with bars made of dark steel that reached up to the ceiling. They were etched from top to bottom with lines runes and symbols: some hieroglyphs Sadie can read, but nothing that she can understand.

"Is the girl here?" a familiar male voice asked in urgent, one that instantly made Sadie's ba feathers ruffle.

Right below her was none other than her old friend Set.

"They will notice soon if we do not hurry, Woman!" the god snarled, straining under the weight of the golden chains tied around his wrists. He sat on the ground cross-legged along with two other figures that were also seated and in chains. His dark eyes seemed sunken, his position slouched. He looked…weak, an appearance she had a tough time wrapping her head around.

"Calm yourself, Set. You don't want them to hear us, do you?" a woman's voice replied calmly. "It's ready". Sadie felt herself float down deeper into the cage as she came face to face with a hooded woman dressed in dark, sleeveless clothing ornate with various symbols and glyphs.

She looked to her right, at the-Woah. A blonde woman was also seated there. She took Sadie's breath away, with a face that rivaled Isis's when it came to natural beauty. She wore chain jewelry around her neck so glamorous it would make any Pharaoh jealous. She had a lean, curvaceous figure that Sadie would have killed tohave, even if she was admittedly too much of a chicken to diet and too much of a slouch to burn off some of her belly flab. The lady's eyes were scrunched closed in concentration, but their corners glowed with a faint golden energy.

She stopped right in front of the hooded lady's face. Her face was also beautiful, though much more cunning and deadly looking. Her dark, steely eyes stared right at her.

"We have no idea where we have been trapped." Her tone was urgent, almost fearful. "I wish I could tell you more, Sadie Kane. But you must find and free us before it's too late!"

A sudden booming sound cut through the air. Set rushed to the side of their cage. For a moment he stared at something Sadie couldn't see and then turned. His face blanched with fear.

"They are coming!" he whispered. "Get to the point! Whatever you need to say, do so now!"

Sadie's vision began to blur, melting into a swirl of light and darkness.

"When you awaken," the hooded lady instructed, her voice gradually echoing as if she was gradually getting farther and farther away. "Brooklyn House will be under attack. You and your must flee before they arrive. There's no stopping them and their power, no matter how much you want to. Instead, contact the Greeks. Tell them: Daedalus has the key. Only with them will you be able to find the Torch of Prometheus before it's too late."

Another BOOM resounded from somewhere in the room, and before she knew it, she was awake and back in her room in Brooklyn. She noticed that it was only 12:30 am on her alarm clock when there was a harsh knocking on her door.

"Sadie!" She recognized Zia's voice, though she'd never heard her sound so scared. "Get up!"

"What's wrong?" Sadie groaned with a yawn as she began to put on her slippers. "Have they arrived arrived already?"

"Who's they?" Zia asked. The floor suddenly tremored, shaking the books on her shelf. As she recalled her vision, panic filled Sadie, and with that fear came a rush of adrenaline as she bolted for the door and yanked it open, revealing her clearly tired and groggy friend.

"I don't know," Sadie replied. "But can you explain what's going on first?"

"We're under attack. There's a group of magicians trying to get in through the front door. Our wards outside aren't doing a thing against them. The way they just blew past them it's like nothing I've ever see-"

"Wake everyone up." She quickly shoved on her combat boots and ran to her closet, grabbing her favorite jacket and backpack on the hanger. "Tell Carter to prepare the griffins for evacuation procedure. There's no way we can put up a fight against them."

"Wait, how are you sure of all this?" Zia asked, looking confused. "Did the Gods grant you a vision?"

"Sort of. It's complicated." Sadie rushed to her drawer and grabbed the first pair of socks she saw, shoving them on so fast she was sure she'd ripped a hole in one. "I don't know who, or what is coming, but we need to get everyone out before it's too late."

Sadie and Zia and dashed through the hallway and down the stairs. As they sprinted down the residential hall of the Big House, more bedroom doors opened as many of the other students started to made their way up to the roof as was their procedure, some who looked frightened and unsure at what was happening.

"Sadie!" Carter dashed up to her just as something shattered in the distance. "What the hell's making that racket?"

