The rest of the gang was standing in the living looking like an armed squad of Cabbage Patch kids. It would have been comical if we weren't going to recuse my mother.
I had hoped the subway ride was going to be nothing but smooth sailing, but I guess that was just too much to ask for. We got onto the car easy enough. Nico didn't bother paying, he just did his son of the grave thing and ghosted right through the turnstile. I had to admit it was sort of sexy.
The car was crowded and people kept bumping into my and throwing me dirty looks. Nico's hand in mine kept my anger at bay. These people were just mortals what right did they have to touch me? Who the hell did they think they were? I growled deep in my chest. Nico squeezed my hand till it hurt. I blinked and looked over at him.
"Your eyes were starting to glow," he whispered.
"Sorry," what the hell was going on with me? I could feel myself smiting everyone on the train just because I could. Who hell was still smiting people? I was going crazy. I really was.
Nico was standing at the pole next to my chair while I was sitting. He had glared someone down till they gave me their seat. Maybe having a boyfriend how happened to be the spawn of the Grim Reaper was going to be a good thing.
The train stopped. A few people got off, a bunch of black teenagers got on. I eyes them warily as they laughed and joked around.
See here's the thing. I'm black through and through. Right down to the little nappy curls on the my neck, but I've never hung around a lot of other black people. Most of my friends had always been white and my mother worked with nothing but white people. So it wasn't that I didn't like black people. That was still, it was just I didn't hang out with them and other than our skin tone I didn't feel like I had anything in common with other black people.
One of the eyes caught me looking. He flashed a smile and I looked away. He wasn't even remotely my type. For one his pants were down around his knees. He waddled over to me. "What's it doing ma?" he asked me. I rightly ignored him. At least Nico had been playing the knight in black leather when we met. "You stuck up or something?" That got my attention. I glared up at him.
"Do you have a problem?" Nico asked. The black guy was at least five inches taller than Nico. Nico wasn't small. I guessed he was at least 5'10. Of course everyone towered over me on the best of days.
"Oh so you too good for a brother had to go uptown and get a white boy." Ok now I was getting pissed. I went to stand but a shake of Nico's head kept me in my seat. For one thing we were riding around in a metal tube at least 30 feet underground. If I lost my cool there was no telling how many people I could hurt. And I thought Nico wanted to flex his boyfriend muscles in front of me.
If he snatched the boy up by his jeans I would be happy. Nico moved to stand in front of me. Right into the guys face. "You're breathing my girlfriend's air. I think you need to find another car." The thing with Nico was that he radiated silent menace. It was a slithering cold that snaked up your bones and settled in your marrow. I figured it was grave magic. It brushed against me. I dare say it snuggled me.
I could tell when it wrapped around the boy because his eyes went from ad ass to little boy wetting his pants in an instant.
He back peddled away from me and Nico with a quickness. After a few words with his entourage they all moved on to another car. When they were gone Nico dropped his power. My skin was covered in goosebumps. I was tingling all over. Nico turned to look at me. I could see he wanted to pound his chest and howl into the night.
I threw him a wicked grin. He winked at me. Oh yeah ladies I might keep this one.
Ugh it was official. I was one of those girls. Those annoying girls with boyfriends who have nothing intelligent to say that doesn't start with 'my boyfriend.' Well I was just going to have to make sure that I stayed Dillon. Leading a quest might just help that.
When the train stopped for the last time before we hit the rail to the terminal a pack of homeless looking men climbed aboard. The other passengers, seasoned New Yorkers could see trouble ten miles down the road. They wisely found another car to ride in. I didn't blame them. The group of men looked like they were ready to burn down the world and pee on the ashes. All of us tensed up. Percy started flipping his pen in his hand. Annbeth started cleaning her nails with her little dagger. Piper tried her best to look fierce, she only managed constipated. Leo started snatching things out of the tool belt strapped to his thin waist trying to make some do-dad or another. If he was ever in a pinch he was going to get himself hurt.
