I never really got into the Percy Jackson series, but once I picked up the Kane Chronicles, I was hooked. I think the main reason for it was the sole adult involved in the story. I hated the fact that teenagers were saving the world the entire time, so when Amos Kane had at least a minor role in the series I pratically fell in love with the books. Though I am kind of disappointed that he is simply a supporting character, even considered the 'bad guy' in the first book.

So, in honor of such character, I present the Kane Chronicles: In Amos' point of view. Rated T.

Prologue

I squinted to the east, the star on the verge of breaking into his usual pattern to start the new day. The rest of the group was getting ready for the day as well, packing and ensuring their weapons and wands were still handy. I had not gotten any rest in days, but it seemed no one had noticed as of yet. No, I 'kept watch' since we had left New York, five nights of staring into the flames and keeping it from dying as the other three slept.

I now watched said fire, that I had worked hard to keep alive all night, die before me; the very thought troubling me to near tears. Keep it together. I instructed harshly of myself, my eyes drifted towards my brother as he and his fiancée started packing. No one gets upset at this age, just pissed off.

Julius is the perfect example of that. He wore the Kane stubbornness like an amulet on a necklace called his ego, it would dazzle with his staff in the sun. This fact is what makes him our group leader, not his age. No, Michel has him beat on seniority despite being of no royal blood.

Speaking of, Michel snapped me out of my dazed state with a slight tap on my left shoulder. I snapped out of it and looked up to face a close friend manage a smile for me. "Hey, you ready?"

No. I wished I could say it, but I must keep myself composed. Adults are expected to keep calm in the midst of crisis, or so Iskandar taught us. I managed a nod through my worries and stood up from the dirt, facing my companions now.

Michel Desjardins covered a concerned look in his eyes as he took a step back, preparing the spell with an amulet out. He is the talented Earth elementalist of the group, able to prove his value in combat alongside my brother. However, he is an outsider. Being French makes it that way. Why he joined us is based on two points. First, I had been in a trio lucky enough to finish our learning from the great Chief Lector Iskandar. Michel, Julius, and I had repeatedly proven our worth on major and minor quests. Second, he apparently felt empathetic to our situation once news spread.

Julius Kane, my dear older brother, seemed beyond prepared for the possible events of today. The leader of our trio, he is the best in combat magic. He knew a few minor spells that sometimes prove useful in dire situations, but otherwise he was only good to rely on to distract the enemies when we needed it most.

There also stood Ruby Faust, a diviner. She was introduced into my life through Julius as we studied in the First Nome in Cairo. She came with us to the Twenty-first Nome with the status as my brother's girlfriend. Now they have plans to marry in three months, if we survive this apocalypse of course.

A sturdy group for a bookworm to find himself in. However, there was a large gap. For seven days, I stood with a large hole beside me, but I composed myself for the team. Besides Ruby, I am the best in divine words. Now I am the simple historian with some serious emotional baggage, someone to turn to for a little more aid in a fight or help determining curses or traps before we walk into them.

Michel summoned a swirl of sand in the middle of the four of us. "You said San Francisco, right?" He asked to make sure, putting away the nifty amulet I had made for him.

"Yep, but who knows what will be waiting for us there." Ruby forewarned, gripping her backpack tightly.

Julius' pompous smile shone through. "Don't concern yourself; we've dealt with Set before." He tried to lighten up the gloom in the air.

So arrogant, I had already told him on repeated occasions that there are far more dangerous beings than the God of Chaos. I held back from throwing my own staff at him, reminding myself we have bigger problems at the moment. Julius stepped through first, Michel, me, and Ruby being last. This has been our tenth portal run in five days, so the sand was now routine as we took in our surroundings.

I looked around as the group proceeded to swipe sand off their clothing. Palm trees every few feet outlining the streets, towering buildings, humid climate. Yep, California. "Any ideas?" Julius turned to me now.

"We may want to check out their museum first." I spoke dryly.

"Not to be the sour one, but I highly doubt Caroline will be there." Michel pointed out.

Ruby's eyes darted at them before they could continue. "Amos, are you certain about the museum being a good start?" She asked me directly.

I sighed before nodding. "There happens to be a good amount of powerful artifacts that could be enough to release him." I explained my reasoning.

"And who knows, Caroline could be holding up in a sarcophagus." Julius shrugged in an attempt to lighten up the dread lingering over the team. "Let's find a tollbooth then."

We walked a bit down the street to find a payphone. Julius scanned through the phonebook as we patiently waited, pedestrians shooting glares at our group as we only exchanged fake smiles. What do they know anyways? Maybe today's events will just be another series of earthquakes for them. A robbery at the museum perhaps? Not a giant serpent trying to escape his prison with the aid of a possessed demon that managed to escape the Duat.

