Jpov

My eyes met Harper's over the rim of her glasses in the dim light. She looked as tired as I felt, her expression uncharacteristically uncertain as her gaze darted over the trash strewn banks of the river before us. Thousands of years of hopes and dreams abandoned by the mortals that would never get to see them out, dark waters surging relentlessly forward, unmoved by the misery of missed opportunities.

But the Underworld had never been a cheerful place in my experience, and today was no different.

"James, are you sure about this?" she asked quietly.

"No." I said honestly. "But what choice do we have?"

It had been a bad week. Harper's mother was angry at her, embarrassed she'd argued with Hera the last time we'd been to Olympus, and Lucy had had another meltdown. The worst one in a while. Then, after all that, I'd nearly started a chain reaction of magic dragging Ares away from Harper when he'd refused to pay for a manuscript he'd gotten gorgon blood all over.

I looked down at my hands. There were blisters along the palm along with burns from fire and acid, the knuckles on right one had split, a black bruise trailing up the outer forearm where the muscle had torn. Evidence of my latest run in with the god of war.

Her eyes landed on the injuries and she winced.

"You think it will work?" I asked and she shook her head.

"I don't know." She sighed and rubbed her forehead sounding distracted. "Theoretically it should. But I've never come across this situation like this."

"But do you think it will?" I asked emphasizing the word and her eyes met mine again.

She hesitated, but only for a second.

"Yes." She said. "I do."

"Then that's good enough for me." I said unbuckling the strap on my sword's sheath and handing it to her.

It was strange, learning to trust someone. The feeling was alien to me and despite our friendship stemming from such an unusual circumstance, Harper had never given me a reason to doubt her. If she said it would work, then it probably would. I was certain of that. Far more certain than she seemed herself.

"Remember." She said as I approached the bank. "Focus on your spot."

"I know."

"If you lose concentration, even for a second-"

"Harper." I said glancing over my shoulder and cutting her off. "I've got this."

She looked as if she wanted to argue, but then thought better of it.

It was an expression so familiar to me these days, it almost made me smile and I wasn't sure which was more surprising to me. That I'd gotten to know Harper well enough I could recognize things like this, or, that she could make me smile at all. A real one at any rate.

Even stranger than learning to trust someone was learning to accept they cared about me. That they might actually get to know me. Learn my habits and perspectives. In short, how to deal with me, and I reflected on this as I approached the river bank.

It was odd to watch Harper figure how to handle someone like me, even more peculiar that it seemed to come pretty naturally to her. I'd gotten so good at reading other people, being who I wanted them to see, that anyone other than my sister knowing anything about me felt strange.

It certainly wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Good luck."

"Don't come in after me." I warned and she stiffened, her jaw tightening, but she nodded.

We'd settled this argument before we'd come to the Underworld. I'd made sure of it, appealing to Harper's rational side pointing out we didn't know what would happen to the Library if something happened to her, and if I did get dragged under the Styx never to return, someone needed to keep an eye on Lucy. But I could tell she still didn't like staying on the sidelines, watching, unable to do anything. Unable to help.

I took a deep, bracing breath, then stepped into the water.

Almost instantly, the Underworld around me dissolved. There was a rushing sensation as the water took hold, dragging me with the current under it's depths.

'Focus.' I thought as my heart rate elevated and I zeroed in on its thrumming. 'Focus.'

Voices around me whispered sinisterly, creeping into my thoughts as I continued to sink.

"Traitor."

"Freak."

"Experiment."

"Can't be trusted."

'Focus.' I reminded myself as my heart gave a powerful pound.

My body felt heavy, so very heavy as the current continued to pull it. Weighed it down deeper and deeper...

"James?"

Lucy's voice rang out over the whispers and I felt something solidify in my chest.

She laughed and it drowned out the voices, the sound locking around my heart and I let it pull me in, let water roll around then past me, rather than wash me away.

"James, where are you?" she asked and when I turned towards the voice, I saw my sister beaming at the end of one of the aisles in the library. She gestured for me to join her and I struggled to follow, fighting against a heavy tide, each beat of my heart louder, more determined.

Suddenly, the library was hit with a violent shudder as it shifted between the domains, catching me off balance. I stumbled, everything around me going dark. Black columns of flame erupted from cracks in the floor. The sky above vanished, replaced by masses of spirits and winged monsters, their howls echoing in the dimness.

