Chapter 25: I Bless Egypt With My Presence
Amara had been a magician at the First Nome for as long as she could remember. She had been born on the outskirts of Cairo, and remembered playing by the river as her parents introduced her to magic. That had been over twenty years ago, and she had lost both of them in the battle against Apophis. She remembered the weeks she spent crying on the banks of the river, wishing and praying that she would get the chance to see her parents again.
That was the state that Carter Kane found her in. A broken little girl, with no home and no family, but the legacy of parents who had sacrificed everything to save the world, and that was all that mattered to Carter. He took her into the House of Life, made her one of his apprentices, and helped teach her the magic that her parents had first introduced her to. He watched her grow from a scared little girl into a confident magician, and one of the strongest produced under his reign as Pharaoh. All the while, she got to watch him grow from a new king, lacking confidence in his conviction, to the leader of a nation, experienced and humbled by the enormity of the task before him.
When she had heard that there were forces conspiring against him, she had dismissed them as little more than a couple jealous rookies. Yes, Sadie Kane had been well respected as Chief Lector, but Zia Rashid had also been a key part of their victory over Chaos. The transition should have been smooth, and it shouldn't have rocked the boat the way it seemed to. Rumours had been swirling around the First Nome for weeks that an attack may come, that they were just waiting for a decisive shift in their favour to attack, but when she was woken up to the sounds of explosions she thought she was dreaming.
But as she stepped out of her house and looked across the skyline of the First Nome, it was not a dream, but a nightmare come to life. She knew it was near the crack of dawn, but the brightest light in the underground city were the flames alight near the entrance, as hundreds of enemy magicians had poured into the city, filling the enormous cavern with their war cries.
"Amara!" A voice called, and she turned to see one of the Pharaohs guards sprinting up the steps towards her front door, "The Pharaoh has summoned you to battle. They need you on the front."
When she finally got to the front, the situation was worse than anyone would have predicted. Enemy magicians were going toe-to-toe with the magician of the First Nome, but the major difference was a group she had never seen before. They wore armour emblazoned with symbols of a language she didn't recognise, but they fought like they had emerged straight from hell. One of them was worth five magicians alone, and using these forces as a vanguard the rebel forces were smashing through the defences and pushing into their heart of the city. The "front" she had been told to go to was now a massive courtyard in the middle of the city.
She felt her fathers amulet pulse rapidly, indicating that she was in danger, but she could already tell that by the swarm of enemies making their way in her direction. She summoned her staff from the Duat and yelled out a rallying cry, "For the Pharaoh!"
The magicians around her matched her cry, and together they drove towards the rebel forces. She was a specialist in ice magic, and as rebels let loose a torrent of flames toward them she summoned a blizzard to batter it back. When it came to combat magic, she was amongst the best fighters the House of Life had to offer, but the forces she didn't recognise didn't use magic to fight, and they charged her down with swords and spears. She rolled away from one, before finding herself locked in combat with another. They were faster than any warrior she had seen before, and instead of actually fighting she spent most of her time avoiding getting impaled. When she fired a torrent of icicles at them it simply bounced off their armour, and when she slipped up on her retreat she could only look on in horror as the figure prepared to bring his spear down upon her.
Before they could though, a Duat portal opened in the centre of the battlefield, and from it emerged a figure Amara could only describe as a god. The figure rode into battle atop a crocodile, and on his back was a screaming baboon. He was decked in armour seemingly formed from ice, and the reflection of the fire on it made it appear to glow. In his right he held a foreign-looking sword, and in his left he hefted a shield bearing the symbol of the House of Kane. As he emerged he thundered, "WHERE IS SHE?" at the rebel forces, and when none answered his question he drove the crocodile into their forces, sending them scattering.
Almost as soon as he arrived though, a second crocodile burst through the portal. This one was even larger than the first, and was a pure white albino. On its back were two figures that were far less god-like in appearance, but no less threatening. The larger figure, a man, brandished two large knives, and hollered "For Ares!" leaping into the fray and taking on two of the foreign fighters at once, driving them back with fury. The second figure, a young girl, seemed less keen to jump into battle, and instead gripped the crocodile for dear life as it began charging the rebel forces.
