Treya
Treya crossed her arms. “Who the hell are you?” She cursed at herself silently. How could she have forgotten that there might actually be people in here? Why hadn’t she snuck in using magic? This was a poorly thought-out plan. Now she was standing in front of a bunch of random magicians and Amos Kane with no excuse for her presence.
Whatever. I can handle whatever needs to be handled.
The girl sitting to the left raised an eyebrow. “You barged in on us. I think it’s only fair you explain yourself first.”
Treya frowned. She recognised that voice, and that look, but she didn’t know why. Any magicians she knew would be dead by now. Anyone she knew would be dead by now.
“I hate to be rude, but who are you?” The Chief Lector turned around to face her. “I don’t remember seeing you before.”
“That’s because I just came back to the House. Anyway, I’m kind of here for a reason-”
“‘Came back to the House? What are you, 13?” The person sitting on the right side of the table glowered at Treya.
“I’m 17, thank you very much. And no one asked you your opinion.” She was sick of this. She started walking toward the other end of the room.
“Wait.” The girl on the left stood up. She was taller than Treya, with long dark hair pulled over her left shoulder. “Where did you come back from?”
“I-” Treya stopped short. She stared at the girl's left wrist. No way. No freaking way. There was a tattoo there of three interlocking triangles. The same one Treya had on her wrist. Treya looked again at the girl's face, and it finally clicked.
“Alexis?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “How did you...Treya?”
Treya hugged her friend fiercely. She kept her tears from falling, content just to hold Alexis close. Alexis was trembling slightly.
When Treya eventually pulled away, gently, she turned to look at the other person, remembering the familiar attitude and sarcasm. “And…. Castiel? I can’t believe it. You both are alive?”
Castiel shook their head. “Why does everyone ask it that way? No, I’m not alive. Hooray for me.”
“But how are you here then?” Treya was glad to see that Cas still had their signature temper, but the whole situation here seemed rather messy.
Alexis rubbed her face wearily. “Long story. We just came from Camp, Trey. Chiron thought it would be a good idea-”
“Chiron. You listened to him? I can’t believe this. He’s the one who sent us away in the first place! What could he possibly have to say that-”
“Ahem.” Amos Kane stood and faced Treya and Alexis. “I hate to interrupt, but we are in the middle of a meeting here. Can I help you, Treya?”
“No,” Treya replied. “And I hate to say it but I didn’t come here for you guys either, though it’s great that you’re here too. You three have your little chat, and I’ll just pop over there for a moment, yeah?” She walked past Alexis and went to examine the tapestry.
“Uh, Trey, what are you doing?” Alexis walked up behind her, ignoring the Chief Lector’s mutterings. “I mean, it’s a pretty tapestry and all, but…”
Treya yanked the tapestry off the wall, prompting a cry of disapproval from the Chief Lector. It fluttered to the floor, revealing what looked like a typical wall, stone painted the same shade as the rest of the room. Treya inspected it closer, hoping that there was actually something to find. Otherwise, she had an awkward explanation ahead of her.
“Excuse me, young lady, can I ask you to step away from the wall please?”
“Shut it.” Castiel had moved over to block Amos from Treya. “She’s doing something, can’t you tell?” Treya appreciated her friend’s unquestioning loyalty.
Seeing nothing special about the wall, Treya decided to take a jump. She pressed her hand against the wall and whispered the command for open: “W’pah.”
Thankfully, the wall creaked and a rectangular section of it turned translucent before her eyes. Continuing her random-ideas trend, she decided to step through the shimmery doorway.
The room she entered was small, about the same size as the war chamber. It’s walls were rough, like they had been carved in a hurry. There was a bed, a sink, and a small desk at the edges of the room, all looking as if they had never been used. A large stone spire jutted from the ground like a miniature obelisk. And all around her, written on the walls in fiery hieroglyphics, was a story.
Treya could tell it was written by Iskandar, the same way she knew that the tapestry had been woven and placed by him. The story was hers; how she came from Camp Half-blood, her training, and her choice to follow the Path of Set.
It was a safe house, made by Iskandar for her.
He was too late.
She realised Cas and Alexis were staring at her. Of course. They couldn’t read the hieroglyphs. Amos could, though. He kept glancing from the walls to Treya as if he was making the connection slowly.
Treya took a deep breath. The obelisk in the center of the room was pulsing with the power of Set. This must be why she had seen this place.
“You might want to step back,” she warned. “I’m not sure exactly what might happen here.” She knelt in front of the stone. Not allowing herself time to change her mind, she reached out and spoke a word; “Fah.”
Release.
At first, nothing happened. Then a wave of heat passed through her like a tidal wave. But this wasn’t the comforting warmth that she was expecting - it was harsh and painful. Treya flinched, but her hand didn’t move from the stone. Too late, a jarring voice spoke in her mind, the polar opposite of Set’s smooth drawl. I’m not done with him yet. But when I’m done, you can have the pieces. There was a grating laugh, like metal on stone, and then silence.
“That’s not fair.” Treya ripped her hand from the stone. “That isn’t fair.”
“What’s not fair?” Alexis tilted her head in confusion.
“I…” Treya shook her head. She couldn’t talk about it right now. “Later. What were you all discussing?”
But Amos kept his eyes on Treya, and when he spoke it was clear he was ignoring Treya’s words.
“You’re the new magician? The one who appeared at the Brooklyn House?”
“Yes.”
“So you follow the path of Set.” Kane’s eyes were stormy and dark. Treya recognised the power that hid behind that look.
“As do you.”
The Chief Lector pursed his lips. “Yes. It’s not a path that allows for indecision. You must-”
“Save it.” Treya left the tiny room, passing the Chief Lector and her two friends. “I don’t care what your experience with this path is. You’re not going to change my mind.”
