Chapter 4
Argus dropped us off at Times Square, and from there we took a rickshaw to my mother's penthouse apartment. "This is your apartment?" Nico asked in awe. You see a couple years ago my mother married an extremely wealthy man. He owned an airline or something, and a couple other businesses. Right now he was over in England on some company retreat.
"Yep, just moved in here a couple months ago." I quickly showed Nico around and accidently saw the mentally scarring, brain bleach requiring, sight of my mother emerging from the shower completely nude. "AHHHHH. Mom, what the hell? I told you I was coming home with a friend."
"Oh relax. It's not like you never saw a naked woman before." She walked into her bed room and shut the door.
After that experience I needed to get out of the house. I yelled to mom about going out and taking her credit card. "Nico have you ever been to New York?" Realizing I already knew that answer, I added. "I mean other than to fight the Titans army."
"Only driving through."
"Well than lets go have some fun." We ran around Times Square, shopping and wandering aimlessly through the stores. Three hours was all it took for Nico to have a brand new wardrobe. We had it all shipped to my house. After shopping I took Nico to go see Addams Family, and then we went to Central Park.
As the sun began to set we began to walk back to my place. When we walked past a pond the temperature dropped suddenly. We could see our breath in front of us and the pond began to freeze. All the animals stopped making noises. A girl walked out on the freezing pond and stood in the center. She had black hair trailing down her back and radiated power. I didn't recognize her but knew she was a goddess.
Nico was shivering so I wrapped my arms around his slim frame and held him close. "This isn't right." He said softly, almost whispering. I dropped my arms quickly. Gods I was stupid. He likes Percy why would I do that. If my cheeks weren't red from the cold they'd be red from embarrassment. "No, not that." He pressed his back against me. "Why would she be out here in the summer? It doesn't make sense."
"You know who she is?" I wrapped my arms around him again and smiled.
"Snow goddess. Persephone hates her. We should go she's bad news." We left quickly and quietly. Once we were far enough the warmth returned to air and animal noises filled the park.
Finally we went to a little coffee shop, where a blonde woman was singing about a stinky feline. He got a large cup of coffee and I like the manly man that I am got a big cup of chocolate milk. We both got a powdered doughnut and sat at a table.
"So how awesome was your day in New York?"
"Eh it's alright."
"Puh-lease! Don't act like you weren't humming Full Disclosure on our way through the park." I threw a crumb at him.
"Fine Addams Family was awesome." He threw a sugar packet at me and we both had to stifle our laughs when the singer sang what she called "Ode to a Pubic Hair".
The stink of monster filled our nostrils when the door opened and a group of people walked in. A man in a flowing trench coat walked to the bar while the others sat at various tables. Nico and I were both on high alert, we looked out the window at our backs trying locate whatever we were about to face.
"Mr. di Angelo where's that pretty sister of yours?"
Nico tackled me to ground seconds before the plate glass window shattered. People were screaming and were rushing out of the door shoving people out of the way. Trench coat walked toward us and shrugged off the coat as he walked. A foot long spike appeared next to my head and the man began to change.
Where the man once stood now stood a big brown lion with a scar running across its eye and a long tail with the spikes surrounding it. It let out a roar that shook me to my bones and suddenly we were blocks away on top of a hotdog cart. Nico was still on top of me all the blood drained from his already pale face.
"Dr. Thorne." He mumbled. He climbed off me and jumped to the ground shadows swirled around his hand until his stygian sword was in his hand. "What are you waiting for let's go!" He held out a hand, I snapped the pendant and my bow grew heavy in my hands. I grabbed his hand the shadows whirled around us until we were standing behind the monster.
I let loose a volley of arrows and we dove behind a news stand as the monster fired back. Wood splintered as the barbs slammed into the news stand. I jumped out and ran shooting the monster as I did, while Nico ran the other way. One of the spines sliced across my back and I fell to the ground my bow skidding two feet in front of me.
I screamed as my back felt like it was on fire. The lion let out a horrifying laugh as I crawled toward the bow. I looked into the monster's eyes as it bore down on me. It got close enough that I could see my reflection in it multicolored eyes. I let my eyes wander for a second, I didn't want my last image of my life to be that thing, and I saw Nico emerging from the shadow of a telephone pole sword raised. He swung it down on the creature's tail serving it in two.
It roared again and turned on him but Nico just pivoted and sliced the monster's face and then he was gone into the shadows again. I grabbed my bow just as the monster turned around I let an arrow fly and it hit it the nose. Then Nico grabbed me and we were swallowed by darkness. Now we were on a balcony, police sirens filled the air. The monster was running around slamming into cars trying to find us.
I notched an arrow and it hit in the ribs. Nico was down there in the blink of an eye and plunged his sword into the monsters neck. The monster crumpled to the golden dust and swirled around Nico's sword until the blade absorbed it all.
Just as the cop cars screeched to a halt in the street Nico and were back in the park close to home. We both collapsed on the large boulder to our right. Blood was dripping down my back and drying.
"Who was that?"
"Dr. Thorne. He's the manitcore. Back when we were taken out of the Lotus, we were at a Military School. Westover Hall. He was the vice principal, he tried to kidnap us. Then Bianca met the Hunters." Nico got quiet and stared off in the distance,
"Oh. I don't live much farther let's get going."
We got closer to the edge of the park, and someone called out Nico's name. We both spun around I tore apart my necklace and held my two foot long curved daggers. Shadows swirled around his hand until his black three foot long sword was there.
"Woah," A head with black hair and green eyes was hovering in mid air behind us. "I got home early, where should I meet you?" Nico's face grew bright red and he dropped his sword. "Percy," he mumbled. "You just have to go to uh." I quickly jumped in and told Percy where to meet us.
We all met up at my apartment building and rode the elevator to the pent house. Percy told Nico all about his stupid vacation to Florida and told some lame joke causing Nico to giggle. GIGGLE. Stupid Percy. So what if he save the world and defeated Kronos. Okay well that was good but everything else bothered me about him.
Once upstairs I told him how Aphrodite told us where to look.
"We have to be careful around her she likes to play with relationships." Percy said.
"Well good old Grams never messed with my relationships."
"Grams? Aphrodite is your grandmother?" You woulda thought I told him I was King Midas the way he was looking at me.
"My dad is Eros, son of Aphrodite and Ares." His face grew mad and he looked angry when I mention Ares.
Percy opened his mouth to say something when Nico cut him off. "Well your relationships usually only last like what ten minutes, so it's not like she had a chance to mess with them." He punched me lightly on the shoulder.
"I last a lot longer than ten minutes dude."
"Yea, sure. I bet you last like two seconds." He smiled at me and stupid laughed at his joke.
After pouring some ambrosia on my back, I made the three of us grilled cheeses and we went to the balcony to eat them. Percy was amazed at the hallway ceiling that looked up at the bottom of the pool. After seeing that Percy had to swim in the pool just for the novelty of looking down into the house, which I admit I did the first time I saw it.
An hour later we all decided to go to sleep and get an early start. Somehow it was idioticly decided that Percy and Nico would share the guest bedroom. I collapsed on the bed thinking about how much fun I had with Nico and the brief time I had my arms wrapped around him, and the morning with his wrapped around me. Tomorrow morning he'd probably be wrapped around that fish brained fool.
I drifted of angrily, and was awoken with a hand shaking my shoulder. I groggily opened my eyes but couldn't see anything it was too dark. The person mumbled something about kicking too much in bed and asked if they could sleep with me. I moved over and the person climbed into bed and a small body pushed up against me, before we both passed out again.