I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. There was nothing but inky darkness swirling around me. I stumbled around blindly and tried to find something to hold on to. I could feel soft dirt beneath my feet, but I still had no idea where I was or how I had gotten here. A second ago I had been on the train with Nico and Oliver. Panic rose up in my throat and I suddenly felt sick. I had to find them.

Before I had taken one step, lighting flashed and illuminated my surroundings. A clown with dark, dead eyes smiled down at me. I screamed and fell backwards, covering my face from any attacks that would come. But nothing happened. Everything stayed eerily quiet. I couldn't hear the wind that lashed at my face. I couldn't hear the sound of booming thunder that I knew should follow the lighting.

I dug my fingers into the earth. I needed to feel something real and firm. I needed some sense of logic to hold onto in this crazy place. Lighting burst open the cloud of darkness and revealed the clown again. I flinched backwards, but took in as much of the clown as I could see in a split second. Relief filled me as I realized that it was just a painting of a clown on a huge billboard. Even though the thick blackness had returned and I was blind, the image was burned into my mind. Its painted skin was peeling off of the wooden sign and its eyes had completely faded away, leaving gaping black holes of decaying wood. The clown's smile was wide and blood red and it held its arms in a welcoming gesture. Whether it was welcoming me inside the amusement park or welcoming me to my death, I was uncertain.

I tried to force the creepy image out of my head, but I couldn't. I thought of rainbows, but the clown's murderous grin only seeped over the picture. I even tried singing the My Little Pony theme song in my head! But no matter what I tried thinking about, the clown's face was always lurking just underneath the surface.

I just need to find Nico. I thought to myself as I stood up. He'll know what to do. Before I could even think of where to look for him, light illuminated the clown once more. Only this time my eyes lingered on the rest of the billboard. The flash of lighting revealed an arrangement of faded letters. Most of it was faded and there were too many letters for me to read all of them. But I did have enough time to catch the word Jazzland.

Okay. Creepy. I'm gonna go now. I turned around and ran. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had to get out of here. My legs started to get really tired really quickly. Soon they were so heavy I struggled to lift them up. Finally I slowed down to a stop. My breathing was the only thing that filled the heavy air.

But then I heard something. It was a strange, deep noise. It was echoing around me as if it were bouncing off of sheer darkness and resounding over and over in my ears. It was soft at first and it fell on my ears like snow would fall on my tongue. But then grew in volume and began to strike my ears with such force that I had to cover them. Even then, the rich, mocking sound pierced my eardrums and filled my mind. With a jolt I realized that this noise was laughter. Twisted, scornful laughter. And then I realized that Erebos was the one laughing.

I could feel my sanity slipping away as his maniac laughter coursed through my mind. Just when I thought it would never end, the laughter stopped abruptly and unnaturally. It didn't fade out like a normal echo. It stopped all at once as if he had sucked it all back inside his mouth.

And then he spoke. Even with my hands tightly covering my ears, I could hear him crystal clear.

Day will be devoured. His voice seemed to come from every direction and, unlike his laugh, it didn't echo off of the darkness. It was the darkness. His words seeped through my brain like black poison. I squeezed my eyes closed and tried not to listen, but there was no way I could ignore him. He whispered the same words over and over: Day will be devoured. His dark murmurs grew louder and angrier. He hissed the words, he growled the words. He screamed the words into my aching ears.

Suddenly he stopped, as if he needed to catch his breath. Or maybe he wanted to give me a false sense of security. I didn't trust him so I didn't lower my hands or open my eyes. I held my breath and waited for something to happen.

I felt his next words before he spoke. His breath slithered into my thoughts like a snake, but also like a shadow. He coiled around the desperate words in my head. The ones that said He's only messing with you and This isn't real. His shadow snake opened its mouth, bared its dripping fangs, and struck. I screamed as Erebos' venomous words seeped into me.

Darkness will reign.

I thrashed and kicked, but someone was holding me down. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see light, even if it was artificial. I looked up at my captors and gasped when I saw Nico and Oliver. I immediately stopped struggling.

"What's going on?" I asked them groggily. They glanced at each other nervously, but released me. I sat up in my seat and looked around. We were still on the train. I hadn't really talked to Erebos. It was just a dream. Just a super realistic dream.

