The Rising Dawn

by Demititan28

Percy didn't just survive after his sacrifice, he thrived. Locked in ice for over 20 years the world he comes back to is not the one he left behind. But he doesn't have time to mourn his missed years, a threat is rising in the east and the survival of humanity is on the line. If Olympus has any hope of survival, it rests on his shoulders. Eventual Pertemis

22. Women From My Past Give Me a Ride

Chapter 22: Women From My Past Give Me a Ride

As the blue and red lights bathed the front of the asylum, indicating that the cops had arrived to investigate their call, Percy and the others slinked away through a back fence, before crossing the street and being home free. They had called the cops from the reception phone to help the people still stuck in the asylum, but they had little interest in sticking around to answer questions.

As they headed down a side street towards the main road, the moon cast an eerie glow through the trees. Percy kept his head on a swivel, he had been caught off guard before, and he was determined not to let something like that happen again. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck where the nurse had stabbed him with the syringe. His magical defence had been circumvented by the succubus' own magic, and when he got the chance he needed to take the time to make sure that couldn't happen again.

He glanced across at Scarlett, who seemed a little shaken up but nonetheless happy that he and Thalia were back to normal, "Seems like you held your own pretty well back there."

Scarlett blushed, and with her pale skin her cheeks soon matched the colour of her name, "I had a lot of help."

Percy shook his head, "Don't downplay it. That was your shadow net that I was trapped in when I took back control right?"

She nodded, "I'd never tried something like that before. It was really cool. I'm glad it worked."

"That, plus you were the one who warned us that something was wrong in the first place. I mean let's be honest you've already been twice as useful as Thalia over here."

Thalia glanced behind at them to shoot a glare, "Careful Jackson, I might still be hungry for brains. Not that there's much to feast on with you. Maybe that's why the succubus left so quickly."

"I liked you better when you were possessed," Percy mused, "You were much quieter."

"I will fry your ass to kingdom come."

"You'll try."

"I still have a headache, Kelp Head, do not test me right now."

"Aww does itty bitty Thalia's head hurt?"

Thalia spun on her heel and went to punch Percy in the face but Rich intervened, grabbing Thalia from behind and pulling her away from the grinning son of Poseidon.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on the same side?" he asked, confused.

"Only in life or death situations," Percy replied.

"Yeah remember Jackson, when there's no monsters around I'm the one most likely to kick your ass."

"Thalia, even when there are monsters around you're still the one most likely to kick my ass."

"So true."

"You guys can't bicker like this in front of the Nome leaders," Rich warned, "If they sense infighting amongst you they will exploit it to their advantage. The situation at the upper echelons of the hierarchy has been fraught with deceit and ambition for a long time now. Some would seek to turn your arrival into a means for inciting a civil war."

"Woah, woah, woah," Percy interrupted, "You're gonna have to explain that again using a lot less terms like egg salad."

"Do you mean echelon?" Thalia asked.

"That's what I said."

Thalia groaned, "We're doomed."

Percy waved her off, "What do you mean about a civil war?" he asked, turning back to Rich.

Rich sighed, and he appeared lost in his thoughts for a moment. The only sound down the street was the gentle clacking of their feet on the sidewalk and the distant roar of New York traffic. "It began before I left for the asylum. Carter had returned to the First Nome to take on his role as Pharaoh, but when one is that powerful jealousy builds."

"Carter is a pharaoh now?" Percy questioned excitedly, "Cool. Mans has really moved up in life."

"Not just a pharaoh," Rich chided, "The Pharaoh of the House of Life, and following his uncle's retirement from the role of Chief Lector arguably the most powerful magician in the world."

"That's so dope," Percy mused, "I remember when this guy struggled to beat a crocodile."

"For a while," Rich continued, "All was well, Carter, as pharaoh, and Sadie, as Chief Lector, combined were able to keep peace throughout the Nomes and commanded both loyalty and respect. But a falling out between them led to Sadie leaving the post and moving to London."

"Egyptians have problems with Gnomes?" Thalia asked, "Aren't they little garden decorations?"

Percy shuddered, "Makes me think of Medusa."

