19

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So, the problem with summoning the dead was that I had absolutely no idea how it was done.

I watched Nico stand in front of a pile of leftover dinner scraps dumped on the dirt ground, his words moving silently in some sort of prayer.

We were now in Camp Half-Blood and hiding out in a secluded corner in the woods away from curious eyes. Clovis had already nestled himself into a round ditch overrun with long grass as a makeshift bed and was sleeping, completely unbothered by his surroundings. I had to check on his breathing and temperature once in a while to make sure that he was alive. It'd been nearly thirty minutes since Nico began his sixth attempt in summoning ghosts and there was some measure of success so far.

"Hey, I just thought of something that might work."

A bit curious as to what I had to offer, Nico turned to me.

"How about chanting 'hippity hoppity, your soul is my property'?"

Nico wheezed and then doubled over laughing.

"Hippity hoppity," he snickered while slapping his knees. Nico then shook his head sternly and returned to concentrating on the task at hand.

"Stop distracting me." I could hear him trying to choke down his laughs.

"Sorry, it was just a suggestion," I said with a smile.

Nico took in a deep breath and recited, "I want the ghost of Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, the Saint Teresa of Calcutta."

Instead of a fully outlined ghost body rising from the cold ground, wisps of smoke shaped like hands bubbled out and grabbed at the mashed up food greedily.

"No, no, not you," Nico grumbled under his breath. "Stop taking the food, it's not for you."

I think one of the ghost hands flipped the bird before disappearing. Nico looked a little offended at the gesture and glowered at me when I couldn't help but snort in amusement.

"Maybe you have to be more assertive," I commented and Nico grunted in acknowledgement.

Seeing how the sun was about to dip, I knew that we were going to have to return to our cabin soon before it gets dark regardless if Nico pulls it off. It was starting to get cold with the disappearing sun, so I didn't want to stay outside for long. The monsters in the woods came out at night, too.

I didn't exactly expect Nico to perfect summoning ghosts right away because he had to figure this out entirely on his own. Nico usually looked to me for pointers on using his godly powers, which I was able to provide for the most part because it was a similar mental process when I used my own godly powers. However, summoning the dead was out of my area of expertise. Something like that required rules and rituals and a specific process. I had recalled that King Minos was the one who taught Nico about a lot of his godly abilities, but I wasn't risking meeting that vengeful ghost, especially with my backstory with him.

I could only remember that Nico had to command a specific ghost to come forth and allow it to feast on the food. After telling him this, I basically left Nico to his own devices. Once it was apparent that no ghosts were being summoned for the time being, I clapped my hands loudly, breaking Nico's concentration.

"That's a good enough attempt for today, Nico. It's getting late, so we should call it a day," I said to his disappointment.

"Wait, just give me a little more time," he pleaded. "I know I can do it."

"Nico, it's okay if it doesn't happen today, we'll try again tomorrow," I assured him, patting his shoulder. I said it as if I had all the patience in the world, but frankly, I didn't have time. I was going to leave camp in two days. I would really prefer it if I had my answers before I left to see Luke.

"One more try."

Nico had a stubborn glint in his eye that I wasn't willing to argue with, so I shrugged. Nico turned back to the food pile, which had shrunk a little because of thieving ghosts, and he flexed his fingers.

He cleared his throat and then spoke with conviction. "Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, the Saint Teresa of Calcutta, I order you to rise."

Nico's voice took on an accent reciting the name, rolling the 'r's and rounding out the vowels, and it reminded me that he was Italian. The authoritative tone told me that he took my advice of being assertive seriously. The cold air stilled and then our surroundings darkened as if something overcasted the sky.

A hunched figure slid slowly out the dirt ground, its shape muted and gray. I involuntarily swallowed out of fear.

Nico actually did it, holy shi-

"You may eat," Nico said, his voice rising out of excitement. I nervously smiled when he shot me a look full of glee.

He's going to be a terrifying demigod soon enough. I ruffled his hair as we watched the shapeless ghost creep forward and feed on the offered food. The ghost straightened as food fueled its existence, giving it power to come forth into the world of the living. Gaining semblance, the ghost looked exactly how I remembered in my dream, an old and wrinkled face with a kind grandmotherly appearance.

It was the ghost of Mother Teresa.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, son of Hades?" she rasped.

