One Hero at a Time (A Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles cross over!)

Leo V

Honestly, I did not expect things to get any worse in just a day. I guess we are demigods, though. When are our lives ever going to be easy?

As we headed down to the forest for our game of Capture the Flag, I walked beside Piper, who was talking about something or other- to he honest, I was barely listening. I was too focused on my dad's message from the other night.

Piper suddenly grabbed my shoulder. "Ow," I grumbled.

"Leo, look," she says, pointing up the hill, to where a pine tree stood tall. Although Thalia Grace was no longer the tree, people still often referred to it as Thalia's tree.

I stare up at the tree, not really understanding what I'm seeing. There's something large moving up there, and it causes me to freeze. Whatever it is, I know it can't get past the Golden Fleece, or the Athena Parthenon. I bite my lip, though, feeling anxious. Annabeth notices us staring up at the hill and joins us.

"What's wrong..?" she trails off, noticing too the large creature in the distance. All three of us stare up the hill, not entirely sure what we're looking at. Then, to my absolute horror a second creature joins it. This creature is different. From what I can see, it has a long neck, and is bigger than the first creature.My lips feel dry as both creatures  push their bodies with a lot of force against the barrier.

"The smaller creature is a hellhound," Annabeth says, narrowing her eyes. "Come on," she continues. "I want to see what the other creature is."

Reluctantly, I follow Piper and Annabeth up the hill. A few people notice us, and stare after us. Some even begin to trail after us, curious to see what's going on. I can hear people calling other people to take a look. Carter, and Walt run quickly to catch up with us. Carter looks pale, while Walt looks a little bothered.

"What is that doing here?" Carter curses, pulling out his khopesh.

"What is it?" Annabeth asks him.

By now, I'm sure Percy has told her about Carter and the Egyptian side. Annabeth's smart though, so she probably would have figured it put on her own. Either way, she doesn't look surprised about Carter, or his bent sword.

"They're Serpopards," Walt tells her. "They're creatures of Set."

"You'll have to elaborate," she says, her face going red. There's one thing Annabeth truly hates: not knowing. It's clear from the frustration on her face that this is bothering her a lot. Her stormy grey eyes stare up at the creature, as we stop just before the barrier that protects us. The creature is large, with a long, scaly green neck. It looks almost like a cat... except a lot, lot bigger.

"What in Hades?" Desiree exclaims as she joins us.

"Set is a god of chaos on the Egyptian side. He's evil," Carter explains. "He controls these creatures. However, the gods have retreated, so it's weird... They should only obey Set."

The blood drains from my body. If the Egyptian gods have retreated, then who is controlling this thing? My dad was right to warn me; whoever is out there controlling these and other Egyptian creatures is a powerful force. I can't even imagine any Titan with so much power.

"What's that?" Sadie asks, joining us. She points to the hellhound, her eyes narrowed at it. "Doesn't look very friendly." The hound throws itself against the barrier which shimmers from the force.

"Hellhound," Desiree tells her. "It's a creature of the underworld, usually controlled by Hades, god of the Underworld. Although, in the war against Kronos, they took his side despite Hades being mostly neutral. They can be easily persuaded."

I shake my head. No way is Hades doing this. He cares little about us demigods, so why would he try and kill us? My dad would have told me if it was Hades who's after us. I still feel mad that he was so oblique in his message. Who wants their throne back? Why couldn't he have explained more, so we could go find them and kick their butts? I feel a little shaky, if I'm being honest. So much has happened in the last two days, that my mind can't comprehend anything anymore. Not that I could comprehend much, to begin with.