Julius stopped and pointed at the book, letting me take a glance and memorize the address as he turned to the map quickly. Another thing I'm good at, memorizing things I read for a second. I gave him the address again and he found the general area we needed to go. He led us in the direction, the rest of us following.

Admirable Ruby was the one to find the building first, the women of our team have always been the eyes of architecture. Both Ruby and Caroline could probably walk down a street and recognize each building without having to glance at their signs. However, the thought of Caroline was suddenly dragging me down, my worries colliding with my urge to ready for a fight. What if he's already harmed her? Barely alive and being kept so for a hostage?

I shook it out of my head, reminding myself to be ready. Demons are easy compared to Gods and Goddesses, but they are not nice. They have equal reasons to hate the Per Ankh as much as the Gods do. Being banished to the Duat on repeated occasions would probably anger anyone.

We entered warily, Julius asked the uptight woman at the front desk where their Egyptian displays were and continued leading. I could tell the three were ready, anxious for a fight. Julius especially, he is well known in the House of Life for pummeling enemies back to the Duat.

"Whatever happens, we must stop the demon." Ruby's voice suddenly whispered. She seemed uptight, especially for a diviner. This did not help me get battle-ready, it only made me concerned. What has she seen on this? Had she seen anything on it?

We expected the worst when we entered the Egyptian section, but it was filled with visitors peering at the displays and wax artifacts, only a few were real. "Maybe he hasn't arrived yet?" Michel suggested, as we stood stumped.

My eyes panicked as I searched for at least a sign amongst the crowd. "Or just not here." Julius grumbled. "Amos, I think your emotions have knotted up your logic. There are only a few real artifacts in here."

"Julius," Ruby snapped.

Ignoring my brother, I led them through the crowd, stopping before a display of Ancient Egyptian jewelry. I scanned through them and pointed to the one surging power through the glass. "Recognize this?" I asked.

Ruby was the one to take a closer look, Julius and Michel didn't really bother for they don't know much on the topic. "Cleopatra's amulet for Isis." She gasped through. "I wonder where they found this. It was said to be lost with Alexandria when she attempted Ma'at, bringing the downfall of Egypt."

"Has to be fake, everything went underwater." Michel reminded.

"They most likely found it amongst the ruins." I explained. "Either way, it's real, and it's pulsing magic energy. If it really is Cleopatra's, it may have enough chaos to help release him if destroyed."

"Knowing its history, it could level this museum in seconds." Julius added dryly. "Sorry about what I said." He quickly apologized.

I waved it off; I was starting to wonder if I was going off facts or my hopes too. "Lovely necklace, right?" A familiar voice made all four of us jump as we turned.

She peered directly at me with her soft brown eyes, a strand of her black hair twirled around her right index finger in her coy manner. "You know what it is, do you not?"

"Caroline," I could barely speak through my relief. "You're okay?"

"Should have known, find her by Cleopatra…" Julius grumbled to Ruby as she swatted him in reply.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else, Amos. Let the other three browse a bit more." She suggested.

It sounded off, but I didn't resist as the three exchanged looks. She grinned at me as I followed her out to the deserted courtyard. Odd, it was pretty busy when Julius led us through it a few minutes ago. I didn't question it though as she gestured me to sit next to her at a table in the middle of the room. I didn't hesitate and sat beside her, strangely calm as questions rushed through my mind.

First being how a demon broke into the mansion. Everyone was asleep; we woke to the Great Room being a wreck and Ruby shaking in the veranda. She hadn't been up to see what had occurred, but she admitted to seeing a vision about Caroline that night. It tore at her that she got up early to find the mess, which just added to her nervous breakdown rather than wake her fiancé and I up.

Next question would be why a demon took her and left our Nome a mess rather than kill all of us in our sleep. Ruby had made a theory from her vision, a ritual to awaken the Lord of Chaos, but why take a healer? It had seemed a bit extreme, and seeing Caroline safe made me wave away Ruby's thoughts on the matter.

"Amos, I missed you so much. I'm glad you could make it." She admitted as she suddenly leaned against me.

My heart raced to her cuddling, this was kind of abrupt coming from either of us. Not like I was planning to push her off, but it seemed far too sudden for us to go from close friends. I struggled to think of what to say when they quickly washed over me, tumbling out almost involuntarily. "I missed you too. I was beyond worried, had to find you. Did you escape him?"

She nodded, with a small frown, but she made is disappear as she leaned her head against my left shoulder. "I was scared, didn't know what was going on. Almost lost, I was worried about you."

She peered up at me, my eyes finding hers without my control. I felt an urge to lean towards her as she sat up a little. Our lips just a centimeter away from each other. I was a second away from kissing her out of desperation when a bright light exploded between us.

