Percy landed his pegasus in front of the bar Nico said they were at. Clarisse and Annabeth following suit. Annabeth had insisted on coming. He had brought Clarisse as a precaution. Between the three of them they should be able to handle anything this person could throw at them.
It was almost one in the morning local time so thankfully he didn't need to worry about what the locals saw through the mist. He started to push open the door then froze as he heard laughter.
Not just laughter, Nico's laughter. It had literally been months since any of them had heard Nico laugh at something other than Percy looking like an idiot.
Clarisse,direct as always, pushed past Percy who exchanged a look with Annabeth.
Nico looked up at the sound of the door opening and nodded when he saw it was Clarisse.
"Hey Nico." She sat on the counter between Nico and Kaie carefully avoiding the pyramid of empty shot glasses balance precariously on the counter while openly assessing the woman.
She had looked formidable in vision on Olympus but she lacked something now. Her eyes were slightly glazed and her movements were loose and disjointed. Clarisse felt disdain. A professional would never put themselves in this position when captured by the enemy. "This the one that almost got your eye?" She asked offhand. Nico nodded and got down off the stool as Percy and Annabeth entered, walking across the room to talk to them.
The woman looked up at Clarisse the second Nico moved away. Her eyes clear and movements controlled. Clarisse almost fell off the bar before she caught herself.
"Just out of curiosity..." Kaie looked up when the daughter of Ares steadied herself and spoke.
A slight read aura around her, invisible to the demigods. Kaie wondered if she realized she still held the blessing of Ares. The God of War was rarely affectionate so she guessed not.
"...what would happen if I took those off?" Clarisse pointed to the cuffs that were beginning to chafe.
Kaie grinned wickedly. "You're not that stupid Clarisse. "
The daughter of Ares hid her surprise at hearing her name come from Kaie well. Kaie was impressed, she knew a subconscious part of Clarisse understood how much of a threat Kaie was to demigods. Now she only wondered how deeply buried that part was.
"I'm not that stupid but Percy might be." Clarisse answered Kaie with a half smile. Kaie was surprised there was no animosity towards the son of Poseidon in her voice. Her source had claimed they had been enemies for years.
Kaie grinned back at her, finding herself liking the slightly older woman. "You would be unconscious on the ground after a bar stool connected with your head, Nico would be through the front window and I would be long gone."
Both women glanced over at Percy right as he finished talking to Nico.
"Clarisse," He hesitated, looking at Kaie, unsure of what to call her. Kaie downed a final shot and set the empty glass as the point of her little work of art. "Kaie." She helped him out and walked over to the door.
"Let's go. I need to talk to D." She walked out the door and stood by the pegasi, waiting for the confused demigods. Ignoring the looks the four exchanged with each other.
She was trapped by these cuffs but if there was anyone around who was trusting, and foolish, enough to take them off her it would be the old man.
They landed outside the Big House, it was late but somehow a large percentage of the camp had found something to do that required them to still be up and outside.
Percy looked up, surprised to find Mr. D as well as Chiron waiting on the front porch. As they approached, Percy could see anger of Chiron's face while Mr. D simply smirked.
"Tequila?" Percy was unsurprised he could tell what Kaie had been drink a few hours ago. She grinned and Mr. D rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's better than absinthe." Kaie told him with fake hurt in her eyes.
"Wanna take these off me?" She jerked the cuffs up. Mr.D raised a single questioning eyebrow. Kaie dropped her arms with a huff.
Mr. D turned his gaze on Percy and the others. "You and your little friends may go Peter Johnson." He made a shooing motion with his hands. Percy and the others turned. The last thing he heard was Kaie asking, "So who wants to kill me this time?"
Nico stared at the ceiling of his cabin. The camp had finally calmed down an hour or so after Kaie had disappeared into the Big House with Chiron and Mr. D. Her familiarity with Mr. D was slightly scary. Could she be his daughter? Nico dismissed the idea. Whatever she was, it sure as hades wasn't a demigod.
He kicked off his covers and stood. If he couldn't get answers here he could try to get them out of Chiron. He left his cabin and walked towards the Big House, too wound up to even bother putting on a shirt. Annabeth would probably get on to him but she did that anyway. The little kids should be well in Morpheus' land by now so it didn't really matter.
A moment later, Percy fell into step along side him. "It bugging you too?" Nico nodded as they climbed the front porch's steps.
"Bout time." Annabeth's voice came from the shadows to the left. She, Rachel, and Clarisse sat on the bench swing.
Nico and Percy took two of the deck chairs and the group sat in silence for several moments. They all wanted some sort of answer but knew better than to actually try to go in the Big House. They had all been turned into dolphins by Mr. D at one point or another, multiple times if you were Percy, and didn't care to try it again. During that time Annabeth moved to sit in Percy's lap but they stayed quiet.
"You all know you're breaking the rules." Chiron's voice came through the door as he walked out in his true form, hooves clicking softly on the worn porch. He sat between Nico and Percy's chairs. "I know you all want answers but they are not mine to give."
"What is she Chiron?" Rachel begged, puppy dog eyes on at full power.
"What did she tell you?" "Nothing." Nico tried and failed to keep the annoyance he felt out of his voice.
"I..." Chiron broke off and turned. Kaie stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the foyer's light. She wore thin black sweats and a light blue t-shirt. The collar was still around her neck and her hands were still immobilized by Hephaestus's cuff.
"You might as well tell them." "Zeus ordered they not be involved." Chiron's voice was surprisingly cold towards Kaie "They already are. And newsflash: Not His Decision." Her voice was equally sharp. They glared at each other, a history of...something...passing between them in that moment before Kaie turned and vanished back into the Big House.
Annabeth cocked an eyebrow at Chiron who sighed and relented. "Very well. Let me tell you the story of the forgotten child of Gaia."
Yay! Cliffhanger! I have Chiron's explanation written already but I'm holding it hostage till I get some reviews. I'm evil that way. No reviews, no details and you will be left with an unfinished story. Let me know what you think!