I had never been happier. So, of course, Mother had to throw a monkey wrench my way.
After the joyful reunion, we all sat at the base of the Athena Parthenos and talked while we gathered strength. As the conversation turned to the recent victory, Nico slipped his hand into mine and squeezed. I looked at him and a tiny, sly smile touched his lips. I couldn't help but grin. With a glance at the others, to make sure no one was paying much attention, I used to Mist to hide us as we snuck away.
The moment the others were out of sight, I had Nico against a tree. I pressed my body flush against his and kissed him with a fiery passion. He responded warmly, his tongue on mine while his hands slipped up the back of my shirt. I gasped, breaking the kiss, as his cool fingers explored my skin. He kissed my neck and ran his tongue up to the space just behind my ear. Heat exploded through my body and I bit my lip to keep from groaning.
"A promise is a promise," he whispered huskily. "For real this time." He tugged at my hoodie. I still wore it, and by some miracle, it hadn't been destroyed. There were tears, sure, but they were easily patched or mended. I stepped back and doffed it, and noticed, as I dropped it, a small piece of paper flutter to the ground. Nico bent down and picked it up.
"...Your note," I said, remembering it as I stared at it. He held it up, one eyebrow rising.
"You didn't read it?" he asked. I flushed and rubbed my neck.
"I... I didn't want to," I said sheepishly. "After you left and I woke up, I... I was afraid of what it might say." He stared at me, his gaze searching my face as though he was looking for something. Apparently he found it, because he smiled gently and stepped forward, reaching out to touch my shoulder.
"Sometimes I wonder about you, Ras," he chuckled. As much as I disliked the nickname, from him I didn't mind it.
Oh, so, he can say it, but I can't? Heka complained. That's not fair!
Since when do the gods care about equality? I retorted. Last I checked, um, never.
...Touché. I rolled my eyes as Nico sat down. He patted the ground next to him, inviting me to sit with him, and I did. He shifted as I lowered myself, and I blinked in surprise as he sat on my lap, facing me.
"I'll read it to you," he said, leaning forward as he unfolded the note. He scanned it once and then began reading it aloud. "Erasmus, if you're reading this, then I am long gone. I'm sorry I didn't stay to talk with you in person, but after that dream, I didn't know how I'd be able to face you, and besides, I had to come back and make another jump with the statue." I had to resist snorting at that; it was obvious the jump never happened. "I'll be honest, you were my first as well, and it made me realize something; I may have started liking you because you looked like Percy, but everything we'd done together, including a dream I'll never forget, proved that..." Here, he looked up and met my gaze. He continued talking, and I knew he was finishing the note, but he didn't look down again. "I'd fallen for you, because you're you."
My breath hitched and I couldn't stop myself; I reached up and took his neck, pulling him down to a gentle, loving kiss. He set the note aside and pushed my shirt up. I shivered as he ran his fingers along the taut muscles of my stomach and chest, and felt myself harden when he tucked them under the lip of my jeans. He noticed and slid closer, grinning through the kiss. His response was obvious, his groin rubbing mine, and I lost it; pulling him to me, I twisted around and laid him on the ground beneath me. I tugged his still blood-soaked shirt up and he wiggled out of it. He helped me doff mine and I kissed him again, lustily.
"Young master?" At Clarina's soft voice, we both jumped and looked up. She and the other empousai stood waiting patiently a few yards away. Heat from embarrassment burned through me and I sat up. Nico and I were shirtless, making out on the ground, and out of nowhere, my mother's servants show up. What would she say if she knew?
"What is it, Clarina?" I asked, somehow managing to sound calm. She stepped forward and bowed her head.
"Hecate has need of you," she answered. "With the impending battle between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, no satyrs are available to protect the young demigods who need it."
"What does that have to do with me?" I pressed, frowning.
"You need to gather them, and protect them until the battle is decided," Clarina responded. Nico squirmed out from under me and sat up.
"What?" he demanded. "He just fought Gaea in a battle of wills, and barely survived, and you want to send him out to protect other kids?" She looked at him, either not noticing his bare, pale chest, or ignoring it.
"It is not my wish," she clarified, "but that of his mother." I stared. Hecate wanted me to take a satyr's job? I couldn't do that! I had already almost failed to save a group of magicians and demigods that actually had experience; how could I be expected to protect a group of demigods who would have little, if any, experience?
