Chapter 3

I ran. Then stopped.

" Kel, why are you not running?"

"Running from what?" He looked confused. Does he not see that we're in danger?

" Can you not see? " The monster has stopped too. More like waiting.

" All I can see is this nice lady asking why we need to go to the beach without your mom" Nice lady? It dawned on me that Kel couldn't see the monster. How in hell can he help me if he can't even see what we're fighting.

" Kel, trust me, run" Kel must have sensed the urgency in my voice because he started running towards me without asking more questions.

" Very well, daughter of Poseidon. I was planning on eating him anyway if he hadn't run. I'd have two for breakfast now" The monster said in the raspy and really annoying voice of hers... it's?? Anyone.

The doors were locked, which means we have to find another way out of this hellhole. I looked around to see if I can find any, there wasn't. But what I did find, is a boy, unarguably the most attractive boy I've ever met. Looks about my age, and he's standing with a bow and arrow in his hands. He was saying something but I was too busy staring at him to listen, until I was pushed to the floor. By Kel. The boy shot his arrow at the monster who screeched and burst in a cloud of sand.

" For someone who asked me to run, you don't listen to instructions. He asked you to duck!" Kel said standing up and dusting himself off. " Are we still running? Or is whatever that is after us dead?"

" Not dead. It is in Tartarus. It's going to reform and come back to find you. What did you do to piss off a fury, anyway? Those things are highly dangerous" The boy spoke up. With just the tiniest hint of an accent. Extremely sexy accent. I shook my head to clear off the cloud which seem to have come from me seeing a very hot guy and being pushed to the floor.

I stood up and turned to Kel, " You could have just tapped me or yelled my name. Did you really have to push me?"

" Oh, I'm sorry, I should have let him impale you to get to whatever it is that's after us, dummy". Kel replied, sarcastically.

" Whatever". I turned to the boy, "Thank you very much. You saved our lives, there's no outlet here. Hold on, how did you know? You can see it too?" How can he see it if Kel can't?

" If by it, you mean the monster, yes I can. And since you're the one who can see it, I'm assuming you're the demigod and he's a mortal". He put his bow across his shoulder.

" Yes. I'm a demigod. I just found out though, so I'm not sure how to go about this demigodiness" I replied

Kel snorted " that's not an actual word, idiot"

I glared at Kel, he's making me look bad in front of this hottie " Do not mind him. A mortal is a normal human right? And you're a demigod too?"

" Yes, they are. And yes, I am" The guy started walking towards the entrance he must have come from. We followed him.

I introduced us "I'm Emily, but no one really calls me that. Everyone calls me Millie. This is my best friend, Kelvin. Kel"

" Ok, nice to meet y'all, I guess" We shook hands

" Who are you anyway?. How did you know we were in danger?" I quizzed.

" I'm Diego. I was actually passing by when I heard your screams and came to see what was happening. Had to help when I saw that it was a fury".

" Hold on. Screams?" I wasn't aware that I was screaming. I'm not a screamer. Really. I'd have been told if I were. If you know what I mean. (No, not that. You nasty human). " Anyway, thank you for the help).

"You're welcome" We stepped into the sun and he made to leave us.

" Hey, we're going to the beach, can you direct us there?" Kel asked him. I'm such an idiot, I forgot we were supposed to be looking for my father. You can't blame me though. That's what a very good looking person will do to you.

" Oh, it will be very confusing for you if I direct you, I'd take you there. You're new here, you can get lost really easily. Also, monsters might attack you again. Helps if you have one more person on your side who can actually see them. No offense, bro". He nodded in Kel's direction.

" None taken. I understand" Kel doesn't even look mad. It's hard to be mad at someone with Diego's face and body.

" Thank you, Diego. I think it's best we get going now, we don't want to have to walk in the hot sun" I looked upwards and squinted, the sun is already out in full force. Yup, gonna take me a while to get used to this temperature.

