Disclaimer: All characters, settings, or other story components taken from the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo series belong to J.K Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively. I do not own any of the aforementioned. I do not intend to use this story commercially.
In this one moment, everything around us is still, as if the world is holding its breath. Is something wrong? Everything is a strange, foggy white. What's happening?
I take a nervous breath of the still air.
It smells like cedar and earth and home.
Liliya starts to bark.
I open my eyes.
Green firs and cedars soar up above me to touch a shining blue sky. Something rustles in the leaves behind me, and a bird suddenly starts to sing. A wave of memories of this forest - of my forest! - flicker in the back of my mind. I've missed all this so much. A lump rises in my throat and I bite back the urge to cry. I'm home. Merlin, I'm home!
"We made it," I say, starting to smile. "We made it!"
I start to dance, twirling and hopping through the leaves. Nico and Luna are blinking and turning to stare at the forest. I start to laugh. "We made it!"
Liliya barks again. I stop dancing and turn around just in time to see her disappear through the underbrush.
"Liliya!" I call. "Liliya!"
"Where's she going?" Luna asks, coming up beside me.
"I don't know." I adjust the strap of my bag. "Come on!"
We follow her through the forest. Once, we have to stop and retrace our steps. After a while, Luna pulls out her wand and starts charming the more difficult brambles of thorns and bushes out of our way. Finally, I catch a glimpse of Liliya through the trees.
"This way!"
"Oh!" Nico exclaims as we push past the last tangle of shrubs.
"Wow," Luna whispers.
We've come to a little outcropping at the edge of the forest. Just below us, towering river bluffs stretch far, far down to where a dark river is winding through the forest. Up and down the river, trees stretch as far as the eye can see.
Liliya barks again. She looks rather pleased with herself.
"Hey, girl," I say, kneeling down to scratch behind her ears.
"I wish I had a camera," Luna says from behind me. "This is view incredible."
"Isn't it? Mama used to come here all the time. She loved this view."
"I can see why."
"You know where we are?" Nico leans back against a tree.
I nod, straightening up. "We're upriver of the town." I point to our right. "Our cottage is …" I turn a bit, pointing back through the forest. "That way. Follow me."
"This way!" I call, beckoning my friends over. I point past a tall fir tree. "I know where we are now."
"Are you sure?" Nico asks me, following Liliya and me down the slope.
"I think so." My foot hits a slippery leaf and I almost lose my balance.
"You okay?" Luna grabs my elbow.
I nod. "Thanks."
We continue through the forest. Liliya lopes ahead of us, occasionally stopping to sniff trees or brambles. Luna sings softly to herself as we go. Finally, I stop next to a towering cedar.
"It's here."
We step out into a little clearing. In the center, next to a young oak tree, sits the cottage.
My breath catches. It looks so similar to how I remember it, and yet so different. The wood has faded to grey; the roof sags slightly. Several of the windows are broken. Liliya disappears around the side of the house.
"This is it?" Nico murmurs from behind me. I nod.
"Should we go in?" Luna asks, stepping up to the front door.
I draw my wand. "I guess."
The door creaks open with a flick of my wand. Behind me, Nico draws his sword. Here it goes. Raising my wand, I start through the doorway.
Inside, a thick veil of dust hangs in the air. One of the windows is broken; glass is scattered with the debris on the floor.
"Merlin," Luna murmurs, peering over my shoulder.
A lump rises in my throat as I survey the room. The wood stove has rusted; the table and chairs are rotting. Everything is covered in dust.
"This way," I say faintly, stepping inside. Nico and Luna follow me, picking their way through the debris. Memories flooding my mind, I pick my way through the room.
The bedroom is in even worse condition. The door has somehow come off of its hinges and is lying, rotted, on the floor. Part of the roof has come down; I can see the sky through the jagged hole.
"I'm so sorry, Sophy," Luna says from the other room.
"It's not your fault." I slump back against the wall.
"Is the box in here?" Nico asks me gently, leaning on the doorframe.
"It should be under the bed," I say, crouching down. The bed, like the rest of the cottage, has seen better times. The frame is starting to rot, and the mattress looks like it's been gnawed on by something.
"Are you sure that's a good-" Nico starts, but I'm already wriggling under the bed. I try to hold my breath as dust starts to billow up around me. I'm just barely small enough to fit underneath.
It should be under here. I squint, scanning the underside of the bed. Here! Awkwardly shifting around, I reach up, carefully wiggling it out of its hiding place.
