I do not own Percy Jackson or Kane Chronicles.
TJ's PoV.
Sally continued to tell us embarrassing stories about Percy, much to his displeasure. He's done some pretty funny stuff over the years. After an hour everyone else left Percy, our mother, Paul, and myself alone on the balcony. It was nice having it just be the four of us. Sally gave me a big hug.
"It's so good to see you all grown up. It's a mother's dream come true." She said when she finally let go. "I never thought this would be possible when they declared you dead barely two hours after you were born." I see a few tears gather in her eyes but the smile on her face made me forget about the tears. What she said made sense to me because my adopted father had told her that I was dead that night.
"You're not mad that the Masterrsyns took me, are you?" I asked her quietly.
"No." she said just as quietly. "Only that the good doctor didn't tell me that he could heal you."
"What do you mean 'heal me'?" I asked her confused.
"You were a still born. That's why you were declared dead." She told me hesitantly, as if she thought I should already know this. "Didn't they tell you that?" I shook my head no.
Things started clicking into place. Anubis sustaining my life. Not remembering dying or being anywhere close. My adopted farther not going into detail about the night I was born. My life is apparently one big lie. I should have died seventeen years ago and the life I have most likely comes with a price, knowing my luck. Not only that but my real father is an enemy to the House of Life and I can't even control all of my magic. Could life get any worse?
"Earth to TJ." Percy said, waving his hand in front of my face, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You ok?" they all looked worried. "You spaced out there for a moment."
"I don't know." I told him softly. "I'm not sure of anything at this point." He seemed to understand.
"We had better get going." Paul said, glancing at his watch.
"And you should get some more rest." Sally said as she kissed me on the head. "We'll see you again soon." Percy helped me back inside with Paul and Mom ahead of us. Julian came over and took me from Percy so he could leave but I called to him as he neared the door.
"Will you stay here tonight, Percy?" He paused and looked back at me. "Please?" Mom and Paul stopped in the doorway, waiting for him. He didn't say anything for a minute.
"I guess one night wouldn't hurt too much." Was the answer I finally got.
"Don't cause them too much trouble, Percy." Mom said and Percy gave her a sheepish smile and a shrug. She smiled and then both she and Paul were gone.
"So what do you guys do in the afterhours here?" Percy asked with a real smile.
"Well, how good are you at Xbox?" Julian asked him.
"Depends on the game."
"Call of Duty."
"Nice." Percy grinned.
After an hour of watching them play team death match with each other, Jazz ordered me up to bed to get some more rest. On this, there was no arguing. She dragged me up the stairs herself.
"And no sneaking off back downstairs once I'm out of sight." She said when we reach my room.
"Yes, ma'am." I told her. "Night Jazz."
"Goodnight, TJ." And she left was a smile, heading back downstairs.
I closed my door behind myself and got a pair of pajamas out and got another quick shower before bed. Water has always been able to make me feel better, whether I just needed to calm down or wash any soreness away. No idea why but it does. Afterwards I just fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, not really wanting to get back up to turn off the lights. My thoughts turned back to what I had learned today from my mom.
It made a bit more sense why my adopted farther lied to me. My life basically belongs to Anubis. Gods don't save people for no reason; I learned that much from studying the history of the Egyptian gods and the House, plus the stuff I picked up in history class for our projects. The only problem is: I don't know the conditions made in order for me to maintain the life given to me. With that thought haunting my mind I turned off the light and tried to get some sleep.
I found myself standing in a cemetery in the middle of the night. It wasn't too cold but there was and almost unholy chill in the air. A slight breeze blew past and it carried a voice with it. I went in the direction it was coming from. Here, it was darker and I could feel magic in the air. There was a man kneeling on the ground, chanting. In front of him was a small bundle of blankets. The air around us became colder and I realized the man was doing a summoning spell. Everything fell silent as he finished the spell. Out of the darkness a figure emerged. I immediately recognized him as Anubis.
"Why have you summoned me here?" the god asked, sounding very annoyed.
"I have a great favor to ask of you, my lord." The man said, his voice was so familiar to me.
"Then you have wasted your time. I don't grant favors." Anubis replied coldly.
"Please, Lord Anubis, I will do anything," begged the man. "Please." The god of funerals regarded him.
"We'll see about that. What is this favor you seek?"
"It concerns the life of this newborn infant." The man said gestured to the bundle of blankets in front of him.
"The child will die within the hour. No magic in the House of life could save him, if that's what you wanted to know." Anubis barely glanced down at the bundle.
"I was hoping you could use your magic…." The man's voice died as the god glared at him.
"Use my magic to save him?" the god growled. "Do I look like a healer to you?"
"Please." The man begged once more, on the verge of tears by the sound of his voice. After a minute or two, Anubis gingerly picked the bundle of blankets up off the ground. He put his hand on the tiny little head that peeked out of the blankets. A few seconds later he withdrew his hand and snarled.
"Who are this boy's parents?" the gad demanded.
"His mother is the daughter of Jim and Laura Jackson." The man replied, confused and scared. "I don't know who the father is. Why?"
"There is god in this child. Foreign magic." The malice in Anubis's voice was evident.
"What?" that confused me just as much as it did the man.
"If I save him this boy's existence will be catastrophic to the House and Ma'at. Parthenons don't mix."
"I'll raise him to be of the House. He won't…." the man tried to say but was cut off.
"You don't know what he will or will not do. That is the problem with their kind." Their kind? I thought, even more confused. "They are loyal only to themselves. Nothing will change that."
"He just an infant, surly he can be taught to be loyal to the House?" the god said nothing. "I will teach him to uphold the House of Life and fight for it. Just save him. Please."
"You won't be able to keep him here. If they find him in your possession the consequences would be terrible. You will have to raise him beyond their sight and power. And a word of warning Richard Masterrsyn: if he ever turns against the House and the Egyptian Parthenon, I will take his life away." With that a grayish light surrounded the baby. A single cry pierced the quiet air and thunder boomed overhead.
I woke with a start to feel my heart pounding in my chest. The clock on my nightstand said it was four in the morning. I could sleep longer but my dream freaked me out so much I doubted I would be able to get back to sleep. Plus my heart was still racing.
Getting out of bed I stumbled into my bathroom and to the shower. Still in my pajamas I turned the water on and let it run over me. Immediately my heart rate slowed and I sat down under the stream of water. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Resting my chin on my knees, I thought about my dream. It scared me and the things that Anubis had said confused me. But I had a few hours to myself to think about it. I closed my eyes and focused on the water pouring down on me to calm myself down farther before I got to into thinking. Before I knew it I drifted off again.