I was jerked awake by a pounding at the door. I'd been having the same dream that I had last night, only this time I fell from the top of a Ferris Wheel. I had woken up at the exact moment that I was falling into the shadows so when I opened my eyes and saw that the cabin was pitch black I almost had a panic attack. The banging on the door resumed and I was about to climb down from my top bunk when I heard Kayla groan.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." She grumbled. I heard her shuffle towards the door and I rubbed my eyes. It was still too dark to see, but I heard Kayla turn the door handle. I recognized the hurried voice of a satyr.
"Chiron needs you. Bleeeh." He bleated nervously. "A camper has been attacked. He's wounded pretty bad. Chiron needs your help healing him. We have to go. Now." I squinted to try and see through the dark, but it was no use.
"I'm ready." I heard Kayla reply. There was no trace of sleep in her voice. It sounded grim and determined. I was still too groggy from sleep to comprehend what was going on. I rubbed my eyes again and pulled back the covers. I didn't know what time it was, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. I climbed down from my bed, careful not to disturb my cabin mates. I stumbled toward Victoria's alarm clock and saw that it was three o'clock. I groaned and rubbed my face as I realized that I had only gotten four hours of sleep. I headed to the bathroom and took a long shower. As I rinsed my hair I thought about the camper who had been attacked. I suddenly felt like something, or someone, was watching me and I ripped the shower curtain. Nothing. I wished that I had my mace with me. That would make me feel safer.
I finished my shower and pulled on a pair of cutoff shorts and a "Go Tigers!" sweater that I got from my school. I left my hair down so that it would dry. When I checked the clock again it was almost four o'clock. I looked out the window at the lake and saw that the sun was just peaking over the horizon. I sat down at one of the plush chairs at the desk. I didn't have any homework or game console so I just stared at a scratch in the desk. After ten minutes of this painful boredom I decided to go outside. I was a little cautious at first, considering a camper had just been attacked, but Austin's snoring was driving me crazy.
It was a cool morning and the grass was wet with dew. I strolled towards the lake, my hands in my pockets, and watched the sun rise higher. This morning the sky was golden and speckled with gray clouds. I noticed that there were no other campers out and about. In fact, I was the only one awake. Well, other than Kayla and Chiron. I glanced back at the Big House. I was fairly sure that Kayla would be there, attending to the wounded camper. For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about him (or her). My mind seemed to keep wandering back to it. I decided to head towards the Big House and see if they were alright. I knew I would probably just get in the way, but there was the small chance that I might be useful.
When I reached the Big House the Sun had risen completely. I was about to open the door when it opened all on its own. Well, that's what I thought had happened. When I looked up I saw that Kayla was standing there. Her hair was messy and she had dark circles under her eyes. I gasped when I saw blood smudged on her shirt. She gave me a small smile.
"He's okay." She whispered hoarsely. "You can go see him." She shuffled past me before I could ask who she was talking about. Still confused, I walked inside. There was a door to the right and a hallway to the left. I had no idea which one would take me to the infirmary, so I chose the door. Apparently I was correct because I saw a bed with a person lying in it. Chiron was standing over him. I hesitantly walked towards the bed. Then I recognized the messy black hair, the pale skin.
"Nico." I choked out. "Oh my gods. What happened?" I wanted to touch him, but I was afraid I might hurt him. He looked so fragile. His face was so bruised and scarred that I could hardly recognize him.
"A monster attacked him. He might not have made it if one of the Harpies hadn't found him lying near the forest. We won't be able to know anything else until he wakes up." Chiron smile softly when he saw the concern in my eyes. "I'll leave you two alone. Call me if you need me." I didn't watch him trot out of the room. I kept my eyes on Nico.
I just stood there staring in shock at his scarred body. A thin blanket was pulled up to his waist. I tried not to stare at his band torso, but it was so horrendous that I could not pull my eyes away. His torn and bloody shirt and coat were lying in the corner. His chest was wrapped in white gauze that was quickly turning red. His knuckles were bruised and his shoulders were decorated with deep gouges. I was sure that he had some broken ribs or some sort of internal injury.
When I had finally grown accustomed to Nico's wounds I felt awkward just standing next to him. I wasn't sure if I should sit on the bed next to him or sit in the chair in the corner of the room. I decided to stay close by and sit on the edge of the bed. I slowly lowered myself next to his legs ad carefully as I could, but I accidently brushed his leg. When he let out a whimper of pain I shot back up.