Lucy screamed as the building was rocked by another shock wave and I stumbled again, falling, the grip on my heart slipping, loosening rapidly, the tie about to sever…

A hand shot out of the darkness grabbing me by the front of my shirt, wrenching me to a stop, the grip as strong as steel and when I looked up, my gaze was met by a pair of familiar green eyes.

My body jerked with the force that was pulling me against the current, Lucy was running towards me her hand outstretched, and the Underworld was disappearing. Blue skies over took my vision, the sun breaking through the clouds brilliant and blinding.

I thought I saw a figure silhouetted in the light, reaching towards me but when I reached for it…

I broke through the surface of the water gasping for air, reaching for the hand I knew would be there.

Harper's grip met mine and helped me up the bank. When she spoke, she sounded frantic.

"James." She said and I could hear the panic in her voice. "James say something. Are you alright?"

"Fine." I said with a cough and collapsing on to the ground trying to breathe.

Harper leaned over me, her glasses slipping a little, her expression anxious.

"How do you feel?"

I was snapped back to the present from my thoughts as I stepped through the door to the house and made my way automatically to the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter next to the sink automatically sorting the contents into their proper places within the pantry and the fridge.

"James is back." Said a familiar raspy voice, and I looked over my shoulder to see a tall, unmistakable figure with an open button up shirt over a scaly body, and glasses in front of worried eyes.

Even after so many years, it was still so odd to see a monster that was so painfully shy.

"Hi Lily." I said and she gave me a tentative smile. "How is Eugene?"

Her smiled widened.

"Oh he is very busy, studying and researching. I reorganized his notes for him and he was very happy. It coordinated with all the artifacts. So much easier to find things."

"That's very clever of you."

I heard a clattering from upstairs and the thunder of footsteps only to hear the familiar voice of a man shout.

"Lily! Lily you'll never believe it! I think I've finally had my break through!"

A middle aged man burst into the room, his light blue eyes wild behind round glasses, his dark beard, streaked with more gray than when I'd last seen him, almost quivering in excitement as he continued.

"I think I've finally cracked the way to track down one of the entrances into the library." He was holding a leather bound journal and seemed to be brought up short when he spotted me. "Oh, hello James."

"Hi, Eugene."

"I'm glad you're here." He said brightly. "You'll find this fascinating I'm sure. I think I've really got something here, Rose's testimony was all I needed to figure it out."

He thrust the journal towards me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he'd presented two entirely blank pages as a pretty nymph followed him into the room at a significantly calmer pace.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He asked his eyes sparking with excitement as I pretended to scan the pages.

"I'll check it out." I said closing the book and handing it back to him.

"Would you?" he asked enthusiastically. "I am so grateful my dear boy for all of your assistance. Imagine if we found the library, if we could have it reopened!"

I felt a surge of sympathy go through me as his words took on a wondrous quality, and his expression went far away, with an imagined reality he'd both never see or know had actually come to pass. Another ambition that would be discarded on the shores of the Styx when he eventually crossed it.

"I would go, but I've just got so much work to do. My research. Rose we simply must schedule another interview." He glanced at the nymph who nodded patiently, then at Lily and he positively beamed at her. "Lily, the new filing system is fantastic, instrumental to my findings. What would I do without you two?"

He continued to smile fondly at the girls for a moment, then opened the notebook again, eyes darting across the page as he muttered to himself.

It had taken a long time to find Eugene, an unfortunate demigod of a previous generation determined, like so many before him, to find the library of legend. He'd actually manage to stumble his way into it, and gotten out before Lucy and I had turned up, but the magic of the place and the escape from it had affected him, driven into a different reality that left him not quite mad, but not exactly sane either. By the time I'd finally tracked him down, he'd been committed to a psychiatric hospital in northern Europe.

Harper hadn't been sure we should interfere, but I had promised Lily I would help her find her friend and I wasn't intending to go back on it. In the end she'd agreed to help, but only reluctantly.

It had all worked out. Rose, who'd been stuck in the library along with Lucy, had needed somewhere to go. Exceedingly shy, she hadn't liked all the new visitors as the library had reopened, and Lily had always wanted to reunite with her friend. The girls took good care of him, and humored his eternal search, requiring only the occasional check in for things like groceries or Eugene's medications.

I reached into my back pocket and handed Rose the envelope Lucy had printed her name on which she eagerly accepted it, darting out of the room.

