-Amos Kane-

Those gold eyes were searing into my soul. Or it could have been the dagger, I wasn't sure anymore. Why was his gaze able to keep my attention like this? It's troubling how unfocused I am on everything else going on.

Someone screamed, but I couldn't understand it. Wait, Melissa was fighting him earlier. I'm trying to latch on to something to think about, but it's a struggle, and quickly flutters away as I can barely register a grin on his face now.

"Thank you, General, for allowing my victory. I'll send your false Pharaoh with you."

False Pharaoh? Carter, why did I just struggle to remember his name? Kid, he's got you under a spell right now. That's not my typical inner monologue.

No, keep talking with me, Amos.

Yes, that's your name.

I blink and realize Theo's gaze doesn't have me in some weird trance anymore. But Holy Ra, I still can't get myself to process anything over this burning feeling. Moving made my side scream at me, and my head rings as I tell myself it was not worth moving.

Clay boy, oh hell it's Set that's been talking at me. Finally, now lower your guard with me.

I'm not entirely sure what he means by that, but he seemed like he was able to move. I immediately scream to the surge of pain along the side the dagger had entered. There's a glint of something covered in blood that enters the corner of my vision before it blurs.

Don't pass out, you've been through worse. Set's chiding does nothing to help my nerves screaming at me but I'm unable to do anything about it. I need you to stay conscious, sorry.

I close my eyes, feeling miserable all over. I remember this feeling before, but it was slower-paced than this. The god taking over was relishing in this misery too, forcing me to keep conscious despite the fact that I was wishing for an end.

No, kid, come on. Stay in the present.

I plea to the god to just let me die. Anything to just make it stop.

Amos! My tormentor is pissed now, I shrink at the thought of what's to come next. Angering him only made things that much worse. Damnit Kane, I'm trying to save you!

The pain along my side suddenly intensified five times over. I scream, crying for him to stop, that I'd comply if he would just give me something of a break. I'm sorry, I can't do that. You'll bleed out otherwise.

"Amos?" The female voice sounds off from the outside of my prison. "Shit, okay. I'm getting us out of here."

That's Mel. Snap out of it.

I try to speak, try and keep her away. The last thing we need is for more magicians to die at Set's hands. I can't get myself to move, feeling numb all over. You're in shock. And freaking out again. Hold on…

I suddenly find myself in my brother's house in Los Angles. It's a nice summer evening, the sun beaming in through the windows thanks to the curtains being pulled to the side. The house is a slight mess from the way Ruby typically keeps things. Julius was never much of a housekeeper anyway.

I was here to meet my nephew. I remember how adorable he looked in his mother's arms. I was kind of shocked he took on more like his dad. The last thing we needed was yet another Kane boy with the potential of causing turmoil. Ruby laughed at the statement, Julius crossing his arms in annoyance.

I greeted myself, the word 'uncle' tasting so foreign as I say it. They named him Carter. "After Howard Carter." Absolutely a name choice by the sister-in-law.

Julius pulled me into the kitchen. Offering a glass of lemonade, I hesitate to mention what I dug up concerning two Bloods of the Pharaoh's intermingling. "Carter is going to be more powerful than we are."

Julius nods before chugging down the rest of his glass, setting it down before facing me again. "I'm not introducing him to the House."

I take a moment to process his expression, just to find that he is certain about this decision. "How are you going to explain any sudden spells that he manages-"

"We'll figure it out as it happens," is my older brother's annoyed response. "I already had this talk with Desjardins. The Per Ankh is concerned about his existence already."

I eye-roll at that. All Per Ankh cares for is that the few higher up on the power ladder stay there. Any threat to that seems to lead to most of our internal affairs. Julius and I both are fully aware of it, having jumped several rungs up said ladder.

"I don't think pretending the House doesn't exist is going to help you," I voice.

"I don't want my son getting involved in their political bullshit. Amos, I don't even want you involved, but I know you're going to do whatever without my opinion anyway."

"You already limited what they allow me to do," I remind again. I guess it had helped his case that Michel was spooked finding that someone had information on me that most people didn't have access to.

"For good reason, showing up bruised to hell with cuts and burns isn't a sign that you were even safe that time," Julius is quick to remind.

"Like we haven't been in worse situations or anything," I mutter to him.

"Exactly why I won't be letting him know anything about the House of Life, Amos. I'm not going to be like our father."

I drink the rest of my glass down. Because while we both know he won't, I understand his stance. "Do you wish I keep away then?"

"Far from what I just said, Amos," Julius scorns immediately at the thought. "If the Per Ankh ever tells you to do such a thing, you tell me about it. I might set Michel's garden on fire when it happens too."

"That's a bit of a reaction," I point out, smiling at him.

"I'm two hundred percent serious when I say that," Julius isn't finding it funny that he's hit his aggressive ways as much as I am. "If they tell you to step away from your family, Amos? I expect you to tell them to fuck off."

"Understood, you want me to tell Chief Lector Iskandar to fuck off and move in with you."

"Sorry, I would be helping you find an apartment," Julius corrects immediately. "But I doubt they would remove you from the warehouse when your name is on it."

