Due to my beta being out of the loop, as it were, this is unbetaed. When she returns it to me, I'll post it up. :)
Chapter seven
Thank you for all of your comments! I will get around to replying to them, eventually...
Thanks, as always, to my wonderful beta, Reading Obsession. Not only is she good, she's fast too.
It was raining on my head when I awoke. Not the greatest thing to wake up to, and especially not when my head felt like it was going to explode. I sat up, fisting my forehead, willing my headache to go away.
Opening my eyes, I saw that I was lying on a patch of grass, surrounded by trees. A little way off, I saw Giac, lying on his side. I stood up, swaying a little, before walking towards him, a little unsteady on my feet. When I was at his form, I dropped to my knees. The pounding in my head was getting worse as I shook his shoulder.
"Giac," I said, mouth slackly forming the words. "Wake up..."
I shook his shoulder again and he muttered something.
"What was that?"
"You look like David Hasselhoff..." he muttered, eyes closed. I smiled, and shook his shoulder again.
"Giac," I raised my tone, wincing as it sent a bolt of pain through my head. "Giac, wake up."
Finally, I got tired of doing that, and slapped him. His eyes opened, and his hand came up to his cheek.
"What'd you do that for?"
''Cause you wouldn't wake up," I said, trying to stand. Pain lanced through my head again and I wobbled to the ground.
"Are you okay?" he asked me suspiciously.
"Yea-" I started to say, but the opening of my jaw made the pain worse. "No."
"Lemme see," he said, standing up and crouching next to me.
"No, I'm fine..." I mumbled out as his hands touched my head.
"My ass you're fine," he shot back, looking. "Ouch. What the hell did you do?"
"I got clouted in the head with a rock, I think," I said, closing my eyes. I was starting to feel nauseous.
"That must have been a hell of a rock. You need medical attention. Do you know where we are?"
"No," I said.
"And then I suppose you don't know where Nico and Annabeth are." I didn't answer and I felt him stand up.
"Come on," he said, and lifted me by the torso. "Can you walk?"
I thought about it for a second. "No."
"Come with me then," he said, half dragging me out of the clearing. We walked for a couple of minutes, before Giac set me down on a large, flat rock. He crouched beside me, holding his palm to the earth. In the direct centre, a small sapling erupted from the soil, twisting so it touched the middle of his index finger. Giac closed his eyes as I watched dumbly, and his lips moved silently. His fingertip glowed blue, and tip of the plant became a vibrant red flower. He stood up, opening his eyes again and looking at me.
"Do you know how old this forest is?" he asked. "Like, centuries old." I nodded, not really listening.
"Anyway, the trees know where Annabeth and Nico are, and they agreed to help us find them." This statement was so ridiculous that I almost laughed.
"Come on," he said, picking me back up as we continued through the woods, Giac occasionally laying his palm on one of the tree-trunks.
Finally, just as I was about to faint, we came into another clearing. There was Annabeth, sitting on a fallen log, staring at something.
"Annabeth," Giac said, walking us over to the log. I collapsed onto it, grimacing in pain.
"Oh, good. You guys are alive." There was relief in her eyes. "Nico went to scout out. He should be back soon."
"Whatcha staring at?" he asked, moving away from me.
She showed him. It was her mobile phone. It looked okay, but when she flipped it over, I saw that the battery compartment hinges were smashed, and the battery missing. She shrugged, tossing the phone away.
Suddenly the bushes rustled, and Annabeth drew her knife. Giac lay down beside her and stared at the sky.
"Don't worry," he said. "It's Nico."
And so it was.
"Uh, a little way away is a really, really small town," he said. "Like,really small."
"It's as good as anything. It might have coffee," Annabeth said, sighing. "And we need to get medical attention for Jakob."
"What's wrong?" Nico asked as he, came over to me, touching the sore spot on my head. He whistled. "That's some cut."
I felt nauseous again.
"I wonder..." Nico went silent, and my head started to itch. And then it burned, but not unpleasantly so. Then it was over, and my mind was suddenly clear. I jumped up, relishing the feeling of nothing. Well, no pain anyway. I eyed Nico.
"What'd you do?"
He grinned. "New trick," he said. "When someone dies, a massive amount of energy is released. I can channel that energy into a precious stone, like this one." He pointed at the ring on his index finger on his left hand. It was a thick silver band, with tiny rubies set into it. "With that energy, a number of things are possible." Despite the morbid source, I was glad of the healing.
"Okay, shall we go to the village?" I asked them. "I'm hungry, and I also wouldn't mind some coffee."
They nodded, and together we set off, heading through the trees with Nico leading us.
After a little while, we came onto a tarmac road. The sky was still grey, but the rain had gone. There were a few houses dotted around the road, and down a dirt track, a two story building with a sign saying 'Bed and Breakfast'.
Mmm... Breakfast.
Feeling sort of like Homer Simpson, I walked towards it, the others following.
The little bell above the door jingled as we entered the shop. It was dry, and warmth radiated from the stone fireplace on the far side of the room.
The reception counter was polished wood, and the wall paper was faded. The only illumination came from the fire, which had a collection of overstuffed chairs arranged around it.
