The empousai seemed determined to kill me. I was sure they were tracking me, or something...
I woke to smells of something cooking. It was early evening, which I was almost positive meant we'd slept through the day. Reyna knelt by a tiny fire nearby, cooking some kind of meat on a make-shift spit. Sitting up, I saw Coach Hedge beating up imaginary monsters with his bat and shouting random challenges. I didn't see Nico, but the statue was right where it had been the night before.
"Oh, good," Reyna said, cutting some of the meat off onto a napkin. "You're up. Normally we don't eat meat—no time to cook it—but every once in a while, we manage it." She handed me the napkin, just about scalding my hand, and cut more onto another napkin for herself. The rest she moved to a cooler part of the fire to keep it warm without burning it before digging into her food. I mumbled a quick prayer of thanks and began eating as well.
As I nibbled, savoring food I hadn't had in over a month, I noticed Coach Hedge drop his bat and bound over to his bag, rummaging through it to pull out a pad of paper and a pen. He plopped down right there and began scribbling.
My attention shifted as Nico appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and glanced at the remaining meat. He took what was left and sat between me and Reyna to eat. He gave no indication that anything had happened the night before, and I followed his example, though I couldn't help watching him, wondering if he really had been in my dream, or if I'd just... Well, if I'd just dreamt it. He seemed distracted—but unfortunately that didn't confirm or deny my suspicions—and missed Reyna's question.
"Oy, Nico!" I called, snapping my fingers in front of him. He jumped and looked up.
"What?" A sliver of fear in his eyes told me he expected me to confront him in front of his friends. Ok, so last night's dream had actually happened. I gestured at Reyna, mentally chuckling at the irony.
"Are you ready to go?" she repeated. "Hedge thinks it'll only take one more trip, but we're both worried about..." She trailed off, her gaze dropping to Nico's hand, which wavered in the shadow of his own leg, like it wanted to melt and join the shadow. This time, I knew I wasn't imagining it. Clenching his fist back into solid form, Nico stood, wiping all emotion from his face, and went to the statue.
"I'm fine; let's go," he said. "Maybe we can get there this time." At the base of the statue, he messed with a tangle of ropes I hadn't noticed before. Reyna sighed and turned to me.
"Would... Would you like to come with us?" she asked. The hesitance in her voice suggested that she didn't relish either the idea of taking me, or the idea of leaving me to the harpies.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"We're going to Camp Half-Blood!" Coach Hedge cut in, his voice loud and victorious. By the excitement in his face, I half expected him to jump up and down and do an Irish jig. He chucked a paper airplane into the air and it floated off. I wondered absently where it was going.
"Is it...?" I struggled to find the word I wanted.
"Safe? Relatively," Nico said, tugging the ropes onto his shoulders. "Fun? Depends. Going to last much longer? Not likely."
"Hey, sunshine," Coach Hedge said brusquely, hands on his furry hips. "We're taking the Athena Parthenos there to make peace, so that it does survive." He glanced up at the sky, a solemn look touching his features. "Actually, if we wait a little bit longer..."
"The Athena Parthenos...?" I was stunned. I had read about the giant statue, but I had been sure the original was missing. Could this really be it?
"Alright, time to go," Nico said. He leaned casually against the ropes binding him to the statue.
"Nico, are you sure?" Reyna said, her features twisting in agitated worry. He gave her a bland look, reaching up to yank on the ropes.
"What do you think, Reyna?" he asked pointedly. Reyna's gaze hardened and she crossed her arms, setting her jaw.
"No," she said firmly. "You need more rest, Nico di Angelo, and don't you dare try to argue with me." I noted a slight distance in her eyes, like part of her was somewhere else, dealing with an entirely different problem.
"I just tied in," Nico growled, sounding almost like a petulant six-year-old. I had to cover my mouth and fake a cough to hide my laughter at the thought.
"We should stay and rest," Coach Hedge said, clearing his throat. "You really need it, especially after fighting all those werewolves, and Orion." For a moment, I thought he was joking. When I saw how serious he was, a cold finger tickled my spine; perhaps my dream last night, the fear that Orion was watching... Maybe it wasn't unfounded after all.
"And what if he catches up to us again?" Nico returned sharply. "We need to keep moving."
