The last thing Lea wanted to do on her summer break was blow up another school. That was Percy's job and he had been doing well considering that they managed to stay at Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted for a few years now.
You know what that's called?
Growth.
A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front, and Lea wondered how she with her infamous resting bitch face ended up a part of the welcoming committee.
That's right. Apóllōn had needed her best friend for some impromptu quest in the middle of the night and Lea was forced to cover for her. It was incredibly irritating, but Drew had managed to send her an Iris-message earlier to inform her that she would be there soon.
Thank the aliens.
Lea could hide away by their Archery Club's booth where the air conditioning was or maybe even by the Baking Club and nibble on the treats there. Percy had ditched her early on. Since their Mom's boyfriend, Paul, would be working there in the upcoming year; Percy took the chance to give him a quick tour of the place before he was thrown into the deep end by the other teachers to lead a tour.
Lea inclined her head in greeting when Annabeth walked in with her Father and Stepmother. Sometime over winter break while Lea was playing damsel in distress, she reconciled with them again. They had even begun going to family therapy which Lea was also informed by the kids that made it to adulthood and were able to do something with their lives. She was going to attend school there, but it quickly became dangerous the longer that she stayed with the uptick in monster sightings. Annabeth had said that they begged her not to leave, but Annabeth wouldn't hear it. They had finally come to a compromise when Mr. Chase had taken the repairing of his relationship with his daughter to fix things with his siblings though admittedly, he had only reached out to his sister. Annabeth would transfer back as long as she immediately goes to camp at the first sign of trouble.
(Annabeth thought that was redundant until she realized they meant for her to go to camp and don't leave to go on any quests. She was to go as safe as she could be at camp, and they would sign her up for homeschooling instead so she can finish her education.)
Annabeth had told them that they informed her Aunt Natalie of the truth. They told her about the gods and demigods and the monsters. It was the only reason why Annabeth didn't agree to stay in Boston with her Aunt and cousin because she didn't want to put them in danger, but she had been forced to agree that if she needed somewhere safe to stay then she would go see them.
Annabeth had left them a few weapons. Mainly a couple of daggers that her Dad had melted down from her own weapons. She didn't want to take the chance that someone might try to use them against her. Some days she went down to see them and train them how to use it and make quick exits.
(Some days she said that Aunt Natalie looked at her as if she had something to hide and Annabeth wondered if the enemy had already gotten to them.)
Either way, her parents were coming to check the school out as it was recommended through their sessions and because her cousin was supposed to be transferring over during the next year.
It was all very sweet and mushy and reminded her very much of the fact that she was someone's stepmother and she should technically be doing the same thing.
Lea had about five more minutes before she could be switched out with another student.
It was within those five minutes that the strangest thing happened. Well, not the strangest thing. Lea's life since she turned twelve had been one weird event after another. This was like a three on the Should-I-Make-Time-Travel-Spell-To-Stop-Sally-And-Poseidon-From Meeting scale.
Some girl with frizzy red hair, wearing a maroon T-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings looked at Lea as if she knew her. Unless Nancy from Yancy Academy got a facial reconstruction, Lea had no idea who this girl was and her fingers twitched, ready to call upon her mageia at the first sign of danger.
Lea was kind of thankful when one of the cheerleaders appeared to relieve her because the second she heard her brother's name drop from that strange girl's lips, Lea almost blew their cover and attacked her.
She rushed into the building and didn't look back.
(If she had, maybe she would have noticed the weird cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms which were not their school colors coming to take her place.)
Lea looped around to the gym hall which was brimming with students that were showing off for their respective athletic department. It gave her hives just being there.
Percy was standing with Paul and Ethan and Annabeth and her parents while Drew had taken over an entire corner and cutely decorated the entire area. Her friend was dressed in her team uniform except Lea could also see where she still wore some of her gear for whatever quest she had been sent on.
Lea slid over to her twin's side, flashing an indulgent smile to Paul.
"Percy," she murmured, but he didn't seem to hear her through his excitement.
"Guess what." He was just about bouncing off the walls.
"With the way you live, I have no fucking idea."
"Shut up," Percy scoffed, playfully jostling her. After all, she lived a life just as weird as he did. "I signed up for the Equestrian program."
Lea raised a brow. "You are a cheater." Considering that they could hear horses, it would not be fair to anyone that he would face, but hey, that was not her business.
Percy opened his mouth to object, but Lea walked away over to her friends. The googly eyes that Drew and Ethan were making her sick, and she needed to put a stop to that before she vomited on the floor.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before they were escorted to the gym. Well, everyone else. Drew had stayed back with their booth and Lea was once again conned into helping her.