Rich facepalmed, "Not Gnomes, Nomes."

"You're literally saying the same thing," Thalia argued.

"Are all of you people so stupid?"

"Woah, woah, woah," Percy said, stepping forward, "What do you mean by 'you people'?"

"Greeks!"

Percy looked at Thalia, "I don't know whether to still be offended."

"What did you think he was gonna say?"

"I don't know, Greek caught me off guard. Did he forget I'm American?"

Thalia sighed, turning back to Rich, "What's a Gnome if it's not a little garden dwarf?"

"The world is divided into three hundred and sixty 'Nomes' or facilities, and it's from out of these 'Nomes' that the magicians of the House of Life operate."

"What's the House of Life?" Scarlett asked.

"A global organisation of Egyptian magicians that keeps an eye on gods, demons and rogue monsters."

"Are you guys the Illuminati?" Percy wondered aloud.

"No."

"You guys sound a lot like the Illuminati."

"Shut up Percy," Thalia snapped.

"Hey, it was a valid question."

"None of your questions are valid questions."

Rich raised his hand to try and quell their argument, "There are no stupid questions. Still, the situation when I left the Twenty-First Nome to go to asylum was dire. The new Chief Lector, is Zia Rashid, Carter's wife, but many were unhappy at her appointment due to their relationship. A sect of magicians were in open revolt operating out of the Eleventh Nome in Rome…"

"Nome in Rome," Percy giggled.

"...on top of that, we had recently lost contact with the Sixty-Ninth Nome in Baghdad. Rumours were swirling around that it was another uprising, but it seemed as though all of the magicians there just disappeared."

"Where's Baghdad?" Scarlett asked.

"Iraq," Percy answered, and Thalia shot him a frown, "What?"

"How do you know where Baghdad is?"

"Because it's near the ancient city of Babylon."

Now even Rich was frowning, "Why would you know that?"

Percy shrugged, "I don't know, I just know. I thought it was common knowledge."

"Percy most people don't know what Babylon is, let alone where it is. Why do you know that?"

With all eyes on him, Percy shuffled his feet awkwardly. Why did he know where Babylon was? That was such a random trivia fact for him to know. He hadn't paid attention to class at the best of times, but somehow that little nugget of information had snuck through? He shook it off, "Probably Annabeth."

That was enough to shut Thalia up, and a look from her to Rich shut him up as well. The last thing Thalia was going to want to do was press Percy about information if Annabeth was involved, and now he knew could use that to his advantage in the future.

Thalia turned back to Rich, "So this whole civil war thing, how do you know it hasn't started yet?"

"I don't," he replied bluntly, "But Carter Kane trained me, and if anyone can keep order in a time like this, it is him. We will go to the Twenty-First Nome at Brooklyn House and speak to the leader there. If it hasn't changed it should be an old friend of mine, and we will be greeted warmly."

"When are we ever that lucky?" Thalia muttered, more a rhetorical question than an actual one, "How do we get there?"

"We get a taxi?" Percy offered.

"You got a phone?"

"I can whistle."

"What at the thin air? If there isn't a taxi to hear you, what is whistling going to do?"

Percy frowned and rubbed his chin, then he had an idea. A truly terrible one.

He stepped forward, out onto the deserted street, and fished through his pockets for a drachma. He fingered it cautiously, his last experience using this mode of transport had not been the best, but at least this time he knew what he was getting himself into. He took a deep breath and threw it out into the middle of the road, shouting as he did, "Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês!"

Thalia shot him a look, "Chariot of Damnation? What in Hades is the Chariot of Damnation?"

Percy shot back a grin, "Some old friends. Emphasis on the old."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth the spot where the coin had fallen began to darken. It melted into a rectangular pool about the size of a parking space—bubbling red liquid like blood. Then a grey taxi roared out of the ooze, quite literally made out of smoke. His dyslexia made it difficult to read what was printed on the side, but he already knew what was written there from experience: The Gray Sisters.

The passenger window rolled down, and an old woman stuck her head out. She

had a mop of silvery hair covering her eyes, and her voice came out as a weird mumble. "Passage? Passage?"

