Chapter Six:
The Set Animal and I sprang into action at the same time. It bounded towards the Washington Monument, saliva dripping from its jaws. As I started running towards them, I screamed, "Clarisse!"
Clarisse's head snapped up. Her eyes widened as she noticed the enormous creature hurtling towards them. She grabbed Sadie and pulled her behind the Washington Monument, stepping in between Amos and Carter and the oncoming beast, brandishing her spear with a warcry. Vines grew around the beast's feet, but the Set Animal did not slow, barreling down at them like a tank. The Set Animal snapped at her, but Clarisse jumped at the last possible second, pushing off the beast's head with her foot. The animal toppled forward onto its face, and Clarisse landed behind it, landing two quick jabs with her spear at the creature's hind legs. It howled, turning to snap at her again, but Clarisse dodged away just in time.
By this time, Amos had recovered enough to get to his feet. He took his wand out and shouted "Ha-wi!" There was a booming sound and the Set Animal was launched back a ways, toppling over. I managed to catch up with them. "That won't buy us much time," Amos said, panting. "And I don't know how many more Divine Words I have in me. I spent a lot of my energy fighting fruit bats."
"Fighting what now?" Clarisse asked.
"Please," Saide mumbled, looking green. "Don't ask." Sadie looked at me and launched herself at me. "You're ok."
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. "I am so lost about everything right now."
Sadie choked out a laugh. "Only you, Percy."
"We have to move," Bast said, appearing out of nowhere. "Keys." Clarisse tossed the keys to Bast and together we all took off running.
"Hi, I don't mean to be rude, especially after you kicked that thing's ass," Sadie said. "But who the hell are you guys?"
"I'm Clarisse, that's Annabeth, and that's Katie," Clarisse answered. "How well can you multitask?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Carter asked
"I need to know I won't have to carry you while you cope with being in denial about the universe itself," Clarisse said.
"Explanations can wait until we're not running from imminent death!" Katie scolded.
"Fine, fine. What do you guys wanna talk about then? How bout chili dogs? Y'all, I am starved and craving a nice New York style chili dog," Clarisse said.
"Clarisse!" Katie scolded.
"What?" Clarisse wondered. "I get hungry when I fight."
The Set Animal was back on its feet, bounding after us. "We're not going to make it to the garage," Annabeth called. "We need to slow it down somehow!"
"It won't hunt me," Bast said. "Its focus is on Carter and Sadie."
"Why us!?" Sadie cried. "Can we please have one hour where something is not trying to kill us? Please, just one hour."
"What would be the fun in that?" Clarisse laughed.
Amos whirled, shouting "Drowah!" The Set Animal seemed to crash into an invisible wall, folding like a mime. It howled in irritation, the saliva dripping from its jaws steaming against the invisible barrier.
"How long will that hold him?" Annabeth asked.
"Not long!" Amos replied. "Even if we make it to the car, we won't be able to outpace it! Not in Washington, maybe not even on an open highway!"
"How fast is this thing?" Katie cried.
"Too fast for us," Bast replied. "Amos is right. We need a plan to deal with it permanently. Even if we escape it, it will pursue us our entire journey to Set."
"Moose!" a random bystander yelled. The cry was taken up by several others. "There's a rabid moose loose in the streets!" Panic erupted in the crowd as people fled from the rabid 'moose'.
"Moose?" Sadie asked.
"Mortals are so odd," Bast replied, shaking her head. "They do not wish to see what's before their eyes. Now the illusion will spread by the power of suggestion. Do not expect any aid from the mortals. We must solve this ourselves."
"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Carter demanded. "The only magic we've done is turn into birds and I became a giant chicken man."
"You turned into a giant chicken man?" I cried. What the hell had happened while I was gone?
"Long story," Sadie said.
"I for one would like to hear more about this giant chicken man nonsense," Clarisse piped up.
"Later!" Bast yelled.
"Can we go on your boat thing?" I yelled to Amos.
He shook his head. "I'm only allowed to summon that boat once a year. And without it, we have no safe way to travel the Duat."
"The what?" Annabeth asked.
"The spirit world, where gods, demons and the souls of the dead," Amos shouted. "Honestly, what kind of magicians are you?"
"The Greek kind!" Clarisse yelled. Amos stumbled, his face going white as death.
"Sorry, did you just say you were Greek?" Sadie asked. "Do you know any good gyro places?"
Clarisse grinned. "Someone's got their priorities straight."
