I love your guys' reviews. Always so encouraging. Really, though, I won't get mad if you throw some constructive criticism in there too. Tell me what you guys want from the story. Ideas, suggestions, advice. Whatever. And remember, REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY. So, review, review, review.

Chapter XIII

Reyna

It seems to Reyna that Nico grows heavier with every step. Her breath comes in loud gasps now, only half an hour after she first plunged into the woods. The smell of pine is all around her, blocking the scent of everything else, and hopefully helping to hide them as well. The fallen pine needles are slippery underfoot, which might make it hard to run if she has to. But Reyna is pretty sure that if she needs to run, it will already be too late.

As Reyna walks-well, stumbles-through the trees, she ponders her newfound protectiveness of Nico. She's never felt any sort of comradeship towards him before. And yet now, suddenly, she feels she would give her life to protect him. She glances over at his face, so pale and haunted. Maybe she feels this way towards him because he seems to have just as bad luck as she does, if not worse. Reyna has given up so much in her life, and when she finally found a place as praetor, she ended up having to give that up too. And she's never really had friends. She's always been alone. And so is Nico.

He's always been an outcast, never accepted in either of the camps. He doesn't really have any friends either, although Reyna would bet that there are plenty of people who would fight to protect him. Percy, for example. And his half-sister, Hazel. But he's always mysterious, never allowing anyone to really get to know him. He's closed himself off from the world, built walls to protect himself. And even though with Nico, it's by choice, it's still similar enough to Reyna's life to make her feel as if she might know him a little better than some.

A howl rips through the night, much too close for Reyna's liking. She hurries faster, trying to find a place where they can hide, or at least a place she can easily defend. There isn't much vegetation beneath the trees, though, probably due to the pine needles that cover the ground. She can hear something moving closer, its footsteps muffled on the carpet of pine needles, but still loud enough for her to hear. She knows that if whatever it is reaches her, she'll have to put Nico down and fight, putting both of them in more danger. And then she gets lucky.

She stumbles across the roots of a fallen tree, and when she studies it, she discovers that a small sort of cave was created when the roots ripped free of the ground. It's hardly big enough for one person, let alone two, but she can at least hide Nico there so he can rest in safety while she and Gleeson run around being chased by monsters.

She carefully lowers him to the ground, and then goes about the difficult task of getting him into the cave while he's unconscious. By the time she's done, she's sweating in earnest, even in the chilly air, and her hands are covered in dirt. But Nico is mostly hidden beneath the roots of the tree. You can only see him if you lean down and push some of the roots out of the way. Of course, it helps that he's wearing all black.

Reyna worries about the fact that pretty much all monsters have a really strong sense of smell, especially when it comes to demigods. Nico, being a child of the Big Three, is powerful enough that, even with the smell of underground, and then the smell of pine over that, the monsters might still be able to smell him. She doesn't want to leave him behind. But she knows that if she continues the way she has been, carrying Nico, they won't last the night.

A twig snaps behind her. She whirls around, already drawing her sword, to find herself facing an enormous hellhound. The red eyes gleam with hatred, foam dripping from black lips. Its fur stands on end down its spine. It stalks toward her, growling, baring needle-sharp teeth. Reyna watches it warily, waiting for it to make its move. She stands confidently, her sword loose in her grip. She balances on the balls of her feet, ready for anything.

When the hellhound lunges, she thrusts her sword into its face and watches as it disentegrates into a pile of dust. She wonders-and hopes-if the aura of death in the clearing will help hide Nico's scent from any other monsters. She glances one more time at the tangle of roots where Nico lies hidden. And then she walks briskly into the trees.

She's sure Nico will be fine. He said he might only need one extra day of rest. It's maybe been an hour since they first got here. So only 47 more hours to go before he could be ready to shadow-travel again. Reyna smiles grimly to herself. She'll be lucky if she even lasts one more hour, let alone 47. If Gleeson was afraid of the monsters who were heading towards them, there had to have been a lot. Still, Gaea might not want them killed. It's possible she'll still try to recruit them. Not that she'll be successful, but it could buy them some time. Although, if they're captured, they would have to count on Nico to free them, and it might be a little too much to ask of one son of Hades who's just shadow-traveled halfway across the world in one trip. It's their only chance, though.

Reyna starts calculating how much time she has before another monster finds her. She guesses that the monsters' leader, whoever he-or she-may be, would have divided them into groups. That way, they could cover more ground. She might be able to handle four or five monsters on her own, even simultaneously, but she shudders at her chances with a larger group. Of course, she's assuming that the leader is actually relatively intelligent, which most monsters don't seem to be, but Gaea doesn't seem stupid to her. So Gaea probably wouldn't put an idiot in charge.