"No, you need rest," Reyna said firmly, putting her foot down. Figuratively, anyway. "If you shadow-travel much more, you won't survive." Any humor that might have lingered due to the rather amusing three-way argument vanished instantly. I didn't know what shadow-travel was, but the idea that Nico would kill himself with it didn't appeal to me in the least.
"Ahem," I cut in, raising my hand to get their attention. "Sorry for interrupting... I'm sure my opinion doesn't count for much, but if you're endangering yourself, Nico, you should at least be as rested as you can be."
"Thank you," Reyna said pointedly, stepping forward and grabbing one of the ropes. "Come on, Nico; get some more rest, before you keel over. Or worse, try to shadow-travel and get lost." Nico bristled, tightening his grip on the rope harness, but I could tell he got light-headed for a moment; he gritted his teeth and locked his knees. Reyna must have thought he was being stubborn.
"Nico, please, before you kill yourself..." she began. I pulled her away, cutting her off, and put my hands on either side of Nico's head. Reyna started to protest.
"Quiet," I said simply. I'll bet she wasn't used to having others tell her to shut up, because her jaw dropped, though she did go silent. Nico's breathing was quick and shallow, but I could only tell because I stood right next to him.
"Breathe," I said softly. "Just close your eyes and breath." He complied, taking deep, slow breaths. I studied him as he slowly recovered. His features blurred slightly and my hands sank into his temples. Jerking my hands away, I stepped back. "Nico?"
"I..." He looked down at his hands, which were turning wispy and gray, like shadows. Cursing, he clenched his fists and growled through clenched teeth.
"It's nothing," he hissed, shoving the ropes off his shoulders.
"That's not nothing," Hedge said darkly. "If you're not careful, di Angelo..."
"Drop it," Nico growled. The satyr held up his hands in surrender and turned away, heading for a cornfield I passed through just before collapsing last night. I vaguely hear him murmur something about a funeral before he was out of ear-shot.
"Get some rest, Nico," Reyna said, sighing. "We'll stand guard, and I'll talk to Erasmus." Nico nodded, but looked agitated. He cast me a wary, warning glance as he stepped past me and went to the nearest tree, where he dropped to the ground and curled up. Reyna hesitated, then shrugged off her cloak, strode over, and laid it out over him. He was already asleep, but he gripped the edge of the cloak and pulled it tighter around him, shifting uncomfortably.
"Come on," Reyna said to me, keeping her voice low. "Let's go check the perimeter and make sure Hedge isn't getting into trouble."
Coach Hedge was already assisting the farmer in the harvest. That is, he was picking ears and chewing them up whole, grunting and muttering something about the quality of the corn. I chuckled as Reyna scowled and pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Hey! Want some?" Hedge greeted, holding up an ear of corn.
"Does this qualify as 'trouble'?" I asked innocently. Reyna grunted and rolled her eyes.
"Can we postpone the talk until later?" she said, not amused. "I've got another talk that demands attention..." Striding toward the satyr with that displeased look in her eye, I was suddenly glad I wasn't in Coach Hedge's shoes. Or, I guess, hooves.
"Keep an eye on Nico for me, would you?" she called back over her shoulder. I raised a hand so she'd know I heard her, and then went back the way we'd come, dropping into a crouch beside the son of Hades and leaning my shoulder against the tree. Keeping watch for any sort of trouble, I used the opportunity to inspect him further. His face was thin, his eyelashes long and dark against the pale skin of his cheeks. His hair, black as ebony, was about shoulder length and layered, but looked like he hadn't even trimmed it in months—the layers must have been natural, for once. Most people I'd met with layered hair had spent too much at a barber shop.
His hair shaded his face, fluttering slightly in the light breeze. His shoulders were broad for his size, but at the same time trim, if that was possible. His arms looked like they could hold a bit of muscle, but it was hard to tell under the cloak. I did remember that he had the arms of a swordsman, though. The long tapering fingers of his hands gave him the look of an undertaker, which didn't surprise me, and I knew they could probably handle a sword, a pen, or a paintbrush, each with equal skill.
I pulled out the small metal disk I'd found a couple of weeks ago in a parking lot and took a look at my reflection. It was something of a lucky token for me, because it was just after I'd found it that I got my club, followed by my short sword. The disk was about an inch and a half to two inches across and polished to a mirrored shine on one side. The bronze surface acted very much like a regular mirror, and I used it now to inspect my face. Shaggy, black-brown hair slipped into my eyes and I shoved it back. My bright, blue-tinted green eyes skipped over the image, taking in tanned skin and a constant hint of a crooked smile.