I felt my lightening bolt earrings tingling. They were itching to be used, but I would tear apart the tunnel if a threw a bolt around in the car. It would kill us all. I rather liked breathing and I was sure Persephone would make my afterlife hell.
All of this happened within a heartbeat. It was amazing how battle ready we all were. Especially me. This was officially only my third day carrying around deadly weapons.
The group of men were just as tensed for a fight. They seemed to only have their bulk and their smell. The unholy smell that rolled off of them was enough to gag a maggot. I swear I could see a green vapor rising off of them to contaminate the air.
I tried not to swallow my tongue, but it was hard. My eyes started to water and I wanted to rip my nose off my face and toss onto a fire anthill. Piper went green around the ears and Leo threw up right onto the floor. It was hard for me to believe that a person could smell like that and not give a flip.
I had to blink through the tears running down my face. The smell was absolutely unreal. Hades couldn't have thought up a better smell. I wanted to cough but I didn't dare open my mouth. If that smell hit my stomach I was going to puke up my liver.
The mangiest of the men detached himself from the group to stalk over to us. I recoiled back. If he touched me I was going to burn my skin off with battery acid. "Dillon Parker." His voice grated against my ears. I wanted to clap my hands to block it out.
Nico moved to block him from me. "Stand down pup. Wouldn't want to eat the son of the dead. Terrible on the digestion." The man smiled flashing his teeth. It wasn't a friendly smile at all. The smile helpd promises of a pain so intense your mother was going to feel it. Still Nico didn't move. I had to give him credit he was staring down a batcrap crazy man with a stench to could raise the dead. Literally speaking.
Nico and the man stared each other down. None of us moved. I was sure if we did it was going to be a flipping free for all. Finally the man gave Nico the slightest nod. None of us relaxed. "I mean the queen no harm." I peaked around Nico to look at the man.
Under all the New York filth I could see the barest hint of a smile.
"Its ok Nico." He turned to look at me. He was not a happy camper. Not at all. I nodded. He stepped aside but stayed within stabbing range. "Who the hell are you and what do you want." It was hard to be tough when you were trying to breath through your mouth and talk at the same time,but I was going to pull it off if it killed me.
The man knelt down at my feet and I had to resist the urge to kick him away from me. First of all it might start a fight and second of all I might get my shoes dirty. "My queen." His hand reached out for my foot, but he pulled back. It would have been a bad career move if he had gotten my shoes dirty.
"Err?" I gave him the 'someone farted in the elevator' face. I was totally confused right now. I think it was the gas. He looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. It would have been cute if his cloths had been held together with pigeon crap. "Ok I hate to say it but can I borrow a quarter so I can buy a clue." Everyone seemed to assume I know about all of this stuff. I mean hell it was only my second week.
Steep learning curve much.
The man gave me a funny look as he tried to see if I was pulling his leg or being serious.
He seemed to realize that I was being serious. "Lupa has been slain." He stated. He looked supremely pleased with himself. I continued to look at him. Was I supposed to know who that was?
"What? How?" Percy stood up to tower over the man kneeling on the rocking subway.
"Not all cyclops are friends Percy Jackson." the man told him. The emotions that flickered across Percy face gave him a feral look.
"Ok I know you guys think you are explaining things but you really aren't. Who is Lupa?" Since everyone else seemed to know who she was, and I was the only bonehead left in the dark.
"The Queen of wolves. She nursed Romulus and Remus when they were abandoned. They grew up to be the founders of Rome. She is the guardian of the Wolf House. The place where all Roman demigods must prove themselves before they are allowed into Camp Jupiter. Its the Roman version of Camp Half Blood." Percy explained.
Well that certainly cleared up a few things...not really.
"So if Lupa is dead why are you calling me queen." I mean ok so I haven't shaved my legs in a few days but I certainly wasn't hairy enough to be called a wolf.
