Hello, thanks for the review! I actually was going to wait to post this as it is a long update, but I saw the reviews and figured since it just needed to be edited I'd try to push for it to be posted. Thanks again, they do really give me a lot more confidence and push me to keep writing. I'm glad people are liking the story!
~secrethalfblood
Jpov
"And then, if you can believe it." Tom said smirking at me as the group around our table continued to laugh. "This prat convinces the head master the reason we were in the teacher's break room at all, was because we'd been asked to run the teacher's their favorite snacks. All our pockets completely stuffed with sweets." He chuckled. "Caught red handed, and this bastard sweet talked us out of detention like it was nothing."
"So he hasn't changed much?" Harper asked dryly and once again, the table erupted into laughter.
"I wouldn't go that far." Said Danny, a tall skinny boy with fair hair pulled back in to a knot on the back of his head. Like Tom, he'd been involved in this story and was looking quite pleased with himself about it. "He's a bit less unfortunate looking these days, if by only a little."
He'd been looking at Harper with interest all night, far past the point of subtlety to where I was pretty sure even she had noticed. And that was saying something.
What was it with Harper, and effect she seemed to have on blonde blokes?
I wasn't exactly sure how Tom had convinced me to invite her to this hang out, or whatever it was, at the pub down the street from his flat. And I had no idea why she'd agreed, but we'd been here for about two hours now during which my child hood group of friends were already several drinks in.
The place was pretty casual, sort of a hole in the wall which was fine with me, but I could tell they were regulars as the staff had greeted the group as we'd walked in.
Already I'd endured what felt like an endless stream of embarrassing stories from my years at primary school, and Harper had artfully dodged a myriad of questions about just what exactly it was that we did.
Melanie was here as well, as was Danny's cousin Colin, Tom's girlfriend Carly, who was also friends with Mel, and Henry, a quiet boy about a year younger than us who I hadn't known too well back in the days we'd all hung out, but had lived on the same street as us, and I was pretty sure had only wanted to spend time around us because he'd had a crush on Lucy.
"Jealous are you Danny?" Mel asked smirking at him, but shooting me a flirtatious look I decided to just ignore. "Are you really that resentful that James grew into his looks where as you just sort of… grew."
She looked up pointedly at his tall stature, and several people laughed. He took it with good grace though, and I figured Danny's height was an ongoing theme of the jokes in the pub.
"Careful Mel." Colin, who was actually not much shorter than his cousin, said with a grin. "The giant might step on you if he's angry."
Again, people laughed.
I noticed Mel had been watching Harper with a calculated sort of interest since we'd arrived, Carly too, though with her it simply looked like curiosity.
I wanted to pretend that I didn't know why, but I did. If it hadn't been obvious enough, it would have been clear by the way she was visibly satisfied when it was mentioned to her again that Harper had a boyfriend. Her expressions and her tone, while never overtly rude, became a lot friendlier towards her. However, when it was mentioned that he played sports in college, Colin frowned.
"Wait, Ashton?" he asked as if the name sounded familiar. "You don't mean Ashton Wells, do you? The basketball player?"
He looked stunned
"Uh, yes." Harper said looking just as surprised.
I was sure she was used to people some people knowing who Ashton was back home in the states, it honestly had been a bit of a situation when basketball season started and people began paying attention to him and realizing who she was because of it. But clearly she hadn't expected his popularity as an athlete to follow her all the way to London.
"So wait, that would make you his teammate's little sister."
"Twin." Harper and I corrected automatically and he nodded.
"Yes, exactly." He looked between us his expression incredulous. "How did you two meet each other again?"
We were saved from the question however, when Tom, who'd gone to the bar, came back with another round. But this time instead of beer, he was holding quite a number of shots. It was actually rather impressive how many he'd managed to handle.
"What I want to know." He said putting the round down and I caught a strong smell of tequila. "Is why Harper here, hasn't had anything to drink?"
"I don't like beer." Harper said and he smirked.
"Well it's a good thing this isn't beer then, isn't it?"
Harper looked at him for a moment, then without warning, reached for one of the glasses, took the shot and put it back on the table without so much as a wince.
We all stared at her.
"Happy?" She asked looking at Tom who appeared surprised for a moment, then chuckled.
"Extremely."
He then grabbed a shot and gestured round to everyone else.
"C'mon lads, we can't let the American show us up now can we?"
Everyone grabbed a drink, and while Harper's expression as blank, something about it was off. I had a feeling only I could see that she was thinking about something.
"You've never had tequila before, have you?" I asked quietly as the others brought their shot glasses together.
"No." she said her eyes going wide as she looked up at me. "That stuff tastes terrible."
I laughed and took the shot, amused as others kept trying to push different kind of drinks on Harper who looked as interested in them as a cat facing a bath.
She eventually got a call from Lucy stating that the library had received a message from her mother which she chose to take as an early out for the evening, but encouraged me to stay.
I hadn't really intended to stay as late as I did, but before I knew what was happening we had shut down the pub and I found myself walking Mel back to her apartment while the rest of the group wandered to Tom's to crash for the night.
She'd insisted she was fine, but I hadn't been comfortable letting her walk back to her apartment on her own when it was so late. Especially after she'd had quite a lot to drink.
"You can really handle your alcohol." She said clutching at me, grabbing the arm she'd linked with hers as she stumbled a little.
Demigods were physically stronger than mortals and part divine. As a general rule, we could drink more than the average human. I was sort of a freak of nature, even by half blood standards, so I was guessing my tolerance at this point was ridiculously high.
"It's a curse." I said grinning a little, figuring though Melanie was laughing at the comment, Harper would have appreciated it more.
We'd made it to the building and she gestured for me to follow her up the front steps, clearly to walk her to her floor.
I hesitated, knowing it probably wasn't the best idea, but figured I'd already walked this far.