With a sigh, I put the disk back in my pocket and wondered if I really looked like Percy. His black hair looked much better on him than mine did on me, and my eyes weren't quite as intoxicatingly sea-colored, like his were. You could drown in his eyes; mine, you'd be lucky if you could get up a decent splash.
"Look, look!" a high voice cut into my thoughts. "I told you I saw something!" I recognized the voice of an empousa and shook Nico's shoulder, holding my hand up in case he spoke. But it was an unnecessary caution; he blinked and sat up to look over at me, confused, muffling a yawn in his fist. I put a finger to my lips and motioned for him to listen.
"You're right," a second empousa said. "There is something here." The monsters were just behind us, on the other side of the tree. I hoped desperately that they wouldn't see us.
Three empousai stepped around the tree and inspected the statue, frowning. Their backs were to us, so they hadn't noticed us yet.
"What is it?" one of them wondered aloud.
"It's a statue, idiot," another said. I turned to Nico while they began bickering.
"Run?" I mouthed. He shook his head and pushed the cloak off, lifting a sheath. I hadn't noticed it before, but now I saw the dark sword. He held it out to me and gestured at the empousai. I reached for my sword, only to realize I'd taken it off and left it by the statue, along with my club. I glanced at him and he held up the sheath again.
"Kill them," he mouthed. I hesitated.
"Yours," I mouthed back, pointing at the sword. He rolled his eyes in exasperation and shoved the sword into my hands. I shivered as I felt the cold metal.
"Too weak," he mouthed, putting one hand on his chest. "You go." I glanced at the empousai, who were sniffing the air, saying they could smell demigods. Nodding, I stood and drew the sword from its sheath, making a faint singing note. All three empousai whirled toward me. They blinked in confusion, their gazes swinging around as though they were partially blind and couldn't see me. I felt a breeze of sorts whisking about me, like it was trying to hide me.
"Now!" Nico cried behind me. I leapt forward, silently, and slashed at the first empousa. She melted into shadows with a shriek. The new death startled me, but I had no time to consider it; the other two turned, their hateful red eyes finally focusing on me. One darted forward and raked her claws across my shoulder, but I just winced and swung Nico's blade at her exposed side. She vanished as well, and the last one backed up a step, glaring at me.
"How does a son of my mistress have such a blade?" she hissed, her fiery hair flaring in distress.
"A friend lent it to me," I answered, staying tense. The empousa eyed me and the sword, which I suddenly noticed was made of some kind of black metal that seemed to absorb light and warmth from the air around it. I shuddered and gripped the hilt tighter, hoping it wouldn't kill me to use it.
"And where's your 'friend?'" she asked bitingly. "Did they die? Oh, I hope it was a horrible, painful death." I was surprised that she hadn't seen Nico, who was perfectly visible if she dropped her gaze down and to the right, but I didn't call him to her attention.
"He's not dead," I growled protectively. "And as long as I have some say in the matter, he'll stay that way." I heard a slight, sharp intake of breath behind me. Apparently, so did the empousa, because her gaze shot past me and she frowned for a moment before grinning.
"So you have learned some tricks already," she giggled. I decided at that moment that I hated giggling. "Too bad Marbella failed her assignment, because now the pleasure of killing you, and your friend, goes to me!" She cackled like a maniac and dashed at me. I tensed, ready for her, and realized, at the last moment, that she wasn't going for me.
"NO!" I roared, whirling as she slipped past me. It was the first time I'd raised my voice since I was a toddler, and my cry felt powerful, like it was charged with electricity. Nico gasped, both at the ferocity of my shout, and at the monster bearing down on him. The sudden fear in his wide eyes made me furious. How dare the empousa attack him while he was recovering!
Punch her! an inner voice cried. Acting on my own advice, I stretched out my hand and envisioned punching the monster as hard as I could in her face.
To my utter surprise, the empousa stopped short, as though she'd run into an invisible wall, and staggered back, clutching at her nose.
"No!" she wailed. "My face! You destroyed my beautiful face!" She whirled to look at me, blood pouring from her broken nose.
"Me?" I stuttered, still shocked. "I didn't touch you!"
