Chapter XXVIII
"So... You still haven't told me just what you were doing in the area." I said after a few minutes of high speed travel, when he finally slowed, hopefully leaving any who'd followed far behind us.
We just finished a skirmish with one of Oceanus' forces nearby. The sea monster answered and I raised a brow.
"We?" I asked, confused. "Besides, we were only a couple miles away from Oceanus' palace, what were you doing there?"
One of your fathers pacific forces, but that mustn't be of importance to you, He said and I nodded. As to the second part, to say warfare here is a lot more asymmetrical than on land would still be an understatement.
"I guess so, not exactly many rigid front-lines around here, are there now?" I asked and he gave a deep, water-shaking rumbling sound in response.
"Oh," I said, realizing I had forgotten something. "I guess I should really thank you for saving me, once more that is."
There's no need, after all you are the reason I am having this much fun in the first place, besides, it really was no bother, His voice sounded in my mind.
"Still, I owe you," I insisted and heard his deep rumbling chuckle. "this is more or less the second time you've saved my life."
If you say so, He said, sounding amused. I am sure you would have managed just fine, because even I can tell that's the Scythe and that without having seen it.
"Maybe against that one," I agreed in retrospect. "but by the time I'd be done, I probably would have been surrounded. Speaking of, what of our pursuers?"
I cannot smell anything my lord, The sea monster stated in my mind, before adding. though it is rather hard to say at this speed, but few can match me at any rate, we could be in Seattle in half an hour.
I nodded, Seattle was all well and good, but not exactly a suitable destination. I really needed to make contact with Bianca somehow, which is hoping that she's alive of course. But there was really only one possibility for doing so, IMing, which meant I had to use the horrendous collect message system, made even worse by the fact that I had no real idea where she was.
Hopefully the answer to that latter question was her father's palace, or Camp, the first seeming far more likely and what I was hoping for, because reaching Camp, especially alone would be a real hassle. And any other answers meant she and Eleanor were in serious trouble, and so was I by consequence.
"So, um, I hate to ask more of you, but you wouldn't be able to carry me further, would you?" I said and felt his body rumble.
Once more to San Francisco? He asked, chuckling and I shook my head.
"Los Angeles," I told him, before adding. "though I'll have to check something first."
Los Angeles? That certainly is quite the trip, He mused, and I gave an apologetic smile as I waited, not that he could see it.
Though we were meant to pull back anyways, He pondered before continuing. I suppose your father would want me to as well, and it'll only be a few hours.
I grinned as he was coming around to it, gods, I really had to do something to thank him, even if merely symbolic.
"I'll take that as a yes?" I asked hopefully and felt him rumble in agreement. "Great, could you surface then and slow down, I, uh, need to make a call."
Begrudgingly he reduced his speed as we broke through the deep blue surf of the Pacific and I clenched my eyes, this was way too bright for my tastes after days in the Underworld and Ocean depths. But there was also a silver lining to the sun, it made making a rainbow a whole lot easier for me.
I wasn't really sure how you sent a collect message, but decided to go ahead anyway. I pulled the sea spray up around us as we almost slowed to halt, the fine mist breaking the sunlight into a shimmering rainbow.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please carry this message to Bianca di Angelo in Hades' Palace," I called into the mist.
Only a minute or so passed, but it felt like hours as I waited for response in fear of the dreaded unavailable response, meaning death or worse. But finally the mist and light shimmered and I let out a massive sigh of relief as Bianca's face appeared in it, frowning at the message before her expression cleared.
"You're alive," She said, sounding relieved, though not very surprised.
"I said I didn't plan on dying, didn't I?" I asked with a smirk. "Though you don't seem to have thought me dead."
She looked slightly startled and I took the chance to look behind her. She seemed to be in her room in Hades' palace, causing me to relax further, at least she was safe.
"Well, I considered it at first," She said after a moment. "but I could feel that you weren't dead, if that makes sense, father only confirmed it."
I smiled, it was endearing that she cared enough to bother her father about my state of well-being. Though I guess getting to ask such questions was one benefit of living in the house of the lord of the dead.
"How is Eleanor? Is she-" I started worriedly, though Bianca just shook her head quickly.
