A/N Yay now for the real fun.
CHAPTER 9: AN EXPLOSION FOR CHRISTMAS part 2
Nobody's pov
Once everyone settles down the reading started.
Throth began
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I heard was laughter—horrible, gleeful laughter mixed with the blare of the museum's security alarms.
"Ok, what happened now," Apollo asked.
"Our father blew up a national artifact. " Carter said. " Nothing new. " Percy commented making Athena huff and those who had seen him do it laughed. Others just looked at him in amusement.
I felt like I'd just been run over by a tractor. I sat up, dazed, and spit a piece of Rosetta Stone out of my mouth.
"Ewww" You can guess who said while the demigods winced especially Percy as they knew what it felt like.
The gallery was in ruins. Waves of fire rippled in pools along the floor. Giant statues had toppled. Sarcophagi had been knocked off their pedestals. Pieces of the Rosetta Stone had exploded outward with such force that they'd embedded themselves in the columns, the walls, and the other exhibits.
Athena passed out listening to the destruction caused to the museum while Ares and Set cheered for more.
Sadie was passed out next to me, but she looked unharmed. I shook her shoulder, and she grunted. "Ugh." In front of us, where the Rosetta Stone had been, stood a smoking, sheared-off pedestal. The floor was blackened in a starburst pattern, except for the glowing blue circle around our father.
Everyone, except the Kane siblings, leaned forward in anticipation.
He was facing our direction, but he didn't seem to be looking at us. A bloody cut ran across his scalp. He gripped the boomerang tightly. I didn't understand what he was looking at. Then the horrible laughter echoed around the room again, and I realized it was coming from right in front of me.
Tension rose in the room.
Something stood between our father and us. At first, I could barely make it out—just a flicker of heat. But as I concentrated, it took on a vague form—the fiery outline of a man. He was taller than Dad, and his laugh cut through me like a chainsaw."Well done," he said to my father. "Very well done, Julius."
Sadie and Carter winced in remembrance of that night.
"You were not summoned!" My father's voice trembled. He held up the boomerang, but the fiery man flicked one finger, and the stick flew from Dad's hand, shattering against the wall."I am never summoned, Julius," the man purred. "But when you open a door, you must be prepared for guests to walk through."
"He sounds like a psychopath if you ask me," Leo says trying to diffuse the tension but only gets shhh. Percy gives him a weak smile and mouths you tried.
"Back to the Duat!" my father roared. "I have the power of the Great King!"
"Wait what is Duat and who is this great king ?"Carter and Sadie look at each other and reply "SPOILERS !" breaking the tension for a few seconds.
"Oh, scary," the fiery man said with amusement. "And even if you knew how to use that power, which you do not, he was never my match. I am the strongest. Now you will share his fate."I couldn't make sense of anything, but I knew that I had to help my dad.
"I know how you feel Carter," Percy said remembering his own first time when he thought the minotaur would kill his mother. Annabeth patted his shoulder remembering the same.
I tried to pick up the nearest chunk of stone, but I was so terrified my fingers felt frozen and numb. My hands were useless.
"First monster is always scary," Piper said. Carter and Sadie exchanged glances at the First Monster. More like a god.
Dad shot me a silent look of warning: Get out. I realized he was intentionally keeping the fiery man's back to us, hoping Sadie and I would escape unnoticed.
"They are always like that. Thinking for us before anything." Percy replied rather fondly thinking about his mother. Demigods other than Annabeth and Grover were looking at him in confusion.
Sadie was still groggy. I managed to drag her behind a column, into the shadows. When she started to protest, I clamped my hand over her mouth. That woke her up. She saw what was happening and stopped fighting.
"Good. Now get out of there. "
"Apollo"
"Yes Lil' sis"
"You are talking to a book and I was born before you. " Before they could start arguing Throth continues.
Alarms blared. Fire circled around the doorways of the gallery. The guards had to be on their way, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing for us.
"Bad thing. Very very bad thing."
Dad crouched to the floor, keeping his eyes on his enemy, and opened his painted wooden box. He brought out a small rod like a ruler. He muttered something under his breath and the rod elongated into a wooden staff as tall as he was. Sadie made a squeaking sound. I couldn't believe my eyes either, but things only got weirder.
"How can things get weirder than that," Hermes asked. Everyone nodded their heads other than Percy who said " I know.
Dad threw his staff at the fiery man's feet, and it changed into an enormous serpent—ten feet long and as big around as I was—with coppery scales and glowing red eyes.
Greeks gasped astonished.
It lunged at the fiery man, who effortlessly grabbed the serpent by its neck. The man's hand burst into white-hot flames, and the snake burned to ashes. "An old trick, Julius," the fiery man chided. My dad glanced at us, silently urging us again to run.