"The beans don't go there." Lily muttered fretfully, grabbing the can out of my hand and putting it on the bottom shelf, apparently no longer wanting them added to the top as its contents started with the letter B.

Looking at the pantry, I could see she'd reorganized it again. It looked as if she'd sorted the food by color this time.

Adjusting my frame work, I continued to put away the shopping, looking up when Rose skipped back into the room, handing me an envelope of her own with Lucy's name on it.

"I'll make sure she gets it."

She smiled and gave me a tentative pat on the arm before running out of the room again. Rose never talked much, at least not to men, but it looked as if she'd gotten comfortable enough around Eugene.

'Or maybe he'd interrogated his lamp.' I thought vaguely.

Whatever made him happy.

And he was happy. Lily and Rose were too. I didn't regret breaking Eugene out of the hospital. He really shouldn't have been there. Sure his mind wasn't completely there, but he was far more lucid than they realized. Just because the mortals didn't want to believe in gods and monsters, didn't mean they weren't real. At least he'd had the sense to make friends with some of them.

"How is Harper?" Lily asked hesitantly.

Lily liked Harper, even though the two hadn't met frequently, she'd come to the library a few times and in what had been a very difficult life, even for a monster, Harper had been one of the few demigods that had ever shown Lily kindness.

"Harper's good. She's getting married at some point."

"To the blonde boy?"

"Yeah that one." I said a bit amused as her expression pinched.

"He was not very friendly."

"Well, you are very intimidating Lily." I said and she looked pleased. "Maybe you frightened him."

"I am very scary." She said happily adjusting her spectacles and I grinned.

"So, tell me about this new organization system."

Lily launched into her method and her reasoning behind it as I finished putting away the last of the food, and followed me as I made a general inspection of the house, making sure everything was in order and nothing urgent needed fixing.

I spotted Eugene as usual in the study, reading and taking diligent notes while Rose listened to music in the dining area and drafted a response to Lucy's latest letter.

I didn't stay long much longer, and when I unlocked my phone to call Harper, I was surprised to see another set of coordinates in my messages.

Again, I sent them to Harper, but this time when I stepped back into the mortal world, there was no view of a metropolis, nor any window behind the desk in front of me.

The walls were bare, made of brushed metal, and built like a bunker.

"Right on schedule." Harper's father said standing.

"Where are we?" I asked looking around, a bit disoriented by the lack of context clues.

"Now, now," Landon said with a chiding tone. "Surely you of all people should know that."

"London?" I asked and he nodded.

"We found your friend." He said walking towards the door of the office and I followed him.

"Already?"

"I work quickly."

We stepped into the hall which was just as depressing as the office with no windows or seemingly any source of natural light.

"You'll want to stick by me." He said and I noticed there was a sentry at each door we passed, standing at rigid attention. "Otherwise, someone might ask why you obviously haven't gone through security, or how you got here. Not that I think you're all that worried about it, but it would make for less awkward questions for me."

"Fair enough." I said well aware of the eyes that were following me down the corridor.

I spotted Chase at a door at the end of the hall, but by his expression, you would have thought he hadn't even seen me.

"At ease, soldier." Landon said and Chase grinned before clapping his hand into mine and pulling me into a brief hug and slapping me on the back.

"Should have known you had something to do with this." He said with a smirk. "Weird orders, Harper's dad. What's going on dude?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." I said and he glanced automatically towards Landon, clearly looking for some sort of explanation but instead, Landon looked at me.

"You don't have a lot of time."

Chase opened the door, and I saw Alyssa sitting at a stark metal table with chairs to match and the second she saw me, rage entered her eyes.

The door clicked shut.

"You had me detained?" she snapped. "By the US military?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Oh we are waaaaaaay passed talking." She said sourly. "What the hell are you? How do you have these connections? I know your girlfriend's daddy is pretty important," she continued disparagingly. "But this seems excessive. Why's he doing your favors?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I said sitting across the table and her words were practically a growl.

"Try me."

I frowned. Alyssa, for what it was worth, had seen some pretty crazy things the last time I'd seen her. She was on to the fact that I traveled too quickly for a rational explanation, and while I didn't know how much of the sight she had, I knew she knew something wasn't right with me. Had seen what I could do.

"You really want to know?" I asked her.

"After the last time we saw each other, no." she said darkly. "I wanted to forget everything and for you the stay the hell away from me, but I can't really ignore it if you have me abducted."

"Yeah, well, if you'd left me alone when I'd told you to we wouldn't be in this mess. The more you know, the more danger you're in."