The man looked up at me, "Lupa claimed you sister and heir." He was deathly serious.
Everyone was looking at me. I opened my mouth to speak and found I didn't have the words. I just shook my head. What the hell was going on with the world. I was a demigod, no I was the social experiment of a god and now I'm a wolf queen. Was the daydream going to end?
"Why would she do that. I don't even own a dog." Ok that was a tad childish I know, but I was about to reach my limit. I really way.
Before I met Nico my life had been on a pretty even keel. Sure I got kicked out of the occasional boarding school, but that was to be expected when you locked me up in a school full of snotty trust fund babies with impulse control problems. Other than that my life wasn't anything to write home about. I went about my business, kept to myself and didn't make any waves. I was an average girl just hoping one day I would wake up and be able to fill out a bra.
Getting sent to the office by the Dome started my life on a slow roll into chaos. Chaos with a cute boyfriend mind you, but a total crap fest to be sure.
I was just getting a handle on being a demigod and having the king of the gods as a day and then wham I find out that I'm actually the brain child of a god that had front row tickets to creation, oh let's not forget that I'm her champion, whatever the hell that meant and now I'm supposed to be queen of a pack of stinky men in a bad need of a chemical peel.
I shook my head. My ponytail swished back and forth across my back. It had a strange calming effect. But it wasn't enough. I needed a bubble bath with a hot chocolate chaser.
The man peered at me. I guess he was rethinking the queen business. I didn't blame him. I probably looked like dinner to him.
"Gaia's attempts have awoken gods long forgotten. They will stand against her in the coming war. History has warped her true nature into that of a comely grandmother who bakes cookies and reads bedtime stories. She can not be allowed to rise. Lupa stood against her cyclops and she was cut down. She said Rome and Greece have to come together if any are to survive the war. She claimed you, thus we are yours to command." The other men knelt down on the subway floor.
I nodded. Well at least he was making sense a little bit now. I'm not sure how long I sat there lost in my own head which could be a scary place sometimes.
"Be strong in front of the pack," Percy whispered out of the side of his mouth. I had to swallow back the little yelp. He had pulled me out of my daydream. There was a bit of a gratitude in that.
I looked up at him and nodded. When I didn't know what else to do I could fake it till I made it. Acting tough was a Brooklyn staple.
I stood up grabbing onto the pole so I wouldn't topple back into my seat. That would kill the whole acting tough act I was going for. "So you are my pack?" I asked the man kneeling at my feet.
He looked up at me. "Yes, my queen." He shivered at the word queen. My heart quickened.
I could get used to this. I looked back at everyone. Piper was smiling at me, Leo's eyes were as wide as saucers, Annabeth was trying really hard not to roll her eyes. Percy was trying not to cry and Nico looked about as happy as a one legged man in butt kicking contest.
Well if I was going to have a private army I might as well use them. "I am going to Russia to rescue my mom." The group stirred. I could feel their anticipation like a second skin.
"Say the word my queen and we will tear the world apart looking for her." The man growled.
"You say the sweetest things." I responded. He flashed his teeth at me in what I took as a smile.
We made plans for half the group to make their own way to Russia and for the other half to travel with me on the plane. How they were going to get on the plane undetected was none of my business. As long as they didn't bring the FBI and NSA down on top of our heads for doing something stupid I was a happy camper.
Well after that it was smooth sailing to JFK. Everyone gave us a wide berth. Which was good for their health. I felt like I had drank ten Redbulls. I wasn't sure where I had gotten the boost from, but I wasn't going to complain. I doubted anyone of us got a lot of sleep, but this 20 hour flight should help with that. It was 10 hours from New york to Moscow and then another 10 hours getting across Siberia. I was hoping we could get dog sleds for that trek. I had always wanted to race on a dog sled.
I didn't know why. It just seemed sort of cool.
