17 Chapter 17

Alex burst into the hallway, which was already on fire. Flames licked the wallpaper and the carpet steamed. Hal's bedroom door had been blown off its hinges, and fire was pouring out like an avalanche, vaporizing everything in its path.

He reached the stairs. The smoke was so thick, he couldn't see the bottom. He stumbled and coughed, the heat searing his eyes and lungs. He got to the base of the stairs, and he was beginning to think he'd reach the door, when the leucrota pounced, knocking him flat on his back.

It must have been the one that followed him into the enclosure. Alex supposed it had been far enough away from the explosion to survive the initial blast and had somehow escaped the bedroom, though it didn't look like it had enjoyed the experience. Its red fur was singed black. Its pointed ears were on fire, and one of its glowing red eyes was swollen shut.

It snapped its bone-plated jaws at his head, keeping one hoof planted on my chest. Alex couldn't move, and he knew the beast could crush his chest by applying even the slightest extra pressure.

His eyes stung from the smoke. He could hardly breathe. He saw the fire coming closer and closer, but a flash of metal caught his eyes — the silver bracelet. Alex hadn't looked at it properly, but now that he saw it, he could make out the word 'Aegis' in the engravings.

Something clicked in his mind. It was a desperate guess, but he tapped the bracelet and yelled. "Aegis!"

Instantly the bracelet expanded, flattening into a wide bronze disk — a shield with intricate designs hammered around the rim. In the centre, pressed into the metal like a death mask, was a face so hideous Alex would've thrown it from his arm if he could've. he looked away, but the afterimage burned in his mind — snaky hair, glaring eyes, and a mouth with bared fangs.

He thrust the shield toward the leucrota. The monster yelped like a puppy and retreated, freeing him from the weight of its hoof. Through the smoke, he watched the terrified leucrota run straight into the nearest drapes, which turned into glistening black tongues and engulfed the monster. The monster steamed. It began yelling, "Help!" in a dozen voices, probably the voices of its past victims, until finally, it disintegrated in the dark oily folds.

He would've lain there stunned and horrified had not the fiery ceiling begun to collapse.

Bolting for the front door, Alex was wondering how he'd open it when the avalanche of fire poured down the staircase and caught him. The building exploded.

He couldn't remember how he got out. He could only assume that the shockwave blasted the front door open and pushed him outside.

The next thing he knew, he was sprawled in the traffic circle, coughing and gasping as a tower of fire roared into the evening sky. His throat burned. His eyes felt like they'd been splashed with acid. He looked for his backpack and found it near the statue, along with his sword. His Yankees jacket was unblemished, but the other clothes were singed and smoking. The shield was back in bracelet form.

Alex stood up shakily and watched the mansion burn. Bricks crumbled. Black draperies burst into sheets of red fire. The roof collapsed and smoke billowed into the sky.

He unconsciously let loose a sob, and a tear etched a path through the soot on his face. Hugging his backpack, he felt the diary and bronze dagger inside — the only remnants of Halcyon Green's life.

His chest felt tight as if the leucrota was still standing on it. Alex had criticized Hal for being a coward, but in the end, he'd been braver than the young demigod. The gods had cursed him. The old man had spent most of his life imprisoned with monsters. It would've been easy for him to let Alex die like all the other demigods before him; yet, he'd chosen to go out like a hero.

Alex felt guilty he couldn't save the old man. He wished he could've talked to him longer. What had he seen in Alex's future that scared him so much?

Your choices will change the world, he'd warned.

He didn't like the sound of it.

The sounds of sirens brought him to his senses.

Being a runaway minor, Alex didn't trust the authorities by default, but after he'd run away from the hospital, he knew they would want to question him, and maybe even send him to foster— scratch that, he'd probably be sent to juvie hall.

He sighed and began to walk away. He ran through the streets of Richmond until he found a small park. Alex cleaned up in the public restroom as best as he could, then decided to lay low until dark before going back to the cabin.

Just thinking about what happened made him wince. Alex still wasn't over his dad's death. And now, having survived his third deadly encounter with monsters in the last month at the cost of another demigod… he couldn't shake the grief.

Promise…

I promise, Hal, Alex thought. He'd learn from the old man's mistakes. If the gods ever treated him that badly, he'd fight back.

Okay, he knew that sounded like crazy talk. But Alex was feeling bitter and angry. If that made the people up on Mount Olympus unhappy, they could come down here and say it to his face.

He stopped for a rest near an old warehouse. In the dim light of the moon, he could feel his strength coming back. On the side of the red brick building was the name 'RICHMOND IRON WORKS' painted in red. Most of the windows were broken.

