aphophis child

I. Death at the Needle

Look, if you're reading this. Then beware, Go to the school. Find the locker. I won't tell you which school or which locker, because if you're the right person, you'll find it. The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you'll know what those numbers mean.

I'm Mikah Lavigne, just a demigod from Camp halfblood, a few months back my bestest friend Percy disappeared. I got caught in this mess when Mr. Kane asked me for help.

The most important thing: when you open the package and find what's inside, don't keep it longer than a week. Sure, it'll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way I did for you. Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.

I guess it started in London, the night the man who asked me for blew up the British Museum. I'm currently 11 years old, and my life is a living hell.

I am not lying, I was four when I first killed a monster, five when I ran away, seven in The Lightning thief and eight in the sea of monsters, then nine in TTC, ten in BOTL and TLO, now I'm eleven. I've gone through a lot. Hey? Are you a demigod? Then you've probably seen me blowing things up, on accident. Ever gone to Yancy? Yeah I blew that up. I'm a missing person with the most twisted and brain twisting case ever.

I mean, I've blown up over 200 buildings on accident before I was ten, and this year I blew up 100. I learnt what I needed at camp, survival, archery, sword fighting, you get the jazz. Hey, you need help killing a seven foot scorpion? I'll kill it for you. A friend of mine took my friends Pegasus and made a prophecy, with me. Again! If feels weird talking to myself but I suppose it's worth it.

Anyways, it was a day when Julius asked me for help. It was odd. I met up with them as they just flown into Heathrow after a couple of delays. It was a drizzly, cold afternoon. The whole taxi ride into the city, Julius seemed kind of nervous. "Why am I here?" I asked, he did not reply. Carter and I exchanged looks.

Now,Julius is a big guy. You wouldn't think anything could make him nervous. He has dark brown skin like mine, piercing brown eyes, a bald head, and a goatee, so he looks like a buff evil scientist. That afternoon he wore his cashmere winter coat and his best brown suit, the one he used for public lectures. Usually he exudes so much confidence that he dominates any room he walks into, but sometimes—like that afternoon—I saw another side to him that I didn't really understand. He kept looking over his shoulder like we were being hunted.

"Dad?" Carter said as we were getting off the A-40. "What's wrong?"

"No sign of them," he muttered. Then he must've realized he'd spoken aloud, because he looked at hi, kind of startled. "Nothing, Carter. Everything's fine."

"Okay, cut the shit. Why am I here?" I asked. He pulled me aside and explained, but to build tension, I won't tell you.

Now Julius is a shit liar, so I knew he told the truth. We drove through the city center, heading east toward a flat. We passed the golden gates of Buckingham Palace, the big stone column in Trafalgar Square. London is a pretty cool place, but after you've traveled for so long, all cities start to blend together. Some campers say it must be cool, but it isn't. I've been to Rome 345 times, it's just boring.

"Who's flat?" I asked Carter.

"My grandparents, I'll say you're my friend. Say, how old are you? 15?"

"I'm 11." Carter stared at me like I was an insane person, I learnt to be rough from Clarisse.

These grandparents live in a housing development near Canary Wharf, right on the banks of the River Thames. The taxi let us off at the curb, and Julius asked the driver to wait.