"Nico?" I asked quietly, leaning towards his face. "Are you awake?" When he didn't respond I stood up straight and resumed my awkward position next to his bed. Suddenly I got a brilliant idea; I would move the chair next to his bed so that I could sit down without squashing him. I mentally punched myself for not thinking of this early, but, hey, there's a reason I'm not in the Athena cabin.
The chair was heavier than I thought and I had to drag it across the room. It made horrible screeching noises and it scratched the floor a little bit, but no one came in to see what I was doing. When I had finally positioned the chair near Nico's head I was out of breathe. I sat down and leaned back in it. As I stared at Nico I was once again struck by how violent his wounds were. I wanted to do something so that he knew I was here, but what?
You could hold his hand, my conscious spoke up. I imagined myself holding Nico's hand and stroking the hair off of his forehead, whispering encouraging words into his ears. I rolled my eyes at myself. Yeah, not gonna happen, I told my conscious. I decided to talk to him instead. If it worked for people in comas then it might work for someone unconscious. Besides, it was too quiet in here.
"You're such an idiot." I told him, although there was no anger in my voice. "It was just a canoe race. There was no need to run off and get yourself killed. At least you're ok." I told Nico about my day yesterday. I told him about meeting Will, Austin, Victoria, and Kayla. I told him about our 'girl's night out' and how I picked all my lessons (I didn't tell him about the conversation Victoria and I had about him). I told him how I wanted him to stop being mad at me and how it was fun hanging out with him. Once I was finished talking about camp, I talked about my mom, about the day we moved to L.A., my fifteenth birthday, and how I would be turning sixteen on the last day of August. I must have been talking for hours because my throat was raw and my voice was hoarse. I had run out of things to talk about, but now the silence was peaceful, as if everything I had said was floating through the air and filling the empty space with thoughts.
I sat in silence for a few minutes. I gazed at Nico's bruised face and wave of emotion flooded over me. I suddenly felt tired, cold, angry, depressed, and heartbroken all at the same time. I was surprised to feel a lump forming in my throat. I had no idea why I felt so attached to Nico, but there was something about him that made me feel like we clicked. Like two pieces of a puzzle.
"Please," I whispered my voice raw from talking. "Don't die." I pulled my knees up to my chest and tried to hug some of the warmth back into my body. I took advantage of the fact that Nico was unconscious and took note of tiny details that I never noticed before. His fingers were long and thin and his skull ring was on the middle finger of his left hand. His hair was unruly and tangled except for one black curl behind his ear. His nose curved up just a little bit at the end. His lips were thin and a dusty shade of pink, but I remembered that when he smiled they seemed to come alive and were full of color and life. And his eyes would laugh, too, because his smile was too big for his mouth to express.
I glanced out the window and saw that campers were starting to come out of their cabins. Some of them were full of energy and starting up a game of volleyball. Others looked like zombies who had just risen from the grave. I turned back to Nico and nearly jumped out of my seat.
"You're awake!" I exclaimed. He was staring at me with his deep, brown eyes.
"Yup." He said weakly. His voice was gravely, as if he had been gargling rocks. I leaned forward in my seat.
"Are you alright?" Of course he wasn't alright. He had just been mauled by who-knows-what. I was so relieved he was awake that words started spewing out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Wait, that was a stupid question of course you're not all right, I mean, you look like terrible, well you don't look terrible but your cuts do, actually you're pretty handsome for someone who almost got killed and-" but before I could embarrass myself further Nico interrupted me.
"Juliet?" He asked. My eyes were wide and adrenaline was rushing through my veins.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Shut up." He tried to give me a half smile, but it came out as a grimace of pain. I was still pale faced and wide eyed and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. I could only see one of his eyes because the other was swollen shut, but I was so close to him that I could see tiny flecks of gold swimming around his pupil. His eye was a lighter, creamier shade brown today; milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate. I felt like I was drowning in his rich eyes, like the air was slowly being pressed from my lungs and filled with a sweet, warm feeling.
Then Nico blinked and the feeling vanished. I hadn't realized how close I was to him and I quickly leaned back in my chair and tried to hide my red face.
"You scared me for a second, there." I said louder than I had intended. Nico didn't say anything. He kept staring at me with a curious look in his eye, as if I were a puzzle he was trying to solve. Then he stared at the wall and spoke in a hoarse whisper.
"I'm not dead."
Crap. "You heard that?" I could feel more heat crawl up my neck. I thanked the gods that Nico wasn't looking at me.
