There was a monster in Nico's closet again. He sighed in frustration as he heard the quiet scraping of claws against the flimsy wooden doors and the low growl that resonated in the dusty floorboards beneath his bare feet. It was bad enough that they seemed compelled to hunt down demigods such as himself, but did they really have to be so theatrical? Maybe it was some kind of sick joke that the creatures liked to play on unsuspecting children. After all, what parent would ever believe that their child's innocent nighttime fears actually had any basis to them?
It may have worked the first few times when he was younger, but he had learned by now. Sleeping on the floor denied them the novelty of hiding in the shadows under a bed. If they wanted to stick to stereotypes, that left them only one option.
The growling was growing louder now. Nico was sorely tempted to shush the thing as he went through his options. He could just rip to door open. That was always entertaining. While monsters could have many different faces and take on different forms, they showed a similar amount of shock in their eyes when they were unexpectedly confronted. It had always been great fun when Bianca handed him a knife and quietly crept over to place a hand on the doorknob, a finger over her playful smile when she suddenly yanked the door wide open to reveal whatever startled creature had dared to attack them in their home. It had been a game, an enjoyable pastime to distract them from their bigger troubles. Not that they could avoid them forever. Later events had been proof of that, but it had still been fun while it lasted.
Rolling his eyes at an even louder bout of growling, he pushed away his childhood memories and focused his attention on a shadowy corner to his right. It was only a small amount of darkness, a place where the light of the lamp he had placed on the other side of the room didn't quite reach. Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed it. However, he wasn't most people.
The shadows stirred, responding to his will. They twisted and stretched, reaching out to gently curl around his feet. While they moved into place, he reached under his shirt and carefully pulled out his sword. He had long ago gotten used to the feeling of cold steel against his skin, comforted by the thought of safety and security it provided. His weapon, his last gift from his sister, had saved him more times than he could count. It had also resulted in many small cuts along his torso, but that had taught him to be more cautious. Even when she wasn't here, Bianca still managed to hammer that message into his skull. Caution and awareness: only proceed when you knew what you were doing and had thought through your options. He had followed the rule. Now was the time to act. Gripping the handle tightly, he closed his eyes and fell into the awaiting grasp of the shadows beneath him.
Slipping through the inky blackness had always been a strange experience, but he was growing used to it. Shadows shifted and swirled around him, creating a disorienting and confusing world of darkness that seemed to want to swallow him whole and keep him there forever. The cool tendrils that brushed against him gently coaxed him to break his concentration and remain in a place that appeared to exist between reality and oblivion.
It used to terrify him. Being lost and alone, drifting around for all eternity, had been an image that had haunted him for much of his childhood. Even Bianca's reassurances had done little to console him. He supposed, at that time, it made sense. He hadn't mastered shadow traveling himself and had relied on Bianca's skills to transport him from one place to another. If he had ever let go of her hand, things could have ended very badly for him. Bianca had always told him that no one was quite sure what would happen if they got stuck in the shadows, but his imagination provided all the answers he could ever need. He didn't want to float through the endless void alone, forever doomed to simply exist in a world of darkness.
He was stronger now. The lingering fear would always whisper doubts somewhere in the back of his mind whenever he leapt into the shadows, but that just made him more cautious and alert. Even if the darkness shifted and moved of its own accord, he knew that he was in control as long as he remained focused. If he ignored any distractions and kept his desired location in mind, he was sure to make it there.
Silently returning to the world felt like surfacing from a cold pool. It may have been caused by his nerves, but shadow travel was usually accompanied with a tight feeling that made it harder to breath. However, he fought back the urge to gasp as his feet brushed against the edge of the shadows before him. Still partially submerged in darkness, he observed what he could of the monster that dared stalk him in his own home.
It was short, or possibly was staying low to the ground. It faced away from him, looking instead towards the door that supposedly stood in the way of the creature and its prey. Even though he couldn't see its face, he could see the long tail that twisted and thrashed to indicate the monster's agitation. The growling was clearer from his new vantage point than it had been before, allowing him to hear the quiet hissing that accompanied it.
A creature like this would have fuelled his worst nightmares when he was younger. His terrified screaming would have roused Bianca, who would have reminded him of the knife under his pillow and the sword that she kept next to her at all times. She would have told him not to be afraid because he was strong and she was there to fight with him. He would have gone back to sleep eventually, reassured by the fact that Bianca would always be there to keep him safe, that she would always fight to defend her little brother from the scary monsters in the night.
His mouth twisted into a smirk as he stepped out of the shadows, raising the dark blade silently over the unsuspecting creature's head. He was 11 years old, after all. He was no longer a timid little boy who was afraid of the monsters lurking in the dark. It was time the monsters learned to fear him.
