Chapter Text
I met Amos Kane on a tuesday.
It was a month after my first quest, and I’d sat in the apartment with mom—windows open as the sun beat down on Manhattan. No matter the fact that I had my mom back, the mood of the apartment was still dreary. Luke's betrayal had been another hill to climb on top of the whole summer solstice mess, and no matter my moms insistence that she wouldn’t drag what happened out of me, I could still feel her stares digging into me in the moments of silence between us.
But, the two of us had found odd peace in sitting in the living room of our small apartment. I’d usually take to telling some unremarkable story regarding camp–everything seemed smaller after the quest. Even the apartment felt more cramped, and I was trapped within it as thoughts of the months before rang around my head. When mom was at work, and I was left to relish in an apartment vacant of one Smelly Gabe, I’d usually Iris Message Annabeth, or Grover. Other afternoons were spent at the skate park a few blocks down from our place, or playing board games with mom while a batch of cookies baked in the oven.
It was on one of those unremarkable afternoons that I met Amos. A knock on the apartment door interrupted the game of battleship that I was sorely losing, mom ditching the game to answer the door as I tried to subtly eavesdrop down the small hallway.
“Sally.”
I took the opportunity to peek around the corner of the living room wall, peering down at where my mom had her arms crossed, shoulders hunched up towards her ears. It had been nice living in the apartment without Gabe looming over my every action, and I felt suddenly protective of my home, looking at the stranger down the hall. It was finally actually a home belonging to me , and I didn’t want to give that up.
The man's eyes were hidden by shaded round glasses, and every inch of him screamed rich. From the heavy brimmed fedora pulled low over his eyebrows, to dress shoes and form fitting suit he wore. He looked incredibly out of place in the hallway of my mom and I’s rundown apartment building, stains and yellowing plaster adorning the wall behind him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I visited a month ago.” The strange man said, eyebrows furrowed as my mom and him stared each other down. “Your husband said you ran off, and next thing I hear your kids on national television? Now suddenly you return out of the blue and your husbands just up and left? What’s even going on?”
“Life happened, Amos.” My mom sighed, running a hand through her hair in exasperation and pushing through her curls.
“If it was something to do with the House–”
“You know it’s not. What are you doing in Manhattan? You aren’t supposed to be here.”
Amos scoffed, his long braids swinging as his shoulders moved with the sound, a smile coming across his face.
“I could say the same about you. Can I not just visit?”
“Not when–ugh…” My mom trailed off, looking behind her as I ducked behind the wall. Based on the sigh that left her lips, she had definitely seen me. But so what? Now I could just eavesdrop unbothered. “Be honest, Amos. You aren’t supposed to visit me. So why?”
“It’s Julius.”
My mom sighed once more, and stepped back so that Amos could fully enter the apartment. “You should come inside.”
She shut the door behind him and walked to the left, leading him into the kitchen. But not before pausing in the threshold and looking back to where I sat behind the wall by the living room.
“Percy, come on.”
I slinked out, watching Amos’s eyebrows raise as he looked between me and my mom. I stuck out a hand, staring definitely at the stranger in my kitchen.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
The man took my hand, grasping it firmly, and I did my best to ignore the jolt that went up my spine. The same odd feeling when a monster appeared, a distinct notion of other.
“This is my cousin, Amos. Amos, this is my son—”
“Perseus, right?”
“Percy.”
Amos nodded, smiling.
“Of course. And you can call me Uncle Amos if you’d like.”
Silence returned to the apartment, before my mom broke it by looking at me.
“I need to talk to Amos, honey.”
She left it at that, but I could take a hint. I went and sat in my bedroom.
·𖥸·
I saw Amos for the second time on my fifteenth birthday.
I had already had enough wild things go down on my birthday, with Paul asking if he could propose to my mom, and my dad showing up and deciding he would finally be doing his due diligence in parenting. Convincing Paul that Poseidon had just left via fire escape had been hard enough without every other event that night. I was just happy he’d left before Amos decided to show up.
We’d all been in the middle of losing to Tyson in Monopoly, which I swear he was somehow cheating at, when three sharp raps sounded at the door, and my mom’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I honestly have no idea who else would show up!” She let out a forced laugh, giving Paul an apologetic look and getting up to answer the door.
Amos stood outside.
A dark gray suit was matched with a white tie, a black trench coat hanging over the man's broad shoulders. He didn’t seem at all fazed by the gaping look on Paul's face as he just let himself into the apartment as soon as my mom opened the door.
“Percy! Happy birthday.”