Nico stepped aside for me. "Can you answer her questions?"

I cautiously looked at the ghost. "Do you remember me?"

I saw recognition flicker in Mother Teresa's dead eyes and she frowned, her smoky body shifting in confusion.

"Ah yes, you."

I tilted my head, unsure what she meant by that. "Me?"

"You were given rebirth, but you did not wash in the River Lethe. It was a very particular trial for a soul."

My insides filled with ice at her words. Questions roared through my head and I felt a little light headed all of a sudden.

Nico shouldn't hear this.

"Nico, can we get a little privacy," I said quickly. "Please."

I could tell he was extremely reluctant to miss out, but he listened and backed away to where Clovis was still sleeping. Swallowing in fear, I turned to ghost Mother Teresa and measured out a long breath.

"You were one of the three judges that determined my afterlife at the pavilion. I want to know exactly what happened with my judgement."

Mother Teresa spoke and she left nothing out.

I listened. And I cried silently, tears streaking down my face. I finally had the answers I wanted.

"I see," I said quietly. "Thank you for telling me."

The old nun bowed once before fading away.

"I pray for you, child," Mother Teresa whispered. "Stay firm."

I swallowed down the thick aching in my throat and wiped away the wetness, breathing deeply to calm down my erratic breaths. After rejoining Nico and waking Clovis, the three of us trekked back to Cabin Eleven. If Nico and Clovis noticed my stiff expression and red eyes, they didn't comment and I was grateful.

I went to sleep right away even though it wasn't fully night. Purposely casting out dreams, I hurtled myself into deep unconsciousness so that sleep would overtake me. My mind was a mess from what Mother Teresa told me. I wasn't sure if I was relieved, more confused, angry, or happy with what I'd learned about myself.

I just didn't want to think about anything, but one thing that I knew for certain was that my resolve for the plans I held for the future was strengthened.

My soul was purposely brought here, I thought in my dreams. I have a reason why I'm alive. I'm going to fulfill that reason.

I called for Nico outside the training hall the next day. I made sure that we were secluded so that there weren't any eavesdroppers.

"We need to talk."

Nico fidgeted. "Is everything okay?"

His innocent eyes made me smile.

"Yeah. Thanks for your hard work until now," I said. "We're now even with favors."

Nico looked up startled. "W-What?"

"Remember I said I'd help you find your sister in exchange for something? The thing at the river and the ghost thing was more than enough to return the favor," I explained. The eleven year old boy seemed to be deflated by my words.

"Oh, I didn't really think of it like that," he said quietly. "Does this mean we won't talk anymore?"

I tilted my head at the shyness of his question. "Why wouldn't we talk anymore?"

Nico's fidgeting increased. "Well, um, if I don't have anything more to owe you, doesn't that mean we don't have much of a reason to keep hanging out?"

Something in me melted hearing Nico speak so softly and self-consciously. I was so occupied with my own problems lately that I was forgetting that Nico was still a kid. A kid who just got out of elementary school and was still coping with the death of his older sister and struggling with insomnia on top of all that. I hadn't anticipated his attachment to me, but in hindsight, I should have seen it coming: I came to him at an extremely helpless point in his life when he felt most vulnerable and alone. I wasn't the most friendly or warm presence, but I was still an anchor in the midst of the chaos in his life.

It'd be a lie to say that I hadn't warmed up to him in the past weeks we've known each other.

"Nico, you can come to me whenever you want," I said firmly. "I'll listen. Find me in your dreams if you need to. I'll be there."

The scruffy kid brightened at that. "Okay!"

There was a beat of silence between us, but I could tell Nico had another topic on the verge of exploding out of him.

I motioned with my hand. "Okay, out with it."

"I can summon ghosts!" Nico exclaimed gleefully. My hand automatically slapped his mouth shut.

"Let's not broadcast that," I said through gritted teeth and carefully took my hand away.

"This is actual proof that my dad is Had-"

My hand shot out a second time, clamping over Nico's mouth like a vice grip. I forgot what an excitable chatterbox Nico was before he got weighed down with life's hardships. He'd been more withdrawn and passive in the last couple of weeks, but maybe he was slowly returning to his usual self.

