You're family, aren't you?

Unknown variables are dangerous

“I knew it, I knew it!” Sephie all but danced in delight around Hades’ office desk, and said god groaned, feeling a mother of all headaches starting to build up in his temples. Fates damn the demigods’ ADHD and Sephie’s over-the-top reactions!

“Persephone Amphitrite Jackson, settle down this instant!”

Sephie stopped moving around and sat back into her chair, but the smile on her face refused to vanish.

“I knew it!” she repeated it, as if Hades needed her to rub the fact into his face. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier, though? I’ve met them over a year ago.”

“Zeus,” Hades spat out the name of the King of Gods with an expression that made Sephie frown and shift in her seat, “killed their mother Maria while trying to kill them, to prevent them from fulfilling the Great Prophecy.”

Sephie’s face shifted into disgust and sympathy, before settling on soft smile of understanding. “It’s okay, Uncle. I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll get my mum to enroll me in the same school, and I’ll be sending letters as usual.”

“About that…” Hades leaned back into his own chair, biting his lower lip as he inspected the demigoddess in front of him. “Could you send a letter every two weeks? If it’s no trouble, of course.”

Sephie blinked and tilted her head, then opened her mouth in soundless ‘o’ as the puzzle pieces clicked in her head. “No prob, Uncle!” she chirped, taking the bronze hairpin out of her hair and twirling in her hands. “Once in two weeks – I guess, with three kids of Big Three in one place, I’ll have quite a bit to write about. Monster magnets and all that.”

Hades leaned away from his grinning niece and the innocuous hairpin – he had heard from Alecto just what hid in the little hair ornament, and Hades would rather Sephie not impale him with the four-feet-long sword.

“Thank you, Sephie.”

“Like I said, no prob,” Sephie shrugged, returning the hairclip into her hair and pinning the front locks with it in a way that spoke of long practice. “I have been kicked out of every school I attended in the last seven years, so it’s nothing I’m not used to. Mum’ll be glad I’m taking initiative, and I’ll finally have someone I know from day one.”

“Every school, Persephone?” Hades questioned in disbelief. “How did you manage that?”

“Field trips,” Sephie closed her eyes in a long-suffering expression. “They always manage to mess up my attendance record. Oh, and blowing stuff up when fighting monsters and being a ‘disrespectful brat’, quote unquote.” She air-quoted the title, and Hades found it difficult to reign in a snort.

“You are a disrespectful brat,” the god informed Sephie, whose only reaction was to shrug and lean on her elbow, which she placed on the desk.

“Tell me something I don’t know. So, letters twice a week, introduce myself to Nico and Bianca as their cousin, keep an eye on them and send them with these,” she drew two amulets on silver chain from her pocket, one a silver skull with ruby eyes and the other a round obsidian inlaid in silver circle, “to you the moment monsters try to get to them?”

“Essentially,” Hades nodded. “I’ve never had a lot of children – unlike my brothers, I married for love, not to seal alliances or out of vanity, and my faithfulness is much more difficult to challenge by meaningless flings.” Sephie rolled her eyes, smiling lightly, but acknowledged the fact. “I want Bianca and Nico to survive.”

“I know, Uncle.” Sephie stood up, her peplos swishing around her ankles. “Don’t worry about my little cousins – I’ll keep an eye on them. Nothing will happen to them if I can help it.”

“I trust you, Sephie Jackson,” Hades warned his niece. “Do not let me down. And if anyone from the Camp shows up, you know what to do.”

“Stop worrying so much,” Sephie rolled her eyes. “When have I ever failed to finish the quest I was given?”

“There’s always a room for failure,” Hades narrowed his eyes at Sephie’s confidence. “Do not be cocky, Sephie.”

“I know, Uncle, I know. The moment you get cocky, is the moment you die,” Sephie paraphrased one of Chiron’s many lessons to the veteran campers. “I’ll keep Neeks and Bia safe.”

“Very well. May Tyche bless you, dearest niece,” Hades sighed, not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Sephie snorted, sauntering out of the room. “Tyche hates me more than she loves me. Bye, Uncle!”

“Sephie?” Hades rose from his seat, but Sephie was already gone, leaving only the barest traces of sea scent in her wake. The Lord of the Dead collapsed in his chair, not caring about the groan of protest the full wood gave at his move.

What did she mean by that?

~

Hey Uncle!

The first two weeks went by without me noticing. So many things I needed to do didn’t leave me a lot of time to casually chat with Bia and Neeks, but I managed to worm myself into Bia’s good graces by saving Neeks from falling down the stairs after he was pushed down by one of the upper classmen. Yep, you heard me right. Someone pushed Nico down the flight of stairs, and it was sheer luck I was climbing up, so he fell right into my hands. You should’ve seen his face when he realized he crashed right into his Cousin Sephie! That amount of red was just hilarious to look at.