Amos smiled slightly, seemingly oblivious to everyones reactions. As I turned back to my mom, who was still standing open mouthed by the doorway, I saw Amos’s eyes linger on Tyson. Tyson was too busy plotting out his next Monopoly play to notice, but I looked at Amos quizzically. The man’s eyes were narrowed, but the expression was quickly gone. I almost thought he might have been clear sighted, but then again, most people's reaction to a cyclops wouldn’t be a simple once over.
“I gave you my new address for emergencies, Amos.” My mom seethed quietly, as Paul looked between the two like he was watching a tennis match.
“Does Percy’s birthday not count as an emergency?”
“If that was why you were actually— ugh .” My mom cut herself off, looking over to the three of us sitting around the Monopoly board, Paul and I unabashedly watching the two argue. “I’ll just be a moment. Promise, Percy.”
I nodded, watching her disappear into the kitchen with Amos before I was nudged by Tyson who looked at me with a serious face, a stack of Monopoly money in one large palm.
“Hotel.”
I sighed as I handed one over.
“Who is that?” Paul suddenly spoke, and I wondered if taking another bite of the blue birthday cake would stop my impending headache.
“My moms cousin. Amos. He just shows up sometimes.”
“Oh.”
I could relate to Paul’s reaction. I felt the same.
It wasn’t a case where I was upset my mom had secrets. I knew she’d kept plenty over the years to keep me safe. It was just a constant itch at the back of his brain, the wonder of what else lay in wait to change in my life. What other random family members might just decide to pop up one day. Though, if everyone on my mom’s side was as weird as Amos, I wouldn’t mind not having to meet them.
The Monopoly game continued, Tyson and I having a somewhat heated argument over me taking the rest of my moms properties, and I watched the glances Paul threw at the kitchen. When my mom and Amos emerged ten minutes later, silence came about them.
My mom pursed her lips, whispering something to Amos and giving him a hug before turning towards him.
“Everything okay?” I asked, looking between the adults. My mom just nodded, and Amos walked up to me. He kneeled down, reaching into the pocket of his trench coat and pulling out a small box, covered in bright blue wrapping paper.
“Couldn’t leave without giving you a gift, right?” Amos said, holding it out as I took it. “Go ahead, open it.”
I couldn’t tell if the look on my moms face meant she was about to cry or slap Amos across the face, but figured opening the present and getting this over with might prevent either scenario. I pulled the small bow off, ripping the wrapping paper at its seams and opening the small jewelry box inside. A golden necklace sat inside, circular with a small bird engraved on its surface.
I wasn’t sure what to make of my weird uncle-not-uncle uncle getting me jewelry, but I wasn’t about to question it.
“Thanks.”
“It’s a kite.”
Amos was looking at the symbol on the necklace, and I raised an eyebrow at the man.
“It’s a bird.”
“A kite is a type of bird.” Amos explained, eyes peering over the edge of his sunglasses. “It can symbolize the protection of souls, and guidance toward the afterlife.”
Great. I thought. Even Amos, one of my only normal relatives, was getting a sense of foreboding doom telling him that I was marching on towards my death.
“That’s lovely, Amos.” My mom was standing behind her cousin, eyes locked on the symbol on my new necklace. Eyes darting between it and the man in front of her. Amos stood, patting me on the shoulder and sharing a look with my mom that I was too tired to decipher.
“Stay safe.” Amos said, and in the next moment, he was gone.
·𖥸·
I met Amos once more in London.
By the time my mom and him got off the plane and drove to meet him in a random suburban neighborhood, I was sure I hated London. It was bleak, cold, and I’d rather be in New York.
When my mom had suggested traveling to London for Christmas, I thought she may have gone mad. When she said we’d be visiting family (specifically my non -godly relatives) I figured it wasn’t really a suggestion, but a gentle way of telling me, “Sorry honey, London it is.” The fact that Amos was the only relative I could think of really put a damper on the situation. I had been perfectly content never seeing him again.
“Since when do we leave town for Christmas?” I asked quizzically one night, watching my mom pack her suitcase. “And Pauls here this year. We can’t just ditch him.”
“Amos needs help with something. That’s why he visited on your birthday.” His mother explained, looking as if she wanted to say more. “I told Paul this was important. He understands, he’s visiting his parents.”
“Well, he could have just come. ”
My mom ended the conversation after that.
So now I sat in the passenger seat of a rented subaru, my mom having told me to stay in the car while slamming the door behind her and giving me a look that could have frightened Zeus himself. Suffice to say, Christmas break was not going as planned.