We walked to the lift in silence, and I could tell in her attempt to further the conversation, Mel was forcing herself to sober up. She pressed the button for the fourth floor and I watched as the door closed shut.
"Your friend." She said eventually. "Harper. She's kind of…"
She frowned clearly trying to think of the right word.
"You don't have to finish that sentence." I said amused. Harper was a lot of things, none of them all that easy to define. "I know what you mean."
"Everyone seems to like her though." She said with a shrug and while she didn't seem completely opposed to this fact, I could tell something was on her mind.
I didn't have to ask. The alcohol did the work for me.
"I know she says she has a boyfriend, but you two seem quite close." She squinted at me as the lift doors opened and we stepped out. "Do you fancy her?"
"No." I said honestly, trying not to sound irritated at the question. I understood why people might want to ask it, but it was getting a little tiresome at this point. "Harper's my best mate, but that's all."
"I see." She said leaning against a door, clearly trying to focus again, then looking at me. "Well, if that's the case do you want to come in? We could keep the party going. Just because the others aren't around doesn't mean the evening has to end."
She looked a little hopeful and I found I was kicking myself for not simply saying good bye outside. I'd thought I'd been pretty clear up til this point I wasn't interested, but maybe her walking her to her door had been a bit of a mixed signal.
"You're drunk, Mel." I said and she laughed.
"Only a little."
"Right." I said with obvious disbelief, the nodded at her door. "Go sleep it off."
"Alright." She said, but it was clear she was disappointed and when she grinned, it was a little half-hearted. "I guess Harper's been a good influence on you," she teased putting an emphasis on the name. "You weren't always this much of a gentleman."
"I'll make sure to let her know you said that." I said starting turn and starting walk away but what she said next surprised me.
"Are you coming back?"
I stopped at the question and looked over my shoulder at her, a little taken aback by her expression.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but she looked concerned. Even a little hurt.
"What?"
It's just." She said softly crossing her arms over her chest and looking down the hall before shrugging. "You seem to be doing ok, and from what it sounds like Lucy is too, but we were your friends James."
She hesitated, then looked back at me.
"I know everyone was happy to see you, but you and Lucy, you guys just sort of disappeared. No one knew what happened or if you guys were alive or dead. It was all so messed up." She shook her head. "There was even an assembly at school about it, telling us to let us know if we wanted grief counseling." her brow furrowed at the memory. "And then Tom's talking about how after all this time he's finally seen you again, and you turn up with some random American girl who has a famous boyfriend or brother or whatever, acting like your own little group. Like we were the outsiders. As if nothing was ever wrong."
She frowned.
"You're so different now." she said her eyes narrowing as she tried to concentrate. "So... reserved. It used to be you could never sit still, you were always looking for something to do. The next adventure, the next joke. It was almost annoying actually, but now..." she frowned. "Now it's like you're waiting for whatever's going to happen to you next rather than going out to chase it down."
She paused, clearly waiting for me to respond but I didn't.
It was obvious she was looking for answers, reassurance of some sort, however I didn't know why she was bothering. Despite her intoxication, it seemed she alone of the group tonight had picked up on what the others hadn't. That even if things might have felt like old times, for however briefly, they weren't. Mel and I weren't really friends, not anymore, and whatever it was that she wanted she wasn't going to get it from me.
I had to admit, it made me a little resentful that she was even trying.
"Tom said he thinks you've been through a lot." she continued. "That you might not want to talk about it, but..."
She'd fixated on a scar on my forearm, and reached out to touch it. Instinctively I took a step back.
She looked hurt.
It was definitely the alcohol talking at this point, because tears were forming. I'd seen Mel a lot growing up, but we'd never really been all that close. But now here I was, uncomfortable as all hell in the early hours of the morning, in the hallway outside of an apartment with a crying girl.
Gods this night had devolved.
"Everyone thinks you're back James." she continued tearfully. "They're really excited about it. They think you and maybe even Lucy are coming home. But you were only there tonight because Tom pretty much forced you to be. You're not coming home, though, are you?"
I didn't know how to answer this. Mostly because I really wasn't sure why Melanie really cared.
"My life is complicated Mel."
At this she let out a laugh, but it was bitter.
"At least about you hasn't changed." She said her tone caustic. "You never wanted to give a straight answer about anything. Not your father, not your feelings, not where you and Lucy always used to disappear to." Her eyes narrowed, and she looked resentful. "Does anyone even know you, James? Really? Besides your precious little American friend."
I could sense a rant about Harper coming up, and I wasn't going to stick around for it.
"Go to bed, Mel." I said flatly.
She probably wouldn't even remember having this conversation tomorrow.
She looked as if she wanted to argue with me, but thankfully, I didn't have to stay to hear it.
I turned and walked towards the lift, hearing her door slam and I shook my head.
'What a nightmare.' I thought taking out my phone and pulling up Harper's number.
This was why I didn't like getting involved in the mortal world, or visiting people from my past. These things were always far more trouble than they were worth.
I hit call as I stepped out of the lift, the phone connecting on the first ring.
"Are you hammered?" Harper's voice asked curiously and I could tell she was grinning.
"No, but Mel is." I sighed. "I walked her back to her apartment. Big mistake."
"I'm surprised you came back at all." She said and I could definitely hear a smirk in her tone. "She wasn't being very subtle. Are you sure this isn't a distress call? Do you need saving to protect your honor?"
"Laugh at me all you want Davis, just get me out of here. It's getting cold."
"Alright." She said easily. "There should be a phone booth to your left. You can go through that."
I looked up to see the familiar red and glass structure, appreciating it's conviniant location even if they were mostly ornamental now.
"Thanks Harper."
"No problem. By the way, I know this probably isn't the best time," she added as I reached for the door. "But Libby just got here."
I hesitated, my fingers brushing against the handle.
"She could use a tour."