"You won't be alone, young master," Doris said, as though reading my mind. I looked up at them.
"I won't?"
"You'll have us!" Lilianna said shyly. I smiled. She and Enova seemed young, eager to impress, and all five of them had already decided to pledge to me. Based on the battles I'd previously had with other empousai, they were a formidable force to reckon with, and with Hecate's power backing them...
"Where's the nearest demigod?" I asked.
"Miami, and the next nearest is in Washington, D.C.," Clarina answered.
"Clarina, take Lilianna and Enova to D.C.," I ordered. "Doris and Arsine, go to Miami. Don't let anyone see you, obviously, but watch over the kids; I'll be to Miami as soon as I can." Exchanging glances, they nodded and faded into mist, except Arsine.
"Don't take too long, young master," she said in a soft, throaty voice. "Cyclopes have been seen in the Miami area, and they'll have moved in by now." I nodded in acknowledgement and she faded out, leaving me alone with Nico.
"...I guess you'll be leaving then," he noted quietly. I turned to him. He leaned on one arm, one knee drawn up and the other arm draped over it. His hair hung in his face, but I could still see the disappointment in his gaze. Leaning over, I cupped his cheek and kissed him.
"If I could stay," I whispered, "nothing would stop me. And next time, nothing will." He blushed and pressed his lips to mine, touching my chest lightly with his cool fingers.
"I don't doubt it," he returned.
With another shared peck, I stood, gathering my shirt and hoodie, and snatching the note as well. I donned the first two, and stuck the third in my pocket.
"The others will want to say bye before you go," Nico said, tugging his shirt over his head. His hair clung to his forehead, veiling his eyes, and I reached over to swipe it away. As I pushed the dark locks aside, I realized he was crying. Immediately, I took his chin and tilted his face up.
"Are you alright?" I asked gently, brushing away a tear slipping from the corner of his eye.
"I'm fine," he whispered. He met my gaze easily, so I knew he wasn't lying, but he seemed upset.
"What's wrong?" I took his hand in one of mine, and cupped his cheek in the other.
"I just... I'm going to miss you," he replied softly. That made me smile. I pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed his knuckles, never looking away from him.
"I will come back," I promised. "I will always come back for you." The blush returned, slightly, his gaze shunting to the side.
"Hearing something like from perhaps the most powerful demigod alive," he murmured. "It's like being told a god actually cares what happens to us." I chuckled.
"News flash," I said. "He does."
"What...?" he began. Pausing, he shook his head. "Never mind; I'll ask later..." Twining his fingers in mine, he gave a slow, sad smile. Wordlessly, he led me back to the group.
"There you guys are!" Jaz greeted the moment they were in sight. She smiled brightly and took my free arm. "It's about time to go, Erasmus." I looked down at her beaming face and knew I'd miss her and her sweet loving nature. I'd miss them all; Coach Hedge and his subtle caring ways hidden beneath violence, Reyna and her quietly commanding presence, Walt and his generosity, as well as Anubis and his protectiveness, Sadie and her bossy desire to control which just hid gentle kindness, Carter and his humble leadership. But especially Nico; despite being a son of Hades, he was remarkably benevolent.
"...I'm not going," I said softly. The Egyptians stopped making preparations and turned to stare at me. Jaz let go of my arm, though she didn't move away.
"Then... You're coming with us?" Reyna asked, her brow furrowing. "I thought you needed training with your other... heritage."
"I do," I answered. "And I need training with this heritage. But I'm not going with you either."
"Then where are you going?" Carter asked calmly. I sighed, staring at the ground, already feeling nostalgic for the times I'd spent with these people.
"My mother has a mission for me," I explained slowly. "A mission only I can complete. Alone." I looked up, meeting each person's gaze in turn. "As much as I'd rather stay with all of you, there are demigods who need protecting. I will miss you. All of you." I ended my circuit with Nico, who smiled bravely.
"So... This is goodbye," Sadie half said, half asked. I glanced at her and nodded. She hesitated and then stepped forward. Surprising me, she threw her arms around my neck. After assuring myself that she wasn't attacking, I hugged her back.
"We'll miss you, too, Erasmus," Walt said, a smile tugging at his lips. Sadie stepped away from me, taking Walt's hand as he spoke. "You've added something to our lives, something that wasn't there before. Whatever it is, it's pretty amazing." I gave a snorted laugh in response, smiling gently.