Their entrance into the battle shifted the tide immediately. The two crocodiles caused the opposing forces to scatter, and with her opponent distracted she seized the opportunity to escape towards her allies. From a distance she watched as the armoured figure leapt from the back of the crocodile, reaching heights that seemed to defy human capabilities, and slammed into the ground below. The earth itself seemed to shake upon his arrival, and when he rose the enemy began to circle him, cautious of this figure who had appeared to emerge from the void.
"Where did she take them?" his voice boomed across the battlefield, his voice heavy with both rage and authority.
The foreign forces, the vanguard of the rebels' assault, charged him instead of answering. Whereas each of those fighters had been worth five magicians, seemingly unstoppable in their frenzy, the man made them look like amateurs. He weaved through them with the kind of speed and grace that Amara had never seen before in a fighter. His sword seemed to be in three places at once, always ready with the next parry and always in the midst of its next swing. Any blow the fighters could get past the sword bounced harmless off the enormous shield that the man wielded as though it were a toy. And on the few occasions they got past both the sword and the shield, their weapons clattered harmlessly off of the armour. He was an army unto himself, and the focus of the battle was now firmly on him.
She was knocked out of her stupor when the albino crocodile flew past them and the girl atop it screamed, "Are you just gonna stand there?"
She shook off her surprise at the turn of events and called back to the other magicians, "Turn the tide!"
The Pharaohs forces reentered the fray with renewed vigour, and alongside their unexpected allies they began to drive the rebel forces back across the courtyard. She made her way over to the ice warrior as quickly as she could, determined to help the saviour of the battle. As she neared him though a rebel magician fired a torrent of flames straight at him, sending him flying into the nearest building. As he staggered out of the wreckage his breastplate was in the process of melting off of him. He simply ripped it off and dove back into the battle, appearing to be unfazed by the blast of magic that would have gotten the better of even some of the more experienced magicians. One of the rebel magicians swung at his exposed chest with a dagger, and it opened a small cut on his chest, but when one of the foreign fighters tried to impale him with a spear, it simply bounced off, reaffirming Amaras belief that Carter had summoned a god to turn the tide of the battle.
Determined to help, she raised her staff and willed a blizzard into reality, sending shards of ice hurtling towards the rebel forces surrounding the man. It had the intended effect, causing them to take a few steps back, but what surprised her more was when the man dropped his shield and raised his hand. The shards of ice paused in the midst of their attack, and before her eyes she watched as they melted into water and flew towards the man. The water condensed around where the breastplate had been, and froze once more, reforming the armour as good as new. The man picked the shield back up and charged back into the line of enemies.
One of the fighters had turned their attention towards her though, and charged her down brandishing their sword. She blocked the initial swing with her staff but had to roll away from the follow-up. She had been prepared for magicians, not soldiers. She staggered backwards but saw the fighter looking at something over her shoulder. She had just enough time to feel her amulet pulse before she was knocked to the side as the albino crocodile surged past her and sent the fighter flying into the side of a building.
"These things are like tanks!" The young girl atop it screamed, "This is so fun!"
Between the god-like warrior, the giggling girl, and the enormous crocodiles, Amara was completely lost as to where these people had come from, but she was glad they were on her side. The other man that was with them joined the battle alongside the god, covering his back and driving the last of the fighters out of the courtyard, allowing the magicians of the First Nome to begin to establish some preliminary defences. Some rushed on, keen to press their advantage, but as she went to join them an arm blocked her path.
She looked up to see the armoured god looking down at her. Now that she was close enough, she could see under his helmet that glowing eyes of icy blue were staring back at her. When he spoke, his accent was American, "I need you to take me to Carter Kane."
Percy wasn't entirely sure who the girl was, but she could summon ice and that was good enough for him. The crocodiles hurried up to him, Scarlett giggling on top of Phillip.
"We should do that again!" She yelled with glee.
"These things are like tanks!" Axel exclaimed, patting Phillip on the head, "No offence to the Egyptians but they fight like trash compared to the Annunaki fighters."
"They just weren't prepared for close combat," Percy noted, glancing down at the Egyptian girl in front of him, "I'm guessing you assumed it would be magician on magician?"