"Now?" I asked doing some mental math. "What time is it on the east coast? Almost ten?"
"It's the only time this week Allison could set her up with a new phone. Libby just got off work."
"I thought I was supposed to stay away from Libby." I pointed out. "You said-"
"I said don't get attached." Harper argued stubbornly. "Not to treat her like she has the plague. But I've got a call with Hades about what happened with Hypnos and Lucy can't take her up to the higher levels."
She hesitated.
"I can show her around some other time if you want. It just seemed efficient, since she's here and it's after hours."
"No." I said shaking my head. "No, I can show her around."
"Are you sure?" Harper asked sounding hesitant, and I could hear her losing confidence in the plan.
"It'll be fine."
"Alright." She said and while her tone was uncertain, she didn't argue. "Meet us by my desk then. You can take it from there."
"Sure thing Boss." I said grinning and she made an irritated noise.
"Gods it's bad enough when Lucy calls me that, don't you start."
I laughed and opened the door to the phone booth only to see a familiar flash of gold. I felt the current of the Interrealm grip me, pull me away from the streets of London, hoping to leave the memories behind with them.
Lpov
"Well, it should be all set up." Allison said handing me a sleek looking black phone that was identical to the ones I'd seen James, Harper, Lucy, and even Ashton carrying. "I've even gotten permission from Chiron to let you carry it around camp in case of emergencies." She smirked. "People are going to be jealous."
Phones were supposed to be banned at camp because of their tendencies to attract monsters, and while almost everyone snuck them in these days, it was sort of an unwritten rule that you didn't carry them around. Allison, Harper's friend and a daughter of Hephaestus however, had supposedly created these herself, designing them in a way that didn't attract monsters.
How she'd done it, I had no idea. I also didn't know why she wasn't mass producing these for demigods at camp, but who knew. Maybe they took a long too build. Gods only knew how much Harper and her crew were paying her for them.
"Thanks Allison." Harper said smiling at her friend, putting her own phone back into her pocket. She'd stepped away to take a call, probably from James from what I'd gathered, but was walking back to the group.
She looked a lot like she did back at camp at the moment, when I'd known her years ago. Younger, slightly less serious and I wondered if being around one of her friends form her former life as a camper might have softened the edge she'd gained over the last few years.
"No problem." Allison said brightly looking around while Lucy beamed at me as I powered the phone on.
"This is so exciting." She said bounding over to me. "Give me that. Let me put my number in."
"It should already be on there." Allison said shouldering the bag she'd brought with her, that had me suspecting she'd probably come directly from school. "As well as Harper's number, mine, Charlie's, Ashton's and James's."
My heart skipped a beat at this last piece of information, but I ignored it.
"Speaking of James," Allison said looking around. "Where is he?"
"He was hanging out with some of his old-school friends." Harper said as Lucy took a selfie with the camera and updated her contact picture. "He should be back any second now."
"School friends?" I asked a little surprised before I realized that yes, James had probably had a life before the library at some point.
The idea of it however, seemed sort of odd.
Allison didn't seem phased by this however. I noticed she didn't seemed bothered by the mention of James like so many campers would have been, and I figured she must have gotten to know him in the times she'd been to the library.
I wanted to ask her opinion of him as an outsider, about all of them really, but she was Harper's friend and she'd basically designed the security system of the library so maybe she wouldn't be as unbiased of an opinion as I would have hoped for.
As if saying his name had summoned him, James suddenly stepped into the Main Hall. He wasn't armed today, but I figured that might be hard to explain to mortals. Even if he'd had a little help with the Mist, it was a bit much to ask for the people you were spending hours with not to notice a weapon that big. Even if it might appear to them to be something else.
I searched his expression to see if there was any change in it after spending time with people I guessed were from his childhood, but as always, his expression was remarkably calm.
"Perfect!" Lucy said exciting bounding over to her brother who raised his eyebrow at her, only for her to take his picture.
She looked at it and groaned.
"God why do you always look good in photos? It's not fair." She said irritably. "You never take pictures, it's wasted on you!"
"I have feeling you want me to apologize for this." James said putting his hands in his pockets. "But I'm not going to. Hi Allison."
He nodded to Allison who waved and Lucy wrinkled her noise at him.
"You smell like a pub."
"I was at a pub."
Lucy didn't seem to have a response to this and continued going around the circle taking contact photos for my phone, then when she was satisfied, handed me my phone back and started typing on her own.
A few seconds later, my phone vibrated and she looked triumphant.
"It works." She said brightly, she then looked at the group as a whole with a smug smile. "And I'm the one who texted her first, therefore, I am automatically the best friend out of all of you."
Allison laughed at this while Harper simply looked a little amused. James looked at his sister a mixture of irritation and affection on his features.
"Now I'll have to agonize over that all weekend."
"You snooze you lose Jamie." She said grinning, her smile unrepentant.
"I understand I'm supposed to give you a tour." James said ignoring the nickname and turning his attention to me.
"Oh." I looked at Harper and Lucy, assuming one of them would have been the one to show me around. It was only then that I realized James was the only guy here.
I didn't know why this seemed so significant to me, in the end it didn't really matter, but it did seem sort of odd. Looking at James, you'd have thought he was the epitome of guy's guy. Tall, built, spent most of his time in the arena or on the basketball court when he was at camp. His closest friend had been a son of Ares for gods' sake. But I was starting to think maybe the James at camp, and the one I was looking at now were two very different people.
Maybe having any assumptions about James today from the person I'd thought I'd known wasn't exactly fair.
"I guess so." I said a little nervously.
"We'll start with the upper levels and work out way down."
"Oh that's right." Allison said reaching into her bag and holding out a blank piece of white plastic about the size of a credit card. "Here's an access card. It's programmed for most rooms and most levels." She looked at Harper. "You and James should be able to change the permissions as needed."