"Four to Brooklyn House," he replied.

At his words, the woman froze, and then she turned back into the cab and began rapidly speaking with someone else in the cab. Suddenly another face joined her in peering out at them, but neither had an eye.

"What's a Greek doing going into Egyptian territory?" the new woman hissed.

"We have a quest."

The two old ladies mumbled something to one another before turning back to Percy, "We recognise your voice boy, where do we know you from?"

Before he could respond a third lady joined them, and this one was in possession of the eye. As soon as she laid her sole eye on him she began to scream, "Absolutely not, it's that Poseidon spawn again!"

Suddenly all three were screeching and yelling, hurling Greek insults at Percy. "Why are you mad?" he shot back, "I gave you your eye back!"

"Sure, after you blackmailed us with it!"

"That was just business!"

"Yeah well, you're banned from our business!"

Percy shook his finger, "I already paid, you owe me a ride."

"One trip straight to the Underworld," One cackled.

"We can do that," Another agreed.

"Aww I'd love to go see Dad but that's the wrong direction," Scarlett murmured, and Percy glanced back to see Scarlett's eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake. Clearly, the fight had taken a lot out of her.

"Is that a daughter of Hades?" One of them asked.

"Wait a minute, is that a daughter of Zeus?"

"And the lieutenant of Artemis no less."

The three ladies disappeared back into the taxi and frantic murmuring ensued. It continued for a moment before the original lady poked her head back out. "You may enter."

"This is a terrible idea," Thalia sighed, but nonetheless followed after Percy as the four of them squeezed into the back seat of the taxi. The interior was also smoky grey, but it felt solid enough. The seat was cracked and lumpy, no different than most taxis, and there was no Plexiglas screen separating them from the three old ladies jostling for control of an eye and a tooth.

Scarlett was on Thalia's lap, and almost as soon as they got settled she passed out in her arms. Thalia held her close and looked at Percy, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"I survived it once."

"They only have one eye,"

"And centuries of taxi driving experience thank you very much," one of the old ladies called back, "Now, as for payment…"

"I already paid you," Percy warned.

"We are entering dangerous territory, when Greeks and Egyptians combine there is always room for disaster…besides, you owe us after last time."

"What do you want?" Thalia asked.

"A secret."

"What kind of secret?" Percy questioned, feeling unnerved at how simple a request it was.

"We sense things…" one began.

"...we feel them stirring…"

"...tell us what it is…"

"...and we will take you to the Twenty-First Nome!"

Now it was Rich's turn to glance nervously at Percy. They had only mentioned the Brooklyn House, which meant the sisters were already aware that it was home to the Twenty-First Nome.

"Why do you need to know?" Percy wondered.

"If we need to get out of town…"

"...better to know sooner rather than later."

Percy thought about how best to answer the question. He wasn't keen on spreading panic, even if that panic was fairly well grounded in reality, but if the sisters knew about the Twenty-First Nome, then there was a chance they knew something about the Annunaki.

"The Annunaki are stirring, they are trying to bring back their king."

"Enlil?" one of them gasped, turning to look at her fellow sisters with fear clear across her face.

"So you know about them?" Percy pushed, leaning forward in his seat, "Tell me what you know, please, anything could be the difference between winning or losing."

The sisters huddled together in the front seat, whispering frantically. Percy didn't realise that his leg was tapping frantically until Thalia put a calming hand on his knee. He glanced at her, and her electric blue eyes calmed him. He took a deep breath before turning back to the sisters, awaiting their response.

They finally finished their debate and turned back to Percy.

"There is not much we can say…"

"...there is not too much that we know…"

"...but, if what you say is true…"

"...there is somewhere you can go to find out more."

"Where?" he asked frantically.

"The First Nome," the one on the left stated.

"Egypt is an old civilisation," The middle one began

"One of the oldest," the one on the right continued, "They had frequent clashes with Babylonian civilization over the years. If there is anywhere to find out more…it would be there."

"The First Nome is overseen by Carter Kane, and is in Cairo," Rich said, "We should be able to gain safe transport from Brooklyn to Cairo."