"That's it!" Nico cried, jumping to his feet. He still looked tired, but excitement lit up his face. "You're a magician, Erasmus! A son of Hecate!"
"No, don't tell him!" the empousa howled. She spun to face Nico again, and he paled as he reached for his sword and remembered that he'd given it to me.
"Nico!" I shouted, chucking the blade like a spear. His eyes widened, and the empousa turned to see what he did. She saw the incoming blade and shrieked in terror, diving out of the way just in time. Nico ducked and the sword thunked into the tree near his head. He reached up, grabbed the blade, and shouted as he ripped it from the trunk, slicing down on the empousa's neck just as she looked up. Shadows trickled off the blade like some kind of liquid and sank into the ground as I hurried up.
"Stay dead a while..." Nico muttered, sheathing his blade and scowling at the vanishing puddle of shadows at his feet.
"You ok?" I asked. He shrugged and looked over at me, brushing dirt from his clothes.
"Are you?" he countered. I hesitated, frowning.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, for one, you have a pretty deep gash on your shoulder." I glanced down and stared at the three long, jagged cuts left by the empousa's claws. When I looked up again, Nico was holding out a flask identical to the one in Reyna's satchel. I would have said it was the same, except it was only half the size of Reyna's. I took a sip and handed it back. He tucked it into his pants pocket.
"And for two," he continued, eying me cautiously, "you just found out who your godly parent is. Speaking of, I'll have to tell Percy that some of them aren't claiming their kids."
"Huh?" I blinked, trying to follow him. When he mentioned Percy, I felt my chest constrict, but I pushed aside the feeling for now.
"A few summers ago, when he helped defeat the Titan Kronos, Percy made the gods promise they would claim their kids, because there were so many demigods that didn't understand why monsters were attacking them, and because so many demigods felt abandoned by their godly parent. If you didn't know about all of this until now, then Hecate didn't claim you." He frowned. "Although, considering the fact that it's been two or three years since she was suppose to, and you've survived it all, I'm beginning to think she did so on purpose, to keep you from being noticed by monsters straight away."
"Wait, wait," I said, holding up my hands and stepping back. "Are you saying monsters find demigods when they turn thirteen?"
"Yeah," he answered, grimacing as he recalled something from his past. "Or sooner, if the demigod realizes what they are before then. And if a demigod doesn't get found by satyrs and taken to Camp Half-Blood before they turn thirteen, chances of them surviving drops each day. Very few are lucky enough to survive for even a year on their own, and even fewer, like Annabeth and Luke, manage to survive for more than a year."
"Annabeth and Luke?" I asked. He winced, and I figured I'd hit a sore point.
"Luke was the counselor of the Hermes cabin at Camp Half-Blood," he explained, "until he stole Zeus' master bolt, and turned traitor to become Kronos' host. And Annabeth is... Percy's girlfriend."
"Oh," I whispered. Now I understood why he was so closed off about his feelings. The one he liked already had someone. I felt so bad for him, and without thinking, I gave him a hug. For a moment, he tensed, startled and scared. Then he relaxed, and hugged me back, hesitantly.
"So what's with all the hugs?" Nico, startled, shoved me back. I tripped and landed on my back.
"N-nothing," he answered, edging away from me. Reyna stood by the statue, leaning against the shield, and gave him a skeptically amused look.
"Judging by all the scuffing, I'd say some monsters attacked," Coach Hedge said, pouting. "And I missed all the fun..."
"If you were thanking Erasmus for saving your hide," Reyna said, grinning, "you don't have to be ashamed of it." Nico flushed in what looked like anger, but I could see the embarrassment and relief.
"It wasn't like that!" he exclaimed. Supposedly fuming, he stomped back to the tree and muttered something as he dropped to the ground, crossing his arms and staring into the distance.
"Then what was it like?" Reyna asked, turning to me. I shrugged.
"I found out that I'm a... a son of Hecate," I said.
"Ah," she said, nodding. Then she frowned, eying me. "Actually..."
"Is that a problem?" I asked, a bit miffed. First she cuts into my religion by saying that the ancient gods exist, which puts my God into question, and now it's an issue that one of my parents is one of those ancient gods.
It hit me full force, then. I was a son of Hecate. My father had fallen in love with a goddess. But... How could he, if he didn't believe they existed?
I groaned, pressing my fingertips to my eyes, hoping to relieve the pressure building behind them.