They waved the others forward and soon; they were a part of the three hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers. The marching band played the school song as if they were competing for battle of the bands while Lea was forced to sit still as Drew pulled out her makeup brushes and hair supplies and started treating her as a life-size barbie doll.
The marching band stopped playing. Absently, they could hear the sound of the principal saying something on the microphone. Drew started to paint Lea's nails.
It was probably ten minutes later when their group of friends came stumbling out of the gym alongside that redhead nightmare that somehow knew Lea's brother.
The two jumped to their feet in alarm.
The group stumbled over to them.
"What happened," they demanded, eyes darting back to the gym doors like they expected a monster to come running out.
"Empousa," Annabeth said.
"The fuck is that," Lea demanded.
"Bloodsucking monsters under the control of Hecate," Annabeth told her. "They're like the blueprint for the modern vampire."
Leaneira stared. "I swear you all have my blood pressure on boil every time you open your mouths."
"You... what are you talking about," the ginger said, looking between the group of them as they all inched their hands towards their weapons. "You know what those things are?"
"Things?"
"The cheerleaders. Tammi and Kelli," Ethan said.
Drew scoffed. "I knew something was wrong with them. They tried too hard to be prettier than me."
"Drew," Lea groaned. Of course, she was going to play up her ditzy persona. It would be funny if they weren't dealing with monsters. "Not the time." She turned back to the others. "It makes sense though. We've been here for a few years now. I'm surprised there aren't more monsters."
"Excuse me," the ginger cut in. There was... something about the desperation in her eyes, a look that was so hungry. "You... you could see them?" Desperate.
"Oh, yeah, we can," Percy promised. "I know you can see through the Mist."
"You know her, Percy," Annabeth asked, a furrow in her brow. Lea and Drew shared looks. Didn't have a crush, their ass.
"The what?"
"The Mist. It's...well, it's like this veil that hides the way things really are," Ethan explained as Percy suddenly became tongue tied. "Some mortals are born with the ability to see through it. Like you."
Rachel studied the six of them carefully before looking back at Percy. "He did that at Hoover Dam. Called me a mortal. Like you're not."
"We're half seahorse," Lea bullshitted. She could hear the presentation start to wind down and soon, they'll be breaking off to give tours of the school and dorms.
"Tell me," the girl begged, ignoring Lea, which rude. "You know what it means. All these horrible things I see?"
"Look, this is going to sound weird," Percy said. "Do you know anything about Greek myths?"
"Like...the Minotaur and the Hydra?"
The group of them tensed, looking around them. It'd be just their luck.
"Yeah, just try not to say those names when I'm around, okay?"
"And the Furies," she said, warming up. "And the Sirens, and—"
"Shut up," Drew ordered, charmspeak coating her words. The girl's mouth snapped closed. The doors to the gymnasium opened. They were starting the group tours. They didn't have time to explain this. "Okay, everyone just calm down. We keep to a buddy system. Ethan, Lea, and I can stay here. Percy, you and Annabeth take the mortal. Empousa are usually utilized for undercover work and they're quick to kill witnesses. A clear-sighted mortal?"
"Perfect bait," Annabeth finished.
"Why do you keep saying mortal like that," she said, eyes narrowing. "Who are you people?"
"We're not monsters," Percy said.
Debatable, Lea thought. Their parents were aliens.
"Well, I know that. I could see if you were. You look like...you. But you're not human, are you?"
They all turned to look at him. It was clear that he knew her and if that was the case, then he would have to be the one to tell her their secret. Lea thought it was kind of ironic that this random girl that she had never even known her Brother knew would be learning their secret before their Mother's boyfriend, but oh well.
"We're half-bloods," Percy said. Lea scrunched her nose. That still sounded like a slur. "We're half human."
"And half what?"
Just then Tammi and Kelli walked past them, and now that Lea knew who they really were, she could see past the mist and see their glowing red eyes.
She would have to ask Hermes later how the mist worked around her oath at a later point, but for now, they stared them down before breaking apart into their groups.
Hermês stood with his brothers and sisters as they watched over Leaneíras... Lea and the others prepare for what would inevitably be a battle.
Aphrodítē, Apóllōn, and Árēs stood with white-knuckles for every moment the empousa neared Drew who watched them back coolly. The tours continued around the school, and they all were able to see how each of the demigods seemed to tense the longer it commenced.
"Look alive," Dionysos said, pointing to where a few dracaena slithered into the ranks around Perseus, Annabeth, and the mortal. The two of them do a wonderous job of keeping her calm even though it was obvious that Annabeth wanted to rip her eyes the more she stared at Perseus.
