Jpov

It was pretty much an instinct at this point, to catch the person traveling with me through the Interrealm. But just because I was used to it, didn't make it any less awkward.

Libby staggered, stumbling into me as she toppled through the door to the mortal world and I caught her before she overbalanced.

"Thanks." She said her cheeks going a little pink as she avoided my gaze.

"No problem." I said easily, letting her go, trying to ignore the strange feeling as if I'd done something I shouldn't have.

It was ridiculous. How many times had this happened with Harper? It had never been a problem then.

"I probably seem like such a klutz." She muttered scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "I promise I'm not. It's just-"

"Libby it's fine." I said assured her, unable to help but grin slightly at her apparently pathological need to over explain. "I'm pretty sure Harper's IQ would have dropped about twenty points if I wasn't there to stop her from splitting her skull open half the time she travels through the Interrealm."

"So then she'd only be like a little bit smarter than the rest of us?" she asked with half a sheepish smile.

"Yeah." I agreed. "And with a really bad short term memory what with all the stacking of concussions."

"Gods," she said as we started walking towards the stairs that would take us up to the main hall of the library. "Can you imagine how insufferable Ashton would be?" she asked rolling her eyes. "It was bad enough that one summer when she fainted and he practically stuck to her in the infirmary like a barnacle. Just imagine if she got a TBI. Traumatic brain injury." She added when she caught my expression.

"Ah," I said lightly. "I don't actually have to imagine that."

"You don't?"

Her expression was curious looking back at me as she started to climb the spiral steps towards the main part of the library.

"No." I said following after her. "We were crawling around in some caves in Asia a few months ago, looking for some manuscripts we'd seen referenced in other titles. We got caught in a bit of a rock slide and while overall we were fine, she got a nasty knock on the head. She had to convince him not to skip one of his playoff games to keep an eye on her."

"You know, a part of me feels like I should be surprised by that but I'm not." She said flatly and though I didn't have a great look at her expression, something about the exasperation in her words had me grinning again.

"Really?" I asked. "But it's so out of character for him."

She let out a laugh, but it was hollow.

"I'd tell him to get a life outside his girlfriend, but he has one. I know how talented he is and all that, and he's kind of a rock star when it comes to college sports."

"But?" I asked prompting

"I dunno." She said and shrugged, by her tone I could tell she was frowning. "It's strange to me, him being so… invested."

She put an emphasis on the word.

"Invested?" I asked not entirely sure what she meant by this or why it clearly made her uncomfortable.

"Yeah." She said shrugging. "I mean, I know he loves her but it seems a bit drastic to miss such a big game."

"It's not a bad thing Ashton cares about his girlfriend." I pointed out, wondering how the hell I'd gotten on the topic of the love life of a guy who didn't even like me and wishing we could move on from it quickly.

"I know, but she was ok right?" she pointed out as we rounded the top of the stairs and paused before stepping into the main hall of the library. "And from what you say it sounds like she agreed with me. From what you say it sounded like he was ready to put his whole future on the line, just for her."

"You're not really a romantic, are you?" I asked looking down at her, a little surprised at the thought.

Judging by her slippers and her apartment, I'd figured Libby would have been all about stories of star crossed lovers together at last and tales of whirlwind romance.

I'd misjudged this about her apparently, because she let out a derisive noise.

"No." she said her tone curt. "Dating in college cut that out of me pretty quick."

"Haven't found your prince charming I take it?"

"You can get unconditional love with a pet." She said. "And they don't stand you up for coffee because, 'the boys and I were playing COD and I lost track of time.'"

She put air quotes around the word causing me to think the quote was far more than a hypothetical.

"That guy sounds like a git." I said frowning.

"Oh don't worry, he made sure to let me know he'd still go out with me though because he's 'totally into blondes'."

More air quotes.

"So, you went out with him again then did you?" I asked expectantly and she shot me an irritated look.

"Only once,"

"Libby." I said horrified. I'd been joking. "No."

"Oh shut up." She snapped pushing open the doors. "Like you haven't had your fair share of bad dates."

She halted however, clearly shocked by the state the library was in today and I crossed my arms over my chest, entertained by her expression.