"Before you go," Coach grunted, "wanna tell us about that weapon of yours?" I chuckled. The old goat was showing his affection the usual way. Letting go of Nico, I took up my sword and shield and dropped down at the base of the statue, grateful for a reason to linger.
The blade gleamed in the sunlight as I rested it across my knees. The shield shone like a miniature sun itself. The cross stood out, trying to proclaim the glory of the Almighty in a single image. The translucent white gems, I realized, were diamonds. Pure, uncut.
"A gift from God," I said quietly. "Straight from an angel."
"Does that mean... your God exists?" Jaz asked, interest piqued. I smiled and nodded.
"He has always existed," I said. "He was there before time, and He will continue beyond the end of time. He is the Creator of everything; you, me, the earth, the sea. He is Lord of all; above man, above kings, above even the Olympians and the gods of Egypt."
"Wait," Reyna said, holding up her hand. "If He's so big and powerful, why would He care about us?"
"He made us, and each of us is special," I answered. "He loves each and every one of us, though it may not seem like it at times. For those who follow Him wholeheartedly, He protects them, guides them, and blesses them. And for those who don't, He works at their hearts, in many different ways, to bring them back."
"Bring them back?"
"We're all His children, according to the Bible, and He wants all of us to be with Him again in perfection, in Heaven. He wants it so much, He even sent a part of Himself, His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us." I paused, considering how often some of them had probably heard things like that. "I understand that it just sounds like a bunch of... religious dogma, but it's so true. Jesus came to earth, a perfect Lamb, and paid the ultimate price to buy us tickets to Heaven. And all we have to do it take it." Gripping its hilt, I lifted the sword. "It's so simple, but no one ever wants to. And it's not really surprising; following the Lord isn't exactly a walk in the park, like some preachers will try to tell you. Being a Christian means you're marked for attacks from the devil. I mean, just look at my life; I thought my mother had run off with another man while I was still young, and my father died not too long ago. Just a few weeks ago, after living in an orphanage for so long, I was suddenly attacked by creatures I knew nothing about, and I spent my sixteenth birthday on the run. And now, I'm losing perhaps the only people I could ever call friends."
Though many had been deep in thought, they all looked up at me now. Jaz, Sadie, and Carter gave me looks of joyful gratitude, tinged with embarrassment; Reyna and Walt exchanged glances and slight smiles that said they had been talking about just this earlier; Coach Hedge turned red with, I hoped, discomfiture. Only Nico took it in stride. I'm sure he knew if I could tell him privately, I'd say he was much more than a friend.
"My point is," I continued, laying my sword across my knees again, "just because miracles happen, like this sword and shield appearing when I needed it most—just because miracles happen on occasion doesn't mean that everything is going to be easy. I'm sure you've all had struggles, of some kind. In fact, I know you have; we wouldn't be here if you hadn't. But that's just it; without those struggles, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be backing each other, taking care of each other, calling each other friend.
"Honestly," I smiled, "I probably wouldn't be alive if I hadn't trusted the God had some plan in mind for me when this all began. This sword is proof of that plan; I have never handled anything as strong, as sharp, or as perfect as this. And that's saying something, because Nico's sword is pretty amazing." He chuckled, fingering the hilt of his blade.
"...Heavenly steel," Carter declared. I glanced at him, as did most of the others. Seeing our bafflement, he continued. "The material of the blade; I've never seen anything like it, even after seeing di Angelo's Stygian iron, Reyna's Imperial gold, and hearing about Celestial bronze. Considering it came from... God, and it looks like steel, or something similar... Heavenly steel." Nico and I exchanged glances.
I like it. I nearly jumped out of my skin hearing Heka again after what seemed like forever.
Really, Heka? I gasped. You just had to, didn't you?
Yep. Well, points for honesty.
Glad you like it, but if you do that again... I left the threat unfinished, not knowing what I COULD do. Heka understood that and laughed.
"Heavenly steel is it, then," I said aloud. "The first of its kind."
§§§
Many days later, I stood on the highest branch of a tall tree that would take my weight. I scanned the horizon for signs of civilization or monsters. My mind was divided; part of it focused on keeping us safe, and the other wandered to thoughts of my friends. I wondered if they were all safe, at or going to their appropriate homes.