"What's wrong, now?" Coach Hedge snapped. "Man up, cupcake!"
"It's... nothing," I managed. "Um, I'm going to go for a walk; I'll be back soon." Without waiting for a reply, I strode off into the corn field.
"What's up with him?" I heard Coach Hedge grunt as I left.
The swishing of the corn as I passed helped me calm down, and I tried to think through everything in a rational manner. If the facts given me were to be believed, then my father had fallen in love with a goddess from ancient Greece, and I was one of many demigods in the world.
I still couldn't quite accept it in context with Christianity. If the gods of ancient Greece and Rome were real, then my God must not exist...
No, He could exist; He'd said in the Bible to have no other gods before Him, not that there were no other gods. He even made a point of saying that He was above all other gods. So maybe Hecate and Zeus, and all the other gods were real. My God was simply greater than those.
I felt much better when I concluded this, and my thoughts turned to Nico. His embarrassed face came to mind, and I winced as I realized how cute he was when he blushed. That sin of mine, the one I'd tried so hard to bury, was surfacing again. I let the burn simmer in my body for a few minutes, savoring the pleasure, and then quenched it, reburying it as I headed back.
The biggest problem with being a purportedly powerful demigod is that monsters tend to find me with apparent ease.
Just as I reached the others, Aurum and Argentum tensed and began growling. I thought for a moment they were glaring at me, their ears flattened to their metal skulls, but Reyna cursed and drew her sword, looking past me. I realized my monster compass was pinging behind me; I spun and saw a group of monsters gesturing wildly at us as they rallied themselves. Darting past the dogs, I snatched up my sword and club from the base of the statue and turned, ready for battle. Beside me, Coach Hedge brandished his bat, but Nico didn't draw his sword. He took a deep breath, and stood tall at the front of our group. I could see that he was still tired, but I could also see his frustration at having more monsters to battle so soon.
"Get them!" an empousa screamed. Two harpies rose up from the ranks and shot forward to make the first attack. Reyna and I took them out easily.
"Coach, take the empousa," Nico ordered. "Erasmus, the telkhines. Reyna, have Aurum and Argentum help him; you and I have the Cyclops." Since I knew Cyclops and empousa, I figured the dark, seal-skinned, dog-like creatures were telkhines. I counted a dozen of them, and prayed to God they weren't very smart, or they'd overwhelm me, despite my canine assistants.
"Aurum, Argentum, stay with Erasmus," Reyna ordered, shifting next to Nico. I prayed silently for strength and glanced at the others.
"Good luck and God bless," I said. Then I dashed forward and tore past the monsters, Reyna's dogs at my heels. They stuck to me as I headed for a clear spot at the edge of the cornfield.
"Stop him!" the empousa cried. The telkhines raced after me, and the Cyclops turned to do so as well.
"Hey ugly!" Coach shouted. Both the Cyclops and the empousa whirled.
"Who are you calling ugly, ugly?" the latter exclaimed.
"You, ugly!" I tried not to laugh at their 'ugly' contest, and turned to face the telkhines, Aurum and Argentum growling, battle-ready, on either side of me. The first four went as easily as the harpies had, two to my sword and one to each of the dogs, but the other eight drew back a bit to reevaluate. As they did, I wondered if I could possibly distract them with magic. I focused on them. For a long while nothing happened. Then, just as I imagined, one of them stumbled forward into another.
"What was that for?" the offended one demanded in a squeaky voice.
"I didn't do anything," the other answered, its voice high and nasally. "Someone pushed me!"
"Yeah right!" the first said, shoving the second. A tussle broke out, ending with the second exploding into gold dust, along with two others that had sided with him. The rest turned to me and charged. Aurum, the gold one, leapt forward, colliding with two of the remaining five, and distracting a third. I swept my sword down at it, severing its head immediately, and spun to do the same to the next as Argentum, the silver dog, engaged the last, but my target swerved to the side at the last moment, lunging and clamping its jaws down on my leg. I bit back a scream of pain and clubbed its head. It growled and bit down harder. I whapped it a second time, envisioning the club gaining enough speed and power to kill the monster. It did. I dropped to my knees while the gold dust fluttered away on the wind. Argentum finished off his opponent and rushed over to help Aurum.