We got onto the plane without any incidents. That was a good thing. All of us were armed to the teeth, but nothing went off. TSA didn't run after us with pick forks and torches. Not even Annabeth's little dagger tripped anything. "Celestial bronze isn't a known metal to mortals that's why it doesn't set off the sensors." Piper explained. I gave her a small smile in thanks.
We had just barely made it on time so where was no time to grab something to drink or to read for the flight. I couldn't remember if I had packed anything.
Percy must have had a black card or something because we were sitting in first class. I had never flown first class before. It wasn't that me and my mom were poor. We just spent our money on different things.
I grabbed a window seat. Nico sat next to me. Piper and Leo sat behind us. Annabeth and Percy across the isle from us. They quickly sank into a private conversation. So did Leo and Piper. Not that I didn't want to talk to Nico. I just felt awkward. It seemed like our little encounter went for KISSING straight to marriage and I didn't even pass go.
He lifted up the arm rest to snuggle up next to me. I didn't have the heart to wiggle out of his embrace. "You're thinking too much about us." He said as the doors began to close.
I looked down at his alabaster arm around my waist. "What are you talking about?"
He looked up at me. "Just feel Dillon. Don't analysis us. Yeah there are a million and one reasons why we shouldn't be together, but we only need one reason to stay together." He leaned up and kissed me. I swear the plane tilted. When he pulled back his face had a healthy glow to it. His usually dark eyes were brimming with flecks of brown and gold.
Like a moron I just shook my head. I had no experience with relationships. At this point I was willing to let Nico lead. The plane took off. I could empathize with the plane. Suddenly you were on the ground and through no fault of the plane suddenly it was thrown into the sky while it was being piloted by someone it had never met. Yeah I was grasping at straws but it had barely been a week since I was sitting in algebra thinking about throttling my teacher.
Now I was a demigod test tube experiment who happened to be dating the prince of the underworld.
After a few minutes we were served lunch. I was surprised at how hungry I was. I hadn't realized that I never finished the omelet that Leo had made till I smelled the steaming meatloaf the steward was serving. Leo was in heaven. He ordered every dessert they had. Piper had a salad that I was sure weighed more than she did. The rest of us got the meatloaf and mashed sweet potatoes.
After lunch we all settled down for a good long nap. I know I needed one. Nico was asleep before I was and I got to watch him. I wish I could tell you that he was a total mountain troll when he slept, but he wasn't. If anything he was drop dead (yeah I will own that pun) gorgeous. His face lost that hard edge. It made him look twelve but I loved it. I placed a soft kiss on his lips. He sighed and curled around my tighter.
I closed my eyes and went to sleep.
"Wake up little daughter." I was instantly awake. It took a minute for my eyes to focus, but when they did they narrowed.
"Hera," She was wearing a sky blue gown that pooled around her feet as she sat looking at me. Her brown hair was twisted up into a tight chignon at the back of her head. I looked around the plane and the other passengers were snoozing softly in their seats. Piper and Leo were still awake and they were looking less than pleased about our current visitor.
I turned back around in my seat. I glared at her and she just smiled back at me. Something was wrong. There wasn't a arm draped across my stomach anymore. My heart thudded to a complete stop in my chest. I looked over to the empty seat next to me.
Nico was gone. Nico. Was. Gone.
My heart started to beat again, but it felt like someone was squeezing it a little too hard. I sat up straighter. "Where the hell is Nico?" I couldn't keep the edge out of my voice, nor the tears from starting to sting my eyes. I may still have had a few questions about our relationship, but I wanted him and he was mine.
Hera looked down to pick at a fleck of dirt on one of her nails. "How should I know. I only just arrived." She looked up at me. Her little smirk was too damn smug. She knew where he was. I moved to get out of my seat but Leo had leaned forward and he pulled me back into my chair. I turned and growled at him. I literally growled.
Annabeth and Percy stirred awake. Annabeth jerked in her seat, "Hera." Seemed like I wasn't the only one not in the Hera fan club.
