And back with our Parthenos crew! In which we see some of Bianca's insecurities regarding her father and brother. Honestly, poor Bianca.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Yeah uh, he's gonna try real hard to keep his plan from Percy- I wonder if he'll succeed.
Guest: It's adorable right.

Bianca wasn't completely sure what happened, she knew she passed out-and she'd heard Coach Hedge cursing rather colorfully and Calypso yelling at them to hold on. And then nothing until she jerked awake. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out but when she did come to Coach Hedge was leaning over her- and she almost headbutted him in the nose, luckily he pulled back in time.

"What kid! Be careful there."

"I-" Bianca blinked rapidly, her head spinning slightly at first before her vision cleared. "I- is everything okay?" as she spoke she looked around.

At least there were no immediate threats. That was a nice change of pace for them. They were camped on a sunny lawn in the middle of a public square. Beds of orange marigolds bloomed all around them. Reyna was sleeping curled up, with her two metal dogs at her feet- a sight which made Bianca's chest feel kind of tight, and Calypso was sat a little bit further away with her back to them doing something- maybe weaving? Bianca wasn't really sure.

Maybe a stones throw away from them little kids were playing tag around a white marble fountain. At a nearby pavement cafe half a dozen people sipped coffee in the shade of patio umbrellas. A few delivery vans were parked along the edges of the square, but there was no traffic. The only pedestrians were a few families, probably locals, enjoying a warm afternoon.

The square itself was paved with cobblestones, edged with white stucco buildings and lemon trees. In the centre stood the well-preserved shell of a Roman temple. Its square base stretched maybe fifty feet wide and ten feet tall, with an intact facade of Corinthian columns rising another twenty-five feet. And at the top of the colonnade.

"Oh." Bianca blinked slowly, "Ooooh. That's not so good."

The Athena Parthenos lay sideways along the tops of the columns like a nightclub singer sprawled across a piano. Lengthwise, she fitted almost perfectly, but with Nike in her extended hand she was a bit too wide. She looked like she might topple forward at any moment.

"Do I want to know what she's doing up there?" Bianca asked hesitantly.

"You tell me." Hedge snorted. "That's where we appeared kid. We almost fell to our deaths but luckily Calyopso used that wind magic of hers to catch herself and Reyna. I have nimble hooves but I was okay. You were unconscious in that harness of course like a tangled paratrooper until we manage to get you down."

"Okay." Bianca blinked, swallowing hard. "That's not ideal."

"You don't say." Hedge snorted. "Took us ages to get you down."

"Is this." Bianca glanced around. "Are we in Spain?"

"Portugal," Hedge said. "You overshot. By the way, Reyna speaks Spanish; she does not speak Portuguese. Anyway, while you were asleep, we figured out this city is Évora. Good news: it's a sleepy little place. Nobody's bothered us. Nobody seems to notice the giant Athena sleeping on top of the Roman temple, which is called the Temple of Diana, in case you were wondering. And people here appreciate my street performances! I've made about sixteen euros."

Diana. Bianca swallowed hard. It felt like her past was chasing after her. Diana was Artemis' Roman form, and Bianca wondered what the goddess would think of her now. Would she be ashamed? disappointed? And Zoe- Bianca's hand moved up to her neck, fingers brushing over the thin chain which she always hid beneath her shirt.

Bianca did manage to shake herself back into focus fairly quickly though, running her fingers through her hair and swallowing hard.

"Right- right of course, that- smart thinking." she paused- had he just said... actually no. It was probably better not to question that. She didn't want to know what Hedge's street performances were like.

"Anyway, we figured this was a decent place to lie low for a couple of days."

"Of co- wait what?" Bianca felt her heart sinking at that. "A couple of days?" there was an undercurrent of panic in her voice, "Please tell me that doesn't mean what it sounds like it means?"

"Hey, it's not like we had much choice." Hedge shook his head, "You've been pushing yourself too hard, The Roman almost lost it when we couldn't wake you up last night. Was worried you wouldn't wake up at all."

"I-" Bianca opened and closed her mouth before her shoulders slumped. "How long have I been out for?"

"About thirty-six hours. You needed it."

And Bianca was very glad that she was already sat or she'd have fallen over. It hadn't felt like hours- though, now that she thought about it she felt a lot better than she had done recently. And she hadn't exactly been getting as much rest as she needed, not as much as she needed when she was shadow travelling after all.

As if it wanted to get a say in everything her stomach chose that moment to growl- and she felt her face flushing when Calypso turned her head and glanced towards them. At least Reyna was asleep, she didn't get to see Bianca's embarrassment.

"You must be hungry." Hedge looked almost amused, "Either that or your stomach speaks hedgehog. That was quite a statement in hedgehog."

"Yes please." Bianca breathed the words, "I'm starving." then she paused, "Not that I mind. I'm glad that you woke me but- why now?"

"Oh, right." the coach pointed to a gated archway at the corner of the square. Standing in the shadows was a glowing, vaguely human figure outlined in grey flames. The spirit's features were indistinct, but it seemed to be beckoning to Bianca. "Burning Man showed up a few minutes ago," said Coach Hedge. "He doesn't get any closer. When I tried to go over there, he disappeared. Not sure if he's a threat, but he seems to be asking for you."

"That doesn't fill me with optimism." she muttered the words, "But I guess I don't exactly get much choice in this." she pulled herself to her feet, unsheathing her Stygian Iron blade and approached the archway.