I took the card, only for it flash bright bronze, then change to a pretty sky blue, a golden image of the sun imprinted in the center of the card.
"Pretty." Lucy said in appreciation.
"I'm guessing it looks different for everyone?" I asked curiously looking around the group.
"Yeah." Lucy replied pulling a card out of her back pocket.
Her card was a pretty shade of lilac with a series of quotes from classic literature scribbled in different fonts across the plastic.
James and Harper pulled their cards out. Harper's was gray, a bronze owl set in the center, while James's, also gray, had a familiar symbol out lined in white. Two snakes wrapped around a scepter, that flared out into a pair of wings.
"What does yours look like?" I asked Allison curiously and she laughed.
"I don't have one. I don't work here." She smirked at her friend who rolled her eyes. "Think of me as an independent contractor." She continued, grinning at me. "I've heard enough stories from these two."
She gestured towards James and Harper.
"I'm fine without one."
She then looked at Harper.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No, that's it I think."
"Alright, I think I'm going to head home then. It's getting late."
"I'll walk you out." Harper said. "Luce? You want to come?"
"Sure." She said with a shrug and I watched the girls head towards the entrance of the library, Lucy pulling up what I assumed was a calendar on her phone, talking to Harper about scheduling and suddenly, I found myself alone with James.
The realization had me feeling extremely uncomfortable, though I wasn't exactly sure as to why.
"Shall we?" he asked.
His tone was mild, as if this was just another day for him and I felt myself going through a myriad of thoughts. They mainly centered around one theme.
James didn't appear to be feeling nearly as awkward about the situation as I did, and this made my level of discomfort about a thousand times worse.
"Yeah," I said with a nod, trying to sound more confident than I was feeling. "Yeah, let's go."
I knew the library was a big building from even just the few times I'd been here, but I'd had no idea just how truly massive it was until James had started to walk me through it, and I'd started getting a mental map of the place.
Though the library was thousands of years old and showed it in some areas, the place was also surprisingly modern in others. It even had a gym.
We didn't go to the highest of the restricted levels, James didn't go over the layout or what was up there other than they were books that even he and Harper had to be careful when they handled, and under no circumstance should I attempt to mess with them.
"You shouldn't be able to access that level." He said gesturing towards the door which had warning signs all over it. "And even if you did, you'd have to get through two more doors, and get past the case anything in there is locked in."
"And it's not the containment level?" I asked frowning as we continued up the steps.
"No." he said. "That you'll have access to. It's for isolating items we need to figure out how to deal with, the degree of danger of what's in there can vary. These are things no one should access, especially without Harper knowing." He said gesturing back over his shoulder down the stairs. "Magics we keep sealed so they don't end up in the wrong hands."
"So if that's not the top floor, where are we headed now?" I asked curiously as we hit a series of spiraling metal steps.
"The observatory." James said his footsteps clanking against the stairs as he made his way quickly up them. "It houses a good bit of our astronomy collection. There used to be some astrology material as well, but I think it sort of hurt Harper's brain to keep them together, so that's been moved."
"Because it's difficult to keep track of?" I asked and he grinned.
"No," he said sounding amused. "Because Harper's a snob and 'Astrology isn't a science'."
The emphasis he put on this last statement had me thinking it was a direct quote, and it sounded like something that Harper would have said.
"Ah." I said keeping my tone level, but nodding all the same. "That actually make a lot of sense knowing her."
"I know." He said with a sigh, but there was a certain amount of affection in it that reminded me of how he spoke about his sister Lucy. "She's a demigod with near legendary mythological power and here she is splitting hairs about the scientific method."
We'd reached the top of the steps now and he opened the door, glancing up at a dark domed ceiling.
"Looks like it's too cloudy to see anything." He said softly, but I saw that the rows were softly glowing with lights under the shelves that didn't hamper the visitors vision of what would have been a starry sky, but still allowed them to navigate the low rows of bookshelves that curved around the perimeter of the room.
He grinned.
"We must be over London."
"Or Seattle." I said with a shrug, and when he looked at me, I felt myself flush.
Thank gods it was dark.
"It's always cloudy there too." I continued a little embarrassed. "But you know, on the other side of the country." I gestured over my shoulder as if I had any idea in which direction the city would have been located from here. "World I maybe. But I guess you haven't been there..."
'Shut up.' I thought desperately. 'Just shut up and stop talking. Like James wants to hear you blabber mouth about-"
"I've been to Seattle." He said interrupting my train of thought.
"You have?"
"I've been a lot of places." He said glancing around the room again, away from me. "It's actually quite nice in the summer."
"I haven't." I admitted now feeling completely stupid. "Been to Seattle I mean, or a lot of places really. Mostly just home and New York. For camp." I explained, then felt horrible for bringing it up.
Surely Camp Half Blood was a sensitive subject James.
"Sorry…" I muttered looking awkwardly at the nearest shelf, but when I chanced a sideways glance at him he didn't seem upset.
He was looking at me, his expression more thoughtful than intense, but I felt a bit nervous all the same.
"You apologize too much."
"I know." I said rubbing the back of my head self-consciously. "I'm s-"
"Stop that." He said shaking his head. "It's going to drive me mad."
I felt a surge of anxiety go through me wondering if I'd finally managed to annoy James into snapping at me, but what he said next caught me by surprise.
"You don't have to keep apologizing for existing Libby. No one here dislikes you."
"I-" I started automatically, but cut myself off when he raised an eyebrow and caught my gaze.
I couldn't quite explain his expression, but it seemed significant and the apology died before it had really started to form.
"Good." He said giving one last glance before looking back up at the ceiling.
"Maybe we can convince Harper to send you there for an afternoon, if she's feeling generous." He continued, but when he caught my puzzled expression, he explained. "To Seattle. You said you hadn't been."
