Of Blood and Family
"Uf, uf…" The four youths jumped onto the train just as it began to move, unable to stop themselves from letting out a sigh of relief when the doors closed behind them.
They arrived just in time to see Gema entering the station, running with a truly serious expression on her face. Behind her, Dorien walked in with complete calm, as if the entire chase had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. His eyes met those of the boys, who immediately ducked down to hide. But of course, they had already been seen.
"Oh, damn. That's the look she gives when she's about to give us a multiple choice exam for flooding the school bathroom," Percy said while holding his head.
Harry could not help making an expression very similar to his brother's. He knew perfectly well that their teacher was truly angry right now. But that was a bridge they had already crossed a long time ago.
"He got free very quickly," Annabeth said, her face slightly tense as she noticed Dorien's gaze, which even from that distance seemed capable of reading people. The man even gave them a faint smile and a calm little greeting.
"He let himself get caught. Mr. Dorien is one of the strongest knights of the Order. He didn't even use his two swords or his armor," Harry said quickly in a serious tone.
"That was pretty obvious," Percy said while shaking his head. "I don't know what he's thinking."
"We'd better change trains at the next station. Or maybe they'll even be waiting for us there, so we need to be careful," Harry said quickly.
However, he paused slightly. For a moment, a small movement in his shadow caught his attention, making him frown faintly. He looked down for a few seconds, but after observing it carefully he did not notice anything strange.
"For now, it would be better to find our seats," Grover said after letting out a sigh. He had already had enough excitement for one day. But at least being chased by humans was better than being hunted by monsters, so he supposed that could be considered a small improvement in his lifestyle.
Percy and Harry could not help feeling that, in a way, he was right.
Only Annabeth, more aware of the situation, watched them for a moment before letting out a sigh.
The money from Glaiolus's ransom had not really been as much as they had imagined, but it was enough to buy four tickets for them and maybe cover a few other expenses afterward.
At least they had a couple of hours until the next station, since it was a long distance train. So the kids took the opportunity to rest as much as possible before continuing their escape from the various forces that, by this point, were already trying to capture them.
Because yes. Seeing the train's screen showing drawn images of Percy and Harry as runaway kids who had escaped from a summer camp and were now wanted by the police, barely an hour after losing Gema and Dorien, did not help their situation at all. Now they also had to worry about the police looking for them.
"Obviously it's revenge for chaining him up," Harry said while letting out a sigh.
Photos of Grover and Annabeth as children who had helped with the escape were also circulating. That made both of them feel a little embarrassed whenever someone passed nearby and glanced at them slightly, as if trying to remember where they had seen them before.
"Don't worry," Annabeth said while putting on a normal cap to slightly hide her blonde hair. "The police are mortals. They won't find us easily."
But watching her try to stuff all her hair into the cap while avoiding the looks around them did not really help her appear natural.
Luckily for them, most of the adults present were far more interested in their magazines and their phones than in what was happening around them. Something that proved that maybe even a serial killer could be walking calmly between the train cars without anyone noticing.
"Who wanted your help?" Annabeth suddenly asked Percy.
That made Harry, who had been watching Grover from the corner of his eye while he dozed and bleated every now and then, making sure he did not lose his fake feet, turn his head toward Percy.
"Sorry?" Percy said, looking at her in confusion.
"Last night. In the forest. While you were sleeping. I woke up at midnight and heard you say someone needed your help. I was going to ask you before, but we had to run," Annabeth said.
Percy looked at Annabeth for a moment and then at Harry. Normally he always shared his nightmares with his brother; it was something they both used to do. But this time sharing it with someone else felt… strange.
Even so, looking at Annabeth, who was truly trapped in this mission with the two of them, and who was now also wanted by the police because of them, he could not help telling it.
So he told them about the dream. About the dark voice in the abyss.
Both Annabeth and Harry began thinking as soon as they heard the whole story. Though Harry seemed to reflect even more than Annabeth when he heard the word "abyss."
"I don't think it's Hades," Annabeth said while looking toward Harry.
Harry came out of his thoughts and nodded slightly, confirming it.
"When he appears in dreams, he's sitting on a black throne made of bones… and he never laughs," she added.
Hearing "throne of bones" and "never laughs," Percy seemed to have a kind of memory hit.
"Aaaah," he suddenly said. "Yeah… believe me, I know."
Annabeth looked at him in confusion for a moment, but decided to continue the conversation.