There was an old fashioned bell on the desk, and I pushed it. The sound had barely faded when a woman moved out of the door to the desk. She was short, and dumpy, with stringy red hair. Her eyes were odd, one grey and one green, like a cat.
"Hello, children." Her voice didn't match her appearance. It was soft, high and musical. It was very pleasant to listen to.
Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like being called 'children'.
"Uh, hi. We're interest in renting a room or two..." Her voice trailed off.
"Certainly. I just need your names." She moved off to the shelves.
"I'm Jakob Cilliani," I said.
"I'm Nico DiAngelo."
She took the keys off the hook.
"I'm Giac Letterman."
She walked back to us.
"I'm... Annabeth Chase," she said, after a slight hesitation.
"Well, I can certainly rent a room to such lovely children!" she said, voice even brighter than before. "Hang on a second."
She looked over her shoulder, towards the door, and yelled up the stairs, "Lily!"
She stood there, after giving a quick smile to us, her teeth chipped and broken, but perfectly white, while tapping her foot, the rapping a sharp staccato against the wooden floor.
Finally, a little girl walked down the0 stairs. She was Asian, with pretty, angular features. And she was terrified. She looked at the woman with such terror it was palpable.
"Lily, there you are you naughty girl!"
She shoved the key into Lily's hand. "I am LeBarbera, by the way."
I grinned, and almost laughed. LeBarbera?
But the moment passed, and the woman, LeBarbera ushered us upstairs. The little girl led us, into a hallway with a crimson carpet and old-fashioned wallpaper. She stopped in front of a pale-wooden door and inserted the key into the lock. It opened, and we stepped inside. It was very nice inside, with the same wallpaper and carpet from the hallway. That seemed to be the décor. There was a double bed and two singles.
Annabeth stopped in the doorway, staring in horror with her mouth open.
"Whaaaat?" asked Giac, yawning. "Get in already."
"That's what she said," Nico said promptly. "And, yeah. What's wrong?"
"I don't want to share a bed with any of you!"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, my God. I'll share with Giac! You can have the single bed."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," she said. Though, knowing her mother, I thought this was not really possible.
She lay down on the bed, closing her eyes.
"I miss Percy," she said, suddenly.
I moved to the double with Giac, and Nico jumped onto the other single.
"Dinner is at seven," LeBarbera said. "Come along, Lily."
She roughly took the little Asian girl's hand and pulled her out of the rough, the door shutting behind her. We had one final look at Lily's terrified eyes before it closed.
"What is wrong with that woman?" Annabeth burst out. "That poor girl looks utterly terrified."
"Er, Annabeth, I don't think that's a woman," Nico said.
"I know, I know, I just... I feel really stressed and tired all of a sudden," she said, lying back down. "I'm going have a sleep. Wake me when it's time for dinner."
I nodded. "Okay. Oh, Annabeth? Do you have any drachmas on you?"
She fished around in her pocket for a second, before pulling out a gold coin. "We're in luck. I was going to call my dad after dinner."
"Thanks," I said, moving to the bathroom.
I turned the shower on, before freezing the tiles. Then I turned it on full-blast hot water, creating a misty steam that circulated through-out the bathroom.
"O Goddess, accept my offering." I threw the coin, and it disappeared. "Chiron, Camp Half-Blood."
The mist flickered, solidifying and forming a scene. It was Camp Half-Blood, but not in the way it was before. The lake was dirty, bits of debris floating in its waters. I frowned. Even from here I could feel the sick feeling that came when I was near polluted water. There was so much polluted water around, I was usually feeling at least a little nauseous. The forest was missing trees, and there was devastation all around. Chiron was standing in front of me, tail to me. He had a bandage wrapped around his head.
"Chiron," I said. "Chiron!"
He turned, saw me, and smiled. "Ah, young Jakob. You're alive. Are the others with you?"
"Yes."
"Good. I saw what happened last night. Mrs. O'Leary broke a couple of ribs, but she'll be fine soon. The blond-haired boy..." Chiron frowned. "He disappeared. He was odd. He had an extremely powerful scent, stronger then even Percy or Thalia. But, at the same time, he was still mortal, at least partially..." His face smoothed out. "Well, whatever he was, I'm sure we'll be informed in due time. Oh, and Hyperion is dead."
"Dead?"
"Yes, dead, well, he isn't coming back any time soon," Chiron said. "You managed to practically kill a Titan. He was crushed by the pressure when he left the atmosphere, and I last felt his drifting out of the solar system. It will take him several thousand years to get there, but it was also take him several thousand years to get back. As far as I can tell, he's missing the spark of life, but we will be careful anyway..."
We talked a little more before Chiron was called away. I said goodbye, and reluctantly waved my hand through the connection. It broke apart, and the steam dissipated.
I walked from the bathroom into the room proper. The blinds were closed, and Giac had his eyes closed. Annabeth's' were too, and her chest was rhythmically rising and falling. Nico was lying on his bed, playing with a piece of clay he seemed to have summoned.
"It's only a couple of hours until dinner. You may as well sleep too," he said. "I'll wake you when it's time."
"Thanks," I said, moving to my side of the double. Giac was in the middle so I shoved him over. He mumbled and started to snore softly.
I lay under the covers and sank into blissful unconsciousness.
Sorry for the filler chapter. It needed to be done. Percy and the others next chapter.
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