Hades stretched his wrist from the last batch of paperwork he had to sign, laid down the fountain pen and sent the files away, clearing his desk from all clutter besides the small three-slot letter stand with dozen or so letters in its back slot, none in the middle and one in the front one.
Has it really been a year since he met Sephie Jackson?
It was difficult to believe, but the proof was staring at him. He dragged the letter stand to himself and went over the letters in the back slot with his finger. One letter for every month Hades had not seen Sephie in person. He had the stand enchanted by Hecate centuries ago, a pair of stands that allowed the owners to send mail without having to rely on Hermes. He never gave it to Persephone, since he never had to hide his correspondence with his wife, but he thought about his rare and far-between mortal lovers and found himself wanting to check on his children every now and then.
Sephie was not his lover, but their correspondence definitely needed to stay as low-key as possible. With Poseidon looking ready to incinerate just about everyone who looked at his little Sea Princess with less than pure thoughts, Hades feared his brother might read too much into his banter with Sephie and do something he'd later regret.
He picked out the letter dated to 22nd of December, day after the Winter Solstice. Campers had not attended this meeting; Zeus was still smarting over the fact the traitor son of Hermes stole his Bolt during the Council meeting and forbade all mortal visits to Olympus until they brought the boy to Olympus in chains.
Hi Uncle!
Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly six months since we met and I got tossed in this whole mess with Greek mythology. It seems so unreal in retrospect. I mean, kids in school usually brag about having famous mummies, daddies and relatives, and I find myself wanting to say: But my Dad is the literal King of the Seas, and my Uncles rule the sky and the Underworld! Don't worry, I don't actually brag – I doubt anyone would believe me, and revealing our world to unsuspecting mortals would probably result in Uncle Z blasting me!
No monster attacks so far is making me feel a bit edgy, though. It's been over four months, and not a single monster has approached me, either in school or outside. Everyone told me my scent is, like, ridiculously strong, so why no monsters? Are they scared of me, or is there something around me blocking them from coming?
Tyson is feeling a bit down because of Christmas, so my mum and I invited him over to our house to spend winter hols. You should've seen that avalanche of tears and hugs – the big guy nearly broke my ribs with his hug!
That's all from me. Send my hellos to Lady Persephone!
Yours,
Sephie Jackson
Hades smiled and placed the letter back into its slot, carefully sliding it between the one dated to 18th of November and 19th of January before picking up the lone letter in the front slot. The date read 17th of June, indicating it was sent yesterday evening. He took the letter opener and easily slid the sharp edge through the closed top of the envelope, letting the letter fall out. This time, two pieces of paper fell out: the actual letter and a glossy square of paper Hades had no trouble recognizing as photo paper. He first picked up the photo and flipped it, revealing smiling Sephie in the middle, grumpy-looking Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and the grinning boy Hades guessed was Tyson on her sides.
The first thing that caught his eye was the single eye Tyson sported. So that was why no monsters attacked his little niece: no lone monster was insane enough to go near a Cyclops that had an amicable relationship with a demigod. It seemed his little brother took precautions and sent young Cyclops to watch over his daughter and help her as much as he could in deflecting other monsters' attention from the girl.
The second thing he spotted was the ugly look Annabeth seemed to give Tyson over Sephie's head – the child probably had terrible experience with Cyclopes.
The third, and probably the most worrying thing on the picture, was a tiny scar mark peeking from underneath of Sephie's camp T-shirt's collar. Hades looked at the scar mark more closely, and recognized the scar left by a sharp-edged object, most commonly a blade of sorts. Did the traitor mark her, or was it the 'gift' Ares left her with in L.A.? It was impossible to tell.
Pushing the thought away, he reached for the letter, unfolding it and smoothing it out before settling in his chair to read it in peace.
Hey Uncle!
A year has gone by, and I'm at the camp again, as you can see from the photo I included. Remember when I complained about monsters leaving me alone? Well, I really shouldn't have. I got a bunch of Laistrygonians a few days ago, and managed to blow up my school gym. I know, I know, I really shouldn't have, but hey, between blowing stuff up and getting kicked out and dying... well, the choice was pretty easy to make. Not to mention Annabeth stalked me in the school while wearing her invisibility cap. Yep, you read that right. Annabeth stalked me. What in the world?!
Speaking of monsters, I finally figured out the reason why no one attacked – Tyson is my Cyclops brother. Apparently, he prayed to my – sorry, our – Dad to give him a sibling so he wouldn't feel so alone, and next morning – bam! Sephie Jackson enters the scene, and no other monster wants to come close! I'm a bit angry at Dad for not giving me any heads-up, or Tyson for not telling me he is a Cyclops, but I can't really stay angry at the big guy or Dad. It's not like Dad's allowed to contact me, and Tyson is just too big of a sweetheart for me to be angry with him.