"Yeah, he's your dad," I hissed. "We've been over this. No, you still can't tell anyone-"

Nico pushed my hand away. "But I can prove it now! It's not just moving earth-"

"Even if you can prove it, what are you expecting to happen? You won't change cabins because there's no cabin for that god," I said harshly. "It's better to stay under radar in Cabin Eleven and blend in."

"But-"

"No more 'but's'," I cut him off. "I told you that nothing good will happen if you tell people. I get that you're excited and want to share with everyone, but I can promise you that you should keep quiet about it for now. You'll have to wait until the time is right."

Nico's face fell. "I've been waiting ever since you first told me after finding Bianca and seeing her in the Underworld."

"Nico, most people are scared of your dad. It'll change the way how camp sees you."

That and he might get dragged into the Great Prophecy as one of only demigods from the Big Three besides Thalia and Percy. Nico has to stay away from the spotlight for sometime, especially from the gods.

I sighed and squeezed his shoulder when the deep disappointment in his eyes didn't fade.

"You can tell Chiron at the very least. He should know and besides, it's not like no one knows. Clovis now knows, too."

Nico grabbed my sleeve. "Um, there's one more person who might know."

I raised a brow. "Who?"

"I saved Percy from a bunch of skeletons a while ago when you were gone from camp. He wanted to apologize about Bianca and gave me this Mythomagic game piece when the skeletons showed up." Nico pulled out a little figurine of Hades out of his pocket. I took it from his hands and turned it over.

So this is what Bianca got killed over.

"I wasn't thinking and I just wanted to help Percy and so the ground swallowed them up," Nico confessed the last bit while discreetly looking at me. He seemed scared that I would disapprove.

I shrugged and gave back the little Hades statue. "You saved someone and Percy can keep a secret. I'm not going to get mad at you for that."

If Percy knows, then Annabeth knows too.

Nico's shoulders sagged with relief. "Okay. That's good."

"What did you tell Percy?"

Nico gave a small smile. "I told him that it was okay. I don't blame him for Bianca, I mean, it's not his fault, but I just wished he didn't promise to keep her safe. It makes me feel...confused."

I ruffled his head. "That's really mature of you, Nico."

The little boy preened. The lack of parental guidance gave him a deep longing for praise and with how things have been lately, I've been the one giving them. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. On one hand, it was cute that he looked up to me this way, but I didn't want this to last too long.

"And, um, do you know how much longer I have to wait?"

I stared at him with tired eyes while absentmindedly patting his head.

Was I as small as him when I was eleven?

He didn't hit puberty yet, so Nico didn't have a growth spurt which made him so small.

It wouldn't hurt to tell him, would it?

"Maybe a year or two," I said slowly. "Actually, just wait a year at the very least. If you want to reveal then, that's fine, or if you change your mind and wait more, that's fine too. Just hold on for a year. That's all I ask of you."

"Fine," Nico muttered.

"What're you guys doing?"

Nico and I flinched and twisted around at the familiar voice.

It was Percy. He looked visibly confused as to why Nico and I were together. I didn't miss the heavy guilt that flashed through Percy's eyes whenever he saw Nico because of Bianca. In contrast to the books, Nico now didn't hold a grudge against the son of the sea god for losing his sister. It wouldn't be egotistical of me to think that it had something to do with my meddling, but I was personally glad that Nico was free of those feelings.

I wonder when Percy would let go of his guilt? I thought as I glanced at the silver streak in his hair. It would take some weight off his shoulders.

I paused. That's a pun.

In front of Percy, Nico squeaked. "Uh, n-nothing!"

"How to summon ghosts," I replied blandly, knowing that he wouldn't believe a second of it. Nico shot me a look of complete shock, not knowing what I was thinking.

As per my assumption, Percy looked genuinely mystified.

"There's no way that's possible," he said.

I rolled my eyes at that. This boy defied reality on a daily basis with his water abilities, but he was going to refute necromancy?

"Of course it's possible, Percy-boy," I said. "You just say the magic words and dance around a fire pit at the same time while rattling maracas."

Nico hid a laugh behind a cough at the mental image, but Percy crossed his arms and frowned at me. He never did like it when I got sassy with him, which was too bad because he made it easy and all the more harder for me to resist giving in to tease him. The best part was that Percy always played along with the banter because that was his personality: he just went with it.

"And what are the magic words," he asked sourly.

With a blank face, I said, "Hippity hoppity, your soul is my property."

