Alexis
“And here is the weapons shed,” Sherman Yang said. He pulled open a door and Alexis stepped inside. The sun from outside reflected and bounced on the blades of the hundreds of knives, swords and daggers. They hung on the walls, they piled up on shelves and some even lay on the floor. In the back of the shed hung bows. Quivers of arrows lay beneath them. There were also barrels of spears and... sticks? Alexis walked over and picked up one of the sticks. Castiel followed and looked around at the bows on the back wall.
“What is the purpose of this?” She asked.
“To fight. You can hit people with it I guess,” Sherman shrugged.
“But, why not just use a spear? That way you could stab people too.” She looked confused.
“Honestly, I'm not sure. People from Demeter's cabin choose those a lot. It’s less violent I guess,” Sherman said.
“But it’s fighting. Isn’t it supposed to be violent?” Alexis giggled and dropped the stick back into its barrel. “Now this on the other hand.” She pulled a silver sword from the racks. “This is a weapon.” It had a long sharp blade that gleamed in the light. Just as she was about to choose this weapon, another sword caught her eye. Its blade seemed to be a braid of gold, copper, and silver. “Oooh. Pretty.”
“That blade’s called Erotas.” Sherman pointed to the glowing one. “And that one's called Olethros.” He pointed to the braided sword.
“Erotas?” Alexis bit her lip and grinned at Sherman. “Erotic love is quite the odd name for a sword.” His cheeks went pink and Castiel coughed awkwardly in the background. “Destruction here, however, is a name I can get behind.” Alexis let Erotas clatter to the floor as she held up and inspected Olethros.
“We should get going,” Castiel interrupted, seeming to want the conversation to end. “Egypt is pretty far.”
“You’re right,” Alexis said. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we find out what happened to Treya.” As an afterthought, Alexis swung a bow and quiver over her back. She and Castiel rushed out of the shed. Alexis turned and gave a quick wave to Sherman before heading off.
The plan was to collect representatives from all the separate pantheons. Then, they would all agree upon a plan of action together. The first stop was the First Nome in Egypt. Chiron had told them that the headquarters was under the Cairo Airport, so they were meeting Nico Di Angelo in the city to shadow-travel them to Egypt. The alternative was riding pegasi all the way to Egypt, which seemed inadvisable.
Castiel and Alexis met up with Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron at the big house. Castiel followed Connor Stoll, the counselor of the Hermes cabin, to the camp’s trading post to get supplies for their trip. Alexis headed inside to say goodbye to her friends. They were busy packing up their things. Chiron had invited them to stay in Hestia’s cabin. It had been built for guests since she had no children.
“I’m headed off soon,” Alexis announced to everyone. “We have to go recruit people to save the gods or whatever.”
“No! Don’t go!” Selene cried. Alexis knelt down and pulled the girl into a tight hug.
“Don’t worry. I’ll come back soon,” Alexis promised. “But while I’m gone can you do me a favor?” Selene nodded. Alexis pulled the glass jar of Ogygia’s beach from her pocket and tucked it into Selene’s hand. “Keep this safe.”
“I will.” Selene clutched the jar tightly.
“You don’t have to go, you know,” Clary said sourly. “It’s not like the gods have done anything for you.”
“I know,” Alexis said. That thought had crossed her mind many times. “I need to find out about what happened to Treya. If Castiel and I are still here, she might be too.”
“Just come back,” Hans said. He put a hand on Alexis’. She squeezed it and felt tears build up in her eyes. She had gone a century and a half with these people as a part of her every day. All of a sudden she would be gone from them.
“I’ll miss you guys,” Alexis told her friends. “Even you Zoe.”
“Ha Ha.” She said it sarcastically, but she stood up and joined in their group hug.
“Alright, alright.” Alexis pulled away. “I should go.”
“Bye!” Juliet and Hans said.
“Bye.” Alexis gave a little wave.
She took a deep breath and left the building. According to the instructions someone had given her, the trading post was on the other end of camp, so Alexis made her way to the other side. Kids stared and whispered as she walked by them. The news of their mysterious arrival must have made its way around camp.
