( chapter thirty-four )

in which life kicks their asses. . . yet again
( i'm starting to see a pattern here. . . )

COMPARED TO MOUNT OLYMPUS, MANHATTAN WAS QUIET. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Nia, Naomi, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover at the Empire State Building and ferried them back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted. 

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Nia half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for them.

But she wasn't. Thalia Grace was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure. 

Chiron greeted them all at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. To placate her friends, Nia got her cut from Atlas checked out by Chiron. Like Nia had predicted, the cut was just a long slash, but Chiron still made her sit and relax for a bit after giving her an ambrosia square.

Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about the strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was. 

Nia and her friends sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers -- Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news." 

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!" 

Annabeth smiled at Percy gratefully and Nia looked away.

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

Nia's head whipped in Percy's direction. "Wait, what?"

Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?" 

Percy told them all about how Poseidon had told him that the Princess Andromeda was sailing from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos. Long story short -- Luke was wounded; he would retreat and regroup before making another attack and was making alliances with Poseidon's enemies, the older spirits of the ocean, who would fight to protect Luke.

"Well, that's not good," Nia mumbled once Percy was done.

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out." 

Nia had a sinking feeling that when her best friend said "figure something out," she meant "get Luke to change his ways," which made Nia clench her fists. Luke deserved nothing from Annabeth, much less her sympathy and hope.

But at this point, with Annabeth's insistence on defending Luke... It was starting to make Nia more than a little mad, more than she cared to admit. She had tolerated it at first because Luke had been their hero and guardian and Annabeth was her best friend -- her first friend -- but now it was just crazy. Luke had treated her, Thalia, and Annabeth with so much disrespect and contempt. He wasn't the same hero who had taken them both in and protected them anymore. How could Annabeth sit there and even think of forgiving him? How in the name of the gods -- after everything that Luke had done -- could Annabeth still want to give him another chance?

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. Well... Nia supposed that Chiron was really old, but he usually didn't look it.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Percy asked. "Why would he care about camp?" 

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but--"

 There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold. He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... Where's my sister?" 

Dead silence. 

Nia glanced around the room -- no one had told Nico yet. And then she realized why. They'd been waiting for Nia and her friends to get back, to tell Nico in person. 

Now, telling Nico that his sister had died was the last thing Nia wanted to do. She knew that she owed it to Bianca, but...

As if he knew what she was thinking, Percy waved Nia down before she could say anything. Nia sighed with relief and guilt. Even if it made Nia feel like a coward, she knew that if she told Nico what had happened to Bianca, especially after Zoë, she would start crying, and that would not be the best thing to do in front of a kid who had just found out that his sister was dead. She could just picture Nico yelling, "You didn't protect her!"

She couldn't do it.

"Uh... Hey, Nico..." Naomi bit her lip, walking towards him.

Percy got up from his chair. "Let's take a walk, OK? We need to talk."

NIA WAS STARSTRUCK.

It turned out that Nico was a son of Hades. Now there were three Big Three children that the prophecy could be about: Percy Jackson, Naomi Bowie, and, the newest member of the club, Nico di Angelo.

But as soon as the children of Poseidon had broken the news about Bianca to Nico, he had run away, risen skeletons from the dead -- everything that a child of Hades would do.

Nia, Annabeth, and Grover helped Percy and Naomi search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.

"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said, out of breath.

"No," Percy immediately said.

Everyone stared at him.

Naomi spoke first: "Wait, what?"

"Um," said Grover nervously, "what do you mean... no?"

"We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a--" 

"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!" 

"I don't think so," Percy said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath." 

Nia looked at Percy like he'd lost his mind. "What?"

"He's their dad," Percy said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II."

"The Lotus Casino!" Grover said, and he told Annabeth and Naomi about the conversations we'd had with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made."

"But how did they get out?" Annabeth protested. 

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out--" 

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said, catching on. "And that's the last thing we need."

"But, Percy," Naomi said, chewing on her lower lip, "Chiron isn't the easiest person to lie to. You know that."

Grover looked worried. "Besides, you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever." 

"I don't need forever," Percy said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen." 

Nia visibly paled. "But, Percy, this means that the prophecy might not be about you or Naomi. It might be about Nico. We've got to--" 

"No," Percy said again, looking straight at Nia.

Naomi looked at Percy with worried eyes. "Percy, what are you talking about?"

"I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."

"What?" Nia cried. In no way did she want Naomi or Nico to have the prophecy be about them, but she didn't want it to be Percy even more. "Why would you choose the prophecy? Why are you saying this? You want to be responsible for the whole world?"

Percy looked Nia dead in the eye. "I can't let Nico be in any more danger. I owe that much to his sister. I... I let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer anymore." 

"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Grover reminded him.

Naomi gave Grover a look. "Grove, not the time!"

"Maybe we can find him," Percy said. "We can convince him it's okay, hide him someplace safe." 

Annabeth shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him--" 

"Luke won't," said Percy determinedly. "I'm older than Nico, and you, Nomi. I'll make sure Luke's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."

NIA DIDN'T THINK THAT CHIRON believed the story they told him about Nico. She was sure that Chiron could tell they were holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it. Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear. 

"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army." 

"You really think the first attack will be here?" Percy asked the centaur. 

Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. Nia could see smoke from the dragon guardian at the pine tree, the glitter of the distant Fleece.

"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. This winter will be hard... the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you both go home to the city, Percy, Naomi; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will both need rest."

"You two gonna be alright?" Nia asked Naomi and Percy.

Naomi shrugged. "Yeah. After all, we've gotta relax while we still can. What about you?"

Nia had already told everyone that she was finally going to see her mother again after seven years. Chiron had been incredibly happy for her and that was more than Nia could ever expect from her father figure.

"Yeah," Nia nodded. "I'll be fine." And she meant it.

Percy looked over at Annabeth. "What about you?"

The daughter of Athena sighed. "I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else." 

"You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?" Nia asked, hugging her friend.

Annabeth nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need time to regain his strength." 

"All right," Percy said. "Just take care of yourself. And no crazy stunts in the Sopwith Camel." 

Annabeth smiled. "Deal."

Nia grinned. "Guess we're all going home this year."

Suddenly, Grover, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a ghost. 

"Grover?" Naomi knit her eyebrows. "What's going--"

"He spoke!" Grover cried. 

"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?" 

"I... I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!" 

"Who?" Annabeth demanded. 

"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to... I have to find a suitcase." 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Nia said, holding up hands to try and calm Grover down. "Chillax, Grover. What about Pan?"

"What did he say?" Percy asked him.

Grover stared at them all. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you'."

finally, as promised, the next update. and because i love you guys so, so much, i am also going to update the last chapter right after this one.

now a bit of info on what's next:

after chapter thirty-five, we have the epilogue, I'll make some edits, publish some bonus chapters, then make our way to the next book in the 'heroes universe'!

talk soon!

—icedcoffeemug