A few days ago, the earth had trembled, and I heard Gaea whispering to me, telling me she was awake, and that as soon as she finished destroying Camp Half-Blood she was coming for me. The trembling had lessened shortly after, and stopped completely after a couple of hours. I felt no anger or threats from the earth, and I couldn't help but wonder what had happened. With each passing day, I grew more and more hopeful that Nico and the others had made it and united the camps to defeat Gaea. And with each passing day, I felt more and more depressed that Nico hadn't come to find me.
I'd heard no word yet from Hecate, and by the time I'd reached a tiny town in the north-western part of Pennsylvania to pick up a third demigod, a week had passed. I and the empousai found another demigod at the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey only yesterday.
The first demigod we picked up, in Miami, was Gina Winter, a thirteen-year-old daughter of Iris. Her birthday was actually the day after we picked her up from her little home in the suburbs of the city. Arsine had helped me disguise myself with the Mist so that I looked older, and somewhat official, and I told Gina's foster father that she was being recalled by the foster system because someone wanted to adopt her. I don't know how it worked—it had seemed so weak and flimsy—but Gina left Miami with Arsine, Doris and me, and we hitchhiked non-stop up to Washington, D.C., reaching it in four days. We crashed in an alley behind a cozy little motel, not daring to even try to get a room.
Penelope Jadestone was next. The ten-year-old daughter of Aphrodite had lost her father about the same time I'd lost mine; he had been popular, well-known, and well-loved, not to mention handsome, and a politician. He was assassinated during some big, important meeting that no one really understood except the attendees, most of whom died alongside him. Penelope had been placed in the care of her father's assistant, but the poor man was so busy dealing with Mr. Jadestone's death that she was practically ignored by everyone except her bodyguard, whom she managed to escape from by charm-speaking him into believing she would be right back. She was more than happy to join me and Gina, though the empousai frightened her.
In Pennsylvania, at the end of the week, we added the oldest demigod of our group, myself excluded. Teri-Lynn Henderson, fourteen-year-old daughter of Hypnos, had been on her own since she was twelve, and had survived by either putting the attacking monster to sleep, or putting herself into such a deep sleep that monsters couldn't smell her. I spent a long time talking with her about dreams, trying to understand whether anything that happened in a dream could be considered 'real' or not. We actually debated that quite a bit. She had an incredible mind, and extremely imaginative, as I discovered when she accidently invaded my dreams with a ton of baby pandas.
And yesterday, on his way across the border into New Jersey, we met Lore Pinter, a son of Ares who was thirteen, going on fourteen in a couple more weeks. It was nice to have another guy around after spending a week surrounded by eight females. He was surprisingly gentle for a son of Ares, and I'd wondered how he survived so long. Then we fought together. Despite his kind, almost shy demeanor, he had skills in battle like I'd never imagined; he did ten times more damage with a casual swipe of a dagger than I could do with a purposeful thrust of my sword.
Clarina—who had become my unofficial second—and the rest of the empousai had been helping defend and train the demigods as we wandered, which was a welcome relief—after the demigods got over the fact that they were empousai, anyway—but that's all we really did: wandered.
We did find another powerful young demigod just this morning, though. His name was Heron Stein, and he was a fifteen-year-old son of Demeter. He was just older than Teri, and told us his satyr protector had been killed by a pack of telkhines not long ago while they were en route to Camp Half-Blood. He also said he'd been surviving by hiding in sewers, which his aroma concurred with, so we tossed him in a river before leaving the area.
With so many powerful demigods all together, monster attacks were growing more and more frequent, so I was moving the group to the southern coast of New Jersey, where we had an entire wildlife refuge to hide in, and where we could use the sea to guard our backs, since less attacks came by sea than did by land or air.
We didn't have any ambrosia, which upset me, but my healing abilities from Heka took care of the worst issues, and as it turned out, Heron knew how to find herbs and such that had healing qualities; together I was sure we could manage to keep everyone alive and relatively healthy.
Our biggest hitch was when a Cyclops killed Doris just before we found Heron, but Clarina promised that she, and the others, had sworn to come back as soon as they could possibly make it, even if it meant fighting half of the underworld to do so. I still mourned Doris' return to the underworld, but I knew she'd be back, possibly even with reinforcements.
