We see some more Bianca and Hades. And Hades does love his kids even if he's not great at saying the right thing.
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Undeath9087: Yep, she really does. And most of her issues lie in her own opinion of herself and her past. Poor Bianca.
Bianca stared at her father for a moment before she looked away. "What can you help me with?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest almost protectively. And it was so hard to push away the hurt.
She didn't blame Nico of course. How could she, Nico hadn't done anything wrong. It was her fault that her dad wasn't proud of her in the same way he was proud of him, but it still stung.
"I have information. About Gaea's hunter my daughter. His name is Orion."
And that made Bianca straighten up, her eyes going wide. Because she definitely recognise that name. "He was a friend of Artemis. I remember someone in the hunt mentioning him when a younger girl asked about boys."
"Yes." Hades nodded. "He was a giant born to oppose the twins, Apollo and Artemis, but, much like Artemis, Orion rejected his destiny. He sought to live on his own terms. First he tried to live among mortals as a huntsman for the king of Khios. He, ah, ran into some trouble with the king's daughter. The king had Orion blinded and exiled."
"Reyna dreamed of a hunter with glowing eyes." Bianca said quickly, "If he's blind then-"
"He was blind," Hades corrected. "Shortly after his exile, Orion met Hephaestus, who took pity on the giant and crafted him new mechanical eyes even better than the originals. Orion became friends with Artemis. He was the first male ever allowed to join her Hunt. But … things went wrong between them. How exactly, I do not know. Orion was slain. Now he has returned as a loyal son of Gaia, ready to do her bidding. He is driven by bitterness and anger. You can understand that."
Bianca's eyes narrowed at that. "I made a mistake father- I've been trying to make up for it ever since."
"I am aware." Hades sighed. "I did not mean that as an insult daughter."
"I- It doesn't even matter. How do we stop him?" Bianca tilted her head. Hopefully she'd be able to get a straight answer from her father, one that would help them, though she doubted it."
"You cannot." and there, just as she'd expected, "Your only hope is to outrun him, accomplish your quest before he reaches you. Apollo or Artemis might be able to slay him, arrows against arrows, but the twins are in no condition to aid you. Even now, Orion has your scent. His hunting pack is almost upon you. You won't have the luxury of more rest from here to Camp Half-Blood."
That made Bianca want to scream- how was she supposed to do this without rest, being hunted like an animal. Gods but Reyna was asleep what if they were attacked. The idea of the other girl getting hurt made her chest go tight.
"I need to get back to them." her voice was breathless, "I need to go-"
"Indeed." Hades said, "But there is more- your sister has discovered that one of the seven will die. She may try to prevent this. In doing so she may lose sight of her priorities."
"I-" Bianca swallowed hard, "Is she okay?"
"For the moment. But I worry about her- and about your brother when he finds out. They may not be able to do what needs to be done."
"Do you know who will die?" Bianca asked quietly. Gods but if it was Hazel she'd lose her mind. She'd lost so much in the cause of protecting her sister. She'd almost destroyed her relationship with Nico to protect Hazel. And- and she found herself worrying about Jason too. He'd been so kind to her after what had happened. He was probably the first friend she'd made outside of the hunt- and she wasn't sure how much friends she made inside of the hunt counted, after all they were more like a sisterhood than normal friends. Even Zoe.
But Hades was shaking his head at her question. "Even if I were certain I could not say. I tell you this because you are my daughter- and because you are not quite so..."
"So firmly tied to most of the seven?" Bianca finished, a frown on her lips, "Because Hazel is one of them and Nico has multiple family members who are part of the Seven."
"Yes, for lack of a better way to put it." Hades sighed. "You know that some deaths cannot be prevented. Some deaths should not be prevented. When the time comes you may need to act."
"I don't know what you mean by that and I don't want to." Bianca muttered.
"My daughter-" Hades sighed, "I know I don't often say it but I am proud of you. I admit that.. there was a time I was disappointed in you. Over the last years I have found myself changing some- my opinions. But you were a child- and children should not exist to serve their parents. You may have made mistakes in the past but you are growing every day Bianca-"
"I'll never be Nico though."
"I would not want you to be." Hades shook his head. "Your brother is his own person. And you are clearly finding yourself too. But- my children so rarely get to be happy. Your brother is a rare exception. I would like to see you be an exception also. I know that you were... well, I know my children well enough to know that the hunt led you to much grief, much heart ache-"
"Please don't-"
"Bianca-"
"Don't father." Bianca shook her head "I- what happened with Zoe, I'm not- she didn't do anything-"
"One doesn't need to do anything to break a heart." Hades pointed out softly, "But I hope that you can move on and find your own happiness."
Over at the altar, the fiery ghost rose. He approached, burning and screaming silently, his eyes conveying some urgent message.
"Ah," Hades said. "This is Brother Paloan. He's one of hundreds who were burned alive in the square near the old Roman temple. The Inquisition had its headquarters there, you know. At any rate, he suggests you leave now. You have very little time before the wolves arrive."
"Wolves? You mean Orion's pack?"
Hades flicked his hand. The ghost of Brother Paloan disappeared. "My daughter, what you are attempting – shadow-travel across the world, carrying the statue of Athena – it may well destroy you."
"It wouldn't destroy Nico-"
"It very possibly would." Hades voice was slightly chiding. "And he has much more experience and practise with his shadow travel. I worry for you."
