Sophie's POV
My eyes burned as I slowly opened them to see skyscrapers that looked like they touched the sky and bustling streets in each direction. The sound of peoples' mental voices and traffic ripped through my ears, and I clutched my temples.
As soon as I put up a barrier in my mind to block the stream of thoughts, I was able to gather my bearings. The smell of polluted air, restaurant food, and car exhaust filled my nostrils. I grimaced at the smell, unaccustomed to the awful stench that hung over the Forbidden Cities.
I felt weight on my back and straps on my shoulders, so I lifted off the straps and brought the object in front of me. A black backpack, with three pockets was in my arms, feeling like it was stuffed with bricks. In the biggest pocket was a map, a change of clothes, two Bottles of Youth, and some human snacks.
After opening the biggest pocket, I looked down and realized that I had black leggings, an oversized baby blue sweatshirt, and black Nike sneakers on. Okayyy, when did I change into that?
The second pocket had my Imparter, Pathfinder, and home crystal.
And, the last pocket had a small, crumpled piece of paper with a note written in hasty writing:
gave the Empire State its name
at the top are those who claim
in front stands your answer
for what you're most after
Gee, thanks. That explains everything.
After glaring at the note for a bit, I decided to figure out where in New York City I was. Turning around, I recognized where I was immediately. The famous Plaza Hotel towered over me, leaving me in awe. Sure, the elves had a prestigious academy covered in glowing fungi and palaces for houses, but I would never be able to get over humans' great architectural feats. Besides, the elves had gnomes and other intelligent creatures to help accomplish greatness. Humans were basically by themselves, ever since the sinking of Atlantis.
Anyways, I had to remind myself to solve the riddle that Mr. Forkle left me, seeing as how I had no idea when I was supposed to be at the place. The Empire State is obviously the name NY earned from the Empire State Building, so that was easy.
But, who claims things? And what do they claim? Not important, Sophie. Focus on the task at hand. The note said that my answer was in front of the Empire State Building, what I'm most after. I grew excited, knowing that I was a step closer to finally knowing who my biological father is.
My biological mother is Oralie, revealed to me during a session with her when I was first learning to control my Enhancing. Ever since, I had been itching to find out anything and everything about my biological father. Oralie had promised that she had no idea who my father is, and had probably never even met him. Mr. Forkle hadn't been helpful either, even though he knew the answer, until now.
I sighed and willed my feet to move forward. If my directions were right, the Empire State Building should be to the right of the Plaza Hotel, across 5th Avenue. Sure enough, as I grew closer, I could see the spire shooting up into the sky.
Finally, I reached the doors, watching the flag dance in the wind. Surprisingly, no tourists stood in front of the doors, save for a teenager with messy jet black hair and sea green eyes.
I approached him cautiously. He was standing nonchalantly, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a half-eaten cookie. Wait, is that cookie blue?
He noticed me walking toward him and straightened up, eyes narrowing. The hand that had been lodged in his pocket came out, holding a pen. He might've looked intimidating if he weren't holding up a pen and a half-eaten blue cookie.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Sophie Foster, and you?" I asked nervously, wondering why this teenager looked like he might try to whack me with his pen.
"Percy Jackson," he said, slightly more relaxed than before, but still suspicious. "Where's your guardian?"
"My guardian?"
"My friend Grover said that a satyr was delivering a demigod in front of the Empire State Building at noon," he said, as if I understood every part of that sentence.
"Ummmm."
"Did your guardian explain anything before he left?"
"Umm, the Black Swan sent me here. What's a demigod, and what's a satyr?" This guy was starting to scare me with his confused expression and defensive stance.
"Black Swan? Is that some kind of monster?" he wondered, narrowing his eyes again.
"It's an organization of elves that I'm a part of," I said hesitantly, not sure if I was supposed to reveal that information to an insane person.
"Elves? Like the ones that work at the North Pole?" I laughed, remembering that I had the same reaction when Fitz told me about elves.
"No, we live in the Lost Cities. Most have special abilities, but we all have skills like telekinesis and channeling. We live in harmony with the other intelligent creatures, well most of them," I said happily, smiling at the idea of being on the informative side of the conversation for a change.
"So you're an elf?"
"Well, my mom is an elf. Mr. Forkle sent me here to find out who my father is, which makes me think that I'm only half-elf," I said, realization dawning on my face. "Does that mean I'm half-demigod?"
Percy laughed and finally put the threatening pen away. "A demigod is half-god, half-human. I don't know what to call you."
"Great, another way that I'm a freak," I muttered under my breath. Percy didn't seem to notice, as he went back to happily munching on his cookie.
"So, do you have any abilities?"
"Yeah, I have five. I'm a Telepath, Inflictor, Enhancer, Teleporter, and Polygot. Basically, I can read minds, inflict pain and emotions, enhance other elves' abilities, teleport, and understand any language. I think that water can heal me too because that's been happening recently, so yeah," I said shyly.
"Woah, that's sick," Percy said, mouth in a perfect O-shape. "Wait, did you say that water can heal you?"
"Yeah, why? Is that an ability that demigods have?"
"Only sons and daughters of Poseidon can heal themselves with water," Percy said, studying me.
"Do I look like I would be a daughter of Poseidon to you?" I asked, gesturing to my golden brown eyes.
"You definitely have the sea green eyes," he said.
"Are you being sarcastic?" I inquired.
"Do you not know what color eyes you have?" he asked, clearly confused, which made me wonder . . .
"Do you have a mirror or a camera?"
"Nah, but you can probably check in those shiny doors," he said, gesturing to the entrance to the Empire State Building.
I neared the doors cautiously, assuring myself that my eyes were still brown the whole way. Upon looking in one of the doors, I nearly fainted.
My hair was light brown with gold highlights and my skin was the same tan as Percy's. The color of my eyes had changed to an entrancing sea green, with golden flecks here and there. The only differences between Percy and I were now our hair color and eye shape, as mine were a bit more round.
Apparently, I had been studying my appearance for a while because Percy was suddenly standing right behind me. He lightly tapped on my shoulder, getting me to turn around and face him.
"Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.
"I don't know if I even want an explanation for this, but I looked different before I got here. My hair was completely blonde and my eyes were golden brown."
"Hmm, I wonder . . ." Percy began, but stopped himself and widened his eyes.
"Wonder what?"
"Maybe someone changed your appearance so that you wouldn't be recognized. Do elves have a generic appearance?"
"No, all elves have blue eyes. But, I had brown eyes, so I was already different. I would've rather had green eyes," I said, frowning and drawing my own conclusions in my head.
"Or, that was Poseidon's way of claiming you," he suggested. "Well, we could find out now anyways because I'm supposed to bring you to the gods right now. Come on."
How can he be so nonchalant about this? As if visiting the gods is a normal activity.