"D" for Demigod

Disclaimer: I do not own The Kane Chronicles or The Heroes of Olympus

Chapter I: So D Stands for Demigod Then?

Sadie was already having a bloody horrible day.

This wasn't anything new, mind you, everyone (even Sadie, surprise, surprise) had horrible days every once in a while. Still—

—A school trip to the Brooklyn Museum of Art? Why, there weren't many ways that could possibly go wrong were there? Only that the last time Sadie had visited the Brooklyn Museum, it involved theft, counterfeits, and magical artifacts, and the last few times she visited any museum usually involved things blowing up, evil gods, and the bloody apocalypse.

Pffft. And Carter still found a way to enjoy dusty rock exhibits. Her brother never learns.

Sadie had never much been the sentimental type (blimey, she was thirteen, not fifty), but alas, she had spent what felt like an awful lot of her life running in museums.

(Times like these, Sadie wondered what exactly she was doing with her life. She used to have dreams of growing up special, maybe becoming a pop singer or Internet star—now, she looked back and laughed at her naive little self. Being a magician was something special, it just came with a lot more risk and a lot less reward than Sadie had fancied.)

"Sadie sweetie, where's your head—here or in outer space?" A crowd laughed, snapping Sadie out of her musings.

"I don't know," Sadie found herself retorting, face red, "Where's your—"

Lacy, a best mate of hers, dragged Sadie to the back of the group before she could cause more chaos.

Sadie didn't know what she'd do without the blonde mortal. Still, she glared daggers at Drew Tanaka even as she disappeared behind a bunch of kids.

It was hard for Sadie to hate mortals. When one had met the likes of a stingy vulture god, a bloke resembling a runty Elvis Presley, and the literal incarnation of chaos, it was a bit difficult to make a fair comparison. Yet somehow, Drew and her obnoxious pink eyeliner and bloody Mean Girls persona made some stiff competition.

Drew clapped her hands together, cheap knock-off bracelets swaying. "As I was saying, we've—and by we've, I mean the prestigious Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted, of course—been invited to visit the Brooklyn Museum's newest exhibit!"

Someone bumped into Sadie's shoulder, a teen in a dark hoodie. Sadie bit back an indignant 'hey!' when she realized that her group (and by her group, she meant Drew's group) was quite literally standing in the middle of the entrance to the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period Collection (what a mouthful).

"—the Staff of Sa-rae-piss, I think?" Drew said, frowning at her phone.

"Serapis," Sadie corrected automatically. She blinked. Wait a bloody minute—

"Whatever, not important. It's just some dusty old antique and not even Greek at that."

Lacy shifted. She scratched her cheek. "Um…"

Sadie got a feeling in her stomach—her intuition was trying to tell her something, probably something along the lines of 'Danger incoming! Run!' if past experience was any indication. And if past experience was any indication, Sadie probably wouldn't be listening to her inner compass anyway.

"Now come along, children~ We have wonders of the ancient world to see!" Drew drawled, turning. Under her breath, she added, "...and I have credits to earn."

"Seriously, who died and made her boss?" Sadie asked Lacy.

Lacy laughed awkwardly. Her eyes flicked to Drew, who was busy taking selfies and muttering about how much time she was wasting. "Anyway, Drew didn't do her research. Um...the Staff of Serapis was partly Greek too, I think. Serapis was—"

"—a bloody awful bloke," Sadie muttered, before quickly saying, "A Greco-Egyptian god, right? I've heard from...somewhere that his staff was originally Cerberus."

Sadie didn't mention that she had heard straight from the source, the god himself. That was partially the problem, though. The last time Sadie had seen Serapis, he'd been consumed by his staff in a fiery flame—a memory Sadie remembered quite vividly.

How was the staff here, then? Sitting in a dusty old collection of minor Egyptian artifacts? Sadie itched for her staff, and as much as it pained her to admit it, her brother. He would have a clue or two about this...anomaly.

It was just her luck that the school trip had been divided into age groups and then even smaller groups. She'd ended up in a group with none of her fellow magician trainees and only Lacy for company. Don't get her wrong, Sadie liked Lacy—it just...it just wasn't the same, yeah? One couldn't crack inside magician jokes, discuss spells, and recollect the end of the world with one's mortal friends, could they?

Maybe Sadie could text Annabeth, her demigod friend (and wasn't that something Sadie was still wrapping her head around?). Yeah, Sadie thought blithely, good luck trying to get a phone pass Drew—the girl's spidey senses for phones were off the charts, which probably had something to do with how much Drew used her own phone (religiously).

Sadie's feet dragged her into the Egyptian Collection. She barely gave a passing glance to the multitudes of out-dated shabti, ritual knives, and art depicting Ancient Egyptian culture (something Sadie was already intimately familiar with and had no want of learning through shabby renditions).

"Do you wanna go to the Greek section later?" Lacy asked, oddly chipper. "I know Ancient Greek, y'know!" She scratched her cheek. "It's a pretty useless skill most of the time but...it does come in handy in museums, I guess."

Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Ancient Greek? Brilliant, but just...just why?"

"Um...Family."

"Ah." Well, Sadie had no right to judge there. She shrugged. "Sure, maybe you can translate some of the Greek for me? It might all look like fancy rubbish, but I bet we can find some rather funny ones."

(Sadie had just passed a pot describing the bathing rituals of a man named Ma'nakhtuf in hieroglyphs. It was quite fascinating.)

Lacy practically beamed. (The girl looked up to Sadie way too much). "Okay!" She skipped towards the back of the room. "Hey, I found the new exhibit!"

Sadie followed, hesitant. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but what she got—well, it was something. Whoever had found the staff again had done a hacked job fixing it. The artifact was split at the seam and burned to a crisp—it barely resembled the menacing lion/wolf/wiener dog combo Sadie and Annabeth had to fight several months ago.

"Huh," Sadie said, tilting her head. Strands of purple-streaked hair fell over her face. "I must admit, I was expecting something more...grandiose."

Sadie's mind raced. She had the feeling she'd have to...ah, relieve the artifact from the Brooklyn Museum sooner or later (preferably sooner rather than later). Perhaps the old switcheroo would suffice? A freak janitorial accident? Or maybe—

Lacy tugged at Sadie's sleeve. "It says that they found it on Rockaway Beach of all places—it's the mystery of the century. How'd it even get there…?"

"Well, all things end up on Rockaway Beach eventually," Sadie tried to joke. "Have you seen that place?"

"Nope! I don't go out that much. Safety reasons and stuff."

"From what?" Sadie asked, lips twitching. "Monsters?"

"I guess…" Lacy left the exhibit, bouncing towards the Greek artifacts. "But don't worry, there are always heroes who fight monsters so normal people have nothing to fear!"

"Hm…I suppose. It's unfortunate that they never get any credit though, isn't it?" Sadie said.

She wondered how many times the world had been saved from ending now. A truly ridiculous amount, probably. It really was a miracle that the world was still around—and the mortals were utterly oblivious to the fact. Ignorance was bliss, after all, Sadie thought.

Sadie took another step away from the Staff of Serapis exhibition.

That was when Sadie's day turned from a bad day to one for the photo book.

"Hu-Ai!" Fall.

Sadie's feet buckled out from under her and she fell on her face. The mortals had it worse—they all fainted on the spot.

"What the—" Sadie spat, struggling.

"Sadie! Are you okay?" Lacy was awake, Sadie thought. Why was Lacy awake?

"Just peachy," Sadie growled. She chanted, "Fah. Release!"

It suddenly felt as if weights had been lifted from her body. Sadie sprang back to her feet. She summoned her wand and staff from the Duat and scanned the museum for the new threat, ready to obliterate whoever it was with a few Ha-Di spells.

"Jaiden?" Across the room, Drew struggled to her feet. "What in Hades are you doing here?! You're ruining my credentials!"

"It's always something with you, isn't it? You never change."

Sadie whipped around. There was a boy—a teenager, really, no less than fifteen years of age—standing next to the Staff of Serapis. It was the hoodie teen that bumped into Sadie before. Up close, Sadie realized he had stormy grey eyes and messy black hair. His face had a hardened look, like he'd seen things he shouldn't have.

"Jaiden—?" Lacy asked Drew. "I thought he was dead."

"Apparently not," Drew muttered.

Sadie wondered when Lacy and Drew were suddenly on speaking terms. She decided to store that little mystery away for later.

"Step away from the Staff of Serapis, mate," Sadie ordered, raising her own staff. "I'm afraid it's been put under the protection of the Twenty-First Nome, the Brooklyn House and the way of the Path of the Gods." Sadie didn't mention that it had just been put under protection and by her only.

"Gnome?" Drew said incredulously. "Wha—"

"Ah, a magician," Jaiden said, tilting his head. "Sadie Kane, I presume? Blood of the Pharaohs, Restorer of the Throne of Fire, Eye of Isis?"

Blood rushes to Sadie's ears. "Hey, flattery will get you nowhere—"

"Didn't have to. It just needed to keep you distracted." Jaiden reached out with a hand. "Heqat!" The Staff of Serapis appeared in his palm.

"Oh, bloody hell—" Sadie said. "Tas!" Bind.

Invisible coils wrapped around Jaiden.

"A demigod should never go anywhere without a weapon," Lacy was muttering. "I see the point now. Drew, do you—"

"What? Of course not! It'd ruin my image!"

"That's never stopped Piper!"

"Well that's—she's—different!"

"Suh-far," Jaiden muttered. His binds slackened and he took the opportunity to bolt for the emergency exit.

"We're on the third floor," Drew said unhelpfully. "What's he going to do, jump?"

"Duh! And while you're picking your jaw off the floor, help me!" Sadie ran for Jaiden. She threw her staff at him—it turned into a large kite (the bird, not the toy) and soared after the thief.

"A'max! Burn!" Jaiden said. Sadie's kite burst into flames.

Sadie grabbed another staff from the Duat. This was precisely why she always had more than one or two stored.

