Ch33

The flames of the pyre revealed Hades who looked as if he had seen calmer days. "Lord Hades I've received noticed you wished to see me," Hecate said calmly.

Hades' gaze remained calm but she was no fool, she could feel his frustration and the fury from her realm. "My son is being used by the enemy."

Straight to the point I see. Lou had told her what had happened with these Di Angelo children but then Hades had decided to contact her via some secure channels and they had been speaking frankly to each other.

"What happened?"

"He attacked Artemis' hunters and tried to take my daughter by force," Hades growled. "Olympus is starting to ask questions despite Artemis doing her best to cover it up." The Lord of the Underworld shook his head. "If the others find out about her… At least Artemis will defend her hunters."

She nodded. "Artemis can be very kind to those she cares about. Do you have any means to track your son?"

Hades shook his head. "He's being hidden. My father is very protective of his new pawn." His gaze was steely as he looked up at her. "I need to know what you see of his fate. If things go south I may take drastic measures to protect myself."

Her eyes widened as she chanted in Ancient Greek. The flames flickered as various images played in her head. She saw a young child maniacally laughing as an army of undead rose from the ground. She could feel his anger, sorrow, and frustration at the world directed at anyone who opposed him yet there was a small glimmer of hope.

She looked at Hades who could read her expression. "That bad huh?"

"Nothing is ever set in stone," She said diplomatically.

Hades sighed and shook his head. "My brother is going to be pissed if he finds out the truth."

"You cannot change the past but you can live in the present to prepare for whatever will come," she said calmly.

Hades nodded. "Alert me if you discover anything." The Lord of the Underworld paused. "Daedalus is still down there isn't he?"

"He is," she said calmly.

"Some of the undead that have made it back to me have said that my son is after him." Hades frowned. "My father is doing something down there I can feel it."

"Daedalus has prayed to me," she said. "It seems as if he still has a soft spot for his son."

"I would do anything to have his spirit down here," Hades muttered as he shook his head.

It was then an idea came to her. "If you'd allow perhaps there is a way to draw out your son."

Hades looked at her. "I'm listening."

"Your son is after Daedalus. If we get him your son shall come," she said.

"How do you propose to do that?" Hades asked.

She met the god's gaze. "Allow me to use Icarus' spirit."

Hades looked her over and nodded. "Fine. But just to be clear Daedalus must eventually pass on to my realm."

"I understand." She summoned a mistform card in her hand. "I'll send this to you, send it back with Icarus in it. Perhaps Daedalus needs some convincing."

Hades nodded his gaze steely. "When you find my son bring him to me."

Alabaster sat in the car with his Aunt Medea as they drove from New York. The mood was tense, he could feel his aunt's magical energy radiating off her with unease as they made their way into Massachusetts. "How are things in Salem?"

"Many are nervous," Medea said as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. "You will have to convince them that Olympus is the better choice. In addition you shall train there until summer begins"

He shifted in his seat and shuffled his cards. Salem was sort of a safe place for children of Hecate. Long ago many children of Hecate were burned and persecuted in that city yet in the end his mother helped turn it into a sort of mini community for children of Hecate complete with a small boarding school and everything. He thought about going to the school but he didn't know if it be a good fit for him or not.

To his surprise the car began to slow down as it entered Boston. "What's wrong?"

Medea frowned as the car slowed down on the cold streets. "Alabaster do you know the other reason why your mother established a safe haven in Salem?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Is Innsmouth giving us problems again?"

It was then he noticed the scene in front of him a pack of wolves were circling around a young disheveled-looking boy with blonde hair and two other people. The boy appeared to be around his age and was being hidden by a skinny man with white hair wearing a pilot uniform and a small black man wearing a fancy suit. Something inside of him told him the situation was off

"This city has its own problems." His aunt said as she took out a mistform card. "Here take this and help."

He looked at the card and saw the image of a handsome young man with wings. What is mother planning?

Gripping the card he exited the vehicle. "Ignis!" A blast of green flames took the wolves by surprise. They yelped loudly as they the flames hit them.

Alright lets see what you can do. The mistform card glowed green as he summoned the spirit. A young man in Ancient Greek entire flew out of the card with a bow in his hand and began to fire on the wolves.

The wolves quickly retreated as the blonde haired boy cowered against the wall and the other two men stood in front of him protectively. "Thank you," the short black man said calmly. The white haired man eyed them cautiously as he helped the blonde kid up.

"No problem," he looked at his mistform. "We'll talk later." The young man nodded and turned into mist as before returning into the card.

His aunt stepped out of the car. "It's not safe to be on the streets, does the boy have a home?"

The three of them exchanged an uneasy glance with each other. "We are his guardians," The black man said firmly.

"I see." His aunt took out a small key and handed it to the small man. "Take this and put it in any abandoned house. It will be a safe place for this boy."

The man looked Medea in the eyes and bowed. "Thank you my lady."

He stared at the strange group in front of him, something about them was off such as how short the black guy seemed or how the white haired guy seemed to have pointy ears like an elf.

Medea looked at the small man in the eyes. "If the boy ever needs help Salem has an open door policy for those in need. My lady has good memories of your kind" His aunt turned around. "Come Alabaster."