I raise an eyebrow at that, and Julius sighs. "Okay, the move-in would still only be temporary."

"I could be the cool uncle that babysits Carter for free."

"You already have that role."

"You're going to trust me with your son? Alone?"

"Shut up."

"…Just please talk to me, I need to know you're still alive back there."

I take a moment to process that was a feminine voice, Julius had poured himself another glass of lemonade rather than recognize the plea that had sounded off. I look around, but I know that wasn't Ruby talking. There's no one else standing in their kitchen.

It's Mel.

The kitchen dissolved, and I feel miserable all over again. My head is pounding, I'm pretty sure I have the worst fever happening. My side screams at me whenever I even slightly forget about it. It takes too long to recognize I'm lying on my back against something more forgiving than earlier.

"Amos, come on buddy," sounds from my left. Right, Mel.

I swallow and attempt to say something, but I'm only able to groan in a complaint about how I'm feeling.

"I know, he got you good. Quick thinking cauterizing. We'll have someone look you over in a few minutes. I just need you to stay with me, okay?" She's panicking. That's a tone I haven't heard from her before.

Can't blame her, you're a fucking mess.

I'm confused by this, but it hits like a whirlwind just as fast. Theo attacked. He's the one Sadie was trying to warn me about. That wasn't a god either. Mel had every right to not trust him in the end, and I was being stupid and not hearing her concerns. Yet something about his gaze had a hold on me.

Not a god, but knew too much about the Per Ankh for being a Roman. The obvious multi-language threats painted on the walls? What the fuck did we just come face to face with? Nothing is snapping into place for me immediately.

My mouth tastes of blood, and thinking hurts. But I push myself to keep searching. There's a reason those eyes seemed familiar. Was it something from Set's end? I don't think it is, I don't feel like his gaze would have such a hold on me if that was the case, right? This was personal more than anything else.

I push that aside for now. There was more to Sadie's vision, wasn't there? Oh, yeah, Jaz being warned about Anat coming back. For a while, I was assuming I was going to be face to face with another god angry with my hosting of Set. Who could have guessed that forcing the god of chaos to come back to siding with Egypt would be so traumatizing for them?

"Amos?" Mel's voice snaps me back into the painful situation I'm in.

Right, I'm being kind of an asshole not confirming I'm still alive. I take a breath, coughing immediately. Once I calm down, I process that I am coughing blood up now that it's all I can taste. Shit, am I going out like this?

"Hey, you remember that time that Caroline insisted we check out the guy that was selling rocks at his stand? And it turned out he was just chunking pieces of sandstone and painting them grey to make it seem like it came from his trip in-"

Caroline? I freeze as I remember her smile, the way her eyes lit up upon meeting our eyes. I struggle a breath, hanging on to that piece of enlightenment that just hit. Daughter of Cleopatra. Are they related? How farfetched is it? And why would he want information on the House so badly?

I enter another coughing fit, heaving to catch my breath which just strains my injury more. Theo wanted information on Iskandar, specifically. Seemed disappointed he had passed into Aaru.

It's Caesarion. Set confirms what I wish wasn't possible.

I handed over so much information. Mel was right, I shouldn't have trusted him. I told him about Carter and Sadie. And he was invested, considering my nephew is the current Pharaoh of the House. He threatened his safety too.

I need to warn them. I fucked up again. I swallow down the blood pooling in the back of my throat. Speaking is interrupted between coughing fits. I just hope what I'm saying makes any kind of sense. I fear it's not, considering the confused responses I got at first from Mel.

I try again, but I'm not sure what I'm saying at this point. My head hurts, it hurts to breathe. I'm so fucking tired.

Amos, don't do it, kid. You're almost there.

I just need to rest.

I'm met with hesitation from Set. Alright. Rest well warrior, you've deserved it. He sounds mournful saying it.

I take a breath, and the pain fades out. Finally, I needed a break.


-Melissa Whittaker-

I wait for them to disperse, leaving the San Fransico Nome Leader glaring at me. "I don't care if you got orders from my grandmother. My nome will not be treated as a base for your military campaign!"

I roll my eyes and pull a chair out from under his dining table to sit across from the chair my men had forced him into. Kurtz's eyes are an icy blue settling on me. I should have known he would cause a scene, though I had hoped he would have been on our side of things.

I sigh and pull the knife out, letting it settle on the table between us so he can take it in. "Any idea what that is?" I ask him calmly.

"You threatening me?" Sebastian scowls at the concept.

I scoff at the idea. "Kurtz, I want us to get on the same page here. I'm not about to threaten you."

His eyes narrow, not wanting to trust me for some reason. I move my eyes to settle on the weapon again, and anger settles in before I explain. "That's the knife that killed Amos Kane. I found it in the dirt next to him. He had managed to pull it out and cauterize himself, but that was about it."

His childhood friend turns his gaze down, swallowing as he processes the information I just gave. I get it, the image of him screaming for the pain to stop is firmly seared into my brain. I haven't wanted to show anyone this weapon.

I had retrieved it in hopes of puzzling out what was happening to our General. I ended up just cleaning blood and dirt off of it instead. The gold shining under all the grime had only pissed me off further. Taking down our most powerful magician with some stupid rich boy's dagger?

