Well... Breaking Bad is over, school's keeping me busy and I won't have "The House of Hades" until Christmas so... God, so much has happened this last month I can't believe it...

This chapter is shorter than the last two, but I promise that the next one will be longer. I just started writing it - I'm half-way through, I think...- but it will take a while until it's done.

I also wanted to thank my dear readers for the reviews I got. They really encourage me and make me happy. It's nice to see that there are people out there, who like my stories, even though they're only fanfiction.

Okay, I'm done. You can continue reading Chapter 9 of "the burden on his shoulders"

Chapter 9

"Are you kidding me?", the blonde woman yelled into the phone. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe it.. you- you said it was impossible to escape the dungeons! You said they were secure and that no prisoner had ever escaped them without being killed!" Annabeth clenched her teeth. "Yeah well", she said emotionless. "That doesn't help at all. Thank you for nothing". She hung up and threw her things from the desk. She ran a hand through her hair and breathed in and out.

Things were not going as planned. And she had to do something against it.

Annabeth put her jacket on and raced to the cave where the oracle lived.

New Athens was asleep. It was very early, but Annabeth had been awake all night. Now as she walked through the new city she couldn't help but feeling stupid. She had known that if she wanted to see something done then she had to do it herself. It was sad though. The Romans had made everything more complicated. They had ruined her plan.

She was surprised to see Rachel awake. The oracle looked pale and tired as if she hadn't slept well for days. But she still managed to smile as her friend stepped into the cave.

"Morning, Annabeth". Her voice sounded raspy. Did she have a cold? "I knew you were coming", she said, walking to her desk and taking a folder from the top drawer. She handed it to Annabeth, who took it with a curious expression. "I've been having this dreams for a while", she explained and raised an eyebrow at her friend. "I have the feeling that the dreams will help you find what you're looking for."

Annabeth flipped through the pages and her eyebrows furrowed as she read some of the words. The pages were full written with Rachel's smooth handwriting and there were even some drawings. She looked closer at one that showed a familiar dark-haired boy with an older boy sitting next to him. Her eyes widened.

"Is this-"
Rachel nodded. "Clarisse was right. If you find Nico you'll find Percy"
Annabeth swallowed. "I- How -"
The Oracle shrugged and sat down at her desk. "I… have been having this dreams for a year… they- they didn't make any sense to me then but I knew that I had to write them down. I learned that leading a dream-diary could be helpful to – you know…", she explained and smiled weakly. "But… I had a dream today and somehow… everything makes sense now.". She stood up and began pacing around the room. "I still don't know what's really going on, but I know that he hasn't forgotten you and that Percy and Nico are in the North"
Annabeth's body tensed. Her eyes widened and her brain began to make plans for the journey that was awaiting her. Rachel grinned smugly.
"They will be in a village. They will stay in a house in the middle of nowhere. They are going to be weakened after the whole thing in New Rome. This is your chance", she said gripping Annabeth's shoulder tightly. "You must follow them through this dream-diary. Read them carefully. Take your time… Plan carefully because I can't believe that some gods will like what you're going to do."
Annabeth frowned.
"I don't know Annabeth", Rachel cut her off. "But something tells me that you shouldn't mention any other god in front of Percy… I- I don't know. Forget what I just told you! It doesn't make any sense"
"It doesn't… but it is still important.", Annabeth said. She glanced at the folder and then at Rachel. "Thank you, Rachel."
The oracle nodded. "Go. You're losing time"
Annabeth nodded and walked through the entrance.

Nico struggled to his feet and groaned in pain. The sun was setting and the wind was colder. The son of Hades was exhausted and cold from the water, but he struggled to his feet, shouldered his backpack and walked along the shore.

He had no idea what happened when they were in the river. He assumed that Percy had lost control over the water and had used his final strength to save Nico from drowning.