"Yes?"

"Did we just…" she looked over her shoulder in apparent confusion. "Did we accidentally go through the door to the Underworld?"

The library's usual rows had been replaced with towering blackened shelves, studded with precious gem stones and the metal twisted into the shapes of monsters and a variety of bones.

The lamps had been replaced by fixtures of glowing rock crystal and the occasional trickle of lava and fire erupting from basalt pillars.

"No." I said stepping into the hall. The floor had been replaced with polished obsidian. "We have visitors from Hades today. I'd avoid the spell circles if I were you." I said gesturing towards the carvings cut deep into the volcanic glass, their etchings glowing a soft, sinister green. "They're meant to keep the spirits from drifting between the levels, but they can trap other things as well. It's rather annoying to get people out."

"Freaky." Libby muttered watching a spirit floating between the shelves next to us, but her expression appeared to be interested rather than alarmed.

"Harper should be at her desk." I said gesturing for her to follow me towards the center of the hall.

The water that was usually around the statue of Athena had been replaced by a moat of greek fire that crackled eerily, throwing the statue into a contrast of showers. It caused her to look more severe than ever, and part of me wondered if Athena herself had been trying to make a point. Spirits could be unruly, and I wouldn't put it past her to want to remind them not to mess with a place created specifically to honor her and was run by one of her daughters.

I'd just spotted Harper though a cloud of spectral fog when I heard her shout.

"I don't care if you say it's a service animal, get it out!"

I saw Libby look at me, clearly confused but I felt a kick of adrenaline surge through me as frowning, I started jogging towards what seemed like the start of an argument.

"This is ridiculous." A voice responded. "He only got away from me for like five seconds."

"In which he ate a chair."

I made it through the haze to see Harper glaring at a tall, pale man with dark circles around his eyes and black hair that seemed to wave in lazy tendrils around his face, shifting between curly locks and what looked strangely like… wings.

His hand was on the collar of a massive hell hound that was snarling at Harper, it's lips curled back over massive, razor sharp fangs.

"Is that-" Libby started sounding amazed but not for the first time, I held up an arm to hold her back.

"Hypnos," Harper said furiously and I noticed Lucy was hovering anxiously a few feet behind Harper's desk which the fog seemed to be centering around. "Either the dog goes, or you both do."

"Or what?" he asked with a sneer and I figured it was probably time to intervene.

"Or you'll be dragged out." I said darkly. "By me."

Hypnos turned, clearly ready to retort then hesitated when his gaze met mine.

At this point, my reputation as the library's bouncer that could smack some manners to even some of the most pissed off of the Olympians had well and truly made its way through the divine rounds, and I could see Hypnos weighing his options as he studied me.

The bookshelves around us were rotating now, sleek metallic backs forming an unbroken wall, sectioning the conflict off from the rest of the visitors.

Hypnos glanced at them, then to Harper, and finally at me.

"Alright." He said shrugging as the mist around us started to creep closer.

But there was something sinister and resentful about the look he shot Harper as he made to walk by her, dragging his dog which had started to growl.

Suddenly, Harper looked around, apparently having realized something.

"James." She said quietly. "The mist. It's-"

Suddenly, several things happened at once.

There was a snarl and a streak of shadow that jumped straight at Harper.

I tackled the hell hound, sword drawn and pinned it to the ground only to hear a 'thud'.

I looked over my shoulder wildly, wondering if, startled, Harper might have stepped back and fallen but no.

"James! Lucy!"

Harper was running to where Lucy had collapsed, and Hypnos was reaching for her.

Swearing, I dispatched of monster and sprang after the God whose hand had almost closed around her wrist…

Suddenly, there was a streak of glowing metal and Hypnos let out a exclamation of pain as we all looked, stunned, to see an arrow tipped with celestial bronze buried into his palm, gold ichor trickling from the wound.

"Move an inch closer to her and the next one will be between your eyes." Libby's voice said furiously, and we all turned to see her holding a bow that had come, seemingly from nowhere.

Her blue eyes, usually bright and cheerful were as hard as ice, and she looked angry enough to kill.

"It won't kill you," she said darkly, her eyes narrowing at the god. "But I guarantee it will hurt."