"I think you did it," I'm alarmed as I face Sebastian, who is allowing himself to take in the weapon. "You dug into what happened to Caroline. Didn't like what you heard, so you decided to kill him."

I need a moment to process that. "I'm hurt you would think that low of me," I barely manage to say, upset by the accusation made. "Caroline was my sister, but Amos was still a friend of mine."

"No, you're a selfish bitch that wanted answers. I know you took him to that fucking museum, Mel. If you gave a shit, you wouldn't have done it!"

He must have tracked us. I huff, but he has a good point for accusing me I suppose. "You're right, I didn't listen, took him there. He freaked out, which if you were stalking us you know about too. I learned my lesson immediately. We talked about it later that night, and I was surprised that he even wanted to."

"Didn't like what you heard, killed him. Turn around and accuse the Romans of it to cover your ass."

"You're out to paint me as the bad guy here?" I ask.

There's the glare again. I sigh and sheath the dagger again, putting it away. "Our Pharaoh instructed me to utilize this nome to base our attack with."

"Then turn around and tell him to fuck off with his war. I want no part in it. Our nome suffered losses from the Lord of Chaos emerging, we have no one to spare here."

I spread my hands in mild defeat. "I will not request men from you, Kurtz, if that is how you feel. The nome is, however, Per Ankh property. I'm following our Pharaoh's orders."

"No," the man is furious with me. "You will all walk off my property. If the Romans find you are basing here, my nome gets involved. You'll find somewhere else to go because you don't want me to present what I know to Amos' nephew."

I give him a testing look now. Clearly, he's been against the idea of fighting the Romans, why hadn't he left with Starr then? Must have been waiting for more evidence to mark me as a suspect. "Blackmailing, that is not the sign of a newly promoted Nome Leader." I point out.

"I still am, I've just taken notes when it concerned what everyone has resorted to."

"I suppose I will have to take the risk. We cannot afford to scout a new place to base from. And we really cannot afford the idea of a Nome Leader against our values in our base."

I snap my fingers, and the men from earlier enter the dining room again. "I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Restrain him, and notify Pharaoh. We'll look to put Kurtz before him tomorrow."

"The faster the better," Sebastian sneers as they wrap him with a Ribbons of Hathor before escorting him out.

"I'm doing as instructed, Kurtz. Respecting Kane's death, I thought you would understand. You are still allowed to second guess what I've witnessed and present as much to Pharaoh, I will not restrict you from that."

"Trying to play him off as a martyr is disgusting Whittaker. Removing me from my nome will look even worse. Trevor was right, Jabari would have loved you!"

I'm glaring at the door they had dragged him out of before slamming it closed. "Sorry Amos, I truly thought he was understanding on the matter."

He was just a speed bump. You made the right call to remove him.

I hope so, I just risked my position with altered news Kurtz would like to present to Carter concerning his uncle. And why do they keep wanting to compare me to Jabari Kane? I'm only filling the position Kyra Teal turned down. Because someone needs to be able to do the dirty work.


-Jason Grace-

I was surprised to find Percy Jackson in the middle of Camp Jupiter. He hadn't made it known he planned to visit, and no one had warned me before seeing him that he was even here. Let alone the fact that he pulled me right into the nearest maintenance closet. I'm finally able to express something to the stunned annoyance I have as he closed the door.

"The least you can do is ask how I'm doing?" I start with my grievance.

"Do you know what is going on?" Percy starts, sounding pissed off himself. "Why didn't any of you pick up my Iris calls?"

I perk up to that. "I didn't know you were trying to contact us?" I start.

"Not okay," he snarls in response.

"I would have picked up, Percy. I just never was shown you were trying to contact me."

Percy's blue eyes are glaring before he relaxes. "Carter has been trying to reach you guys for a whole month now. None of you have responded at all. He's decided to prepare for a fight with all of you. You know his uncle is missing, right?"

I nod to that. "Yeah, I've been working with his Chief Architect on that. I've given all the information I have on the situation. Even took pictures of the threats that were plastered on the walls."

Percy gives a confused look on his face, so I try to catch him up. "The Russian woman that had a problem with all of us? She's been meeting with me to talk about all of this. I have a suspect, but he's well respected here-"

Percy raises his left hand to stop me. "None of you have been getting Iris's messages? That must mean someone is blocking it, right?"

I take a heavy breath as I process that. "Maybe? No one here has made a complaint on the matter though?"

Percy goes to try to communicate with his girlfriend. Nothing comes from the request. He tries Chiron next, and still no response. He tries four others, and I pale as I process the obvious block happening.

"Jason, Carter is about to start a war with your camp because no one has responded to him. He asked me two days ago if we would assist." Percy seems at least concerned about the matter rather than pissed off. "You need to update me on what has been going on here."

"War?" I freeze as I process the idea of that. And here I thought the Menshikov woman was sent by Carter himself. The last thing I want is to face Egypt because they don't know where their General of Armies is.

"I told him Camp Half-Blood is staying neutral." Percy continues without needing me to ask. "We need to reach Carter, tell him what is going on over here. He thinks your camp killed his uncle."