"Then that's the plan," Percy stated definitely, happy to finally have some more direction on the quest, "We clean up any mess Jett might have made in Brooklyn, and then we head to Cairo."

Thalia and Rich nodded in understanding while Scarlett let out a snore of approval. Percy turned back to the Gray Sisters. "Thank you," he said, genuinely "You've helped more than you know."

The sisters waved him off, "Buckle up kiddos, we're off to Brooklyn."

Percy sat back in his seat as the warning from Ganymede began to play from the speakers. "Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!"

"That's so cringe," Thalia groaned, but nonetheless buckled up with the large black chain. Percy and Rich followed suit. With a cackle one of the sisters slammed on the accelerator, and Percy's head slammed into the headrest behind him.

The ride was as disorientating and terrifying the second time as it had been the first time. As soon as they hit the road, it became clear that the sisters had a complete disregard for traffic laws and road safety. The ancient cab careened through the streets at breakneck speed, the tires screeching on the asphalt. The taxi veered wildly, narrowly missing lampposts and trash cans as it zigzagged through the city. Red lights and stop signs were nothing more than a suggestion to the Gray Sisters. They blasted through intersections without hesitation, their laughter echoing maniacally as they paid no heed to oncoming traffic. Horns blared, and other drivers swerved out of their way, confused but likely unsurprised, after all this was New York.

Percy clung to his seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the door handle. The wind whipped through the open windows, and the world outside became a blur of streetlights and neon signs. The ride seemed to defy the laws of physics as the taxi deftly navigated tight corners and hairpin turns. The sisters traded the eye and tooth between them, each taking their turn to see and steer. Percy was happy that they were no longer fighting over the eye, at least they had established some sort of fair policy for seeing where they were going. Despite the reckless driving, Percy couldn't help but notice that they were making incredible time. The Gray Sisters' taxi was faster than any mortal taxi and was likely considerably faster than it would have been to call Blackjack and the others, especially since they may have needed a fourth pegasus.

At one point police sirens blared behind them, but the flashing blue and red lights disappeared almost as soon as they had come, with the Sisters leaving them in the dust. They flew over a bridge, and for a brief moment, Percy was able to look back and see Manhattan lit up at night. It was an impressive sight, but one that disappeared in a heartbeat as they swerved into Brooklyn. Now Percy was in less familiar territory, and he couldn't help but feel like he had stepped into another world, out of the Greek sphere of influence, and into the Egyptian one.

All of a sudden the sisters slammed on the taxi's brakes, and they came to a stop. Percy took a moment to push down the wave of nausea before looking out the window at a giant abandoned warehouse. He turned to Rich, "You sure we're in the right place?"

Rich nodded, "It's hidden with magic, you have to look up."

Percy stuck his head out of the window and looked up at the roof of the warehouse, and sure enough on top of it sat an enormous limestone mansion with steel-framed windows adorned with hieroglyphics.

He thanked the sisters once more before slowly getting out of the taxi, taking a moment to keep the world from spinning out of control. Rich and Thalia seemed to have the same problem, but Scarlett just yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking at them confused as the green hue faded from their faces.

"Good luck against Enlil kid, you're gonna need it!" one of the sisters yelled before the taxi peeled off and headed back to Manhattan.

Percy sighed, "So everyone keeps reminding me."

"So this is the Twenty-First Nome?" Thalia asked, looking at Rich, "Why is it on top of an abandoned building?"

Rich shrugged, "Mortals just see the abandoned warehouse, they don't see the mansion. Helps keep out unwanted guests and the city council from building something that would disrupt our activities."

"Does it keep out unwanted guests?" Percy asked.

"Sometimes," Rich replied with a knowing smile, "Its success rate is a little iffy at times."

"Wonderful," Thalia sighed.

As they chatted in front of the warehouse, the sound of wings flapping grew louder and louder. Percy glanced up to see Blackjack, Roger, and Steve-O descending from a nearby building.

"What's up Boss?" Blackjack exclaimed as his hooves smacked against the surface of the asphalt.

"Is that a Pegasus?" Rich asked, his eyes wide with awe and his mouth hanging open.

