Since I haven't updated in awhile, here is a long chapter! I'm going to put what happened previous to help you remember what has been going on.

After hearing about the prophecy, Mackenzie left camp to search for the goddess of fate and destiny. Nico was determined to help her with the journey so he came along. He decided it might help to get Mackenzie drunk so she would act slower or be dizzy like. That night, Mackenzie had a dream, which was really a memory, where she recalled the death of her brother and herself.

The scream tears out of my mouth.

As if they have a mind of their own, my limps go flying, jerking in every direction on impulse. My throat burns and I can't help the cry that seems to want to purge away every last memory.

"Mackenzie! Hey, now! Hey!" Nico grips my shoulders and shakes me back and forth, trying to bring me back to reality.

My eyes snap open and my lungs gasp for air. Sweat is pouring down my forehead, though I can't tell if it's from the burning sun or the nightmare.

Nico's face is filled with concern. He is leaning in so close to me, my first reaction is to jump back, which causes my head to whack against a tree stump.

He must've realized how close he was because his face turns a soft shade of red and he quickly steps back.

"Oh gods," I say, running my fingers through wet, tangled hair. My clothes are drenched as well and stick to my body.

"Look," Nico starts. He holds out his arms, palms up. "No cuts. No bruises."

"No cuts. No bruises." I repeat, my eyes searching every last inch of him for confirmation. When I see no signs of damage, I sigh in relief and lean against the tree. "What exactly happened?"

Yet again, I have no memory of the previous night. However, I know something was different. Never in my entire life have I dreamt. But now, I can vividly recall every last detail of the memory that haunted me.

"Well, you were drunk," He lets out a short laugh, which surprises me. I haven't heard him laugh before- it was a pleasant sound. "I'm surprised you don't have a hangover."

"I-I have a little headach," I admit. "but details, details."

"We're going to have to stock up on more drinks." The bottles from last night are crushed into shards on the grass. He kicks one. "It was defiantly a lot easier. You were so wobbly you couldn't even walk! It was like you were a zombie coming after me, all slow and stuff. You could still talk a-"

"What did I say?" I demand. Hopefully nothing about what I was dreaming... That's something personal. It's something Nico doesn't ever need to know.

"I don't know." He replies a little too quickly. "You kept on slurring, it was hard to understand."

I eye him suspiciously but decide not to ask anymore questions. My gaze settles on the peeking sun above the trees. "Any idea where we are?"

"Still in New York," He confirms. I nod and stand up. My legs are a little wobbly so Nico has to help me. It's not until we start heading through the thick trees when he asks the dreadful, "What were you dreaming of?"

At first I can't help it. I give him a nasty glare. "None of your buisness."

"We're suppose to be in this together," He reminds me. "If you had a vision or anything- you need to tell me. No secrets."

I raise an eyebrow. "No secrets, huh? Alright, Nico, go on. Tell me all about your past." Nico's mouth opens then closes. He doesn't respond and shoves his hands into his pockets, lips forming a tight white line. That's what I thought.

Some things just have to remain personal. Maybe Nico already knows I've killed myself, he probably found out when we first met. But I'm certain he doesn't know anything about my brother. My sweet, innocent, little brother, whom I killed.

My brother is proof, proof I can kill anyone without thinking even if I love them unconditionally. Every last bit of humanity I have disappears as soon as the sun dies out and the demons of the night are alive.

It scares me. It scares me so bad... I don't want to hurt Nico. He cares- he seems to be the only one that has ever took pity. I don't want to wake up one morning to see him laying there and my hands covered in his blood.

Ananke has to help me.

"The prophecy said to head East," I say after awhile of silence.

"Yeah, I remember. I really do believe we should rethink this plan of yours. It's dangerous. What if something really does happen to you? All of this would have been a waste."

"I know, I know," I say, pursing my lips. "The fates will only appear to those who are dying or about to die. The only logical way to summon them is for one of us to be on the verge of death, and that will not be you."

"The fates sometimes appear," He corrects. "Normally only to tragic heroes..." He pauses. "We need to be in the darkest part of the United States to have a more chance of them appearing. I think that would be Washington. You know, it rains a lot. People get depressed and meet their fate, destiny, ..." He trails off.

My eyebrows crinkle. "Washington could take days! That's completely on the other side of the country!"

Nico tilts his head to the side. "I can shad- eek!"

In his path, the air has turned to mist. In the fog, Percy's face was just forming. His eyes are narrowed in suspicion. "Where-?"

"Gah!" Nico waves his arms through the mist, making the fog disappear and leaving no trace of his friend back at Camp Half-Blood.

I blink. "What just happened?"

Nico huffs and looks around. "That was an iris message. They must be wondering where we are."

Iris message? "The goddess of rainbows?" I ask.

He nods in confirmation. "Yeah, it's a way for demigods to contact each other without the use of cellphones. We're going to have to look out, they might think something happened to the two of us."

"So if they appear..."

"Just walk through it or wave your hand through it. Anyway, like I was saying, I can shadow travel us. Like what I did when I took you out of the Fields." He is still looking around, making sure nobody is following us.

Oh that thing. I'm not much of a fan of this shadow traveling. Being a daughter of Nyx, I can see in the dark. However, when Nico traveled us out of the Fields, I couldn't see a thing. I'm not use to not being able to see.

"Okay, lets go then." I hold out my hand.

He eyes my hand and wraps his fingers around my wrist. "I won't be able to take us completely there. We'll go about half way."

Before I can respond, the familiar sensation pulls at the pit of my stomach and I'm thrown into a cold darkness...

There was something about that split second when shadows wrapped around us that made me feel uneasy. It didn't feel like last time; the darkness seemed to engulf me. Not just warp me into the unknown, but as if it was dragging me into the abyss of a pit where I should belong.