Immediately, Nico began cackling at the inside joke and even though his hands covered his mouth, his laughs bled through.

Percy squinted at me, testing me to see if I was serious, but shook his head in the end. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. I eyed how the casual action completely ensnared Nico's attention, unbeknownst to both of them. If there were two things that Nico and Percy share in common, it was that they were both wonderfully dense at their own emotions (sometimes) and at how people perceived them. I only hadn't realized how apparent Nico's crush on Percy was.

"Ugh, whatever. Jade, Annabeth was looking for you. She's at the Big House and wants your opinion," Percy huffed. I raised my eyebrows at his not-so-nice tone. Lately, Percy has been short with me ever since coming back to camp and I couldn't think of a concrete reason why.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had safely returned from their quest a while ago, but all three were very tight-lipped about it and got a little snappy whenever someone asked for details. Their sensitive reactions made sense considering how they actually lost two out of five in their party. Thalia dropped by with the Hunters and the camp erupted in a short commotion learning that she joined Artemis' Hunt and became immortal. Bianca was at peace in the Underworld, enjoying paradise, but the rest of the quest members didn't know that.

Zoë… the thought of her ached a little. I mean, I wasn't in love with her, but… she didn't have to die such a sad death, by her own father's hand of all things. Maybe I'm just feeling guilty over knowing that it was going to happen, but not doing anything to help her.

I had spent a few nights looking at her constellation, silently contemplating. I didn't think her presence had affected me so much until her death fully settled in.

"Jade? Earth to Jade?"

Snapping back to attention, I blinked away thoughts of the deceased Hunter.

"Right. Annabeth. I'm going." I left Nico and Percy behind, scratching the back of my head while feeling confused over the heaviness inside.

I couldn't understand exactly why I was feeling so down all of a sudden.

"Pantheon."

"Parthenon."

"Pantheon."

"Parthenon."

I shook my head. "Sorry, Annabeth."

"The Parthenon is the closest to a perfect piece of architecture in existence on this planet, created by demigods, and it was the center of culture during its time. How could you possibly choose the Pantheon instead?" Annabeth argued, entirely convinced that her mother's temple was the best thing that had happened on Earth.

"Yeah no doubt, but I just like the dome shape of the Pantheon," I countered. "It's just preference."

Annabeth shook her fists in my face. "Preference? Do you even know the mathematics and brilliance behind the carvings of the pillars and steps? The builders made the temple columns appear perfectly parallel and symmetrical to the human eye, and made it look natural, and even-"

"The Pantheon has a perfect half circle and many other geometric proportions like the Parthenon," I cut in. I laughed when Annabeth glowered at me in silent murder.

"Annabeth, chill. Is it the hubris talking?"

Annabeth stomped a foot down in frustration. "I am not being prideful! I'm just pointing out the better choice!"

Her pout was endearing.

"Right."

Annabeth brushed her curly hair out of her eyes and sighed, "Okay, back to the real topic."

We were sitting in front of the lake, watching a satyr flirt with one of the wood nymphs across the water. It was nice to know that centuries old habits don't die among the Greek creatures.

I squinted at the satyr. "Is that Grover?"

Annabeth glanced over. "No, that's not Grover. Lately, he's been drinking a ton of coffee because he-wait, no, stop."

"What?"

"Stop distracting me," she complained. "I know you brought up the Parthenon versus Pantheon debate on purpose."

"Annabeth, I know what you're going to ask me," I said. "And I don't want to talk about it."

Annabeth fiddled with her necklace beads, looking very hesitant.

"Have you dreamed about Luke lately?" Annabeth asked quietly.

I thought about it. "I'll tell you if you tell me what happened during the quest."

All of a sudden, Annabeth's grey eyes shook and her face crumpled.

Oh God, I panicked. Is Annabeth crying? She is crying. In front of me. Annabeth who never shows her emotions openly, who never shows weakness, is crying in front of me.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it," I blabbed frantically. "I'm sorry I asked, I'll tell you about my dreams of Luke and you don't have to say anything."

Annabeth shook her head, her breath shuddering. The waterworks barely lasted a minute and she was able to reign in her emotions quickly. There were no traces of tears left once she wiped them away and a steely look entered her eyes once she spoke again.