He waved awkwardly to the group of people before getting back into the car. "Who were they?" He asked as his aunt started the car.

Medea paused as the car drove off. "Boston has its own problems, its own gods."

"Own gods?" He asked.

"Tell no one," his aunt said firmly. The atmosphere around her became dangerously tense.

A shiver went down his spine. "Yes Auntie." There were things he knew he shouldn't push, such as why he had to be careful around Brooklyn or about the time he asked about the role of the demigods in the Pacific Theater of WWII not to mention the time his aunt tried to seek the holy grail in Japan of all places.

"Your mom has many friends we should help them if they need it," Medea said. "Now summon that spirit again we have things to discuss."

He took out the card and summoned the spirit. Green smoke flew from the car towards the back seat summoning the image of the young man from earlier. "Greetings master," the man said calmy. "I am Icarus son of Daedalus."

"Icarus?" He turned to his aunt. "Why would mother send me his spirit?"

"There are still things going on beneath the labyrinth," Medea said. "The enemy's forces are scattered but they are still present."

"My father is being recruited by Kronos," Icarus said as unease and sorrow spread across his face. "They want to still use the labyrinth to invade the demigod camp."

He swore. "I thought we finished them off."

"The labyrinth is a complex maze. Unless it is completely destroyed or you have a guide there will still be pockets of the enemy," Medea said calmy.

He frowned at the ground. "An invasion of camp. It would be a logistical nightmare to invade if they don't have Ariadne's string or a mortal guide." His mind raced at the various possibilities. "Your father would he have the string?"

Icarus nodded. "He does. Lord Hades claims the enemy is trying to get it from him." The young man folded his arms and frowned. "My father always wanted to cheat death, I fear the enemy may tempt him."

A sad expression spread across Icarus' face. "My father is a good man deep down and he loves me deeply." The young man looked up at him. "Master please help me bring my father to his senses."

He looked at the young man from the rearview mirror and slowly nodded. "Fine. We'll see what we can do."

Icarus smiled. "Thank you sir, please save my father. I am at your disposal."

With that Icarus disappeared in smoke as he returned to his card. He looked down at the card and traced it carefully. "Daedalus…Have you met him?"

"A few times," Medea said. "An interesting man with more interest in machines than actual people."

It didn't take long for them to reach Salem. The calm city was quiet as they made their way through the old parts of the city. It was a somber feeling knowing that a few hundred ago children of Hecate were persecuted and burned at the stake in this city town by religious fanatics. Ironically now it was a place of refugee for children of Hecate.

They pulled up to a large old fashioned building made of stone. As he got out of the car he could feel and sense the magic in the air. Welcome to Salem.

A group of people came out to greet him and his aunt and soon they were let inside. The building's interior was made of stone and lit by candlelight. Green mist filled the air as their footsteps echoed throughout the building.

Eventually they reached a large room full of people. His heart raced as he walked past them, even if they were also children of Hecate but he still didn't know them since many of them were older teens and adults. There were whispers and mutters as they walked past everyone towards the stage. As they got up Medea cleared her throat, the room instantly turned quiet.

"Good evening," Medea said her voice echoing throughout the room. "Times are changing quickly and our actions will be reflected on all of us."

"Are we really siding with the gods?" Someone asked.

Medea's gaze flickered. "Lady Hecate has been in contact with many Olympians and negotiating the best route for all her children." She turned to him Alabaster tell them of your journeys."

His heart raced in his chest as he looked at everyone. "I've been on a few journeys this past year." The crowd listened as he told the stories of his adventures into the Sea of Monsters and into the Labyrinth. Taking a deep breath he looked at everyone. "Olympus has neglected our mother but do not be deceived by the Titan Lord. Kronos will not hesitate to kill us and use our mother to his content."

The crowd erupted into murmurs. "Silence!" Medea said causing the room to turn quiet. "No matter the path Lady Hecate chooses we must be prepared to defend ourselves. War is coming whether we like it or not." His gaze drifted to the crowd as a burning determination swelled inside of him. "I will fight for our mother with the campers. This is our chance to prove our mother's worth if anyone wants to join me and the others they can if not you can stay here. But mark my words, we will bring our mother glory."

His heart raced as he looked over at his siblings. These ones were older than the ones he trained with and he frankly didn't know a lot of them. But he could see a few nods and curious gazes, they were older than him but they still wanted their mother's recognition just like everyone else.

"While we think about Alabaster's words we have another item we must discuss," Medea said as she clapped her hands.

The curtain behind them opened up revealing a large bile of machinery with a metallic head of a Greek warrior. "What is this?" He asked.

"This was a prototype of Talos which your sister took down," Medea said. "I had some followers go and retrieve it."

He stared at the wreckage, the hairs on his neck stood up as he looked it over. The thing gave off some serious bad vibes.

"That thing has negative energy," someone from the crowd said.

"Indeed it does," Medea said her voice echoing throughout the room. "I've been hard at work disabling the curses and negative energies attached to it. We shall make something useful from these scraps. The camp will be facing many threats soon. You must study and prepare hard."

He looked the scraps over and nodded. "I'll do it."