"Are they khaos-mates," Hermês asked Aphrodítē who shrugged with a secretive smile on her lips. Technically speaking, Hermês and Apóllōn and Dionysos had the ability to see blessings also. It came with being the psychopomp, the god of prophecy, and the god of reincarnation. But they all stopped actively looking since demigods tended to be blessed with gods and it was like a mortal looking at the true form of a deity.
Hermês turned his attention back to his blessing where she was leaning back in a chair beside Ethan in boredom. In her hand was a copy of the Aenē̆id which she was flipping through without actually reading.
"I'm serious," one of Drew's teammates was saying to Ethan and Lea. "Do you ever feel like god is telling you to something?"
Leaneíras turned her nose up in disgust, "No."
"What are you an atheist or something?"
"Or something," she nodded as Ethan snickered. The two of them shared amused looks.
"I want to say that isn't surprising," the same teammate said. "But considering everything I know about you from just watching you around Drew, this isn't even the wildest thing."
"Your parents naming you Shelton is wild," Leaneíras mused. The boy's facial features drew back in offense.
"There are over 300,000 people in the world named Lea. You are not special."
"Funny," Leaneíras said. "I don't recall ever saying that you could call me that. Only my friends can call me Lea. Leaneira is such a rare name. So rare in fact that the only record of it is in Greek mythology and what do you know? I'm half-greek." She bared her teeth. Personally, it looked like a little lion cub trying to be threatening to Hermês, but he supposed it was intimidating to the mortals. "There are, however, over seven thousand people in the United States alone named Shelton alongside its various spellings and you are in the bottom two and not number two. So, please, do us all a favor and get the fuck out of my face."
"God, you're such a bitch."
"I'm sorry, is this breaking news," Leaneíras snorted. "I'm a bitch, sure. But you're still the dumbass that tried to break in our dorm for a prank and steal our underwear."
There was a ripple of anger that spread between the group of them at that. Artemis looked as if she was half a second away from dropping down into the mortal world herself to give him a piece of her mind.
"And the difference between me and you," Leaneíras sang.
"Sing it, Lee," Ethan murmured, muscles shifting under his shirt as he turned to the boy that disrespected not only his khaos-mate, but also his friend.
"Is that I'm not a dumbass," Leaneíras finished.
There was a swoosh of wind before Érōs, Antérōs, Aineías, Phobos and Deimos appeared at their sides.
"My children," Aphrodítē said. "Tis seems we have a mortal to punish for the disrespect that they have shown to your sister." She waves her hand at the mortal boy who was carefully backing away from Ethan in a bit of terror. It made sense. The son of Nemesis did look a bit pissed. "Make it last and make it hurt."
They looked like all male-version of The Delightful Children From Down The Lane as they said, "Of course, Mother." They disappeared with laughs and Hermês fought back at shudder. Thankfully, his Hermaphróditos wasn't like that.
Down below, another teammate was speaking and trying to distract Ethan from pummeling the boy into the ground. Not that Leaneíras... Lea or Drew seemed to mind, watching the whole thing in amusement.
"You know, my little cousin is being bullied by these others girl. The teachers aren't even helping."
A bold thing to say on a school that prided themselves on their anti-bullying campaign.
"Cut their hair every time they bother her," Drew shrugged, placing a calming hand on her blessing's arm while she grabbed the signup sheets and laminated pamphlets. "They will either stop or be bald."
"You can't fight fire with fire, Drew," Ethan scolded with a small smile. "Violence isn't the answer."
Apóllōn and Árēs both snorted, sharing looks of surprise before turning away from each other.
"It is if bullying is the question. tell your cousin to act like her name is Dave and give her the fade," Leaneíras said just as the empousa turned back on their hall. "If she can pass lick, she better be able to take one. Everybody has a right to defend themselves. Well, everyone except pedophiles and rapists."
And then, kids began to scream and run down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life.
Lea sighed. "I swear to the strap on jesus left sandal."
Dionysos looked down at his feet with a confused expression. "What does my shoes have to do with anything?"
"There you are, Leaneíras Jackson," one of the monsters said. Leaneíras' features darkened. "It's time for your orientation."
She tilted her head at them, looking both of them up and down before looking at Drew. "You know, I don't know why it makes sense, but they look like a yeast infection in human form or well, monster form."
"Lea," Drew and Ethan groaned. Drew summoned her newest bow, a gift from Aphrodítē when she began her training with Apóllōn while Ethan brought out a collapsible sword.
"I'm going to enjoy ripping your skin off your body," the other stated.
