Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Four

Where Are You?

I feel a challenge in my soul today

Questioning things I believe in so firmly yesterday

How can I have faith in myself and what I feel to be true?

"Confused" by Natalie Brown

Ring, ring. Ring, ring.

"Ugh," I moaned, reaching over and grabbing the phone from the bedside table.

"Hi, this is Kylie from the front desk. I'm calling for your nine o'clock wake-up call," the voice on the other end said.

I forgot that I'd asked for that when I'd had my manager book the room. I had an interview today with an entertainment news show. I had to be there by eleven, which only gave me time to do the very basics to get ready and get to the studio. "Thanks, I'm getting up now."

I hung up the phone and turned over to tell Percy it was time to get up, but no one was there. That was strange, seeing as Percy was never one to get up early, especially without help. "Percy?" I called, sitting up and wrapping myself in the blanket from the bed. "Perce, are you already up?"

No one answered. I got up from the bed and grabbed my traveling clothes (the clothes I wore just to get me to set) and headed to the bathroom. He wasn't in there either. I looked at my reflection for a moment, sighing. This wasn't like Percy at all. He never left before I did and he had always been someone who would leave a note if something came up. Or a text on my phone. Something to let me know where he was.

I pushed back all of those thoughts before brushing my teeth, showering, and then drying my hair. I pulled on my travelling clothes and quickly gathered up all the discarded clothes and undergarments into my suitcase. Percy's clothes were gone too. At least that meant he was most likely safe, wherever he had gone.

I could see a car waiting for me at the curb when I stepped into the lobby. I turned in my key at the front desk and started to cut across the grass when something tugged on my foot. I tried to just pull it and keep going, but whatever it was had a tight hold on me. I looked down to see my foot was sinking into the grass, twisting my ankle at an unnatural angle as it did so.

"What the –" I pulled at my foot, trying to free it but nothing was working.

It is not safe for you to be on the ground anymore. You have to keep off of it. You can't let her get you.

My body tingled all over, and not in a good way. "Crap, crap, crap," I muttered, looking around to make sure no one had noticed what was happening. I took a couple of focused deep breaths before blasting a ball of fire at the ground, scorching the earth and it was just enough to pull my foot free. My ankle was definitely broken. I started limping over to the cement path and the driver met me there, helping me get into the backseat and putting my suitcase into the trunk.

"What happened?" the driver – Thomas – asked, looking at me in concern. The driver was a son of Hermes. I only allowed my manager (also a half-blood) to hire other half-bloods, because a lot of us demigods ended up dropping out of school for one thing, but also because a lot of weird stuff happened to us and it was always better to be surrounded by people who understood it.

"Not sure…the ground must have been really soft or something," I lied. "I think I might have broken my ankle though."

"Take your time and heal up, traffic is nuts this morning," the driver said and I nodded as he put the key in the ignition and started. My mind was racing. Something was happening and like my dad had told me, I wasn't safe. No one was safe, if this was as bad as my dad made it out to be, which made me worry even more about Percy.

I looked at my ankle and with my healing ability, I could see where the break was. And it was a clean break, too. I held my ankle in place and it grew warm as my natural healing powers took over and did the heavy lifting. After a few minutes, I moved my ankle around and it was back to normal.

"Thomas?" I asked suddenly. "Did you by any chance see Percy come out of the hotel some time this morning?"

"No, I only arrived about fifteen minutes before you came out. Why?" he asked.

"No reason," I lied again. I hated lying to people, but I didn't want to start a panic. I needed to figure out what was going on before I did or said anything.

I put in some headphones and leaned back into the leather seat of the car, forcing myself to relax and rehearse some different interview questions in my head. It never hurt to be prepared – especially when you had other things on your mind.

We arrived at the set in just under an hour, and I was immediately whisked inside, with the promise that the driver was going to drop my grad dress off at my house. The show's staff led me to a dressing room with my name on it, and hair and make-up immediately got to work straightening my hair and putting on my signature smoky make-up. I glanced over at the clothes rack, filled with a mix of outfits my manager had brought over from my house and that different designers had pulled for me. I would be performing on the show as well, so I'd need to be put in performance wear rather than an interview outfit today.

When the hair and make-up artists finished, I looked through the clothes and finally chose a tight, shiny gold dress that hugged every curve of my body and a black leather moto jacket. I also pulled on some gold and black pumps. I looked in the full-length mirror one more time before the producer told me it was time to go.

"And now," the host, Felicity Paris, announced, "the woman you have all been waiting for. Give it up for Andee le Fay and her new hit single!"

I was handed my sparkly gold microphone moments before the music started and I walked onto the stage. The audience went wild as soon as they saw me. My dancers came out and started dancing at the same time I started singing and dancing. I had been really excited to show Percy this song. With the outfit, choreography and music, it was quite a sensual song and I wanted to see his reaction when he saw me perform it.

The audience was going crazy, especially any time I did a body roll, dropped to the ground or did anything else particularly sexy. When the music ended, I struck a dramatic pose. Everyone leapt from their seats, giving me a standing ovation. I bowed a little, smiling before moving over to the seating area where Felicity was. I sat in the chair across from her, putting on my best publicity smile.

"That was quite the performance, Andee!" Felicity said, clapping a little. "Bravo!"

"Thank you, Felicity," I said in the most charming voice I could muster.

"You are an incredible performer. Is it true that not one of your performances has been lip-synched?" she asked.

"It is," I answered. "I don't believe in lip-synching, no matter how much choreo you have. I mean, if they can do it on Broadway, shouldn't every other performer train to be able to do the same?"

Felicity nodded emphatically. "You also have quite the support system, don't you?"