The Set Animal roared behind us, somehow breaking through Amos's spell. It howled in delight, and even though I couldn't see it, I could almost feel its eyes burning in anticipation for the hunt. We ducked down another street heading for the car.
"Bloody hell Carter, keep up!" Sadie yelled.
"You try running while carrying this heavy ass toolkit!" Carter snapped back.
"You never taught them to use the Duat?" Bast inquired, gently loping alongside us.
"We were on a pretty tight schedule!" Amos yelled back. "Carter, listen; imagine a space in the air, like a chest, or a locker."
"Like a school locker? I've never had one of those," Carter said.
"Yes. Imagine a locker, give it a combination, anything, and put your father's toolkit inside," Amos explained. Carter frowned, looking skeptical. But he stretched out his arm, which looked awkward while running, and let it go. To all of our surprises, the toolkit disappeared into thin air.
Clarisse whistled. "That's some trick."
"There's the garage!" I yelled. It was only a block away.
"Clarisse! Through me the keys. I'll start the car," Bast yelled. Clarisse complied, and Bast sprinted off, leaping up a whole floor to slip into the garage. Just as the rest of us made it into the garage, a loud roar boomed behind us. I whirled around. The Set Animal had found us.
"We can't let it follow us," I said. Not sure to who. Maybe to myself. "We'll never make it out of Washington if we keep running."
"Percy's right. We're a lot more vulnerable in a car. At least out here we stand a fighting chance," Annabeth said.
Clarisse grinned. "Finally! I'm glad you all finally see sense now."
"I wouldn't say that," Carter mumbled. "I've got a plan."
Katie and Annabeth nodded, but Sadie looked at him and scoffed. "You? You've got a plan?"
Carter shot her a glare. "Just trust me."
"Scatter!" Clarisse yelled. I yelped and dodged to the side as the Set Animal tore past us, tail flicking dangerously over my head. The Set Animal whipped around faster than its enormous body should allow. It's orange eyes locked on to Carter, who seemed lost in concentration. In my mind I could see it lunging at Carter and snapping him up whole. My vision turned red, and in a blind rage I thrust out my hands. I don't know what I was intending, but what I got was torrents of red lightning erupting from my fingers. The crimson bolts of lightning struck the beast, sending it crashing into a Prius. At least I hadn't damaged anything valuable.
There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at me. I cleared my throat. "So, Carter, uh, about that plan?"
"Right," he replied shakily. He started running towards the Set Animal, but it rolled back on to its feet, still dazed. But Carter wasn't deterred. Not at all. Just as he was about to reach the Set Animal, he started to grow. Not actually, but he rose fifteen feet off the ground, suspended in a bubble of golden light. The light began to take form, until it looked like a twenty foot tall statue of a dude who had a chicken for a head.
"That is so not fair!" Clarisse yelled. Carter didn't answer, instead, he thrust out his hand. The glowing chicken headed statue did the same. In Carter's hand the bent sword he had gotten from Amos's house appeared out of thin air. A golden replica shimmered into existence in the golden statue's hand. Carter wasted no time in slashing the sword at the Set Animal's neck. But the beast was quicker than it looked. It leaped over the strike and landed on Carter's chest, toppling him.
"Carter!" Sadie and I yelled at the same time. I rushed towards him. I could see the Set Animal's saliva burning away at his golden Power Rangers knockoff. Any second now that would disappear and Carter would become Flat Stanley. But then Carter reached up, through the golden light. His fingers grabbed the Set Animal's fur, and poof! The Set Animal was gone.
"Carter!" I yelled. He collapsed on the pavement. "What happened? Are you ok?"
"Oh man, I'm really tired," Carter groaned. "I could totally go for a gyro."
I laughed. He was fine. I sat him up as the rest of the gang piled around. "Can someone explain what the hell just happened?" Annabeth demanded.
"I summoned the power of Horus and used my combat Avatar. Then I pushed the Set Animal into my locker," Carter said while recovering his breath.
"You pushed the Set Animal into the Duat?" Amos said, looking concerned. "Carter, do you have any idea the energy that takes?"
A car sped around the corner, skidding to a stop. Bast hopped out of the driver's seat. "Where's the Set Animal?"
Bast rushed off again, probably to find herself another larceny offense. Sadie was the first to speak. "So you guys said you were Greek Magicians, right? So do any of you have Hades in your head?"