The empousai had each sworn to me at some point during the trip, Arsine first, then Clarina, then Doris, and Enova and Lilianna had done theirs together, shortly after we picked up Penelope. At least one of them was always by my side, usually Clarina, and the others would roam a fair distance from the demigods, keeping an eye out for hostile monsters while at the same time giving the kids space so they didn't have to be so close to monsters—even friendly ones—all the time.
And of course, not a day has passed that I don't wish I was with Nico and the others. I often wondered if they had finally defeated Gaea or if she was simply biding her time. I recalled how powerful she'd been in our battle of wills, and I cringed. She hadn't even been fully awake, and I'd had the power of Hecate, Heka, and five empousai, plus whatever extra God had given me, to add to my own apparently enormous power, and I'd still only JUST managed to defeat her. And that only by sending her away. Temporarily. What would happen if Gaea was able to wake completely? I shuddered even to think about it; world-wide chaos. And then the end.
I sincerely hoped Percy and his group had succeeded in their mission, and Nico and his group had survived. And my Egyptian friends? Well, if Gaea really had risen, then like Walt and Hecate said, she'd have overthrown Geb, the Egyptian earth god, and Ma'at would be unbalanced. If Ma'at was unbalanced, then Apophis would rise; I didn't need to know Ancient Egyptian history to know that would be the heralding of the end of the world.
Since the world hadn't ended yet, I held out hope that the demigods had won. Thankfully, my own part was small—I just had to take care of these kids until something happened. But I would often catch myself gripping the hilt of my sword, itching to pull it out and use it on something. I recalled the simple short sword I'd had before. I still had the club; I wasn't letting that go too easily. But I'd lost the sword somewhere in the woods just before Gaea appeared. I knew that because I had it when we debarked the gryphon-towed boat, but I didn't have it when I received the sword/shield set. Whatever had happened to it, I found myself missing its familiarity. Since I had no doubt I would never see it again, I pictured burying it, alongside a human representation of the time I spent with my friends. I promised myself I would only unbury the latter after I saw them all again.
Imagine my surprise when the sword turned up the day we first made camp in the Glades Wildlife Refuge. It showed up in the middle of the New Jersey coast, and Heron, who'd decided to become my disciple, found it first.
I was just about to go hunting for our supper with Arsine, when he came running up, out of breath, and trying to say something about a sword. When I finally got him to take a breath, he said that he'd found a sword standing upright in the sand, like someone had stabbed it into the ground. I had him lead me to it, and couldn't stop staring when I saw it. It really was the same blade I'd used for almost two weeks, and still in the same condition.
I grabbed the hilt to pull it out of the ground and felt something off about the handle, at the same time hearing a crinkle of paper. There was a note attached to it. I carefully pulled it off as the others crowded around me, eager to find out what it was—the endless curiosity of these kids caused them to follow me just about anywhere, and they always stuck close. Sometimes a little too close.
The instant I saw the handwriting, I knew who the note was from, and I smiled. Scanning the short message, I closed my eyes, holding the note tight to my chest. My group clamored for answers, but I just told them all to get back to the campsite, tugging the sword out of the ground and giving it to Heron. He accepted it with gracious excitement and led the others back to camp, the empousai trailing like an honor guard.
Only Clarina stayed by me, glancing at the note, and she asked knowingly if it was from him. My smile broadened and I nodded. Nothing, not even the appearance of Gaea herself could dull my mood right now. Life was indeed good, and I tilted my face to the sky, saying a quick prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings God had given me.
Erasmus,
Everything has gone well: Camp Jupiter listened, and together, we defeated Gaea with minimal casualties, the worst of which was Leo. He made most of the quest possible, and he gave his life to end Gaea's. She won't be bothering anyone for a long, long time. Eternity, hopefully. From what I hear, Percy and the others succeeded on their end and are headed back to the States, and I just heard from the Kanes, as well; they've started having problems, but so far it's nothing they can't handle.
I hope you're doing alright as well. I wanted to give this to you myself, but Will refuses to let me leave until he's sure I won't vanish forever the next time I try to shadow-travel. I'm definitely going to be training to avoid it, that's for sure.
We all miss you, Ras. Felix has been asking about you, and Coach hasn't stopped regaling his son with stories about you. I talked with Walt today, and he told me Jaz and the Kanes miss you, even though they won't say it. And I... I miss you more than I can say.
One last thing: I never got to say this, and next time we meet, I'll say it in person...
I love you.
Nico