"I've got it!" I call, coughing. Twisting around, I set the box down and push it out from under the bed. Twisting again, I awkwardly follow.
"Are you okay?" Nico crouches down beside me as I push my hair out of my face, coughing.
"I'm fine," I say, waving a hand. "I'm fine."
"Here," Luna says, holding the box out to me. I take it, tracing a finger over the designs.
"It's beautiful," Nico says, shifting to sit down properly.
"Thank you. It - it was a gift from my father." I set it down gingerly.
Moment of truth. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. "Here we go," I say, and slide off the lid.
Inside of the box are Mama's treasures, just as I last saw them. With trembling fingers, I reach in, setting each aside. Mama's locket in its small box. All of our papers. Her Polaroid camera. A small stack of photographs.
"Could we look at these?" Nico asks as I pick up the photographs.
"Sure." I carefully untie the ribbon around them and hand Nico and Luna a few pictures each.
"Look at this!" Luna says, handing me a photograph. It's a picture, slightly blurry, of a little girl with dark pigtails and hazel eyes.
"Oh my stars," I whisper, taking the photograph from her. The picture is old and fading; I must've been three or four. Nico leans over.
"Take a look at this one."
I take it and gasp. My mother beams out of the photo at me. A tiny baby is nestled in her arms, fast asleep. One of her arms is reaching up out of the frame; she must have taken the photo herself.
"That's my mum," I whisper. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I haven't seen a real picture of her in almost a decade.
Nico flips through a couple more photos, then stops. "Sophy?" Something in his tone makes me look up. "You should see this."
He holds the photo out to me; I take it with a frown. The photo is blurry. It takes me a moment before it clicks.
"What is it?" Luna asks, leaning over my shoulder.
I hold it out so she can see. It's a slightly crooked picture of the river bluffs. Crooked letters stretch over the hillside, as if written with a giant hand.
"That's Cyrillic on top, right?" Luna runs a finger over the writing.
"What does it say?"
I clear my throat. "It says: Beware, Father. Your sleep has ended. Your days are over."
"Merlin," she whispers.
"'Beware Father; your sleep has ended,'" Nico quotes. "This can't be a coincidence."
"Your sleep has ended," I repeat under my breath. "Your days are - that's it!"
"That's what?"
"His revenge." I stare at the photograph. "The Watchman's revenge on Father Time. For abandoning him. Father Time will slumber until the end of the world. The end of the world - that's what the Watchman wants!"
"'And he shall slumber until the end of all days, when the sun shall cease to rise and chaos will swallow all that is known.'"
We both turn to Luna. She shrugs. "That's what Mum used to say."
Nico's eyes are fixed on my trainer, but his thoughts are clearly somewhere else.
"Until chaos shall swallow all that is known," he murmurs. "Until chaos shall…"
"Nico?" I ask gently. "Are you okay?"
He looks up at me, and for a moment, something in his eyes seems almost broken.
He takes a deep breath. "Sophy, I've seen Chaos. In Tartarus. It's -" he shudders. "Can you imagine total nothingness? It - it's indescribable. If the world were to be plunged into Chaos, that - that would be it. The end of everything. Everything."
"That's what he wants," Luna says softly. "To use Chaos to truly get his revenge. To utterly destroy Kronos for good."
I swallow. "And it's up to us to stop him."
The three of us are silent for a moment. My thoughts are racing. It's up to us to stop the end of the world.
"Maybe there's something in the letters," Luna suggests, reaching into the box. She carefully pulls out a stack of letters, tied with a baby blue ribbon.
"Yeah." I shift to look over her shoulder as she flips through the letters. There's a couple letters from when she was young, love letters from Zeus, a sheet of random words and phrases from when I was learning to write. Finally, she holds out a letter. The bottom is signed Pandora.
"What does it say?" I ask, carefully restacking the rest of the letters.
Luna quickly scans the letter. "This looks like it was the first letter she sent. Here. Help me look."
Nico and I each take a couple of letters. I charm both of mine into Russian before starting.
"What've you got?" Luna finally asks, setting down her last letter.
"Nothing about the Watchman." I quickly scan the last few paragraphs of the one I'm holding. "You?"
"Nothing."
"Neither have - oh, hold on." Nico hold up a finger. "Here's something." We turn to him. "According to Pandora, a camper went missing. No sign as to where she went. Just … gone. Pandora makes a reference to something your mother must have said, Sophy, because she says that the girl went missing just like your friend Nina."