There was a bench on the sidewalk. Taking a seat there, he brought out his ham sandwich and ate in silence. The food tasted like cardboard after being roasted by the fire. He'd just swallowed the last bite when he heard a faint metal ping from a nearby alley. His ears started tingling. He wasn't alone.

"Not a mortal," Alex mumbled his thoughts. He didn't have an answer on how he knew it, but he rose to his feet. He brandished his sword, mostly for the safety of the Celestial bronze. His arm was ready in case Aegis needed to be summoned.

He crept along the wall of the warehouse.

Turning into a dark alleyway, he found that it was dead-ended at a loading dock filled with old scrap metal.

Looking at the platform, Alex was sure something was down there. He could sense it.

Just then, there was a loud CLANG. A sheet of corrugated tin quivered on the dock. Something — someone — was underneath.

Alex crept toward the loading bay until he stood over the pile of metal. He reached for the piece of corrugated metal and counted mentally, one, two, three!

As soon as he lifted the sheet of tin, something flew at him — a blur of flannel and blond hair. A hammer hurtled straight at Alex's face.

Things could've gone very wrong. Fortunately, his reflexes were good.

He shouted, "Whoa!" and dodged the hammer, then grabbed the little girl's wrist. The hammer went skidding across the pavement.

The little girl struggled. She couldn't have been more than six years old.

"No more monsters!" She screamed, kicking Alex in the shin. "Go away!"

"It's okay!" He tried his best to hold her, but it was like holding a wildcat. "It's alright, kiddo."

"Let me go!"

"Look," Alex said, sounding more gentle than he thought he could. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Alex."

"Monster!" she wailed.

"No," he promised. The poor thing wasn't fighting as hard, but she was shivering like crazy, terrified of him. "But I know about monsters," Alex continued. "I fight them too."

He held her, more to comfort than restrain now. Eventually, she stopped kicking. She felt cold. Her ribs were bony under her flannel pyjamas. Alex wondered how long this little girl had gone without eating. She was even younger than him, but she was also a runaway.

Despite her fear, she looked at Alex with large eyes. They were startlingly grey, intelligent, and reminded him of his father's. A demigod — no doubt about it. Alex got the same feeling from her he got from Hal.

"You're like me?" she asked, still suspicious, but she sounded a little hopeful, too.

"Yeah…" Alex promised. "We're both…" he hesitated, not sure if she understood what she was, or if she'd ever heard the word demigod. He didn't want to scare her even worse. "Well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

The little girl's expression turned hard and angry. Her chin trembled. "My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."

Alex's heart felt like it was cracking into pieces. She had such pain in her voice — familiar pain. He closed his eyes and made a silent decision right there. He'd take care of this kid and be her family. After what happened with Hal… well, it seemed like fate. Alex watched one demigod die for him. Now he'd found this little girl. It was almost like a second chance.

He knelt down to her eye level and put his hand on the little girl's shoulder. "What's your name, pipsqueak?"

"Annabeth."

Alex smiled. He'd never heard of that name before, but it was pretty, and it seemed to fit her.

"Nice name," he told her. "I tell you what, Annabeth. You're pretty fierce. I could use a fighter like you."

Her eyes widened. "You could?"

"Oh, yeah," Alex said earnestly. Then a sudden thought struck him. He reached for Hal's dagger and pulled it from his pack. It will protect its owner, Hal had said. He'd gotten it from the little girl he saved. Now fate had given both Hal and Alex the chance to save another little girl.

"How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon?" Alex asked her. "This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

Annabeth took the dagger and studied it in awe. He knew… she was seven years old at most. What was he thinking of giving her a weapon? But she was a demigod. They had to defend themselves. Hercules was only a baby when he strangled two snakes in his cradle. And Alex was only eleven but had fought against three immensely strong beasts, and survived a haunted house with some Greek spice. Annabeth could use a weapon.

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," He told her. His voice caught as he remembered Hal Green, and how he'd died to save him. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armour. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Annabeth beamed at Alex, and for that instant, all his problems seemed to melt. He felt as if he'd done one thing right. He swore to himself he would never let this girl come to harm.

"I am clever!" she said.

Laughing, Alex tousled Annabeth's hair. Just like that — he had a new companion.

"We'd better get going, pipsqueak," he said. "My house is in the outskirts and has some magic in it that protects us from monsters. We'll be safe there. Then we'll get you some clothes and food."

Annabeth's smile wavered. For a moment, she got that wild look in her eyes again. "You're…you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"

He swallowed the lump out of his throat. Annabeth was so young, but she'd learned a hard lesson, just like Alex had. Their godly parents were harsh, cruel and aloof. Demigods had only each other.

Alex put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You and I are family now. And I promise I'm not going to fail you like your family did. Deal?"

"Deal!" she said happily, clutching her new dagger.

"Now, come one. We can't stay put for long!"