I watched as my mom and Amos fought with another man on the sidewalk a block away, the man bearing a resemblance to Amos.
It appeared as if my mom and Amos were in a standoff with the other man, someone I could only assume to be another cousin or relative of my moms. For my own entertainment, I had rolled my window down slightly, tuning into the conversation as best I could.
“Then it’s a duel you want?” An unfamiliar voice spoke, tone casual, as if suggesting the three of them go to lunch rather than have a fight in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.
“We want you to think.” I heard my mom say, and I could imagine the disappointed look she probably wore on her face. “You can’t take this risk and—”
“There isn’t a risk. Now the two of you are going to leave, or I am going to act.”
“You really want to fight both of us?” Amos asked, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I didn’t like the sound of what it entailed, especially regarding my mom. I didn’t have the chance to know.
“Dad!” A voice exclaimed, and I caught sight of a girl who looked slightly younger than me springing out from behind a tree, pulling the man, apparently her father, into a hug. He stumbled back in surprise, but it didn’t compare to Amos, who tripped backwards over his own trench coat. A boy followed after the girl, sighing bodily and shaking his head.
Amos for all of this apparently being his fault, said something quiet enough that I couldn’t hear and simply walked off. Quickly straightening his fedora, he lumbered down the road.
For all that I could hope that my mom and I could make a quick escape, that maybe she’d take Amos’s quick departure as a sign that coming to London for Christmas was a fatal mistake, she instead looked to me in the car. Her eyes narrowed as I tried slumping deeper in my seat, waving at her through the windshield as she gestured for me to come over. With a huff, I got out of the car. You’d have thought by this point I wouldn’t be so bothered by meeting new relatives. Hell, my brother was a cyclops who worked for our dad in his under the sea palace. But see, that was my standard of normal now. Average family conflicts haven't been on my agenda lately.
As I walked over to my mom, hands shoved in the pockets of my blue hoodie, a bright smile formed on her face. No matter how genuine it looked, it seemed out of place after the argument that I knew had just taken place.
I stood next to my mom, giving a nod to the other man's two kids. All three appeared tense, the man’s eyes never leaving Amos until he turned the corner of the street and was out of view. The girl had her eyes narrowed at me, loudly chewing her gum and blowing a large bubble that popped even louder in the awkward silence between the five of us. With the streaks in her hair and combat boots, she reminded me a little of Thalia, just less likely to electrocute me at any given moment. Her brother didn’t look much like her at all, and looked all too upset with the way the girl's cat kept attempting to paw at him.
“And I assume you’ll be leaving too?” Their dad said, having relaxed slightly as he looked at my mom and I.
“Oh, it’s Christmas Eve, Julius!” My mom said with a small smile, putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me in. “Whatever happened to family time? I know you’ve got plans, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind us tagging along. You’ve yet to meet Percy, and I’d love to get reacquainted with your kids.”
My mom looked over at me, and I gave the two teens in front of him a grin. I chose to ignore punk girls' narrowed eyes as she popped another bubble, loudly smacking on her gum. Sticking out a hand, my eyes darted between the two, wondering which was less likely to take this as some sort of attack.
“It’s Percy. Always fun to meet new family, am I right?”
Based on the silence received from the other end of the conversation, I don’t think my opinion was well received. The girl huffed, turning to her dad and pushing him away from where he’d wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“You’re late. Visitation Day’s nearly over! And what was all that about? Who’s Amos, who are these people, and what’s the Per Ankh?”
“Sadie!” Her brother hissed, looking as if he wished he could have shoved the girl's words back in her mouth. Julius stiffened, looking at the two of them, as if wondering how much they’d heard.
“It’s nothing, sweetheart. This is my cousin, Sally. And as he introduced himself, her son, Percy.” Julius said, sounding forcibly upbeat. He looked to my mom and I then, pursing his lips but apparently unwilling to fight against my moms decidedly stubborn glare. “We’re going on a private tour of the British Museum if you’d like to join.”
My mom smiled, and I could already feel myself sighing at what her answer was going to be.
“We’d love to.”
·𖥸·
Somehow, all of us ended up sitting in my mom and I’s rented subaru. Jingle Bell Rock played quietly from the car speakers as I sat between Sadie and her brother, who had introduced himself as Carter. How I’d been stuck in the middle seat was beyond me, but the car was full of enough tension that I wasn’t about to complain.
“I can’t believe it.” Sadie grumbled beside me. “One evening together, and you want to do research.”