"I'm already in danger." She pointed out. "So you might as well tell me what the hell is going on. What I'm up against."

I frowned, ready to argue the matter, but honestly… she might have a point.

"Fine." I said and while her expression was still hard, her gaze was a little more satisfied. "I'll tell you what I am. I can't promise you'll believe it, but it is the truth. Only after you tell me what you know though."

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, her lips pressed together in a scowl of displeasure before saying.

"I don't know much." Her scowl deepened as she continued. "I'll admit, when I first took on your case, I ran into the same dead ends everyone else did. You're not an easy guy to find, but most people your mom contacted, they're ancient. Good references from a life time of standard PI work, but can't use technology to save their lives."

She hesitated.

"There's a page on the dark web, it tracks almost everything anyone can find about what happened to you, though it's mostly focused on your sister. Transcripts from school, photos from the internet, forums for theories or potential sightings. Places for people to discuss," she smirked. "Lots of people are curious what happened to the adorable little girl from London and her dodgy big brother that vanished when they were kids. Internet detectives, white knights, a few creeps." She grimaced. "A couple of hackers that managed to get things like the requests for psychiatric evaluation from Lucy's teachers. It's all posted there. I got to talking to a couple of the users there. Don't get your hopes up." She added when she caught my expression. "I don't know who they are, one's an admin, seems to run the account, the other seems to be working with him. At least I think it's a bloke. The second account is the one who always seems to be able to find you."

"And you don't know anything about either of them?"

"Not a clue." She said. "I just got a text whenever you were in the city. Always a different number, just a location, nothing else. The number is always disconnected by the time I'd try to text or call back."

"That's all you know?" I asked frowning.

"Everything." She said and I debated asking if she was sure, but Alyssa was a smart person, despite the mess she'd managed to get herself into.

At this point she had to know she was in too deep, that she needed help. She'd also probably figured out, that I was her best option. Most likely anyways. Which was probably the reason she wasn't currently trying to strangle me.

"I have your email." She said. "I can give you instructions on how to access the site, but I want a way to contact you quickly in return. I'm not going to give up my source just to get murdered in the process. I expect your help."

I handed her my phone.

"Text yourself."

She tapped the screen for a few second and slid the device back to me, before narrowing her eyes.

"So." She said as I put the phone back in my pocket. "What's wrong with you?" she smirked. "Did the Yank military figure out how to make a super soldier after all?" she tilted her head. "Odd choice if they did. You've got quite a nasty temper."

"My father is a god." I said standing. "I've been cursed, several times. It's why I'm so cranky."

I emphasized the word which caused a flash of irritation cross her features, and while I could tell she was skeptical by her gaze, she didn't quite look as if she didn't believe me.

I made to head towards the door, but she surprised me into halting as she said.

"I'm not saying I believe you."

I turned to look at her, and her expression was cautious, but there was something else to it… Maybe just a glimpse of understanding.

"But, supposing I did. Are you the only one? You know, that's like you?"

"No." I said shaking my head. "I'm not the only one. But, the others, they aren't like me."

"Not decimating entire city blocks?"

"Chase out there might try if you irritate him enough." I said frowning. "But I'm a bit unique."

She nodded, as if she understood and I was surprised to think that maybe she did.

Whether or not that was a good thing, I wasn't certain. The more Alyssa knew, the more danger she would be in, and being a mortal, admittedly a tough one, she wasn't exactly equipped to deal with monsters all the time. Now that she was aware of them, she'd certainly see them more often.

But maybe she was right. Maybe she was already too far in at this point. Now all she could do is prepare.

"That number is for emergencies by the way." I said frowning. "I don't want you blowing up my phone, pestering me about all your cases."

She let out a snort of indignation.

"I found you, didn't I?" she said sounded highly offended. "I'm good at my job. As if I'd need your help."

"Too good." I said irritably, turning back to the door, but again, she stopped me in my tracks as she asked.

"Would you actually come?"

I looked back at her.

"What?"

"If I called you." she said frowning. "If I needed help."

I hesitated, not liking the uncertainty in her tone. It was clear she had doubts about the situation, and considering how little she trusted me, I wasn't sure anything I said no would convince her of anything really.

"Yes." I said eventually and while her expression was still a little suspicious, I could tell she was relieved.

"Your sister, Lucy." She continued. "Is she like you?"