The girl, seemingly in a state of disbelief, nodded her head dumbly.
"I guess that was what Elijah was banking on," Percy muttered.
Axel frowned, crossing his arms, "If he is their contender for Pharaoh he will probably try and make his way here. What do we do if we run into him?"
"Payback," Percy answered with a mirthless smile. Then the smile dropped from his face and he turned his attention back towards the girl, "Anyway, you were taking me to Carter Kane?"
"Uhhh…" the girl stood dumbfounded, "I-I can't do that."
Percy frowned, also crossing his arms to match Axel, "Care to explain why not?"
"I-uh…we-um…I don't know who you are!" She finally exclaimed after some momentary stuttering.
Percy showed her the shield with the Kane Coat of Arms, "Pretty clear which side I'm on though."
"We're in the middle of a war. I can't just march you up to him. You could be an assassin!"
"You could be an assassin, she makes a good point," Axel noted.
"Shut up, meathead. Now she's going to think I AM an assassin," Percy snapped.
"You're too stupid to be an assassin," Scarlett giggled.
Percy turned his attention to the daughter of Hades, "One more word out of you and I'm drowning you in the Nile. Capeesh?"
Scarlett just continued to giggle as Khufu leapt across from Petsuchos to Phillip to mess with her hair. Seeing the young demigod having fun, even in the midst of battle, was honestly heartwarming. He still remembered how broken she had looked on the beach the first time they'd met. Maybe her coming on the quest had been a good idea after all.
"I'm not an assassin," He declared, snapping out of his train of thought and turning his attention back towards the Egyptian, "And Carter Kane knows who I am. I need to speak with him."
"If you knew him that well, you'd know where he is," The girl shot back.
"She's making a lot of valid arguments right now," Axel mused.
"The Nile threat extends to you too, y'know," Percy warned, but Axel just grinned, thoroughly unfazed by the threat.
"Maybe if you tell me who you are," The Egyptians interrupted, "I can help you."
"The names Jackson, Percy Jackson!"
"Okay James Bond calm down," Axel snickered.
"Oh so you've watched the James Bond movies but you haven't seen the original Star Wars?"
"The latest James Bond movie came out last year!"
"They're still making that shit? Who's the current Bond?"
"Timothée…Charmander or something, I could never learn to pronounce his last name."
"Charizard is James Bond and Disney remade the Original Trilogy, my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined," Percy sighed.
"So you're not a god…" The Egyptian girl muttered.
"What?" Percy asked, snapping his head back towards her, "You thought I was a god?"
"You kinda fight like one," she said, staring down at her toes, "And I've never seen a human with eyes like yours."
"What she means is she's never seen such dreamy eyes before," Axel sighed, clamping his hands together and pretending to swoon over Percy.
The Egyptian girl blushed, but thankfully for her Percy didn't notice, as he was too busy glaring at the son of Ares. "Y'know when I was a young lad," Percy began, "I once came across a lizard. And you know the cool thing about lizards? They regrow their tails. So I, being the little rascal I was, cut off the tail to see if it would grow back."
"Is there a point to this story?" Scarlett asked.
"I'm gonna do the same thing to Axel!" Percy announced.
Axel raised an eyebrow, "I don't have a tail."
Percy grinned menacingly, "Don't worry, I had something else in mind."
Axel gulped. He quickly turned back to the Egyptian, "We're from the Twenty First Nome in Brooklyn, we have information about the rebels that could help swing the battle in Carter Kane's favour."
The girl's eyebrows shot up, "The Twenty First Nome? As in the one Carter and Sadie Kane trained at? Shit maybe you guys are telling the truth." She pondered her options for a second, kicking her heels nervously, "Fine I'll take you to HQ, but you'll have to convince the guards to let you through."
"No worries, charisma is my middle name!" Percy said with a grin, causing the girl to start blushing again, "What's your name by the way?"
"A-Amara," she stuttered.
"Nice to meet you Amara, this dumbass is Axel, the little girl is Scarlett, the baboon is Khufu, the crocodiles are-"
"Wait a minute did you say Khufu?" Amara interrupted.