Yeah, well "just a dream" turned out to be a prophecy. I reminded myself. I pulled myself out of my thoughts and realized how cold I was. I shivered and looked at Nico. He was sitting in his chair with his arms folded. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual and his eyes glinted like cold steel. He looked grumpy and I wondered if he got any sleep at all. "What did I do?" I asked quietly.

"You started screaming and almost got us kicked off the train." Nico snapped. I could tell that as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. His eyes softened and filled with regret and he looked even more tired. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe and apology, but I looked away. I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to hug some warmth into my body.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "It was just another Erebos dream." Oliver shot up in his seat.

"What? Why didn't you say so!?" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Tell us what happened."

So I told Oliver and Nico everything I had seen in my dream. I told them about how dark it was, about the creepy clown, the word Jazzland, and finally what Erebos had said. By the end of my talk Nico was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Day will be devoured…" He murmured. He stared off into the distance as he arranged his thoughts. "Do you think he is literally going to eat Hemera?" He asked finally. I raised my eyebrows and scrunched my nose.

"Why on earth would he do that?" I asked, officially grossed out. Nico only shrugged.

"It's kind of popular with the gods. They just eat whoever is bothering them. I mean, Kronos ate his kids and Zeus ate one of his wives so it wouldn't be a big surprise if Erebos ate Hemera." I just stared at Nico like he had grown an extra head.

"Okay," I said, a little concerned about his sanity (and that of the gods). "Let's keep thinking, but we'll definitely come back to that." I turned to Oliver who had pulled out his laptop and was researching Jazzland.

"Have you found anything?" I asked while I peeked over his shoulder at the screen. He was reading an article about Six Flags New Orleans. "Why are you reading that? What does that have to do with my dream?" I was kind of frustrated that neither of them were presenting evident ideas or information.

"No, no." Oliver said as he shook his head. "This is Jazzland. It's an amusement park that was originally called Jazzland, but changed to Six Flags. It's located in New Orleans." The gears started turning in my head and everything started falling into place.

"What are you thinking?" Nico asked. He had a ghost of a smile on his lips and I knew that he also connected the dots.

"Well," I began. "Chiron said that my dreams are… prophecies. And he said to watch carefully to see any clues about where Erebos is…" I trailed off, hoping that Nico or Oliver would understand where I was going with this.

"And you think he's at Jazzland." Nico concluded. I nodded.

"Exactly." Oliver's eyes lit up and he grinned.

"That's brilliant!" He exclaimed. "It makes perfect sense, too! In every dream you've had it has taken place in a carnival or amusement park, so he must be at Jazzland." I smiled and was relieved that they both believed me and didn't think I was an idiot.

"So," I said, clasping my hands together. "After we find Hemera, we go to New Orleans!" Nico leaned back in his chair and looked pleased that we finally had a plan. "Speaking of Hemera, how much longer until we get to Sunrise?" Oliver was still engrossed in his laptop screen when he replied.

"Not much longer. Maybe a half an hour." I smiled. I felt so much better about the quest now that we had a full, rough plan. I sighed contently and leaned back in my chair, propping my feet up on Nico's lap. He immediately shoved them off.

"Gross!" He yelled, but he failed to hide his smile in his voice. "These are new pants!" I raised my eyebrows as I examined his ripped, faded, stained black skinny jeans.

"Yeah, I can see that." I said sarcastically. Nico glanced at Oliver, but he was still wrapped up in whatever he was reading about Jazzland. Once he knew that Oliver wasn't watching him, he gave me a huge grin. The same grin that reminded me of a nine year-old. The same grin that made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. I smiled back and was once again sucked into his eyes. I tried to look away, but it was impossible. The longer we gazed at each other, the more I thought about my feelings for him. What were we? I was absolutely certain that I liked him, but how much did Nico like me? I was fairly sure that he liked me, I mean, why else would we be staring into each other's eyes?

Speaking of Nico's eyes, there was something in them that I hadn't noticed before. It wasn't the flecks of gold, or the way they angled up at the corners. There was a certain shine in them that wasn't there the last time I looked. What is it that people say? Eyes are the window to the soul? If that's true then Nico's eyes were showing what he truly felt, deep down. He was making himself vulnerable for me.

