Sadie greeted me with a smile that I knew meant today was going to be interesting. She led me into the library with the rest of the group.
"Today we'll be learning about potions." Zia explained. "This will take several days to craft your first potion, so don't worry if it takes a lot of time. It's best to go slow, and be sure it is working correctly."
Cleo and I worked with Jaz as our main teacher - she was kind and gentle and showed us how to mix the proper ingredients. I carefully brought the pot of water to a boil and added three drops of cobra anti-venom as Cleo crushed garlic mixed in olive oil. We added aloe juice straight from aloe leaves, honey straight from the comb, dried acacia, thyme, and a list of items I won't mention for your safety (hint: I didn't know one could milk a griffin, but apparently that's a thing. Don't try it at home).
It took several days as Zia had warned, but by the Friday that spring break began, we had two vials of potion for Jaz, Zia, and Walt to look over.
The three of them carefully placed their hands on the vials and closed their eyes. Zia frowned and I got worried.
"Well," Walt began, opening his eyes. "They won't kill anyone who takes them."
"But they wouldn't heal anyone either." Zia agreed.
I stared at Jaz. "What did we do wrong?"
"Nothing - it just takes practice! Your magic to put in the potion wasn't strong enough. We'll try again and it'll go better this time, promise!" She assured us.
I went home, feeling disappointed. I knew Jaz said we'd learn and do better, but most of the potion-making stuff wasn't magical - it was just following a recipe. I should've been able to follow a list of instructions! I got to Percy's place without realizing where I was until he grabbed me up, laughing. I nearly punched him in surprise.
"Woah, Wise Girl, it's me! It's spring break, we get a whole week to have fun!"
"Oh. Right, sorry, I was distracted."
Percy frowned and cupped my chin. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No." I looked away. "Wait, maybe."
He grinned and we went to the couch. "I…. I wanted to see if you could help Magnus." I explained what had happened with Magnus and the sea god issues he was having.
"So, you want me to talk to these sea gods, or -"
"Any advice, really." I admitted. "Magnus hasn't had a lot of training, Percy. He only started learning how to fight in January - and he's not big on fighting. He needs more help if he's facing the end of the world."
"We all need help when we face the end of the world." Percy agreed. "This feels right. We still don't know what's going on with…. Whatever is going on at Camp, but this is something we can do."
Magnus and I had plans to meet up on Sunday, so I talked to Percy's parents and they assured me I was fine to take him with me. I couldn't let Magnus know, though, because demigod communication was totally, completely down. Blackjack was soaring the skies somewhere, as pegasi do in the spring. Mrs. O'Leary and Nico were both back at Camp - which would've meant a drive all the way to Camp to get one of them to deliver a message. And Nico had warned last time he was here that shadow-travel had gotten more dangerous than usual. The emperors seemed to be able to pull him off course. Percy and I were hesitant to send Mrs. O'Leary or Nico out when messages weren't urgent.
I'd tried to keep a raven here for a few days, but apparently, ravens don't like being kept in a closet, and when ravens don't like something, they scream. A lot. Which made Estelle scream, so I wasn't able to keep a raven for emergencies. I wonder if anyone else beside me has ever tried to keep a raven in case of emergency, or if we are back to things that only ever happen to Annabeth.
"Speaking of your family, Annabeth, we got a letter for you." Paul handed it to me. It was from my dad.
Annabeth,
I have been unable to reach you. What is going on? I've tried all the usual methods of reaching you, even praying to Athena, and nothing is working. I hope this letter is able to reach you at Percy's apartment.
Attached is a copy of your Uncle Randolph's will. He was recently declared dead - though I can not get a straight answer from the police as to how he died. This has become increasingly frustrating. Have you talked to Athena recently? With so many deaths in my family, I can't help but wonder if we have been cursed by a god.