Nico's steps were heavy and slow, his shoulders were ducked and he had dark circles under his eyes. He must've been walking for fifteen minutes when he finally spotted the familiar figure of Percy Jackson, leaning against a tree. He was asleep and Nico's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat at noticing that Percy had aged again. The demigod's hair was greyer. He had more wrinkles around his eyes and Nico couldn't help but notice that his friend looked weaker than before.

He blamed the Romans. This was their entire fault. If they hadn't stopped them, had they not forced him to use his powers, Percy would be fine now. Or better than he was now.

Nico stepped to his side and nudged his shoulder. Percy stirred but just turned his head to the other side.

"Ngggnoo.. he murmured.
Nico's eyebrows rose before furrowing. "No? What's that supposed to mean?" Percy was quiet. The son of Hades sighed and shook him harder this time. His friend mumbled something and slowly opened his eyes. They had not changed. He smiled weakly as he looked at his friend.

"Do I look that bad?"
Nico smiled a little. "You're okay", he said and offered his hand. Percy took it gratefully. He had to hold onto Nico for he was still too weak to actually stand for himself. Percy tumbled a little before he was finally able to walk without Nico having to hold him.

Together they stumbled along the river. As they moved along Nico had enough time to look at their surroundings and he realized that he had no idea where they were. As he looked around he noticed the small house with white strong walls. Percy sat down on a rock, breathing in deeply. Nico bit his lip and studied the house closely.

It's windows were closed and there was no smoke coming from the chimney. The fence needed to be repaired, but nevertheless it looked fine.
They were tempted… they hadn't seen many nice houses during their journey, but if the appearances were deceiving, if they walked into that house and the same horror they'd seen in the forest awaited them in there…. Nico was not sure if he had the mental capacity to . He looked at Percy.

"What do you think?"
The old hero looked up tiredly but determined. "We're tired…exhausted… and we need to rest for a few days...", he said slowly and with furrowed eyebrows. "But are we ready to risk our lives again?"
The son of Hades swallowed the sigh that was on his lips and looked up to the sky as he walked with his friend. The clouds were threatening and dark, the wind was stronger, colder, angrier and it wailed as the two demigods slowly veered closer towards the house.

Nico glanced at Percy. He was ready to lie down and sleep. His eyes looked heavy and he was paler than usual. The son of Hades frowned and wondered if the encounter with the Romans had made the curse worse. He blamed himself. It had been his idea to pass through their damn territory…
The weight of his cousin was heavy on his shoulders even though he was only helping him to walk. Percy's steps were slow and unsteady; he wavered once in a while and sometimes it seemed as if he was going to lose conscience. But Nico did not think about that much. He only hoped that the house was empty so that they could sleep one night through.

They finally got to the cabin. Its door was locked but they got in anyway. The two outcasts walked into the small house and what they found surprised them in a good way.

The room was furnished and everything was tidy. The couch on the left corner was brown and looked old, but the TV across it made up for it. The two demigods put their things on the table, their eyes wide as they took in the pleasant room. Percy immediately walked to the left and opened the first door. He peered into the room and he grinned. He turned to face Nico.

"I'm taking this room, alright?". He didn't wait for an answer, but instead closed the door behind him. Nico stayed in the living room, feeling uncomfortably comfortable with them being here. It was too good to be true, right?

He turned on the audio-equipment. He listened to the music for a few minutes and then turned it off. Beethoven's 6th symphony was not his… style. Of course his father would disagree to it. Classic music was one of Hades guilty pleasures, but Nico knew if he told this to anyone Hades would spread the rumor that his son had been addicted to romantic movies.

The son of Hades walked over to the couch and stroked it as if he couldn't believe that it was real. The cushion was soft and Nico sank into it as he sat down with a groan. He leaned back and stretched his arms and legs. There was a short second where he thought about watching TV, but the thought left him as fast as it came, and soon he found himself closing his eyes and lying down on his back. He slept long and heavy, not even the sound of the door opening and a shocked gasp stirring him from dreamland.