Disclaimer-I do not own the Bartimaeus Sequence, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or any related works by their respective creators. I do own my OCs, and the plot of this story - so please, no copying.

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Chapter 3

The man obviously was not human, but a quick flip through the planes proved that he also was not a spirit. Just like with that cyclops, the djinni mused, rubbing his chin as he crouched in front of their follower. Why was that happening? He was even more certain than with the cyclops that the follower wasn't a spirit more powerful than a marid; that type of spirit would never be as clumsy or so terrified.

If it wasn't for the beard on his chin, Geist would have guessed him to be in his early teens. The shirt that he had on underneath the green hoodie was orange, and Geist could make out the tops of several letters. His sneakers, which lay beside him, were a simple, easy-to-get brand. His jeans were a light blue, and, though they were long, had rolled up enough to reveal fur covered legs.

The creature rushed to get to his feet. He grabbed his brown baseball cap from the ground. In a quick, effortless motion, the brown baseball cap was returned to his head and his shoes were slipped onto his feet.

He looked absolutely terrified at the sight of the trio. "L-Leave the d-demigod alone," he stuttered.

"One, gods don't exist, and two, she's my little sister, so how about you leave her alone?"

Geist smiled at Riley's reply. Of course the kid would say something like that. Riley did everything that she could to protect Abby. There was zero possibility of her handing her sister over to a complete stranger who happened to defy everything they knew. Or anyone else. Geist wasn't even sure that Riley would let him watch over Abby for more than a couple of hours.

"L-Little sister?" the creature managed to get out. He glanced at them in clear disbelief. "But you d-don't look alike."
"She's adopted," Abby finally spoke up.

He gave a slow nod. His gaze shifted to Geist, and he quickly looked away when Geist glared at him and revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth. Before Abby or Riley could see, he closed his mouth.

After recovering his small amount of courage, the creature hesitantly sniffed the air. "Y-You t-two, especially the s-scarlet ha-haired boy, st-still s-smell like monsters." Geist watched with amusement as Riley lifted her arm up and smelled her armpit.

"I smell perfectly fine," the sixteen year old indignantly replied.

"Yes," the djinni added with a wise nod, "as fine as garbage left out on a hot summer day."

That, unsurprisingly, gained him a punch on the shoulder from Riley. He had to admit that he had enjoyed teasing her – her face was always priceless when he suddenly insulted her.

"Who are you?" All heads turned to Abby. Her question was spoken in a quiet tone, one loud enough to be heard over the pounding of the rain, but one soft enough to not be heard from ten feet away.

The creature adjusted his baseball cap. "Leif," he muttered. "My n-name is Leif Oaksfield."

All related to plants. Now that is interesting…Humans certainly could come up with names – he remembered Riley mentioning a celebrity naming their child North West – but the creature wasn't human. There had to be meaning to it.

"I-I'm a-a-a s-sa-satyr," Leif stuttered. He shifted, casting a terrified glance in Geist's direction. He simply smiled in return. "Every-everyone is n-named a-after s-some s-sort of p-plant."

"Satyr?" Abby asked. "I think I learned about those when doing Greek mythology."

He had learned a bit about Greek mythology by reading several of Riley's books. A satyr. A cyclops. Abby is onto something – both are creatures in Greek mythology. But that still doesn't make sense. Why are they here? And why are they so interested in Riley?

"It doesn't matter what you are," Riley said. "What matters is that you've been following my sister around, you stalker. So why have you? If it's because you think she's beautiful, I think it's time for my fist to meet your face."

Any resolve Leif had seemed to disappear once Riley spoke her threat. But before he could speak, they were all knocked to the ground once again. This time, however, it was by a boy with glasses.

About a second later, the boy hopped to his feet without offering a word of apology. Geist glared at him as he got up. "Hey, kid," Geist said. "You can't just go running into someone like that and not say sorry."

The boy turned, and smiled when he saw the satyr. "Oh, hello Leif."

"Hi Allen."

"Are they demigods?"

"One of them is…I think the other two can see through the Mist."

Geist exchanged a confused glance with Riley. Though it was pouring, it certainly wasn't misty. There had to be some hidden meaning to what Leif was saying.

The boy, who Geist assumed to be named Allen, pushed up his glasses. "That's a relief. They won't think that Hunter and I are murdering a poodle."

"Murdering a poodle-" Abby started, but then a gigantic dog came barreling down the street.

Geist would have used it as a guise if he wanted to terrify a magician out of their pentacle. But when he flipped through the planes, he saw that it was what it appeared to be. It was, in fact, a gigantic, slobbering, feral dog.

There was also a boy, the djinni realized, fighting the gigantic dog. He had to be Hunter. Unlike Allen, Hunter had clearly defined muscles – from what, Geist couldn't guess.

He had what looked to be a bronze sword in his hands. He was trying to attack the dog, but it continued to knock him to the ground as he did so. Allen withdrew a sword himself from a sheath at his side, and charged at the monster.

Both of them were knocked the ground. The dog put its gigantic paws on top of their chests – both gasped – and Geist knew that if someone didn't do something, they were going to die from lack of air.

He fired a Detonation at the monster. It looked at him. However, he didn't keep its attention for too long. Less than a minute later, it had returned to staring down at the boys.

"Hey ugly!" Geist shouted, waving his arms about. "Look over here, you big slobbering mutt! I've seen things way more terrifying than you! And that drool rolling down your chin doesn't make you look all that intimidating! Just saying!"

The dog seemed to understand that it had been insulted. It rushed off of the boys, and charged at Geist. Geist pushed Riley, Abby, and Leif out of the way as it came closer. Giving a cold smile, Geist glared at the monster.

It froze. Geist took the opportunity to attack it with another Detonation. This time he aimed it right at the monster's head. He hadn't been able to earlier when it was so close to the boys. Though he didn't personally care for their lives, he knew Riley would be upset if he let them die.

He found the blade of Allen's sword against his neck. "What kind of monster are you?"

Riley groaned. "We're so screwed."

Abby simply stared at the exchange.

A/N Hey there, all you wonderful Souls! I shockingly have more news to tell you!

Johnathon Stroud basically said that there is going to be another Bartimaeus Sequence book on Twitter. You can look for the tweet – it's from back in the beginning of June, I believe, and it's in response to some asking a question about Lockwood and Co. Just thought it was my duty to make your day. =D

Here's the accounts, like usual:

Quotev: TheHopefulSoul

DeviantArt: SoulErrorArwitch

Tumblr: soulerrorarwitch, ask-telos-of-minecraftia, ask-geist-of-germany

Have a great day/night! See you in Chapter 4~