This time, I didn't interject and just listened to Annabeth's story. She told me how Luke tricked her into taking the burden of Atlas in his stead and had to endure the pain until she got relieved of the pain by the goddess Artemis. She said how Percy held up the sky for a short time, too, and that the strain left the white streaks of hair on their head. Artemis and Zoë fought the General aka her father Titan Atlas, Thalia fought Luke, how they yelled and screamed at each other, and then Zoë died-

Something inside me thudded at the mention of the Hunter lieutenant. I ignored it.

"Luke is, well, alive but really hurt," she said. "Thalia kicked him down, she didn't mean to, but he fell off the mountain. It should've killed him, but Percy told me that he's still alive."

My jaw tightened. "I'm pissed that he used you. That's just…so wrong. A lot happened, are you okay?"

Annabeth smiled wryly, but she looked tired. "I'm okay now. I just wish that none of that happened in the first place. But, you had no dreams?"

I didn't miss the tiny bit of hope hiding in her voice. I tugged my hat down at that.

"How are you still worrying about him?"

If I hadn't decided to join Luke, I would've hated him by now if he treated me like what he did to Annabeth and Percy. Lying, tricking them, putting them in danger.

Annabeth looked down, tugging on her necklace. "He saved me when I was little, Jade. He taught me almost everything I know about being a demigod. I feel like I could have helped him."

"And Thalia?"

"I think she's doing okay," Annabeth said quietly. "She didn't trust herself to refuse the power of sacrificing the Ophiotaurus so that's why she joined the Hunt and became immortal."

"She passed the Great Prophecy over to Percy instead of turning sixteen," I concluded. It was good to have that crucial piece of information confirmed.

Annabeth stared at me. "Yeah. That's what she did. How did you know?"

"Dreams," I said in a clipped tone. "So, where's the cow?"

"In Mount Olympus, it's protected by the gods there," she said while still looking at me. "Jade, back when Percy joined camp, did you know?"

"Hm?" I blinked at her.

"Don't play dumb," Annabeth snapped. "What're you hiding? You know something, but you're not telling me."

It's easy to lie to Annabeth when she's not expecting it, but it's freakishly hard when she knows.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. "And even if I did, it's not a good thing to say too much, remember?"

Annabeth's mouth pressed together in frustration. "Right. So, you're not going to say anything? No advice? Any warnings?"

I rubbed my chin. "Oh, well, if Luke ever comes to you for help, don't listen to him. It's probably another trick."

The daughter of Athena frowned at that. "Why would Luke ask me for help? After everything he's done?"

I shot her a dark grin. "Just a thought."

In the future, if Luke ever finds out I warned Annabeth about him, he'd probably hate me forever. But still, I have to make sure that Annabeth would reject Luke when he's desperate. That way, he'd have no one else to rely on.

Except me, the despicable part of me finished.

"Is Chiron in his office?" I got up and Annabeth followed me. We walked to the Big House together in silence. I had nothing else to say while Annabeth obviously needed some quiet time to mull over our conversation. She stopped me before I could go into the building.

Annabeth held my wrist. "Jade. What makes you think Luke would come to me for help?"

Her eyes were downcast and she looked incredibly conflicted about her question.

I let out a short sigh. "Luke only deeply cared about two people: you and Thalia. As you told me, Thalia rejected him on Mount Othrys and joined the Hunters to delay the prophecy, so he doesn't have a chance of convincing her anymore. He knows you still care about him and he still cares about you too for some reason, so you're the only one left that he'd go to."

I could see Annabeth mentally processing my words until she let me go.

"That makes sense," she said in a resigned manner. I nodded and then walked up the steps to the Big House door.

"But, you're wrong about one thing, Jade."

I turned around in interest.

Annabeth looked at me straight in the eyes. "Luke cared about you too. He might have known me and Thalia the longest, but he was open with you. Maybe more than me."

Annabeth sounded a little begrudging at that and I didn't know how to respond. Annabeth didn't wait for my reply and left after saying good-bye.

Well, whether or not Luke really cares about me, he'll have no choice later, I mused as I approached Chiron's office. Knocking before entering, the camp director swivelled from his computer and had a concerned expression when he saw me.

"Jade," Chiron sighed. "Why am I getting angry emails from your mother?"

I winced. I forgot about Justin and Paige. Clovis' hypnotism must have broken.

