Chapter XXIII: Nico
Nico does nothing but glare at Coach Hedge.
"Where were you? I spent the entire day screaming my mind off for you and here you are all full and tanned and ready-to-go?"
"Tanned? Who said anything about getting a tan? Although, come to the thought, I really need one," he bites into his giant hamburger.
Reyna gives him an angry look. "To get to the point," she says through gritted teeth."We found the Athena Parthenos, and we have to get out of here as soon as we can."
"Speaking of which, where exactly is 'here'?" Hedge asks.
"We're still in New Jersey."
"I know that, you clubhead! You have any clue of how to get out of here, Arellano, let me know."
Nico looks at Reyna. "Your last name is Arellano?"
"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano," she mutters.
"RARA? You've got to be kidding me!"
"Shut up, Nico." Nico stifles a laugh.
"I've bet you've heard that one before, RARA."
"Shut up, Nico di Angelo! We have to be focused. We're not far. Let's go, before any other trouble finds us."
Nico opens his mouth to reply, but is interrupted by the ground shaking beneath their feet. The tremor runs through the loose ground, creating a rather large crack in the ground.
"Earthquake?" Nico asks.
Reyna shakes her head, her eyes wide. "Not an earthquake. "
"What is it, then?" Hedge asks, seeming not to have been affected by what is happening.
"Gaea," Nico says, as realization dawns across his face.
"Terra," Reyna whispers at the same exact time.
"Run!" Coach Hedge shouts and sprints ahead of them. He skids to a halt and turns his head. "What are you two waiting for, you club heads? Run!"
Nico is paralyzed in shock by the low monotonous voice shaking the ground
.
Hello, child of the dead, a voice murmurs. I hope you're enjoying yourself.
Nico narrows his eyes. "Gaea. What do you want?"
Gaea ignores this. You have fought so bravely, my dearest grandson she says very slowly. But not brave enough. You will die within seconds, after you friend, the daughter of war.
"You won't even try to mess with Nico and I."
Gaea laughs. The ground shakes even more, knocking Reyna off her feet. Nico catches her with his arms. Nico growls softly. "You have no business here, Gaea. I'd suggest you leave."
Oh, I'll leave all right. Once I'm done with the daughter of war, it murmurs cruelly.
Nico steps in front of Reyna, clasping her wrists and shielding her. "You won't touchher," he hisses.
Such a strong determination. It will be, I fear, of no avail. The girl is already dead. It will barely take a minute. The voice slithers. What a lovely sacrifice.
"Over my dead body." Nico growls.
"Nico!" Reyna protests.
"Leave, Gaea. We have nothing valuable."
Really? What about the statue? And the girl?
Nico hears Reyna swallow.
"You know what to do, right?" She whispers
.
"Why do you always turn to me?" Nico sighs.
"What do we do?"
"There's only one solution. Run!"
Nico grabs Reyna by the arms and sprints for the exit. They reach the end, but to find that it is blocked by large boulders and rocks, without a single space for exit.
"How..?" Reyna stutters in disbelief.
"It's Gaea. Never mind that. Other way!"Nico and Reyna put their hands on their heads, and make their way to the opposite end. "We have to get to Hedge!" Reyna shouts.
Nico doesn't have enough time to listen. The ground beneath him is cracking. It splits apart, and Nico's left foot is on one side and his right foot is on the other, leaving him in the splits position. Nico has never really enjoyed gymnastics, but this is just too much.
"Nico!" Reyna cries, reaching out a hand to him. Nico grasps her hand and she pulls him away with unsurprising strength.
Enough. It's time to teach the son of death a lesson, the voice rumbles again.
Nico already knows what Gaea is going to do. He grabs Reyna's wrists, making sure that if Gaea decides to swallow Reyna, Nico will be swallowed with her.
Let go of her, di Angelo. Let go of her if you don't want to die. Let go of her if you don't want me to destroy the statue. Let go of her unless you want your camp destroyed….
Nico doesn't budge.
"Nico," Reyna says. her eyes wide in terror she looks down, and so does Nico. She is getting shorter, her feet dissolved by the loose earth, like quicksand. Nico grabs her waist and pulls upward, using all his strength.
"Nico," she whispers again. "It's no use. Let go."
"NO!" he bellows. He pulls again, but Reyna is right; her feet are glued in the ground. The sand is up to her knee caps. "Reyna," he cries.
She closes her eyes as the ground goes up to her midsection. Gaea laughs again, shaking the ground even more. "I will not lose you," he whispers to her. "Never."
He pulls out his Stygian sword and stabs the earth beneath them. He shoves the blade to the silver hilt. The sword sends black liquid flowing everywhere; like water spreading on a sheet. It seems to Nico that the black liquid is poisoning the ground, if that can even happen.
A mighty roar shakes the ground. The tremor makes Reyna trip on her glued feet. One of her feet come free, her boot soaked and soggy with dirt. Nico throws his sword aside and hauls Reyna over. Reyna stumbles into his arms. She throws her arms around Nico's neck.
"My gods," she whispers panting. "I've never seen anything like it. How did you-?"
Nico shakes his head. "Don't know. I think it's an angry effect, or something."
Reyna looks at him. Her black, obsidian eyes are big, and you can see the whites of them. Her hair is very messy, looking like it hasn't been combed for weeks. But she is still beautiful.
Nico leans forward, and Reyna does the same. He closes his eyes. Three inches. Two inches. One inch. Just half a centimeter… Nico brushes his lips against hers, sending a warm, tingling sensation through him. She smiles and kisses him back. She tastes like sweet potatoes and marmalade.
A loud snort of disgust breaks them apart.
"Seriously, cupcakes? And you're telling me I'm ready-to-go?"
"Right," Nico mutters, embarrassed. "Let's go. We've got a camp to save."