A/N This is to be continued part of the last one. Some people are missing, if you would have noticed. Chiron went back to camp last night. That is why he was not included. R R guys

Chapter 16: Breakfast with a Crocodile Part 2

To be continued...

Percy's pov.

These guys are so like and unlike us. They suffered a similar fate and came on the top, at the same time their strength lies in words and magic than physical. It is really interesting to read their story and watch them interact. Back to the story.

Amos shook his head. "A legacy that powerful does not disappear.

"So that is how you survived. Where Greeks and Romans survived due to Western culture, Egyptians lived on their legacies." I clicked my fingers. Everyone pondered that.

Next to the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans were babies.

"Hey! " Most of my friends shouted while the Greek god gave an angry look to the other ones. "Don't hey them. If I remember correctly, when I came to camp, Chiron told me similar things about them. It is just their pride speaking. Don't take it seriously." I reprimanded them lightly. They looked surprised. Ugh, And they think I am an idiot.

Our modern nations like Great Britain and America? Blinks of an eye. The very oldest root of civilization, at least of Western civilization, is Egypt.

"Egypt is the oldest civilization. That much we give you the credit for." Lady Athena nodded

Look at the pyramid on the dollar bill. Look at the Washington Monument—the world's largest Egyptian obelisk. Egypt is still very much alive. And so, unfortunately, are her gods."

"What do you mean by, unfortunately!" Lady Isis cried.

"Come on," I argued. "I mean...even if I believe there's a real thing called magic. Believing in ancient gods is totally different. You're joking, right?"

" Nope, he was not! " Sadied sighed.

But as I said it, I thought about the fiery guy in the museum, the way his face had shifted between human and animal. And the statue of Thoth—how its eyes had followed me.

" You are a smart boy, kid." Lord Bes nodded which seemed awkward.

"Carter," Amos said, "the Egyptians would not have been stupid enough to believe in imaginary gods. The beings they described in their myths are very, very real. In the old days, the priests of Egypt would call upon these gods to channel their power and perform great feats. That is the origin of what we now call magic. Like many things, magic was first invented by the Egyptians. Each temple had a branch of magicians called the House of Life. Their magicians were famed throughout the ancient world."

Annabeth's eyes widened. Which looks cute on her. Even I cannot help but feel surprised and dazzled by the picture he was painting. We may be demigods but having the powers of a real immortal being is of a different level.

"And you're an Egyptian magician."

Amos nodded. "So was your father. You saw it for yourself last night."

I hesitated. It was hard to deny my dad had done some weird stuff at the museum—some stuff that looked like magic.

"But he's an archaeologist," I said stubbornly.

" Why does it take so much time to get this information in your stubborn head? You. Are. A. Magician. Isn't that simple?" " It is easy for you Thalia as, if my guess is right, you are born or told about yours at a very young age. After an age, it becomes very difficult to accept these things without questioning them. If Carter and Sadie had been told much later, I doubt they would have understood one bit." Zia replied.

"That's his cover story. You'll remember that he specialized in translating ancient spells, which are very difficult to understand unless you work magic yourself. Our family, the Kane family, has been part of the House of Life almost since the beginning. And your mother's family is almost as ancient."

"The Fausts?" I tried to imagine Grandma and Grandpa Faust doing magic, but unless watching rugby on TV and burning cookies was magical, I couldn't see it.

"If they are, I would do those things regularly! " Conner cheered.

"They had not practiced magic for many generations," Amos admitted. "Not until your mother came along. But yes, a very ancient bloodline."

Sadie shook her head in disbelief. "So now Mum was magic, too. Are you joking?"

"No jokes," Amos promised. "The two of you...you combine the blood of two ancient families, both of which have a long, complicated history with the gods. You are the most powerful Kane children to be born in many centuries."

" Yep bow to us, the most powerful magician and her sidekick of a brother, my minions!" Sadie joked. Carter snorted at that while others roared with laughter.

I tried to let that sink in. At the moment, I didn't feel powerful. I felt queasy. "You're telling me our parents secretly worshipped animal-headed gods?" I asked.

" No, they don't worship us !" Lord Horus made a face. All of us gasped. These guys don't worship gods then what do they do?