Black dots danced my vision as I found myself on my back, thrown ten feet away from a sudden fire as Caroline screamed. Dazed and confused to the sudden attack, Michel grabbed me and pulled me further away from the mess. "Sorry Amos, I didn't mean to startle you." He was quick to apologize and I took in Julius rushing towards Caroline Smith with his staff and wand out.

"You idiot! I'm part of your team!" Caroline snapped in utter rage, eyes darted at Julius as his stayed fixed on her.

"Were." Julius corrected. "And you thought you could trick my brother without us knowing?"

"Julius!" I snapped, but he ignored me as Ruby supported his attacks with divine words.

"It wasn't a demon at all." Michel observed as I shook my head in an attempt to shake off the dizziness. "This is possession."

I shot him a confused look. "What are you saying?" I feared even asking.

Michel didn't answer my question and instead joined in on the brawl against Caroline, an unfair fight in my opinion. Nevertheless, she managed to hold her own, blocking every strike my older brother made and countering Ruby's hieroglyphics. It hit me hard as I took in the scene; this wasn't the woman I knew. Instead of fighting back, she would have ran off and found a way to prove herself to us.

Unsteadily I stood with the help of my staff and urged myself to fight. I have to save her, even if it's of something we know little of. There had to be a way, right? My eyes started focusing on the speed and strategy of everyone involved, my brother was starting to get desperate with his strikes as she kept making it pointless. She didn't even seem worn down by fighting so many magicians at once.

She countered another divine word from Ruby and spoke one herself, directed to Julius. In reaction, I countered it to suddenly gain her attention, freezing the fight for a moment. "You think I would take up such a weak host to release me?" A deep hissing voice spoke from her lips now. "Fighting is pointless. I had only one goal with this host."

"And what would that be?" Michel asked amongst the paralyzed looks on our faces.

She smirked, observing all four of us. "Eliminate a threat in the future."

"Might as well explain for us before we strike you down." Julius growled, staff still at the ready.

"Of course, Julius Kane. I only fear two Kanes when it comes time for my release, and another will undoubtedly prove to be a wise leader. I took over this girl to erase my worries. And I was so close if it wasn't for your timely attack upon me." She snarled, everyone's gaze ended on me, which I swallowed back my fear and kept focused on her.

"And to think, I could have killed Miss Smith and led all of you to your demise as an even closer member of the group. But, unfortunately it required a lot of 'persuasion' to even get him to follow me out here." The serpent continued. "So I will just have to kill all of you instead, what a pity."

Was I really that close to the edge before they stopped us? I was too unfocused to really take in the series of divine words headed my way; thankfully, Michel blocked it with a shield. "Snap out of it, it isn't her." Desjardins started. "And it won't ever be unless you focus on helping us get rid of him."

His words helped me refocus and I readied for a series of divine words as well, hoping we can wear him down to release her. This time around, we decided silently to strike together, but she shielded herself from it all. She raised her hands, the walls vibrating around us as we tried to figure out her next attack. I recalled an intense spell that required a lot of magic, one best suited if you happen to be hosting a chaotic god.

Shocked that I could remember it instantly, the best way to defend us and the museum as a whole was placed immediately in my capable hands. I quickly trapped her in a dark blue shield as it continued to its conclusion. The ground shook beneath our feet as the lights flickered; a roar followed a large beam of electricity that struck the shield. We shielded our eyes with our arms and in seconds I could see my shield trap failing. Then it overcame us blindly, perhaps scorched the group.

Once the white died down, I forced myself to sit up. A headache took place with even larger dark spots clouding my vision. I heard three different groans across the room, but otherwise it was completely silent. I closed my eyes and reopened to clear up my eyesight as I peered around. Julius, Ruby, and Michel had slammed into a wall they had been standing only ten feet from and I went across the room and struck three different tables. I looked towards the middle of the room to find the tile floor completely blackened.

I ignored the sudden bleeding from my left hand and struggled to stand again, leaning on my staff for my right ankle refused to cooperate. "Everyone okay?" Julius could barely manage to ask.

"Not sure, more surprised than anything at the moment." Ruby admitted. "May have done something to my arm."

I still hadn't heard any response from the middle of the room were the smoke lingered. I walked into it anyways. "Caroline?" I hesitated to call for.

"A-Amos?" A weak voice called from a foot away.

I kneeled to take in her condition. She looked a bit burned, otherwise just exhausted and fragile. "Hey," I started with a reassuring smile.

"I-I'm sorry…" She struggled to say.

"This wasn't your doing. You'll be on your feet again in no time." I soothed as I lifted her upper body from the burned tile, cradling her.