Diego led the way and we walked for what felt like hours, even though it's like twenty minutes or so. The sun is making the duration feel longer and by the time we got close enough to the beach to feel the kinda cooler breeze, my shirt was already sticking as close to my skin as possible. Ugh, I'd have to meet my dad looking like I just came back from the sun. I'm fairly sure I've gotten three shades darker. Little wonder everyone here is tanned.

At least we didn't have another monster attack, the sun must have also scared them off. We washed off the sweat in the water (don't judge me. Y'all have done worse), and sat down under a tree to re-strategize. We're here with zero idea on how to find my dad.

" Ok, so, we've gotten here, thank you very much Diego" He nodded "how do we find him now?" I looked around, maybe there were signs, most preferably a person holding a neon sign that says " I'M POSEIDON". That should be way better and easier.

" Maybe he's supposed to come to us or something? Should we wait?" Kel asked.

" We don't have enough time to wait. We have to find mom soon" I told him, still looking around for a sign.

Diego spoke up "I'm sorry. Not quite following here. I'm lost. You're looking for who? And what do you mean about your mom?"

" Oh, pardon us. I'm looking for my dad - Poseidon. Yeah, that one. And my mom was kidnapped this morning, or maybe it was last night, I don't know. But we think it was by one of those things that attacked us, furies, I believe you called them. Mom's final instruction was to find Poseidon, whom I'm hoping has answers to how I can find mom" It's quite obvious that I was getting anxious, I've started rambling.

" Calm down, Millie, We'll find her" Kel reassured me.

" Ok. That's... quite something. Finding Poseidon shouldn't be too hard though. You're his daughter, right? You can just call out to him. You're at the beach. It'd be easier"

" I don't know how to. I think it was one of the things Mom would have helped me with if she was here" I don't understand any of these stuff.

" I can help you with that. Let go closer to the water" He stood up and I headed out with him, Kel a few feet behind us.

" Alright, Em" OMG, cue the swoon, fainting and butterflies internally. HE FREAKING CALLED ME EM. HE GAVE ME A NICKNAME. I should stop screaming in my mind, but no one has ever called me Em before. And coming from him, it sounds like the hottest word ever to be uttered. Amidst my internal freaking out and my most possibly physical blushing, I realized he just said something to me and he was looking at me like he expected me to reply back or do something.

" I'm sorry, what?" Kel snickered and muttered "Real classy Millie, real classy" I shoot him a look that normally would have shut him up but he's just laughing at me. Not enough for Diego to hear, but enough for me to know.

" I said, you have to put out your hand over the water and concentrate in your mind on what or in this case, who you want to find. It'd help if you have a description or something in your head" He repeated

" Oh, thanks" This is going to be hard, really. Other than finding my mom and the cute guy in front of me, I can't really concentrate on anything else. Also, I don't know what Poseidon looks like. I held out my hand anyway and whispered "Poseidon" over and over in my mind. At first, nothing happened. I was about giving up when the water stirred and then parted in the middle. And out walked the most attractive man I've ever ever seen. He was holding a trident which is his symbol, but other than that, he looks like a tourist, albeit a very attractive one.

"Poseidon?" I needed to be sure. So it's not like I woke up one other god who is extremely evil and will kill me and my friend and my future husband with whom I'm having three kids, a cat and two dogs.

" Hello, Emily". I swear on everything when I say that his voice sounds like it can send you into a trance, it's deep yet soft at the same time. Damnnnn. I can see what Mom saw. I'm not blaming her. Ain't nothing old about this man in front of me. I was actually half thinking he was going to be a merman or something fish related. He was depicted as that in some books and movies.

" Actually, people just call me Millie now" or Em, I blushed inwardly". Poseidon looked at me and smirked. Please tell me he doesn't read minds, please.