Blackjack turned to the older man and began sniffing him, "This dude smells funny. A lot like the mansion now that I think about it. Very earthy."

"This is Rich, he's a friend. He helped us out saving Piper."

"So you saved her? Noice." Blackjack said. Percy wasn't about to explain the difficulty they had had in the breakout operation.

"You can talk to him?" Rich asked bewildered, looking back and forth between the Pegasus and Percy.

"My dad is the God of Horses, comes with the territory."

"That's so cool…" Rich murmured, cautiously scratching Blackjack's back.

Blackjack grinned, "I like this guy. Gives good back scratchies."

"Focus," Percy said, grabbing Blackjack's snout and turning his attention back towards him, "Are Jett and the others here?"

Blackjack snorted, forcing Percy to release his grip, "Yeah, they've been here for ages Boss, we've been so bored. We started flicking pebbles at people passing by. Managed to catch one dude straight in the dome, he was so confused."

"How did they just walk in?" Percy asked, casting his gaze towards the mansion and not seeing an entrance. There were stairs leading up to a block of wood, but no door of any kind.

"The girl walked up the stairs and cast some kind of spell. Then that block of wood opened up and they just walked in."

"Alice…" Percy murmured under his breath. He knew she was considered one of the most powerful witches of her age, but that she was so easily able to bypass Egyptian defences was an indicator of her power. Not to mention incredibly rude, they should've knocked.

"Um…not to interrupt your conversation with the Pegasus," Rich began, "But did you say that others are here?"

Percy nodded, "Some of our…cousins got a quest that involved reaching out and contacting the Egyptian pantheon. Seems like they ended up in the same place as us. Not a huge fan of the fact that they broke in though."

"They broke in?" Rich asked, his face turning pale.

"That's what Blackjack says. One of them knows magic so she found them the entrance."

"The magicians here do not do well with intruders…they have a long and rocky experience with attacks. We need to hurry." Rich took off towards the stairs, motioning for them to follow.

"Looks like we gotta go Blackjack," Percy said, scratching his trusty pegasus behind the ear, "Thank you for trailing them. Get back to camp and I'll contact you if we need any more help."

"You sure you're not gonna need a lift back to camp."

"We're heading to Egypt, that seems a bit too far even for you."

Blackjack huffed in indignation at the thought that he wouldn't be able to handle that far a trip, but the fact that he didn't argue with him told Percy that deep down he was relieved.

"Ight boss, don't forget to wear sunscreen. I know your pale ass will fry in the desert." And with that the pegasus turned on his hooves and shot back into the sky, giving Percy no opportunity to argue that he usually had a pretty good tan and the only reason he didn't was because he had been locked in ice for the past twenty years. The two other pegasi nodded in acknowledgement before following Blackjack across the New York skyline in the direction of Long Island.

"So do we think the Egyptians kicked their ass, or they kicked the Egyptians?" Thalia mused.

"Considering the mansion isn't in flames right now, I'm going to assume the Egyptians won," Percy answered.

"Which means we could be entering hostile territory," Thalia noted.

"We need to be on our guard. The hospital was too close a call." Percy stated definitively and Thalia nodded in agreement.

Scarlett frowned, "What if Jett and the others just ended up becoming friends and that's why there are no signs of fighting?"

Thalia and Percy cast sceptical looks in her direction.

"So young," Percy sighed.

"So naive," Thalia agreed.

Scarlett huffed and set off after Rich while Percy and Thalia exchanged a smile.

"Any chance that happened?" Percy asked his cousin quietly.

"From what I know about that douchebag, less than zero."

"Figured as much. Let's go fix the mess."

And with that, the two followed after Scarlett and Rich, who were now standing at the top of the stairs by the wooden block waiting for them to join him.

"Follow my lead," Rich warned as the two demigods joined them, "And let me do all the talking."

"You don't trust us?" Thalia asked.

Rich shook his head frantically, "You saved my life, and I want to do everything I can to repay you. Knowing what I know about you, the best thing I can do to keep you safe is to make sure you're not talking."

Percy, Thalia, and Scarlett shared a look between them.