"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Annabeth asked while looking toward Harry, who seemed even more thoughtful than she was.
Harry lifted his gaze and shook his head.
"But at least we can guess who the suspect might be for stealing the Master Bolt. And it seems to be in that cave… maybe trying to use it to get out," Harry said.
"But if he already had the bolt, why would he need Percy's help?" Annabeth asked.
"That's why I said a suspect," Harry replied. "Maybe it's just a combination of problems, like the ones we already have right now."
Harry leaned back slightly in his seat.
"Anything we say right now would just be guesswork."
Annabeth could not help feeling that he was right, so she nodded as well. Even so, she seemed to have something else to say, because she kept looking directly at Harry.
"To be honest, I still have doubts about Hades's mission, Harry. And the fact that his Kindly Ones tried to attack us doesn't help my trust very much. Even if they didn't seem quite as aggressive this time," she added.
"This time?" Harry asked, frowning just like Percy.
"You've run into them before?" Percy asked.
Annabeth nodded while showing a white bead from her necklace, with a pine tree carved into the center. Those beads were the rewards given to campers for completing another summer.
"Let's just say I don't have much affection for them. And the fact that he tempted you with the release of your cousin Dred only makes it look like he's luring you into a trap," Annabeth said, piecing it together from the conversation Percy and Harry had had with that man named Dorien, when they mentioned they were doing all of this for their cousin and his freedom.
Harry could not help feeling a small sting in his chest. Because that really had been the case. When he learned that he could obtain the release of his cousin, just as he had promised after going to Hogwarts and failing to achieve anything until then, he had trusted Hades immediately and thrown himself into completing the mission without thinking too much about it.
But if it truly was a trap… the forces that had attacked them did not exactly help him believe otherwise.
Maybe he had simply allowed his emotions to guide him.
Percy spoke immediately when he noticed the change in his brother's expression.
"And what would you do if it were your family?" Percy said at once while looking at Annabeth.
"If that were the case, I'd let them rot," Annabeth answered instantly, with a serious look that left Percy and Harry completely stunned.
She saw the expression on their faces. That look of someone who could not believe she would say something like that about her own family. It only showed how loved they must have been by their families.
Annabeth let out a small snort. She knew none of it was their fault.
So she calmed her emotions a little before lowering her gaze.
"My father never cared about me. My stepmother hates me. And my stepbrothers probably don't even remember me. Arriving in their lives was just a mistake for them. He always reminded me of it, counting the day I arrived as if it had been a nuisance. And when he remarried, he completely forgot about Athena," she said in an angry tone, though beneath those words there was also sadness.
"But how… I mean, Athena isn't—" Percy began.
"I wasn't born normally," Annabeth said, interrupting him. "Athena becomes interested in the intelligence of men, and then children are born from that mental connection, just like she was born from Zeus's head."
Then she let out a sigh.
"He simply pretended I didn't exist once his life became normal again with a normal wife and a couple of normal kids," she added, sounding like she did not want to talk any more about it.
Harry and Percy looked at each other for a moment, not really sure what to say to cheer her up.
"Well… actually our cousin Dred isn't even our real cousin," Percy said at last. "He's the son of our Aunt Mor, who also isn't really our aunt. And the knights chasing us don't share any blood with us either, but they treat us like we're family. Their boss is this funny old man who always asks us to call him grandpa. And well… then there's Sirius, who's Harry's godfather. He's a bit of an idiot, but he treats us like we're his nephews and well…"
Percy looked at Annabeth, who had lifted her gaze toward him. Her gray eyes seemed to shift softly with the light coming through the train window.
Percy glanced at Harry, looking for help.
"Percy means they chose us, and we chose them," Harry said. "So that saying that you can't choose your family is simply wrong. You can decide for yourself who your family is, who you allow into your life… without letting yourself be guided only by blood."
As he said that, Harry found himself thinking about his real blood aunt. Possibly the only person in this world who still shared blood with him. And yet he had a loving mother and a foolish brother who shared none of his blood, but who were the best family he could have chosen. And who had chosen him as well.
Not to mention all the others Percy had named.
"You'll realize who your real family is when they make the effort to reach you. And when they don't… then you'll be able to say they truly don't care," Harry added.
Annabeth seemed to be gently rubbing a ring hanging from her necklace, possibly something that had once belonged to her father.
"I guess…" she said at last.
Then she turned her gaze toward the train window, where the sunset was beginning to paint the sky in shades of orange.