" No, Millie, reading minds is not one of my favorite things to do, even though I could do it if I want to. It comes with the territory". Perfect, a dad who can read my thoughts, just f-ing fantastic. " We can't talk here though, the monsters will be drawn to your scents and we wouldn't want them to hurt innocent mortals"

" Yeah, true. So, do you have a penthouse somewhere close or something? Also, these are my friends" I pointed at each of them " Kel, my best friend and Diego, my —" I halted, he answered for me fortunately.

" Her friend. We just met." They both shook hands with Poseidon, which looks like it might hurt, he must have a strong grip for a man that buff.

" I know about you both" I'm not even going to ask how, I guess that's how gods are. Knowing everything. " And to answer your question, Millie, I do not have a penthouse, we're going to have to go to my palace" He pointed his chin towards the ocean.

" Underwater?, I'm sorry but I'm not sure if you've noticed, we're not with oxygen tanks and we definitely aren't fishes" Kel couldn't even swim very well. He's probably going to drown before we get two meters into the water.

" You're my daughter, you can breathe underwater. I'm assuming you haven't tried that yet. It should be one of your powers, others which we will test you for later. And I will provide breathing bubbles for your friends, they'll be able to breathe and talk in it" Oh, wow. I guess things work differently with gods.

" Alright then" I watched as he created the bubbles for Kel and Diego and we all jumped into the water and swam for his palace.

On the way, I had to ask one important question that has been bugging my mind. " Sorry, but does it mean Percy Jackson is real and is my half-brother?" I'm an absolute fan of him and I've read basically every book there is about him. I didn't think he was real.

" Oh, Percy is very real and yes, he's your half brother" That's sooooo cool. Omigosh.

I turned back to face my front just in time for my first glimpse of his palace. I thought the hotel was big, this place is hugeeeeeeeee. It's like a whole Atlantis here, which I'm sure it must be since it's an underwater palace/ town/ whatever they call it down here. I turned back to look at Kel and Diego, and they look just ask awestruck as me. Boy, wouldn't I give anything to live here.

We swam inside, I could see a few mermaids now, I didn't expect them to be real too, but today really is a day of firsts. We got into the inner chamber which seems to be for Poseidon's assess alone. It is surprisingly dry, which means that we stepped into dry, oxygenated room. The bubbles popped off my friends heads and can we just bask in the fact that I just breathe underwater!!!!. Our clothes were dry when we walked in. Gotta ask Dad to teach me that trick. The room is even more gorgeous, its decor is blue with touches of gold.

"Wow, it's even better on the inside" Kel spoke our minds.

" Thank you. I try my best and trust me, it is a pain in the rear to maintain this. Anyway, we need to discuss. Your mother was kidnapped, I believe?" Dad asked me

" Yes" I'm crestfallen. I miss Mom.

" It was done by the forces of Hades, my brother. Why? I don't know. But you must hurry because I know how he can get" He said while pacing.

" Hold up, if you know about all of these, why don't you ask your brother to give Mom back? It would be easier that way and it's something you can do in minutes" Also, why didn't he do that since he already knew?

" I'm sorry, Millie. But we gods can't interfere in the affairs of humans or mortals. I can only help in small ways but I can't do something as huge as rescuing your Mom myself. It just doesn't work that way. I'm sorry"

I don't get it. Mom is also his ...wife? Side chick? Side fowl? Whatever, but since they had something together, he should be able to help her. I was about to say this when he spoke up.

" No, I can't help because I love your mother. It doesn't work that way, really" Damn his mind reading self.

I was still thinking about what to say next when Diego spoke up " There must be something to be done then. How about a quest? That way, we'll be the one doing it, and you can help in small ways as you said"

" True, but to issue you a quest, we will have to go to Olympus, where I have to officially claim Millie as my daughter, then she must go through trails to prove herself and a bunch of other stuff". It doesn't seem that much now, does it? We can do all of those. I'm sure of it.

" Let's do it. How hard can it be?" I was feeling confident.

" I'd mind the way I use those words if I were you. And luckily for you guys, there's a general meeting in Olympus today"

At that, he snapped his finger and we all apparated.

Off to Olympus!!!