"What are you suggesting?" Scarlett asked, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah," Thalia continued, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Just…um," Rich stammered, "You guys don't strike me as the most…diplomatic."

"I think what he's trying to say," Percy said, stepping forward and putting his hand on Rich's shoulder, "Is that our brand of humour is a little too intense for these Egyptians. Right?"

"Um…yes," Rich agreed, "For sure. You guys are just too funny, I'd hate for my friends to be intimidated."

"So true bestie," Scarlett said with a grin.

Rich turned back to the entrance and traced the outline of a hieroglyphic on the block. For a second nothing happened, and then the outline glowed softly and the block swung open, leading them inside the mansion.

Percy's first thought upon entering was how impressive it was. The room they walked into was four stories high and held up by stone pillars with hieroglyphics engraved upon them. Three tiers of balconies hung from the sides of the rooms, overlooking an enormous statue of a man with the head of a bird of some kind. The walls were decorated with a strange assortment of musical instruments and Ancient Egyptian weapons. There was an enormous fireplace, potentially large enough to fit a car in, with a plasma-screen TV above the mantel. The TV was flanked by two leather sofas with a giant snake-skin rug on the ground.

"Somethings wrong," Rich whispered, looking around concerned, "Something is very, very wrong."

Percy frowned, the room seemed so clean and organised, and there were no signs of fighting, "Are you sure Rich? It seems like everything is calm here."

"That's the problem," he warned, "Usually there should be children playing with toys, adults playing instruments, and the TV is almost always playing sports. Khufu would be going quite literally apeshit if it wasn't. Something is wrong."

"Richard," A voice called out from one of the balconies, "What a pleasant surprise!"

They looked up to see a much older man leaning against the railing on the second floor. His grey hair hung down past his shoulders which, coupled with his sunglasses and elegant earrings made him look very much like a hippie.

"Elijah!" Rich responded with a smile, relief evident on his face, "I'm glad to see you're still here."

"Give me a moment. I'll come down to meet you and your friends," Elijah told them, turning and disappearing for a moment before the sounds of footsteps could be heard descending from a nearby stairway. When he stepped out Percy did a double-take at how tall he was. Percy was a little over 6 feet, but Elijah stood at least a foot above him and towered over Scarlett and Thalia.

"I was worried war would have begun in my absence," Rich began, stepping up and embracing the much larger man, "How have things been while I've been gone?"

"Sad," Elijah replied, "I have missed you old friend. I have much to catch you up on. But first, you all look quite tired. Perhaps some food would do you good, and we could get to know each other better. How does that sound?"

Percy could feel his mouth salivating at the prospect, he hadn't eaten anything since the McDonalds and he was suddenly keenly aware of his growling stomach. Turns out getting possessed did a lot to whet one's appetite. He simply nodded and followed Rich and Elijah as they stepped deeper into the mansion. In the next room, a dining table stood, already prepared with enough entrees and appetisers to feed a king. Elijah glided across the room with grace, before seating himself at the head of the table and motioning for them to join him. Rich sat to his right and Percy joined him, leaving Thalia and Scarlett sitting to Elijah's left.

A warning rang out in the back of his mind that he was technically in enemy territory, and Greeks were notorious for false gifts, see Trojan Horse, but he trusted Rich, and if Rich trusted Elijah that was enough for him. Besides, the smell of the fresh meats and colourful desserts did a lot to ease his concerns. As the three demigods began to dig in Elijah turned to Rich.

"You were gone a long time, your girls miss you."

Rich closed his eyes and sighed, "It was for the best…I was in a bad state. But I'm ready now, I can't wait to see them again. Where are they?"

"There is a popular singer in town, most of the house decided to go to the concert. The music is a little too old for my taste, I prefer the songs from my youth, like Never Gonna Give You Up and I Wanna Dance with Somebody."

Percy almost choked on his kebab, "Sorry, did you say from your youth? How old are you?"

"Percy!" Thalia chided, "It's rude to ask people their age,"

"But the '80s were only like 30 or 40 years ago."