"Wh—what's happening," the kids stuttered as Lea flanked Drew and Ethan. A shimmering green shield pulsed around the mortals.
On the other side of the school, Perseus and Annabeth managed to meet up with her parents who were surprisingly equipped with pocket knives made from celestial bronze with the little clear-sighted mortal hidden behind them. A group of Laistrygones and dracanaea had found them. It was clear that they had taken some kind of defense lessons. A smart choice really if they wanted Annabeth to stay with them.
"Oh, forget her." One of them said, turning their attention onto Ethan.
It became very, very obvious that Drew really was her Mother's child and that she had been spending way too much time around Apóllōn from the bloodcurdling snarl that appeared on her face. Hermês could understand where Ethan was coming from. The form that the empousa had taken was very pretty. Her smile was dazzling, blue eyes were beautiful, and the way her hair swept over her shoulders was very distracting, but nevertheless, Aphrodítē was his sister. Drew was the daughter of Aphrodítē. And honestly, most people looked plain since the moment that he look into Leaneíras' eyes.
"Ethan," Leaneíras said. "If you value you're life, you'd snap out of it."
"You like my man," Drew sneered. "He turn you on? Pick out a casket, you bitch, and your favorite church song."
"FUCK," Leaneíras cursed, dodging around Drew just as she let four explosive out at the empousa and tackled Ethan to the ground. "Get your head in the game, E."
Peithō appeared at the side of her mistress, watching the proceedings with interest. "I understand where she is coming from, mi'lady. I'm never leaving my husband. They'll have to move me literally."
It really wasn't the time for that.
"Lord Hḗphaistos has currently hacked into the school's security system and is now showing the battles in the throne room if you would like to watch there," she continued and they all turned as one to make their way there.
By the time they made it, the school was on fire and Drew had the empousa that had been flirting with blessing in a headlock while torturing her using her bowstring and consistently rubbing it over her skin and choking her with it. "Who's jealous now, you bitch?"
A pack of Nêades growled. Hermes was both confused and grateful that they didn't roar until he realized that every time they opened their mouths, a wad of gum stuck their maws back together. There were a bunch of human bodies littering the ground, as the two groups managed to fight their way back to each other while Leaneíras' favorite storm spell was raging around them. Speaking of his blessing, she was levitating in the air—he didn't know she could do that—there was a frown on her face as pulses of green light moved around even as the other mortals kept screaming.
"Lea, can you hurry it up," Perseus asked, slashing at three Nêades. His twin growled lowly in her throat, white of her eyes blocked out by the full power of her mageia.
"Gee, I'm sorry. Maybe this would be easier if they would shut the fuck up!" Her glare settled onto the different humans running around, grasping at each other desperately. Annabeth was a bit catatonic, holding onto her Father even as it was obvious to Hermes that Lea's spell was the only thing keeping him and the other mortals from descending to the Underworld. "Honestly," Lea sniffed, disgust painted on her features when some man held a cross out at her and at the monsters around them. "Religious people always talk about how great heaven is then kick and scream when its time to go. Why leave things in Jesus' hands, knowing he got holes in them anyway?"
"Lea, what did we say about making fun of religions," Ethan scolded, sidestepping one of the Laistrygones and making them vanquish each other.
"I'm an atheist!"
"Your soulmate is a literal god!"
"ALIEN! ALIEN-GOD!" She snapped. Nice to know that she hadn't gave up that thought. "I knew something was going to happen when he and his brother didn't promise me a boring summer!" Whatever spell she was attempting cast wavered and she cursed, focusing back onto it.
"Oh, come on," the monster that Drew was still torturing protested. "There's no need to be jealous. It's just one little kiss."
"You think I'm going to let you eat my boyfriend," Drew growled. "Girl, fuck you and your chapped ass lips. Newsflash, loser. Carmex exist!"
"Freshmen," the monster said with disgust. "This is our school, half-blood. We feed on whom we choose! However we choose! And my lips aren't chapped!"
"You're a lame ass cheerleader. These aren't even our school colors," Drew sneered. "Gamma who? One word:"
"Bitches," Lea and Drew said together before the latter plunged an arrow straight through her cheerleader uniform, and with a horrible wail she exploded into dust all over Drew.
Drew coughed. She looked like she'd just had a sack of flour dumped on her head. "Gross!"
Lea's mageia pulsed again. She mouthed a few words and it took Hermês barely a second to her the unspoken command: Mother, Maiden, Crone, stand around the mortals, shoulder to shoulder, so only precious life may hold them. As your lunar light doth wax and wane, keep them on this mortal plane. By torchlight, key, and holy knife, hold the mortals close to life.
