AN: I'm sorry it took longer than usual. Yes, I know it's really short compared to my recent chapters' lengths, but if I'd made it longer then everything would have been way too rushed. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. (Kind of nervous about making this up for some reason).
It got better after the first three times. It was like a routine. Shadow travel, pass out, rest, eat a little, shadow travel. Over and over again. She almost felt bad. Gaia must've heard about their plan, because all the monsters she could think of attacked them. It was up to Reyna and Coach Hedge to fight them all, and although they'd never admit it, it was wearing them down. So far, each night they'd studied the cheap map they'd picked up somewhere in Florence. Now they were somewhere on the border between Switzerland and France.
She hadn't prepared for the cold of the Jura Mountains. Yes, cold wasn't really something that effected her normally, but this was different. She was shivering even when sat next to the fire. Her two... companions, she guessed she could call them, were both slumped against the statue, obviously asleep. Maybe some ourae had found them earlier or something. It wouldn't surprise her. That thing was like a magnet.
She was okay with them resting. She hadn't taken watch yet, and she wasn't even properly tired, albeit maybe a little drowsy. She'd slept for five or more hours, anyway. She was in no mood to rest. In fact, she got up and did star jumps for ten minutes, just to stop herself from freezing.
When she was satisfied that her blood was pumping properly again, she turned to resume her previous position in reach of the flames. She didn't get the chance. Standing right next to the statue, growling, was a full grown hellhound. The bad news, her sword was lying by the fire. Think. You're Nicole di Angelo, she told herself, you can handle a hellhound.
"Here, boy," she said quietly as if it was just a normal dog. She hadn't expected it to work, but the hellhound turned his head and advanced slowly towards her. Well, at least he was distracted. She took a few steps backwards as the animal got closer, only to fall backwards on uneven ground. The thick snow cushioned her fall, but sent a shock down her spine. The hellhound didn't show any signs of aggression, it was more like it was intrigued.
That was, of course, until it was within biting distance. It bared its teeth as she scrambled backwards. Of course, she realised when it didn't hurt her, it sensed the Underworld. They were the same species. It was looking for a challenge. Okay, she could do that. If only she had a weapon... Something solidified in her hand, where it had been resting in a shadow. Her own sword. Had she... had she summoned it? She didn't have much time to think about it. She held it to the hellhound's throat, causing it to cower slightly.
She stood shakily, staring at it. She knew it was stupid, but she felt it was cruel to kill it. It seemed almost... loyal all of a sudden. The hellhound bowed its head gently like 'okay, you're the boss' and presented its back.
"You want me to follow you somewhere?" She whispered against its fur. This was crazy. There was only one tame hellhound in the world, and this wasn't her. For some reason the danger drew her in. She couldn't have resisted climbing onto it if she tried.
As soon as she had gripped his hair, the hellhound sped off down the mountains into the moonlight. It was hard to not ride it hands free, like a rollercoaster ride. She had to resist crying out in awe of speed. This, most definitely, was the highlight of her week. It was like shadow travel except she wasn't drained or in control. Okay, she couldn't help it, she extended her arms momentarily, nearly falling off. She almost laughed at the risk that presented.
Soon they slowed to a stop, and she was almost disappointed. There was another fire here, which appeared to be near the very bottom of the mountain. She felt the shiver of eidolons and the gods know whatever other dark entities.
She scratched the hellhound between its ears. "Thanks, boy." She climbed off. "Do you have a name?" She could almost sense sadness. Really, now she pitied it? "No? How about Kallikrates, means 'beautiful power'?" She could have sworn his eyes lit up. "That it is, then. Is this what you wanted to show me? A warning?"
Kallikrates nudged her with his head to the direction of some empousai. She immediately ducked behind a half-dead bush, which wasn't the best concealment. She managed to listen to part of their conversation. "-Like, our plan is so diabolical."
"Totally! They would never suspect it!" Her giggle gave Nicole toothache.
"Uh," the shortest one said, "what's the plan again?"