Harper had now knelt next to Lucy, Hypnos backing away, his hands up in the air, one still bleeding from the wound.

"She's fine." Harper said after a brief examination. "Just asleep."

She stood, looking furious.

"Everybody out of here!" Harper shouted. "Your friend here just got the Underworld banned from the library for the next six decades. Unless Hades want to have a chat about how his subjects behave in outside his domain."

"Six Decades?" Libby asked incredulously.

"They're lucky it's not centuries." Harper said sourly. "But unfortunately, they know I can't enforce that. Won't live long enough to do it." she explained clearly not understanding Libby's look of uncertainty before returning her angry gaze to Hypnos, who seemed just as furious as she was.

"She doesn't mean it." I said quietly. "You have to remember Libby, the gods are old. Spirits don't care about a matter of weeks. She and Hades will work out a deal."

I glanced at Lucy who, no doubt because she was mortal, had been the first to succumb to Hypnos's powers. In his anger, it was clear he'd wanted to put us asleep. Maybe snatch the mortal girl as some sort of cruel joke.

This must have been what Harper had realized, tried to warn me about before Hypnos had set his dog on her. A distraction he'd knew I'd fall for.

I glowered at the god who was starting to look a little frightened now that his plan hadn't worked.

"I'll take care of her." Libby said quietly. She gestured towards Lucy, who still appeared to be out cold. "You deal with… him."

She nodded towards the god and I felt torn between wanting to throttle Hypnos and check on my sister.

Almost as if she could read my thoughts, Harper said.

"Let her do it. She's a medic. She can do more for Lucy than we can."

I hesitated, not wanting to leave my sister but after catching Libby's eye, I relented.

"Alright. You." I snapped glaring at Hypnos, gesturing towards the exit of the main hall with my sword where several creatures including ghosts, furies and even the occasional skeleton were heading, none too happily, back to the doors to return back to the Underworld. "Get going."

He didn't move at first, and for a moment, I was wondering if I really was going to have to drag another God out of the library when his eyes narrowed.

"So," he said quietly, something like resentment but also a sort of curiosity in his tone. "It's true then, what they say about you?"

"Not very becoming of a god to get caught up in the rumor mill." I said pointing for him to follow his fellow denizens of the Underworld towards the exit, but again, he didn't move. "Who would have thought the famous Hypnos, god of sleep, was a such gossip."

"I wouldn't waste your breath antagonizing an immortal boy." He said and while it was clear he wasn't too eager issue me a direct challenge, his smile was vicious. "From what I hear, you might not have that many of them left." The grin widened and his dark eyes seemed to bore into me with an evil intensity. "Don't think I haven't seen your dreams."

I felt a sick sensation creep into the pit of my stomach that wasn't quite anxiety, but couldn't quite be ignored either.

I pushed it aside however, and shot him a mild look.

"Taken a personal interest in my sleeping habits, have you?" I asked lightly, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder and thrusting him away from the girls. Harper not too far behind us as we started to walk. "I'd be flattered really, if I wasn't so creeped out."

"Put on a show all you like," he said with sneer. "But everyone here knows that much magic in a mortal body won't let that body last long."

I felt a chill go down my spine, and I didn't have to look back at Libby to know she was staring at me.

I could feel her gaze on me, and it was heavy.

"Well," he said delicately, smirking as his eyes slid over her, then back to me. "I guess now everyone knows."

"Shut up." Harper snapped furiously. "Or I'll walk away right now and you'll see what happens when James has some behavioral issues of his own."

"And where will that leave you little lady?" he asked turning to Harper, and while his question was a parody of thoughtful, his tone was cruel. The tendrils around his face fluttering in what was apparent excitement. "You've made a lot of enemies trying to keep your guard dog out of trouble. What will you do when someone finally has him put down?"

"Harper," I started, seeing her eyes flash behind her glasses with fury. "Harper, let it go."

"Get out!" she shouted and suddenly, books leaped out from behind the make shift walls the shelves had created, and started pelting themselves at Hypnos who, clearly, hadn't been expecting his reaction from Harper.