"Then why did you not?"
"Not what."
"Ran away."
"Because I was too shocked by what was happening."
Part of me refused to believe any of this was real. Maybe I was unconscious, having a nightmare. Next to me, Sadie picked up a chunk of stone.
"How many?" my dad asked quickly, trying to keep the fiery man's attention. "How many did I release?"
"What did he release?" " Gods."
Making Greeks gasp.
"Why, all five," the man said as if explaining something to a child. "You should know we're a package deal, Julius. Soon I'll release even more, and they'll be very grateful. I shall be named king again." "The Demon Days," my father said. "They'll stop you before it's too late."
Athena and Annabeth were thinking hard trying to remember about demon days.
The fiery man laughed. "You think the House can stop me? Those old fools can't even stop arguing among themselves. Now let the story be told anew. And this time you shall never rise!"The fiery man waved his hand. The blue circle at Dad's feet went dark. Dad grabbed for his toolbox, but it skittered across the floor.
"Goodbye, Osiris," the fiery man said.
"YOU ARE JULIUS." Greeks other than Athena and Annabeth shouted and turned towards Osiris in awe. They had never seen a real-life human god. Even though Walt also hosted one but they have never seen him as a god. While Julius was a full god. Aphrodite squealed " Oh my me, you did it to stay close to your wife. That is so romantic. " Making Osiris and Ruby blush. ( A/N Can a soul blush? I don't know. I have never met one. Let's assume this time that they can.) Other Aphrodite girls except for Piper squeal too. Piper and other Greeks rolled their eyes at their antics. They knew Aphrodite so they were ready for high-pitched squealing.
While Sadie and Carter smiled sadly that even though they never could have a normal childhood at least their parents were together. And also they wanted to create a soundproof barrier because they doubted their ears could handle another round.
With another flick of his hand, he conjured a glowing coffin around our dad. At first, it was transparent, but as our father struggled and pounded on its sides, the coffin became more and more solid—a golden Egyptian sarcophagus inlaid with jewels. My dad caught my eyes one last time, and mouthed the word Run! before the coffin sank into the floor as if the ground had turned to water.
The tension was back again.
"Dad!" I screamed. Sadie threw her stone, but it sailed harmlessly through the fiery man's head.
Murmurs of What and How were heard all around the room.
He turned, and for one terrible moment, his face appeared in the flames. What I saw made no sense.
Demigods nodded their heads. They knew the first experience was always difficult to understand.
It was as if someone had superimposed two different faces on top of each other—one almost human, with pale skin, cruel, angular features, and glowing red eyes, the other like an animal with dark fur and sharp fangs. Worse than a dog or a wolf or a lion—some animal I'd never seen before.
"The set animal," Carter muttered.
On the other hand, Annabeth, who had recognized the god turned towards Set and said " That is you. Right? "Set shakes his head positively while Osiris/Julius grumbles about stupid brothers.
Those red eyes stared at me, and I knew I was going to die.
" Pessimist much? "Hestia raises her eyebrows at Carter.
Behind me, heavy footsteps echoed on the marble floor of the Great Court. Voices were barking orders. The security guards, maybe the police—but they'd never get here in time.
The fiery man lunged at us.
Everyone was on the edge of their seat. They were worried for the Kane siblings.
A few inches from my face, something shoved him backwards. The air sparked with electricity. The amulet around my neck grew uncomfortably hot.
The fiery man hissed, regarding me more carefully. "So...it's you."
"Wait. What happened again? " Apollo asked. "Did we miss something? " Hermes questioned. All the Greeks were confused while Athena and Annabeth were thinking hard.
The building shook again. At the opposite end of the room, part of the wall exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Two people stepped through the gap—the man and the girl we'd seen at the Needle, their robes swirling around them. Both of them held staffs.
The fiery man snarled. He looked at me one last time and said, "Soon, boy."
Then the entire room erupted in flames. A blast of heat sucked all the air of out my lungs and I crumpled to the floor.
The last thing I remember, the man with the forked beard and the girl in blue were standing over me. I heard the security guards running and shouting, getting closer. The girl crouched over me and drew a long curved knife from her belt.
"We must act quickly," she told the man.
"Not yet," he said with some reluctance. His thick accent sounded French. "We must be sure before we destroy them."
"Wait, I never thought about this but that day Desjardins saved you. " Bast said. Carter, Sadie, Zia and Walt towards her in horror then realized she was right. While everyone was watching them curiously.
I closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.
"The chapter ends. " Throth says. "Now, before we start the next chapter we wish to ask you some questions. "Athena stated. " Ok, we will answer only if it would be necessary."