"She'd do that?" I asked a little uncertainly and he hesitated for a moment, before answering with.
"I've found there isn't much Harper wouldn't do for a friend."
"I'm not really friends with Harper." I pointed out, and something about the way he smiled made me realize it was suddenly much more difficult to breathe.
"Maybe not." He agreed. "But I am."
He started to make his way back towards the steps and I watched him go, a little surprised.
Even in the dark, he had a nice smile. I hadn't expected him to use it so often.
"Keep up Libby." He said his voice already half way down the steps and I realized with a jolt how long I'd just been standing there, staring after him. "Trust me, you don't want to get lost around here before you know where you're going."
I scrambled after him, finally catching up when he'd reached the bottom of the steps.
"Where are we headed next?" I asked hoping down the last few steps.
"The dormitory." He said and I blinked.
"The dormitory?" I asked confused. "What, there's rooms here? Like, bed rooms?"
"The library has guest rooms visitors can stay in if they've been granted permission to stay overnight, or a few nights. If they've got a lot of content they want to look over. Not a lot of people do it, but it is an option." He said scanning his key card and holding the door open for me as we stepped into the main stair way. "It's also has rooms for staff."
My surprise at this must have been evident because he shot me a smirk.
"What? Did you think we slept on the shelves?"
"No." I said shaking my head. "I didn't really think about it at all I guess."
I frowned, once again realizing how little I knew about James.
"I guess I'd just figured you'd be somewhere else in your off time."
"Lucy lives in the library." He explained as we made our way back to the ground level, but instead of turning back into the door we'd originally walked through, he continued through a second door into a narrow hall.
I was amused to see there were vending machines in them equipped for all sorts of mythological food preferences.
"I guess technically so do I. I stay here when I don't have somewhere else I need to be."
"Does that happen a lot?" I asked curiously, suddenly wondering what a person like James got up to in his free time.
"It depends." He said putting his hands in his pockets as he walked, something I noticed he seemed to do a lot. "Harper's last semester has been a little mad so we haven't had a lot of extra time. But when things are calmer, we try and track things down, or I chase down leads on my own."
"What sort of things?" I asked frowning. "Leads for what?"
"All sorts." He said with a shrug. "Mostly items referenced in the literature here that the world has lost track of. Books, spells, lost temples and hidden magics, that sort of thing. Stuff that's been forgotten, but could cause problems if found by the wrong people."
"That seems dangerous." I said frowning as hall widened and he gave me an amused look.
"It's not your typical nine to five, no." he agreed. "Don't worry. You won't be expected to do any of that."
"Does Olympus know what you guys are up to?" I asked hesitantly, remembering what Harper had said, about honesty and how she seemed to be selective about it when it came to the gods.
"Sometimes. They don't exactly micromanage our activities, but if anyone wants that sort of thing found it's them." He shot me a knowing expression. "They don't exactly like challenges to their authority."
"So why do they put up with Harper?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
I didn't exactly keep track of Ashton's girlfriend over the years, but hearing bits and pieces working in the infirmary at the Big House, it sounded like she was always managing to irritate Olympus somehow. She'd always been stubborn, and now had the power to tell them to jump in the Styx and not be instantly vaporized on the spot. It wouldn't surprise me if the gods saw her as a bit nuisance. Maybe even somewhat of a problem.
"Because they have to." He said without missing a beat. "She's smarter than a lot of them."
"Because she's got magic in her brain?" I asked and he stopped.
He looked at me, apparently thrown.
"What?" he asked sounding totally confused.
"You know," I said gesturing towards my temple and when he simply stared I continued. "I treated Harper for a head wound when she and Ashton got back from camp after she first took over the library. There was a lot going on up there, I didn't get much of a chance to investigate it, but yeah. Magic." I said a little lamely. "Like, a lot of it. Bouncing around in her brain cells. It was really weird."
"Is that how it works?" he asked curiously, as if this thought genuinely hadn't occurred to him.
He looked interested.
"I guess so. Sort of like your muscle tissue." I said gesturing toward his hand in his pocket, the one that had been injured and healed within the span of a minute. "Only, hers doesn't seem to mess with the cells."
His expression had changed now and it occurred to me only after the fact that James might not want to talk about this.
"Sorry, I-"
He shook his head.
"Libby, stop apologizing."
He frowned.
"How do you know this?"
"Uh, it's kind of obvious." I said scratching the back of my head. "For a healer I mean, I'm sure Ashton-"
"He hasn't." he said frowning. "I mean, he knew something was up with Harper's head, but not like you seem to. No one has."
He was looking at me intently, and while it wasn't unfriendly, his expression was hard to read. It was almost wary. Unsettled, but also intrigued.
"Ashton's not very level headed when it comes to her." I said with a shrug. "The few times she's seriously been hurt, he managed not to go to pieces but he wasn't exactly ok. I've healed the both of you a lot, especially you." I continued opening my own hand and pointing it. "I notice changes."
"Libby, I've always been like this." He said. "At least since you've known me."
"No." I shook my head. "You haven't. Whatever's going on with you it's more intense then it was back at camp."
Without really meaning to, I reached for his hand and turned it over so the palm was exposed. There were scars on it, that must have predated his trip to the Styx, and deep cracks that had healed over in the bone.
He must have broken his hand at some point since he'd left camp. A part of me couldn't help but wonder who had healed it, or if he'd been left to deal with it on his own.
"I've healed you before James." I said frowning, turning his hand over and tracing my index finger over the break points, trying to determine the severity of the injury and how it had healed. "I've never seen damage like this. Even if it repairs itself."
I chanced a glance up at him and his expression, while unreadable, was intense. I couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad thing.
"Just because it looks like an injury has gone away doesn't mean it wasn't there. And Achilles's curse doesn't protect you from internal harm."
