I messed up. I really did.
I was supposed to protect her until she figured out how to protect herself. Me, as her friend, was supposed to care for her, and because of MY actions, my naiveness, she fell down that hole. While I was busy cowardly running from big dogs, she fell to who-knows-where. Well, that's not true. We all know what are the options when you fall down a magical hole, and both of them aren't pretty. Suddenly, a realization hits me.
How had I not noticed before? The pale skin, small figure, social awkwardness, and the dark powers? I gape. Emily is a daughter of Hades, I know it. I think of running to Chiron, but decide otherwise. He'll find out on his own terms, and he probably already has. I need to talk to Nico di Angelo; he needs to know.
I run to where I think he will be, he has been busy remodeling the Hades cabin recently. I knock hard on the door, but the noise I make is drowned out by loud bangs like a hammer hitting stone inside the cabin itself. Gathering all the little strength I have, I yell, "NICO! OPEN UP!" and knock even harder. A small, darkly dressed figure with tangled dark brown hair opens the door and steps outside, closing it behind him and partly shutting off the banging noises. Nico di Angelo squints for a few seconds before recognizing me, and breathes a sight of relief.
"Gods, I thought you were one of those Aphrodite kids complaining about the noise again. Man, they're annoying," he says to me.
"Nico, look, I have to tell you something important. Like, really important, but I need you to keep it from the general public until they're ready to know, okay?" I ask nervously.
"Sebastian, what is it?" he asks worriedly. I heard the stories, what he's been through, and I know he has every right to be worried. "It's Emily. I'm pretty sure - I'm pretty sure she's a daughter of Hades." Nico just stares at me, dumbfounded.
"What?" he asks. I just nod really quickly and look around me. Nico does the same, but I keep talking. "There's something else, too, and that's the main reason I came here. She just fell into a hole in the ground, a hole which just appeared out of complete nowhere, and now she's gone," I say just as horns blare in the distance. "Can you tell where she went?!" I press urgently. He comes out of his stupor, blinks a few times, and nods gravely.
"She's… in my father's realm, I think, in the Underworld, barely conscious but still alive. Wait… She's completely fine now, I think. What in hell?" he asks, amazed. "I don't know if I should go or not. If she's visiting father… Are you sure she's also a Hades kid?" he asks me.
"I'm pretty close," I respond with a frown.
"Okay. I'll pay close attention to her life force, but if she's where I think she is, I assume she'll be fine. Don't worry about her, though, if anything happens, I'll just go help her out," he tells me, but I still worry. A lot.
"Nico… Are you sure she's all right? The Underworld is really far down, and… She's really powerful, I know it. She already knows about her abilities," I say, partly convincing myself. Nico nods slightly, and responds.
"It could be likely. It's not often children of the Big Three can live that long without training, so I bet her abilities helped her out, but I just wonder how she didn't get spotted earlier, you know?" he looks at me with an expression of worry. "I'll just… Go back inside now," he says. I nod, and he slips inside, looking down as a shower of wood shavings rain lightly onto the floor inside. He closes the door behind him, and I walk towards my cabin. I don't think I'll be able to do anything except archery today because of my leg, so I have ten minutes before class commences.
In my cabin, the head counsellor, Miranda Gardiner, is sitting on her bunk staring at the opposite wall. As I walk in, she distractedly looks my way then sighs, and puts her head in her hand. "Emily just fell down a hole in the earth and there's nothing we can do. How is that right? I can't just stand here and do nothing!" She says, suddenly agitated, and blows out air to flip a strand of caramel hair back onto her head. "I know, but I also know… Never mind," I catch myself. I almost mentioned that I knew she was fine. That would have created quite some questions. I flop onto my bed and tuck my knees in, then wince. I had almost forgot about my cut.
"You alright?" she asks, glancing in my direction, and I nod. "There was this big two headed dog in camp near the Archery range. Orthrus, I think; and Chiron killed him. He was just there, in the camp… That really worries me," I murmur, and she stares at me with her eyes suddenly wide open. "What!? How did I not know about this? This is a really big deal, Seb!" she exclaims and stands up so quickly she bumps her head against the bunk on top of her own. "ow," she says, rubbing her head, but she still looks perplexed. I gotta go see Chiron about this. Bye," she says as she walks out of the cabin, bumping her shoulder against the doorframe on the way. She mutters curses towards the wall and stomps in the direction of the Big House.
I put some hand protectors on and head towards the archery range again, worry for Emily still visible on my face. When I arrive, a few campers are shooting arrows at the straw targets, but Chiron is nowhere near. As I approach the bow stand, I hear murmurs along my fellow demigods, especially from the two Apollo kids closest to me. I walk towards an unused target and ready my bow. I concentrate on the little red circle in the target's centre and shoot, the arrow's end nearly ripping my cheek off. It lands on the white outer rim, but at least I hit the target this time. As it burrows itself in the hay, I remember the two-headed dog and shiver. I can't believe I was this close to dying without even putting up a fight. Man, if Chiron hadn't been there, I would have been dog food. I really need to learn to be better in combat.
I notch another arrow, and steal a glance at Kayla, one of the Apollo kids. Her scarred arms are holding her bow in a perfect position, and her knees are ever so slightly bent. She looks intently at the target, wearing no expression on her face. Every part of her, except her arms, is relaxed. She lets the arrow fly and it hits the target dead centre. She high fives Austin, who is standing next to her. I concentrate on my own stance. My legs are stiff as a board, so I relax and bend my knees a little, I relax my face and concentrate on my target. I pull the arrow back, and breathe in, breathe out, let go. The arrow hits the yellow next to the target's middle. I smile slightly, proud, then hear the thud of synchronized arrows hitting targets to my right. Kayla and Austin smile sheepishly at each other, the red of their targets impaled, again, dead center, and that wipes the smile off my face.
As I set arrow after arrow, all I think about is Emily, and the moment when she fell from the face of the earth.