A Tale of Gods and Magic

Annabeth: Cue, Leo

“... just up there. Like magic!”

“Okay, okay, Puns Twins.”

“One, we're not twins. Two, it wasn't even a pun. Three, it has to be the wizards!” Travis put his feet up on the table. “I mean, we were eating and then POOF! we were up there.”

“We almost fell off.” Connor flashed a bright smile, like he was proud of his accomplishment.

“What, do you want a medal that says Look, Over Here! I Didn’t Fall of the Train Roof and Die an Unsightly Death?” Nico arched an eyebrow, and again, Annabeth marveled. He had to have practiced that look.

“Actually, I’d rather it say Connor Stoll is a Daring and Handsome Rugged Young Man Who is Surprisingly Still Alive,” said Connor.

“That kinda came out wrong, brother dearest,” said Travis, smirking.

“Leave it, bro,” said Connor dangerously.

“I think we have more important things to think about than what the name on Connor’s trophy should be,” said Annabeth.

“Exsqueeze me?” said Connor.

“Please listen. We have a few plausible explanations for the newest endeavors of the Stolls.”

“I lost her after ‘listen’,” whisper-shouted Travis.

“Shut up and listen to Wise Girl,” said Percy.

“Anyway, the Hogwarts students could be hostile. Maybe they don’t want us, so they are trying unsuccessfully to stop us from getting there. Gaea could be seeking revenge-”

“That’s unlikely. She’d do waaaay worse than putting us on the roof,” said Connor, or maybe it was Travis.

“Great. Now stop interrupting. What I was going to say was that Leo had an extremely important message that we all ignored earlier. Cue, Leo.” Leo stood up on his chair, and Annabeth felt a wave of deja vu.

“Last night, I got a hologram of Rachel. Y’know, the Oracle. She said that Chiron said that the gods and goddesses said that Hecate has been captured.”

Leo paused for drama.

Before he could continue, Jason shot up out of his chair.

“I know! I bet that the Warty kids or whatever knew that Hecate was captured and blamed it on us and-”
“Buuuut they have not idea that the gods exist!” Will smiled and practically blinded the room.

“I have to agree with Solace on this one,” said Nico grudgingly.

“Have to agree, di Angelo?” Will tut-tutted. “We have some work to do. And just this morning, Death Head was showing me his Mytho-”

“SHUT UP!” Nico stood up and looked down at Will. “if you dare say another word about this morning, Solace… “ Piper ooohed under her breath. Maybe she wasn’t a typical Aphrodite kid, but she sure did love a good piece of gossip.

“Fine. I don’t really want any skeletons showing up in my bed.” Will leaned back in his chair and Nico settled back into his.

“I think we should contact Chiron and tell him about the Stolls,” said Piper. While the sun and shadow had been flirting (hey, it was pretty close for Nico. At least he didn’t kill anyone or bring back the dead with Happy Meals. Percy sure liked to talk about that), Piper had been thinking. She knew that it was most likely that-

“Hello, demigods,” said Chiron. Piper jerked back. Oh, darn. She had been so overwrought that she’d charmspoke the others into contacting the centaur.

“Hi,” they all chorused like an out-of-tune choir.

“Any updates?” asked Chiron quizzically.

“Actually, yeah,” said Piper. “There was an… incident.”

“Yes… “ said Chiron, urging them on.

“It’s kinda a long story,” said Percy.

“Well, I’ve got time.”