A cry of surprise and pain brought my attention to the others, just in time to see Reyna fly through the air and collide with a tree. I winced, hissing, as her body almost wrapped around the trunk and then fell to the ground.
"Reyna!" Nico cried. He ducked under the Cyclops' hand as it swiped at him and stabbed at it, making the beast yowl in pain. I saw Coach Hedge taking on the empousa with his bare hands, having lost the bat, screaming insults back and forth with her. The satyr would be no help to the others, and now Nico was fighting a Cyclops alone. Fury poured adrenaline through my veins.
"Argentum, Aurum, protect Reyna!" I commanded, leaping to my feet. I didn't have to tell them twice; the dogs shot across the grass and hovered over their mistress, growling and glaring around as if the very air were a threat.
For my part, I made the distance in record time and jumped onto the Cyclops' back just as it went to smash Nico. It stopped and began swatting at me while I made my way up its back to its head. Nico, below, sliced at the monsters legs.
Together, we stabbed it, him from below, me from above. It evaporated into dust and I realized my mistake; I hovered a good ten feet or more above the ground for a millisecond before plummeting. With a squawk of surprise, I landed on Nico.
"Do you always have to land on me?" he grunted, shoving me off. I hid my blush under what I hoped passed for a scowl.
"It's not always my fault!" I retorted, standing and dusting myself off.
"Hey! Quit arguing and go help Reyna!" Coach Hedge yelled, kicking the empousa back. He snatched up a rock and brought it down on her. She went out screaming insults.
Meanwhile, Nico and I raced over to help Reyna, who was slowly sitting up. I snatched her satchel, yanked out the flask, and handed it to her. She took it and managed a few drops before handing it back to me, reaching over to steady herself on Aurum's back.
"Thank you," she panted. "Take some yourself, but not too much; we're running out." I nodded, and dribble three or four drops onto my tongue, savoring the macaroni and cheese flavor, and handed it off to Nico. He capped it and tucked it back into her bag. I frowned at him, but pursed my lips shut.
"Let's get back to the statue," Coach Hedge said, joining us. "We're safer there than out here in the open." He reached down to help Reyna up, but she stumbled before she took two steps, grabbing Aurum before she collapsed. Argentum whined and pawed at her leg, looking up at her in concern. I took her arm and pulled it across my shoulders, helping her stand properly as she patted the dog's head reassuringly. Then Nico took her other arm and we supported her back to the Athena Parthenos. The statue seemed to look down on us sternly, as though saying we were fools for staying here and not continuing our mission.
I realized as I considered it that I thought of myself as part of the group. I shook my head and flicked myself in the forehead to forgo anymore such thoughts. Whatever was going on here, I was only involved until we got to safety; I had no part in their mission.
It was dusk, now, and the sun had begun setting, painting the sky with red and orange. I was surprised it wasn't any later, given how much had just happened, but at the same time, I was oddly grateful time wasn't flying by.
After Reyna stitched up my shoulder from the empousai attack, as well as my leg from the telkhine bite just a little while ago, she laid down to rest, Hedge taking the watch with the dogs while Nico vanished to wherever he had earlier. Assured that they were alright without me for now, I went for a walk into the woods and climbed a tall tree to get a good view of the sunset. The streaked sky was gorgeous and I reveled in the moment of peace. I thanked God for all the blessings He'd given me today; a warm breakfast—or supper, I guess; it was so long ago, according to my stomach, it didn't really matter—victory over the empousai, and another victory over another group of monsters.
What about Nico? my inner voice asked. Are you thankful for him? I tried to ignore myself, but it's not as easy as it sounds.
Shut up, I grumbled.
It's a serious question, my inner voice grouched. He's just the kind of guy y-
SHUT UP! I shouted at myself. It left me alone, but only for a minute or two.
Did you see him blush this morning? it asked. I groaned. He couldn't meet your gaze; but I'm sure if he had, he would have seen the d-
Shut the hell up! I would have used much more colorful language, but I was trying to avoid it.
He's a child of that god Hades, my inner voice persisted. He knows a thing or two about dark secrets... In fact, he p- This time, I didn't have to interrupt it.
"Erasmus?" Not that I was much happier with who did. I leaned out as far as I could to see down to the base of the tree.
"Up here, Nico," I said. He glanced up and blinked in surprise when he saw me.
"What are you doing up there?" he asked. I shrugged, almost losing my grip on the tree.