"Um, yeah."
"Carter told me all about Khufu, he loves basketball and lived with them in the Twenty-First Nome."
"He's pretty average at basketball if we're no cappers," Percy admitted, to which Axel promptly translated and the baboon proceeded to let out an angry cry and threw something that looked and smelled a whole lot like monkey shit.
"Did you just say no cappers?" Axel asked, apparently more disgusted with Percy's comment than with the faeces Khufu had just flung in their direction.
"Yeah…I'm trying to be hip like the youngsters."
"Never," Axel groaned, "And I mean never, say that again."
"But that's what Alice said." Percy argued.
"No, not even really remotely close. How about you stick to your 2010s slang and leave being hip and cool to the people who are actually hip and cool? Okay grandad?"
"Hip and cool people don't call themselves hip and cool!"
"Oh, what do they call themselves huh? Rad? Sick? Legit? Groovy?"
"I'm kinda digging the groovy…" Percy mused.
Axel facepalmed, "You beat the Titans?"
"And the Giants," Percy added, "Damn, 'Titans and Giants' would make for a groovy album name."
"Can you sing?" Amara asked, confused.
"Oh Hades no, but that doesn't change the fact it would be soooo groovy."
"Are you gonna keep saying groovy now?" Axel questioned cautiously.
"Low-key, I can't get it out of my head. It's so fun to say."
"Well can we say it on the way please?" Scarlett asked, "I'm getting hungry. All I had to eat were the drugs we got when we arrived at the mansion."
Amara shot a worrying look at Percy but he dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand, "We'll ask Carter if he's got any snacks. And if Khufu throws any more shit at me we can eat monkey."
Percy licked his lips in the direction of the baboon, and Khufu didn't need a translator to know what he was suggesting. The monkey let out a threatening cry, but nonetheless proceeded to jump back over and to Petsuchos and offered no protest when Percy swung up to join him. The son of Poseidon offered his hand out to the Egyptian.
"You're in charge, tell us where we're heading."
Again, a blush crept into the Egyptians cheeks as she took his hand and swung up behind him, wrapping her arms around his stomach to hold on. She was super flustered as she did so, but when the baboon wrapped his arms around her the situation felt a lot less embarrassing.
"Back into the city, head towards that pyramid. That's where we've set up our headquarters."
Percy dug his shins into Petsuchos' side and the crocodile charged in the direction of the looming pyramid, Phillip in tow with Axel and Scarlett. The city was in the midst of panic. Marketplaces were in turmoil as vendors hurried to move their product and get out of the way of magicians as they rushed towards the front. Fiery projectiles arced through the air, crashing into buildings and inflicting terror upon the population.
"When did it begin?" Percy asked, glancing behind at Amara.
"A couple of hours ago, we didn't expect them to come so soon."
"They found allies," Percy told her, "It must have moved the timetable up."
Amara nodded, pressing closer to him as Petsuchos swerved through the narrow streets, sending people diving out of his warpath. "You know the Pharaoh?" She asked, staring at the outline of his jaw that tightened into a grin.
"Yeah we go way back," he laughed, "Saved this crocodile together."
"Wait a minute," Amara muttered, recalling some of the stories Carter had told her during her training, "You're the Greek he met."
"Yes ma'am. One and the same."
"He said he met a boy and girl who belonged to the Greek pantheon. But…shouldn't you be like…older?"
Percy couldn't top the wince at the accidental reference to Annabeth and instead covered it up with another smile, "I just age so well, doctors hate me."
He turned his attention back towards where they were heading, just in time to see one of the fiery projectiles hit the building in front of them and cause it to erupt in flames. Except it wasn't an ordinary fire, it was green.
"Greek fire," he hissed under his breath. He glanced back to see Axel shooting him a worrying look.
"Why is that fire green?" Amara gasped, "Be careful, it might be poisonous."
Percy ignored her, kicking his heels back into Petsuchos side and causing him to rapidly change course, rampaging through a narrow alleyway as the building collapsed in front of them, spraying dust and fire into the air around them. One look behind him told him that Phillip had course corrected with them, but suddenly the underground sky seemed to be filled with green balls of flame, all of them on a collision course with the centre of the city.