Randolph left the mansion to you and Magnus. Since Magnus is dead, it appears the entire estate will belong to you. Legally, I would be in charge of it until you turn eighteen. When you have time, perhaps over spring break, please go take a look at the building. You may take whatever you'd like from it. All of it belongs to you. Let me know if you want to keep it, or sell it, or make any changes to it. Perhaps you will enjoy the architecture. You could move into it after college, if you like. It does have a long family history for us. I would love it if you chose to raise your family there as well. But I know better than to tell you what to do. You have grown up so well and I know you will make a good decision.
For now, I hope you have a great spring break. Helen and I will be on a vacation with her family, but you are always welcome to stop by the house if you are in California. I miss you. I hope to see you again before college starts. I'm proud of you.
Frederick
I rocked back on my feet. I had a house? A mansion no less. A big, crazy, potentially haunted and terribly creepy house.
"What is it?" Percy asked.
"Uh… apparently I inherited the family mansion."
Percy stared at me. "Dang. What do you want to do with it?"
I looked up and saw Sally, cradling Estelle. "Do you want it? For you, and Paul, and Estelle, and -"
Sally shook her head. "That's the sweetest offer I've ever heard, Annabeth. But no, I like it here in New York. If I move anywhere, it'll be to California to be closer to you and Percy."
I looked at Paul who grinned and shook his head. I turned to Percy. "I-I honestly don't know. It's big. And super creepy. And I'm not sure I want to live in it."
Percy nodded, looking excited. "Can we go check it out? I kinda want to see where your family is from."
I smiled at him, still shaking. "Yeah. Technically, it was left to Magnus and me. I should talk to him. Maybe he needs a creepy mansion."
"Can dead people own houses?" Paul asked, looking thoughtful. "What's the legal situation for a dead-demigod teenager?"
"Not sure." I admitted. "But that is so not the craziest question I've asked myself this year."
Percy and I spent our Saturday hanging out and being fairly normal - we went to the skatepark before it got hot, then an art museum (no monster attacks, so it was a win!), and a movie to end a great day. Percy would occasionally ask me if there was any Viking treasure in the mansion (no idea), or family heirlooms (no idea), or paintings worth tons of money (still no idea). Sunday morning found us on a train to Boston.
"Anything else I should know about Magnus?" Percy asked me for the tenth time.
"I don't think so. Why are you so nervous?" I could tell he was, since Percy was tapping his feet, and his hands, and just generally looking like he was ready for a monster attack at any moment.
He shrugged. "This is the only time I've met your family beyond, you know, your dad and half-brothers."
"You've met my siblings at Camp." I reminded him.
"Yeah, but…. I don't know. This is different. This is someone who was in your life and important to you as a kid. You don't have a lot of those. I want to make sure this goes right. What if he doesn't like me?"
"He'll love you, Percy. Just, try to relax, ok?"
He squeezed my hand and went back to anxiously tapping his legs.
When we got there I waved to Magnus, who grinned and waved back. I noticed he had someone with him, a girl about his age wearing a green hijab and standing like a fighter.
I hugged Magnus tightly, breathing in his pine scent. When I pulled away, I gestured to Percy. "Magnus, this is Percy."
Percy held out his hand and Magnus took it, despite the fact that Magnus doesn't really do touching if it isn't family. "Hey." Percy said, his voice sounding a little squeaky.
"Hey." Magnus agreed, looking a little awe-struck.
After a moment of silence, I turned to the girl. "You must be Sam."
"Yes." She agreed. "And you are Magnus's cousin?"
"Yeah, I'm Annabeth. Should we go somewhere to talk, Magnus?"
"What? Oh, yeah." Magnus led us out of the train station. "So, Percy, uh, Annabeth mentioned you might have some advice for me."
"Yeah, anything you want to ask, you know? Maybe I can help explain what to expect on a boat, or how to fight in the water, or anything like that."
"I'd appreciate it." Magnus admitted. "I don't want to screw this up like my last quest."
"Magnus, you did fine." Sam protested. "It was my fault -"
Magnus shook his head at her. "Sam, none of that was your fault. Loki's sure, but not yours."