"That, uh, has to do with what I came here for. Could you set up a tight barrier around your office? I got something confidential I want to talk to you about," I said.

"Sit down," the centaur said. "I believe this will be a long conversation."

The next morning I left camp, Clovis and Nico saw me off at the magic border.

"Are you coming back?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back," I said.

Unless you get killed.

"Be careful," Clovis said. The hard edge in his voice was unmistakable, so I nodded to that. Only Clovis, Argus and Chiron knew why I was leaving camp. Nico was a bystander, unaware of what I was doing.

A backpack stuffed full with ambrosia and nectar hung heavily off my shoulders and I held a duffel bag of basic necessities in my left hand. I wore sturdy jeans tucked into well-worn boots, a long sleeve shirt, a scarf and a heavy jacket. With all of the heavy clothing, I was beginning to sweat in the camp's magically enforced good weather, but it would protect me in the winter elements once I crossed the border.

My jacket covered the dagger hanging on my hip and a thin dagger was strapped to my forearm, hidden underneath my sleeve. Even though I could summon my swords out of the Void at any moment, I wanted to be extra careful with self-defense. All of this stuff was heavy and not for the first time, I wished that the Void could store any object so that I wouldn't have to carry everything. The Void would only hold godly or magical relics, like monster leftovers or blessed items or curses, and rejected mortal objects like food or clothes. It's why I still possessed the madness of Hera.

I trekked out of the wilderness to the nearest convenience store. Asking the store clerk to hail a taxi and giving him a tip for the request, I kept a nervous surveillance outside. I didn't want to risk attracting a monster just for being near a phone.

The taxi came after twenty minutes and after doing a quick check that he wasn't a monster in disguise with the Mist, I got in with my bags.

"Montauk Lighthouse, please."

The driver checked me through the rear view window. "That's a windy drive, kid."

I flashed a hundred dollar bill. "Tip."

He didn't argue with that and began driving down the tricky roads to the very edge of the state park. I watched the passing scenery with a hand over the blade at my hip and recalled what Mother Teresa had told me.

"Once the dead cross the River Styx, they are to be judged on the pavilion to determine where they would go: Fields of Punishment, Fields of Asphodel, or Elysium," Mother Teresa said.

"Spirits sent to Asphodel enjoy the banal life on the yellow plains until they forget everything about their identity: personality, memory, experiences, emotions. A spirit's stay in Asphodel will be for what seems to be eternity, until they are nothing but a stalk of wheat among the sea of other souls. Once they are simply a grain of barley among many, the spirit may be harvested for rebirth."

"I thought souls sent to Asphodel stayed there forever," I asked.

Mother Teresa chuckled. "It only seems so if thousands of years pass. Even the most firm souls find themselves lost against hundreds of years. They all fade. Whatever remnants might have been left are gone once they bath in the River Lethe before being rebirthed."

"Then me. What happened to me."

"Every few hundred years or so, there are… ripples in Fate," the nun said slowly. "The Three Fates take great care in keeping the balancing of chaos and order in multiple variations of Fate whilst managing the disturbances in that balance. The most reliable method of resolving a rare disturbance involves a soul that fulfills two requirements. It must be one that is neither tainted by darkness nor stained with evil deeds in their past life, and the other requirement is that the soul must retain a particular set of past life's memories."

"Like mine. What I remember about this world, from my past life, like it was a children's fictional book."

"Yes, there are strands of Fates that the Three Fates examine. Each one is particular and unique in their own series of events, though similar with the same souls panning out. Time is not of essence between the universes. You were sent to Asphodel and pulled out when it was your time to be harvested-"

"But I don't remember-"

"No one remembers Asphodel unless they were a child of death," Mother Teresa assured me. "It's meant to be forgettable. You don't remember your death, your judgement, your sentence, nor your decisions in the harvest. You only know your past life and your current life. It was all meant to be forgotten until your father pointed you where to look in the right direction."

The mention of Hypnos confused me. "So, my father knows why I'm like this?"

"He chose you upon learning of your choice."

The taxi eased into a halt, dragging me out of my memory. I let out a rattled breath and rubbed my eyes, digging out the cash with the heavy tip, and handed the money over to the driver for his troubles.