Also, who in the universe thought Tantalus was a good replacement for Chiron? Okay, before you ask me why would Chiron need to be replaced at all – that old horse is the best – Thalia's tree got poisoned. It was most likely Luke, but since certain someone refuses to acknowledge Grandpa is waking up, Mr. D had to blame someone, and Chiron and Argus were the best scapegoats. By the way, why didn't anyone tell me Chiron's technically my uncle? I would've gotten him a Christmas present, too!
Anyway. Thalia's tree is poisoned, and the barrier is falling, so monsters attack on regular basis. I mean, I had to help fight off Colchis bulls the moment I arrived at the camp! Not cool, not cool at all. (Pun intended. xD) And yesterday, at chariot racing, Stymphalian birds attacked us while we were all racing, and Tyson, Annabeth and I had to fight them off with Chiron's opera collection. Do you know what Tantalus did? Sent the three of us on KP duty, telling us we aggravated Stymphalian birds by our bad chariot driving. What a jackass! (No scolding me for language – I deserve to vent after dealing with that moron.)
To put the cherry on the top, we need the Golden Fleece to heal Thalia, and Tantalus just forbade me from going after it, choosing Clarisse, daughter of Ares, even though she has next to no experience with quests! Okay, I only went on one quest, but finding Uncle Z's favorite toy has to count for something, right? Nope, not if you ask Tantalus. I'm just a little girl, who found the Master Bolt by chance, and she stays home because she'll mess everything up. His words, not mine. Urgh!
But I bet I'll be the one laughing in the end – whoever said I need to follow every single rule, particularly when the said rule is laid down by an idiot? I'll sneak out and go after the Fleece, if only to make sure Clarisse gets it back safely. I even know where it is – 30, 31, 70, 75. Okay, I'm not precisely sure where that is, but I'm pretty sure those are coordinates of the Fleece. If they aren't, I'll call the Grey Sisters' taxi and strangle them myself. (Don't ask. Please, please, don't. I get sick just thinking about that ride.)
Okay, I'm done. Wish me luck Uncle, and if I die, can I get a streamlined pass to the Elysium?
Yours,
Sephie Jackson
Hades took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, before exhaling and pushing the letter away so he wouldn't crumple it. Why did his niece insist on constantly putting her life in danger? Did she even factor in the elder Olympians or her father's wrath if she died? Probably not, the silly girl didn't even understand what kind of impact she left on the gods. She was more than just daughter of Poseidon; she was their little Rhea clone, girl who everyone felt either romantically or platonically drawn to. She became the lynchpin that drew the family closer with every twist and turn she made.
Her ignorance did not mean she had any right to make them worry so much. He remembered the look on Zeus' face during the Winter Solstice when her name was mentioned: that strange mix of devotion, confusion and protectiveness every child of Kronos and Rhea felt for their missing mother. If anything happened to her... Hades shuddered at the thought. He knew he himself would be one of the first to go up in the arms, letting out every monster and horror he kept locked in Tartarus to torment her killer. Poseidon's wrath he didn't even need to imagine: he had seen in Trojan war, and Zeus would be no different. He had no doubt Hera, Hestia and Demeter would join in the rampage, letting their domains go wild.
Their little Sephie needed to live, even if she would ultimately destroy them. Better to be killed by her, then by someone else.
Four days that passed between Sephie's first and second June letter Hades spent pacing around the Underworld, snapping at everyone and alternately cursing Sephie for being so reckless and Poseidon for not keeping it in his pants. Most of the Underworld dwellers avoided the Lord of Dead, with the sole exception of Thanatos and Alecto, who still did their reports and tried to wheedle out the reason of his terrible mood without much success.
All of his fury at his own impotence and impatience ended the moment he entered his study of the eve of 21st of June and found an envelope resting in the first slot of the letter stand. Scrambling for the letter opener, Hades had to stop himself before he tore the letter apart from his impatience.
Hullo Uncle,
I'm so, so sorry for worrying you. Dad and Auntie Hestia scolded me a lot about leaving you hanging like that – apparently you caused no less than three earthquakes in San Fran area – but I'm okay. I'm not coming to your place for a permanent stay anytime soon!
Hades leaned back, exhaling in relief. The letter had quite a bit written after that, but Hades took a moment to just enjoy the fact his little niece was safe and sound in the Camp Half-Blood before returning to the letter.
