A/N: Hey there everyone. No, I didn't die some horrible death or anything like that. I just haven't written much as of late. This isn't as long as I would have liked it to be, but it worked out. And I didn't name it until AFTER I wrote it. ^.^ Well, enjoy!

2nd A/N: Okay, the reason why this chapter was SO LATE was because FF wasn't letting me update…otherwise you would have gotten this FOREVER ago. So…I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But all is fixed now, hopefully. So…yeah. Enjoy!

Stone Embrace

Chapter Nine: Out of Traffic and into the Frying Pan

"Finally! I swear, if we ever get stuck in traffic like that again, I'm walking." Nico di Angelo said, stepping out of the van for the last time. The others trailed behind him, stretching out sore legs and backs. Kyrra clasped her hands behind her and lifted until they were at about shoulder-length before dropping them down again, ignoring the look on the other's faces. She grinned and winked, grabbing her back and leaning against the side of the van, the picture of ease.

"So where to now?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. Argus was handing out the rest of the luggage, a hat covering his head, and the many eyes on his face. Kyrra knew that the Mist kept unsuspecting humans from seeing all of the unusual attributes of the Greek world, but how could it possibly hide all those eyes?

"You mean, you don't know? This is your quest you know; you're supposed to lead us." Annabeth said, lifting her blonde eyebrows in contempt. Kyrra stared at her for a long minute before shrugging her shoulders and drawing her lighter out of her pocket, flicking it on and off.

"This may be my quest, Miss Bossy, but that doesn't mean I know where to go. What was the prophecy again; maybe it'll ring a mystical bell." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the female. Out of all the other women at Camp Half-Blood, why did it have to be Annabeth? She thought she was so smart, just because her mother was Athena and she had some magical power to be smarter than everyone else, and a pain in the ass about it.

"You mean you don't remember? No wonder we're not getting anywhere, you take forever to decide simple things. You're quite frustrating, you know." Annabeth said, and it was Kyrra's turn to raise her brows, pushing off from the wall to approach the slightly shorter female.

"And you're a big pain in my ass that has a stick up yours. You don't like what I'm doing, fine. You lead the way, girlie. Perhaps you want to call you mother, go beg advice from her." Kyrra said her voice low and dark. Percy gave a cough then, and stepped in front of the two girls, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Come on, ladies. We don't need to fight." Dominic said, placing his own arm around Kyrra's waist. "At least, not unless you're going to mud wrestle. Then we could sell tickets." He finished with a grin, and Kyrra elbowed him hard in the side, wrenching away from his arm.

"You pervert. Should we just send you back now if all you're going to contribute is mad ideas that we don't need right now?" Alexander asked, joining the conversation. He slouched by Kyrra, completely at ease. She met his gaze and he winked at her.

"Whatever, Al. You're just as perverted as I am in that little mind of yours." Dominic muttered, his ears bright red in embarrassment.

"Enough, enough. We need to get going, so stop your arguing, shut up, and let's go." Nico said, finally stepping in. He held his hands out, palms up, and stepped into the middle of the circle. "You're acting like a bunch of spoiled kids. I am not listening to this the entire time, so unless you want me to hit the smite button or something, shut the fuck up."

The crowd watched Nico with wide eyes, falling silent. The Death God had stayed out of the bickering the whole time they were at camp and on the road, and for him to join in now was shocking. Kyrra began smiling, and soon she was bent over, having hysterics. The whole group stared at her like she was insane, until they too had their own set of laughter.

"I blame the car ride." Kyrra said as she hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulders.

"I blame Dominic." Alexander suggested, and everyone turned to look at the son of Hecate. Before nodding in agreement.

"Fine, you're all haters." Dominic muttered, and then went into the train station. The other campers watched him go until the double doors blocked his view, then they turned back into their circle, ignoring the stares the other traingoers gave them.

"I'll go catch up with him. I need to pick where we're going anyways, right? Anyway, he can't have gotten lost yet, could he?" Kyrra said.

"I'll come. You might get into another fight with some poor old woman or a man trying to hold the door open for you. You have a wild temper, do you know that?" Alexander asked. Kyrra flipped him off, huffing, as she walked into the huge train station, the small crowd inside causing her skin to itch.

"Eh, whatever. If you're playing with the big boys you have to get mean with the big boys, and that's what I did." Kyrra said flippantly, as if she was talking about someone else's life and not her own. She shoved through the double doors without seeing if Alexander was following her or not and began searching for train times. Dominic could look after himself, after all. He was a big boy.

"You're a hard piece of work, Kyrra. If you won't let anyone in, no one can help you." Alexander said, right at her side. He didn't make any move to touch her, and his head was turned to the side, his tone casual. They could have been talking about the fucking weather.