"Tell me where he is Hera." I was done playing with her.
"You will get your little playmate back when you learn a little humility." She sniffed. That's was it. I snatched away from Leo. His fingernails left deep grooves on my arms. I threw myself at Hera. She had a moment to blink before I was one her. My hands closed around neck and I squeezed. I felt my whole body light up. Percy and Annabeth flinched back.
"Cover your eyes she's going nuclear!" Percy shouted.
"I swear I will burn you till the crows scatter your ashes if one curl on his head is ruffled." I shouted. My anger boiled inside my body. It coated my tongue and spilled out of my mouth. Hera's eyes bulged in her head and I grinned. She was getting the picture. "Tell me where he is Hera if you want to see another sunrise." Her skin was starting to blister. I could feel her trying to pull away my hands, but I was stronger than she was. I could feel her attempts to stop me growing weaker. I lifted her up from the floor by her throat. "You took what was mine I'm going to kill you Hera." Whatever she saw on my face sent a jolt of pure terror through her body. She gave her head a tiny bob and I released her.
She sucked in a lungful of air and went limp.
I stumbled back from her. Percy pulled me up to my feet. My clothes were steaming. The tears spilling down my face were leaving a steam trail in their wake. I felt like a burning torch. "Tell me where he is."
Hera finally looked up at me. Some of her swagger was gone. Now she understood me. "I don't have him. I was just supposed to collect him." She had to pull herself up with the seats. Even then she wasn't steady on her feet.
I moved toward her, but Percy pulled me back. He really thought he was holding me, but I was letting him hold me. If I latched onto Hera's throat again I was going to kill her, but she knew where Nico was. "Who did you give him to?" It was going to be the last time I asked her.
"Tartarus." I fell back against Percy. Even I knew where that was, and how bad it was.
"Why?" the word came out strained.
Her eyes burned with hate, "To punish you and because I was asked." She had finally pulled herself together.
"Gaia." It wasn't a question. She didn't answer, but then she didn't have to. "I want him back, unharmed."
"That I can't do. Tartarus has him." She smoothed out a wrinkle in her gown giving Nico not another thought. "Gaia said walk away from the quest and he lives. Don't and Tartarus will enjoy slicing away him mind one memory at a time."
"If I have to tear the earth apart rock by damned rock I am going to get Nico back and then I'm coming back for you Hera." My tears dried up up and I was able to smile again. "Run and enjoy what little life you have left." She glared at me one last time before winking out.
Percy finally let me go, but I went limp against him. I was trembling and the tears had started up again. My mom was missing and now Nico was in the pits of hell all because of me.
I turned to look up at Percy. "I've got to get him. I can't leave him there." I wanted to rescue my mom I really did, but I knew my mom would understand.
"I'm coming with you." Annabeth didn't look happy about that. In fact she looked as if she wanted to continue our cat fight from the living room. Going on a quest was one thing. That was too be expected of us, but now I was directly putting her boyfriend in trouble and Annaebth struck me as the sort of girl that took things like that personally.
I shook my head, "No Percy I need you looking for my mom." Sure I wanted the help. Hell I needed the help. I was still pretty new to this whole questing thing, but something had been taken from me and I sure was hell was going to get it back.
"Are you sure?" He asked. Percy was fully ready to go into the very pits of hell with me. For me. I couldn't hold back the tears that slide down my cheek.
"I'm sure." I leaned up on the top of my toes and kissed his chin. It was as far up as I could reach. Percy was a California Redwood. "Rescue my mom Percy. Its the only way I will be able to think clearly to get Nico." He fixed the sea green eyes on me. I could totally see why Annabeth was crazy about him.
"Be careful. Tartarus is dangerous. We will be too far away to help." He really didn't want to leave me alone to my own devices. That was sweet. It really was.
"I might even beat you home." I gave him a wink. Now all I had to do was to figure out a way to get off a moving airplane without killing anyone.