Hey guys, so not a lot to say. I apologize for the last update taking so long, I got really busy with some things and had to take some time away from writing. I'm back now, however I will be away from my computer for the month of October so I want to get a few chapters in before then to tide you all over until I get back. I'm going to start trying to do weekly updates with at least one or two stories.

Chapter 7: The ghosts of failure

Thalia:

The explosion from the Big House came around midnight.

At first, I thought it was the Stoll brothers playing a late night trick on somebody, until I saw the wood and debris flying off of the front porch. Instantly, I heard movement inside the cabin as Hunters were scrambling to grab weapons and rush outside.

"What happened?" Amber asked me as she stepped outside

"I don't know," I said, pulling my can of mace out of my pocket "Everyone! Form a perimeter around the Big House, don't let Circe escape!"

Unfortunately, Lady Artemis had made a visit to Olympus, depriving us of our advantage of having a goddess on our side against Circe, but she wouldn't be any match for all of us. We just had to subdue her quickly before she had time to formulate an escape plan, assuming she hadn't already.

As we neared the Big House, I saw her battling some of the Demigods who'd already arrived, Percy leading the charge. He ducked as she shot a ball of fire in his direction, and tried to close the distance, but she was good in a fight, even without her staff.

"Surround her!" I yelled to the Hunters "Hurry!"

In an instant, a few hundred Hunters and Demigods had surrounded the Big House on all sides as Percy backed away, keeping his sword at the ready. I tapped my bracelet as Aegis sprang to life and my spear appeared in my other hand, leveling them at Circe. Everything was quiet for a moment, but still she continued to smile.

"It's over, Circe," Percy told her "You're surrounded, get back to your cell."

"Oh no, dear," She replied "I've had my fun, but don't worry, he'll keep you entertained."

"Huh?" Percy asked, confused

Unfortunately, at that moment, the metallic, rage filled scream that I had heard in my nightmares ever since the battle of Manhattan echoed from the Big House.

"CIRCE!" It called "TRAITOR!"

"No," Percy stammered, backing away "No, it can't be!"

Suddenly, Circe waved her hand and a column of flames appeared in front of Percy and she bolted, firing spells furiously into the line of Demigods keeping her in, scattering them as she ran.

I looked back to the Big House as a few other Demigods gave chase and saw a figure emerging from the inside, Eli. What had he been doing in there? Where was Kronos? Everything was happening so fast, and I lowered my shield for a moment, confused.

Suddenly, he attacked.

A ball of silver light flew from his hand and struck Percy square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Eli stomped his foot as the rest of us raised our weapons again, and I suddenly felt as if I were trying to move under water. Eli, however, continued to move at the same pace, strolling outside as his daggers appeared in his hand. He blasted the two nearest Demigods with silver light and continued his advance, the rest of us unable to do anything.

"CIRCE!" He raged, except it wasn't his voice

No, it couldn't be, how was that even possible? I struggled against the power of Kronos, but I couldn't make myself move any faster as Eli blasted another Demigod.

Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air, forcing Eli to duck, breaking his concentration and releasing us all. Everyone froze for a moment, unsure of what to do before I heard the voice of Will Solace in the crowd. Yelling for everyone to subdue Eli before he could continue his attack.

The crowd surged forward as even more Demigods joined us, but Eli rushed forward, meeting the challenge and taking down several before most of us had even gotten close. The only thing saving lives is that there were far too many of us for him to do anything other than block and dodge. I rushed his side, aiming to bash him with my shield but he stepped to the side, flinging another ball of light into my side, throwing me to the ground.

I was helpless to watch as Will charged, swinging his sword at his leg, attempting to cut him. Eli caught his sword with his daggers, forcing it into the dirt, kicking Will's ankle away and stabbing both daggers through his chest.

Will's eyes widened in surprise as Eli ripped the daggers from his chest and kicked him to the side, turning to meet the other Demigods charging after him. I struggled to my feet, still reeling from the hit I'd taken, when I saw Kayla rush past me in a blur, a dagger in her hand.

"Kayla, no!" I called after her "It's not him!"