"No, apparently our gods work differently than yours," Annabeth said. "We're half-bloods, or demigods. One of our parents are a regular mortal, and the other is a god. My mom's Athena, Ares is Clarisse's dad, and Demeter is Katie's mom."
"Huh," Sadie said blankly. "Bloody magnificent."
"Oh, and we have a camp for people like us so we can train to fight monsters and go on quests," Clarisse butted in. "The quest the three of us were sent on is to recover Zeus, our king god's, Master Bolt. Apparently, my dad Ares, the god of war, stole it somehow and gave it to Set."
"Brilliant," Sadie grumbled. "Now not only do we have to worry about this Set bloke possessing my brother, but this whole Master Bolt business? John Lennon's ballsacks this is a mess."
"Sorry, are you british?" Katie asked suddenly.
"What's it to you, luv?" Sadie retorted.
Katie blushed. "Sorry, I just didn't realize there were demigods outside the US before."
Carter bristled, sitting up from his position on Amos's lap. "We're not demigods, or whatever you said you were."
"You're might not be, but Percy is," Annabeth said.
"No he's not! He's my brother," Sadie declared. "Sides, who cares we live outside the States, bloody America isn't all that great anyways," Sadie grumbled.
"I just thought it was interesting," Katie said. "Well, we've been told that the Greek gods move with the West, and well, currently the center of the West is the US, you know, since Olympus hangs over the Empire State Building. I suppose I never considered demigods would be born outside the US."
Sadie's mouth bobbed open like a goldfish. "Olympus hangs over…"
"Percy's not a demigod, or whatever. He's our brother," Carter asserted, glaring at Annabeth.
"No, she's right. Bast told me earlier. My dad is Poseidon, Greek god of the Sea," I said. I don't know what compelled me from keeping the whole truth, but there was a tugging in my gut, an instinct, I suppose. Something about revealing that information just seemed wrong.
"No," Sadie said, shaking her head. "You're my brother."
"Of course I am. Mom's still mom, Dad's still Dad, I guess, well, I have another father," I shrugged.
"How are you so ok with this?" Carter asked.
"Oh believe me, I'm not. I'm totally gonna need a whole week to process this. But first, I'm getting Dad back. I don't care who gets in my way or what tries to stop me. I'm not letting some fire faced freak take him from me," I declared.
Actually, I've been told I'm quite hot, Set said.
"Defeating Set will not be easy," Amos reminded us. "He is not the god of Chaos for nothing. We must defeat Set before the pyramid is complete, or he will be unstoppable."
"Tch, easy. Giant chicken man's got this, right?" Clarisse said, nudging Carter. Carter blanched and Clarisse laughed. "This is gonna be fun."
A white van pulled into the garage and honked at us. We loaded everyone into the van and Bast sped off, weaving through DC traffic. Despite Bast's rough driving, Carter was asleep almost immediately. Katie tried to ask where Bast had gotten this van, but she interrupted and asked Amos what had happened in Cairo.
Amos and Sadie launched into a story that included lots of angry magicians, a french guy, moving paintings, a funky knife throwing bridge, ghosts, a really, really old guy, fire girl continuing to be mean, Sadie stepping into magic paintings, the really really old guy being vague and cryptic (gotta love it), Zia making Carter and Sadie fight, Sadie transforming sticks into large cats, Carter having a growth spurt, more teleportation, France, turning into birds (?), thievery, fruit bats (which are apparently way more vicious than I'd ever thought), and even more teleportation. My head was spinning by the end of it, and by the looks on Katie and Annabeth's faces I wasn't the only one. Clarisse just looked bored, but to be fair I think the only time she was interested was when they were talking about fighting fruit bats.
We stopped for dinner in Roanoke. Carter had finally woken up and was complaining about being hungry. No one argued. Bast offered to summon cans of Friskies for all of us, but we quickly vetoed that. We chatted for a little while, Amos telling us about the House of Life, and Annabeth telling us about Camp Half-Blood. I told them what happened with Serqet and Medusa. And then Sadie asked the million dollar question.
"Amos?" Sadie said thoughtfully. That was rare. "What were mom and dad doing? The night she died? The magician in France said we served cowardly gods. Was he talking about you?"
