Here's the next chapter! Twice as long as usual- hope it was worth the wait! :)
50 Hazel
"Hazel!"
With a start, Hazel opened her eyes. Some distance away, Frank was staring at her with the most concerned expression she'd ever seen played out on his chubby face.
"Yeah?" she asked quietly; her thoughts still swooned around the facets of the diamonds, sapphires, and rubies she'd seen.
"D-don't move. Don't panic. Okay?" he asked voice .
Hazel responded with a minute nod.
"Now look down," he instructed. He sighed as if he'd just averted a disaster.
Apparently he had. Looking down, Hazel saw the rusting metal rails that marked the paths of the trains. She shifted her focus- her feet lay a few millimeters from the meter-high drop to the dusty ground of the tracks.
She leaped back and fell, scarcely avoiding knocking over a pram holding a two year old infant. The mother steering the contraption threw her a vicious look and rolled away.
Looking back at Frank, she thanked Aphrodite for such an attentive boyfriend and praised Hermes for living up to his name as protector of travelers and not scheduling a train to rush past on the tracks during the moments she'd stood at the ledge.
Soon enough, Frank was right by her, having used a high bridge to cross over on to her platform.
"What in the world are you doing, walking around with your eyes closed like that?" he demanded.
Not bothering to answer his question, Hazel told him, "Someone's leaving a trail for us."
His expression changed. "What kind of trail? Where?"
"A trail of jewels and metals. Underground." She got up and dusted off her jeans, and looked around for the rest of the group.
"What are you going to do?"
"Avoid it, I think. We need to tell Reyna, Jason, and Annabeth, though. It might be a trap set by Gaea."
Frank nodded sternly and replied, "Come with me. I know which platform they'll be at. If we go now, we'll have no problems catching up. Can you run? You fell pretty hard."
Smiling sweetly, she laughed, "If I was that fragile, do you think I'd have come out of that war alive?"
Frank smiled back before starting up a quick pace toward an exit that branched out towards all the platforms.
Hazel let herself follow him as she thought over what she'd just revealed. She closed her eyes briefly and could no longer find the glow. Pulling out a map of the train station she'd stored in her back jeans pocket, she found the location where she'd noticed the gold and opal for the first time. Drawing out the single bobby pin that kept her springy hair out of her eyes, she pressed one end against the paper, making a crease that showed the direction of the trail while it was still fresh in her mind.
Frank was some seven people ahead of her by now. By the time she'd caught up to him, he had already reached the edge of the group. He began to yell for the demigods to stop in English, but that caught the attention of the mortals around him, so he shouted instead in Latin, and shaky Greek, butchering the pronunciation of the latter.
The majority of the group didn't seem to hear, so Frank simply pushed ahead to the front of the mass. Malcolm was leading.
"Hey, where's Reyna and the other Jupiters?" Frank asked, using the nickname that the Greeks had invented for the Roman demigods.
"Back of the group. Reyna's leg is slowing her down. Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Jason are back there helping her along."
Frank and Hazel frowned simultaneously at the mention of Reyna's leg. Their Praetor had shattered it during war, her shoulder had been badly sprained, and her right arm- her sword-wielding one- had tore a tendon.
Nobody had asked how she'd managed to receive so much damage when she was one of the best fighters in Camp- she had the agility of a panther, combined with natural instincts that led her to win almost every battle she'd held. They'd all guessed- correctly- that she'd taken her blows in an attempt at saving a fellow soldier.
When they'd reached the southernmost end of the group, Leo stated, "I'd thought you guys were behind us this whole time. You know, smooching around."
Frank seemed tempted to laugh at Leo's remark. Hazel had noticed that they'd become decent friends and were fairly comfortable exchanging a whole manner of teasing reflections. Not that I'd ever gotten used to them, but what can you do, huh?
"Listen," Hazel started, and the group of five listened intently. When she finished filling them in, she asked, "So what do we do? Trust that it's not Gaea tricking us, split up, what?"
"Splitting up is not an option." Reyna stated quick and stern. No one jumped at the statement, and Reyna seemed content.
"How far down deep did you say it was?" Annabeth asked, looking as though she had something else on her mind.
"Pretty damn low. Maybe even into the Underworld." Hazel responded.
Her grey eyes sparked, as if a light had been turned on behind them. Quickly, her eyebrows fell back to their original position, though her pupils seem more dilated than humanly possible.
She nodded calmly, and replied, "Well, I doubt Gaea has any power in your father's land. I vote to follow it."
The others shared quick glances loaded with meaning as they walked.
"Who are we even following here? Who set the trail in the first place, if it isn't Gaea?" Leo broke in.
No one offered an answer, so Leo continued.
"Listen. We don't know anyone who has direct access to the Underworld. This is probably one of Gaea's demigods. I think we should just stick to the original plan and go kick Gaea's-"
"Unlikely." Annabeth interrupted. "Hazel, has Gaea ever tried to enter your mind?"