"Not worshipped," Amos corrected. "By the end of the ancient times, Egyptians had learned that their gods were not to be worshipped. They are powerful beings, primeval forces, but they are not divine in the sense one might think of God. They are created entities, like mortals, only much more powerful. We can respect them, fear them, use their power, or even fight them to keep them under control—"

" You fight gods? No doubt you are so powerful?" There was awe in Reyna's voice." Yep, we fight them, capture them and keep them in places like the Rosetta stone. Or so we did before the Kanes. Now well... you will read about them in the third book what happened to the gods? " Zia replied. I could feel anticipation and excitement rushing up at that comment. I wanted to know more about their adventures.

"Fight gods?" Sadie interrupted.

"Constantly," Amos assured her. "But we don't worship them. Thoth taught us that."

" Yeah, Throth taught you that!" Lord Horus said, venom in his words. Lord Throth gulped

I looked at Sadie for help. The old guy had to be crazy. But Sadie was looking like she believed every word.

"I told you I was trying to find time to straighten him. Also, half of his words went over my head. So no big deal.

"So..." I said. "Why did Dad break the Rosetta Stone?"

"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to break it," Amos said. "That would've horrified him. In fact, I imagine my brethren in London have repaired the damage by now. The curators will soon check their vaults and discover that the Rosetta Stone miraculously survived the explosion."

"But it was blown into a million pieces!" I said. "How could they repair it?"

" Let me guess, magic? " " Spot on!"

Amos picked up a saucer and threw it onto the stone floor. The saucer shattered instantly.

"That was to destroy," Amos said. "I could've done it by magic—ha-di—but it's simpler just to smash it.

" That is Sadie's favourite spell."

And now..." Amos held out his hand. "Join. Hi-nehm."

A blue hieroglyphic symbol burned in the air above his palm.

"Some trick," I managed. I tried to sound calm about it, but I was thinking of all the odd things that had happened to my dad and me over the years, like those gunmen in the Cairo hotel who'd ended up hanging by their feet from a chandelier. Was it possible my dad had made that happen with some kind of spell?

Amos poured milk in the saucer, and put it on the floor. Muffin came padding over. "At any rate, your father would never intentionally damage a relic. He simply didn't realize how much power the Rosetta Stone contained.

" Well, that's a relief!" Lady Athena sighed in, well, relief.

You see, as Egypt faded, its magic collected and concentrated into its remaining relics. Most of these, of course, are still in Egypt. But you can find some in almost every major museum. A magician can use these artifacts as focal points to work more powerful spells."

"That is how we create portals to travel," Sadie informed us. This was too much to take in.

"I don't get it," I said.

Amos spread his hands. "I'm sorry, Carter. It takes years of study to understand magic, and I'm trying to explain it to you in a single morning. The important thing is, for the past six years your father has been looking for a way to summon Osiris, and last night he thought he had found the right artifact to do it."

" We learned it all in a few months and tons of quests." Sadie winced. " You know I found another similarity. We both are suicidal. " I nodded remembering my first quest. I don't know why but their story feels quite similar to mine.

"Wait, why did he want Osiris?"

Sadie gave me a troubled look. "Carter, Osiris was the lord of the dead. Dad was talking about making things right. He was talking about Mum."

" Well, you were true in some ways. " Carter told Sadie waving in the direction of their parents.

Suddenly the morning seemed colder. The fire pit sputtered in the wind coming off the river.

"He wanted to bring Mom back from the dead?" I said. "But that's crazy!"

" That was not exactly in my mind." " Yeah, you wanted her dead or alive most romantically!"Lady Aphrodite squealed in a high pitch. This time the magicians were prepared and cast some noise retention spell around us so that when she squealed no voice reached us. That's pretty cool.

Amos hesitated. "It would've been dangerous. Inadvisable. Foolish. But not crazy. Your father is a powerful magician. If, in fact, that is what he was after, he might have accomplished it, using the power of Osiris."

"Even after all these years, my brother could never understand my motives." Lord Osiris shook his head.

I stared at Sadie. "You're actually buying this?"

"You saw the magic at the museum. The fiery bloke. Dad summoned something from the stone."

"Yeah," I said, thinking of my dream. "But that wasn't Osiris, was it?"

"No," Amos said. "Your father got more than he bargained for. He did release the spirit of Osiris. In fact, I think he successfully joined with the god—"

"Joined with, as in taken host by?" "Yep!"