"What's your point, Lib?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
"Just because your almost indestructible, doesn't give you an excuse to do stupid things. Like give yourself tissue damage because you're pissed at some arrogant god of sleep."
Something flashed behind his eyes at this and when he spoke his tone was polite. However, it was also remote.
"You are not my medic anymore Libby." He pointed out pulling his hand from mine, and while he didn't seem upset, there was something cool in his tone. "We're not in the infirmary. This isn't the Big House. You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Not having me around to yell at you doesn't give you an excuse to act like a dumbass." I said stubbornly and though he'd continued walking, he stopped at this and turned back.
Almost instantly I regretted my words. It occurred to me that though he'd been nothing but polite since I'd been at the library, James was a very powerful demigod. Like really powerful. One that, if the rumors were true, Olympus was a little afraid of. And someone, judging by what Harper had implied to Hypnos, who's temper could cause issues if not kept in check.
"Did you seriously just call me that?"
"A dumbass?" I asked uncertainly.
It was the sort of thing I would have said to him years ago in the infirmary, relying on a familiarity that didn't exist anymore for it to be ok. Ashton had told me to keep my thoughts to myself when around James, to leave him alone…
"Well…" I said defensively. "Yeah. You're kind of acting like one."
He looked at me for a good thirty seconds, his expression impossible to read and just as I could have sworn he was furious with me, I was stunned to see him smile a little.
"Alright Libby." He said quietly, continuing to walk down the hall. "I'll try to be more careful."
"Oh." I said a little puzzled by his reaction then following after him. "Good."
I could tell he'd only said it to appease me, at least that about him hadn't changed. He'd never wanted to listen to the healers in the infirmary. It was part of the reason he always got pushed off to me when I was there. With me sometimes he would listen.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a little proud back then that if he listened to anyone it would have been me, but now I didn't know what to think of it.
By Lucy's account, and seeing him argue with Harper, James was just as stubborn as he ever was. If not more so. So why didn't he seem to want to argue with me? And if that really was the case, what did that say about me?
'Maybe he thought it would be a waste of his time,' a disappointed voice said in the back of my mind as James pointed out a couple of the guest rooms.
They were small and not very interesting, a bed, a night stand and a desk. It was a standard sort of short term accommodation feel, but when we went through another door, this one also barred by a badge reader, and stepped into what seemed like a general living area, I was surprised at how 'at home' the area immediately made me feel.
The room was large and square with a sunken living room and a massive flat screen set into the opposite wall. Geometric lights were fixed to the ceiling as well as soft globe lamps that dotted the walls. The couch was huge, circular and set into the floor covered in an insane amount of pillows and fuzzy blankets that I was dying to dive into.
It looked like a giant, comfortable nest.
"This is where we have accommodations for staff." He said and I noticed there were doors on either side of the room. "The entire wing is pretty new, Harper let Lucy design it and it sort of turned into a whole thing."
He gestured to an accent wall that was the unmistakable shade of periwinkle. Suddenly, James ability to appreciate Anna's and my pastel apartment was starting to make sense.
"I love it." I said grinning, noticing there was a popcorn maker in the corner.
I gestured towards it.
"Lucy said you guys had movie nights."
"Sometimes." He agreed, but he didn't elaborate further and I was a little disappointed I didn't get to hear James's opinion about the Disney marathons. "That's Lucy's room."
He nodded towards a door to my left which was decorated with stickers ranging from book fandoms to famous cities and what I assumed to be her favorite bands and animes. There were also paper decorations from what looked like several holidays from all over the world.
Next to it, was an enormous chalk board with notes from the library's staff to each other about schedule reminders or messages about where they were. There was however, an elaborate drawing of a Pegasus in white chalk that was so detailed, it was almost life like.
"Did she do that?" I asked curiously pointing at the image and looking back at him. "I'm so jealous I've always wanted to be able to draw."
"No." he said and I was surprised when he looked a little embarrassed as he said. "That was actually me."
"You drew that?" I asked incredulously.
James was a talented guy, I knew that, but this didn't track with my idea of him at all.
"Yeah, Lucy and I, we have a sort of game we play with the board. We keep changing what we draw on it and see how long it takes Harper to notice." he explained. "We've been doing it a while," he added, still sounding uncharacteristically unsettled on the subject. "I've had a lot of practice."
"She hasn't noticed that?" I asked incredulously, glancing at the image before looking back at him. "It's massive."
He shrugged.
"How long has it been there?"
"About three weeks."
I stared at him.
"Yeah she's not the most observant person." He said grinning sounding more like his usual self. "I found a poster of her brother on his and Ashton's campus, advertising for one of their games. I cut out his outline and taped it to the inside of her closet door to see if she'd spot it. She didn't." he shrugged, but was clearly holding back a laugh as he added. "Ashton did though. I think it nearly gave him heart failure."
I could only imagine Ashton's expression if while looking for something in Harper's room, Charlie's face suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Did she yell at you?" I asked grinning.
"No, she actually thought it was pretty funny." He said and I was surprised at the fondness in his tone as he thought about the memory. "I don't think he appreciated it though."
Again, I noticed the same sort of affection I'd seen glimpses of when he was talking to his sister and it was strange to see from him. I tried not to think about it much, but a part of me had always wondered what Harper and James's relationship was like. I knew they were friends and they spent a lot of time together, and Harper had a boyfriend after all. I hadn't seen anything between them that suggested they were anything more but still…
I didn't see how a girl could spend that amount of time around someone like James and be just friends.
'Or maybe.' A voice in the back of my head said quietly. 'You only think that because it would be difficult for you.'
Something about my expression seemed to alert James that I was thinking, but what he said next had me realizing whatever he thought I was thinking about was completely off base.
"Look. I know Harper can seem a bit serious sometimes."
"Sometimes?" I asked and he grinned.
