A Fire Burns Within Me Version 2

Magic Prt. 1

Previously:
I thought about it, even as I could see the Minotaur come charging at us from the street. I agreed with Zoe. At least then Estelle will be kept at a distance from the fight rather than up close and personal.

"Guys?" Frank said, suddenly getting panicky. "Should we go?"

"Yeah, let's go." I grabbed onto Frank with one hand and Estelle with the other. Zoe grabbed the six year old's other hand and we raced towards the entrance of the museum.

"Perseus Jackson!"

"I'm sorry, Zoë!"

We landed in another person's home again. I'm not sure what is always causing that. It's not like I ask the portals to drop us off in someone's house every time we go through. Luckily, it doesn't look like anyone's home.

The house was very humble. It had a dirt floor, only two rooms, and a straw roof. The front room had only a very old fashioned oven and table and the back room behind a door that when opened (by Frank rubbing his head) would show a simple cot and blanket.

"Maybe stop thinking of an abstract place." Frank suggested. "Also, how did I end up in a different room?"

"I'm sorry, Frank, I think I let go of your hand while we were falling." Estelle said, head down.

"That's okay, I was just confused." Frank assured her. He looked up at the rest of us. "Should we leave before the home owner gets here?"

"Good idea." I agreed. "Maybe we can get some food too."

At my words, I heard more than one stomachs rumble. We quickly left through the front door only to see a familiar sight.

"Are we in..." I trailed off, uncertain if what I was thinking was right.

"Rome?" Frank finished for me.

"No." Zoë said. "We are not in the Rome I know. Rome has since fallen. We are going through dimensional portals, remember? Not time portals."

"Explain this then." I said, gesturing to the view in front of us.

Houses made of hardened clay—likely to actually be cement—and wood lined the street which was made of cobbled stones. Soldiers stood on the corner dressed in armor that was very similar to the armor New Rome had. Only it wasn't made of celestial bronze or imperial gold. The only people walking down the street—closer to running—was a small group of boys wearing dirty white tunics and leather sandals. I looked down at myself then my companions to see we were all still in very colorful t-shirts and jeans.

"We should change before we get too much attention." I said. I concentrated on our appearances (a little harder than I remembered when I fell in Adrian Agreste's room). A second later, we looked just like the group of boys I'd seen running past us seconds earlier.

"I do not know where we are," Zoë started, "but we could not be in Rome." She was in a longer tunic than the rest of us were.

"Let's get moving." I suggested as I grabbed my sister's hand. "Maybe we'll find out our location in the Main square or something." Fortunately, I faintly recalled a gift from Hermes that had something to do with knowing my way around so we found the square pretty easily. Unfortunately, a bigger building that held an uncanny resemblance to the Coliseum came into view at that point. No one wanted to point out to the former Huntress that she'd been wrong so we avoided her glowering gaze and stayed silent.

Suddenly, a loud roar rose up from the building.

"That must be where all the people have gone." Zoë commented, stubbornly ignoring our hesitant glances and walking ahead.