The time she has depends on several different factors. The size of the island they're located on, for example. But that also depends on whether they're in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, and she can't remember Nico telling her which one he'd chosen. And from what she remembers from her geography lessons, they look pretty similar. It also depends on how large a group of monsters there was in the first place, and how many groups that was divided in to. Reyna guesses there was a group of at least fifty monsters in the beginning, although it was most likely more, considering Gleeson's reaction. So maybe sixty, sixty-five. Best case scenario, there's maybe thirteen groups of five monsters searching for her, Nico, and Gleeson. Worst case scenario, which would be a hundred or more monsters, there would be twenty groups of five monsters. And all that is assuming that they split up into groups of five. It would make more sense for them to do that, though. Small groups make less noise, and the more groups there are, the faster the prey will be found.

The calculations ease her mind. She's always loved math. It provides her with cold, hard facts that don't continuously change and confuse her. Like people. Math has always been easier for her than reading. The numbers calm her, relax her so that she can concentrate. When she was younger, she used to do long division in her head whenever she was scared. She still does sometimes, in times of great stress. Like when she's dealing with Octavian.

Suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, she remembers talking with Annabeth during the picnic. Teasing Percy, laughing with each other. Reyna almost felt like she belonged. Perhaps, given time, she and Annabeth could become friends...She sees so much of herself in Annabeth. They're so similar, it can be frightening at times. Reyna is Roman, and Annabeth is Greek. But essentially, they're the same. They both worry endlessly about anything and everything that could go wrong. They worry for the safety of others. But they also both understand the importance of keeping their own worries and concerns hidden behind a mask of courage.

A sound. Reyna's eyes immediately turn to the trees in front of her and slightly to the left. Nothing. But then someone steps out from behind one of the pines and directly into her path.

"Hello, my dear Roman. Gaea told me you'd come."

The man standing before her had curly brown hair and a long, thick beard. His face was thin and cruel, and his dark eyes glinted with evilness. He was only a few inches taller than Reyna, but considerably broader, with big muscular arms and legs and a slight beer belly.

"Who are you?" Reyna asks, keeping her voice calm and her face expressionless.

"My name is Sinis, but you might also know me as the Pine-Bender." He says, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.

Reyna knows immediately who he is. Remembering his story, she has to make an effort to keep her lip from curling in disgust.

Sinis was a bandit that Theseus met on the road. He would kill his victims by asking them to help him bend a pine down and then releasing it, sending them flying high into the air. The fall back to earth would kill them. Or he would tie them between two bent-down pines and then release the pines, tearing his victims apart. Reyna's heard it both ways. Theseus eventually killed him by turning his own trick back on him.

"I know you. Another mortal who returned through the Doors of Death, I suppose. Theseus is the one who killed you, is he not?"

The man's smile disappears. His eyes blaze with hatred. "Yes. Theseus is the one who killed me. But he is gone now, and I am here. So it doesn't matter, does it? Which means you won't mind if we don't talk about him, right?"

Reyna doesn't answer him. She just looks him up and down again, analyzing the fastest way to kill him. She can't overpower him, as Theseus did, he's too strong for that. But perhaps she can trick him. Before she can come up with anything, though, he starts talking again.

"It's a shame Gaea wants you alive. I don't even understand why she does. And I'd love to kill you myself, the way I always used too..." The wistfulness in his voice makes Reyna's stomach churn. "But for now, I'll just have to take you prisoner. We already have one of your friends, the satyr. He put up quite a fight. Killed several of the monsters under my command. But they weren't substantial losses. The other one, though, the son of Hades, we thought he'd be with you. Tell me, my dear, where is he now?"

As if Reyna would ever tell him anything. The fact that Gaea doesn't want them dead yet, though, not even Gleeson, confuses her. What use are they to her?

"I don't know where he is. We split up." The lie flows smoothly from her lips. Sinis narrows his eyes at her and steps closer.

"That's funny. Because I heard that the son of Hades was unconscious, too weak to travel on his own."

Reyna looks calmly into his eyes. "Nico is strong. He woke up soon after we went into the woods, and we went separate ways."

Sinis stares into her eyes, looking for any sign that she was lieing. He must not find anything, because he steps back and claps his hands together.

"Oh well. We'll find him eventually. And two out of three isn't too bad, don't you think?"

Reyna raises her sword. "First you have to catch me."

Sinis smiles. Something about his calm demeanor makes Reyna feel like she's missing something. "Oh, my dear, you're already caught." He looks behind her and snaps his fingers.

Reyna whirls around just in time to see a club being swung at her head. And then she doesn't see anything at all.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn. I love cliffhangers. :)