"No." I said shaking my head. "She's like you, but she sees the world for how it really is. Better than you do, in fact."

"So she isn't mad." She said softly, more to herself than to me and I felt a prickle of anger go through me. "She never was."

"No." I repeated stiffly, biting back a rude retort. It wouldn't help.

"And your friend?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, annoyed at the interrogation.

"I'm asking the questions here."

"Spare me the paranoia Albright." She said rolling her eyes. "I'm a nuisance to you at best and we both know it. I'm hardly a threat."

"Harper is… unique as well." I said cautiously. "Not in the same way, but unique. I'd recommend you go looking for answers about her even less than I would for me."

"Message received." She said with a nod.

"I'd lay low over the next few months if I were you." I said. "If you're lucky, my world might forget about you if you stop asking questions."

"And if it doesn't?" she asked.

"Then you'll be very unlucky." I said significantly. "But you at least have me to call this time around."

She nodded, but didn't say anything else, and finally, I was able to exit the room.

I nodded to Chase who shot me a curious expression which I ignored and looked at Landon, glancing around at the hall. Guards standing outside reinforced metal doors and concrete walls had me thinking this place could probably survive a nuclear blast.

"A bit intense for a book tour." I said dryly and he grinned.

"You don't honestly believe that story, do you?" he asked. "You're a smart man James. I'd thought we'd abandoned this pretense between us?"

"No I didn't, and no we haven't." I said stiffly, giving Chase a grateful clap on his shoulder, and following Harper's farther down the hall. "So don't tell me anything more. I'll have to tell Harper."

"James-" he said, as if he thought I was being unreasonable.

"I will, Landon. Don't think I won't."

I hadn't outright told Harper about my suspicions her father hadn't completely left the military, even if his efforts had been shifted to what I assumed was most likely the intelligence aspect of it. So far, I'd hinted, which she seemed determined not to notice. Their relationship had taken a long time to heal after she'd left home, and I had a feeling, practical as she was, Harper didn't want to believe her father had continued lying to her after everything that had happened.

And maybe that was why her father liked me better than he liked Ashton. I understood him better, what it was like to live a double life. To constantly be presenting yourself as one person while operating on a completely separate agenda.

I hadn't blown his cover, primarily because of what it would do to Harper, limiting myself to minor dubious comments about some of his stories, but an outright admission of his duplicity would be something I couldn't ignore. And I didn't want to be the one to knock over the house of cards Harper and her father had built in an attempt to fix the problems between them.

Deep down, I figured she, like me, probably knew. But as long as it wasn't looked at too closely, no one slipped and said too much, we could all just go on pretending. For everyone's sake.

"Very well." He said quietly.

When I made it back to the library, I saw Lucy was waiting eagerly by the doors, no doubt excited for her letter and pelted me with questions about the welfare of the girls and Eugene, determined to know that her friends were alright.

"They're fine, Luce." I said in exasperation as she questioned if I'd remembered to pick up Eugene's blood pressure medication from the pharmacy. "Go read your letter. I'm sure Rose can answer for herself much better than I can."

She stuck her tongue out at me, but walked off to her room and I sighed, flopping down on the couch in the living area, grabbing my laptop off the cushion next to me and unlocking it.

I'd only just made it to the account screen of the banking website when Libby's door opened and her head poked out of the room.

"I thought I heard voices." She said a set of head phones dangling from one ear.

She stepped through the door.

"Where have you been all day?"

"New York." I said and clarified when I saw her expression. "The city. Not camp."

"I was going to say." She said scratching the back of her head a little awkwardly. "I thought I would have run into you. Harper said you had somethings you had to do today."

Her eyes darted towards the screen of my laptop and went a bit wider as she laughed as she saw the numbers on the page.

"Holy Hera, you must have gotten a good price for all those pearls Poseidon gave Harper."

"I'm a skilled negotiator." I said shutting the lid of the device, electing not to mention that the account was not one attached to the library.

"I should say so." She said grinning. "Lucy told me you kept track of the finances around here, but I thought you were taking a personal day?"

"Sort of." I said and a flash of curiosity darted across her eyes, and while she refrained from asking about it, I could see the struggle it was causing within her. "You're dying to know what I was up to, aren't you?"

"Not dying." She muttered her cheeks flushing a little and I grinned.