I freeze and slowly look up at him. "Merlin. You don't think…"
"It was the Watchman?" Nico sets down the letter.
"It must have been." Luna carefully stacks up her letters. "It's the third point of your triangle, Sophy."
"The third point of my triangle." I slump back against the bed. "Stars."
"We should I-M camp." Nico starts to carefully put the letters and photographs back in the box. "You have the drachmas, right?"
"In my bag." I pull out the little bag of gold coins. "What about the rainbow?"
"I've got it!" Luna hops up, drawing her wand. She flicks it, sending a spray of water across the room. Colors start to shimmer where the sun comes in through the hole in the ceiling.
I hand Nico a coin; he tosses it into the rainbow. "Oh Iris, goddess the rainbow, show us Annabeth at Camp Half-Blood." He and Luna sit down on the bed; I hop up to join them.
The rainbow flickers, dissolving into an image of one of the rooms in the Big House. Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Will, and a few other campers are gathered on the armchairs and sofas, obviously in deep conversation.
"Annabeth!" Nico says, waving a hand. She turns to us.
"Nico!" She hops up, coming over to us. The others turn to us, too. "What's wrong?"
"We found the box," he says without preamble. "And you should hear this."
We take turns telling the campers about what we've found. Annabeth gets steadily paler as we go on. When we finish, she shares a glance with Percy.
"Holy Hephaestus," Leo says from behind Piper. "This is crazy!"
"What do you think we should do?" Piper points out.
I sit, thoughts racing. It feels like there are all these puzzle pieces and I have to figure out how they all fit together. In one corner of my mind, I register that Nico is talking - asking me something - but I'm lost in my swirling thoughts, trying to piece everything together and sort everything out. The Watchman is a manifestation of Kronos. Check. He has power over space and time. Check. He's awake, even though Kronos is …
"Asleep." It takes me a moment before I realize that I'm talking aloud. "He's supposed to be asleep. We need to make him go to sleep!"
"Sophy?" Nico looks a bit confused.
"That's it!" I look up at Annabeth. "We need to make the Watchman go … go back to sleep, like Kronos! That's it!"
"Not again," Piper mutters under her breath.
"Okay, but how?" Annabeth leans forward. "How are we going to do that? Gods, how are we even going to find him in the first place?"
"A net," I say suddenly.
"What?"
"A big net. He has to be there, remember? That's what you said. When the Watchman makes the switches, at least a little bit of him has to be there. So we make a net and trap him in it."
Percy looks skeptical. Annabeth and Piper exchange a look.
"Okay," Leo says slowly. "That actually makes sense." He holds up a finger. "The thing is, how do we know when and where he's going to make a switch? Do we just wait around until he decides to nab one of us?"
"No," I say. Everything's clicking into place. "We don't wait." I grin. "We set it up ourselves."
"That's everything," Nico says, sliding the lid back on the box. I take it, tucking it into my bag.
"You've got the adamantine?" Luna asks. She's sitting on her bed, using magic to repair the hole in the roof.
"Of course." I clip my bag shut. "Everyone ready to go?"
Nico opens his mouth to respond, but in that moment, a growling bark comes from outside. We stop, turning toward the front of the house.
"Liliya," I whisper.
Luna steps over to the window. "Someone's outside," she says, turning back to us.
I step into the front room. Through the open door, I can see Liliya, hackles raised.
Nico and Luna appear behind me. Nico's sword is drawn. He presses a finger to his lips. As quietly as I can, I slide my wand into my sleeve and draw my pistol, carefully releasing the safety.
I hear a faint voice from outside, saying something in Russian. I take a silent step forward; Liliya snarls. I hear the voice again.
"Liliya!"
I freeze. They know Liliya's name. Very few people know who Liliya is. What's more, I know that voice.
I step forward. Nico takes my arm, making me turn. He shakes his head at me. I tug my arm out of his grasp, turning toward the door.
"Liliya!" I say, stepping outside. She growls again. "It's all right, Lils." Then, in Russian, "Inna! Come out from there!"
There's a moment of silence. Nico and Luna appear in the doorway behind me. Something rustles in a tree ahead of us, and someone drops from the branches to the ground. The figure straightens, staring at me.
"Sophya?"
Something catches in my throat. Swallowing hard, I nod.
"Sophya!"
I stumble forward. Inna closes the distance between us, pulling me into a hug.
"You came back!" she whispers in my ear. "Oh, my stars, you came back!"
I pull away. She's grown; I have to tilt my head up to look at her.
"Of course I came back! I promised you I would."