But what is it? What is he trying to tell me? I thought desperately. I looked hard into his eyes, searching the chocolate voids for an answer; searching for the emotion that he was trying to convey. Then it struck me; it was affection. The realization hit me so hard that it took my breath away. The smile slid off my face in shock. Nico only gazed at me more intently, and more seriously. I fought to regain my breath, but it was no use. Nico had a way with his eyes that made it impossible for me to catch my breath. My heart started to pound, and for once I didn't care if he heard it.

"James." Both Nico and I jumped at Oliver's loud voice. I wrenched my eyes away from Nico's and looked at Oliver. His laptop was put away and his cheeks were red.

"What?" I asked.

"Oliver James Pafford, in case you were looking for baby names." He cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced at his hands which were folded in his lap. Then I realized that he had been watching Nico and I. Heat crawled up my neck and colored my cheeks. Even through my embarrassment I felt bad for him. It must have been so weird and he probably felt like a third wheel. I didn't really know what to say to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Stefano." Nico said quietly. I looked over at him to see that his face was also red. I was so relieved and thankful that he had broken the silence. Oliver looked up at him as well. "It was my grandfather's name on my mother's side." I was surprised that he had talked about his family in front of Oliver. After all, it was a super touchy topic with him. I smiled and pride swelled in my chest.

"Nico Stefano di Angelo." I said, still grinning. "I like it." Nico looked up at me and shyly returned my smile.

"What about you?" Oliver said as he turned to me. He looked like he had already forgotten about the previous awkward situation.

"Oh, I don't have a middle name. Thank the gods!" Nico looked at me quizzically.

"Why is that a good thing?" He asked.

"Because my dad would have picked it out. He chose to call me Juliet and I think that is flashy enough of a name, there's no need for a horrible middle name as well." Nico laughed and my heart did a backflip.

"I like your name." He said simply. Once again, the butterflies in my stomach erupted. Sometimes I wonder if he knows what he does to me. Just then the train began to slow down until it screeched to a stop. I glanced out the window and saw the train station.

"We're here!" I shouted and jumped out of my seat. Nico and Oliver stood up as well and we all grabbed out bags. I double checked that my mace was strapped to my belt before we walked off the train. It was still very dark outside and the moon was high in the sky.

"Hey, Oliver. What time is it?" I asked. He glanced down at his watch.

"3:12 A.M." I groaned.

"Well, now what? We can't really do anything until daytime." Nico shrugged and Oliver stared ahead, deep in thought. For a moment we all just stood there, wondering what to do next. Then Oliver's stomach growled. We all glanced at each other and set off into town on the mutual agreement to find food.

Not many shops were open, but we settled for a small café called "Sunrise Café – open 24 hrs". The bell on the door tinkled as Nico pushed it open. It was really small, but kind of cozy. We were the only people there other than the waitress and a grumpy old man reading a newspaper. We pushed two of the tables together so that we would have room for all of us to sit down. I pulled a chair up next to Nico and squirmed in the uncomfortable wooden seat.

The waitress came out with three menus and set them before us. I noticed that the menu she gave Nico had a piece of paper sticking out of it. With a wink, she turned around and walked back to the kitchen. I could hear the clicking of her heels even when the door closed. I opened the menu but looked at Nico out of the corner of me eye. The piece of paper fluttered onto his lap and he picked it up. When he opened it I could see the waitress's phone number through the back of the paper. Jealousy burned in the pit of my stomach and I clenched my menu tighter. Nico face flushed pink when he realized what he was holding and he glanced at me. I quickly looked away, but I could hear him crumple the phone number and throw it to the floor. I fought to hide my smile, but I couldn't. Instead I buried my face in my menu and stared at the eggs benedict.

When the waitress returned to take our orders I glared at her the entire time. Nico pretty much ignored her, other than when he ordered a blueberry muffin and strawberry milk. I was surprised that he didn't order more, but then again he never ate much. Oliver got an omelet with hash browns and I ordered eggs benedict with a large glass of orange juice.

When the waitress –whose name was Kelly, according to her name tag- realized that Nico wasn't interested in her she pouted and retreated back to the kitchen. We ate in silence and chewed slowly to waste as much time as we could. By the time we were done it was 4:20 in the morning. We wiped our mouths with our napkins – one of which had Kelly's phone number on it, again- and paid the bill. I was glad to hear the bell ring as the door closed behind us.