"She is alive, and relatively speaking well," She said and I let out another sigh of relief. "She should soon be landing in New York, Argus will pick her up."
"Ah, she flew?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, I stayed for obvious reasons" Bianca acquiesced. "she went ahead, healing isn't so easy here, especially since she can't eat or drink. But she should be recovering in due time."
I nodded and Bianca scrunched her eyes.
"You are at sea, aren't you?" She asked, frowning, before asking tiredly, rubbing her temples. "just where are you? And how did you get there?"
With a deep breath beforehand I gave her an abridged version of what happened, she remained silent throughout, only speaking at the end.
"Has your mother never taught you not to go with strange people who introduce themselves as relatives?" She asked, her eyes glinting with amusement as she added. "Especially when they say your parents need to speak with you."
I rolled my eyes at her, though I gave a chuckle, she may be right, I should have been more suspicious. But to be fair, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the time. She didn't dwell on it however as she continued.
"So, you still haven't told me, just where exactly you are right now?" She asked and I shrugged.
"That's because I am not sure myself, somewhere off the northern pacific coast, probably a couple dozen miles west of Portland by now." I said before adding. "We could probably be in LA in the late afternoon."
"I assume you want me to meet you there?" She asked and frowned. "And who are we?
Below me I felt the sea monster laugh and smiled.
"An old, common, friend of ours and myself of course," I said and she just closed her eyes and muttered something.
"You are talking about him, aren't you?" She asked, realization dawning on her and I just gave a smirk as answer. "I think calling him a friend is a bit of a stretch, I can't even speak to him."
"Well that's just mean of you, he can hear you, you know." I protested and she chuckled. "But yeah, if it's possible that you'd meet us there, that'd be great."
"Alright, I guess I can delay leaving by a couple of hours, I don't think father will mind." She said and smirked. "Besides you need a ride east anyways, don't you?"
"I could swim through the Panama canal I suppose," I told her dryly. "But that would take quite a while longer, so I'd appreciate it."
"Well aren't you in luck then?" Bianca asked and looked thoughtful for a moment. "There aren't exactly many sea monster accessible places here, but can you come to the Marina del Rey? You know the big one, up north in LA, it should be plenty deep."
"I'll try my best," I said and she nodded.
The message started fading and she started reaching for another drachma, before stopping.
"Well, I'd love to continue talking," She said, smiling. "But you know how the prices are down here, and you have to get going if you want to make it in time, so I'll see you in the afternoon, alright? You have some more explaining to do."
I nodded as the message cut off, and turned back down to the sea monster below me. And I patted his back, seeing as he had buried his head in the water, seemingly more busy with chasing fish with his overly long neck by now. I guess monsters had about the same attention span as demigods, which I guess made sense if you used Chiron's combat reflexes explanation.
Ah, you are done flirting? He asked and I blushed.
"Hey, that was a very factual and short-cut conversation," I argued, though he barely seemed to be listening.
Well from the way you acted last time, I am surprised you aren't beyond that stage yet, He told me in my mind and I frowned.
"She was a huntress back then," I argued and felt him writhe below, as if shrugging.
Didn't seem to bother you, He said with a chuckle. Besides, was is the key word here, is it not?
"I think we should get back to traveling," I said, not willing to let myself be teased by a massive dragon of all things.
Whatever you say, my lord. He said and started sinking back down, clearly just more amused now.
"So how long do you think we'll take, Seattle-LA is at least a sixteen hour drive," I pondered, before reconsidering. "granted we don't need roads and you are far faster, but that's still at least eight or so, isn't it?"
Eight? He asked with another deep chuckle. I'll show you fast, the water here is deep and wide, and we have no drownable passengers. I'll get you there in five at most.
I gulped, I wasn't sure if I was eager at the prospect of going about two-hundred miles an hour on the back of a sea monster, even if I couldn't drown. But I doubted that I had much right to protest, he was already helping me out of little more than duty and kindness.
Admittedly it was more fun than I had imagined, racing through the sea at such speeds. At one point he caught an undercurrent and our speed became truly ludicrous for his size as we shot through the water. I wondered just how fast he could move if he truly wanted on a short distance, where stamina was no issue. But I decided not to ask, lest he might decide to show me.
