Chapter 6: Nico

I was furious. At Thalia. At Artemis. At Mr. D and Chiron. Most of all, however, I was angry at Percy. As I slammed my sword roughly into its sheath, that was all I could think about. How in Hades' name did he know that Zeus wanted Kenzie? What was so bad about her being the daughter to a daemon goddess? There was nothing wrong with her! One look at her and you could see it. I kicked open the cabin door and stormed out of it, letting it bang shut behind me. A few dryads watched me with reproachful expressions, but I gave them my best death stare and they retreated back into their trees. I had to speak with Chiron. I had to get a quest to go after her. If he didn't allow me to leave, I'd leave anyway. I no longer cared about the repercussions. I stormed up to the big house, and up the porch steps. Without pausing for thought, I banged on the door. Chiron opened it, frowning slightly.

"Young man-"he started, but I cut in.

"Chiron, I need permission to leave camp on a quest."

He looked sympathetic, but surprised. "I understand that this is a little sudden Nico, but-"

I didn't let him finish his sentence. Anger overtook me again, eclipsing everything else. "You don't care, do you? As long as everything works out in Zeus' favor, it's okay for you. Don't you care about the price of those choices? Of the sacrifices that we have to make and the battles that we must win in order for that to happen! Well? Do you?"

The old centaur looked at me mournfully. "She has a terrible fate in store for her, Nico. Believe me; I care about the child as much as any of us. But, it will be easier not to interfere."

My rage smoldered, but I fought to keep it under control. "Will you let me go after her?" I demanded.

"No," Chiron said firmly and without hesitation. "I am sorry Nico, but you would only put yourself and her in more danger."

I was about to argue further, when a scream shattered the still air. I recognized it as one of The Hunters'. Without a second thought, I jumped off the porch and sprinted towards Half-Blood Hill with Chiron yelling something after me. The sharp slope slowed me down a bit, but I didn't slacken my pace. Worry for Kenzie filled me. What was going on? It certainly wasn't her who had yelled. I didn't slacken my pace however. When I reached the crest of the hill and looked down, my heart did a backflip, and not in the good way. At the foot of the hill The Hunters of Artemis stood in a large semicircle attacking the largest chimera that I have ever seen. They were just in range to shoot, but far enough back to be able to avoid the jets of fire and the hissing serpent tail. They were running out of arrows, and those that they had shot at it, were charred black. Each of The Hunters was equipped with silver hunting knives, but it would be far too dangerous to attempt to just sidle up and stab it. As one of The Hunters fired again, I circled around to the back of it; being careful all the while not to attract the attention of the chimera or of The Hunters. The snake tail whipped around and lunged at me. With one swift slash of my sword, its head rolled off. The monster began to disintegrate as the Stygian Iron drained its essence. When the chimera was no more, The Hunters lowered their bows. They fixed me with eyes that were hard and hostile. None of them, I noticed, slackened their grips upon their bows. I felt angry again. What was wrong with everybody today?

Artemis stepped forward. "Why did you come to aid us, son of Hades?"

At her disapproving tone, I felt myself anger again. "Because," I said with careful deliberance, "I thought you could use an extra hand."

The eyes of the goddess flashed with anger. "In due time, we would have prevailed, son of Hades. Do not presume to interfere again."

Two girls emerge from the wood. Hunters, each wore expressions of cool frustration. "She's gone my Lady!" called the older of the two.

The second one added, "She shadow traveled with that hellhound of hers. There's no way to track it, so we'll have to wait until she resurfaces."

"Silence," Artemis snapped. "Do not speak so openly in the boys company."

It was too late though. Kenzie was alive. It was probably her who had set the chimera on The Hunters, giving her enough time to escape. They might not be able to track shadow travel, but I could. I didn't hang around after I realized that. If Artemis read my thoughts at all, I'd be used. I had no intention of helping them after they let Bianca die. Less now after discovering that they've spent the good majority of Kenzie's life hunting her down. I raced for the woods, behind me I heard Artemis call for someone to stop me. An arrow whistled behind me and I threw myself behind a clump of bushes. I pushed myself to my feet and ran on. I sprinted for a tall tree with black shadows and before I hit it, I merged with the shadows. I had never tried to shadow travel to a particular person this way. I concentrated on Kenzie's face and prayed to my father that I'd come out at her side. When I reemerged, I wasn't too sure whether or not it had worked. I was in the vast shadow of a truly enormous hellhound. Jumping a pace back, I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword. The creature was clearly asleep; its snores could have been heard over a mile away. Careful not to wake it, I backed away from it until I deemed I was reasonable safe. I was about to leave right there and then, when I thought occurred to me. Kenzie had a hellhound with her when I was tracking her. Mightn't this be the same? Excited, I swiftly walked 'round front of it and almost ran smack into Kenzie.

"Nico!"

The next moment, her arms were around me and we holding on to each other as if this were our last hour together. I kissed her and she kissed me back. At last we broke apart, not wanting to stop, but knowing we must. Quickly, I relayed what I had gleaned from The Hunters and what Chiron had said. She didn't look surprised, or even afraid, like I had expected. Her beautiful eyes hardened and fastened upon a place that was invisible to all but her. "What is it?" I asked softly.

She didn't answer for a moment, then drew me down upon the soft grass next to her. "I don't know what to do," she confessed. "All my life, I've been the hunted. The only way to stay alive now however is to prove myself to Zeus, but I'll never not be pursued. And even if did do some good, I don't even know if it would help."

I put my arms around her and held her close to me. "Whatever happens now, you're never alone. I won't abandon you to Zeus' mercy."

"You don't know what you're saying," she whispered.

"I think I have an idea," I said, trying to sound more confident that I really was.

At last, she sighed. "All right. But if you aspire to come with me, you doom yourself to the same fate."

Without hesitating I said, "I don't care what doom awaits you. I will share it with you. As long as we're together, I don't care what happens."