I thought it would be awkward to be around Libby after my argument with Harper. Having spent most of the day thinking about it, I'd realized that despite the fact she'd apologized, I couldn't deny that she might have a bit of point. I'd told myself I needed to create some distance with Libby. Not to continue to spend so much time with her, to try and course correct so that our relationship while still friendly, went back to something close to 'professional'. Whatever that meant around somewhere like this.

But of course Libby hadn't been there to hear the argument. To her, it would seem like nothing had changed and I found myself falling into the same trap I'd found myself in before. She was too easy to talk to. Too easy to be around. She wanted to be friends. And no matter how stupid I knew it was, how dangerous it could be for her, I just couldn't help myself.

I liked her too much. Being around her too much. Especially when I knew that at the end of the summer, it was all coming to an end.

I pushed the thought away and looked at her.

"It wasn't all that exciting." I assured her. "Just errands."

"Walking Cerberus?" she asked playfully and I scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. That dog gets enough exercise chasing spirits around the Underworld."

She laughed and flopped down on the couch next to me leading me to feel an odd mix of anxiety and satisfaction.

'Gods you're a mess James.' I thought irritated, but again, not quite able to make myself regret it.

"What have you been up to?" I asked her and she frowned.

"Trying to work out a scheduling system for visitors."

"That's ambitious off you."

"You guys didn't tell me Medusa was coming in next week." She said frowning at me.

"You'll be at the clinic that day." I pointed out and she made a motion as if to concede I had a point.

"I can't believe Harper's letting her visit." Libby said her frown deepening. "She hates Athena."

"Harper lets almost anyone visit as long as they don't cause any trouble." I said with a shrug. "I don't think she sees it as a conflict of interest. Medusa's grudge is personal. It has nothing to do with the library."

"She's a daughter of Athena."

"I think most people in the mythological world know our ties to Olympus here aren't all that cut and dry." I said and she seemed to think on this.

"How often do you guys let major monsters like her roam around the library?"

"It depends." I said with a sigh. "Not very often, most of the time we don't have to shut down the library as long as we don't expect a fight, but as you know Medusa is a special case. We don't want any accidents."

"You don't think she'll be a problem?"

"She hasn't been before." I said. "And I've killed her. More than once."

Her lip quirked up at this, no doubt to the odd nature of the comment.

Before she could respond however, the door to the living area opened and Harper stepped into the room.

"Good, you're both here." She said as if she hadn't already known this when heading this way. "Make sure you guys pack tonight. I want to leave early in the morning."

"Leave?" Libby asked curiously.

Harper nodded.

"We still have to check out what's going on down in South America and you're off from the clinic until next week. I want to head out before anything else happens to delay us."

I felt a flash of anxiety go through me at the thought of either Libby or Harper running into whatever I had down there, but forced it down.

Both girls were tough, experienced fighters. If anything, it might be good to have their help. We didn't know what we were up against.

"Alright." Libby said brightly, clearly excited by the news. "I've never been out of the country before."

"This isn't a vacation Libby." Harper said reprovingly but as always, Libby's cheerfulness was undeterred.

"I know." She said with a shrug. "But still."

I could tell Harper was debating arguing the point but clearly decided to let it go and looked at me.

"Are you good to go for tomorrow?"

I grinned.

"You know me, I'm always ready for a little excitement."

"Too ready." She said narrowing her eyes at me before continuing briskly. "But in this case, it works out. I want to get this done, especially after what happened with the hunters."

"You think it's related?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think we should overlook the possibility. And it will help to have a fresh set of eyes on the situation, especially one so familiar with monsters."

She nodded to Libby, who I could tell was surprised, but pleased that Harper clearly considered her an authority, even if she was trying not to show it.

It was at this point Lucy's door opened.

"If you all are off chasing monsters tomorrow I vote we move up movie night." She said frowning. "It's gonna seriously ruin 'Tangled' if one of you has been eaten."

Libby laughed at this while Harper, who didn't seem to have any objections made a noise of ascent.

"Great. I'll start getting snacks ready."

She smiled and jogged over to the popcorn maker while Harper wandered off to get changed.

I stood, about to do the same when I spotted Libby staring at something passed me. When I turned to look at it, I saw that it was the map that had taken over the opposite wall.

"What's up?" I asked glancing back at her and she blinked.

"Oh, nothing." She said shaking her head, looking a little dazed. "It's just… you all have been so many places."

She blushed again and nervously wound a strand of her light hair around a finger.

"I really haven't been anywhere. It makes me feel kind of lame."