"Khufu," he yelled back, and the monkey's ears perked up hearing its name. Percy stood up, effectively surfing the crocodile through the streets of the First Nome. He gestured to the crocodile and the baboon climbed over Amara, essentially taking the reins of guiding Petsuchos through the city.
He looked behind at Axel and Scarlett and pointed towards the fireballs reaching the apex of theri arc. Axel frowned and shook his head worriedly. Scarlett on the other hand grinned and gave him a thumbs up. With a salute he leapt off the crocodiles back toward the walls of one of the buildings, using the outline of the windows as footrests as he quickly scaled the length of the building. With a final heave he pulled himself over the railing and onto the roof, finding himself on a rooftop garden populated by all sorts of exotic plants. Below him the city's inhabitants screamed in fear, gesturing wildly at the oncoming attacks and trying to find cover. Some simply grabbed their loved ones and began to cry or pray. Some fired back at them with bursts of energy or spells, but it appeared the rebels had anticipated that and countered with anti-anti-artillery spells. He had a plan, and hopefully it would be small and fast enough to get past the magical defences.
A brief tug in his gut and his armour melted around him, forming a puddle around him, which he willed into small bullets that he refroze, enough to counter the artillery flying towards them.
He had experienced controlling large volumes of ice and water, but not with this many different working parts. Still, he knew the damage Greek fire could do, and if he wanted to save the people of the First Nome, this was going to have to work. He took a deep breath and focused, willing the bullets to begin spinning around him, building momentum until they formed a continuous line of ice circling him.
"I know this isn't quite archery," he whispered under his breath, "And I don't even know if you can hear me. But I could really use some help right now Lady Artemis."
He felt a cool breeze run through his hair, and figured that was as close a sign as any he was going to get. With a final tug in his gut he launched the bullets towards the artillery, aiming and reaiming as they shot through the sky. The rebel's spells soared through the air, causing some of the bullets to explode midair, but he didn't need all of them to make it. Just enough to embed one in each one. Whether through his own awesomeness, godly intervention, or sheer dumb luck, the last of the bullets stuck true, just in time for the artillery to have begun its downwards descent, hurtling towards the people below. He willed the bullets to melt, forming a core of water in each of the flaming rocks.
With a roar he caused the water to explode outward, shattering the rocks with the force of its propulsion. The artillery, moments before enormous memories of Greek fire, now lit up the enormous cavern in an explosion of green fireworks, bathing the inhabitants below in the light of what was about to be their obliteration. Percy felt his body go weak and collapsed onto his knees, suddenly overwhelmed by the effort without his ice armour to keep his energy up. He gripped the side of the roof, trying to pull himself up onto the railing, and as he did so he began to hear a slow rhythmic clapping sound.
The sound was joined by others like it, uncertain and out of sync at first, but it soon swelled into a roar. He looked down at the courtyard, towards the source of the noise, to see the crowd staring up at him in awe, acknowledging that he was the source of their salvation. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and gave them a wave. "All in a day's work," he breathed, fighting the fact that his legs felt as though anchors were tied to them. He staggered to his feet, and drew in a deep breath. As if on que Petsuchos and Phillip rounded the corner, with Khufu gesturing for him to jump down. He eased himself over the railing and allowed his grip to slip, sending him dropping towards the group. Middair Petsuchos' tail shot out of nowhere to wrap around his torso, unceremoniously plopping him down behind Amara.
"That was incredible," the Egyptian uttered, looking back at him with her mouth still hanging open.
He lazily snaked his arms around her waist and let his head droop onto her shoulder, "With great power…" he muttered, "...comes great need to take a nap." And with that his world faded to black.
Everything was cold, to the point where he wasn't sure there was even feeling in his hands and feet. He was surrounded by darkness, alone with nothing but his thoughts as he tried in vain to move. Suddenly he heard the sound of wedding bells on the other side of his prison, the sound of celebration. He strained to hear what the voices were saying. He thought he heard the name 'Annabeth' and then the words 'I do'. He tried to let out a scream, to force his way out. To break out of the prison in which he found himself trapped, but he could do nothing as he felt his life slip away from him all over again. The voices faded and the nothingness returned, surrounding him on all sides. Condemned to the darkness for eternity.