I could tell that giving birth earlier that day had taken a toll on her, and she wasn't moving like she used to move. But she rushed nonetheless, calling his name as she neared him. He turned, and for a moment, his face was confused, but quickly turned to rage again as she got closer.

"Eli, what are you doing?" She yelled at him

In a flash, he stomped his foot, a wave of light coming out of the ground the throwing Demigods and Hunters in every direction. Kayla jumped just in time, narrowly avoiding the blast. She landed, seeming to realize that the Eli in front of her wasn't actually Eli, and she moved to take him down, aiming a kick to his leg that should've knocked him off balance if she'd been able to connect. He moved to the side, blocking her dagger and kicking the back of her foot, forcing her onto the ground.

As he raised his dagger to finish her off, the face of rage momentarily turned to desperation and fear as he reached his other hand up and grabbed his own wrist, forcing his dagger into the dirt next to her head.

"NO!" He cried out

That voice, that voice was Eli, not Kronos. I was so confused, unable to fathom what was happening as I struggled to my feet again. Suddenly, the rage was back as he raised the dagger again, but Kayla pushed herself away, kicking him hard in the face and forcing him even further away from her.

Eli stood, looking around at the recovering Demigods, before turning away, rushing off towards the forest. In the chaos of the last few seconds, nobody was on their feet to stop him as he charged right over the line and disappeared into the darkness.

Everyone was in shock at what had just happened. In minutes, we'd lost Eli and Circe, just like that.

"Will!" I heard a voice call

I turned to see Nico coming out of the crowd, dropping to his knees beside Will as his sword fell from his hand. He gently took Will's head and cradled him in his arms as tears fell down his face, Will smiled slightly, reaching up and place a hand on his cheek.

"Will," Nico whispered "Tell me what to do, tell me how to fix you, please."

"You can't, Nico," Will said back "I've lost too much blood."

"No, no," Nico sobbed "Come on, Will, hang on. MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC!"

"Nico, it's okay," Will said gently "I'll be okay, I promise."

"Will, no," Nico begged "No, please...don't go."

"I l-" Will's voice was broken by a coughing fit "Nico, I love...you."

"Will?" Nico asked through tears, stroking his hair "Will? No! No! Come on, Will, wake up!"

Will's arm had gone limp, and his hand fallen from Nico's face. Nico continued to call his name, begging for him to wake up, for him to be okay, but it did no good. Will Solace was gone, and the son of Hades sat there, clutching his body like a lifeline, refusing to believe it, even though I knew he'd felt it.

"Nico," I whispered gently, placing a hand on his shoulder "Nico, he's gone."

"I know," He snapped at me "I felt it!"

"I'm sorry." I told him

"Kronos," He growled, his voice turning to rage as he grabbed his sword "Kronos."

"Wait, Nico." I said, trying to stop him

Too late, the son of Hades vanished in front of my eyes, dissolving into the shadows.

Nico:

Kronos had headed west, into the forest and towards Zeus' fist. I knew I could head him off there, he was probably trying to escape through the other side of the river, it would lead him directly out of the camp's borders and into the farms outside. If he escaped the camp's borders, we'd lose him for sure.

Rage.

That was the only thing in my head, blind rage. I would make Kronos pay for what he had done, he'd taken Will from me.

I couldn't beat him, I knew that, but I wasn't intent on victory...

Sure enough, I appeared on Zues' fist just as Kronos was running by the rocks. I appeared to fast for him to react, jumping down and swinging my sword. He turned just in time, blocking my sword with his daggers and stepping to the side. I planted my feet as I landed and turned, preparing for his counter attack. Instead, I felt a strange sensation, like I was trying to move through water. This power, I knew, I'd felt it before, and I'd planned for this as well.

I shadow traveled, coming out behind Kronos and breaking his control over me, swinging my sword as I appeared. He blocked the strike and back away quickly, clearly not expecting what I'd done. I glared, keeping my sword up, ready to strike.

"Well then," He said, cocking his head slightly "I'm impressed."

"Piss off!" I spat

I struck again, and again, and again, sending Kronos on the defensive. He broke my guard for a moment, aiming to cut my throat, but I stepped back and brought my sword upwards, nearly severing his hand. He snarled, slashing with his other dagger. I ducked, stepping away and swinging for his ribs, scoring a hit.

