“Yeah, you’re definitely not from Earth. Everyone knows New York. It’s just…one of those facts of life.” She started walking again, deciding to embrace the weirdness rather than try to fight it. She needed to conserve her energy for the next time Novalight’s goons came knocking, because she had no doubt they would. At least she and Piers fit in better now that his Caesar outfit was out of sight.

She almost missed the belted robe. Piers pulled that look off like a champ. He’d kept his sword, stuffing it and the whole harness contraption under his jacket. The hilt poked up over his shoulder now. That was still a bit conspicuous, but hey, this was New York. Tons of weird stuff happened here.

The knot in Sophie’s stomach unraveled for the first time in days. Peace settled over her. Maybe it was wrong of her—she always figured she’d be more the I-am-woman-hear-me-roar type—but she was just happy not to be alone anymore. Piers seemed willing to help and didn’t appear to have anything else to do. She’d called in sick for the last week of school and run away from Pinebury to try to keep her family out of danger, but Sophie wasn’t used to being on her own, and she didn’t like it. Sure, she lived by herself, but that wasn’t the same as being alone. Especially at Christmas. It was almost as if Piers had been sent by the Powers That Be just when she needed him most.

The Greek gods are REAL.

Sophie shivered, a chill racing down her neck and spine. Suddenly, Aaron didn’t seem so crazy with his whole you’re-Heracleidae, contact-Athena message, and Piers might be the only thing that made sense. She had the glowing, ice-cold, apparently magical Shard of Olympus in her pocket. And by her side, she had a man who looked and acted as if he’d just popped straight out of antiquity, protecting her. What were the chances of that?

Don’t let Novalight get the Shard of Olympus. Too much power. Unstoppable.

Worry shuddered through her again. In Greek mythology, the gods were always watching, manipulating, and interfering. They were violent, remorseless, jealous, horrible, and hella-messed-up for the most part, but sometimes, they did surprisingly good things. Like Prometheus. He defied the gods, stealing fire from Mount Olympus and giving it to humans so that they could cook and keep warm with it. Sure, that brought down Pandora and her Box on humanity and got poor Prometheus chained to a rock in Tartarus, but his intentions were good.

Supposedly, Sophie’s ancestor Heracles freed Prometheus from his punishment, but she had a hard time believing it—and everything else. She thought the Titan was still there—if he and there even existed—chained up and getting his immortal liver pecked out by a giant eagle every day.