When he finally came to, he was in a very different place. Gone were the crowded streets and distant sounds of fighting. Instead, the faint sound of music fluttered through a dimly lit room. He glanced down to see that he was lying in a shallow pool, with a gentle waterfall flowing next to him. He also noted that he was wearing underwear that was very notably not his, and blushed at the thought of someone undressing him. Still, the exhaustion from earlier had faded, and he eased himself out of the pool and found a fresh towel waiting for him. Alongside it was a set of fresh clothes, a simple white shirt and pants made from the same cotton that his underwear was. He also noticed that alongside the clothes lay Riptide, and slipped it in his pocket as he looked for an exit. On the far side of the room was a door that was slightly ajar, with both light and music seeping out of the narrow crack.
He eased the door open and found himself in a fairly simple Egyptian style dining room. Scarlett, Axel, and Khufu sat at the table alongside an older woman he didn't recognise and a familiar face who had aged well.
Carter Kane's face broke out into a smile when he saw Percy enter the room, and rose from his seat. He made his way over to the son of Poseidon and firmly embraced him in a hug.
"I believe I have you to thank for saving both my magicians and my people?" He asked, pulling away and grasping Percy by the shoulder. Percy noticed that his voice, which had been firmly American when they had first met, now held a twang of a foreign accent.
Percy grinned, happy for the first time in a while to have entered the house of a friend and not an enemy, "What else are friends for?"
Carter beamed at him for a moment, before his expression darkened slightly. He turned and headed back to his seat, gesturing for Percy to do the same. Percy took his spot to the left of Carter, who sat at the head of the table, across from the unknown woman and next to Scarlett. In front of him were platters of just about any breakfast food he could hope for, and despite the fact that they weren't blue he grabbed himself a plate full of pancakes and some apple juice.
"I have many questions," Carter started, anxiously tapping his glass of orange juice, "Not least of all as to how you came back to life. I recall your funeral as though it was yesterday."
Percy frowned, pausing mid bite of his pancake, "You attended my funeral?"
Carter nodded solemnly, rubbing his temple as the light of the torches suddenly made him seem much older, "It was quite the affair. I don't think I had seen such an odd collection of gods, creatures and men. I'll never forget your mothers sobs…nor Annabeths."
Percy sighed, and the pancakes suddenly tasted significantly less delicious than they had before, "I-uh…I wasn't…y'know…dead."
Carter's eyebrow shot up, "Well that is not what I expected. When your friends brought you here and I saw you haven't aged a day since 18 I assumed you had simply come back from the dead."
"I got trapped in ice. Woke up and didn't even realise twenty years had passed."
Carter sighed, "I am sorry, Percy. Your chance at peace seems to have been snatched away from you. It appears the Greek Fates are as cruel as the Egyptian ones."
"Maybe they discuss how to be as big of bitches as possible at their annual Fates Convention."
"Perhaps they do," Carter laughed, before shaking his head gently and gesturing to the woman to his right, "Percy I would like to introduce you to the Chief Lector of the House of Life…and my wife, Zia Kane."
Percy nodded in acknowledgement, "It's nice to meet you. I'd only heard stories."
"And I you," She replied, flipping her black hair over her shoulder and levelling her amber eyes against his ice blue ones, "Although I got to live out your adventures through your mothers books. If half of what she wrote is true, you have lived quite the life."
Percy laughed, "I keep hearing about these books. When this is finally over I need to sit down and read them."
"When all of what is over?" Carter asked, leaning forward.
Percy glanced over at his fellow Greek demigods and found that Scarlett was snoozing in her chair while Axel was in the midst of devouring some waffles, "You didn't tell them?"
Axel glanced up, and mid mouthful shook his head. Percy sighed and turned back to his hosts, "There are powerful forces at play, forces that are keen to influence the outcome of your civil war in favour of your enemies."
Carter groaned, "Great, just what we needed…more enemies."
"They kidnapped my friends," Percy continued, "And brought them here. They're going to go to Antarctica and try and raise an ancient being, the likes of which neither of us have faced…and once they do, the fate of the world is going to hang in the balance."