She smiles, about to say something, but her gaze catches on something over my shoulder and she stops.
"These are my friends," I say, stepping back. "Inna, these are Nico and Luna." Then, in English, "Please meet my friend Inna."
"Hi," Nico says with a nod.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Luna gives Inna a huge smile.
"Privet," Inna says shyly.
"And you remember Liliya," I say with a wry smile.
"Yes, but I don't think she remembers me."
I crouch down. "C'mere, Lils." Liliya pads over. After a moment, she leans forward to lick Inna's fingers.
"How are the others?" I ask, straightening up.
Inna takes a quick breath. "Esfir is out hunting. She should be back soon. Feliks and Vikenti went down to the village to see if there was anything they could trade for." She catches my glance. "We can sometimes find someone willing to trade with us, Sophya. We have before."
Even as I ask it, I already know, deep down, the answer to my question. "And … Alik?"
She looks away.
"Oh." I press a hand to my mouth. "Oh." The last words Alik spoke to me ring in my ears. You are being granted a chance at something more. Don't give it up for us.
"I missed him," I whisper. "I'm too late."
"Sophy?" Luna looks up at me; she's crouched by Liliya's side. "Are you okay?"
I take a deep breath. "I have … had a friend named Alik. He -" the words catch in my mouth.
"Oh, Sophy. I'm so sorry."
The door creaks; I turn. Nico steps out of the cottage, closing the door behind him. "We left one of the letters behind."
I take the letter, tucking it into my bag. "Thank you." I take a deep breath. "If you two don't mind, I'd - I'd like to see the rest of my friends. Before we leave. Is that okay?"
"Of course that's okay!" Luna straightens up. Nico nods in affirmation.
Inna touches me on the shoulder. "Sophya?" I turn. "The others would love to see you again-"
I smile. "You read my mind!"
Inna drops down from the fallen tree. "Here we are."
We climb down after her. In the clearing ahead of us, my friends have built a small shelter using layers of branches, pine boughs, and what looks like dried mud and leaves.
"It isn't much," Inna says, sitting down outside of the shelter.
"I think it's amazing," Nico says softly, joining her on the ground.
"I missed this all so much," I whisper, sitting down on Inna's other side.
"Inna!" someone calls from behind us. I gasp. Esfir! "Today was good for hunting," Esfir continues, rounding the side of the shelter. "I-" she stops.
"Esfir!" I jump to my feet.
"Sophya!" She drops her bag of game. I wrap her in a hug. "You're back! You're back!" She steps back, holding me at arm's length. "Oh, and you're all grown up!"
I laugh. "So are you!"
Liliya barks, tail wagging furiously. Esfir crouches down, letting Liliya lick her hands.
"Oh, and Liliya! She's so big!"
Inna joins us, beaming. "They came back!" She nods to the bag of game. "You said today was a good day for hunting, yes?"
"Yes!" Esfir reaches for the bag. I step back, leaving them to their discussion and returning to sit with my friends.
"I like your friends," Luna remarks serenely.
I grin. "I'm glad. Hey. Listen. I think we should tell them."
Nico raises an eyebrow. "Tell them?"
"About everything." I wave my hands. "About why we're here. About the gods and why I left. They're my friends. I'd trust them with my life."
"Do you think they're part of … whatever's going on with the Watchman?" Nico leans forward.
I take a deep breath. "I don't know. But I think … I think this somehow concerns me, personally. And … it's only fair to tell them what's happening."
"I agree." Luna nods. "You ought to tell them."
"It's your choice," Nico says. "If you want to tell them, then do."
"Sophya!" Inna says suddenly from behind us. "They're here!"
"They're here?!"
"Vikenti!" she calls, waving an arm. "Feliks! Come on!"
"Inna?" Two figures appear over the fallen log. The first I barely recognize; it's only when Vikenti looks up that I realize it's him. The second figure drops to the ground behind him.
"Vikenti! Feliks!" I jump to my feet.
"Sophya?" Vikenti sets down the bag he's carrying.
"She came back!" Esfir says, starting to laugh. "She came back!"
Feliks wraps me in a huge hug. "You're back! You actually came back!"
"I missed you so much," I say, stepping back to look up at him. He towers over me now.
"We missed you, too," Vikenti says from behind Feliks.
Feliks turns back to me. "Sophya - is everything okay? Why - why did you come back?"
I take a deep breath. "That's a long story," I tell them. "You'd better come sit down."