Julius tried for a smile. “Sweetheart, it’ll be fun. The curator of the Egyptian collection personally invited—”
“The Egyptian collection?” My mom suddenly interrupted, a small frown on her face. “I thought you were done with that branch of study.”
“Sally you know it’s my main focus and—”
“It’s your only focus.” Sadie interrupted, blowing a red-streaked strand of hair out of her face and into mine, which I batted away. “Christmas Eve, and we’re going to see some moldy old relics from Egypt. Do you ever think of anything else?”
Julius didn’t seem mad. Not at Sadie, at least. If anything, he kept sending looks at my mom from where he sat in the passenger seat. But he still didn't seem mad. He just stared out the window at the darkening sky and the rain.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I do.”
From beside me, Carter looked at his dad with furrowed brows, an opposite to where Sadie was scowling in her seat. He definitely knew their dad better, if the already horrible car ride was anything to go by. As we were once again cast into silence, I nudged Carter beside me.
“Where are you from?” I asked, having noticed his sister's obvious British accent and his lack of one.
“Los Angeles.” Carter replied. “But we travel a lot, so I’m never there.”
“What he’s saying is he’s a nerd. Him and dad are always at museums.” Sadie added bitterly. “You’re from New York, right? You’ve got the accent.”
“Yep, Manhattan. Can attest so far that it is way better than London.” Percy paused, thinking of his last experience in Los Angeles. The Lotus Hotel and Crusty's Water Bed Palace left much to be desired. “And L.A.”
Sadie looked affronted, Carter laughing before Julius suddenly spoke. The car had moved along the river Thames, just past the Waterloo Bridge when he tensed.
“Sally.” He said. “Stop here.”
My mom looked over at him with a concerned expression before pulling over.
“What is it, Dad?” Carter asked. Julius got out of the car as if he hadn’t heard him, my mom quickly taking the key out of the ignition before following him. Sadie, Carter, and I joined the two of them on the sidewalk, staring up at a large stone column with a point at the top. Markings were etched into its sides, and Julius seemed entranced with the structure.
“God.” Sadie walked around in a frustrated circle. “Do we have to stop for every monument?”
I was inclined to agree with her. Plus, it was freezing outside. I would’ve been happy to get back in the cab, but every instinct in my body was on edge. It was the type of feeling I had when I felt that a monster might have been following me, but instead the unease seemed to linger in the air. Passing between all of us standing before the massive structure.
“I had to see it again,” he murmured. He took a step forward, but my mom put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. “Where it happened…”
“What, Dad?” Carter asked. “What happened?”
“The place I last saw her.”
Sadie stopped pacing. She scowled at Carter uncertainly, then looked back at Julius. “Hang on. Do you mean Mum?”
Carter looked like he was frozen where he stood, and my mom almost looked the same. But where Carter seemed shocked, she seemed…scared. Angry. I understood the reactions to talking about a parent. Their mom was apparently out of the picture, but where she appeared to be a no-no topic, my dad had always just been there. My mom would talk about him when I asked, but eventually I learned she just didn’t want to have to. It hurt. And I understand it, I mean, after you learn your dad’s a God you understand a lot of things, but that made the most sense. That was something I could understand. Looking at Carter and Sadie, I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to be here for whatever this conversation was about to become.
“You’re telling us she died here.” Carter said. (And first of all, wow. So much trauma to unpack there). “At Cleopatra's Needle? What happened?”
Julius lowered his head.
“Dad!” Sadie exclaimed. “I go past this every day, and you mean to say—all this time—and I didn’t even know? ”
“Julius,” my mom interrupted. “You can’t—”
“Do you still have your cat?” Julius asked Sadie, which seemed like a ridiculous question given the circumstances.
“Of course I’ve still got the cat!” she said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“And your Amulet?”
Sadies hand went to her neck, and Carter pulled a necklace out from under his shirt.
“Course I have it, Dad, but don’t change the subject. Gran’s always going on about how you caused Mum’s death. That’s not true is it?”
My mother and I exchanged a look from where we stood on either side of the family of three, watching the tension grow. I raised an eyebrow in a look that I hoped adequately got across the message, what type of family drama did you drag us into?
My moms look back essentially said, not the time.
“The night your mother died,” Julius started, “here at the Needle—”
A sudden flash illuminated the whole embankment. I turned and momentarily saw two figures appearing down the sidewalk, side by side. A tall pale man with a forked beard wore cream colored-robes, a darker skinned girl in dark blue robes and a headscarf beside him. The clothes looked familiar, and I was sure if Annabeth was here she would have been able to tell me what they were, along with giving me a brief history lesson. They were just there, not even twenty feet away, watching us. The light faded, the figures melting into an afterimage. As if they’d never been there.
