Everything hurt. Things and places I hadn’t even known could hurt ached like hell.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby.”
I glared up from the dirt. Loki sat on a nearby branch, looking down at me with a smug grin. Instinctively, I tried to shoot a stream of water at his face.
A searing pain tore through my chest the moment I did.
Loki sniffed. “I wouldn’t recommend doing that if I were you.”
“What’s… happening to me?” I grunted as I barely managed to sit up. “I felt fine before.”
“Wielding divinity comes with its own strain. You demigods are still half mortal, with all the frailty that entails.” Loki snorted. “Fortunately for you, contact with water empowers and heals you, allowing you to push far beyond your mortal limits. Unfortunately, the rather abrupt separation from the water caused all that accumulated strain to strike you at once.”
“Ugh.” I massaged my forehead. “Is it gonna be like this every time?”
“No.” Loki shook his head. “It's similar to exercising a muscle. Your current exhaustion stems largely from your inexperience. With practice and my guidance, you will eventually overcome such weakness.”
“…Great.” I was too tired to deal with that right now. “So what about the whole Devil situation?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.” Loki frowned. “Those stupid devils shouldn’t be able to trace us. Although I wouldn’t recommend returning to their territory anytime soon.”
“There goes my summer vacation,” I said dryly.
“Hmph. It seems you are well enough to make jokes, at least.” Loki’s form shimmered as he clicked his tongue and examined his fading hands. “I have all but exhausted the power within the stone. Rest for the next few days and keep it close. I’ll visit again when I have the time.”
I scowled. “Wait, you promised—”
A book smacked me in the face.
“This should cover the basics of what you need to know about the Olympians and the greater world.” Loki waved a hand. “Read it. I will answer the rest once I am finished with my own matters.”
His form rippled before fading away entirely.
“Jerk.”
I picked up the book and examined it. It was rough and worn, though it didn’t feel ancient like the book about runes. Some kind of journal, maybe?
I opened it and paused.
The text was written entirely in Greek, yet somehow, I could read it. Heck, the words came to me even easier than English.
Henry CaldwellExplorer, Adventurer, Magician Extraordinaire, Son of HecateStarted: 10/12/1986
For my fellow brothers and sisters whom I may never meet.
Far and wide, I have traveled, learning the secrets of magic and the ways of the world. Though I die, I do so without regret. I hope the record of my journeys will prove useful to those who come after me.
My eyes widened as I quickly flipped through the book, skimming page after page.
Judging by the dates alone, I had literal years of this Henry guy’s life as a demigod sitting in my hands.
Finally, I could get some questions answered. As much as I wanted to start checking it out, a floating notification caught my eye I quickly opened the Questboard.
[Scout for the Seals]
[Quest Achieved!]
Reward:
Minor Storage Ring
|Rare|
An enchanted ring that holds a small pocket space. It grants the wearer awareness of the pocket space and allows them to store and retrieve physical objects at their convenience. The pocket space has a limited amount of storage, around the size of a large suitcase.
A soft click sounded, followed by a quiet pop of displaced air.
A simple silver ring dropped into my palm. It was completely unadorned, but I could still feel something radiating from it. I slipped the ring onto my finger, and my mind immediately brushed against the pocket space within.
This would make traveling a lot easier—
Huh?
I gave the space a metaphorical tug.
The backpack Mr. Strada had given me popped out of the ring and dropped onto the ground. The rune book landed beside it a moment later.
I stared at the two items I had thought were gone for good.
Getting my magic book back was already a lifesaver, but the backpack was even more important. All my money was inside it. Without that cash, I would have been literally homeless. It seemed Loki hadn’t included financial support in his lesson plans.
Praise be the Questboard!
I bowed my head to whatever weird thing controlled the System, then looked down at the two books. Both were thick enough to qualify as small dictionaries.
I grimaced.Guess I should start reading.
Figures that even after discovering the magical world, I still had to study.
—Hades seethed as he glared down from his throne.
The Furies cowered before him with their foreheads pressed against the floor, trembling beneath the crushing weight of his divinity.
“Say that again,” he growled through clenched teeth.
A long silence followed before Alecto finally dared to raise her head.
“We have failed you, my lord.” She bowed once more. “Percy Jackson is nowhere to be found. We searched the entire state and contacted our spies in Camp Half-Blood, Olympus, and Atlantis, but no one has seen any sign of the boy.”
“Twice,” Hades said darkly.
The temperature in the throne room seemed to plummet.
“First, you were bested by a mere boy who had never held a sword before. Now you expect me to believe that you cannot even locate a single teenage child?”
“I have no excuse, my lord.” Alecto lowered her head.
“No excuse?” Hades leaned forward, his fingers tightening around the arms of his throne. “Then what am I supposed to think when my most capable trackers have nothing to show for their efforts?”