"Ok, most of the time, but she's actually pretty nice. She's just got a lot on her mind. If you think she's upset or ignoring you, she probably isn't." he assured me. "She most likely doesn't realize you're uncomfortable. But if you think something's bothering her, just ask. She won't rip your head off. She's actually a pretty decent boss."
"It's kind of weird." I said looking around. "Coming to terms with that. Tiny Harper Davis, infamous book nerd is in charge of all this."
"Spend more time here and you'll find your definition of weird starts to get far more relaxed."
He gestured towards a door next to Lucy's with no decorations and was slightly ajar.
"This one will be yours should you choose to use it."
He walked towards it and I noticed on the wall beside it there was a name plate.
'Libby' was written along the brass.
"You'll share a bathroom with Luce if that's alright." He said as I looked into the room, pointing towards another door that clearly connected in the direction of Lucy's room. I figured the bathroom must be between them.
The room was bigger than the guest rooms, with a double bed, a bigger desk and even it's own flat screen.
I noticed there were some books on the desk as well as a desktop and stacks of office supplies, sketch pads and notes books as well as index card and sticky notes. The desktop seemed to be connected to a smart board on the wall.
"You can do whatever you want to it. Paint, change up the furniture, no magic though. At least not without letting us know." He looked around before pointing at the supplies on the desk. "She thought those might be helpful for what you're planning to research. Don't worry we double checked the books this time."
"Wow." I said a little shocked by the effort Harper seemed to have gone through the set all this up. "That was really nice of her."
"I told you." he said sounding a little satisfied. "Harper's actually pretty cool, you just gotta relax around her."
"That's easy for you to say." I said unable to help myself and shooting him an uncertain glance. "You're her best friend. You know she likes you."
"Harper once almost shot me because I gave her a compliment she wasn't expecting, Lib." he said with a laugh. "Trust me it's not just you. Harper likes you just fine. Just..."
He paused for a second, clearly trying to find the best way to explain what he was thinking.
"Think of her sort of like a cat." he said grinning when he saw my expression.
"A cat?" I asked skeptically and he nodded.
"Yeah. Let her check you out from a distance, and get used to having you in her environment, and don't freak out if she wanders into the same room as you." he gave me a significant look at this before saying. "She'll come around. And like a cat, you might not always see her," he gestured around at the room and everything in it. "But she will leave you gifts."
At first, I thought this comparison was a little ridiculous, but the more I considered it, the more the analogy started to make sense.
Looking back, every time I'd tried to talk to Harper or offer her help, it was almost immediately rebuffed. The times I hadn't been expecting her, or had been working on something else, that was typically when she approached me.
"That... that's actually pretty helpful." I said grateful for the advice. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." he said and while I could tell he was trying not to look gratified, he wasn't doing a very good job of it. "A little surprising all things considered. I figured your brother was more of a dog person."
"Right?" I asked with a laugh and he seemed to smile in spite of himself.
"Where's your room?" I asked curiously as we stepped back into the living area.
"I'm over there." He said nodding towards a door opposite Lucy's on the other side of the room.
Like mine it was blank, but it didn't have a name plate. I was guessing the people here really didn't need one.
I was curious as to what his room looked like, but he didn't seem inclined to talk about it more.
"Where's Harper's room?" I asked looking around, wondering if hers was the door that was opposite mine.
"Her room is in a different wing." He explained walking towards the exit.
"She gets a wing to herself?"
"Sort of." He said with a frown. "It's for safety reasons. It's houses her private collection. Books that are hers or shouldn't be entered into the library's catalogue for whatever reason. Dangerous to have stored in her mind like the rest of the stuff here, but someone should be keeping an eye on anyways. Donations she's looking over, or titles people have asked her to hold on to for the time being. Whatever isn't actually a part of the library. It would make more sense if you actually saw it."
"Can I?" I asked curiously. "I mean I get it if she doesn't want people in her space but-"
"Maybe later." He said and while his tone wasn't upset, it was final. "We've got more places we have to cover. Some of the other levels you might be working in, the containment wing, the Labyrinth."
"The Labyrinth?" I asked stopping in my tracks and staring at him. "You guys have an entrance to the Labyrinth here?"
"No." he said shaking his head. "Not the one you're thinking of. It's a defense mechanism for the library built by Allison and her father. Harper designed it. It's under her control."
"Defense mechanism?" I asked. "For what?"
At this, he grinned but it was bitter.
"For a really messed up book." He said quietly. "One that no one should read ever again."
I felt a wave of cold wash over me, though strangely, I wasn't sure why.
"What book is that?" I asked in a voice that was barely a whisper, but he shook his head.
"I won't tell you the title, it's better if you don't know. But I'll give you a guess as to who it was made by."
"Kronos?" I asked softly and he nodded.
"No one has access to the Labyrinth but Harper. You can't get in and I wouldn't recommend trying. Even I don't follow her there." he added and I was surprised to her the tension under his words, it almost sounded a little like fear.
But what could someone like James possibly be afraid of?
"It's the only thing in this place she hasn't read."
Something about his tone however, had me thinking this wasn't the complete story, and as I studied his expression, a chilling thought occurred to me. A reason why James might be afraid and I froze, staring after him.
"You did though." I asked softly. The realization crashing through me with a horrifying wave. "Didn't you?"
He nodded, but that was all he did.
He didn't say anything, just continued to make his way back towards the main part of the library.
I really had no choice but to follow him and after a moments hesitation, started to ask
"What-"
But he cut me off.
"Trust me Libby, it's best you know as little about that book as possible."
"Is that what happened to you?" I asked quietly. "How you got involved in all this?"
He hesitated for a moment, clearly debating with himself before saying.
"It was the start."
"The start?" I asked confused. "James, what-"
But before I could even begin to start to ask about his story, a voice said.
"There you guys are. I was wondering where you two had ended up."
Lucy was sitting at Harper's desk, but stood and gestured for us to join her as we came into her line of sight.
