I opened the door to the Big House and Rachel came stumbling out. "You guys are finally together!" The red head squeaked. I rolled my eyes and Nico squeezed my shoulder. "Nico, Deadly." Chiron called us from inside the Big House. I by-pasted Rachel and entered the Big House with Nico following close behind. We both bowed to Chiron to show respect. Chiron had a stern look in his eyes so I knew he meant business. "You both seem to be getting along but I'm afraid that you won't be able to go on the quest Nico if you're involved with Deadly." I wasn't sure if I should have been embarrassed or angry. "Chiron, I need him on the quest. He knows what it's like. He'll be able to help me and," I side glanced at Nico whose face was pure stone, "and we'll go back to hating each other because I'd end up dead in a gutter without his help."
I don't know who was more shocked by my little speech, me, Chiron, or Nico. "Very well, since nothing is going on between you two, Nico can go on the quest. Deadly have you decided on the last camper who will be accompanying you?" I thought about it for a moment and one name popped into my head. "Yeah, Zoey Luna. She's the new camper and she's perfect for the job." The old centaur nodded his head, "Have you informed her?" I shook my head no. "I expect you to do it soon since you'll be leaving tomorrow." I nodded my head and then Chiron clopped out of the Big House.
"Deadly, are you in trouble?" I turned around and saw Jason stuffing his face with macaroni and cheese. "No, are you enjoying yourself?" He nodded his head excitedly and went back to stuffing his face. "It was the fastest thing I could make. I would have given him leftovers but….well you know the Ares cabin." I smirked at the thought of my brothers and sisters. They either eat the leftovers or use them for ammo. "The Mac and cheese seems to be a hit so nothing to worry about." Nico cleared his throat from the other side of the room, "Can we talk?" Rachel and I locked eyes for a millisecond, "Sure." We all stood there in silence, except for Jason who was eating rather loudly. "I meant outside." I felt like slapping myself in the face when Nico said that. "Right, uh, Rachel can you take Jason to the Apollo cabin when he finishes eating?" "Yeah, sure, no problem." Rachel answered hastily. I turned around and followed Nico outside.
We walked in silence to the Hades cabin. He went inside probably expecting me to follow. I wasn't quite sure if his brothers were in there or not so I kept my feet firmly planted on the ground. Nico poked his head out of the cabin door, "C'mon." I shook my head no. Nico rolled his eyes, "My brothers aren't here, so come on." I bit my lip and checked the perimeter making sure no one was around. I took a deep breath then stepped inside the Hades cabin.
It was surprisingly beautiful. The boys had stainless steel bunk beds with black satin sheets and there was a huge shrine for there father towards the back of the cabin. I walked up to the statue and felt captivated by it. There was this weird mist surrounding the marble version of Hades. It would change colors every few seconds. At first it was purple then green and then- "Deadly, up here."
My head snapped in Nico's direction. He was leaning over the side of a top bunk. I climbed up the metal ladder to his bunk and sat at the foot of the bed while he leaned against the headboard. "So there's nothing going on between us?" Nico asked while staring me straight in the eyes. I always hated when he did that, it was like he could see right through me. "I guess not." Nico's mouth twisted into a scowl. "You guess not?" He spat angrily. "Nico, we don't have much of a choice." I stated firmly even though on the inside I was scared Nico was going to raise an army of the dead and send them after me. "We have choice. If I don't go on the quest we can be together. If I go on the quest we can't have anything to do with each other." Sometimes I wonder if this boy hears himself talk. "Nico if I go on the quest without you I may never see you again. Someone's going to die out west remember? What if that's me? What if-" "Stop thinking like that." The Prince of Darkness sneered. "Why? It's possible Nico. You can't deny that."
He knew I was right; he just has too much pride to admit it. "I could always bring you back." I stared at him as if he had ten heads. "You know I can and I would." He continued. I was speechless. This boy has absolutely no logic what so ever. "If you did that, not only would your father want to kill you, Zeus will destroy you." Nico's face was, as always, emotionless. I didn't know if he was listening to me or completely ignoring every word I was saying. I climbed down the ladder without a word and strolled out of the Hades cabin.