Bia was furious, though. She wanted to ‘have a talk’ with said guy (read, crack his skull open in the most painful way possible), but I managed to talk her out of it. The guy may be a bully, but he’s still a mortal – I checked, don’t worry! – and we can’t retaliate in too violent way. Between the two of us, though, I tracked the i***t down to the school pool and ‘refreshed’ his memories on the school rules about bullying younger students. You get it? Refreshed? ;)

Why haven’t you told me you erased their memories from the Lotus Hotel? It made my job of convincing them I’m their cousin infinitely more difficult, since neither of them remember our little run-in. Thank Fates you told me you sent Alecto to pick them up, otherwise I think Bia would’ve politely shooed me away and kept Nico and herself as far away from me as she could. Thanks for help there, Uncle.

I’ve not seen any satyrs from Camp Half-Blood, but I’m still checking everyone. Speaking of which… I’m pretty sure one of the teachers is a monster, but I can’t pin down who just yet. I gave the amulets, so my little cousins will be fine.

That’s all from me!

Yours,

Sephie Jackson

P.S. It’s really creepy to see your eyes do a puppy-eyes look. I’m dead serious – one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen. Nico wears it whenever he’s around me, if you wonder where have I seen it.

Hades chuckled as he read the second most alarming letter out of the half a dozen Sephie sent so far. At the time of the arrival, Hades had been furious beyond words. How dare a mortal try murdering his own child?! As the time went on, he calmed down, and instead of focusing on Nico’s near-brush with Thanatos, he concentrated on the silly anecdotes Sephie described in her letters, of her bonding with Bianca and Nico.

He couldn’t quite choose what was funnier: Sephie’s descriptions of Nico constantly making a fool out of himself while trying to impress his older cousin, or the obviously annoyed tone Sephie spoke about it.

He fell asleep in my bed. In. My. Bed, Uncle! What in the name of gods made him think it would be a good idea to wait on Bia and my return from the track whilst sitting on my bed?! He’s ten, and with the way Bia raised him, he never went to bed after 9 PM, what made him think he could stay up till 11 PM?!

….

Uncle, your kid is annoying. He’s been following me for three weeks straight, like a leech. Or a stray puppy. Seriously Uncle, how do I convince him to back off? It’s not only annoying as Tartarus, I can’t do my work, both school and monster-watching one! I don’t care if the kid thinks I’m the hottest stuff since Michael Phelps, but if he gets in my way once again, I swear I’ll sic Bia on his ass and call this gig off!

…

Uncle! How in the name of my father do I look like an angel?!

Hades snickered as he recalled that particular letter. It had been Halloween, and Bianca, Nico and Sephie agreed to buy each other a costume they thought suited the owner’s personality. Sephie got a Black Swan one for Bianca, Bianca gave Nico a bat one, and Nico gave Sephie a costume of an angel. Needless to say, the letter a few days later was more or less a big rant about Sephie not being an angel, because why would I want to fly anyway, Uncle Z would just strike me out of the sky, and wings are overrated anyway! Fins are much cooler!

The distraction of the hilarious memories could not erase the content of the latest letter, however.

Hullo Uncle,

We have a problem. Or, should I say, we have two problems. One of them is more manageable, but it’s still a problem.

I know who our monster friend is, and Camp found us.

Okay, the Camp thing is a much smaller problem, since I know the satyr who entered the school – he was my protector, in fact. I didn’t tell him Bia and Nico were my cousins, but he did seem relieved the kids’ scents were overpowered by mine – apparently, I’ve earned a bit of a rep with the monsters, so they try not to provoke me before they are sure I’m cornered, and since Bia and Nico fall under my protection, that rep extends to them. Less work for me, always a good thing.

The monster problem is the one really worrying me. Grover – the satyr friend I mentioned – sensed him too, but he can’t tell what it is, which says something considering he traveled with me during the Master Bolt fiasco and was Thalia’s protector back in the day. Between her and me, he ran into 80% of the regular monsters dogging demigods’ steps, so whatever is keeping an eye on Bia, Nico and I is not your run-of-a-mill monster. I kinda don’t want to know what it is, but at the same time I hate the fact I’ll be going into this blind, particularly with the winter dance coming up. It’ll be a perfect opportunity to separate us from the rest of the students and disappear without a trace.

I’ve been wearing that conch shell charm you sent me every day now, I’m that worried. Be ready for me to send Nico and Bia at any moment.

Yours,

Sephie Jackson

Hades pushed the letter away, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The winter dance was this evening, according to the calendar hanging on the wall of his office. The calendar was a gift from Sephie after she found out Hades only counted the time by winter/summer exchange and by Solstices.

“My Lord?” Persephone’s voice floated in as its owner leaned at the doorpost of Hades’ study.“What ails you?”

“Same old, my dear Persephone, same old,” Hades sighed, picking up the fountain pen to write down the short message to Sephie. “Your namesake is about to saunter into another foolhardy adventure -”

“And you worry,” Persephone finished, smiling softly at her husband’s surprise. “Relax, I will do nothing to my lovely namesake. Not only would my uncles, aunts, mother and father slowly kill me, you never looked at her like you loved her. Admired and adored her like a favored child, yes, but not like a love interest.”