"Is that it?" I turn to Nico and Luna, who both nod. I turn back to the others. "And that's it."
Feliks and Esfir look absolutely stunned. Inna gives me a hesitant look. Vikenti lets out a huge breath.
"I believe you," he says, leaning forward. "I do. It's just …"
"My stars," Inna says softly. "It's … extraordinary."
"It is." I play with a strand of my hair. "Thank you for believing me."
"Naturally," Feliks says, leaning back. "It's just … so much to take in."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Esfir waves a hand. "But this - this whole plan you have for the - the Watchman," she takes a deep breath, "are we a part of it?"
I pause, suddenly unsure. I look to Nico and Luna.
"What did she say?" Nico asks softly.
"She wants to know if … if they're part of the plan," I say hesitantly.
He shakes his head. "They're your friends, Sophy. It's your decision."
I bite my lip, turning back to the others. "It - it's your choice. I don't want to tell you that you have to fight with me-"
"Sophya." Vikenti leans forward. "We'll always fight with you."
"Always," Feliks echoes. "What do you want us to do?"
I take a deep breath. Stars, please let me be right. "This time tomorrow, be on the outcropping over the river."
"That's it?" Esfir asks dubiously.
"Hopefully," I say slowly, "everything will work out." I look from them to Luna and back. "It's the three points of the triangle," I say softly. "Hogwarts. Camp. And here."
"But what if the third point isn't the outcropping?" Inna asks worriedly. "Sophya, what if we can't find you?"
I pause. What if we can't find each other? I bite my lip, trying to think.
Suddenly, I remember something Hermione had once said to me. It was the first few weeks of school, and I had managed to get hopelessly lost. I had finally just sat down on a bench outside of an unused classroom in the hopes that someone would eventually come by. A few minutes later, Liliya had appeared, leading Hermione and Neville behind her. On the way back, Hermione had told me, "She's awfully smart, you know. She led us straight to you. It's like she knew exactly where to find you."
It's like she knew exactly where to find you.
"That's it," I whisper, turning around. Liliya is curled up behind me, gnawing on a stick. "Lils." Her ears prick up. "C'mere, girl." She clambers to her feet, coming over to sit next to me.
I take a deep breath. "Liliya."
Inna looks at Esfir in confusion, and then back to me. "What?"
I swallow and continue. "Liliya … she has an uncanny knack for finding me when I'm lost." I give her a quick scratch behind her ears. "If she stays here with y-"
Vikenti, Feliks, and Esfir all start talking over me. I wave my hand. "Listen. Listen!" They fall silent. "If she stays here with you, she'll be able to help you find me again."
"Sophya, Liliya belongs with you!" Feliks starts to protest.
"She'll come back to me," I promise. "But … this is her part to play. Do you trust me?"
Feliks and Inna exchange a worried look. Esfir bites her lip.
"I do." Vikenti leans forward. "We'll take good care of her, Sophya."
"But, Vikenti-" Esfir starts. He shakes his head.
"Sophya's right."
I give Liliya a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, Lils. I'll see you again tomorrow; I promise." She licks my face.
"C'mere, Liliya." Vikenti leans forward as she goes over to him.
"Sophy?" Luna tugs my sleeve. "What's going on?"
I take a deep breath, turning to her. "Liliya's staying here."
"What?"
"In the case that … that it isn't the outcropping," I say vaguely. "She'll be able to find us."
Nico and Luna exchange a look. "If you're sure," he says slowly.
"I am." I get to my feet; the others follow. "I'll see all of you tomorrow," I promise, giving Inna a quick hug.
"We'll be there," Esfir says, leaning down to give me another.
"We'll miss you," Feliks tells me.
"It'll only be a day," I say with a small laugh.
"Still."
I crouch down to give Liliya one last scratch behind the ears. She whimpers softly, as if she knows exactly what's going on.
"I'll come back," I promise her softly. She yaps.
"Ready?" Nico asks, picking up my bag for me.
I nod.
"What do we do?" Luna asks. "Do we just…"
"We break it," I say, pulling the adamantine out of my pocket. The crystal glitters in the setting sun.
"Do we have to stab it," Nico asks from my other side, "or do we just…"
I squeeze the crystal, hard. It crumbles to pieces in my fist.
I reach for Luna's hand; she slips it into mine. I grab Nico's jacket sleeve in my other hand. The world around us is already starting to turn foggy.
"I'll see you again tomorrow!" I call one last time. "I promise!"
Liliya whimpers as the world around us dissolves into foggy whiteness.