Fun or not, me and my churning stomach were grateful when he finally started slowing as we drew into the shallower coastal waters of Los Angeles and with an arcing, whale-like jump, he entered into the marina, almost capsizing a couple of small sailing yachts with the massive waves he caused.
Looking up at the sun I tried to guess the time, it still stood rather high, but it was already late may, so it may as well be four pm or so, it was hard to say. I'd guess I'd just have to look around for her, though I seriously hoped I wouldn't have to fight anything, I had done enough of that recently.
Though I was rather confident the most likely powerful scent of the Aethopian Sea monster resting on me would make any other monster think I was about to be devoured or that messing with me was a truly terrible idea.
He pulled in between two quays, his tentacles reaching out to steady himself as I stood up on his back. I placed a hand above my eyes, shielding myself from the sun as I scouted around. I couldn't spot Bianca, so I decided to disembark.
"Alright, I guess we are parting ways here," I told him, slightly dismayed, I had enjoyed his company.
That we are my lord, though I was happy to help, He said and I nodded.
"I'll think of something to thank you," I promised him once more.
After a few steps of start-up I leapt off onto the wooden platform and turned around, giving the sea monster a brief mock-salute as he sank back beneath the waves and turned to walk off.
Father, if you are listening, I thought silently. Thank you.
Even if he truly had no hand in it, indirectly he had saved me still through his rule, status and one of his subjects.
With the pace he had made it was no wonder Bianca wasn't anywhere to be seen yet, but it was a nice enough afternoon, I padded my pockets and grumbled in annoyance as I realized that there was no mortal cash in them.
I threw my head back as I sighed, just like my drachmas I had lost it with my backpack. Matter of fact I lost a lot of things on this quest, money, both drachmas and cash, my helmet, my sword. Oceanus was right about one thing, I had a replacement for the latter, but the second was a lot more difficult.
The history with both couldn't be replaced of course, but at least the Scythe was more than enough in terms of functionality. Unless I somehow got my hands on my Uncles' famed helm, I would not find such an ideal replacement for my helmet, which meant I had to get one made, and one that would fit with the set and all, that would cost me another small fortune.
I grinned, looking out over the water from the end of the quay, as I thought of the Helm of Darkness, or rather of the fact that Percy was accused of stealing it once, and the bolt as well.
Of course it was Luke in the end, but he got caught, so I guessed I got that ahead of them both. Stealing a symbol of power was far from a classical heroic deed, but it certainly was a feat I had no shame in being proud of.
"You are looking pretty smug for someone who messed up as much as you did," A familiar voice said from the side, startling me.
I turned around to Bianca, she had snuck up on me, making me grin only broader, despite not being a hunter anymore in name, she still certainly had the stealth of one.
"Hey, Bi," I greeted her happily. "what do you mean, messed up?"
"You got yourself captured," She scolded, crossing her arms.
"And I got myself free, didn't I?" I asked her.
"You did." She agreed, though frowned. "Before that fight, you told me you were worried for me. Well, have you ever considered that someone could worry about you too?"
"I know," I said softly. "but I am here now, aren't I?"
As I said before, I fashioned myself an opportunist, and these last few days, well, I've been telling myself I was waiting for an opportunity to really talk to her. I certainly felt the moment was right, and while I didn't have a plan, the sun was getting low, it was not quite a romantic sunset, but it was close enough.
"So," I said, holding out my arms, smiling. "Do I get a hug?"
Bianca gave me a further hard stare, before rolling her eyes and stepping into my hug, wrapping her arms around me, and I embraced her. For a moment I just remained silent, enjoying the moment and her warmth, and her calming familiar mint smell.
Though I was tempted about losing myself in the moment, there was a task at hand, though hopefully an enjoyable one.
"Bi, I need to tell you something," I told her, still in the hug and she hummed happily, signaling me to go on.
"We've known each other for what? Five and a half months now?" I asked rhetorically, smiling. "It feels quite a while longer with all we've gone through together. You probably have become my best friend in this short time, but, truly, you are far more to me than that."