Carter sighed and leant back in his seat, his eyes flicking to study his wifes face. "Thoughts?" he asked her.
Zia rubbed her chin, contemplating the issue at hand, "It explains what Amara told us. Those strange fighters…the green fire…there is more at play here than we thought. But I don't know if we have the resources to help."
"I just need one thing," Percy interrupted, causing the two of them to turn to him expectantly, "Access to the library of the First Nome. We are dealing with ancient forces, and Egypt is one of the oldest civilisations on the planet. If anywhere has information on what we face, it will be there."
Carter chuckled darkly, "And just like that the pieces are starting to fall together."
Percy frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"The library was one of the first places the rebels took control of," Zia informed him, her frown lines deepening, "As of right now it is under their occupation, and our forces report it has the highest concentration of the foreign fighters."
Percy took a long swig of his apple juice, "Then I know what I need to do. I will win you back control of the library, and in return I ask for access to the archives."
"Percy," Carter warned, "We are at war with powerful forces, even without considering the added threat that these foreign fighters bring. I know you want to try and find answers but if they know you're here, and based on reports of your entrance I doubt very much that they don't, they could be laying a trap."
"Then I'll spring it," Percy stated defiantly, "I need that information and I need to get my friends back."
"Then we need to go to the library," A new voice interjected, and Percy turned to see Amara walking towards the table, decked out in brand new Egyptian armour, "I just received reports of hostages in the library. Two teenage girls."
"Just two girls?" Axel asked, frowning.
Amara nodded, "Why, were there supposed to be more?"
The son of Ares nodded, "There should have been a teenage boy with them, blonde."
She shook her head, "I didn't hear anything about that, but if I do I'll let you know."
"It's almost certainly Thalia and Alice though," Percy sighed, locking eyes with Axel, "We need to get them back. We can find Jett afterwards."
Axel didn't seem thrilled with the arrangement but nodded nonetheless. Percy turned back to Carter, "It'll be dangerous, I can't ask you to come with me."
Carter laughed, "You come to my city, save my magicians, protect my citizens, and now plan on winning back control of my library all without me?" He stood up and stretched out his arms, "What kind of leader would I be if I didn't fight for my people? I will rally some elite forces and we will prepare for battle at the library."
Percy grinned, "Can't wait to see how a life of luxury has dulled your skills."
Carter scoffed, "You wish, Greek boy. Let your elder show you how it's done."
"After you grandpa."
Carter didn't respond, instead he turned to Amara, "Gather half the palace guard, prepare them for the attack," Then he moved over to Zia and embraced her, "I will be back before long. Protect the palace in my absence."
Zia didn't seem happy about it, but she returned her husband's embrace, "Don't get yourself killed my Eye of Horus. I need you with me."
Percy fingered his necklace, feeling the smooth texture of the crescent moon that Apollo had given him to remain in contact with himself and Artemis. "Axel," he called out, "Wake up Scarlett, tell her we're ready to fight. I've got a call to make."
The son of Ares frowned but didn't question it any further as Percy slipped back into the room in which he had been sleeping. He rubbed the moon symbol, waiting for it to do something, but it simply hung silently from his neck.
He sighed, "I don't know if you can hear me Lady Artemis…but Thalia is in trouble. I promise I'm going to get her back. You won't lose another lieutenant on my watch. I swear it. But if I fail to stop them…I need you to gather the Olympians and go to Antarctica. I don't care what your father says, that's where they are going to try and summon the first of the Annunaki. I know it's a lot to ask…but I trust you. This is our last chance to make sure the genie doesn't get out of the bottle…we've got to take it. I really hope you can hear this Lady Artemis…please."
Author's Note: Chapter 25…damn we've come a long way.
I've been really into the story, but with Christmas coming up I may not get an update out in the next few days. Expect one before the New Year is out though.
For those who celebrate Merry Christmas, and for those that don't have a very happy holidays. I hope you're all safe and well. And for everyone please, in the spirit of christmas…REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. All I want for Christmas is reviews and I promise I've been a good boy, Santa will vouch for me. So to make my Christmas extra special pleaseeeeeee review!