It was practically pitch dark outdoors. I started walking back to my cabin when my heel got stuck in the ground and I twisted my ankle. I was eating dirt within three seconds. The weirdest thing ever is that I didn't scream. It probably would have come in handy at this very moment but Nico managed to get me frustrated enough to be mad about hurting myself instead of feeling pain. I tried to push off the ground but the pressure was too much for my ankle. I groaned and punched the earth beneath me. I folded my arms and rested my head on them. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. When I opened my eyes a pair of black Nike's were in my face, "Need a little help?" A sleek voice asked from above me. I craned my neck and barley made out the facial features of Tyler, Nico's brother. "Maybe just a little." Tyler crouched down on his knees, "Am I gonna have to carry you?" He was serious but his voice always made him sound sarcastic. "Yup, I twisted my ankle. If you need one of the Ares's boys-" "Do I look like a weakling?" Once again he was joking and being serious. I don't know how the boy does it. "No, I was just-" He scooped me up in his arms and carried me bridal style towards the infirmary. "Deadly, I am a mean, lean, fighting machine." Tyler stated confidently while he carried me. If my arms weren't around his neck I would have slapped him upside the head but luck seemed to be on his side today. Gods know it wasn't on mine. "You're really not going to comment? Deadly, I just said I'm a mean, lean, fight-" "I heard you. I just couldn't think of anything pathetic enough to describe it." Tyler showed his pearly whites, "That's the Deadly I know and love." I messed up his hair with my left hand, "You betcha." We both got a small chuckle out of that.
We didn't say much for the rest of our small journey because it didn't last that long. When Tyler walked into the infirmary Spike and Snake's jaws were on the ground. That had to be the first time they have ever been speechless or they were too severely injured to speak. Either way the twins were silent. Another person whose mouth was catching flies was Trevor. His eyes were practically out of his head. I guess you could say I was enjoying the view. "She twisted her ankle and she can't walk on it. Where can I put her?" Tyler asked Trevor.
Trevor snapped out of la la land and pointed to the cot across from Snake. Tyler laid me on the cot gently and then Trevor began inspecting my ankle. Tyler walked over to his brothers and the three of them engaged in a hushed conversation.
"I have good news and bad news…" Trevor was in doctor mode. "Go on." I used my "no duh" voice, it tends to piss him off. "Your ankle isn't sprained or broken but you'll want to keep off it for at least a week." I sighed dramatically, "Okay, I mean you're the expert," Trevor smiled, "But I'm going on a quest tomorrow so nine hours will have to do." His face dropped in 1.3 seconds. "Deadly, you can't go on a quest-" "It's not broken or sprained. I'll be fine." Trevor shook his head and laughed, "You never change." I kicked him in the stomach with my good leg, "Is that your way of saying I'll be heartless forever?" I stumbled off the cot and hobbled towards the sons of Hades.
I steadied myself by holding on to Snake and Spike's beds for support. Something was different about the twins. They weren't…burned. "How?" Snake shrugged his shoulders, "Apollo stopped by and healed everyone." "And by everyone he means us." Spike added. "Yeah…about that. I really am sorry. I didn't mean to almost kill you…." Spike and Snake laughed, "We know. We milked it so you would get in trouble." Tyler shook his head at his brothers, "You shouldn't have said that." The twins exchanged a look, "Why?" They asked in unison. I answered by slapping them in the face.
Tyler laughed at his brothers' stupidity and I smiled in satisfactory. "Ready to go?" Tyler asked. I nodded my head feverishly. He picked me up bridal style once again. "Nico's gonna kill you." Spike said with a smirk. "And why is that?" I asked skeptically. "Oh, no reason. Trevor you all right?" Trevor groaned from the floor. I have to admit I was holding in a laugh. "Let's go Deadly." And with that I was carried back to the Aphrodite cabin.