She pulled her head back, from its resting place on my shoulder, her dark eyes had look of anticipation, and she lightly bit her lip, though when she met my eyes, she gave me a reassuring smile. I felt myself grow hot, but continued with new confidence in my actions and words.
"I am not willing to wait any longer, no matter who our fathers are, I have waited too long already and will do so no more." I told her firmly and gave an anxious smile, before words started tumbling from my mouth. "Because you are kind, you are smart, stunningly capable and in my eyes the most perfect girl there is and well... Because I love you. I could go on like this till dusk, without saying anything that is merely flattery, and that's without even touching on how pretty you are."
Bianca was blushing harder than I was by now, though she fully met my eyes this time.
"But you know what your father said about my impatience." I told her, managing a small chuckle to cover my worries. "So, in light of the fact you are still in my arms and I am in yours, and you aren't trying to push me away or anything. I might as well ask you now, may I kiss you?"
"I very much insist on it, or I might just be breaking up with you again, you chivalrous, flattering fool." She said flustered, yet smiling, and I barely paid heed to the implication.
My heart beating, I pulled her a bit closer, before leaning down. I hesitated for a moment, one she seized now. Lifting her hands from my back and burying them in my curls, she pulled me down, swiftly closing the distance between us.
Perhaps I finally had a new memory for my nectar to remind me of, because as Bianca's lips met mine, this was surely the happiest I ever was.
I was too stunned to react for a good second, despite the fact this was precisely what I had meant to do. Bianca pulled back, and I grinned, I didn't care she was the one who kissed me and not the other way around, or about anything else at that moment, only that she was here with me.
"So we are together now?" I asked, unable to hide my stupid grin.
"Well, my threat still stands," Bianca said, smirking. "though I am sure you can muster the courage now..."
I nodded, as I wordlessly kissed her again, I held it quite a bit longer than she had this time, but even that seemed too short and fleeting as I pulled back again. I was tempted to go for another one, but managed to control myself, as I pulled her against me once more and rested my head atop hers.
"I'll take that as a yes," I said, letting out a happy breath of relief before adding. "my little ang-"
"Oh no you don't," She interrupted, suddenly half-annoyed, half-laughing. "the wordplay with the surname is too corny to forgive, even for you."
"Fine then, my little huntress," I said teasingly, smirking as she hit my arm playfully.
"I'd be careful not to let her hear that, she wouldn't be happy about it" Bianca told me with a chuckle. "and I think I very much prefer you in human form, and male that is."
"But you are okay with it?" I asked and her lack of answer was response enough.
"That is enough for me," I told her, smiling, as a horrid thought came to me. "and I'd be much more worried about Silena hearing that."
"Don't even remind me," Bianca laughed. "though hopefully she'll grow tired eventually."
"I wouldn't bet on it too soon," I said, amused. "with our parents, she already sees this whole star-crossed lovers thing. The fact that you left the Hunt didn't exactly help, as if I was the reason for that, no matter how happy I was about it."
"Well," Bianca cleared her throat. "She isn't completely wrong..."
"Are you serious?" I asked, raising a brow.
"It certainly made the decision easier when father offered it," Bianca said.
"Still, we had barely met two weeks ago," I told her. "I mean, I had a crush on you, at least since that night in Arizona, but-"
"So, what makes you believe I didn't have the same,?" She interrupted me with a huff. "I mean you show up, damn near a knight in shining armor, and your flirtations certainly didn't make it easier on me. There were worse prospects than spending more time with you."
"Flirting with a huntress?" I asked at her statement, smirking. "I'd never dare."
"Nearly the first thing you said to me was a compliment on my looks." She remarked and I chuckled.
"I was just teasing." I countered and she raised brow.
"Oh, so you don't think I've kept myself well?" She asked, with overplayed offense and I bit my tongue.
"Well, if we want to be accurate, the first thing I told you, or at least wanted to, was that you should take Nico into the woods, away from Thorn." I corrected her and she smiled.
"Your adorable protectiveness didn't help either with not liking you," She told me at that and I smirked broader, not able to hold back what I was about to say.
"Actually I was meaning to use you as bait to lure him in there," I told her and tilted my head. "that'd you'd be safer was a nice bonus."