"Yeah." He replied quietly. The room was once again filled with awkward tension. I didn't know what to say to break the silence, but luckily Nico did. "And I also heard you call me an idiot." I laughed, partly because he was funny but mostly because I was relieved that the awkwardness was gone. "I mean, who does that?" Nico ranted. I smiled again. I like being around this Nico. Not the Nico who is cold hearted, moody, and shuts everyone out. This Nico. The one who has a great sense of humor, a contagious laugh, and the heart of a nine year-old. I felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders and I sighed happily.
Nico was still pretending to be angry at me when I suddenly jumped out of my chair. He stopped talking and looked at me quizzically.
"I completely forgot about Chiron!" I exclaimed. "I'll be right back." I hurried out of the room and walked to Chiron's desk. He was back in his wheel chair and was looking through some files. I cleared my throat and he looked up. His eyes immediately clouded with concern when he saw that it was me.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, stepping out of his wheelchair. I nodded quickly and he sighed in relief.
"He's awake!" I almost shouted. Another burst of relief and happiness hit me and it took all my will not to do a little celebratory dance. Chiron smiled widely.
"Well, let's see how he's doing, shall we?" We made our way back to Nico's room and walked in. I gave him a small smile, but he didn't return it. Frustration and anger swelled up in my chest. Why is he only himself when he's around me?
Honestly, I thought angrily, how hard is it to smile around people? I swallowed my annoyance and followed Chiron to Nico's bedside.
"How do you feel?" Chiron asked as he unwound some of the bandages around Nico's arm. Nico winced and groaned in reply. "Yes, I thought so." Chiron said. When the wound was rewrapped Chiron stepped back and spoke again. "Nico, are you aware of what happened last night?"
"Yes." Nico's voice was monotone and he didn't make eye contact with Chiron.
"So you know what attacked you?" Chiron inquired, his eyebrows raised.
"Yes." Chiron's eyes widened. Nico looked up and met Chiron's eyes. "It was a Strix." Chiron's face blanched and he took a step back. I looked back and forth at Nico and Chiron, waiting for someone to explain. Chiron finally snapped out of his daze and turned to me.
"I apologize, Juliet." He said with a smile. "I forgot that you have not started your mythology lessons yet. A Strix is an ancient creature, it's… what do the campers call it these days? A man eating owl?" Nico nodded and I nearly choked. Chiron glanced around nervously, as if he thought there was a Strix watching us. Then he started to pace. "They are usually such docile creatures. I don't know what one was doing in this camp and why it was so hostile…" Suddenly Chiron stopped pacing. "Unless it had instructions to kill someone. Unless someone summoned it."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I interrupted. "What do you mean 'someone summoned it'? Why would someone want to kill Nico?"
"We stock monsters in the forest for campers to fight." Chiron explained. "We don't supply Strixs because they can become vicious creatures. Monsters cannot cross the boundary line into this camp, but they can be summoned. It is a very dangerous task and it takes lots of practice, but it can be done. The only question is who summoned it." Chiron resumed his thoughtful pacing. After a few minutes of silence a theory struck me with such force that I almost fell over.
"Athena!" I exclaimed. "What if it was Athena?" I looked up at Chiron, expecting him to pat me on the shoulder and congratulate me on my brilliance. Instead he looked down at me with a look that reminded me of a father scolding his child.
"Juliet, I know you are new here, but it is very dangerous to accuse a god of such crimes." My heart sank.
"I just thought-" but Chiron interrupted me.
"That since Athena's symbol is the owl she sent a Strix to attack one of the campers as a way to send a message?" I nodded and lowered my eyes to the floor. Chiron's voice softened. "Yes, that was my first theory, but Athena has had no rivalry with us." I felt better knowing that I wasn't completely off track. "What else does the owl symbolize?" Chiron mumbled, more to himself than to me. "Wisdom, tranquility… what else?" Chiron's eyes widened and he answered his own question. "Darkness."
I glanced at Nico and he shrugged.
"Darkness?" I asked Chiron. He nodded, but he was still lost in thought.
"Yes, they are creatures of the night. Creatures of darkness." He ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair. "No… It can't be." I had no idea why Chiron was so distressed, but instead of explain he told me to get Kayla. "Tell her to change Nico's bandages." Then he left the room, mumbling to himself about owls, darkness, and prophecies. I turned to Nico.
"What was that all about?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Nico only shrugged and then grimaced as his wounded shoulders brushed his pillow. I gave him one last curious look before leaving to get Kayla.