"Joined with?"

Amos held up his hand. "Another long conversation. For now, let's just say he drew the power of Osiris into himself. But he never got the chance to use it because, according to what Sadie has told me, it appears that Julius released five gods from the Rosetta Stone. Five gods who were all trapped together."

I glanced at Sadie. "You told him everything?"

" He was our only hope. So yeah, I told him." Sadie shrugged.

He's going to help us, Carter."

I wasn't quite ready to trust this guy, even if he was our uncle, but I decided I didn't have much choice.

"Okay, yeah," I said. "The fiery guy said something like 'You released all five.' What did he mean?"

Amos sipped his coffee. The faraway look on his face reminded me of my dad. "I don't want to scare you."

"Too late" Zia commented.

"Too late."

and then she blushed.

"The gods of Egypt are very dangerous. For the last two thousand years or so, we magicians have spent much of our time binding and banishing them whenever they appear. In fact, our most important law, issued by Chief Lector Iskandar in Roman times, forbids unleashing the gods or using their power. Your father broke that law once before."

Everyone listened with rapt attention as finally we were getting our answers.

Sadie's face paled. "Does this have something to do with Mum's death? Cleopatra's Needle in London?"

Ruby nodded sadly.

"It has everything to do with that, Sadie. Your parents...well, they thought they were doing something good.

"We were doing something good. It was necessary for the safety of the world." Julius nodded with any emotion. It must be dreadful to leave your kids to fend off themselves in the world just to save the place.

They took a terrible risk, and it cost your mother her life. Your father took the blame. He was exiled, I suppose you would say. Banished. He was forced to move around constantly because the House monitored his activities. They feared he would continue his...research. As indeed he did."

That's why you travelled so much!" Leo exclaimed. They nodded.

I thought about the times Dad would look over his shoulder as he copied some ancient inscriptions, or wake me up at three or four in the morning and insist it was time to change hotels, or warn me not to look in his workbag or copy certain pictures from old temple walls—as if our lives depended on it.

"Is that why you never came round?" Sadie asked Amos. "Because Dad was banished?"

"That is not a reason to stay away from your family." Lady Hestia amended.

"The House forbade me to see him. I loved Julius. It hurt me to stay away from my brother, and from you children. But I could not see you—until last night, when I simply had no choice but to try to help. Julius has been obsessed with finding Osiris for years. He was consumed with grief because of what happened to your mother.

"Of course, he would be. She is the love of his life." Lady Aphrodite wiped some fake tears.

When I learned that Julius was about to break the law again, to try to set things right, I had to stop him. A second offense would've meant a death sentence. Unfortunately, I failed. I should've known he was too stubborn."

Silence regained in the room." But you were not given one, right? " Lady Athena asked. I have no idea how but seems like the wisdom goddess has a soft spot for Lord Osiris. " I mean, your kids won't allow that, right." " Of course Lady Athena. He didn't get any punishment. Heck if they wouldn't have broken the rules we would not be here." Carter nodded vigorously.

I looked down at my plate. My food had gotten cold. Muffin leaped onto the table and rubbed against my hand.

" Aww, the cat understands your mood." It was Lady Bast.

When I didn't object, she started eating my bacon.

" And steals his food!" Lord Bes added for a good measure.

"Last night at the museum," I said, "the girl with the knife, the man with the forked beard—they were magicians too? From the House of Life?" "Yes," Amos said. "Keeping an eye on your father. You are fortunate they let you go." "The girl wanted to kill us,"

" Talk about falling in love with your to-be murderess!" Piper replied sarcastically. Zia and Carter blushed which was hard to identify due to their dark complexion.

I remembered. "But the guy with the beard said, not yet." "They don't kill unless it is absolutely necessary," Amos said.

"As I told you earlier, If the house had killed them there would not be any house," Zia told us. " Uhu, and you were one of the people who were threatening the Kane family." Walt retorted." I was just doing my job! "

"They will wait to see if you are a threat." "Why would we be a threat?" Sadie demanded. "We're children! The summoning wasn't our idea."Amos pushed away his plate. "There is a reason you two were raised separately." "Because the Fausts took Dad to court," I said matter-of-factly. "And Dad lost."

"It was much more than that," Amos said. "The House insisted you two be separated. Your father wanted to keep you both, even though he knew how dangerous it was."Sadie looked like she'd been smacked between the eyes.