"Watching the sunset," I answered. He nodded, like he'd expected that answer.
"Well, Reyna told me to come get you," he said. "She's handing out some food before she goes to sleep." My mouth instantly began watering. Breakfast, or supper, or whatever it was, suddenly seemed like months ago. I scrambled to get down... and then I did lose my grip. With a gasp, I tumbled down, crashing into several branches on the way. I landed on Nico... again. But this time was worse, because our lips touched.
I jerked back, scrambling off of him and blushing furiously. I covered my mouth with my hand as I hit the tree, mortified. He just lay there, staring upward in shock. When he didn't move for a long while, I crawled slowly toward him, the heat in my cheeks cooling just a bit. I waved my hand in front of his face, but he just kept staring.
"Nico?" I leaned over him to try getting his attention. He reached up and grabbed my neck, surprising me. I tried to pull away, but he was stronger than I expected, and he pulled me down. This time, when our lips met, it wasn't a mistake. He pressed his mouth to mine for what seemed an eternity before he let go, falling back to the ground. His long black hair shaded his eyes, but his cheeks reddened and he bit his lip. For my part, I turned redder than a ripe tomato, my face burning again. I started to stand, hoping to get far away, but he grabbed my wrist.
"Tell me something," he whispered, his voice low and husky, sending shivers up my spine. Not of fear, I knew, but I definitely, desperately wanted to avoid naming it, my sinful delight. "What does your religion say about that?"
"W-what...? What does that have to do with t-" I stuttered.
"Just answer the question, Erasmus," he said. Shame touched me, making me want to run away and hide for eternity, curled up in a hole somewhere.
"I... It's not... It's not proper," I mumbled, still bushing. I couldn't even look at him anymore, much less meet his gaze, which I knew was focused on me. Shifting, I brought my knees up and dropped my head onto my arm, which I rested on them.
"Then why did you let me?" he asked. Had I had my other arm free, I would have crossed them over my knees and hidden my face. As it was, I could only half hide, so I knew he could see the blush deepen.
"I- I don't know..." I managed. He sat up and tugged on my arm, forcing me to uncurl or fall over. I looked up and saw his dark eyes flashing, partially in anger, partially in embarrassment.
"You don't know?" he demanded. I felt a twinge deep in my gut, and I tried to force it down. I put on a scowl, but even I could tell it was forced and weak.
"Alright, fine. Honestly, I do know," I answered, "but I sure as hell am not telling you!" I jerked my arm free and shoved to my feet, but made it only two steps before he caught up. He swung around in front of me, blocking my path, and glared. I swallowed my heart.
"I think I have a right to know," he spat, "since it involves me."
"Why did you kiss me?" I demanded, turning it back on him. He blinked, but recovered and crossed his arms, a veil coming down over his emotions.
"That is my business," he said. I laughed humorlessly.
"So you can pry into my private dealings, but I can't ask about yours?" I threw up my hands and snorted. He opened his mouth to say something, and paused.
"Point taken," he said finally, yielding, though he didn't seem pleased about it. With that, he turned and walked away. I didn't think it would be that easy to deter him, so I kept my guard up as I followed. But he didn't bother me again. We got to the statue, where Reyna was just pulling a couple of snack bags filled with cheese and crackers from her satchel.
"I thought it would take him a while to find you," she smirked. She looked better now, but a flash of pain in her eyes told me she needed more rest before she was ready to battle another Cyclops. When she tossed two bags at me, I caught them and wordlessly rounded the statue to eat on the other side, eager to avoid a conflict with Nico in front of them.
I'd finished the snack, given Coach Hedge the bags, and returned to my spot on the other side of the statue when the son of Hades joined me again. He came around the opposite side and dropped to the ground beside me. Annoyed at the excited tumbling routine my stomach went through, I waited for him to say something, but he didn't. The silence was rather awkward, yet I couldn't think of anything to say, so I kept quiet. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I got up to go for a walk.
"May I join you?" he asked softly. I hesitated, but he sounded almost apologetic, and I saw no reason not to let him.
Unless he kisses you again, my inner voice smirked. I rolled my eyes. Sometime my inner voice seemed to have a mind of its own.
"Sure," I told Nico, feigning disinterest, even though my heartbeat thudded a little louder in my ears. He stood and we strolled into the forest, slipping quietly through the trees.