The entire table frowned at him, "Actually, Percy is your name correct, the '80s were almost 60 years ago. Are you sure you are feeling okay?" Elijah asked.

Percy wanted to facepalm, he had completely forgotten about the fact he had been gone twenty years. "Sorry, we've had a long day," he replied sheepishly.

Elijah just smiled warmly at him, but his eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, "Nothing a good meal can't fix," he turned to Rich, "But I must ask, what is an Egyptian magician doing with a trio of Greek demigods."

"Looking for another trio of Greek demigods," Thalia answered, clearly taking the fact he already knew they were demigods in stride, "We were informed they came by here. We wanted to make sure they didn't cause any trouble, they have a penchant for it."

Elijah rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I am typically guarding the entrance, and I can't say I've seen them. I'll ask the others when they return, but I don't think they have come by. Perhaps they have yet to arrive?"

Alarm bells were ringing once again in Percy's mind. Blackjack firstly wouldn't lie to him, and secondly wouldn't be stupid enough to not know where Jett and the others went. Elijah was lying to them. He glanced across the table to try and catch Thalia's eye, but she was too busy frowning at the old man sitting in front of her.

"Are you sure? We had it on good information that they were OW-"

She was cut off as Percy landed a solid kick to her shin. Elijah's eyebrows raised, and he glanced between Percy and Thalia, "Trouble in paradise?"

"Their cousins," Rich corrected softly but Elijah waved him off.

"Oh I'm well aware of what they are. First the Greeks send a son of Zeus, armed with a magician to break into my home and accost my family. Then, when they don't report back to their superiors, the next thing I know is a friend of mine I haven't seen in ages turns up leading a posse of a daughter of Zeus, son of Poseidon, and daughter of Hades. If I wasn't so convinced of the Olympians incompetence I would take this for an invasion."

The room went silent, and Percy's hand drifted towards his pocket. "We didn't come here to invade," Percy cautioned, "We came here to warn you."

"About the prophecy?" Elijah asked, and Percy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, "Oh I know all about the prophecy. Egypt is far older than Greece and our relations with the Annunaki are far more complicated than you could possibly understand, boy."

Percy's mind felt like it was running as fast as the Three Sisters taxi service, and suddenly the old hippie sitting at the head of the table terrified him. "Where are the demigods that came here before us?"

Elijah smiled, but this one carried no warmth, "You'll meet them soon enough."

Percy went to stand up but as soon as he did his legs collapsed under him, and his head slammed against the edge of the table. He could feel a warm trail of blood making its way down his temple but couldn't even find the energy to wipe it away, let alone stand up. He could see from under the table that both Thalia and Scarletts bodies had gone limp.

"What's happening? What did you do?" Rich yelled.

"I am protecting us from our enemies!" Elijah snapped back, "I can't believe you would be so stupid as to lead them here."

"They saved my life!"

"Then consider it mercy I am sparing theirs…for now."

"What will you do with them?"

"I'll do what I did with the ones that were sent before them. I'll put them in the storage room."

There was silence for a moment, before Rich broke it softly, "The food…you drugged the food. What would you have done if I had tried to take a bite?"

"I wouldn't be having this conversation with you now, would I?"

"Where's my wife? Where's my daughter?"

"Hiding. Hiding from the monsters you just brought into their home. Be grateful I am allowing you to see them after the threat you just subjected us all to. Go and be with them and do not even think about causing a scene tonight. We have important guests arriving soon and I expect you to be on your best behaviour."

The last thing Percy saw before everything went black was Rich looking down at him, his face twisted with guilt, mouthing the words "I'm sorry."

Author's Note: Once again I come armed with excuses, and these excuses are that I have been dealing with school, life, and most importantly the flu. Not once, but twice. Thankfully I'm on the road to recovery now and I get to start on an arc that I am really excited about. The Egypt arc is going to be quite a few chapters and it's going to have some really cool scenes in it, which provides its own intrinsic motivation for me to keep writing. That being said I have a lot on my plate, but I will make sure I make time to keep writing.

I hope you are all doing well, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave your thoughts, praises, and criticisms in the reviews, they provide a lot of extrinsic motivation for writing. Until next time!