For a moment, the only sound was tires on the pavement as Bast and Amos shared a look. Amos sighed. "That requires…explanation. Ruby, your mother, she specialized in divining magic. The ability to peer into the future. It is a rare gift, one that the House of Life has not seen in centuries. Even Iskandar only managed rare glimpses into the future. But your mother, she was a natural. She saw many things, many possible futures. I do not pretend to understand the nature of divination magic, but I do know this. The future is not set in stone. It is malleable, like clay. Your mother had many visions, and everything she did, she did for the sake of the world. The night she died…she had foreseen something terrible. She predicted that a great calamity would strike and we would be unprepared to face it. She, well, she knew we would need the gods to face it. For you Greeks, the House of Life had imprisoned a vast majority of the gods. They were deemed too dangerous and uncontrollable to be allowed to roam free. But your mother predicted that the gods would be needed. She told Iskandar about her vision, and asked him to help her. Iskandar refused. He thought it was impossible for her predictions to come to pass. He knew the future was fickle. But your mother, she was certain. The night she died, she had taken it upon herself to start the process."
Amos paused, looking at Bast. Bast was tense, her eyes never leaving the road. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight, the plastic had permanent handprints in them. Bast sighed, and continued where Amos had left off. "The night your mother died, she was releasing me from my prison. I was imprisoned with the Serpent of the Night, Ra's eternal enemy. It was the final order Ra gave as Pharaoh. He had hoped, that since he was being cast from his throne, that the serpent would lose strength as well. Order and Chaos are bound to one another, you see. When Chaos rises, Order must rise to meet it. And when Order is diminished, so too is the power of Chaos. I battled the Serpent for eons inside our prison. For many centuries, I battled the Serpent, fang against claw. It was an honor to serve Ra. To win him his ultimate glory. Until I understood Ra's plan. The Serpent and I would rip each other to pieces, over and over, until we tore each other into oblivion."
Bast paused, and silence enveloped the vehicle once more. Sadie looked at Bast with such pity, and I was compelled to feel the same. Poor Bast.
"Your mother…she sensed I would lose. My enemy could not be overcome with my power alone. She foresaw that my defeat would see the ruin of Egypt. If she had not foreseen my defeat, I would have been trapped with him until I was ground into oblivion. A final death. I knew the time was approaching, and I was powerless to call for help. Imagine my surprise when your mother offered me a way out. And to my everlasting shame, I took it. Your mother died sealing the Serpent in his prison. But now that I am not there to combat him, his return is inevitable."
"How long do we have?" Clarisse asked.
"Years. Decades, probably. Maybe a century or two if we're lucky," Bast replied.
"And if we're not?" Sadie asked.
"If somehow the Serpent gained a cult following of magicians willing to create enough Chaos magic to fuel him, theoretically he could escape in a few years. But that is a worst case scenario," Bast said. "I'm not even back at full strength, and I've been recovering for years, and I am much less powerful than he is."
"When you say the Serpent," Carter wondered. "Do you mean–"
"Do not speak his name," Amos interrupted. "Names have power. Do not say a god's name unless you intend for them to listen."
"We talk about Set all the time," Sadie said.
"Yes, but he is watching through Percy's eyes. There is little we can hide from him right now," Bast responded. At that everyone looked at me awkwardly. I smiled and gave a cheeky little wave.
"Sorry. Blame the god," I said.
"I think that's enough questions for tonight. Why don't you kids get some sleep? With any luck we'll be in Memphis by sunrise," Bast said. None of us really wanted to sleep, but it had been a long day. Not long after that, everyone else was asleep. Only Bast, Amos and I were still awake. I couldn't fall asleep, and not just because Clarisse's snoring shook the whole van. I couldn't help but wonder where Dad was. Had Set really killed him? Maybe he was ok. He was dragged underground by a glowing coffin, after all. That didn't necessarily mean he was dead.
"You know it's not your fault," Amos's voice whispered so suddenly I almost jumped out of my seat.
"It is my duty to protect the line of Pharaohs," Bast hissed. "I could not protect Ruby from the Serpent's wrath. She set me free, and I was obligated to save her, and I did not. In what way was that not my fault?"
"You were weak. Ruby chose to give her life for you. She knew you would protect her children and the world. She was right to free you," Amos said.
"Ra ordered me to battle the Serpent. He sealed me away so that he could never rise again. I forsook my duty out of cowardice. And now, we face a battle we cannot hope to win because I fled from my destiny."
"You were trapped in a hopeless battle against an enemy far beyond your ability. Don't shame yourself for fleeing a battle you could not win," Amos said.
"I should not have fled. It was my king's command," Bast said.