As I stepped out of the Big House I was met by the blinding glare of the sun. I shielded my eyes as I stepped onto the grass and headed toward the cabin. Kayla was probably still asleep, even though it was probably past eight o'clock. No one was left at the dining hall and I saw some people starting their archery lessons.
When I reached the cabin I pushed open the door and stepped inside. Just as I had assumed, Kayla was snoring quietly in her bed. I felt really bad about waking her up, but I knew that Nico's wounds needed more attention.
"Kayla." I whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "Kayla." I shook her harder. "Kayla!" She jumped up so quickly that I fell backwards.
"Not the tuna!" She screamed. Then she realized that she was awake and I was lying on the floor next to her. "Oh, sorry!" She apologized while helping me up. She looked just as tired as she had been a few hours ago. Her brown hair was sticking up in odd angles and her eyes drooped every time she blinked.
"Chiron sent me to tell you that Nico needs his bandages changed." Kayla nodded and then yawned.
"I'll just be a few minutes." She mumbled as she shuffled towards the bathroom. I awkwardly stood in the center of the room, not sure what to do with myself. Breakfast was already over and I didn't have any lessons yet. I decided to reorganize my suitcase, just to waste time. I refolded all of my shirts, straightened out my pants, and even matched all of my socks. I cleaned out the front pocket of my suitcase and fount old candy wrappers, a broken crayon, and my old iPod. I had completely forgotten about the iPod shuffle I had gotten for my twelfth birthday. I plugged in the headphones and turned it on.
"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye my love.
I can't hide, can't hide, can't hide what has come…"
I smiled as I heard Avril Lavigne's voice pour through the headphones. I paused the song and turned the iPod off again.
I can't believe it still works, I thought to myself. I put it back in the front pocket and as I was zipping it up Kaya stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet from her shower and she looked a lot livelier. Today she wore a sleeveless Camp Half-Blood shirt and black skinny jeans. She pulled on her boots and then looked at me with a mischievous smile.
"Do you wanna come?" She asked.
"Come where?" I asked, pushing my suitcase under the bed. Kayla rolled her eyes.
"You know where." I smiled at her. I really did want to come.
"Sure." We left the cabin together and walked back towards the Big House. "So," I asked. "What exactly do you do as a healer?" Kayla shrugged.
"First we learn which herbs are best for certain types of wounds- you know, which ones combat poison, and stuff- and then Chiron teaches us the cool stuff."
"What's the cool stuff?" I asked.
"It's like magic spells." She replied. My eyes widened. "You speak certain incantations in ancient Greek and the wounds will begin to heal." I stared at her in awe.
"And you're the best one? Impressive…" She shrugged, but I saw her blush. When we arrived at the Big House we went straight into Nico's room, but I could hear the sound of hooves pacing in Chiron's office. When we walked into the room Nico's eyes were closed, but they opened when he heard footsteps. When he saw me his eyes lit up for a split second, a smile almost on his lips, but then he noticed Kayla next to me and his eyes became guarded. I held in my sigh and walked over to my chair.
"Hey." I said to Nico.
"Hi." He replied, meeting my eyes but not showing any emotion. Kayla pulled up another one and sat across from me. Kayla didn't say anything to Nico and began her work. Nico didn't say anything to Kayla and avoided her eyes. I wanted to tell him to stop pouting, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate it. I watched curiously as Kayla applied gooey, white mush onto Nico's cuts. He winced, but after a few seconds I heard a tiny sigh escape his lips. I smirked and Nico glared at me. I rolled my eyes, but gave him a small smile. I was surprised to see the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. Kayla looked up from the arm she was bandaging and looked from me to Nico. Nico regained his emotionless expression, but not before she saw his smile. Kayla looked back at me and gave me a sly smile. I blushed and looked at the floor.
"So," Kayla said to Nico, a mischievous glint still in her eyes. "I hear you escorted Juliet to camp."
"Yeah." Was all Nico said in reply, but Kayla was not deterred.
"So," Kayla prompted. "How was it?" I thought back to the first day I met Nico. I internally cringed as remembered how difficult and childish I had been. Nico glanced at me and when I saw the sparkle in his eye I knew he was thinking the same thing.
"Peachy." I could almost taste the sarcasm dripping from his voice. Kayla looked up at me and silently asked 'What's that supposed to mean?' I looked back at her and tried to silently tell her 'I'll tell you later'. She smirked again and finished wrapping his second arm. Then she leaned down and pulled something out of her boot. It was a small knife. I was about to ask her what she was going to do with it when she started to carefully cut the bandages that were wrapped around Nico's chest. When she peeled the strips of cloth away I gasped. It took all my strength not to look away from the grotesque gashes that adorned Nico's chest. They were deep, but they were already slightly healed over. Kayla took a deep breath and turned at me.