"Get out of my library!" she shouted, more paper flying at the god from all directions as he covered his head to protect his face. The ground was cracking after him, obsidian churning and shattering driving him towards the doors. "And don't you dare think about coming back until-"

Shrieking with rage, the god lunged for her. I sprang forward meeting him before he'd made it halfway, sending a loud 'Crack' and a shock wave through the library. Books toppled off the shelves as they shuddered. I saw a flash of movement as the god reached for my face.

A surge of anger, and something else charged through me as my heart rate increased, pulse pounding in my ears.

I caught his wrist and he staggered back, clearly surprised, struggling to break my grip.

I kicked him in the chest and he went flying across the hall like a rag doll.

His body smacked into the backs of the metal shelves, hard, but managed to stagger to his feet. It was all he managed to do.

Senses buzzing and adrenaline coursing through me, I felt the familiar effect of the ancient magic trapped within me sending shocks through my nerves, a foreign sense of energy and power vibrating within me as slowly, my muscles started to burn.

I used it to pin the god to the shelves. My forearm pressing unkindly against his throat.

He looked startled to see me glaring at him, as if he almost couldn't believe a mortal had gotten the better of him. The gods, no matter how many times they'd heard the stories it seemed, never did.

"You were told to leave mate." I said calmly, trying to tamp down the euphoric feeling of power that was now coursing through me. "It wasn't a suggestion. We won't tell you again."

I let him go, half expecting, half hoping for trouble even though I knew I shouldn't be.

He glowered at me, then shot Harper and the library at large, a resentful look.

"This place was built for the gods you know." He said then glared at Harper with distain. "Now look at it. Run by a foolish little girl surrounded by freaks and other demigods who don't know their place."

He shot me a sour look, but I was surprised, and a little horrified, when he glared at Libby. His expression was angry.

Well… she had shot him.

'And threatened to do it again.' a voice reminded me, and I felt a surge of respect for Libby's nerve go through me at the memory.

"This library was built for the Athenians." Harper said savagely. "In honor of my mother. They chose to share their knowledge with anyone they deemed worthy."

She gave him a look of disgust.

"I've determined you are not. Not right now. So you'd better start thinking up one hell of a story for your boss down stairs." Harper continued darkly. "Because from what I've heard, he doesn't take very kindly to people who embarrass him."

"Let's go." I said pushing him towards the exit of hall rolling my shoulders, willing myself to relax and the energy that had kicked off within me to go dormant. Already my body was aching which couldn't have been a good sign.

I hadn't gone that far, unleashed that much. I shouldn't have felt it like this.

"Can't do that for long, can you?" Hypnos asked grinning nastily, but moving towards the stairs.

"You're welcome to try and catch me in the mortal on my own to test that theory." I said lightly. "I wouldn't advise it though."

"Scared of burning yourself alive from the inside?" he smirked.

"No." I said allowing a burst of energy to go through me as I grabbed the back of his neck.

He jolted away from me, a burn forming where my palm had been and bruises already purpling where I'd dug my fingertips in. I was satisfied to see that now, a flash of fear had darted behind his dark eyes.

I smiled.

"Out there I won't have to worry about Harper yelling at me for messing up the books."

I then pushed him out of the main hall, shutting the door behind him, trusting he could make his own way back to his domain.

The anger was wearing off now, and I felt a stinging in my palm. I glanced down to see the skin was red and irritated, but already healing.

I shook it automatically, hoping to dull the sensation. I knew I didn't feel pain exactly the way that most people did these days, but it wasn't exactly comfortable.

"I guess that's another one we're on the shit list for." Harper said and I turned to see her looking at the door, her arms crossed over her chest, her expression a mix between resentful and weary. "You should probably stop threatening gods though," she continued glancing at my hand before meeting her gaze with mine. "Even the minor ones."

I let out an incredulous noise.

"Look who's talking."

She grinned a little at this, but shook her head clearly deciding whatever she wanted to say wasn't worth arguing over, then turned and started making her way back to her desk.

I hesitated a moment, suddenly remembering that Libby was here and had seen all of that.

'Wonderful.' I thought and with a sigh and, hand throbbing, I followed Harper, not for the first time wishing that the daughter of Apollo was anywhere but here.