The quest went fine – not exactly brilliantly, but we finished it. We found the Golden Fleece! Guess where we found it? Polyphemus' Island, in the Sea of Monsters, 30 degrees and 31 second to the north, 70 degrees and 75 seconds to the west. Took me a few seconds on Clarisse's ship before I realized I had perfect bearings at the sea, and that I knew exactly where 30, 31, 70, 75 were. Now I get it why so many ships and planes go down in the Bermuda Triangle!
It was not all smooth sailing, though. Before we ran into Clarisse, who by the way saved our collective behinds from Hydra –
Hades choked at the nonchalant way Sephie wrote about being saved by Ares' child from a Hydra, of all things!
– we made a pitstop at Princess Andromeda, a cruise ship I thought would help us get down to one of the ports where we could catch up with Clarisse. Well, I thought wrong. Or right, depending on what I focus on.
We met Luke.
Hades gritted his teeth at the name of the thief, before noticing how shakily the letters lambda, upsilon, kappa and epsilon that made up the name 'Luke' were written. What happened to Sephie?
He... it wasn't a nice meeting. Annabeth, Tyson and I were listening to him talking with Agrius and Oreius, when he caught us, and captured us – temporarily, thank the gods. But even that short amount of time was far too much. Uncle, he has the golden sarcophagus on the ship, and he's using it to 'raise Kronos, bit by bit', to quote Luke.
Hades closed his eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten. It was no use throwing a temper tantrum now; the traitor was who knows where, and Sephie was safe for now.
I have no idea how he got that sarcophagus, or how in Tartarus it works, but I'm scared, Uncle. I'm scared because I don't think we're ready for this. With Uncle Z being stubborn and forbidding any sort of godly interference, I'm not sure we can survive what's coming. Not to mention –
This part of the letter was blotted out, like Sephie wrote something down and had a change of mind at the last moment. Frowning, Hades snapped his fingers and cleared up the ink, only to push the letter away, fury rising in his chest. How dare he?!
Not to mention, he offered us all to switch sides, and for me to sit beside him as the Queen after the gods are deposed.
Ground vibrated under Hades' fury, and various precious jewels melted around the room, while the god tried to reign in his tumultuous emotions. That filthy, lecherous... Hades knew Luke Castellan was about seven years older than Sephie, and probably had no romantic interest in her, so the offer had to have come from Kronos himself.
How dare Father do this?! Offer something like that to Sephie?!
It seemed his Father had noticed just how similar Sephie and Mother looked. Hades took a deep breath, digging nails into his palms, and sat down into the chair again. He and Poseidon would need to have a little chat about Sephie's safety come this Winter Council.
The letter was not over, though.
On the more cheerful note, Thalia is alive! Yup, our resident tree-girl is no longer a tree! It's both good and bad news, but I'm sticking with the good news. The Golden Fleece did a bit too god of job, and healed Thalia to the point where she could leave her pine tree without any injuries. She's completely confused of course: she aged much more slowly – she looks around 15, and not 20-ish as she should – so she couldn't really understand why Annabeth looked so close to her age. But, it does leave us with that tiny problem of the Great Prophecy. Thalia's now older than me, and by all rights, she'll be the one Prophecy talks about. (Not that I know what does the Prophecy say, because someone is not telling me anything.)
Hades chuckled, shaking his head. He refused to tell Sephie anything about the Prophecy, and apparently Chiron decided to do so as well. Thalia's awakening, though... it was a problem. Hades could stand the thought of Sephie being the prophecy child – she was sweet and kind, and tried to help everyone – but Thalia? No. Maybe it was time to bring out Nico and Bianca out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and send a discreet message to Sephie to keep an eye on them. Hades knew she would treat them with respect and kindness his children deserved as children of Big Three and her cousins.
Well, I'll see you for my birthday again, Uncle! Stay safe!
Yours,
Sephie Jackson
"See you soon, Sephie Jackson," Hades smiled, folding the letter and dragging over a leftover paper and his fountain pen to write an answer.
Yes, he will send Alecto to the Lotus Hotel, get Nico and Bianca out, and send the children to school on the East Coast. Then he will signal Sephie she had cousins out there – knowing how much the girl valued family, she'll go instantly after them – and let the Fates do the rest of the work. He had full confidence in Sephie's success. She knew better than anyone else what kind of effect being a child of one of sons of Kronos was, and she will be a good role model for both Nico and Bianca.
Even with the snags and the Prophecy looming just out of the sight, Hades couldn't help but feel elated. He was not a sideline character in this conflict: with the bond he and Sephie shared, he had the guarantee he would find himself on the front lines, and maybe have the chance to prove everyone he could be a hero as well.