VIII

Nico

Nico woke up. He was still in the clearing that he had been in before. The giant canyon he'd just created was still there. On the other side was a giant pack of giant hellhounds.

"How many hellhounds are there in this forest?!" Reyna yelled, exasperated. "

"Hello?" Nico asked.

"Oh, so now you wake." Reyna said icily, in a voice that made Nico want to run and hide in a desolate corner of the world. "We've had to fight off a giant flock of Stymphalian Birds a couple of times, ward off a bunch of wolves, and don't even get me started on the Gegenees."

Nico felt like his head was going to float off. "How long was I out?"

"About a day." Reyna replied, annoyed. "That statue is a giant magnet. We've had almost a thousand monsters attack. Not that I bothered to count," she said. "But it's kind of obvious when the entire forest is attracted to you."

"We need to leave now!" Nico said. He felt much better than he had a day ago, and there wasn't time to waste. "I'll get us another mile."

"Hold hands!" Reyna said to Coach Hedge, who was busy swatting his bat at thin air, practicing his strokes. They gathered around the upright Athena Parthenos, and held hands.

"Here goes…" Nico concentrated, a circle of darkness opened beneath them, and they dropped into it.

They landed at the bottom of a mountain. The air was slightly chilly, but Nico didn't feel anything-he'd gotten used to it. Spending about 90% of your time with the dead really got you acquainted with the coldness.

Nico looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to darken. The sun was beginning to set. Birds flew overhead. Nico was really tired. He had brought them another hundred miles or so, and boy was he tired. He hadn't anticipated being so tired at first, even when only travelling a few hundred miles. He immediately slumped down right next to a tree.

"I'll guard you." Coach Hedge seemed surprisingly unwilling. "I'll probably get in a call or…" he shut up. No more talking. He walked up the slope a little, and sat there.

Nico fell asleep.

In his dreams, he was floating above a city he didn't really know, with no knowledge of why he was there, and trying very hard not to fall. That was because he had chicken wings instead of hands and arms. Another thing, it was very high up. And very cold.

A figure floated up to him.

Really? Again? Nico thought. The figure floated closer, and Nico saw it was Aletheia. And she was smiling. When gods smile, it usually doesn't mean anything good. They usually have something bad to tell you, or they're really, really grumpy most of the time.

"You are another step closer to finding your truth." Aletheia said. She was serene, with a different outfit this time. Strands of silk came off a motorcycle jacket. She looked like a Chinese woman had decided to go badass. "You have made the first step."

"What step?" Nico asked. "I didn't even…"

Images of Percy filled his mind. He shook them away. "I don't know how finding the truth would help at all. It's not like knowing your unknown secrets is even that powerful. What am I going to do, use my truth to destroy a monster or something?"

Her eyes flared. "Do not speak like that, Nico di Angelo. I am helping you overcome a challenge you will face later. Truth is not that useful to a lot of people; yes, that is true. But in your case, truth is the only way that you will be able to overcome it."

Nico woke up in the clearing, to the sound of Coach Hedge screaming. "DIE!" he yelled, as he sliced a dozen harpies to bits. "Scram!"

The very, very dim sky was filled with harpies. They were all, once again, going like a funnel towards the Athena Parthenos. A lot of them had grabbed on to it, trying to lift it up with their combined strength. Reyna was trying to climb up to the top of the 40-foot statue, but she wasn't having any luck. "Nico!" Reyna yelled. "They're going to lift it up! Could you shadow-travel right now?"

Nico didn't feel that much power in him at that moment, but he was strong enough. "Yes!" He yelled back. Her expression meant that she had a very good plan. He was sure of it.

"What's your plan?" he asked.

Reyna didn't even question how he knew. She just yelled back, over the screeching of the harpies, "Can you shadow-travel us underground? That way, the harpies can't get it up!"

"Yeah, but underground means Gaia!" Nico yelled, stabbing a harpy in the chest.

"Well, can you choose what to shadow-travel, like not have the harpies follow but have us get out of here?" Reyna yelled back. She slashed a harpy to dust.

"Well, sort of!" Nico yelled. "Fine! I'll take a risk! I sense a cave about a mile or so away from here! COACH HEDGE!" he yelled.

Hedge turned around, got the signal and ran back. He gripped Nico's hand.

Nico concentrated, and they went through the swirling black.

They came out in a cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites. The 40-foot tall statue had carved a hole in the ceiling, flattening the harpies that had been transported along with it. Loud calls, shrieks and the flapping of wings filled the air. Dust sprinkled from the gaps.

"Holy Hera, di Angelo!" Coach Hedge yelled, his voice echoing around the tight space. "Did you have to do that?"

"Yeah. Sorry!" Nico yelled back. The cave was almost completely dark. The only light was a tiny beam of light streaming from a crack in the ceiling. It reflected off Reyna's sword, just giving Nico enough light to make out their surroundings.

"Their legs seemed to be pretty firm, considering they were supposed to be getting sucked into the ground.

"Well, I need to rest." Nico said. His mouth was dry. His throat felt like it had been pierced with a knife. "I feel like I've run a marathon." He flopped down on the floor, his eyes barely managing to stay open. "I'll go to sleep. Transporting the statue twice in an hour… that really sapped my strength." He closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

He was so tired, he fell straight into slumber. The last thing he saw was the cave exploding in a giant column of fire.

He couldn't even concentrate on the flames. He just nodded off to sleep.