"What do you plan to do with that staff anyway?" Sadie growled. "It isn't a plaything for little boys."

"Not one for little girls either," Jaiden said, voice annoyingly calm. "Besides, I think it's about time for the Greek and Egyptian world to meet. Don't you?"

"Hardly—"

"Stop," Drew commanded.

Jaiden's eyes grew misty. He slacked.

Sadie blinked, looked back at Drew in a new light (though still not a favorable one, mind you). Magic?

"Put down the Staff of—uh…"

"Serapis," Lacy said helpfully.

"I knew that!" Drew snapped. "Right. Put down the Staff of Serapis!"

Jaiden lowered his arm. He gritted his teeth. He was struggling against the—the whatever Drew had done to him, Sadie realized.

"Sa-hei!" Sadie added, feeling the magic surge out of her body. Jaiden fell to his knees.

"No…not here, not now. I refuse " Jaiden murmured. His eyes glowed gold. "Ha-di!"

A brilliant light enveloped the museum. An explosion rocked the third floor. Sadie dived for Lacy, pushing her out of the way. She reached Drew in time and yelled, "N'dah!" A protective bubble formed around them..

When the light dimmed and the smoke cleared, the Jaiden bloke was gone, a giant hole in his place. Sadie sprinted towards the elephant-sized crater in the wall. She looked down. Cars zoomed pass and mortals roamed the streets in masses, but there were no signs of a glowing magician (or whatever he was) anywhere.

"Well, buggers," Sadie said flatly. "Honestly, what should've I expected? I'm in a bloody museum!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Drew said, hands on her head and pacing in a small circle. "How am I going to explain this—" she waved at the hole in the wall, the shattered shards of glass, wood, and artifacts on the floor, and finally, the empty exhibit where the Staff of Serapis should have been, "—to Ms. Morris, the police, the museum?!"

"Um," Lucy said, "I think Chiron will be worse, just a little, teensy bit—he's not much of a fan of us causing trouble in the mortal world, y'know?"

"Great! Just great! Thanks for reminding me!" Drew stopped pacing. She got a look on her face, one eyebrow raised and another lowered. "I guess we're just going to have to fix this ourselves."

"We?" Lucy asked, worried. "I don't think—"

"No, Drew is right." Sadie found herself saying the impossible. "I'll leave a note for my magician friends—"

"Magician?" Drew asked.

"—they'll distract the mortals." Sadie looked out the hole, at the busy Brooklyn afternoon. "Besides, if my gut is right, we don't have much time before that Jaiden bloke breaks the world."

"Great." Drew huffed. "Help me get down—there's no way I'm walking out of the entrance looking like this." She gestured at herself, covered in grime and dust, her makeup smeared so she looked like a bad clown rip-off.

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Ugh, very well." She recited the spell for float and released it with a simple Fah when she reached ground level. She did the same for Drew and Lacy.

"Soooooo," Sadie started, walking towards the parkway, "You two aren't mortals, are y—"

"Sir! Sir!" Drew suddenly shouted, running towards a middle-aged businessman busy getting in his car, a Toyota Camry by the looks of it.

"Oh no," Lacy muttered.

"What is she doing?" Sadie asked. "Has she finally gone mad?"

"Please, it's an emergency. We need to borrow your car," Drew pleaded, making puppy eyes at the businessman.

The businessman blinked slowly for a few seconds, like his brain was trying to process Drew's words. Then he got out of his car. "Yes, of course. I'm sure you have your reasons." He handed Drew his keys. "I'll just be—" he frowned, "—what—"

"You'll just be taking a very long bathroom break, of course!" Drew said, all smiles and casually sliding an arm onto the man's shoulder. "How could you forget, dear?"

"I—yes, how could I forget the sudden urge to empty my bladder?" The businessman turned around, stilted, and walked away.

Drew gave herself a self-satisfied smirk. "Hm...It looks like I got us a ride~"

"What the hell—" Sadie said flatly, "—was that? He just—He just bloody left!"

"Charmspeak, hon, get used to it," Drew slid into the driver's seat. "Now get on."

Sadie blinked and suddenly, she found herself settling into the backseat. "...Wha…"

"Yay," Lacy said meekly, following Sadie into the car and closing the door behind her. "Guys, are we really going to—"

Drew put her hands on the wheel and her feet on the pedal and gunned the engines. Then they were swerving onto North Service Road and joining the Brooklyn traffic.

Ancient Greek, 'what in Hades', Chiron, Charmspeak, Sadie thought, furrowing her brows, Lacy had mentioned a summer camp—Percy and Annabeth were always talking about a summer camp—and Drew wore a pendant, a glittering platinum and diamond D.

Oh.

Sadie welded the pieces together—found the answer to the mystery, and she blurted, "Ah, so D stands for demigod, then?"

A/N:

I am not British, haha. Please tell me if I got anything wrong or wrote anything off.

And comment what you think of the story in general! Any criticism or advice would go a long way.

~ Aros

Next Chapter: A Sphinx Murders Our Car