"Of course, I was taken aback. How would you feel if you are mad at someone for leaving you alone only to find out that they left you only because they were not allowed to take you." Sadie's face was red with controlled anger.

What she didn't notice was the sad and guilty look on her father's face. Osiris looked like someone has punched his gut. He looked away not able to face his daughter anymore.

I don't know whom to feel sorry for as all demigods have parental problems and at the same time, I know our parents would also feel the same as Julius does if they finds out what is on their children's minds.

Lady Hestia cleared her throat and said" We should start the reading to finish it and the next four chapters before lunch. She gave Julius a reassuring pat on his hand. He stood up, keeping the book aside, and went to Sadie to hug her. Sadie stiffed at first then relaxed. He murmured something in her ears. She gave him a small smile and hugged him back. Julius went back and started reading.

"He did?" "Of course.

But the House intervened and made sure your grandparents got custody of you, Sadie. If you and Carter were raised together, you could become very powerful.

"We still are!" Sadie was coming back to normal.

Perhaps you have already sensed changes over the past day. "I thought about the surges of strength I'd been feeling, and the way Sadie suddenly seemed to know how to read Ancient Egyptian.

" That was partially due to these two, " Carter pointed towards Lady Isis and Lord Horus, "and partially due to the reason given." Thalia looked annoyed listening to them. She knew if Sadie was so important to Carter, he won't allow her to join the Huntresses. And she was already hooked by Sadie's I-don't- give-a-shit attitude.

Then I thought of something even further back."Your sixth birthday," I told Sadie."The cake," she said immediately, the memory passing between us like an electric spark.

At Sadie's sixth birthday party, the last one we'd shared as a family, Sadie and I had a huge argument. I don't remember what it was about. I think I wanted to blow out the candles for her.

We started yelling. She grabbed my shirt. I pushed her. I remember Dad rushing toward us, trying to intervene, but before he could, Sadie's birthday cake exploded. Icing splattered the walls, our parents, and the faces of Sadie's little six-year-old friends. Dad and Mom separated us. They sent me to my room.

The whole room erupted in laughter." That was a damn good one!" The Hermes's sons, Lord Hermes and Lord Apollo and Carter blushed bright red.

Later, they said we must've hit the cake by accident as we were fighting, but I knew we hadn't. Something much weirder had made it explode, as if it had responded to our anger. I remembered Sadie crying with a chunk of cake on her forehead, an upside-down candle stuck to the ceiling with its wick still burning, and an adult visitor, one of my parents' friends, his glasses speckled with white frosting. I turned to Amos. "That was you. You were at Sadie's party."

Another round of laughter erupted. I couldn't help but imagine Amos with frosting-coated glasses.

"Vanilla icing," he recalled. "Very tasty. But it was clear even then that you two would be difficult to raise in the same household." "And so..." I faltered. "What happens to us now?"I didn't want to admit it, but I couldn't stand the thought of being separated from Sadie again.

Ruby and Julius secretly smiled as Carter and Sadie simply ignored each other.

She wasn't much, but she was all I had."You must be trained properly," Amos said, "whether the House approves or not." "Why wouldn't they approve?" I asked."I will explain everything, don't worry. But we must start your lessons if we are to stand any chance of finding your father and putting things right. Otherwise, the entire world is in danger. If we only knew where—"

"Phoenix," I blurted out. Amos stared at me. "What?" "Last night I had...well, not a dream, exactly..." I felt stupid, but I told him what had happened while I slept.

"It is not stupid, Carter. At first, we all do these kinds of mistakes." Ruby reassured him.

Judging from Amos's expression, the news was even worse than I thought."You're sure he said 'birthday present'?" he asked."Yeah, but what does that mean?" "And a permanent host," Amos said. "He didn't have one yet?" "Well, that's what the rooster-footed guy said—" "That was a demon,"

"You know, I like your demons' names more. Ours are so boring! " Grover commented.

Amos said. "A minion of chaos. And if demons are coming through to the mortal world, we don't have much time. This is bad, very bad." "If you live in Phoenix," I said."Carter, our enemy won't stop in Phoenix. If he's grown so powerful so fast...What did he say about the storm, exactly?" "He said: 'I will summon the greatest storm ever known.'"Amos scowled. "The last time he said that, he created the Sahara. A storm that large could destroy North America, generating enough chaos energy to give him an almost invincible form."