And normally spirits didn't scare her much. Usually she could control them, she might not be on the same brother as Nico, the self proclaimed and undisputed Ghost King, but she could handle herself.

Still she did find herself feeling somewhat nervous as she approached the spirit. She'd been through so much lately that she couldn't help but feel on edge.

She didn't take long to reach the ghost- which was wearing a monk's habit- sandals, woollen robes and a wooden cross around his neck. Grey flames swirled around him – burning his sleeves, blistering his face, turning his eyebrows to ashes. He seemed to be stuck in the moment of his immolation, like a black-and-white video on a permanent loop.

Bianca resisted the urge to shudder at that. She didn't understand how Nico was always so confident and comfortable around death. If she was being truly honest with herself she was scared of the idea- which had helped her decision to join the hunters. Even if it hadn't been a driving force behind it. "I guess you were burned alive." Bianca's voice was soft.

The ghost's face distorted in a silent scream of agony, but his eyes looked bored, even a little annoyed, as if the scream was just an automatic reflex he couldn't control. Clearly he wasn't able to speak.

"Okay. This isn't going to be easy then." Bianca muttered the words, "You want me for something right? Can you show me?"

And the ghost nodded, beckoning for Bianca to follow.

He turned and walked through the gateway. Bianca glanced back at the others- Calypso had looked up from her weaving and Coach Hedge was watching too. The Satyr just made a shooing gesture like, Go. Do your Underworld thing.

So Bianca followed the ghost through the streets of Evora.

They zigzagged through narrow cobblestone walkways, past courtyards with potted hibiscus trees and white stucco buildings with butterscotch trim and wrought-iron balconies. No one noticed the ghost, but the locals looked askance at Bianca. A young girl with a fox terrier crossed the street to avoid her. Her dog growled, the hair on its back standing straight up like a dorsal fin.

The ghost led Bianca to another public square, anchored at one end by a large square church with whitewashed walls and limestone arches. The ghost passed through the portico and disappeared inside.

Bianca hesitated for a moment- but- well she'd come all this way, she didn't want to go back with nothing.

So she ducked through the doorway. Her eyes were instantly drawn to a side chapel, lit from within by eerie golden light.

Carved over the door was a Portugese inscription.

Bianca didn't speak the language but she could speak Italian well enough to get a good idea of what it said. Which roughly translated to 'We, the bone that are here, await yours.'

She pulled a face as she headed inside of the chapel. At the far end stood an altar, where the fiery wraith knelt in prayer, but Nico was more interested in the room itself. The walls were constructed of bones and skulls – thousands upon thousands, cemented together. Columns of bones held up a vaulted ceiling decorated with images of death. On one wall, like coats on a coat rack, hung the desiccated, skeletal remains of two people – an adult and a small child.

"A beautiful room, isn't it?" Bianca jumped at the voice, whirling around quickly, her gaze focusing on the figure that had suddenly appeared next to her- and suddenly she felt very sick.

Like the wraith, Hades was dressed in the habit of a Franciscan monk. His black robes were tied at the waist with a simple white cord. His cowl was pushed back, revealing dark hair shorn close to the scalp and eyes that glittered like frozen tar. The god's expression was calm and content, as if he'd just come home from a lovely evening strolling through the Fields of Punishment, enjoying the screams of the damned.

"Father." Bianca swallowed hard, giving a low bow. "I- I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm sure you didn't." Hades traced his fingers along the nearest column, leaving bleached white marks on the old bones. "I've been searching for you my daughter. You're never as easy to track as your brother is. But then he's always with his family-" his lips twitched fondly, "You... are not so easy to find. When the sceptre of Diocletian exploded it got my attention."

"I-" Bianca swallowed hard, "I didn't mean to break it father. Why are you looking for me? I- I'm surprised. I'd have thought you'd have wanted to see Nico-"

"Nico is not the one who needs me most." Hades' voice dared her to argue. "Even with recent reckless decisions he is not the one I worry about most." and that made Bianca's stomach twist uncomfortably.

Because of course he didn't need to worry about Nico. Nico was more put together than she was, he was Hades favorite she knew. He'd told her so once. He'd made it clear that he was disappointed in her.

Nico was the son he loved and she? She was the failure. He'd expected more of her. And he was still speaking.

"I was glad for the explosion of the sceptre. The explosion gave me the clarity to pinpoint your location. I was hoping to speak to you in Pompeii, but it is so … well, Roman. This chapel was the first place where my presence was strong enough that I could appear to you as myself – by which I mean Hades, god of the dead, not split with that other manifestation."

Hades breathed in the stale dank air. "I am very drawn to this place. The remains of five thousand monks were used to build the Chapel of Bones. It serves as a reminder that life is short and death is eternal. I feel focused here. Even so, I only have a few moments."

"What do you want father." Bianca asked stiffly. Which made him frown at her, he looked almost hurt for a second.

"You're my daughter. Can you entertain the notion that I might be here to help you, not simply because I want something?"

"Maybe if I was Nico I could." the words slipped out before Bianca could stop them, and Hades eyes narrowed.

"I will ignore that you said that. In any case I imagine your brother would send me away if I tried to speak to him. He was most angry about my keeping him from his sister. No. I am here to see you my daughter. And I am here to help, if you would let me."