Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕀t's home

Nicki and Annabeth didn't really seem to care about the tour.

Sure, they wanted to help Piper understand what world she'd been thrown into, but Percy's disappearance was beginning to drag on both girls' energy.

"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," Annabeth explained. "As you can see, the weather is controlled, too. Each cabin represents a Greek god – a place for that god's children to live."

"You're saying Mom was a goddess."

Nicki nodded, "You're taking this awfully calmly."

Piper took a shaky breath and Nicki placed an unsteady hand on her shoulder, "I guess after this morning, it's a little easier to believe. So who's my mom?"

"We should know soon," Nicki spoke quietly, "You're what – fifteen? Gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. That was the deal."

"The deal?"

"They made a promise last summer," Annabeth explained, "Well, long story... but they promised not to ignore their demigod children anymore, to claim them by the time they turn thirteen. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but you saw how fast Leo was claimed once he got here."

"Should happen for you soon," Nicki interjected, forcing a smile for the brunette. "Tonight at the campfire, I bet we'll get a sign."

"Why thirteen?" Piper asked as Annabeth smiled slightly at her best friend.

"The older you get," Annabeth said, "the more monsters notice you, try to kill you. 'Round thirteen is usually when it starts. That's why we send protectors into the schools to find you guys, get you to camp before it's too late."

"Like Coach Hedge?"

"He's – he was a satyr: half man, half goat. Satyrs work for the camp, finding demigods, protecting them, bringing them in when the time is right," Annabeth explained.

"From the very little I interacted with Hedge since uh-... he was always one of the more eccentric ones. And when I say eccentric, I mean he always yelled 'die!' and chased people around with his club." Nicki nodded slowly, reminiscing.

"What happened to him?" Piper asked. "When we went up into the clouds, did he... is he gone for good?"

Nicki coughed awkwardly, finding great interest in the floor.

"Hard to say." Annabeth's face held an expression of pain and Nicki refused to look up from the grass she was scuffing. "Storm spirits... difficult to battle. Even our best weapons, Celestial bronze, will pass right through them unless you can catch them by surprise."

"Jason's sword just turned them to dust."

Nicki bit her bottom lip, scratching her left forearm slyly. "He was lucky. If you hit a monster just right, you can dissolve them, which sends their essence back to Tartarus."

"Stop that." With a loud slap, Annabeth whacked her friend's hand away from her angry-looking scar. Piper's eyes widened as for a second she caught a glimpse of Nicki's arm. "No scratching."

"Tartarus?"

Annabeth and Nicki had a silent competition, weighing up which one of them had to explain Tartarus. Annabeth lost, finally looking away from Nicki's fiery green eyes that almost burned into her soul. "A huge abyss in the Underworld, where the worst monsters come from."

"A bottomless pit of evil," Nicki helpfully added.

"Thanks, Nic," Annabeth continued, "once monsters dissolve, it usually takes months, even years to re-form again. But since this storm spirit Dylan got away – well, I don't know why he'd keep Hedge alive. Hedge was a protector, though. He knew the risks. Satyrs don't have mortal souls. He'll be reincarnated as a tree or a flower or something."