"Holy Zeus!" Nico yelped. Everyone glared at Set who shifted in his seat.

"What are you talking about? Who is this guy?"Amos waved away the question.

"Those are valid questions, for those are new to this crazy world," I grumbled. I recalled my first lesson and that no one was giving me direct answers then.

"More important right now: why didn't you sleep with the headrest?"I shrugged. "It was uncomfortable." I looked at Sadie for support. "You didn't use it, did you?"Sadie rolled her eyes. "Well, of course, I did. It was obviously there for a reason."

"A study says girls always prefer fashion before comfort. That also applies to such things." Walt nodded wisely only to get glares from women around the hall.

Sometimes I really hate my sister. [Ow! That's my foot!]

"Poor Carter, Ow!" Walt shut up.

"Carter," Amos said, "sleep is dangerous. It's a doorway into the Duat." "Lovely," Sadie grumbled. "Another strange word." "Ah...yes, sorry," Amos said. "The Duat is the world of spirits and magic. It exists beneath the waking world like a vast ocean, with many layers and regions. We submerged just under its surface last night to reach New York, because travel through the Duat is much faster. Carter, your consciousness also passed through its shallowest currents as you slept, which is how you witnessed what happened in Phoenix. Fortunately, you survived that experience. But the deeper you go into the Duat, the more horrible things you encounter, and the more difficult it is to return. There are entire realms filled with demons, palaces where the gods exist in their pure forms, so powerful their mere presence would burn a human to ashes. There are prisons that hold beings of unspeakable evil, and some chasms so deep and chaotic that not even the gods dare explore them. Now that your powers are stirring, you must not sleep without protection, or you leave yourself open to attacks from the Duat or...unintended journeys through it. The headrest is enchanted, to keep your consciousness anchored to your body." "You mean I actually did..." My mouth tasted like metal.

We all gulped. That was scary!

"Could he have killed me?"Amos's expression was grave. "The fact that your soul can travel like that means you are progressing faster than I thought. Faster than should be possible. If the Red Lord had noticed you—" "The Red Lord?" Sadie said. "That's the fiery bloke?"Amos rose. "I must find out more. We can't simply wait for him to find you. And if he releases the storm on his birthday, at the height of his powers—" "You mean you're going to Phoenix?" I could barely get the words out. "Amos, that fiery man defeated Dad like his magic was a joke! Now he's got demons, and he's getting stronger, and—you'll be killed!"

No one spoke up, too consumed in the story.

Amos gave me a dry smile, like he'd already weighed the dangers and didn't need a reminder. His expression reminded me painfully of Dad's.

Carter winced.

"Don't count your uncle out so quickly, Carter. I've got some magic of my own. Besides, I must see what is happening for myself if we're to have any chance at saving your father and stopping the Red Lord. I'll be quick and careful. Just stay here. Muffin will guard you."I blinked.

"The cat is magic too!" "You will see."

"The cat will guard us? You can't just leave us here! What about our training?" "When I return," Amos promised. "Don't worry, the mansion is protected. Just do not leave. Do not be tricked into opening the door for anyone. And whatever happens, do not go into the library. I absolutely forbid it. I will be back by sunset."

Before we could protest, Amos walked calmly to the edge of the terrace and jumped."No!" Sadie screamed.

"He is like a ninja!" Leo looked as if he was high on sweets.

We ran to the railing and looked over. Below was a hundred-foot drop into the East River. There was no sign of Amos. He'd simply vanished. Philip of Macedonia splashed in his pool. Muffin jumped onto the railing and insisted we pet her. We were alone in a strange mansion with a baboon, a crocodile, and a weird cat.

"Well you have animal protectors, it seems."

And apparently, the entire world was in danger. I looked at Sadie. "What do we do now?"She crossed her arms. "Well, that's obvious, isn't it? We explore the library."

"Obviously!"Zia, Carter and Walt exclaimed together, making Sadie blush.

"And the chapter ends. Now who will read next." " I will!"

Do you know why Percy thinks he and Kanes have similar stories? ;-)

The study is a true one. I read it on the net.

Lastly, my college begins in July so You may only hear from me on Saturdays or you would this story always gets updated on reading! Also, guess who will read next?