Hades exhaled in relief, quickly composing a reminder for Sephie to shatter the charm if she found herself in a situation way over her head before turning his focus back to his wife. “Thank you for understanding, my dear.”

“I have nothing to fear from Sephie Jackson,” Persephone shrugged, draping herself over the back of Hades’ chair. “Besides, I doubt Uncle Poseidon would ever let her date immortals.”

“Of course he wouldn’t,” Hades snorted, turning in his seat to leave a peck on Persephone’s lips. “I cannot think of any marriage, including ours, that hasn’t been plagued by infidelity. Granted, we have had far less than the majority of our relatives, but it’s the principle of things.”

Persephone nodded, standing up. “Will you be joining me tonight?”

Hades frowned, weighing his options. Sephie had warned him about tonight, but it would be a wise idea to placate Persephone before bringing in Bianca and Nico.

The choice was ultimately taken out of his hands as he heard Sephie’s voice in his head, quiet yet determined.

Uncle, be ready – the monster made its move!

“After I check on Sephie,” Hades offered to his wife, who nodded with a faint smile.

“Don’t make me wait for too long,” Persephone whispered with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she sashayed out of the room, making Hades’ mouth dry. By the Creator, how could she affect him so much, even after so many millennia they spent married to each other?

Uncle!

Sephie’s voice cleared his thoughts, and Hades opened the Iris-message to Sephie, making sure nobody but his niece could spot it, and slapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from being spotted.

Manticore.

The monster sent for his children and niece was a godsdamn Manticore.

No wonder neither Sephie nor her satyr friend had not been able to identify the beast! They took a long time to reform, and were generally one of the less known monsters, since they hated putting their hides at risk if they didn’t know the demigod’s death was only a matter of time. That being said, they often grew overconfident when they caught the demigod they deemed weak enough, giving said demigod time to recover and strike back. Hades could only hope Sephie would figure out that little weakness and exploit it before the three children died.

“Where are you taking us?” Bianca asked, a shrill note of panic entering her voice, and Hades winced. You never show fear to monsters.

“You will see, brat, now shut up,” Manticore growled as it lead the trio to the cliffs.

“Don’t call my sister that!” Nico protested, and Manticore whirled on the children, his tail appearing and aiming for Nico.

“I can call your bint of a sister whatever I want, runt,” it hissed, the poisonous stinger on the end swinging back and forth. “But if you want to live, I suggest you shut up now. The General will not tolerate insolence.”

“Well, insolence kind of comes with the package,” Sephie stepped between the monster and Nico. “Or have you been living under the rock for the last two years?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Daughter of Poseidon,” Manticore now looked interested. “Awfully concerned for those runts, for a famed heroine.”

“I don’t leave family behind,” Sephie hissed, pushing Bianca behind herself as well. “And Di Angelos are my family, my cousins.”

“Gods don’t have DNA, there’s no -”

“No real blood relationship, yeah I’ve heard that spiel before,” Sephie crouched slightly, turning her face so the monster wouldn’t see her mouth out of the corner of her eyes, crush your necklaces on my signal. “It’s pure bullshit, if you ask me. Every demigod is my extended family, and family takes care of each other.”

Manticore cackled wheezily. “You sound a lot like that Luke boy.” Sephie stiffened minutely at the comparison, and Hades leaned forward, pleading for the children to crush their necklaces. “He spoke of the family as well, when he talked to the demigods on our side.”

“He’s a hypocrite, liar, and a betrayer,” Sephie declared, her arm shooting to the bronze hairpin in her hair. “Bia, Nico, now!”

The siblings had a mutinous look and their faces, but when Manticore hissed and threw itself at Sephie, they tore the necklaces from their necks and crushed them under their feet, activating the spell that landed them in Hades’ office.

After briefly checking they were not injured by the slight fall, Hades turned to the Iris message, only to spot a satyr and two girls, the first a child of Athena and other the punk girl with electric eyes – Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus – trying to help Sephie beat Manticore, but without any success.

Suddenly, Sephie vaulted up and landed on Manticore’s neck, trying to keep herself on and strike the mortal injury to the monster. Hades cursed in Ancient Greek.

What are you doing, Sephie Jackson?!

A hunting horn echoed through the woods, and Hades barely felt his children peek from behind him as he registered with no small amount of relief the appearance Zoe Nightshade, lieutenant of Artemis and leader of the Hunters.

That relief soon turned into horror when he realized Sephie had not let go of Manticore’s neck.

“Permission, milady?” Zoe asked of Artemis, and Hades wanted to scream at both of his nieces.

No!

“Permission granted, Zoe.”

No!!

“Fire!” Zoe ordered, and good two dozen arrows embedded themselves into Manticore’s belly.

“NO!” Hades shouted, and Artemis turned in surprise, but it was too late: the Manticore, already dangerously close to the cliff’s edge, tumbled over the edge, taking Sephie with him.

“SEPHIE!” Bianca and Nico shouted as well and launched themselves forward, but the Iris-message disconnected, its duration over.