"I don't want help. I can handle things on my own, so keep your mouth shut about me." She replied, looking at the destinations. None of them fit right for the prophecy that she had ingrained in her head, despite Annabeth's complete lack of faith in her.

"Any of these spark a memory for you?" Alexander asked, a complete subject change. He seemed willing enough to drop it as much as Kyrra did. "We've got Georgia, Montana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Washington D.C, Washington State…" He began listing off any that he saw.

"Washington? Is there one for Seattle?" Kyrra asked, her eyes widening as she looked harder at the board.

"Sure. Leaves in about 2 hours." Alexander supplied, pointing. Kyrra frowned and licked her suddenly dry lips, nodding. Seattle made sense, the place she started. Her father started selling drugs there before landing in jail, and for all she knew he was still rotting in that old apartment they used to live in. "Is that where we need to go?"

Kyrra nodded and turned away. She didn't want to ponder too long on about what was waiting for her in Seattle any more than she wanted to talk about her past. The location was set, now all they needed to do was find Dominic and the others. She began scouring the crowd for any hint of either the lone Hecate boy or the group of other campers, but none seemed to be in sight.

"Do you have a cell phone? We could always call them." She asked the quiet Shadow God, looking up at him. He met her gaze with amusement and shook his head.

"It's not really safe for us to have them. It basically lights us up like a beacon and draws any monster close. It's not something we want while you're still a rookie, you know." Alexander explained, and she rolled her eyes.

"Really? I'm not some poor little girl who doesn't know how to handle herself. I can damn well keep myself out of trouble and you should know this by now. I'm not just acting tough, you know." Kyrra railed, and then stopped abruptly when she saw Dominic waving them over. She smiled and waved back, until she noticed that he didn't look friendly. No, he looked almost afraid.

They hurried over to the waving male, who pointed down the hall. The others were there, fighting off a…giant lion? Kyrra turned to look at the two boys questioningly.

"That's the Nemean Lion. It's impervious except for its mouth and its claws, which can cut its own hide. Other than that, we're S.O.L. None of us are archers, so we'll have to get up close and personal with it." Dominic quickly explained. He closed his eyes and produced a pendant on a leather throng around his neck, a clay disk imprinted with symbols.

"I can shoot." Kyrra reminded him, touching the twin charms on her bag to turn them into their bow and quiver form. The quiver replaced her bag with on her shoulder while the bow she kept in a loose grip. Her eyes never left the lion as she talked.

"Do you think you can hit its mouth without shooting one of us in the process?" Alexander asked all business now. He drew from his pack a wicked looking dagger that had blades on either side with the handle in the middle, made of Stygian Iron. Kyrra eyed it hungrily before nodding. She did love a good weapon.

"I think I could. It might be tricky, but…you get it to open its mouth, I'll try." Kyrra answered, her senses immediately going battle-ready. Percy had once explained to her that her compulsive twitching was actually her acute senses always ready for battle. At times it was just plain annoying, like in class, but right now Kyrra sent a little thank you to the gods. They'd saved her life multiple times.

"Just shoot if you get an opening." Dominic called, already racing to join the fray, Alexander charging after him. Kyrra chuckled darkly and followed, eager. The monsters at the camp weren't a real threat, not like the lion. She could actually die from getting chomped in its massive jaws, and that almost excited her. What was fun without danger?

Percy and Nico had it distracted, using a stab and retreat method with their longer weapons while Annabeth with her knife would get in close and try to pierce its maw. Kyrra watched with roiled excitement, her limbs loose, as Alexander charged in, dealing a heavy blow with the tip of his special dagger, dragging it down the beast's flank with a loud screeching noise. The beast whirled around in fury and swept a mighty paw, knocking the teenager back.

Dominic interfered then, rubbing the disk and muttering something under his breath. A green glowing bubble circled Alexander as the lion tried to slash him up with his claws, the attack bouncing off harmlessly.

Nico and Percy drew its attention back to them, blades flashing as they tried piercing its hindquarters. Spinning around once more the lion lunged, actually jumping over the two men and moving closer to Annabeth. She paled but brandished her knife, ready to jump into the battle.

Being good at close-quarters, knives weren't the best to fend off a huge Greek monster. Without really concentrating Kyrra had an arrow notched and loose, clanging off the great beast's side. It turned angry amber eyes to her before slinking down, belly low to the ground. It meant to charge her, or spring at her and rip me to shreds.

It meant to pounce. The lion was suddenly up in the air and sailing over the others, landing directly in front of Kyrra. It gave an angry growl, and she was suddenly looking directly into its unarmored pink maw, teeth glinting angrily in the lights.

A/N:Yay! Cliffhangers, a writer's best friend. I hope you enjoyed it! I have a special prize for you guys, now. Every two weeks I'll add a chapter, but on one condition. I'll only do that IF I can get ten reviews on this story. That's right, ten new reviews and you'll get chapters at regular intervals! Is it worth it?