The first girl, probably the leader, smacked her friend around the head. "You're so stupid, Becky! Remember this time, will you? It's brilliant! We set them all to sleep so they wouldn't notice us, and we're about to climb the mountain to give them this," she produced a vial. "I stole it from our old mistress. It's tracking potion. That way, should they escape our attack, we can follow them!"
"But, how?" Becky asked nervously.
The leader snarled. "You're good for nothing. We have hellhounds, you-" Nicole decided it was best not to listen to what was said next, she'd probably faint just from the sheer amount of cussing.
She looked at Kallikrates. "I thought they were servants of Hecate?"
Kallikrates tapped the ground with his right paw.
"Of course, they've joined Gaia. That's been happening at lot recently, huh? Half the Underworld spirits have gone over-" she stopped. "You don't understand, do you?"
His ears lifted and he knelt a little, beckoning for her to ride him again. You'd think it would be slower uphill, but that wasn't the case. They zoomed just like before, maybe a little faster and more urgently. Once they reached their makeshift camp, Kallikrates started panting at a slightly alarming rate. Who could blame him? The hellhound had just run up a mountain range.
She ran and immediately began to shake Reyna and Coach Hedge. It was safe to say they didn't react to well to her knew friend.
"We have to leave, now!" Nicole insisted frantically, trying to gather anything that wasn't already packed.
Reyna was the first to wake. "Nicole," she said through gritted teeth. "Don't react. There's a hellhound right behind you."
Nicole smiled weakly. "I know. He won't hurt you, I promise."
Kallikrates wasn't doing a great job at looking friendly. He snarled at Reyna and flashed his wicked teeth, like you'd expect from a monster.
"You have to be kidding me."
"Kallikrates," Nicole said sternly. "They are friends. Friends. Don't hurt them."
The hellhound growled in protest but obliged and closed his mouth, backing up.
Reyna raised an eyebrow. "You named it?"
Nicole blushed slightly. "He looked sad."
"There is no way I'm letting that monster-"
Kallikrates' ears picked up. "Can you hear something?" Nicole asked, walking over. It took a moment but she could sense it too. "More hellhounds." She turned back to Reyna. "We need to leave fast."
By the time they'd awoken a snoring Coach Hedge, the seeming army of hellhounds was dangerously close. Of course he had to go and be difficult.
"-But only a little bit!"
"No," Nicole said firmly. "We're not fighting him."
Kallikrates was obviously struggling to obey her even a little bit. Anyone could sense he was planning to the murder the Satyr.
"Now listen here, cupcake-" He gulped.
They were surrounded. "Jump on the hellhound," she instructed.
"Which-" Reyna asked.
Kallikrates was looking wistfully at his own species. She understood then. He didn't fit in with them. She'd always believed that where there was bad, there was almost always some good. There was almost something... humane about him. "Can you take them to Dijon, France?" She whispered into his ear.
He considered for a moment before presenting himself to them as he had for her.
"There is no way-" Coach began.
"You have no other choice!"
Reyna scowled. "I am not taking orders, especially from a graecus..."
Nicole controlled the earth at the comment, catapulting her onto Kallikrates' back. "Get over yourself." She turned. "You too, coach. I can hold them off. I'll meet you with the statue."
"But-" Reyna began.
"Go!" She commanded and they disappeared into a shadow.
The bad news: the way they were closing in on her meant she couldn't make a mad dash for the statue. Ordinarily she would've swiped through them in one swift motion, but meeting Kallikrates made that seem... wrong. Holy Zeus, now she was feeling remorse? What was wrong with her? It was the weakest of human emotions, she had decided.
So... how hard would splitting a mountain in half be? Well, it looked like she was about to find out. It turned out to be a piece of Ambrosia compared to the shadow travel. The hellhounds, not that stupid as monsters went, chose either side, leaving a shaking path for her to run through. She barely made it. It sounded like she was in a meat grinder, the amount of growling they made.
It wasn't long before the world started spinning again. Gods, shadow travel had started to give her a headache. Normally she would've landed steadily like a gymnast, but the weight of carrying the statue caused her to stumble.