It was growing into the late afternoon, but the frosty air didn't lessen against the cloudy sun. Small clouds of air puffed in front of me as I lugged myself and my stuff over to the lighthouse standing at the edge of the coast. In front of the lighthouse entrance, a tall dark-skinned girl dressed in a fashionable puffy jacket and knee high boots stood there leaning against a guardrail and filing her fingernails. She shimmered every time she moved which made me squint through the Mist until I saw her real shape as an empousa with flaming hair, chalk-white skin, one donkey leg and one bronze leg. Her fingernails were actually long claws stained pink.

"Kelli?"

The Mist blurred and I saw her as a really pretty African American girl. Then she smiled and my mouth went slack for a second.

"Jade, right? I'm so glad to finally meet you!" Kelli exclaimed happily. "Luke talks about you all the time!"

She sounded bubbly, like a teenager from the valley, but her girly voice didn't match the cold glittering eyes that scanned me from head to toe. I involuntarily gulped. Kelli's eyes were unmistakably cruel and sent warning signals of danger to my brain, but they were still so attractive and inviting.

"Does he?" I was glad my voice didn't crack.

Kelli nodded excitedly. "Yep! Do you have the necklace for proof of identity?"

I pulled out the necklace from underneath my shirt. The silver scythe charm twirled slowly from the chain.

Kelli regarded me for a moment. "Hm."

The empousa inched closer until we were nose to nose. I unconsciously held my breath at the proximity and kept the eye contact while she stared at me with a smirk on her face. Suddenly, I was very much aware of the daggers at my hip and arm, but I ignored the urge to pull them out.

"Empousa glamour affects almost all men since they're generally attracted to females, but you're a girl," Kelli murmured thoughtfully.

I bit my tongue in hopes to gain some control over my brain.

"You're very pretty," I acknowledged. "I have a weak spot for pretty people."

Silena and Zoë are proof of that. Luke, too. And Annabeth's eyes. Speaking of which, I like Percy's eyes too.

Kelli's eyes crinkled in amusement. "I'm an empousa and you're calling me pretty?"

Her eyes flashed red and fangs elongated out of her mouth.

"Pretty and scary can go together," I amended.

Kelly must have been satisfied with my answer because she simply giggled and backed away, giving me space. Relieved that I passed some sort of empousa test, I let her take my duffel bag and lead me down a beaten path towards the beach spread out next to the lighthouse. Once we got to the sand and closer to shore, a large silver and gold cruise ship came into view at a far distance in the ocean. At the water's edge, four strange, slimy monsters waited with a large canoe boat floating.

"Telekhines. They're sea demons and smiths for the Titan Lord," Kelli said. "They know they're not supposed to eat you."

I nodded. "Reassuring."

Seeing the sea demons up close was upsetting to the stomach, so I did my best to not stare at them too much but it was hard to ignore eely seal monsters whenever they moved. Their 'fur' glistened with a slick substance and they radiated some sort of foul energy.

Kelli saw me wrinkle my nose. "Yeah, they're ugly."

One of the telekhines growled in our direction.

I shook my head. "No, it's not that. There's something coming out of them, it's not a smell, but..."

"Oh, that's dark magic," the empousa clarified. "I'm surprised you can sense that, but you get used to it."

The telekhines got the canoe ready and Kelli climbed aboard the boat after me. The sea demons began rowing us away from shore and into the ocean with greater strength and speed than humanly possible. The cruise ship grew bigger and bigger until it got to a point where my eyes widened.

"That's the biggest ship I've ever seen in my entire life," I said dumbly.

"Courtesy of Triumvirate Holdings," Kelli said in a proud way. "Right now, it's our base of operations and since the ship moves faster than any other mortal ship, it's very difficult to pin down our location."

"Smart," I admitted.

Chains from the cruise ship deck lowered and the telekhines strapped them to the canoe shackles. With some shouting and waving, the chains cranked and we were steadily hauled upwards. The entire time, I had to force my hands open so that they wouldn't ball into fists so I gripped my backpack. The same nasty energy radiating from the telekhines in front of me increased as we got closer to the ship surface and I could hear sounds of creatures scuttling. Finally, we stopped moving and a hydraulic machine craned the canoe over to the deck and set us down. The sight that greeted us made me internally swear up a storm.