"I think we're about to find out. Wake everyone up and get them all onto boats. Get them the portals, tell them to prepare for an attack! We've got to-"

The house shook again, forcing Sadie to brace herself against a wall to keep from falling. "C'mon people, move!" Carter ordered, knocking at the doors that haven't opened. "Grab your weapons and scrolls, and only those, and make your way towards the stairwells!

"Up or down?" Jaz asked, still clad in her pink pajamas.

"Up," Zia answered. "Khufu told me someone seems to be coming from the front entrance on the first floor."

"So up, then!" Carter drew his khopesh. "Keep your weapons out. Prepare to fight just in case we have to."

Everyone obeyed without hesitation, moving towards the stairwells where some of the flying boats were kept. Many of the older initiates helped count heads and making sure everyone was awake and moving. Khufu ran all over the floor, barking loudly and knocking on the doors of those who still hadn't woken up.

Walt met them right at the entrance of the stairway. "What's going on, Sadie?"

"We don't have time. We need to get everyone to some portals. Have them scatter, go to any of the other Nomes. Anywhere but here."

"Why?"

Sadie quickly explained her dream of Set and the other three beings with him. As soon as she told them of the hooded lady's words, Walt turns pale.

"You're sure that's what she said?"

"The Torch of Prometheus?" Carter asked. "Isn't Prometheus a Greek god or something?"

"Greek Titan," Walt replied, a starry, faraway look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but am I the only one who doesn't understand what's going on?" Zia interrupted, looking confused. "What other demigods are you talking about? Are you hiding something from me, Sadie?"

Suddenly, Walt crumpled to his knees. He begins to hold his head, grunting pain.

Sadie rushed to his side. "Walt, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, it might be-argh!" A surge of warm energy exploded from Walt, his body suddenly glowing so bright that Sadie had to shield her eyes with her arm. When the warmth dissipates, she brought her arm down and reopened them. Standing before her, handsome, shaggy-haired, and clad in an all too familiar leather jacket was, in the flesh, someone she had thought she'd never see again.

"Sadie," Anubis greeted gravelly, scratching his mane of shaggy hair.

"Anubis?" Carter asked. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah."

The room shook again, causing them all to stumble a little. A clay flower vase toppled and shattered next to Anubis's foot.

He turns to her. "Sadie, listen, I know I'm being super vague now, but right now something is seriously wrong. If my father is gone…and if the Torch of Prometheus is really in danger...I have to go warn the Seventh Nome that they might be attacked."

"The Torch of What?" Sadie asked, confused. "At the Seventh Nome?"

He nodded. "You'll find me there. Get everyone you can…your Greek friends, maybe the Norse too, if the other lady you described really is who I think it is…just go! Neither Setne or the Book of Thoth must fall into enemy hands."

The floor shook again, harder than the last time. "Stay safe, Sadie." He dashed to the stairs and began to make his way down.

"Where are you going?" Sadie shouted after him.

Anubis stopped and looked back right at her. "To give you guys some time! Don't worry, Walt and I'll be fine. Just get everyone out of here!"

"I'll help you," Carter offered, reaching toward his satchel. "I'm Pharaoh of Egypt, I can handle them too!"

Anubis shook his head. "You need to get the Book of Thoth and then help Sadie. She'll need your help. If they're too much for me, I can make a portal and escape. My ability allows me to make one only I can enter, so I'll be fine. The gods…they're not going to be able to help you much now. If Set himself has been captured, who knows if they'll be next?"

After a moment, Carter sighed in reluctance. "Alright, if you say so."

Before Anubis was out of sight, Sadie rushed down the steps and captured his lips into hers. She practically melted into a puddle with the sensation. It was just too bad it couldn't last.

"Go get em', tiger." She tried hard to swallow the lump that had begun in her throat. "Keep Walt safe."

Anubis smiled that dashing smile she'd forgotten she missed. "Of course, Miss Kane." He finally left, Carter following behind him.

When the both of them had gone, Zia put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. They'll be fine. Right now, we need to focus on making sure everyone is too."

Sadie nodded, even though it was breaking her heart to do so.

They made their way up the stairs onto the roof. Ever since Carter gained the ability to control griffins, he'd managed to recruit many more of them, besides Freak, to form Brooklyn House's main means of transportation. Every member of the House of Life, young and old, had been educated on how to control them.