He growled, more irritated than hurt, turning to face me as I swung again. This time, however, he was ready, blocking my sword with one dagger and slashing at my face, cutting the side of my cheek. I shadow traveled again, this time coming to his left side and swinging for the head. In a flash, he caught my sword on his daggers, pushing me away and taking another swing for my ribs. I lowered my sword, holding it firmly as his blade bounced off of it.

I rushed again, swinging wide and locking up his blade, but his other one was free as he aimed another slash for my throat. Suddenly, however, his hand froze and locked up, and his face twisted in pain as he forced himself to slash to far to the left and miss me entirely.

"NO!" He roared

This time, however, it was Eli's voice, and not Kronos' that spoke. His eyes had reverted from gold to silver, and he backed away and fell to one knee as Kronos struggled to regain control over the son of Diana. It seemed, for the moment however, that Eli was winning, but I kept my blade at the ready.

"Nico!" Eli called out desperately, his voice strained "Left leg...tweaked it...other night...aim...for my...knee!"

Suddenly, he screamed in rage as Eli lost control, and his eyes again turned gold. He surged forwards, swinging wildly at the left and right, and I shadow traveled behind him, doing as Eli had instructed and kicking the back of his left knee, causing Kronos to roar in pain.

Again Kronos stepped away, weighing his options. He knew he couldn't keep me in the grip of his powers over time, nor could he run, I would only shadow travel after him and cut him off. What I was counting on him not knowing, was that I only had a few more left in me before I ultimately passed out.

"You fight well, son of Hades." He said, his metallic voice giving even me the chills

"Learned from the best." I spat in retort

I swung high, meeting his blades in mid air. Suddenly, he pulled one away and slashed at my chest, cutting just below my collarbone. I elbowed him in the face and pushed him away, swinging again for his side and managing to score another cut to his ribs. He growled and struck again, swinging wildly as I did my best to deflect each of his strikes. I shadow traveled again, this time come up a few feet away, extending my hand out as two skeletons crawled from the ground.

Kronos readied himself as they charged, shattering the first one in a second and dodging a spear from the other. The second skeleton gave him a bit more trouble, and I took the opportunity to strike, shadow traveling once more as he struck down the second skeleton.

As I appeared behind him, he thrust his dagger into my stomach, turning and shoving the other into my chest. As I fell, I heard a series of footsteps, running towards us, and loud barking.

"NICO!" I heard Percy's voice tear through the night

Reyna:

"What happened here?" I demanded, approaching Thalia

"Eli," She said, looking still in shock "Eli, he...I don't know."

"What about Eli?" I asked, confused now

"He was here, Circe escaped." She stammered, looking as though she didn't believe it

"Eli helped Circe escape?" I demanded "Are you insane?"

"No, he didn't help her," She told me "Circe did something to him, when he came out, he was...his voice...it was Kronos."

"His voice?" I asked

"When he spoke, his voice was that of Kronos," I heard Percy speak up from behind her "I heard it myself, I don't know what Circe did to him, but we have to track him down."

"Nico," Thalia said suddenly "Nico went after him, if we hurry, we can catch them."

"Jello!" Percy called

A loud bark was heard, and the sound of an animal running towards us through the snow. In a few moments, Jello appeared, bounding towards us. She stopped in front of us, fidgeting around anxiously, whining and rubbing her head up against Thalia's leg.

"I know, girl," Thalia whispered, rubbing her head "Listen, we need to find Eli, okay? I need you to track him for me."

She gave an affirmative huff, sniffing in the air, turning in circles and looking around. She froze for a moment, looking left and right as she stared off into the forest on the other side of camp, seeming to catch some sort of scent.

"Smell for Nico too," Thalia told her "He's tracking him as well."

With that, Jello took a few more sniffs, and her eyes locked on a single spot in the trees. She took off, barking impatiently at us to follow her. The three of us took off, passing Antonio on the way, who was half dressed, just coming to the edge of the cabins, both swords in hand.

"What's going on?" He asked

"Let's go!" I snapped, snatching him by the shirt and dragging him along "I'll explain later!"

Without another word, he sped up to follow us as we entered the woods, Jello continued to bark, slowing down to continue sniffing the air before she sped back up, this time running even faster than before, as if she could sense the urgency.