"So," I said as we strolled down the empty street. "What now?" Nico shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, but Oliver had an idea.

"Well, we don't know where Hemera is but we do know that she is associated with daylight and sunrises. We could look around for shops with 'Sunrise' or 'Day' in their titles. Maybe she owns one of them." None of us had any better ideas, so we started looking for shops with special titles. We found one just around the corner: "Sunrise: Bath & Body". Nico was more than a little hesitant to enter.

"I don't want to smell like roses." He said after refusing to enter. "I like my manly musk!"

So do I, I thought to myself. "We still have to go in!" I said out loud. Nico groaned, but followed Oliver and I anyways. As soon as we stepped inside I was hit by a mixture of strawberries, vanilla, and new car smell. I immediately got a headache and heard Nico make a strangled noise. Lotions and perfumes lined the walls and shelves.

Oliver and Nico weren't too eager to continue forward, but I dragged them along behind me to the counter in the front. There was a young woman behind it who was wearing way too much makeup. For a moment I wondered what her real face looked like.

"Uh… hi." I said. I wasn't really sure what to say, so I just got straight to the point. "Are you Hemera?" I heard Nico fake cough behind me. I figured that probably wasn't the best thing to have said.

"Sorry, doll. I think you've got the wrong shop."

"Well, do you know where we can find her?" I pressed. The woman pursed her ruby red lips.

"Sorry, sugar. Never heard of her."

"Oh, well… thanks." I gave her an awkward smile before turning and walking quickly back out the door. We all took a deep breath of fresh air and continued down the sidewalk.

"Nice bold strategy, Juliet." Nico said sarcastically.

"Well at least I was doing something." I retorted. Oliver interrupted our bickering by pointing out another store: "Sunrise Inn". This time Nico and Oliver weren't so adamant about staying behind. All three of us walked up to the front desk where Oliver took the lead.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a Miss Hemera staying in one of your rooms?" He asked politely. The man behind the desk grinned, but it was humorless and almost looked menacing.

"My apologies, I can't give away any guest information. Especially not to…" His eyes lingered on Nico. "Juvenile delinquents." He sneered and for a second I actually considered punching him. Then Nico grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the inn.

"Well, he was a jerk." I said as soon as the door closed behind us.

"Yup." Nico said simply.

"Um, guys?" Oliver asked timidly. He was wringing his hands nervously. "I think there might be a problem."

"Other than the fact that no one knows where Hemera is?" I said sarcastically.

"No, look." Oliver pointed to the street we had just turned onto.

"What are you…?" I trailed off when I noticed the names of all the buildings. Sunrise: Bed and Breakfast, Sunrise Antiques, Sunrise Groceries.

"All of them say Sunrise." I said quietly. "How are we going to know which one Hemera is in?"

"That's the problem." Oliver said sadly. Nico rubbed his eyes tiredly and leaned against the wall of one of the buildings. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He looked really tired and a lot older than usual. I walked over to him and relaxed against the wall next to him. Oliver paced up and down the sidewalk, mumbling to himself. The sun was finally beginning to peek over the horizon and streak the sky with soft yellows and pinks.

"This isn't how I thought it was going to be." I confessed quietly. Nico opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Neither did I." he replied. "I thought there would be more monsters." I laughed softly and Nico turned his gaze to the sunrise. "If you were a goddess, what would you be doing?"

"I don't know. Terrorize mortals? Have fifty children and then ignore them?" Nico laughed at my sarcasm. His laugh had become more frequent and I liked hearing it. "Or maybe just relax by the ocean. Heck, if I were the goddess of sunrises I would watch the sunrise every day and make the next one even better." Nico suddenly turned to me and grabbed my arms. He looked like an idea struck him.

"Juliet, you're a genius."

"Well, obviously." I said while I rolled my eyes. "What exactly am I a genius about?"

"I think I know where Hemera is." He let me go and pointed towards the brilliant sunrise. "She's over there… making a sunrise."

Dun, dun, duuuuun! Here's a sort of early chapter. Please review! P.S. Thanks for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows!