The walk through Charleston was quiet, too quiet for three teenagers who had just met a goddess. Lucas led, hands in his pockets, eyes shifting over the crowds, but his focus was inward, on his thoughts. Ethan and Annabeth walked behind him, gazes stuck on the pavement.
He activated his True Veil Sight, looking at their emotions, and saw what they were feeling.
For Ethan, it was insecurity and doubt; he always wanted to prove himself, especially to his mother. But when he met Aphrodite, he was not only overlooked but also consumed by her charm. It made him second-guess himself: if he truly was suited for this kind of life, or instead, should he focus on attempting to fit into the mortal world and fade into that life?
Annabeth's spirit flickered between wounded pride and guilt. Like Ethan, she always wanted to prove herself. Prove she was above the blonde stereotype, above the jealousy of looks, and worst of all was the growing guilt of hiding information from Lucas about his father.
Lucas looked over the chaotic emotions they had and stopped walking."
"We need to talk."
They both looked up, "It's obvious we need to air some things out; otherwise, it may become a roadblock for this quest."
They reluctantly agreed, settling down on a small hill in the park, and listened as Lucas tried to comfort them. Although he wasn't a professional, his ability to sense their emotions helped in improving their spirits.
With that slight delay, they got up and made their way to where the ferry was docked.
The ferry to Fort Sumter was short and uneventful. Tourists had long left for the evening, leaving only wind and gulls and the scent of salt as company on the sail over to the fort.
As they approached, they felt the magnificence that was Fort Sumter looming over them. An imposing pentagonal structure rising fifty feet from the choppy waters of Charleston. Thick brick walls with rounded battlements, gun emplacements painted across the walls, even at its current age, it radiated military deterrence.
The ferry brought them around the island, which housed the fort, allowing them a picturesque tour before it moved to its backside. There, the ferry docked at a small dock, and the captain waved them off with a nod as they walked ashore.
The fort sprawled across roughly two acres, its interior filled with arches and alcoves designed for warfare. With such a large area to cover, they agreed to split up and look for clues. They believed there shouldn't be much danger, as they were the only ones in the fort.
Lucas studied the towering walls, noting the three distinct tiers of gun emplacements. The lower two tiers consisted of arched gunrooms, now empty and filled with shadows. The upper tier, exposed to the salty breeze, had once held mortars and heavy guns, but now its battlements were crumbling.
He looked all over the gun emplacements, using some light magic to push back the shadows to allow a thorough search, but in the hour he spent searching, he found nothing. Then he heard a loud shriek of terror.
He recognised that voice.
Annabeth.
He stopped what he was doing and ran towards the sound, spotting Ethan leaving the ivy-covered barracks and sprinting towards the sound too. They soon crossed the fort and reached the officers' quarters, where the door was locked from the inside. Without hesitating, Lucas summoned an explosive fireball, destroying the door and sending it off its hinges.
Both he and Ethan raced into the room, their weapons drawn. Lucas reached her first, kneeling by her side.
"Annabeth!" Lucas's voice echoed, urgent and worried. She was shivering in fear and clutching a roll of parchment.
"I'm - I'm okay," she gasped, trying to gather her composure. However, her voice cracked, telling him she was masking the terror she still felt. Lucas's arm went around her, steadying her.
"You're safe now," he assured softly.
He looked to Ethan, who shook his head, indicating there was no danger. No signs of anything that could have caused Annabeth to become like this.
Understanding it was better to leave the room and talk elsewhere, he helped Annabeth stand as they walked outside, letting Annabeth sit atop a collapsed wall. They gave her some time to recover before Lucas asked what had happened.
...
With the three of them splitting up to cover more ground, Annabeth decided to head towards the incomplete officer's quarters, believing it to be a likely place to hide things. She searched through the quarters carefully, tapping on the walls for any loose bricks or tapping on the floor for any hidden stashes. She saw Lucas and Ethan outside going about their clues, but in their time searching, nothing was found.
Thinking of the task, she reached into her pocket, pulling out the coin and tracing its etchings with her fingers. She felt it heat up slightly, not enough to burn her, but enough to warrant thought. That's when the wall in front of her lit up with a symbol matching the coin - an owl with an olive branch. A brick at the centre flashed in a silver light, encouraging her to remove it and freeing what seemed to be a scroll from the hidden hole.
But just as she removed the scroll and picked up the brick to cover the hole, spiders erupted from within. Pouring from the hole and spreading everywhere. Hundreds of them - small and dark, skittering closer, forming a tightening circle around her feet as she screamed.
That scream seemed to take what little energy she had left, and in her fear, she sank to her knees, eyes wide and unblinking.
But just as the spiders drew within inches of her trembling fingers, the Mark on the wall flared to life, a silver-blue flame flew outward, scorching every spider to ash that was picked up by the wind and disappeared, along with the mark. It was then that she heard a loud bang as the door was ripped from its hinges, and Lucas and Ethan stormed in.
...
With the explanation out of the way, Annabeth worked up the courage to explain why she felt such fear of spiders. She stared numbly at the floor.
"This has been happening since I was little. When I was young, spiders would suddenly appear and crawl into my bed and bite me. And when I screamed, they would disappear. I tried going to my father, but he never believed me, as there were never any signs of there being spiders to be discovered. My stepmother called me a freak, believing I was making everything up for attention, and the wounds were self-inflicted. She kept her two children away from me and encouraged my dad to lock me away so as not to scare them."
Her voice fractured into a whisper. "Eventually, I had had enough, so I ran away. That's when I met you, Luke, and Thalia."
Lucas hugged her, letting her lean into his shoulder. "Listen to me, Annabeth. You're not alone anymore. Whatever they made you feel, it's over. We're your family. Nothing changes that."
Ethan knelt awkwardly beside them. After a moment, he gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Annabeth nodded slowly, releasing the breath she'd been holding, but clenching the hand that held the parchment. Wiping her tears, Annabeth opened the scroll, allowing them to see it was a map, with a trail leading from Fort Sumter to Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople; just as Aphrodite had told them.