"Not that I know of…" Hazel replied uncertainly.
"Then it's even more doubtful that this is a demigod of Gaea's. If Gaea herself isn't aware of Hazel's powers, it's almost impossible that one of her demigods is stalking us. And for what? To set up a trail that leads away from the second battle? I doubt it. We should investigate. There's enough-"
"We can't base our decisions on shaky ground like that. Hazel is a child of one of the big three. Hades, even, whose children are extremely dangerous and prone to hold deadly grudges. Gaea must be aware of the powers of each and every soldier we have." Reyna replied. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have had such a hard time winning the last battle." She looked pointedly at her bandaged leg and arm.
Silenced reined temporarily. As early morning turned to working hours, business men and women fled the trains on the ways to their jobs, and the platforms' crowds began to thin out.
"Nico." Hazel said quietly. Her soft voice grabbed all the more attention.
Annabeth looked up. Hazel glanced at her. "It's him. It has to be. He's missing anyway. Anyone would suspect that he's in the Underworld. He spends most of his time there. And he knows my powers.
"It's him," she repeated, insistent. "Let's turn back."
"I'm in." Annabeth piped up. "I owe it to Bianca and the other hunters helped in saving me and putting Atlas back in his rightful place. Let's go."
As she turned her back on the group, Piper's hand fell on her shoulder.
"Listen, Annabeth. I know you miss Percy. I know you think that this is him. But it could be dangerous. We can't lose you, too. We need you, here."
For a split second, Annabeth seemed convinced. Then, with a sudden jerk that shook off Piper's palm, she moved back.
"Percy is dead, Piper," she said sternly. "Dead. I know it. I'm doing this to save Nico. Percy once failed in keeping a promise to him which ended with the death of the boy's sister. He would have hated it Nico himself got hurt. Don't try protecting me. I know what I'm doing."
Piper seemed bit shocked- she'd managed to tame to most unruly of giants in the midst of war, but this willowy girl had shook off her charmspeak like a winter coat.
Annabeth glanced at Hazel. "You're coming, aren't you?"
Hazel could hear a slight tremor in her voice- she needed Hazel. How else would she follow the trail? The average metal detector wouldn't cut it this time.
Whether or not Annabeth went, Hazel's mind was set. "Of course."
Reyna, who'd been quiet throughout most of the conversation, suddenly contributed her thoughts, "I have no control, direct or indirect, over the actions of any of the Greek soldiers since Percy's disappearance. But I do, however, have full power over the actions of you, Hazel Levesque. Being a fellow Roman demigod, and your Praetor besides, I advice that you not take such a rash decision. In fact, I forbid it."
Annabeth's head snapped up. Hazel's whipped around, eyes narrowed. Up until now, Hazel and Reyna had been on good terms. Great, even. She was reliable and not entirely bad company, once you got to know her.
"Reyna, you can't do this to me. Nico is my friend. Always has been. He must need help, or is maybe giving it to us with this trail. All we're doing is walking into another war, anyway. This is a lead. Are you really going to leave that opportunity untouched?"
With a winning poker face, she replied- "Yes."
"Praetor, please!"
"Hazel, I know this is important to you. But our numbers are short already. We've lost enough of our soldiers. As leader, I must think logically and act likewise. The help of the Greeks, the great aid that it is, is not a guarantee. In the event that we lose their crucial support, it is possible that one soldier could turn the tables and help achieve a victory. Furthermore, you are one of the Seven. I want you in my care. As Piper has said to Annabeth, we need you here."
Hazel blew out breath of air, laughing angrily. "I wouldn't even be alive in the first place if it weren't for Nico! I'm helping save him no matter what. He saved me from the Underworld, it's my turn to pay him back."
Hazel should have caught a flicker that passed over Reyna's expression. But she didn't.
"Is that your condition? You must help in saving him?"
"I'll settle for no less. Plus, Annabeth needs m-"
"Done." Reyna stated, and continued to limp away on her makeshift crutches- a pair of twisted and blunt swords disguised in cloth and paint to resemble a standard pair.
"Really, it's not-" Hazel seemed to have just heard her Praetor's affirmative. "What?"
"I said "Done". Okay, sure, fine, yes. You can help save him."
Hazel began to walk beside her, pushing past everyone- namely, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo- who stood in her way. She ignored Frank and Jason's equally curious and paranoid stares.
"What do you mean? There's a condition isn't it? There's something you're hiding."
"No, not at all. I'll do just as you said. You can help save him."
This time, Hazel caught the slight emphasis. With an agitated moan, she stomped off. The suspicions she'd shared with Leo about Reyna's mental health were long forgotten. This was their Praetor, all right. Their good old Praetor…