"Don't ruin it," She warned me and I shut up.
I really didn't want to let go, and I did not, for a good ten minutes. The sea around and below, Bianca in my arms, my mind filled with relief and happiness, not in Elysium, not on the Isles of the Blest, not in the deepest depths of the Ocean had I ever felt so serene.
"So, how are we getting back to Camp?" I asked her and she pulled back.
"The same way I got here," She said and looked back. "my father has a driver waiting for me."
"Is he of undead or otherwise chthonic nature?" I asked her and she gave a nod.
"A ghoul," She answered. "but it could be worse for you, in February Alecto drove me."
"So?" I asked, smirking. "I am not Percy, I have no nightmares of my math teachers."
She gave me a look of immense confusion.
"Wait," I realized with amazement. "You don't know the story of Percy's first mishap, do you?"
"Not in full," She said and I smirked.
"Well, We've got a long drive ahead." I told her and she nodded.
"Mmh, we can laugh about your brother all you want on the way back," Bianca said, smiling. "But we should probably be a bit more subtle in there."
"Won't your father know soon enough anyways?" I asked with a frown.
"Most definitely," She said. "but we needn't flaunt it in his own car that much, so keep your impatience under control, we'll stop more than once, surely."
"Lead the way then," I told her, begrudgingly.
"Oh don't be so grumpy," She told me and pulled me in for another kiss. "I like you when brooding, plotting, happy and even angry. But grumpiness doesn't become you."
I nodded, and started moving, though she scrunched her eyes at me and held out an arm to stop me.
"Where's the Scythe?" She asked suddenly with worry.
"Ah, yes," I grinned triumphantly, holding out my hand.
Within a few heartbeats and a curl of mist the weapon in sword-form appeared in my hand. Bianca visibly became uneasy at its sight, so I let it disappear again after a small twirl.
"I see you've two grown familiar," Bianca commented and I nodded. "I had worried you lost it for a moment."
"Thank gods no," I said hastily. "Imagine having to explain that, even I couldn't take myself serious after something like that."
"Speaking of things you lost, where's your helmet? I liked it." Bianca complained and I shrugged.
"Probably in my room in Oceanus' palace," I told her. "But I am not going back for that. Though I always got the impression you preferred me with my helmet off."
"With how much you wear your armor, you have to learn to like both." She said, before adding. "though your chest-plate sure makes hugging you less comfortable."
"Well, I am sure I can take it off once we are inside without too much worry," I assured as I followed her towards the highly conspicuous black car in the distance.
Few things were usually a greater horror for a demigod, let alone a son of Poseidon, than two and a half days stuck inside the small space of a car for most of your time, with the exception of sleeping in hotels.
But, when that meant being together with your new girlfriend, or Bianca in general, for that time it was surprisingly pleasant. Not to mention, Hades certainly didn't spare himself on comfort spending for his daughter or I guess Bianca didn't, since I still was unsure just how much money lay in her name.
Because if a trust fund for them existed since the forties, with just normal interest alone both her and Nico would be multi-millionaires with just a couple of ten thousand dollars to start with, a bit of decent investment from the literal god of wealth here and there and that would be even more.
But through the trip I started to dread actually arriving at Camp, I wasn't sure what to expect. Did the others actually know what we were doing? I wasn't even sure if I wanted the usual celebrations, preferably I would keep this on the low. Much more worried however was I about Chiron, because I still had a couple of rule violations to be punished for, surely some grueling task awaited me.
When Chiron clopped the ground of the dinner pavilion with his hoof on the day of our return, I knew what was coming, we had only returned an hour before, and I hadn't spoken with the centaur yet.
All twenty present year-rounders turned to him, what few conversations there were on the tables, mostly Apollo and Hermes tables pestering their respective quest members for information, though Bianca and Eleanor avoided answering just where we had been.
"Heroes!" Chiron started his announcement and I put down my goblet to pay full attention. "I have an announcement to make."
"Three of our campers have left for a quest over these last days," He announced, pride in his voice, as there always was. "today they have returned in triumph."
A murmur went through the present campers, what quest? What for and why hadn't Chiron told them? Clearly there was a lot of confusion, but Chiron turned to me.