“Alexis!” She turned to see who was calling her name. It was Malcolm. The head of the Athena cabin, if she remembered correctly.
“Chiron told me to help you get around.” He explained as he caught up with her.
“Did he?” Alexis rolled her eyes. “I’m so powerful that I get locked up for 100 years, but I can’t walk around camp by myself.”
“He probably just figured you wouldn’t know where some places are. It has been a while since you’ve been here.” Alexis thought it was because Chiron didn’t trust her, but she didn’t bother arguing. The kids at this camp sure loved to support Chiron. “So, I hope you don’t bother me asking, but I happen to be a huge war fanatic. What was the civil war like?” Malcolm asked.
“I don’t know. It was bloody.” Alexis said. Really there were a lot of feelings she had about the war, but Malcolm didn’t need to know them.
“How were the camps involved?” Malcolm asked.
“We just spread out and operated certain bases. I was stationed in Maine with kids from the Ares and Hermes cabins. I’m not really sure about Camp Jupiter. They never got close enough to see who we were fighting. Everyone I came in contact with were just mortals.”
“Huh. I wonder what a war today would look like,” Malcolm mused.
“Why are you so obsessed with war? It’s not like you’re a child of Ares,” Alexis commented.
“Athena is the goddess of battle strategy,” he reminded her.
“Yes, but I have yet to hear a question about the strategies we used.” She teased.
“Well, I also think history is interesting,” Malcolm defended himself.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Alexis said. Malcolm looked over at her with an expression that showed he didn’t know if he should laugh or be hurt. They arrived at the trading post before he could come up with something to say.
“Here we are,” Malcolm said.
“Thank you for escorting me, sir,” Alexis said sarcastically.
“Don’t mock.” He stepped inside the store.
The inside of the store looked vaguely similar to stores before. It was, however, much brighter. Food and drinks, of all colors of the rainbow, glittered on shelves. The shelves were made of metal racks rather than wood. It seemed like a waste of metal to Alexis. In the back were supplies more fitted to demigods. Rope hung from hooks, rolls of blankets and puffy fabrics sat in boxes, and bags hung from the walls. Up front was a counter. It was made of glass and inside it were stores of nectar and ambrosia.
Behind the counter stood Connor Stoll. He was handing Castiel two bags. Next to Castiel stood Chiron and Percy. He was in his full Centar form. His white horse body shined and his tail switched back and forth. Alexis heard a snippet of their conversation before she walked up to them.
“Maybe I should go with them.” Percy was saying. “I am a counselor after all.”
“Percy, you need a break. You’ve gone through so much. Besides you have school, it will be best for you to not get involved with this right now.” Chiron said firmly. There he went, dictating how other people lived their lives.
“Finally ditched the wheelchair?” Alexis asked as she walked up. Everyone turned to see her and Malcolm.
“My legs needed a break,” Chiron said. His voice remained even and calm no matter how rude Alexis was to him, which somehow made her even more angry. “Now follow me to the stables.” Alexis was secretly very excited to get back on a pegasus. She hadn’t ridden a horse in forever and it used to be one of her favorite things to do. She was also slightly worried that she wouldn’t remember how to do it.
“It’s alright if you don’t remember how to ride a pegasus. These ones are trained well.” Chiron said, practically reading her mind. At the stable two pegasi were standing ready. One was a soft brown color, with big brown eyes. It reminded Alexis of Juliet in horse form. The other horse was white with black spots. That one reminded Alexis of a cow.
I know, I know. Everyone thinks I’m a cow. The pegasus thought. Alexis looked at it startled. She had completely forgotten about her connection with pegasi. That's why she loved them so much.
When they reached the pegasi, Castiel handed Alexis one of the bags.
“Before we leave, I have a matter to take care of,” Alexis said.
“And what is that?” Chiron asked.
“Percy, I think you need to step down as head counselor of the Poseidon cabin.”
“What?” He asked, sounding shocked.
“You go to college, you don’t even live here. As of now, it’s my home.” Alexis stated matter-of-factly. “It just makes the most sense.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Percy said.