When she and Sadie arrived, however, they were surprised that everyone was still there. No one had conjured up a boat or even moved toward the stable.

"What's going on guys?" Sadie pushed her way forward towards the front of the crowd. And stopped.

The sight that greeted her nearly stopped her heart. Laid out on the roof were the mangled, burnt corpses of Freak and his fellow griffins. Their one noble, beautiful wings were all but messes of charred flesh and feathers. The smell almost made her vomit.

Standing around them, all around the thirty or so magicians, were a group of other people dressed in dark purple military uniforms with lettering on the breast pocket, in symbols she recognizes as Ancient Greek, along with various runes, symbols and Egyptian wards she recognizes. Some of them were armed with the typical wands and staffs of a magician, but three armed with AK-47s, which were all aimed at the other Brooklyn House members. A few of the magicians each are mounted on dark horses with glowing gold eyes and manes that crackle with static electricity.

Naturally, Sadie and Zia raised their wands.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

One of the uniform-clad riders dismounted her steed; a beautiful girl of around Carter's age, maybe older, with a tiny mole on the lower left side of her chin and brown skin. She brushed her dark, wavy, shoulder length hair to the side and lifted half rim eyeglasses that drooped a little. "Not unless you want someone to get hurt, which, believe me, I don't want either.

"Guys?"

The magicians parted as Carter pushes his way forward, panting, stopping right behind her. "What's going on, Sadie? Why is nobody leaving-no."

He froze as soon as he saw the bodies. Sadie's stomach lurched. Freak, to Carter especially, was the family dog they'd never had.

Carter's expression of shock quickly morphed into rage. "You'll pay for this."

"I'm sorry, Carter Kane," the girl said with a smile. "I'm afraid I don't have the money to spare."

"What are these things?" Zia asked while gripping her wand tight. "They don't look like any demons I've ever seen."

"These are no demons," the girl replied. "They're Venti, or Aeoli, depending on which language you prefer. They're a bit hard to handle unless you know how to train them well. My old teacher did, though. Medea's years of training allowed her to impart on me quite the treasure trove of knowledge."

"Medea?" Sadie recognized the name. It had been mentioned once in Literature class. And that was when they were studying…

Her heart began to race as she realized what exactly they were dealing with: Greeks.

"I know what it looks like," the girl continued. "But the truth is I don't want to kill any of you. I've sworn not to."

"Says the person who's still threatening us with them," Zia snarled.

The girl just chuckled, undeterred by Zia's threat. "Oh, they won't kill you. Maim you, scar you, maybe take off a limb if you really want to give them trouble, but otherwise they'll leave you very much alive.

"What do you want?" Sadie asked.

"We know you have the magician, Setne, and the Book of Thoth." The girl raised her right hand, and a tiny fireball ignited right above her palm. She walked toward Carter. "Surrender them, and the Nome, and I won't as much as hurt a fly. Otherwise, well, you know. There's no way you can all escape. We have people guarding Cleopatra's Needle, the Met, all the other monuments in the city."

A wave of more uniform-clad magicians burst through the roof entrance, surrounding the other Brooklyn House members.

"You're right," Carter said. "Not all of us."

Carter pushed his way past Sadie, nudging the side of her backpack. He raised his khopesh, gripping it tightly in a manner she recognized as a sign of nervousness.

"Put that down, please," the girl said. The flames in her palm swirl like a hurricane of death, growing with her menace. She gestured towards the other Brooklyn House members, some who already had hands in their satchels or weapons drawn. "All of you, too."

Carter nodded, kneeling and placing his blade down.

"Carter?" Zia looked at her boyfriend, fear clear in her eyes.

Carter smiled at his girlfriend. "It'll be alright, hon." His gaze meets Sadie's, and, she knew instantly, with dread, exactly what he was about to do. It was still difficult not to feel fear even as he assured her, "Give 'em hell for us, ladies."

Zia's eyes widened. But before she could cry out in protest, Carter let out a bellow of rage, and their captor went flying several feet; the Fist of Horus having smacked her hright in her chest. The other uniform-clad magicians immediately moved into defensive combat as every one of the Magicians finally attacked.

