Will's Mortal Friends

The next great Sherlock Holmes

Austin's POV

I suddenly knew trying to befriend Jasmine was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

When we finally got back to her house, we unpacked silently. I didn't have lot with me, plus I just slept on the couch. But the others were all a little tense. And I knew why.

"We'll be going back on a regular school schedule tomorrow morning," Jasmine told us all at dinner. "I already told the School Principal about our fake vacation. Lucky for us, we don't have to take finals at the endof the year. Yet."

"We won't be here at the end of the year," I muttered.

Jasmine shot a glare at me. "You will unless you find that demigod, correct?"

We nodded.

"So we better get to work," She stated. "Do you know what grade they're in?"

"Your grade-" Percy said. "That's the reason Apollo sent Will first."

"So then, why are you here?" Nico asked him.

Percy shrugged.

"No off-topic questions, please," Jasmine commanded, pulling out and entire notebook and pen. "I will not stop until this person is found. I want my house and partial sanity back."

"Good enough for me-" Nico mumbled, sitting back in his dining room chair.

"How many possible Godly Parents are we talking?" Jasmine asked us. "There must be a way to sort how many have kids."

"Twenty," Will told her. "There are twenty cabins at camp half blood, meaning twenty godly parents."

She wrote that down on her notebook.

"I'm guessing they are the twelve Olympians, plus 8 other minor Gods?" Jasmine guessed. "Right?"

"How did you know that?" Nico asked her. "Are you the missing demigod?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I don't think I am. If I was, I'd probably be a lot more excited."

"Well, we can knock off four cabins," Percy intervened. "Hera never has demigod children, and the Big Three swore never to have demigod kids again."

"But maybe that's why the demigod's lost," I started.

"We'll keep that in the maybe section," Jasmine mumbled, continuously writing everything down on her notepad. "That leaves sixteen Godly Parents."

"Will, you know a lot of the people in your class," I tapped my half brother's shoulder. "Do you think any of them could be the demigod?"

"I know this one guy, his name's River," Will shrugged. "He's pretty sporty, kind of snotty, but overal he's a nice guy. In other words, some demigod-like qualities."

"What about her weird-ass friends?" Nico pointed at Jasmine.

"Hey!"

"They don't seem like demigods," Will shrugged. "But Katie could possibly be the daughter of Aphrodite."

"How so?" Jasmine asked. "All we do is fangirl. She's not much into physical contact, except for hugs. She's not big into love."

"Okay, maybe not," Will snorted.

"That leaves about 20 other kids in my class," Jasmine breathed.

"We could probably just go with the idea of bringing in something," Nico suggested. "I could summon a hellhound. Mortals would see a dog, Demigods would see it for what it really is."

"That might be a good idea, but we still need to narrow it down to find the class," Jasmine said. "You can't go around bringing dogs into classrooms. We have to do it subtly."

"Whatever-" Nico sniggered.

"Will, aren't you the most popular boy in our grade?" Percy asked him. "You probably have lots of friends."

Will shrugged. "I'm not the most popular. I'm just friends with everyone. Like Jasmine, basically."

"So, what you're saying is, You and Jasmine could singlehandedly find the demigod since you're both so friendly," I summed up.

They took a quick glance at each other before nodding.

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't work together," Jasmine said. "But maybe we should split up into two groups."

"There are only five of us," Nico said. "That's not even."

"That doesn't matter," Jasmine said. "I can be with Austin, so you three can be together. I know these people more than anyone here."

"Sounds good," I blushed.

"That's fine, as long as I'm with Will," Nico muttered.

"Great," Percy said. "I'll be third wheeling."

"Oh, stop," Will rolled his eyes.

Jasmine picked up her phone suddenly, probably getting a text. "Hey, there's a new kid in our grade. His name's Leo."

"We have a friend named Leo," Nico whispered, all of us staring at each other.

"I swear, if he shows up at my door and asks to live here, I will not provide," Jasmine mumbled. "Tell him to stay somewhere else, if he's going to this school. Too many demigods. Who's his Godly Parent?"

"Hephaestus," Percy said.

"Amazing, a tinkerer," Jasmine sighed. "That'll be great for this investigation. I'm going upstairs. If he shows up, tell him to get out, okay?"

"That might be a little harsh," I told her.

"Would you want five demigods you barely know staying in your house?" She asked sharply. "I didn't think so. Be ready for tomorrow, boys. Our investigation shall begin."

With that, she left, walking up the stairs into her bedroom.

We waited until hearing her door close. "Who does she think she is? Sherlock Holmes?" Percy muttered.

"Do you really think Valdez is here?" Nico asked quickly. "Too many demigods in one place could be dangerous."

"We have Jasmine," Percy said. "And her rancid broom. This could be easier than we think."

"But she only has a broom," Nico sniggered. "How dangerous can it even be?"

"You don't want to know," Will shivered. "She has more than a broom, you know. Someone tried to get into a fight with me, before y'all came. She pulled out the heaviest book I've ever seen in my life, and just threw it at their head, perfect shot. They fell unconscious. Don't underestimate her."

I frowned. "How do we know she's not the demigod? I mean, she saw Nico shadow travel, and she's apparently an expert at protecting herself."

Will shrugged. "I would've noticed. She's pretty secretive, but reveals her plans after she takes action."

"Let's just hope nothing bad happens if Leo does really come here," Percy said. "He tends to lead danger everywhere."

"And if he does cause trouble, we'll be able to fix it, I think," I said. "I mean, what could go wrong?"