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Chapter five: Nico

Maia fell asleep instantly. Poor girl. Today must've been exhausting for her. I wasn't feeling all that good, either. The battle in the alley went pretty bad. I probably could've done better if I was alone but she was there too and I had to make sure she didn't get hurt. The ambrosia helped the pain in my shoulder go away but I think the wound was poisoned. I better get to Camp Half-blood as quickly as I can before the poison spread.

I looked at Maia sleeping, leaning on Einstein (what a weird name for a hellpup) and frowned. Demigods have this battle reflex that'll keep them alive in a fight. Even if they didn't receive proper training, they could still fight better than regular mortals. That was why I wondered why Maia just stood there and didn't do anything when the Myrmekes were about to have her for lunch. I mean, she could've at least tried to climb the fence or throw some stones at them but she just cowered in the corner of the building. She seems so small and frail. Maybe she just wasn't the fighting type. I couldn't figure out who her godly parent is. I was thinking Demeter. To attract that many monsters, she must be the daughter of an important god or goddess.

I frowned harder, trying to think. She was small in size and had big brown eyes. Her hair was shoulder length and also brown in colour. She's not a daughter of Apollo or Athena, that's for sure. Their kids always have blonde hair, just like them. Maia did remind me of someone but I don't know who.

I felt my eyelids grow heavy. Before I fell asleep, I tapped my sword on the ground and four little skeleton mice formed.

"Keep watch," I manage to tell them before blacking out. I didn't want any monsters to surprise me when I wake up.

I didn't know how long I slept, maybe a few hours, when I heard this knocking noise. At once, I jumped up and unsheathed my sword, Kátoikos and looked around. Maia and Einstein were still asleep. The knocking came from behind. I turned. A wood nymph was knocking on the classroom window, beckoning for me to go outside. One of my skeleton mice was on her head, scratching at her hair. She looked very annoyed as she tried to swat it off.

I hesitated. Usually, nymphs were harmless. Annoying, sometimes, but at least they weren't always trying or kill you. Unless you throw garbage in their territory or call them fat. Then, they get pretty vicious.

The dryad was looking at me urgently. She beckoned me to open the window. I wasn't exactly what you would call the trusting type, but I decided to listen.

"Whew! About time!" she said. "What were you doing, just standing there and staring at me? And can you do something about this stupid mouse? Geez, do you know how long it would take for me get my hair back to normal?" She tried to flatten down the wrinkles in her green tunic and her light brown hair.

"Uh…sure." I snapped my fingers and the mouse jumped to the ground and collapsed into a pile of bones.

The dryad peered into the school. "Uh, do you mind coming outside? I really don't like going into buildings. They give me the creeps."

"Uh…sure." I hopped out of the building with my sword still unsheathed.

Before I could ask her why she was here, she said, "Oh, put that sword away. It's not like I'm here to kill you. Geez, demigods are always so paranoid."

'You can't exactly blame us,' I thought.

"Fine," I said, and sheathed Kátoikos.

The dryad rolled her eyes. "You don't have a big vocabulary, do you? Anyways, my name is Baie. I was sent here to deliver a message."

"From whom?" I asked, frowning.

"The Lady of the Hearth."

Immediately, I forgot about being suspicious and my curiosity perked up. "What'd she say?"

Baie wasn't looking at me anymore. She was looking into the school at Maia. "No wonder," She muttered. "She looks exactly like her. Still, it's unbelievable."

I felt myself getting impatient. "What did the Lady say?" I asked again.

The dryad stared straight into my eyes.

"That girl you were told to save…she's the daughter of the Lady Hestia."

I blinked. "No she's not."

Baie raised her eyebrow at me. "Huh…I expected a more surprised reaction. I mean, I just announced the identity of the one and only child of the Lady and all you do is deny it? Geez. You could at least think about it before answering." She nodded towards Maia. "You have to admit that girl does look a lot like her mother, no?"

I was just about to say "no," but then, I realized that she was right. Maia looks at lot like Lady Hestia. She just didn't have fire in her eyes, that's all.

"Oh, gods…" How could this happen? Lady Hestia is supposed to be an eternal maiden. There were so many things I didn't understand.

Baie nodded. "Yeah, I know. I was surprised, too. Listen, Maia wasn't born like regular mortals. You know how Athena has children?"

"Uh…sort of."

"It's something like that. Maia was born from the hearth, from the flames. She was supposed to be a blessing Lady Hestia made for the man she loved."

"Who's that?"

"Some guy called Kevin Feller. It's too bad. He never met Maia and only knew Lady Hestia for a few months before he died in a car crash."

"He's…dead? Wait, if he never even met Maia, why didn't Lady Hestia just raise her on Olympus?"

Baie looked at me like I was dumb. "Cause she'd a demigod! You know how the gods can't pick favorites, especially not their children? The Lady can't look after her forever. Demigods can't live on Olympus. They're not immortal. Maia has to find her own place in the world. Isn't like that with every demigod?"

I digested all of this. "So…so now, I have to bring Maia to camp Half-Blood, right?"

Baie nodded. "Yup. Lady Hestia didn't completely abandon Maia. She made sure help came to her. She was the one who brought that hellhound to her. Then she brought the two of you together."

I frowned. "Why me and not a satyr?"

Baie rolled her eyes. "I don't know! Don't expect me to know everything! Geez. Anyway, that's the entire message. I'm gonna go now. Bye." Baie turned and started to walk away.

Huh? She was going to leave just like that? "Uh, wait!" I called.

Baie turned. She looked a little annoyed. "What?"

"Thanks. For delivering the message."

"Oh, you're welcome. See ya later, Nico." She started to walk away again.

"How do you know my name?"

Baie turned around again, this time, she looked exasperated. "You're the only son of Hades. You're kinda, I don't know, famous? Especially after that war in Manhattan. Geez. How clueless are you? Later."

I watched her walk away. The hair on the very top of her head stood up like some animal tried to make a nest there.

Gasp! The suspense is finally over! Yes, Maia is the daughter of Hestia. I will try to get the next chapter up quickly. Review, s'il vous plait ;)