A chill ran up my spine. The people certainly didn’t appear to be demigods, but they didn’t exude that raw, undercurrent of power held by deities. But something was off. Things like that just didn’t happen in the mortal world. I hated the feeling of uncharted territory, and my uneasiness grew even more when Sadie spoke beside me.
“Um…” She said nervously. “Did all of you just see that?”
“Get in the car.” Julius said, pushing Carter and Sadie towards the car. “We’re out of time.”
My mom walked quickly before pushing him away from his kids, the two of them left standing in between me and the car.
“You’re not doing this, Julius. Not tonight, not ever. This should have ended when Ruby passed.”
“You can’t say that as if you understand.”
“I went to the funeral, Julius. I have been there even when I shouldn’t have been.” My mom scoffed, looking back at the three of us. Carter and Sadie sent me quizzical looks, but I shrugged at both of them. I was just as out of the loop. “Amos and I came here because we care. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but is it so important that you’d risk what you already have?”
Julius seemed to hesitate at that, before shaking his head and glancing behind himself. “This isn’t a place to talk. We need to leave.”
“I’m not taking you to the museum.”
“Then the kids and I will get a cab. And I’ll do it alone.”
My mom pursed her lips before huffing and turning away from her cousin. “Fine. Everyone in the car.”
I grabbed her arm as she passed by me, forcing her to look back at me. She didn’t look like she wanted to get in the car, and I would have preferred to jump in the Thames and test my luck with the pollution and whatever angry naiads lived there than head to the museum Julius was set on seeing.
“What’s going on?” I hissed, glancing to where my weird extended family was getting into the car, Sadie appearing to once again interrogate her father.
“I promise I’ll explain later, but—this is one of those moments, honey. Where you do the right thing even when you don’t want to. I just need you to trust me.”
“I trust you, mom. Of course I do.”
“Good, and I promise, Percy. I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
With that, she opened the driver's side door and started the car. I opened the back door, and for the first positive event of my night, the side seat wasn’t occupied by Sadie. Life was looking up.
“...bloke, Amos,” Sadie was saying as I sat down. “Are they Egyptian police or something?”
“Look,” Julius said as my mom drove, “I’m going to need your help tonight. I know it’s hard, but you have to be patient. I’ll explain everything, I promise, after we get to the museum. I’m going to make everything right again.”
“What do you mean?” Sadie insisted. “Make what right?”
Julius’s expression was beyond sad. He looked guilty. And his short speech felt oddly similar to the one my mom had given me, which felt all too similar to the one I’d received before being involved in a car chase with the minotaur at the ripe young age of twelve. All and all, I could already feel it was all about to go to Hades.
My mom swerved the car onto Great Russell Street and screeched to a halt in front of the museum's main gates, parking just a little away on the side of the street.
“Just follow my lead,” Julius told all of us. “When we meet the curator, act normal.”
If anything, based on his actions tonight, that was something Julius needed to be focusing on, not the rest of us. I decided that was an inside thought. Julius reached for the door handle, pushing the door only for it not to budge. My mom’s finger rested on the button to unlock the car.
“Don’t make me do something I regret, Julius.”
Her cousin stared at her blankly. “Never.”
My mom unlocked the car. We all climbed out, Sadie loudly whispering to Carter an annoyed, ‘Regret what?!’ as we marched towards the wrought iron gates after their father. As Julius continued on, my mom paused and looked back at all of us, pursing her lips and giving us her patented concerned mom look.
“Are you sure you don’t just want to stay in the car?”
“I’m not sure…” Carter trailed off, looking after his father before Sadie shoulder checked him and walked by.
“Stay out here in the cold if you want, but I’m not leaving without an explanation.”
Carter shrugged, following after her as she marched after their dad. My mom turned to me.
“Keep Riptide away, Percy.”
“Keep Riptide— what? Mom, what are we doing—”
“Pantheons don’t mix. Or, they shouldn’t. Remember that.”
In retrospect, I should have stayed out of the museum. Maybe I could have gone for a stroll and bought some ice cream, relaxed in the car and let my mom sort out her family drama. But something told me whatever waited for me inside that museum was going to find me eventually. That was one thing I’d figured out being a demigod. Life always found a way of showing up at your doorstep. So, despite the chill running up my spine, the sick feeling in my stomach, I watched my mother walk inside. And I followed her through the gates.