“Great. Then we’ll fight for it, but before we begin, I want to remind you of a few things. I was imprisoned for being one of the most powerful beings on earth and I’ve had 150 years to practice my fighting skills.” Alexis said confidently.
Percy looked her over, a smile in the corner of his mouth. “Fine. I will step down for now, but once your quest is over, we will revisit this.”
Alexis grinned. “I’m looking forward to it.” Alexis turned to Castiel, “Alright. Now that that’s settled, do you have everything?” Alexis asked them. They nodded. Alexis turned back to face Chiron, Malcolm, and Connor Stoll who had followed along.
“Thank you.” She said stiffly. “I appreciate how much you’ve helped us.”
“I know you’re angry with me, child.” Chiron started. “I don’t blame you. You’ve been put through a lot, and I know that I had some part in it, but I hope you know I do care about you. I’m not perfect, I make plenty of mistakes, I just try to keep as many people safe as I can.”
“I do know that,” Alexis said. “I just don’t know if it’s a good enough excuse.” She turned toward the pegasi.
What are your names? She thought.
Brownie, the brown pegasus said.
Zebra, the black and white one told Alexis. She snickered.
“Now that’s just cruel. Zebras don’t have spots.” She said out loud.
I tried to tell them. Zebra complained.
“I'll take Zebra,” Alexis told Castiel. “You can have brownie here.” She reached out to stroke Brownie’s main.
“How do you know their names?” Castiel asked. Alexis tapped her head. “Ah, right,” Castiel said, remembering Alexis’ skill. The two mounted their pegasi, said goodbye to Chrion and the campers, and took off.
**
Nico was waiting just at the edge of the city. Alexis could see the skyscrapers of New York in the distance, but she was glad to not get any closer just yet. The noise made a small part of her long for the peace of Calypso’s island.
They slid off the pegasi. Zebra nudged Alexis' shoulder gently before turning and taking off back toward camp. They were left in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Alexis thought she saw a boy waiting under one of the trees, but the glare was forcing her to squint and she wasn't sure.
“Hi.” The figure under the tree began speaking, and as Alexis' vision adjusted to the gloom she determined it was likely Nico. “Castiel and Alexis? Going to Egypt?”
“Yeah,” Alexis said. “You’re really able to get us all the way there?”
“Well, not all the way.” He stepped forward to the edge of the tree’s shade. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. It felt a little on the nose to Alexis but who was she to judge? “I can get you to the airport in Cairo. You’ll have to find the First Nome from there. Be warned,” he said, “that the Magicians are historically unwelcoming of outsiders. You’ll want to be extra careful.”
He beckoned them into the shadow.
“This is creepy,” Castiel muttered. Alexis agreed.
“How does this work?
Nico half-smiled. “I can travel through shadows everywhere. So I’ll move from this one here to one outside Cairo. It’s a thing with children of Hades.”
“I see,” Alexis mumbled. “Well, let’s do it then.”
She and Castiel walked into the shadows, and Nico offered his hands. Castiel waited until Alexis had taken Nico’s left to take his right.
“Brace yourselves.”
They dissolved into nothingness.
**
Shadow travel was not fun. Alexis had no intention of ever doing it again. It felt like getting her organs inverted one by one.
“Fun,” Castiel grumbled, stumbling away from Nico and clutching their stomach. “Super fun.”
They were by the side of a building, the airport, Alexis assumed. An open area of grass lay before them, and across it were large glass doors leading inside. Alexis saw crowds of people moving about inside.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Nico said. He nodded at Alexis. “Remember what I said; they aren't as welcoming as the Greeks, or even the Romans. And be careful about mentioning the gods. The Egyptians don’t have as open an attitude toward the gods as we do.”
“On that, we will agree.”
Nico melted back into the shadow.
Together, they walked toward the airport entrance. Alexis and Castiel had both heard about airplanes and airports before. Chiron had explained it to them back at camp, but to see it in person was truly incredible. The fact that mortals had come far without magic was astounding.
“You ready?” Castiel turned to Alexis once they had reached the glass doors.
“Let’s do this.