"Have you shown her the weapons room yet?"
"No." James said shaking his head as I asked.
"Weapons room?"
"We were about to go down to containment."
"That's boring." Lucy said waving this away. "You can show her that anytime. I want to see if she's as good of a shot as Ashton."
"I'm not." I said automatically just as James said.
"She is."
I flushed.
"Really I'm not." I said shaking my head. "I'm a decent shot but Ashton's the best. He can hit anything."
"She's being modest." James insisted looking at his sister. "Ashton wasn't the only one we watched out for during capture the flag." he shot me a look that rather reminded me of the times back in the infirmary, when he was debating if he wanted to be stubborn about treatment or not. "She was one of our bigger concerns on the other team."
"That's because he hesitates to point a weapon at anything with more of a personality than slug."
"And that's why she downed more of our team mates than he did." He said amused. "A lot more."
"Shoots first and asks questions later." Lucy said with a smirk. "I knew there was a reason I liked you. C'mon."
She hopped up from behind desk and gestured for me to follow her.
"Luce, we still have to-"
"Stop hogging the new hire." She said frowning at her brother. "You've had her all to yourself for over an hour, plus, I need to show her how we handle the returns. Harper said I get to train her."
She sent him a smug look, and I had a feeling James was having a hard time not rolling his eyes.
"Whatever Luce." He then looked at me. "Make sure she doesn't stab anything."
"Me?" I asked in shock and Lucy made an indignant noise.
"What are you talking about? I'm totally responsible. When have I ever had an issue with weapons room before?"
He didn't answer, but I thought it might be because Harper had just walked into the room.
"Hey," she said looking at James. "You up for a trip to the Underworld?"
"Why?" he asked frowning, his expression suddenly alert and his gaze intense.
Like he was expecting something was going to happen.
"I just got off the line with Hades. He wants to talk about what we picked up in Germany."
"Ah." He muttered understanding crossing his expression, and I felt a surge of anxiety go through me.
"What did they get in Germany?" I asked and while both Harper and James hesitated, Lucy said.
"They found a blue print of his house." She grinned and then lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Did you know he's got a pool with a water slide?"
"What?" I asked frowning and she laughed, covering her mouth as she continued to giggle.
"I know! It seems so undignified."
"What do you mean you found a blue print of his house? What? Like diagrams?"
"Yeah." Lucy continued brightly. "There's more rooms than I think anyone realized. Like the-"
"Lucy, stop." James said quietly.
"What?" she asked innocently. "She's one of us now, isn't she? We can't just not tell her."
"Have you considered that there maybe some things that Libby doesn't want to know?" Harper asked raising an eyebrow and Lucy looked confused.
"She could get into trouble Luce," James explained and while his tone was gentle, it was also firm. "If Hades thinks too many people know about this."
Lucy however, looked stubborn.
"We know it." she pointed out. "Libby works here too."
"Only for the summer." Harper countered. "It's probably better for her if she's not involved in a lot of this sort of stuff."
"It's fine." I said when Lucy looked as if she were about to argue. "I'm sure it's better if I'm not involved."
While I knew it was probably true, I'd only said it to avoid making waves.
The reality was, I was burning to know what Lucy was about to say and what exactly Harper and James were up to. But Harper was probably right. I wasn't going to be here for that long and while Harper had said she'd make sure nothing bad happened to me because of me working here, I'd already angered Hypnos. There wasn't a lot of sense in pissing off another one of the Underworld gods if I could help it. I believed her when she said she wouldn't lie to me, and if she was holding something back, she probably thought it was in my best interest.
I looked at James, wondering what he thought of the situation but saw that as usual, his expression was hard to read. His arms were crossed over his chest however, and there was a tension in the set of his shoulders that led me to believe that he was upset about something. Though what it was I couldn't tell.
I hadn't realized how much his demeanor had changed over the last hour or so. It had shifted so gradually, I hadn't noticed when he'd gone from nothing but wall after wall of impassivity, to the person who laughed and gave advice about his friends. But the contrast was stark now that it had been shut down, and it surprised me, the level of disappointment I felt.
"Fine." Lucy said peevishly, frowning a little, but her expression cleared when she returned her gaze to me. "C'mon. I can show you how to log into the system and check books in and out."
"Alright." I said with a shrug.
But even as I followed her to the computer behind Harper's desk, I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at James.
His back was towards me as he and Harper started walking towards the spiral steps that would take them to the doors, and while I couldn't hear their conversation, I could tell from body language alone whatever they were talking about was serious.
I hadn't been able to ask him about his past, and despite the fact that I believed Harper and he would tell me, it felt as if the moment to do it had come and gone. I wasn't sure I had the nerve to bring it back up again.
"Do they do that a lot?" I asked glancing at Lucy who was typing something.
"Do what?"
"Just like… take off to the Underworld, or Atlantis and Olympus like they're running errands?"
"Kind of yeah." She said with a shrug. "It's not as interesting as you'd think it is though. At least, not usually. From what I can tell they mostly just do a lot of talking."
I let my eyes linger on the pair for just a moment longer as they disappeared out of the hall, then turned back to Lucy who was watching me with apparent interest.
"You don't have to look so worried." She assured me. "This is pretty normal for them. James won't let anything happen to Harper, and Harper doesn't let anyone mess with James. They're a good team."
It was clear that despite her clear enjoyment of provoking her brother, Lucy idolized James and probably Harper as well. Even for a mortal with the sight, she seemed oddly disconnected with the dangers of mythological world.
I tried to pay attention as she went over the process for returned items, but I had to admit my mind was in another world. Despite this being something I would have to know, I couldn't seem to get my brain to focus. It kept wandering towards the doors that Harper and James must have gone through by now, wondering just what exactly they were up to and if, despite their abilities, it really was a safe as Lucy seemed to think it was.