I glanced back at the map, at all the notes and trinkets pinned to it, and I found myself wondering if Libby would like traveling as much as Lucy and I had growing up.

I was sure she would. Libby had the ability to get along with almost anyone, and was just generally content no matter where she was.

"Well." I said frowning. "If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?"

"I dunno," she admitted also standing and walking towards the map as Lucy rushed by, no doubt headed to the kitchen. "Lots of places."

Her eyes darted down and to the left.

"Brazil would be cool."

"Well there you have it," I said encouragingly and joining her in front of the wall, standing in front of the Atlantic. "That's your first stop." I gestured north. "And we still have to make it to Canada to annoy the griffins."

"Seattle?" she suggested playfully.

"Naturally." I said with a grin and it was returned. "Where else would you want to go? Australia? They've got some pretty cool wild life down there."

"Africa too." She said wistfully and unable to help myself, I pictured how happy Libby would be, trundling around the savannah, looking for things like lions and elephants, trying to take notes on movements zebras and snacking habits of hippos.

She'd love it and a part of me, a very powerful part, wanted to make it a reality for her.

I knew I could. Harper would be irritated, she'd tell me it was a stupid idea and I knew it was, she would do it, however, if I asked. But how much danger would that be? If Libby was out in the mortal world and always around me? And how much harder would that make it to let her go when I finally had to?

"Maybe we could do a couple of excursions." I said telling myself that it could only be a couple, a few at the very most, and they'd have to be spaced out.

"You think?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, I did say I would help you with your insane safari idea." I reminded her and she sighed.

"I know." She muttered rubbing her temple. "With everything going on we've been so busy. I haven't been even able to think about that recently."

"Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon." I said. "With your help we're getting a lot more done and Harper's on break."

"Provided we don't get eaten tomorrow." She added and I laughed.

"Exactly."

She hesitated for a moment.

"Should I be worried?" she asked and I looked at her. "I mean, I know you're tough, but things have been kind of crazy lately and if we are up against some insane hybrid thing, well, that's not exactly a typical monster fight, is it?"

"No." I said shaking my head. "Harper and I won't let anything happen to you Libby."

"And what about you and Harper?" she asked skeptically. "Should I be expecting to patch you two up?"

"That I'm not sure about." I admitted and she smiled, seemingly in spite of herself.

"Situation normal I suppose."

Harper and Lucy walked back into the room arms filled with snacks, Lucy already singing along to the movie's soundtrack.

"We'd better change before we get yelled at." I said and Libby grinned, no doubt familiar enough with my sister at this point to know it was true.

I grabbed t shirt and pair of sweats and made my way back to the living room to see Libby was already in her usual spot in the center of the couch next to Lucy, Harper texting on the opposite side.

I sat between the girls as the movie started to play, Libby offering me a bowl of popcorn.

As the opening scene started, I glanced at the girls, realizing not too long ago, I probably would have thought of the evening as mostly boring, but done it for Lucy's sake.

But as the opening number started with both Lucy and Libby belting along, and even Harper adding a line every once and a while, I realized sitting there with my sister, my best friend, and Libby was something I could have gotten very used to.

It made it all the more difficult to know it was going to end.

But I didn't have to think about that right now...

Instead I leaned back, resting my arms along the back of the couch surprised when something the male character said made me laugh.

I glanced at Harper and poked her in the back of the head.

"No phones Brainiac."

She rolled her eyes but put it away grabbing a handful of the gummy bears she and her brother loved so much, and I frowned, thinking of her father.

"Harper." I said quietly, feeling guiltily. "You know your dad-"

"I know, James." She said her eyes fixed on the screen. "I'm not stupid."

She glanced at me.

"I'm pretty sure Charlie does too. It's just easier to pretend."

I nodded, surprised when she offered me the bag of candy. These were Harper's favorite. She never shared.

Maybe it was a peace offering. After our argument last night, and perhaps and appreciation that I had tried to tell her about her dad.

"Thanks." I said taking a few making sure they were her least favorite flavor and turning back to the movie.

Tomorrow, we might have a dangerous monster we had to contend with, I still had to track down whoever was feeding Alyssa information, and each day we were inching closer towards the end of the summer when Libby would be leaving.

But for now things were ok.

I ate one of the gummy bears and glanced at my sister and Libby who were both laughing at the movie, looking for all the world, as close of friends as Ashton and Charlie, or Harper and I and I couldn't help but think that right now, things were better than just ok.

They were perfect.