"These wounds are too big to heal with herbs so I'm gonna use biokinesis." She told me. I remembered that biokinesis was power to heal. "Watch closely." I leaned in and listened as held a hand over Nico's body. I watched in wonder as she started chanting.
"επουλώσει όλες τις πληγές, να επιδιορθώσει όλα τα διαλείμματα." I never took any Greek language classes, so I was surprised when I understood every word she was saying. "Heal all wounds, mend all breaks." Both Nico and I stared in astonishment as his wounds began to close. Kayla repeated the phrase over and over until each gouge was nothing but a large scar. I looked back up at Kayla and saw that her eyes were glowing gold. She stopped chanting and slumped back in her chair. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. "The wounds are closed, but they can still reopen easily, so you're going to have to lay low for a couple of days." Nico nodded.
"What about his face?" I asked Kayla. "Don't you have something to help his eye?" Kayla began to shake her head, but then stopped. She smiled at me weakly.
"Unless you want to try biokinesis." She said.
"No, no, no, no, no." I refused, shaking my head and waving my hands. "I have no idea how to do it! I'll just go get Chiron and-"
"It's only a small wound." Kayla interrupted. "You can do it! Just focus on the words and pull the sun light towards you.
Pull the sunlight towards me? What does that even mean? I thought frantically. I looked down at Nico, but I couldn't read his emotions.
"Okay, let's do this." I mumbled to myself. I began chanting. "επουλώσει όλες τις πληγές, να επιδιορθώσει όλα τα διαλείμματα." I felt something warm rush through my veins and I spoke louder. I imagined myself pulling sun towards me and using it to make my words more powerful. My vision was going blurry and cloudy, but I could still make out Nico's bruised face. I was shocked to see that it was actually healing. I was doing it! When he was almost completely healed, my strength began to ebb and my incantations faded. I felt just as tired as Kayla looked even though I had only healed a few bruises. Nico's eye was a lot less swollen, but there was still a large bruise on his eye.
"Nice!" Kayla exclaimed. "Most people can't do it on their first try. That was great!"
"Thanks." I felt extremely tired, yet full of energy at the same time.
"Well, I'm going back to bed." Kayla declared. She stood up and walked toward the door. "You should probably let Nico sleep. And you might want to get a few winks yourself." She gave me one last smile and closed the door behind her. Almost immediately, Nico's eyes lightened up and he was in a better mood.
"You didn't ruin my gorgeous face, did you?" He joked.
"It's not like it could get much worse." I shot back at him. He smiled and so did I. I leaned back in the chair and we sat in silence for a little while. Then I asked him something that I had been wondering since the day we met. "How come you are so different around other people?" He avoided my eyes and looked at the ceiling.
"Maybe I'm just different around you." He replied.
"But why?" I persisted. "Why don't you show other people this side of you?" I knew I struck a chord because Nico suddenly snapped.
"Because the last time I did everyone I loved hurt me!" He was breathing heavily and I could tell he was trying to hold it together. Then he sighed and closed his eyes. "Sorry, it's just… I don't know, but for some reason I trust you. And I haven't been able to trust someone in a long time." I wanted to ask Nico more about his past. Why did he have trust issues? Why did he start trusting again? Why me? But I also wanted to keep his friendship so I decided not to push him.
"I, uh, have to go." I said quietly. "I'll see you later." Nico didn't open his eyes when I stood up from my chair or when I closed the door. As I walked back to the cabin I replayed Nico's words in my mind. For some reason I trust you. And I haven't been able to trust someone in a long time. At least Nico and I had one thing in common. I always had trouble trusting people. I had plenty of friends, but never a best friend. Plenty of guys asked me out, but I never said yes because I didn't trust anyone with my heart. I didn't want to end up getting hurt. Now I realized that Nico was the same way. He pushed everyone away so that no one could hurt him. Except for me. Determination suddenly flared in my chest. I was going to trust Nico, and he was going to trust me. I was going to know him, learn what makes him tick. I was going to let him lean on me and I was determined not to let him down.
Here's another early(ish) chapter! Don't forget to review and tell me how you liked it! Okay, so how do you guys like the chemistry between Nico and Juliet? Does it seem natural? Rushed? Let me know! The song is Goodbye by Avril Lavigne.