Beside them, Artemis shimmered silver as Leaneíras called onto her as the Maiden. Well, it made easier to see what Lea was doing now. A spell to maintain life in a person on the brink of death.
"You killed my trainee!" the other one yelled. "You need a lesson in school spirit, half-blood!" She changed into her true form. Wiry hair flickering into flames, cocoa colored eyes turning blood red and fangs as sharp as daggers. Her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof.
Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze.
Drew turned a little green. "Oh, honey. I don't even think my Mother can help you or want to for that matter."
Aphrodítē nodded her head. "She's right. Ugly souls make for ugly people."
"I am senior empousa," the monster growled. "No hero has bested me in a thousand years."
"Yeah?" Perseus said. "Then you're overdue!"
She dodged his first strike and rolled into a water fountain with a mighty crash. Perseus put himself between the still living mortals and the empousa. Kelli circled them, her eyes going from Perseus to the sword.
"Such a pretty little blade," she said. "What a shame it stands between us." Her form shimmered—sometimes a demon, sometimes a pretty cheerleader. "Poor dear." the monster chuckled. "You don't even know what's happening, do you? Soon, your pretty little camp in flames, your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It would be merciful to end your life now, before you have to see that."
She lunged at Perseus once more before a blast of mageia slammed her into the opposite wall.
"Stay away from my brother," Leaneíras snarled and her voice echoed as it bounced against the walls. Blood streamed from her right eye. She raised a hand in the air. Mageia swirled around it, glistening like greek fire.
"Oh, crap," Perseus and Drew muttered.
Another wave of mageia pulsed over them. Leaneíras' voice deepened, echoing around the cave. "Radices interficiam te de terra."
Hermês blinked, latin easily translating in his mind. I will kill you by the roots from the earth.
And the roots of the earth it was as the ground began sprout its own arms until a group of Gêgeneês used all six of each of their arms to claw out of the ground. They immediately aimed for the Laistrygones.
A blast of mageia escaped her once more that brought them all to their knees. Leaneíras floated easily in the air. Her gleaming hands rose to the air. "Phoibos Apóllōn, radiant and shining archer, Divine healer, Far-shooter. Beautiful, terrible god of truth and light ,I ask your presence. I call to you. To be here this evening and witness this rite. Golden son of Ζεύς and Lētṓ, Brother of Artemis, Lord of the Hyperboreans most pious, Averter of plagues, giver of foresight. I ask for your blessing of purity, your shining inspiration, and your unparalleled song. Apóllōn, brilliant one of far sight and beautiful voice, I pray for thee healing hands so that Rivers must flow that blood may not. Blood be bound, and blood be clot. Ie, Paeon!"
An amused smile danced onto Apóllōn's lips as he reached out, a gleaming hand filled with divinity and waved his divine hand across the school. Wounds began to close bit by bit until the mortals shredded chest were once more covered by their skin and muscles. The bleeding wounds slowed to a stop and taking away concussions leaving nothing but simple headaches. A sob escaped Annabeth as her Father began to twitch as if he was awakening.
But Leaneíras wasn't finished. "Sweet Hypnos, most benevolent and gracious God, please hear my prayer. Clear these mortals' mind, clear their hearts, let these painful thoughts depart!" She turned in a slow circle, glowing brighter and brighter by the minute. In the distraction, Perseus charged at the empousa. Just before the celestial bronze hit her, she exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail. Waves of fire splashed over everything. "By Asteria and Persês: Open sky and do your worst!"
As the last word dripped from her lips, a clap of thunder boomed as winds ripped the roof right off the school. The winds were tyrants, roaring and groaning as they attacked the world, spreading out past the school and into the entire Brooklyn borough of New York City. The gods all shared looks. It was like when she first learned that she was a pharmakís.
Rolling clouds came crashing down, and streaks of lightning danced across the streets. The storm howled ferociously, an unhinged sort of anger to and nearly capsizing it. Waves and waves of energy waft from around her, seeping into the land under her feet and the air around her. The harsh lightning strikes brushed past all the humans, the demigods included as if they weren't even there.
"I pray to Mnêmosynê with the beautiful hair, the fair-robed child of Ouranos, Mother of the nine gold-crowned Mousai. Let them listen to my voice. Hear my words, and forget I said anything. Bless their minds, bless their hearts, let these mortals' painful thoughts depart!"
A blast of pure divine mageia exploded from her just as a terrifying wave from the New York Harbor threatened to sink the borough to the bottom of the sea.
Hermês was out of his throne before he could even think twice.