"Magicians, defend yourselves! Flee if you can!" Carter shouted as the air around them began to howl.

The earth shook from the pulsating magical energy all around them. Some Brooklyn House magicians fall, magical ribbons flying around their bodies. The enemy storm spirits charged forward, a fearsome sight especially with the electricity sparking around their bodies. While under fire, Sadie was helpless to watch Jaz get struck in the back of the head with a staff, where she crumpled and lay still. Eventually, she found herself back to back with Zia as they fought one of the magicians who was still atop their ghostly steeds. She'd finished firing a blast of flames at an unlucky magician when Carter called out to her.

"You two, when I tell you to, Go!" He quickly formed a magical shield around him right before two spells collided into it.

"No!" Zia cried. "We can still fight!"

"There's too many of them!" he shouted back. "They promised they won't kill them. On my mark, you guys run and don't look back!"

Sadie noticed one of the armed henchmen aim their weapon at Carter. She quickly fired a spell straight at his face, and in a golden flash, he disappeared. A hamster stood in his place.

"Now!"

Sadie and Zia turned toward the ledge of the roof just as a burst of bright, blinding light erupted from behind them.

"What on earth?" she heard the wavy haired girl exclaim. "Someone stop him!"

Pushing away the fear bubbling inside her, Sadie leaped off the building. As she hurled several hundred feet toward the ground, she concentrated. Her arms morphed into feathers, and when her kite form was complete, she flew toward a luxury apartment building surrounded by a dark metal gate below her. Zia followed using a spell of her own design to propel herself up in short bursts, as she fell, allowing her to land safely right next to her.

Sadie stumbled, reeling from the effects of detransformation. "Dammit! That idiot…" She panted hard, then looked back up at Brooklyn House. The skies atop Brooklyn House still flashed with light, but no spirits seemed to be chasing after them.

"That stupid…selfless…shit!" Zia yelled angrily, and kicked the apartment's fence next to her, causing some passerby to briefly turn their heads.

By Isis, Sadie thought. Have I ever heard her curse before?

Then Zia's eyes widened as she seemed to realize something. "The Book of Thoth. Carter still had it!"

"No, he didn't." Sadie took off her backpack and reached into the tight netting on the side. She pulled out a tiny leather book the size of a matchbox, along with a minuscule snow globe about the same size.

Zia squinted her eyes, trying to make out what it is in the dark. "Is that—"

"Shrinking spell." Sadie unzipped her backpack and placed the items in one of the tiny pockets sewn inside. "IWe can't stay long. I don't want to risk being followed."

Zia nodded. "At least the Book is safe."

Then she asked the question Sadie has been dreading. "So, spill it. Who are these demigod friends you haven't told me about?

And here it begins. "Let's just try to get away from here first. I'll tell you as we walk."

They tried to go as far from Brooklyn House or any of the other Egyptian monuments they could. In spite of the danger around them, it was a beautiful night in the city: perfect weather for a walk, if only they could do just that. Sadie held nothing back to Zia: meeting Annabeth, Percy, the events of what she and Carter really were up to at Governor's Island (that day, she'd told her they'd gone to visit the Statue of Liberty).

"So," Zia began as they passed by the local shopping mall. "These…other gods have co-existed with ours for millennia? Without us or any of their children hearing about each other?

"Yeah, apparently." A lifting feeling washed over her, which she figured was the weight of the secret finally coming off her chest. "Their gods and ours tried to keep to themselves so that people wouldn't try to combine their magic and possibly destroy the world, like Setne."

"But if what that girl said true…" Zia paused, seemingly locked in thought. "Setne isn't the only one who has been trying mixing Egyptian and Greek magic. This Torch of Prometheus our enemy wants: it must be Greek too. But should we really be breaking the barriers between worlds again? Your friends are trustworthy, but what about the others? What's going to happen when the other Greek demigods that they're not the only ones around?"

She had a point. For a moment, Sadie took some time to think in silence and consider other possibilities. Any other way they could find help without potentially ruining the balance of the universe all over again. But none came to her.

"If Anubis believes that asking Percy for help is the right thing to do," Sadie said. "—Then I believe him. We're out of options otherwise."