Reyna, luckily, caught her. "Don't even think about doing that again," she almost growled.
"Noted," Nicole murmured, her eyes heavy.
"You're lucky that thing didn't kill us."
Kallikrates, to her dismay, was currently chewing a full grown sheep in his mouth like a normal dog would a tennis ball. Well, on the bright side he wasn't eating them...
~0o0~
By the time they made it to the north of Scotland she'd adjusted to the new shadow travel load. She didn't even pass out involuntarily any more. She dipped her toes into the almost icy water of the ocean.
"Can't say I've ever shadow travelled across an ocean before," she muttered. "This should be interesting." She sat down on the rocky beach, skipping a couple of pebbles. You doubt yourself, a voice said.
"Shut up," she murmured, looking like a crazy person. "Why are you even here?"
He chuckled coldly. That's a good question, but here's a better one: Why are you even here? Your duty lies in Athens.
"No," she said firmly. "This is what I'm meant to do. I have to bring the Athena Parthenos back and unite the camps."
That's not what I chose you for, some petty peace mission.
"Why would you want me? Huh? I'm useless." She sighed.
Convenience was a factor, I'll give you that.
"Yuh huh." Then she realised that she was talking to a primordial like she would in a casual conversation, which was either good or bad.
She hadn't realised she was still skipping rocks. Her record was seven by the time Reyna had come back with supplies.
"Your hellhound's eating livestock again," she muttered coolly.
"You should be thankful he doesn't like the taste of humans."
"I nearly got killed by a hellhound once," she folded her arms.
Nicole rolled her eyes. "They're bound to serve me, well, my father anyway. If I tell him not to hurt you he won't."
Reyna sat with her. "You forget that monsters don't have souls."
"Then why do they have auras?" She took a heavy breath. "Technically pegasi are monsters, too. Would you like to argue that they have no soul?" She stared at the floor feeling sudden guilt. "Look, I'm sorry."
Reyna sniffed. "We shouldn't be hanging around. We've already been gone for what, a week? Two? More? There could be a war raging right this second."
She decided it was best not to say anything. "You're right." She gulped in anticipation. "To the Shetland Islands."
~0o0~
The oceans weren't as bad as she first thought. In fact, it was no less accurate than travelling over normal land. It was a stupid fear, really. At least they were in Iceland. Iceland which meant hot springs. A bath sounded like a foreign concept.
Kallikrates nudged her. "What?" She asked. He nudged her again, more violently this time. "What? Are you hungry or something? I'm sure there'll be a goat if you look-" If he were human, he would have rolled his eyes. He looked in the direction of some mountains.
There was nothing strange about them at first glance. Just normal steep mountains. She might even consider them beautiful, if she had time to appreciate that. Kallikrates remained adamant that she investigate them. He even walked a few paces, turning to see if she was following him. The gall of that animal!
"Alright," she groaned. She shouted over to Coach Hedge, who was keeping watch. "He wants me to look at those mountains. If I'm not back in an hour..." She trailed off, but the satyr nodded in understanding. She leapt onto the hellhound's back.
They raced off into the distance, not quite at full speed. It was almost as if Kallikrates was reluctant, which was weird considering he insisted she follow. In fact, his speed began to decrease as they got closer and closer to the mountains. He slowed to a stop, a dozen hundred meters away, apparently frozen in awe.
She patted his neck before sliding off. "What about it? Is there some kind of hidden passage or-" the ground shook so gently she wasn't sure if the vibrations were even real. The earth shifted again, enough to throw her off her feet this time. There appeared to be a rockslide on the tallest mountain. She was nearly deafened by the sudden shriek of warning sirens. She had to cover her ears. Kallikrates studied the summit of the mountain, which had started to distribute clouds of ash. This wasn't a mountain, she realised, it was a volcano.
The hellhound nudged her with his paw.