"I-" Bianca swallowed hard. "Thank you." her voice was small, vulnerable. And Hades gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I will see you again my child. Sooner or later-"
"Hopefully not because I've died." Bianca muttered the words, and Hades laughed softly, shaking his head.
"Go my daughter." he squeezed her shoulder gently "Re-join your friends. They are good allies." and then her father was gone in a blink, and Bianca exhaled heavily before she hurried out of the church. She needed to get back to the others after all.
And when she did arrive back the only real change was that Reyna was awake, packing up their things. And Coach Hedge was entertaining a few locals with tap dancing and martial arts, occasionally singing into his megaphone, though nobody seemed to understand what he was saying.
The megaphone was a bit much, it was obnoxiously loud and it occasionally blurted out random Darth Vader lines from Star Wars or yelled, 'THE COW GOES MOO!' If she had to place a bet Bianca would say that was because of Leo.
And from the looks of it Calypso and Reyna had gone to the nearby pavement café to get some food- they had sandwiches and pastries set out on a large blanket. It looked like they were tourists having a picnic.
Reyna waved when she spotted Bianca- and that slight smile on Reyna's lips almost made Bianca's heart stop. Reyna was always so serious, that smile was a rare pleasure indeed, and Bianca felt her face flushing as she jogged over to join them.
"Bianca." Reyna nodded, "Gleeson told us you went with a spirit?"
"He was sent by my father." Bianca sat down just across from Reyna.
"Oh?" Calypso tilted her head, "What did Lord Hades want?"
And so Bianca told them of her discussion with her father, holding back only the more personal details.
And Reyna frowned when Bianca mentioned the wolves, her brows furrowing.
"Most wolves are friendly to Romans." she said slowly, "I've never heard stories of Orion hunting with a pack."
"That's what my father said." Bianca told them, taking another bite of her sandwich, "I think he was talking about real wolves, maybe it was a figure of speech. Either way we should leave as soon as it's dark enough for shadows."
Coach Hedge stuffed an issue of Guns & Ammo into his bag. "Only problem: the Athena Parthenos is still thirty feet in the air. Gonna be fun hauling you guys and your gear to the top of that temple."
Bianca tried a pastry. The lady at the café had called them farturas. They looked like spiral doughnuts and tasted great – just the right combination of crispy, sugary and buttery.
"We will find a way." Calypso frowned, "Though I don't believe I could fly you up there. Getting us down was easy in comparison."
Reyna took a bite of her pastry. Her chain mail glittered in the afternoon sun. I'm still wondering about these wolves … Is it possible we've misunderstood the message? The goddess Lupa has been very quiet. Perhaps she is sending us aid. The wolves could be from her – to defend us from Orion and his pack."
The hopefulness in her voice was as thin as gauze. Bianca didn't want to break it but- "Maybe, but wouldn't she be busy with the war between the camps? I thought she'd be sending wolves to help your legion."
Reyna shook her head. "Wolves are not front-line fighters. I don't think she would help Octavian. Her wolves might be patrolling Camp Jupiter, defending it in the legion's absence, but I just don't know."
She crossed her legs at the ankles, and the iron tips of her combat boots glinted.
"We'll figure it out Reyna."
"There's something else." Reyna frowned, "I I haven't had any luck contacting my sister, Hylla. It makes me uneasy that both the wolves and the Amazons have gone silent. If something has happened on the West Coast … I fear the only hope for either camp lies with us. We must return the statue soon. That means the greatest burden is on you Bianca."
That made Bianca feel kind of sick with fear- she could die, she knew that. Thankfully Calypso drew the attention away from her for a second.
"I haven't been able to contact Zoe either- Iris messages to her don't seem to be going through." and again Bianca's stomach twisted, she blinked rapidly, hand reaching up to her necklace.
"I may be able to at least send her a signal." Bianca said after a long moment. "She gave me a necklace- if I break the charm- well she told me to break it if I ever needed her. I'm not sure if she'll come but-"
"Do it." Calypso nodded.
"But-" Bianca continued, "I should probably wait until after the next jump. I'm not sure if it'll keep tracking me and she'll know where I am if we move on but the next jump will be the longest. I have to get us across the Atlantic."
"What do you need?" Reyna didn't even falter.
And gods but Bianca felt a rush of warmth at that.
"I don't know." she admitted, "You've already let me rest longer than you probably should. Which- thank you I needed it. I-" she hesitated, "Do you think you can lend me your strength again?"
"If I can I will." Reyna said firmly, "You will make it. And once we're back in the US we should encounter fewer monsters. I might even be able to get help from retired legionnaires along the eastern seaboard. They are obliged to aid any Roman demigod who calls on them."
Hedge grunted. "If Octavian hasn't already won them over. In which case, you might find yourself arrested for treason."
"Coach," Reyna scolded, not helping."
Hedge opened his mouth again but Bianca's glare made it snap shut.
Reyna's dogs sprang to their feet.
In the distance, howls pierced the air. Before Bianca could stand, wolves appeared from every direction – huge black beasts leaping from the roofs, surrounding their encampment.
The largest of them padded forward. The alpha wolf stood on his haunches and began to change. His forelegs grew into arms. His snout shrank into a pointy nose. His grey fur morphed into a cloak of woven animal pelts. He became a tall, wiry man with a haggard face and glowing red eyes. A crown of finger bones circled his greasy black hair.
"Ah, little satyr …" he man grinned, revealing pointed fangs. "Your wish is granted! You will stay in Évora forever, because, sadly for you, my figurative wolves are literally wolves."