It's almost as if hands are pulling me by the ankles. Biting and trying to tear me away from my path. Stupidly, I give into the sensation.

"Stop!" I gasp, overwhelmed, feeling as if I'm tumbling down and down, my world flipping upside down.

All is suddenly still. My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. "Nico?" I call, realizing he is no longer holding onto my wrist. My voice echoes and I'm instantly aware I'm standing on the edge of a very deep drop.

I peer over the edge and see darkness. Not even my eyesight can see into the unknown. Although Nico is nowhere to be found, and I have no idea where I am, somehow I'm not afraid.

"My beautiful child."

The voice chills me to the bone. Slowly, I turn around.

Everyday I imagined her in my mind. What she may look like, how beautiful she might be... But every image is now crushed, replaced by the true perception of Nyx, the goddess that gave me life.

She is made of heavy fog, her eyes the blackest black, her dress rippling and darker than the hidden part of the moon.

"You're..."

"Yes. I'm your mother." She flashes me a smile. White teeth beam, seeming so out of place in the darkness.

I should me afraid, I should be very afraid. However, I'm more desperate. Disgustingly desperate. My hands clasp out in front of me. "Then you know about me! You can take this away- this this- evil thing that has happened to me! This curse!"

Nyx's eyes narrow. "Curse? No, no. It's a gift. A blessing only my children are granted. You should be thankful."

"A gift!" I practically yell. "All this 'gift' has brought me is pain! I've killed everyone I've ever knew! I killed my brother!"

Nyx waves her hand in the air. "He was a waste."

My mouth opens then closes as I try to organize my scattered thoughts. "Take it away! I don't want to live like this!"

Nyx slowly begins to walk towards me. I would take a step back, but I'd fall to my death. "As I recall," She begins, her voice soft and smooth. "You were dead. You didn't have to live like this anymore... Yet, here you are. Alive. Again. Breathing. How does that feel by the way? Fresh air, lungs, a heartbeat... You could have stayed dead. But you chose to live again. Why is that?"

Her question startles me. The noise in my head dies out instantly, leaving me in a blank state of mind.

"Selfishness," Nyx says, reading my mind. "Look, child. I will make a deal with you. I know you are traveling with the son of Hades. I took you while he was shadow traveling,"

That snaps me back to reality. "Where is he?" I demand.

Nyx raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Why do you care so much? It's quite rare for a child of mine to.. . Take a liking..."

When I don't respond, Nyx lets out a nervous chuckle. "Oh dear. Now this just got complicated."

"What are you talking about?"

She purses her fog lips. "Let me say this first: this deal, if you accept, ends with you living without my gift."

My heart quickens its pace in anticipation. "How? How! I'll do anything!"

"You only have to do one thing." She reaches her hand into the surrounding darkness and pulls out a silver dagger from thin air. It's beautiful and shiny, delicate and carries a dangerous aura. "Spill the blood of the son of Hades."

"What?" My eyes widen then narrow in confusion, caught completely off guard.

"Sacrifice him in the name of Night," She says, inching closer and closer.

"No!" I say. "No, I-I can't!"

"JUST DO IT YOU HAVE TO DO IT!" Her face twist up in fury. Then, in a split second, every trace of her outburst is gone. She puts back on a soft smile. "It's far too complex to explain the reasoning's... I need his blood. Only his blood. It must be done in four days time."

"I-I can't." My teeth gnaw on my bottom lip so badly, it draws blood.

"You will be free! No more hurting others! No more!"

"I'm already going to see Ananke." Nico is helping me. Why would I kill him?

"Ananke won't help you! I swear it! I know her, dear! And trust me, I foresee it, you will kill along the way if you continue this journey! Countless monster will be on your trail! You can stop it though! Oh boy, yes you can! All you have to do is spill his blood!"

She stops abruptly and holds loosely on the handle of the dagger. She speaks slowly, "right... here..." She traces the blade from the top of my throat to the middle of my stomach.

I push her away. "Stop it! I won't! I will never hurt Nico." Nyx gives me an evil glare. "Now send me back."

"Very well..." She tilts her head to the side. "Take this just in case." She puts the dagger in my hand then waves her arm in a circle motion before I can protest.

The sudden light blinds me and I fall onto my back. The dagger clatters out of my hand and onto the gravel road.

I dust off pieces of rock out from my knees just in time to see a panicked Nico running around the gas station across the street.

"Mack!" He was calling. "Mackenzie!" He still hasn't spotted me, so I call out a quick, "Hey!"

Relief fills his face and he comes running towards me. "I thought something happened! I thought you got lost along the way- I felt you slip as we were shadow traveling, so I stopped and you were gone!" He was out of breathe and breathing heavily.

"It's alright," I lie. "I'm not sure what happened." For some reason I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth.

My eyes catch a quick glance of the dagger on the ground and I mentally debate on whether I should pick it up or leave it. When he looks away, I quickly grab it and put it into my back pocket. Only for monsters... I'm only going to use it if something attacks us. Not on Nico. Never on Nico.

"I don't want to risk shadow traveling again," Nico says. "We're going to catch that train, it's heading east." He points down the tracks a few feet from us. In the distance, a train horn blows, the ground slightly shakes. "Get ready to jump on."

I nod, holding back a "ARE YOU CRAZY!". "How fast do you think it's coming?" It would be just my luck to miss my footing and be ran over by a stupid train.

"Fast. Get ready."

I try to focus on the incoming train. I try to focus as Nico makes the first move, jumping through the open door in the fourth car. I try to focus as my feet leave the ground and my body hits a hard surface a second later.

But the only thing on my mind is the dagger burning a hole through my back pocket...