There was silence from behind her. She knew her friends wouldn’t understand most of the conversation, and it seemed like she had talked Amos Kane into a corner.
“So. What were you all discussing?” She prompted again.
“Gods are disappearing. Chiron sent us to ask all the other camps for help.” Alexis said.
“Yes. I will send for my niece and nephew. They will accompany you, at least until the council agrees with me that my intervention is necessary.” Amos pulled a wand out of his robes and walked out into the hall of ages.
Treya rehung the tapestry.
“So, you’re dead? How are you here then?” She asked Castiel.
“I ended up in Valhalla. I’ve been stuck there for over a hundred years.”
Voices from the hall drew Treya’s attention away from her friend. She peered through the doorway to see Sadie and Carter Kane walking up the hallway. Treya blinked in surprise when she realised Sam was walking behind them. Sam gave her a quick wave.
“That was fast,” Alexis commented.
“We were already in the First Nome when your message reached us,” Carter explained. “We were following her, actually.”
The three Kanes shared quick glances, and Treya could’ve sworn they were having a full conversation. Just say it out loud, cowards.
Treya turned away from the interaction, assessing the situation. Her heart was torn. She needed to find Set and free him, and her first instinct was to leave now before she got dragged into anything else.
But now that she had ended up with Cas and Alexis… that was a stronger bond. They had survived a war together. She couldn’t leave them, not so soon after finding them.
“I want you two to accompany these three on a journey. It’s a long story, but I’ll try to explain it.” Amos explained the situation briefly.
“Oh sure. Of course there are other gods. It’s too easy to keep track of them all now,” Sadie said.
“At least now you’ll have an excuse when you don’t remember their names,” Carter shot back.
“Haha. Who are these two?” Sadie pointed at Alexis and Castiel. “Are they gods?”
“I mean, basically,” Castiel grumbled.
“Cas, stop. No, we’re just demigods.” Alexis jumped in quickly. “I’m a daughter of Poseidon, the Greek sea god. This is Castiel, child of Loki from the Norse folks. And, uh, do you already know Treya? She’s the daughter of Hephaestus, Greek fire god, and also has some Egyptian blood thing.” She turned to Treya. “I can never remember what it’s called.”
“I know.”
“You want to tell me?”
“And lose my opportunity to tease you about it forever? No thanks.”
“You should probably get going,” Amos glanced at a watch on his wrist. “It’s noon in around 15 minutes. It could be a few hours after that.”
Carter glanced at Amos before turning to Treya and the others. “You guys ready?”
“Would it matter if we weren’t?” Castiel sighed. “I mean, not that I’m not.”
Carter led them all out of the Hall of Ages, warning people not to look at the tapestries too long or their minds would fray like thread and their bodies would burst into flame. Threats like that generally did the trick.
Treya caught up to Sam, frowning. “Why are you here?”
“To help. Besides, I thought you’d like to see me.” Sam looked hurt.
Treya sighed. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just wondered how you convinced them to let you go.” Treya gestured at Carter and Sadie. “But it’s not important. I’m glad you’re here.”
Sam smiled. “Glad to be here. Besides, I have a feeling you guys are going to need a healer sometime soon. I’d love an opportunity to put my skills to use.”
There was usually a spot to make a portal at the end of the Hall, but unfortunately Carter and Sadie had used it to get to the First Nome, so they would have to walk back up to the airport. Treya grew increasingly uncomfortable as they did. This place had so many memories, and the longer they were here the less she was able to hold them back. She chewed on the inside of her lip as they walked, trying to release the anxious energy.
As a distraction, Treya slowed down to fall into step with her two friends.
“So what happened to you Alexis? How are you still…” She couldn’t think of a good way to ask the question ‘why aren’t you dead.’
Thankfully Alexis got her meaning. “They sent me to Ogygia. Time is…weird there. But I didn’t age.”
“Ogygia. Calypso’s island? There are other people there?”
“Yes,” Alexis said, “a whole group of us.” The way she said us made Treya feel even more disconnected from her old friend.
“So you’re immortal? Like Cas?”
Alexis shook her head. “I don’t think so. At least, I don’t feel immortal.”
“What does being immortal feel like?” Treya said it as a joke, but Alexis replied with a serious answer.
“I didn’t notice it on the island, but once I left time felt a lot…thinner. Like, on the island time was a jam-like consistency, kind of thick and slow-moving, and now it’s more like running water. It changed once I’d left the island.”
Treya considered her friend. Her hair was shorter than it had been, and even though she hadn’t aged a day she looked older. More confident. She had lived so much life since they’d last seen each other. Both of them had. Castiel had been living in a hotel full of other people for decades. Alexis had been living on an island with a bunch of other exiles. Treya felt like she was behind.
“And…who’s they? Who sent you there?”
Alexis scoffed. “Chiron, the camp director. Who else?”
Treya remembered the centaur well. He had had the biggest hand in sending her away to the Egyptians. And apparently, he’d sent one of her friends to eternal imprisonment and the other to their death. I’m going to kill that horse.
“Where were you?” Alexis asked.
“I got trapped. In the duat.” When her friends gave her questioning looks, Treya clarified, “the Egyptian void. Where we store weapons and occasionally powerful malevolent beings.”
Castiel snorted. “And what did you do to get sent there? Exist?”
“Uh, actually, I broke the law. It was a stupid law, but I did break it. They would have gotten me for something, though. If it wasn’t that, it would’ve been something else.” Treya hadn’t been very popular with the council back then. They had been trying to lock her up for years before they’d even had good reason.
“Hey. We’re all out now. That’s what’s important.” Alexis put an arm on Castiel’s shoulder and an arm on Treya’s. Castiel grumbled, and Treya tried her best to ignore the twisting anxiety in her stomach.