Her eyes stopped me with a regretful look. "Amos…" She could barely move her lips now.

"Keep yourself strong, Caroline, you need all the strength you have to recover-" I instructed.

"I love you…" Her lower lip trembled for a second as her eyes distanced.

It took me a few seconds to take in what just happened. I closed my eyes out of disbelief. Eight nights ago, I had finally gathered enough courage to consider asking her on a date, I planned to the morning she suddenly went missing. And now… Now she is gone. I found myself crying as she evaporated in my hands, leaving no trace of Caroline Smith.

They managed to organize themselves again, giving me time to weep over the loss. Finally, Michel had the nerve to place a hand on my right shoulder, a distressed expression to let me get the message. I nodded and took his hand to stand again, still dependent on my staff to keep from falling to the floor as my ankle now screamed at me. Ruby dispelled a misty cloud as we left as quickly as we could, passing freaked visitors as they tried to shove their way into the courtyard to see what the commotion was about.

We just kept running, not stopping to at the museum's front door. Julius led us on, further into San Francisco until the concrete under our feet cracked and bore dirt from pieces being upturned. One quick turn into an alley made us all stop. Michel whipped the amulet out again, chanting quickly to form another sand portal, which we all rushed through without second thought.

Maybe it was simply emotion that told us to not turn back and simply get the hell out of dodge. Maybe it was fear of the Sixtieth Nome's leader catching us before we could escape. It wasn't as if the snake was chasing us at the current moment, we were running from avoiding punishment and more than likely having a crying session in a strange city.

I peered around to find we hadn't gone far. This was familiar territory, lights illuminating the blue sky on the horizon told all. The billboards lining the highway a hundred feet away from us helped me conclude my answer, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Julius now glared at Michel. "Really? Why this of all places?" He snapped.

"Hey, I picked the first place that came to mind." Michel snapped, his French accent coming out more like it usually does when he is pissed. "It's not like you were offering city names, Julius."

I chose to ignore the ensuing fight, walking west of the city until their voices were faint like the dry wind. With that, I sat down on the desert sand. Hugging my knees, I closed my eyes and focused on evening my breathing, loosening the sharp stab in my throat.

Unfortunately, I found myself not alone as Ruby sighed and sat beside me. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked, eyes empathetic to my shameful tears.

I let out a small smile to reply, which she relaxed a little more. "Just ignore me, okay?" She encouraged.

I shook my head and went to clean up the salty water off with my right hand. "Let me guess," I started softly.

She simply grinned. "It's still mainly verbal." Ruby confirmed. "I'm just not in the mood to hear any of it."

I entangled my fingers now as I peered at her. "Seriously Amos, I won't judge-" Ruby continued.

"I know you won't." I interrupted swiftly. "Thanks anyways."

Her eyes saddened in reply. We sat in silence for roughly ten minutes, during which I could easily hear Michel shifting the ground under his feet, staffs clanking against each other. Usually I stood in Michel's place, and the others would sit from afar in their attempt to ignore us. I wasn't in the mood to spare with Julius, not after what happened an hour ago.

I knew their fight was on more of a mental base other than Michel picking the outskirts of Las Vegas. Honestly, all that occurred here was our stand against Set. Of course, Julius isn't the type to let emotional ties rest, especially if he feels someone is intentionally rubbing salt in the wound no matter how small.

"You had plans to finally ask her out." Ruby started suddenly. "I'm sorry Amos that it turned out this way instead."

My eyes sunk in response. "I made the mistake here." I started calmly. "I didn't take into account that she would take the direct hit."

"Amos," Julius spoke up.

Both Ruby and I jumped as we turned to see Michel and Julius only a foot away. Julius's clothes was now torn a bit, Michel sporting a black eye. "You did what you thought of at the time of crisis. If it wasn't for you, I most certainly would have been cremated." Julius continued, ignoring Ruby's glare.

Michel and Ruby nodded in agreement. "All of us would have, including Caroline." Michel added.

"Thank you for snapping me out of the trance." I finally spoke. "I don't know what I would have done if I was the one luring the rest of you." I admitted dryly.

"Trust me, we probably would have never guessed." Ruby pointed out. "That blank look in your eyes was what gave it away."

"Otherwise we would have let you and Caroline be." Julius added. "We thought it would be well deserved since she had been missing for so long."

Silence for five minutes. "I'll talk with Iskandar about the amulet." Michel offered. "We can't let something so dangerous stay in unprotected hands. Maybe he will determine if it is Cleopatra's or not."

We all nodded in agreement. "So, looks like we start going our separate ways again." Julius hesitated to speak as he faced our French ally. "You should contact us more often, we could use your ugly smile every once in a while."

Michel grinned to my brother's humor. "I shall consider it." He agreed.