His blood boiled at the sheer incompetence.
Now that the boy had vanished entirely, Hades’s best chance of recovering his helm had all but disappeared with him. His abduction of Sally Jackson had become almost pointless. The mortal woman knew nothing of Poseidon’s plans, while her son could have ferried the Helm of Darkness damn near anywhere by now.
Hades cursed the fact that he seemed to be the only god who still adhered to law. He should have abducted Percy Jackson that night instead of his mother, Poseidon be damned.
Yet his naive hope of avoiding war with his brothers had been for nothing.
Both Zeus and Poseidon were honorless pigs.
They called his children threats?
Hah!
The two fools sired offspring without the slightest regard for the oaths they had sworn. Thalia Grace and Percy Jackson were both prime candidates for the Great Prophecy, yet Zeus and Poseidon continued to risk Olympus because neither could think with anything above their waist.
Time and time again, Hades was the one expected to endure every insult.
No throne on Olympus? Fine. He could bear it.
His children treated as outcasts and monsters? His heart raged at the injustice, but he had bitten his tongue and accepted it.
But this?
Someone had stolen his Symbol of Power while his brothers blatantly disregarded the very oaths meant to prevent Olympus’s fall.
No.
This would not stand any longer.
Hades slammed his fist against the throne. His power rippled through the palace, shaking the walls and driving the Furies even lower against the floor.
“Begone!”
His servants obeyed without hesitation and fled the throne room.
Hades remained seated in the silence of his palace, his expression twisted into a dark scowl.
He did not know whether Zeus or Poseidon was scheming against him. What he did know was that neither of them could be trusted any longer.
The existence of their children all but guaranteed that the Great Prophecy would soon come to fruition. Hades had half a mind to slay Thalia Grace himself. He had left her tree form in peace after his anger cooled, but now his wrath had been stoked once more.
Still, it was too soon.
Prophecy was a fickle thing. Hades had learned that lesson many times over the ages.
Killing Thalia Grace now would almost certainly spark a war with Zeus. Worse, her death might guarantee that Percy Jackson became the child named by the prophecy.
Zeus had ruled Olympus for so long that his reign had become synonymous with it.
The final line echoed through Hades’s mind.
Olympus to preserve or raze.Perhaps… it did not foretell the destruction of Olympus.
Perhaps it spoke of razing the old order.
A new king could rise, claim the throne, and lead the pantheon into a new age. Following that interpretation, the meaning became almost obvious.
Whichever child fulfilled the Great Prophecy might decide not only the fate of Olympus, but who would rule it afterward.
Hades rubbed his chin as the idea took firmer root in his mind.
Nico and Bianca were still trapped within the Lotus Casino. Despite the decades that had passed outside its walls, both should still qualify as candidates for the Great Prophecy.
The thought brought a pang of unease.
If he removed them from the casino, they would inevitably be swept into the currents of Fate. His brothers lacked both his restraint and foresight. Zeus or Poseidon might attempt to kill his children before they became a threat, consequences be damned.
No… he could not risk either of them until he was certain.
Hades steepled his fingers atop his throne.
If war broke out between the three brothers, most of the Olympians would undoubtedly side with Zeus. Poseidon commanded perhaps the largest court among them, with legions of water gods, spirits, and ocean beasts sworn to his service.
Even with so many disadvantages stacked against him, Hades believed he could triumph.
His personal strength had long since surpassed that of his brothers. Even without the Helm of Darkness, he was confident he could defeat either of them in battle.
His armies were not as numerous as Poseidon’s, nor did he command the same support among the gods as Zeus. Still, Hades was hardly defenseless. Unlike the lackadaisical fools on the surface, the denizens of the Underworld had duties that could not simply be abandoned.
Many of his followers could not be pulled from their posts without leaving the realm in disarray or dangerously exposed. He could expand his forces, but there was precious little time.
Even if Nico, his youngest, was the child named by the prophecy, Hades would have barely any time to prepare. If it was Bianca, he would have even less.Building his power in time would already be difficult enough without those accursed devils complicating matters.
At least… it would be if he went about it through normal means.
Hades frowned as another possibility took root in his mind.
He respected the laws. He honored his oaths. Yet his brothers broke both whenever it suited them, flaunting their transgressions without a second thought.
Perhaps it was only fair that he return the favor.
With a wave of his hand, Hades summoned a small stone carved with the image of a serpent and several intricate runes. He pressed a sliver of his power into it and felt a distant connection snap into place.
“Well, well. Color me surprised.” A disgustingly grating voice filled the throne room as a projection of Loki appeared before him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I have reconsidered your proposal, trickster.” Hades leaned back into his throne. “Certain allowances can be made if you aid me.”“Oh?” Loki smiled. “Do tell.”