Chapter Twenty-Five: All the Pieces Come Together

My mind was still buzzing after my chat with Persephone and I was basically on auto pilot the entire walk to the parlor. Was I really doing something dangerous by wanting to be with Nico? I mean really, it's not like we're getting married or anything, we haven't even kissed yet! Still, what if we did want to be together? Where would we go? Camp wasn't an option for either of us. I loved a lot of the people there, but Mr. D...I still didn't know what to do about him. Spending time around him only leads me to feel angry, hurt, sad, doubtful, and just unstable. I couldn't put up with that too much. And Nico, while he has a few friends there, he already mentioned that it just didn't feel like a home. Neither did the Underworld, but he did say he felt more secure here. Would I end up being trapped here too, because I couldn't leave him?

Shaking my head I cleared the thoughts away, I just couldn't handle this right now. Not when I had a quest to take care of. Speaking of which, it's already been two days since we started. I wondered how Pollux is doing. Hopefully he didn't get into too much trouble about helping us escape. There's little doubt in my mind that Mr. D knows about his part in all of it. Despite what I think about him, Mr. D is smarter than I give him credit for. I wonder if I could contact him some way?

Stopping my thoughts I came upon the parlor, its doors fully open and I could easily see inside. Gwen and Sophia were sitting on a leather couch near the fireplace, deep in conversation with someone sitting opposite them in a chair. Gwen looked up and saw me, Sophia following suit and the conversation stopped. The person in the chair moved and I could easily see who it was.

Nico's face lit up with a smile that was rare for him to give, but to me it suited him just fine.

"Sarah!" he got to his feet and started towards me, enveloping me in a hug. The hug was warm even though he was cold most of the time and was strong. I felt protected, safe, and just where I should be.

"It's good to see you too Nico. Been busy?" I tried to move my arms to hug him back, but he had them pinned at my sides. Sensing my movement he quickly let go, but didn't move back.

"Not as busy as you it seems. I hear you broke quite a few rules to go on this quest of yours. I approve." he smiled slyly and I rolled my eyes. Then I turned serious.

"Then you know why we're here. What can you tell me about Thanatos, did you know he had any kids?"

He sighed and lead me over to the chair he had left, allowing me to sit for the first time in hours.

"I was just telling Gwen and Sophia that Thanatos has only ever had a handful of children. No one in this lifetime has ever met one of them, Thanatos is very secretive and protective."

"By why? Before Percy came along most of the gods didn't even care enough to claim their children, much less keep them safe from monsters."

"It's not monsters he was keeping his children from." he stated darkly.

Looking away from me I could see he was trying to figure out how to tell me what he needed to. He didn't seem happy about it.

"There are stories about Thanatos, much like the other gods. He is the god of non-violent death, born of Nyx, the goddess of night. His twin brother is Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"I know of him! I think I've seen one of his sons at camp, is he the blond that always carries around a pillow?"

He nods. "Hypnos doesn't have a lot of kids either, but way more than his twin. Then he has sisters...who are far worse than any monster you can imagine." He shuddered a little before going on. "The Keres are not gods, but the spirits of slaughter and death. Hand in hand they are pretty much one horrible being that is nothing but blood thirsty. As you can probably guess, Thanatos doesn't get along with his sisters and they hate him even more. To them death should be painful, cruel, and relentless. His very existence threatens all they stand for. The stories tell that any child death sires die a horrible death at the hands of his sisters. Not a single one has ever been known to live past young adulthood."

We all fell silent. The morbid story was weighing on all of our minds, but it also took away most of my questions.

"This is our quest." I say quietly, but I know they can hear me easily. "To rescue death's child from the one in darkness lies. The one is really two, but they share one name, the Keres. The darkness clue just confirms it because they were also born of Nyx, whom is darkness itself. The Fates want us to keep the kid alive for whatever reason. To break the chain so to speak."

I felt a hand once again on my shoulder, but this time it was gentle. I met Nico's eyes.

"Do you think this is a good idea Sarah? These things have been killing off demigods since the beginning. It's not safe."

All of a sudden the sheer amount of exhaustion caught up with me, not having slept since the plane ride and that hadn't done anything for me. I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands.

"I know it isn't safe Nico, I knew that when we left. I just didn't think-didn't want it to be this bad." I didn't look up, I couldn't face any of them. For all of my talk and skills with swords or daggers, I was just a sixteen year old girl. I didn't have all the answers and I certainly wasn't immune to death. "But this is my quest, the oracle gave it to me and I have to finish it."

When I did look up I saw Nico had gotten down one knee is front of me, his eyes were glazed with concern.

"I know you can't go with us, because only three can go on a quest. I know you would rather me not go, but I need you to trust me when I say this: I will not fail."

"Really?"he whispered.

With out thinking I took my sunglasses off, making it easier to see in the already dark room. I folded them up and reached out to grab his hand.

"Here." I put the glasses in his hand. "Keep these for me until you see me again. I figure where we're going it's going to be dark enough."

He looked down at them, thinking about my hidden promise to return. A smile formed on his lips.

"What about your eyes? You're not worried about people seeing them?"

I shrugged. "Well Persephone managed to put two and two together without having to see them, so what's the point? I might just wear them out in the mortal world, like at school and stuff."

"Oh yeah, I heard about her surprise visit. What did the two of you talk about anyway? She didn't threaten you did she?" he voice turned alert and his eyes narrowed.

"No she didn't." I adverted my eyes and shrunk back against the leather of the chair.

"Then what did you talk about?"

"Nothing." I said just a bit too fast.

"Sarah." he growled in annoyance.

"Trust me, it's nothing you want to hear about."

At least that's true. I'm positive he would just go and yell at Persephone for putting such doubts in my head. At his moment, I didn't want him to know about what she said. Partly because I didn't know what to make of it yet and partly because I was afraid of what the answer would be.

"Just tell me!"

"Yeah Sarah, it can't be that bad." Sophia said from the coach, Gwen nodding next to her.

Thinking quickly I thought about the ending of the talk I had. I gave them my best smirk.

"We talked about the frequency of which your dad gets laid."

If fit was possible, I swear on the Styx Nico turned paler. I heard a gagging noise from Gwen and Sophia looked as though she would faint. It was a damn funny sight to see.

Alert!Alert! Do I have your attention now? Good, because here's a piece of news I know my loyal readers will want to know. I have decided to wrap this story up when the quest finishes, which at a guesstimate, will be in about five or six chapters. Here's where I need all your powers of focus people. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this: I haven't decided on whether or not to make this story into a trilogy. I have some big ideas, but I'm not sure if enough people are interested to continue reading about Sarah and her adventures. You, my readers, will decide her fate. Post reviews and tell me yes or no. I'll be waiting.