Of course she could, that dog was twice as smart as any human I'd met so far.

Soon, she slowed to a complete stop, sniffing the air once more. Very faintly, I heard was sounded like metal on metal, somewhere in front of us. Jello's ears perked up as her head shot in the direction of the noise, and she barked once more, taking off again.

We followed, my chest was burning, and I thought to myself I need to hit the track more often, it'd been a very long time since I'd been forced to run at a speed like this, and cardio had never been my strong suit. No, I was fitted a little more for brute strength and balance, although I didn't look it, as Antonio had learned the hard way when he'd once joked that he was ready to take me on in a duel.

He'd sported that black eye for a week.

A clearing was coming into view, and I started noticing a formation in front of us, one I'd only seen a few times but knew well.

Zues' fist.

At the base of it, two figures were locked in a duel, neither one quite able to best the other. I noticed that one kept shadow traveling, using the quick advantage to land a strike.

Nico.

"There he is!" Thalia called to us "Come on!"

Nico was starting to slow down, and I could tell that the shadow travelling was wearing him down, he needed help, and fast. Unfortunately, we were too far away to get there in time, as Nico tried his trick one more time, and Eli (Saturn) stabbed backwards with his daggers, piercing Nico's stomach, following up with his heart.

"NICO!" Percy screamed

We doubled our speed as Saturn ripped the daggers out of his body, pushing him to the ground and turning to face us. I rushed one side and Thalia rushed the other, aiming to push him away so that Percy could get to Nico.

It worked, and he raised his daggers, dodging Thalia's spear and meeting my sword head on. Antonio moved from the back, unsure of what was happening but knowing that Eli needed to be subdued quickly. Saturn stomped his foot, and time slowed for a moment, but he hadn't realized Antonio was behind him, and his grip on Thalia and I was broken as Antonio tackled him to the ground. They rolled for a moment before Saturn got the upper hand, kicking Antonio away from his and rising to his feet, only to be met with Thalia's shield to his chest, throwing him into the rock formation behind him.

Suddenly, Eli's face contorted in pain, anguish, and desperation.

"Thalia!" He screamed in his own voice, falling backwards

"Eli!" She froze, her spear leveled, unsure of what to do

"You cant stop him," He said desperately, his voice mixing with the metallic sound of Saturn "Do it!"

I knew what he wanted her to do, and so did she. I could see it in her eyes, however, that she couldn't find the strength to do it. I didn't blame her, I didn't want to kill him either, and I didn't intend to. I moved in, aiming to strike with the hilt of my sword and knock him unconscious.

Saturn, however, regained control just in time, and swept his hand sideways, causing all of us to be thrown backwards by a wave of silver light, landing on our backs nearly fifteen feet away.

When we had regained our feet, he had disappeared into the forest.

"Where did he go?" I snapped "We have to go after him!"

"Reyna, we can't take him," Thalia told me "Not right now at least."

I turned back to Nico, who was still breathing as Percy did his best to stem the flow of blood, but to no avail. I knew Nico wasn't going to make it, Percy knew it too, but he refused to accept it. He kept trying to put pressure on the wounds, trying everything he knew how to keep his friend from death.

"Nico, hang in there," Percy told him "Hang in there, we'll get you a medic."

"No," Nico coughed "I'm done, Percy. My fight...it's over."

"Like hell it is!" Percy snapped "I'm going to find a medic."

"You'll never get back to the camp in time," Nico coughed, rolling his eyes "Will you just let me die, please?"

"No!" Percy snapped again "I'm not letting anyone else die, not again!"

"Percy..." Nico whispered weakly "I forgive you...for Bianca...I don't...blame you, anymore. Please, just let me go."

"Nico," Percy replied desperately "No!"

But, with those final words, Nico laid his head down, smiling slightly as he took his final breath, staring up at the sky he couldn't see, and at his friend, who cradled his head in his lap. Thalia put a hand on Percy's shoulder as tears silently fell down his face, pulling him into a hug as he continued to hold Nico's lifeless body.

"I'm sorry, Bianca." He whispered, looking at the sky

Sorry guys, please don't kill me.