"Ra was desperate and out of options. He would not have trapped you there if there was any other option. Ruby freed you for a greater purpose," Amos said.
Bast was silent for a moment. "Perhaps. I hope her faith was not misplaced."
After that cheerful conversation, it didn't get easier to fall asleep. But finally, after a while, I drifted off to sleep.
Of course, my night was anything but restful. As soon as I fell asleep, my chicken bodied self was whisked away to the other side of the country. I watched as my environment turned dry and sandy, the sun still falling, casting a red glow across the dry plains. The lights of civilization seemed so distant from this perspective. But that wasn't the only thing. I could see huge bricks, crimson blocks of stone being hauled towards the city. An outline of these red stones already surrounded the city, an enormous square entrapping the city. Strangely, they didn't seem to be disrupting the city at all. Instead, the pyramid seemed to overlay the city. The red bricks seemed to shimmer in places, and I could see houses inside of them.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Set's voice asked from behind me. I turned and saw him there. But he looked different from the fiery outline of a man I had seen before. Now he looked like a baseball player, tall and muscular, if baseball players had blood colored skin and demonic red eyes. He had a thin, black goatee and a bald head. He was dressed in a red three piece suit, with a black dress shirt and tie. Set grinned at me and for a second, his head flickered into that of the Set Animal, his teeth razor sharp and dripping with blood. There was another figure behind him, with an ugly ass face.
I just raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you're going a bit overkill with all the red? Like seriously, you look like a ladybug."
"Ha! This is why I picked you, Percy. You have my kind of humor," Set laughed. "Anyways, I'm not going to be keeping you for long. I've got things to do. As you can see, construction on my pyramid is going pretty well. We should be done on my birthday, if everything goes according to my design, at sunset."
"My Lord, we do not have the manpower-" the other guy started, but Set interrupted him.
"More of your kind will come, Face of Horror," Set snapped. "You forget your place, minor demon."
The demon cowered, but something flashed in its eyes, and I got a strange feeling this was no minor demon. But I couldn't help but snicker.
"Your name is Face of Horror? That's so cliche."
"Hey! Don't heckle my minions!" Set complained.
"Did you drag me all the way out here just to brag?" I demanded. "Or did you actually have something worthwhile to say? I'd like to have a good night's sleep at least once this week."
"Oh Percy, you know I would never allow that," Set chuckled. "But yes, I did want you to congratulate your brother for me. Throwing my little boy into the Duat like that takes a lot of power. I'm almost surprised he woke up at all. But he is a Kane kid after all, you children are resilient."
"He–what?" My head was spinning. Had Carter almost died?
"Anyways, that's all I had for you tonight. Oh, and when you wake up, tell your sister thank you for setting me free. She'll know," Set said, waving his hand dismissively. Before I could question him further, I was flung back. I assumed I was going back to my body, but apparently my spirit had different plans. I sank below the earth. For a while, all I could see was darkness. I blinked, how I could when my eyelids were see-through, I couldn't tell you, but when I opened my eyes again I was standing in a large cavern. Before me was a huge pit, blacker than pitch black. I felt as though it were a black hole, pulling my very essence towards the hole. I was surrounded by rags of smoke, creatures that seemed to be made out of gray mist. The spirits of the dead, my mind supplied. How my mind knew, again, I had no answers. They were clawing at me, grasping at my clothes, determined to keep me from walking towards the pit, but for some reason I couldn't resist. I peered down into the abyss. It was so dark, I couldn't see past a few feet, but I had the feeling this pit was endless. Despite that, I felt a presence tugging at the surface of my mind, something huge and evil, trying to rise from the void.
"So this is the conquering hero," the presence said, sending shivers down my spine. Not even Set felt this evil. Its voice was filled with malice, hatred millenia old, left to rot. "You are older than I had imagined. I had assumed the Fates would give you more time. No matter. Not they, nor the gods will save you."
I felt a force settle upon me, trying to pull me into the pit. I stood firm, resisting the pull, but it was strong. "I can grant your desires. Help me rise, and I will return your Father to you."
Unbidden, an image of my father pounding on the golden coffin sprung into my mind. I faltered, almost stumbling forward into the pit. The spirits cried out around me. No! Wake!
With a jolt, I realized the force wasn't trying to pull me into the pit. The thing inside was using me to pull itself out. "Good. Good. Free me, child!"
Wake! The dead cried. Wake!