Zia, although clearly reluctant, nodded in agreement. "Then let's get to it."

Sadie looked behind herself for the umpteenth time to check if they're being followed. The neon glow of Brooklyn nightlife isn't doing much to ease her fear that an enemy could jump out at them from the shadows at any moment. At the hour, the streets were bare of the usual passerby. It made them easy targets for attack, but also made it easier for them to spot any attackers.

"Do you have any idea what could be so special about the Seventh Nome?" she asked. "Where is it anyway?"

"Vatican City," Zia replied. "Amos told me that there's always been an unusually high number of experienced magicians there, even though there are almost no marks of Egyptian influence anywhere. But I don't have a clue about anything that might be there."

Another thought suddenly broke through Sadie's mind as her thoughts raced. "We should try to contact Amos. Tell him to try to look for everyone else."

Zia shook her head. "No. We need to go find your friends first. Maybe once we're safe, we can, but we have a priority now."

Sadie had never seen Zia look as haggard as she did right now. Her amber eyes, which lacked their usual kohl makeup, looked tired and lifeless, the complete opposite of the girl she'd known for years. The turmoil and fear brewing within her must've been tearing her apart.

She knew that feeling all too well. When Carter had allowed his concern for Zia cloud his judgment, Sadie hadn't been so sympathetic. Then Walt told her about his pharaoh's curse. It's as if all their love lives have been cursed too.

Still, they had to continue. For Carter, for Walt, Anubis, and everyone else they've abandoned.

No, we haven't. Not yet.

She took out her cell phone from her bag and scrolled through her contacts, stopping when she finally found the one labeled: PERCY JACKSON.

-Ω-Ω-Ω-

"By Zeus's Beard."

Percy shook his head as the credits played, then chocked with laughter and disbelief at what he'd just witnessed. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen put on film."

Annabeth grinned as she shoved the last of the popcorn into her mouth. "Told you it wasn't some boring arthouse drama, though it was definitely trying to be."

He got off the couch and stretched, still reeling from the effects of the incredible, life-changing experience that was The Room. "Wise girl, if someone told me that one of the worst and funniest movies ever made would be the only one that exceeded my expectations this year, I would've laughed in their face. Now, I think I've laughed enough for a hundred years. Good god…why the hell was he masturbating withthat dress?"

"That's the first thing I'd ask the director if I ever meet him." Annabeth smiled. "He's no Spielberg, that's for sure. Totally worth the three bucks though, right?"

"Best purchase I've made this year," Percy agreed. And he'd thought Annabeth only cared about award-worthy historical dramas and documentaries: that was a true masterpiece. "But those sex scenes might've killed any libido I might've had tonight."

"How tragic." Annabeth brushed some spilled popcorn off her shorts: it was a well-kept secret that Annabeth was, in her most personal and vulnerable self, a huge slob when it came to eating. Not that Percy minded, of course.

Still, he dreaded the fact that in merely a few days, Mom, Paul, and Estelle would arrive home from their trip to Disney World (which he was still a bit bitter that he had to miss since he'd been escorting some demigods to Camp. Their Satyr had been eaten by a Dracaena who'd pretended to be a…ballet instructor, somehow. The tutu was not flattering to her legs, to say the least). Then, weeks later, he would be starting his second semester at NRU, where he would be another step closer to graduation…hopefully.

The thing was, even after a year in college, he was still no closer to deciding a major. Schoolwork was even more of a bane than it had ever been, even after having to work extra to catch up on half a year loss of high school. He had Annabeth to help him, of course, but the thought of having to decide what to do with his life so soon after nearly a lifetime of fighting terrified him more than any monster. Adding the PTSD flashbacks he and Annabeth occasionally got, not even a movie date night could distract him for long.

"Hey."

Percy blinked. He must have blanked out again since Annabeth was giving him her I know what you're thinking look.

He sighed, preparing for another well-meaning but pointless speech but is surprised when she just asked, "Want to head to bed?"

She walked up to him and took his lips in hers, and, gods, would he ever tire of how it felt to have her in his arms?

"I'm here," she whispered, and the storm of thoughts raging in his head calmed a little. "I hear you. Don't ever forget that, alright?"

Never, he promised and hoped to himself. Not even if it killed him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.