Ah shit, I'm dead. Mother-effer, there are so many monsters-

All sorts of Greek monsters were gathered in front of us, some that I could name and recognize, but others I had no idea what they were. Some were just enlarged animal creatures with extra teeth and claws. Seeing dozens of monsters staring at me, my hand instinctively twitched. I wanted my katanas in my hands. My eyes darted around nervously and I caught sight of a group of humans huddled together to one side amongst the mob of monsters.

Demigods.

One stepped forward, parting a clear path, and the noise settled down.

It's been nearly two years since I last saw Luke in person, so there wasn't much physical change in appearance, but there was still so much about him that was different. Luke wore a plain black t-shirt and faded grey jeans and sneakers, but he looked like a Hollister ad with a cruise ship background. The awful blade, Backbiter, made of mortal and godly metal, hung on his side and broke the image. He used to radiate confidence with an easy smile and bright eyes, but his handsome face was marred with stress and his eyes resembled the ones I've seen of prisoners living a life sentence. Hopeless and tortured. The long scar on his face stood out all the more.

"Jade, it's good to see you." Luke smiled, but it seemed fake. "Thanks for bringing her, Kelli."

The empousa batted her eyes flirtatiously. "You can always ask me for favors, Luke. I'm happy to do more for you."

I uncomfortably flicked my gaze between Luke and Kellie. Kellie was definitely in his personal space and now unashamedly stroking his arms.

I took off my hat, while side-eyeing the monsters. "It's, uh, good to see you, too."

Luke glanced at the monsters. "What are you all standing around for? Don't you have work to do?"

The spectators muttered amongst themselves, but they didn't argue and shuffled away. Many still watched me with varying degrees of suspicion and curiosity. I didn't miss how some of their eyes looked thirsty for blood and I personally decided that I should be on guard at all times while on the cruise ship.

"Let's talk in my office," Luke said firmly.

Linking arms with Luke, Kelli escorted us to the inside of the ship and explained the internal mapping and general directions for where things were. She also cautioned me of going near certain corridors or levels of the ship, promising me that my safety couldn't be guaranteed if I stepped in those areas. The office was on the second-top floor and spacious, complete with lounging furniture on one side of the room and its own miniature kitchen and bathroom. I thought Kellie would stay with us, but she ushered us in and set my duffel bag down, closed the door after me, and stood guard in the hallway with her back turned to the door.

I was alone with him in the office. Leaning against the wide wooden desk centered in front of a large panelled window, Luke studied me with a heavy look.

He'll burn a hole in me at this rate.

I crossed my arms. "I heard you fell off a mountain. You don't look dead though."

Luke grimaced at the memory. "The titan bought me time for my recovery so I wouldn't die while getting slowly healed with ambrosia"

I raised my eyebrows at that. "Sounds painful."

Luke didn't respond to the short comment and I didn't say anything more to further the topic. The lull in conversation didn't feel awkward, but there was unmistakably some kind of tension between us. Personally, I wasn't feeling uneasy towards Luke. I was definitely tense about my circumstance, being in a cruise ship filled with monsters, but I wasn't bothered about being alone with Luke. Luke, however, seemed to have some internal conflict seeing me here, which was interesting considering how he'd been trying to convince me to join him.

After a moment of quiet, Luke finally said, "What's in the bag?"

I shrugged off the heavy backpack gently to the floor and cracked the knuckles in my right hand.

"Come closer, I'll show you," I said, waving him over. "I have something to give you."

Luke stepped closer with a frown. "What is it?"

"You're going to want to clench your teeth. I'm about to punch you in the face."

I didn't give Luke a chance to react and swung.

My fist knocked hard into his lower jaw. It was a solid crack at the chin.

The blow sent him reeling and Luke's blue eyes widened in shock. He glared at me while rubbing his jaw. Delicately touching the inside of his lip, blood came away at his fingers.

Shaking off the dull ache across my knuckles, I shed my scarf and jacket, tossing them to the nearest armchair, and dropped myself comfortably on a sofa. Luke grabbed tissues and sat across me, dabbing at the blood in his mouth.

"Alright. I'll let that slide," he grunted. "What was that for?".

I set one ankle over a knee, leaning back on the expensive furniture.

"You're an idiot."

Luke stared at me incredulously.

With a pause, I added, "Also, are you a dog in heat? An empousa? Seriously?"

Luke covered his face and broke into a weak chuckle.

"It really is good to see you, Jade," he said sincerely.

The smile on his face was genuine this time.

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