The Lost Heroine (Heroes of Olympus/Kane Chronicles crossover) [2016]

Chapter 24: Piper

I WAS DEVASTATED. I had been kidnapped by an evil snow queen. My friends had come to rescue me, and three of them were turned into ice statues, stranded in Antarctica. I hated myself.

That was the only thing that was on my mind as I jumped through the portal. Zia anchored the portal on an Egyptian artifact in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Percy called Blackjack and Porkpie, and Hazel called Arion. Leo had been the only one who could call Festus, so Calypso rode on Blackjack with Percy, and Sadie joined Walt, Zia, and Jaz on Freak's boat. None of us spoke.

I climbed onto Porkpie with Jason behind me. Porkpie seemed to sense my pain. He whinnied worriedly. I patted him. "I'm okay," I lied. "Just... sad."

Jason squeezed my hand. "I'm so sorry, Piper."

I didn't answer. "Sorry" didn't cover it. Nothing would cover it. Leo was gone. Nobody could say anything to change that. If I could charmspeak him to turn back and come home, I would, but now it was too late.

We sat silently in the Big House room. Nico  IM'ed Amos Kane. During the IM to Brooklyn House, Sadie, Zia, Jason, Calypso, Percy, Hazel, and I started to cry.

"He can't be gone," I said quietly after the Iris-Message was over. "They can't be gone."

"I don't see how they could be alive," Will said reluctantly. "I wish I could say otherwise."

Percy was sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead. He hadn't spoken since returning to New York. Remorse squeezed at my heart as I looked at him. I'd seen the panic in his eyes when Annabeth had gone missing. He cared about her more than anything else, and now she was gone for good. 

Walt was silently making a new scrying bowl. Nico sat next to him and talked quietly. I didn't hear their conversation. Then Hazel joined them and they all grinned widely.

"What the Hades are you grinning about?" Jason asked, an edge to his voice. Percy jerked out of his trance, watching Walt. 

"I host Anubis, god of the dead. Nico is a son of Hades," Walt said. "Both of us can sense when someone dies. And we're sure of one thing: Carter, Leo, and Annabeth are alive."

Everyone in the room stared at Walt. He went back to the scrying bowl.

"He's alive?" I asked. "They all are?"

"Yup!" he said brightly.

Percy stood. "How?"

"I don't know," Walt replied. "I just know that none of them are dead."

"So... we left them there, alive?" Calypso asked.

"Yes," Nico confirmed. A frosty silence worthy of Khione hung in the air.

"What if Khione's still alive?" Percy asked. "How could they possibly survive?"

"Khione was execrated," Sadie said. "I used sympathetic magic, which means I bound her sheut to the statue. I destroyed the statue, and her too. She won't be coming back."

"But how can they survive?" Percy repeated.

"They'll have to stay there for about twelve hours at least," Will Solace pointed out. "And we need an Egyptian relic to let them get back."

Sadie cursed in Ancient Egyptian. "I took Carter's staff! They won't be able to get back!"

"Annabeth has a staff," Zia reminded her. "She'll get them back."

"The scrying bowl is an Egyptian artifact," Walt suggested. "Once I finish it, they'll be able to return."

"How long will it be until you're done?" Percy demanded.

"A day, maybe two," Walt said.

"That isn't too bad," I said. "Leo has his tool belt, and Annabeth and Carter have their magician's kit. All of them are smart--"

"Leo Valdez, smart?" Frank muttered. 

Hazel punched him. "He almost died! You can't give him a break?"

"And resourceful," I continued, ignoring Frank. "They can make it for a day or two."

Walt worked on the scrying bowl all day. Amos had given the magicians permission to sleep over for another night. Walt finished the bowl at about ten thirty p.m. We'd returned at noon. All of us were exhausted and worried sick about Annabeth, Carter and Leo.

We watched another movie. We did a brainstorm of what movies to watch. Percy suggested Finding Nemo. Nico immediately vetoed that. Then Sadie suggested Big Hero 6, and for Leo's sake, we all agreed.

We started the movie at ten forty-five p.m. I had never actually seen the movie, but I'd heard some good things about it. I thought the robot fight was hilarious. Leo was right-- Hiro was a lot like him, from his obsession with machines and robotics to his messy black hair. 

During the scene where Hiro met Baymax, Walt yelled in surprise. He was looking through the doorway into the other room, where the scrying bowl was. "LOOK!" he yelled. Percy paused the movie, and we all followed his gaze to see the giant purple portal emerging from the depths of the scrying bowl.