She raised an eyebrow. "Really? There?" Kallikrates answered by presenting his back. "Okay," she took a deep breath. It was hard, but she managed to slice most the leg from her jeans, then securing the ripped material to cover her mouth and nose. "Let's do this," she said before they raced into the expanding bubble of ash.
Even with her mouth covered she could barely breathe. She should appreciate oxygen more, because she was practically choking without it. If breathing was a problem, then seeing was even worse. She had tried to open her eyes at first, but the ash blinded her with a firm sting. Even with her eyes squeezed as tight as possible, some of the stuff was working its way in. She gripped Kallikrates' fur so tightly it hurt her fingers.
They must be going uphill, because the ash was only getting thicker and the air hotter. Kallikrates slowed to a stop, which meant one thing. Well, that and the heat meant one thing. They had arrived at the crater.
Somehow she managed to clamber off him, which was no easy task. She stumbled, trying to find a grip on the uneven terrain. She felt sudden sympathy for the blind. Gods, it was ridiculously tempting to open her eyes. Kallikrates made a sound of warning, and somehow she managed to deflect a shot of molten rock with her stygian blade.
Concentrate, she told herself. If she couldn't see or smell, she'd have to rely on her other senses. That would include listening and ground sense. Because she so knew how to use those affectively. Sarcasm implied.
Best to give it a wild chance. She crouched, placing one hand on the shaking ground. She tried to clear her mind completely, focusing only on the rock beneath her. She felt unnatural vibrations from about three meters behind her... She swung wildly, earning a guttural roar.
"Good," the monstrous voice said, "but not good enough, sire of Hades." The idiot. She aimed more accurately this time, now she had a proper target, definitely feeling an impact.
He chuckled, apparently unaffected. "What's the matter? Having a little problem with sight?" He taunted her, which led to more slightly mad swings. Each time she got closer, getting a feel of his movement pattern. After six wild thrusts, she knew where to aim each time, hitting him.
He howled in pain, but seemed to heal within just a few seconds. This was a game for him, she realised. She just needed to play, too. If she could prompt him to talk more, she'd get a better idea of his position. She was well aware they were dancing around the very edge of the crater. One wrong move and she was dead.
"Who are you?" She tried to ask, though it was muffled.
He laughed. "What are they teaching you demigods nowadays? This is awful swordplay."
She swung at his feet.
"I'm Enkelados, your worst nightmare."
"You're a gigante," she tried to say.
"At least they're teaching you something."
She tried to think about how he was defeated the first time. She knew it was something to do with Athena. Yes! It was a spear! Unfortunately she didn't have any of those and she'd always been awful at using them. That at least meant he could be killed from a distance, and through wisdom. If only she was actually good at making plans...
She lost her footing on a loose piece of igneous rock, experiencing a falling sensation and a sudden explosion of heat. Somehow she managed to grab something, but she could tell she was dangling. She really didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. The volcano spit what she assumed was lava. Some of the blistering liquid splashed her in the arm, causing her to scream. The ash was worse, she choked just from opening her mouth. It was all she could do to hold onto her sword. Now she was sweating, partly from the fire below and partly from the effort of supporting her own weight.
Fine, said the voice in her head which she'd become accustomed to. We can't have you dying, now, can we?
The searing heat which surround her faded. Was that actual air? Yes, she discovered when she tried breathing, it was. She was surprised to find she could open her eyes without being instantly stung. She begged herself not to look down at her sure death. She managed, now she could breathe and see, to swing round and grab the edge of the crater. Hugging it, she began to climb, desperately feeling around for holds. She was ridiculously surprised when she pulled herself out. Her vision was clouded with smoke and ash, but she could see a figure.
She gripped her sword firmly. When she saw her hand, she noticed it was surrounded by a dim red glow. In fact, her whole body seemed to be covered. It was like a shield, a force field. She stood for a moment in shock.
Well, Tartarus said, what are you waiting for?
She was confused. "Why would you want me to-"
Did it ever occur to you that I want to help you?
She didn't have time to dispute that. Enkelados was nearing her, she could sense it. Whatever his motives, it had given her a much better chance. She charged.