We walked in tense silence for a couple blocks, until Percy started explaining oceans to Magnus. By the time we got to a park, Percy was deep into the differences in currents, and how to tell what was good sailing weather. I could tell Magnus was a little overwhelmed, possibly in need of some magic-mind-sharpening water from the Egyptians, but I thought he was doing ok at understanding the differences.
Sam touched my arm and gestured me a little bit away. "What's wrong?" I asked when we were out of earshot of the boys.
Sam took a deep breath. "A lot of what went wrong on that quest... Well, it was my fault. I…. I couldn't marry the Giant, so Alex took my place and nearly got killed. Your uncle…. He might still be here if I'd been a little faster, if I'd made different choices, if I -"
I held up a hand. "Sam, it isn't your fault."
She shook her head, looking like she might cry. "It is. I'm…. not good with my powers, the way Alex is. I'm not comfortable changing shape, using what my dad gave me…. If I had it my way, I wouldn't use anything from my dad. I am so, so sorry about your uncle, Annabeth."
I thought about what I wanted to say, trying to phrase it carefully. "Sam, I felt a lot like you. For a long time…. I didn't want to be like my dad. At all, any of it. I…. I really leaned in to who my mom was. I became the most Athena-like Athena kid ever. I didn't really pay attention to what my dad had given me, how I could use it.
Then…." I smiled at the memory, "He managed to defeat a whole bunch of monsters after he outfitted his plane to shoot magic bullets. It was the bravest, craziest thing I've ever seen. And I realized…. Maybe it's ok to make something good out of everything that happened. It doesn't change the bad, not even one bit. But… if there's something, anything good there…. Don't be afraid of the good, ok? Because we are not our parents. And we don't have to follow their paths."
Sam seemed to relax slightly. She nodded and gave me a faint smile. "Magnus mentioned…. Well, he said in one of your letters you mentioned your mom turning against you. I have to ask…. Did she try to kill you? Were you able to resist her?"
I stared at Sam. "Not…. not in the way you are asking. Uh, my mom sent me on a suicide mission and took away some of my tools. But your dad -"
"Ordered my heart to stop beating." Sam confirmed. "He ordered Alex and I to die, to get us out of the way of the battle."
I tried to think of what on earth to say, but somehow what my mouth chose to say was, "Gods, and I thought I knew what bad parenting looked like."
Sam laughed. "Loki tends to take things to the next level."
"Wow. That's just…. Wow."
Sam glanced back at Magnus. "I need to find a way to resist him, make sure that doesn't happen again in this battle. I can't be a liability for Magnus."
"This… Alex person. They can resist Loki?"
"Alex says she can. At least…. She's managed to before."
"Can she teach you how to resist Loki? Like Percy and Magnus are doing - you can have resistance lessons?"
She thought about it, then sighed. "Alex has offered to teach me. I just…. To learn how to do it, it means I must use my powers. And…. I am not sure I want that."
"I understand." I told her quietly. "Recently I've learned how to do things that…. Well, let's just say I never asked for. But if it's a tool you can use, something that might mean the difference in the end of the world… isn't it worth it to try?"
Sam hesitated. "Ok." She relented, "I'll try. But I can not promise more than that."
"That's fine." I assured her. "Just… try your best. From what Magnus has said, the world may depend on it."
Sam looked troubled. "Can you…. Tell me more about what happened with your mom? Your suicide quest? In case, I don't know, I can learn something?"
I stared at the blue sky for a moment, trying to get some courage back. I nodded to a bench and we walked over together.
"You have to understand a little bit about Athena first." I explained. "When I was seven and ran away, she gave me a hammer and told me to prove I was worthy of help. Over the years, she would test me, constantly, to make sure I was still worthy. Monsters sent to test my strength, puzzles to test my intelligence, tricks to test my loyalty.
I…. I just didn't know this was what the end goal was. What she had created me for - a tool to bring down her greatest enemy. And I have to admit, that still makes me angry, to know I was created to be used as a tool. But that's what I was, and that's how the gods see us. Tools, or entertainment." I looked at Sam. "Gods are very different from us, they think different from us, and you need to understand that. Let's start with the stupid coin."