"I do! I have two very strong women in my life – my godmother and my best friend, who might as well be my sister. And then of course I've got all the men – my godmother's husband/my stepdad, my godson, my dad, my brothers and my boyfriend. They're all godsends. The people in my life are so amazing and know exactly what to do when I've had a rough day. I couldn't be more blessed," I said.

"That sounds like quite the complicated family history. Do you mind telling us a little about it?" Felicity asked. This question always came up, and the answer was so rehearsed by now, that I had almost started to believe it myself.

"My mother died giving birth to me, and my dad, with his line of work, was unable to take care of me. So I was raised by my mother's best friend and my godmother, Valkyrie. She's basically my mother. I see my father now more than ever, and it's honestly really great."

"Don't you hold a grudge against your father for leaving you?" Felicity asked.

"No," I said, shocked that anyone would ask that question. "He did what was best for me, and ultimately, it led to us having a much better relationship than we would have if he had tried to raise me himself. My godmother is the reason for everything I have and am today and I couldn't be more grateful to her for taking on that responsibility at such a young age."

Felicity nodded. "You also happened to mention a boyfriend. Could that have evolved into something a little more?"

I followed her gaze and saw she was looking at the ring. "Oh! I'm not engaged, sorry to disappoint," I said, waggling my fingers at the camera. "It's a promise ring. And my boyfriend is the kindest, most caring, supportive, strong and loving man I could have ever met." The audience awed. My heart fluttered every time I looked at the ring.

"So it's definitely love?" Felicity asked.

"It was love at first sight. He is my soulmate in every sense of the word," I said softly, thinking about him. Everyone awed again. Felicity cut to a commercial and I took this time to get my manager to bring over my phone. I speed-dialed Sally's number. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Andee! The ring looks so beautiful on you! I'm watching your interview right now," Sally said. She always did that, it was so nice. "Percy was so excited to finally give it to you – he picked it out himself."

"Did he? Oh my gods, that makes it even sweeter, he didn't tell me that," I said. "Probably only have a few minutes left before the commercial break is over, but I was just wondering if you'd heard from Percy this morning."

"He's with you, isn't he?"

"When I woke up this morning, he was gone. "No note or anything," I said. I didn't want to worry her, but I also knew that if Sally didn't know where her son was and I didn't know where he was, no one would.

"Maybe he went to camp early. Chiron has called him to camp early a few times in the past," Sally said, but I could hear the worry in her voice. We both knew it was unlikely. Percy would have told someone where he was going.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," I reassured her. "I'll get him to call you once I get to camp."

"Thank you, Andee," she said gratefully before hanging up. I handed the phone back to my manager as the show started up again. I answered the questions as best as I could, trying to keep my façade up. As soon as the interview ended, I thanked Felicity for having me and signed some autographs for a few of the people who were allowed to come backstage. I took a few pictures with them too, but my manager and security escorted me out to the car before anything got too out of hand.

I sat in the back of the car in silence, trying to convince myself that Percy was safe and at camp. As soon as we pulled up to my house, I leapt up and burst through the door.

All my stuff was packed in my bag upstairs. I ran up, grabbed my bag and looked for any signs of Percy.

Nothing.

I ran down to the kitchen where Val and Johnny were eating lunch and feeding Dimka. "Val, Johnny, by any chance did Percy stop by here?"

Val shook her head. "I thought he was with you."

"Me too," I muttered.

"What's going on?" Val said, instantly on her feet and in front of me.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "Dad…dad and grandpa were at my graduation and they seemed…off. Dad not as much as grandfather, but grandpa called me Avalon."

Val didn't say anything, but I could practically hear the wheels in her head turning. Finally she said, "And then Percy disappears without a note or anything." I nodded. She looked back to where Johnny was feeding Dimka, the two blissfully unaware.

"I think something's happening," I said quietly, the words making my stomach turn.

"It's only a couple things, but we don't have coincidences," Val said before sighing. "Go to camp. Talk to Chiron and tell him about Percy. Keep your dad and grandfather to yourself for the time being. And keep me…keep me updated if you can." She glanced back at her son and at me. "Don't take any unnecessary risks, Andee. We haven't had much time to train and work on your abilities, what with the baby, the move, school and your music, and I know how strong and capable you are. I love you so much, Andee, and I just want you safe for once."

"I love you too, mom," I said and she hugged me tightly. "Call me if you need me, okay?"

"Call me if you need me," Val said. "I can be there just as fast as you can get here." I nodded. I gave Johnny and Dimka a hug each, and kissed the top of Dimka's little dark-haired head. As I was about to go into the garage, Val stopped me. "Andee, I know you're worried about Percy, but remember that he has Achilles' Curse. Unless someone out to hurt him knows his vulnerable spot, he'll be alive and okay. Just keep that in mind, alright?"

I nodded again before getting into my car and starting it. It was about an hour's drive from my house to camp, so I wanted to get there as soon as possible. I reversed out of the driveway, speeding down the road. Traffic was awful, so the drive took me over two hours, during all of which I was completely freaking out. I pulled into the small parking area Annabeth had designed for the older demigods with vehicles and parents, and parked.

I ran from the car into the Big House where Chiron sat alone at the table he and Dionysus usually played pinnacle at. "Chiron, Percy is missing and we need to send search parties to go look for him. Something bad is happening and –"

"Andee, calm down and tell me why you think Percy is missing," Chiron said slowly, but he looked scared too.

So I told him about how prom was yesterday, that Percy and I had spent the night together with the plan for him to come to my interview and then come to camp together, and then he'd disappeared in the morning without a trace. "Chiron, he gave me a promise ring last night. He wouldn't just leave."