After what felt like hours to Percy, Apollo reappeared on his throne. A moment later, Kaie reappeared in the center of the room.
Her hair had been moved over one shoulder and a thin layer of dried blood coated her back. In stark contrast, the design that had been silver was now slightly raised pale skin that looked like a brand. She had lost the scary persona and now just seemed exhausted. Percy could see she was close to collapsing but forcing herself to stay up. The determination in her stance reminded him of someone but he had trouble placing it.
"Well?" Zeus looked down at the Gray Lady from his throne.
"There is a god missing. Who?" Her exhaustion was clear in her voice. Confusion passed through the room as the gods shifted around.
"No one is." A thin degree of doubt was threaded through Zeus' voice.
Kaie sighed. "I pray to someone that I am wrong but there is a minor god is not here. Find Them!" Zeus glanced at Hermes who nodded and vanished.
"Why is this important?" Kaie disappeared then reappeared by Zeus' throne. Whispering quietly into his ear to answer him. Fear passed across his face. "That is not possible." He told Kaie coldly as she stepped away.
At that moment, Hermes reappeared. "Brizo has not been seen for several weeks." Percy recognized the name of a minor goddess who was the patroness of sailors because of her connection to his father. Zeus' eyes grew dark. They reminded Percy of a dark storm cloud on the horizon. "A Death Gate has been opened." He announced to the room.
The room dissolved into panicked chaos. The three demigods had never seen the like. Even at the height of the second Titan War the Olympians were relatively calm and collected. Now they were like high school students, trying to all talk at once by yelling.
"Silence!" Zeus' deep voice rumbled and the foundations of Olympus itself shook as it took time for the room to calm. "Can you find it?" The king of the gods turned his attention back on Kaie who nodded uncertainly.
"Right now I'm like a metal detector. I can barely sense it but I know its there. The sense will get stronger as I get closer. I will stay in the camp tonight and leave tomorrow. I'm getting a general sense that its to the west." Zeus nodded as Percy refrained himself from pointing out that they were currently on the eastern seaboard and almost the entire United States lay to the west. "Discuss among yourself and notify me of your decisions tomorrow." Kaie turned and walked to stand by Nico, Percy, and Annabeth. "You know how to find me now." In a flash, she disappeared. A moment later, the demigods felt themselves being throne back to Camp Halfblood by one of the gods.
Camp Halfblood appeared around them a moment later. Nico was annoyed to find that it was just after sunset. Somehow they had lost the majority of the day on Olympus.
"What is a Deathgate?" Annabeth's gray eyes were focused on Kaie, demanding answers.
"Tear in the fabric of Gaia's energy that blocks death. Any creature killed around it is brought back to life through the gate and under the control of the being who opened the gate. It can also be used to bring spirits back from Hades and bend them to the will of whomever created the Deathgate. To create a gate requires the death of a godly being and the same believed to be required to close it." Kaie spoke listlessly, her gaze focused on the bustling camp life around them.
For one of the first times since Nico had known Annabeth she seemed speechless. Hades, Nico didn't know what to think either. "What?" Percy finally spoke, voicing the demigods' confusion. "Think of zombies that do whatever they are told and can not be killed."
"How is that different from the normal monsters we fight?" Nico asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. "They don't die and regenerate. Cut them, burn them, blow them up, they reform and keep coming. The more pieces they are in the longer it takes for them to reassemble but they do it right there and in only a few minutes." Kaie never turned away from watching camp life as she spoke.
"How do we fight them then?" Nico was not surprised when Annabeth accepted the idea and took the logical approach. "You don't." "What about..." "No," Kaie interrupted the daughter of Athena. "You stay here. Sit on your asses and pray to the gods that none of them can get here. They will kill you." "I can at least help you." Percy, ever the hero, volunteered. "No." Kaie turned at looked at the demigods. Nico felt a wave of cold air sweep through the camp, past the humidity of summer. Kaie's eyes were the storm gray that was so similar to Zeus'. "They will kill you too. The curse of Achilles will do you no good when you are alone in a battle, swarmed by hundreds of shades in every direction, and without any room to use Anaklusmos. One will be luck, hit your weak spot, and you will be torn to pieces."
Kaie turned away from the three demigods, distant and distracted once again. "Get every demigod and satyr you can here and keep them here. The gods will know if I manage to close the gate." She walked away from the group, climbing the steps to the Big House and disappearing inside without a backwards glance.
"Hey!" Noise swirled around Kaie as she moved towards the dining pavilion. She had planned to stay in the Big House, going over maps for the rest of the night but her stomach had protested vehemently.
"Hey!" Nico skidded to a halt along side Kaie. "Slow down will you?" "What's the matter Nico? Getting old?" Kaie stopped at the new voice. "Shut it runt." Nico retorted.
A teen walked towards them, her tongue stuck out at Nico. Kaie recognized her as a hunter of Artemis by her silver and black fatigues. With a sinking feeling, Kaie realized she wore the lieutenant's circlet.
"Hi." Kaie broke away from her thoughts and took the hand offered by the hunter robotically. "I'm Thalia." Kaie nodded. "Kaie. What happened to Zoe?" The words came out before she could stop them.
Confusion and surprise flashed across the teen's vision as she stood silent. "You knew Zoe?" Nico's voice hid his surprise well but Kaie could see it in his face. "Yeah. Last three lives" Kaie felt sadness rise up as realization hit her. "When?" "Beginning of the second titan war." Thalia answered after a watching Kaie for a moment, gauging her reaction. "Who?" Kaie kept her voice cold. If she showed emotion now the mental dam holding back everything would break. "Her father." Nico answered before Thalia could.
Kaie surprised herself by letting out a soft laugh. Zoe had always said it would be Atlas. Kaie turned away from the dining pavilion and moved towards the woods instead. Nico called out to her retreating back once but Kaie ignored it. Solitude was necessary at times like these. Zoe had been the constant every time she was reborn. They had fought together over and over again. Besides the gods, no one left truly understood who she was now and she realized that she hated that.
Please Review! Now that I'm out of school for the summer (FINALLY!) my goal is to update every other day. All advice is helpful so please review!