"Theseus Jackson," He called, before looking to Bianca and Eleanor in order. "Bianca di Angelo, Eleanor Warne. Please come forward."
Uneasily, I walked forward, already noticing the laurel wreaths Chiron seemed to have conjured from thin air. I tried to look focused as he placed them atop our heads, but I was a lot more busy looking from camper to camper, enjoying their looks of confusion.
Eleanor was visibly uncomfortable, though I was unsure if that was from the attention or from pain. Because the sling on her arm and bandages clearly showed she had gotten the worse out of us, though perhaps I could compete, I had made a tremendous recovery thanks to divine power and water.
"Usually I would announce this quest's success properly, but seeing how this came to be, I think it would be a lot more appropriate if its leader did." Chiron said, giving me a subtle, pointed look.
I cleared my throat as I looked around and resisted giving an annoyed stare to Chiron at the fact that he was offloading this to me. Clearly this was part of my punishment, having to awkwardly explain.
For a moment I considered hiding what happened from them, but Kronos' spies would know anyways, and the rest would soon enough as well, I am sure the Scythe would see action within the month again.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation for my absence this last week." I started, stepping forward. "I don't think it has escaped any Camper and much less those of you here right now, but we are at war. We have been training and preparing for it, all to preserve Camp and the world as we know it."
I made a small pause, partially to find my words, partially for dramatics and fun.
"But we have so far always only reacted to Kronos' actions, so when the opportunity to do so came, I saw no choice but to finally go on the offensive and got myself a prophecy. And I am happy to announce that we have been successful on our thus issued quest."
Another pause.
"We have taken Kronos' Scythe from him!"
Cheers exploded, mixed with confused questions, murmuring and whispering. I grinned at the campers disarray, it was amusing to watch, though realistically I'd react the same way if someone told me he had just stolen Zeus' bolt or so.
Malcolm gave me a look of disbelief, Lee looked at Eleanor with an annoyed look, clearly she hadn't said much. And I truly had to resist laughing as Travis choked on his food in shock, though Chiron clopped the floor again with his hooves, silencing the crowd once more.
"I could go into unnecessary details now," I told the crowd. "but there'll be time for that some other day. For now I would like to thank my fellow quester, Eleanor Warne, daughter of Apollo and-"
"Bianca di Angelo," Chiron suddenly announced, his voice calm and unsurprised. "daughter of Hades, lord of the Underworld, god of the dead and riches, hail to you."
I instantly kneeled before I even saw the symbol, and I couldn't help but grin. I wasn't surprised, much more I was amused. Despite their differences, Hades seemed to have the same penchant for dramatics as his brothers.
Still, he probably should have chosen a different color, thanks to the summer sky it was still visible, but the deep black mark of the helm of darkness in the evening sky would have barely been noticed had it been winter.
Thunder followed, clearly Zeus was unhappy, though when wasn't he. Together with it, came the talking of campers, whispering with worried and confused looks.
Hades clearly had been waiting and watching for the perfect moment, and I had to admit this was it, it was truly a proper claiming, and with her just returning from a quest against Kronos, none could question her loyalties or dare challenge her because of her parentage.
Chiron managed to restore order, calling the campers to attention for further announcements and gave us leave to return to our tables.
But I did not fail to use the chance to kiss Bianca before we did so, chuckling at her surprised expression, surely she would have a few annoyed words to say about that later. But frankly, I didn't care if Camp, or her father were watching.
You might call me over-protective, but this was one thing I wanted to make clear, I didn't care who her father was, nor would I let anyone give her trouble for it.
Bianca beamed at me as she slid back down besides Lou, even if the latter was very meaningfully smirking at her with a triumphant expression. Meanwhile I tried to focus on Chiron and did my best to ignore the looks from the Aphrodite table.
At least we wouldn't have to endure the teasing in the summer, but only with so few here, which made it a lot more bearable.
Stretching, I let my mind drift off as Chiron started making the regular announcements about inspections and Capture the Flag.
As always I'd be grateful for a follow, favorite or review!
(Yes I accidentally uploaded a wrong draft at first)