Blackbirds in the Sky

Nico

As they walk, Will mumbles to Pythia, but Nico can't make out what he's saying from the noise their feet make crunching the underbrush.

When they reach the edge of camp, Will stops to check the time. It's seven o'clock. Nico looks out over the grounds. The sun is up, the woods alive with the cawing of crows. Pythia flicks Will's cheek with her tongue, drawing both their attention. "He cannot help you any more than he already has. The gods are forbidden to meddle too closely in the lives and quests of their demigod children, and Apollo has been punished for doing it before."

"Yeah, I guess," Will says darkly, and then starts walking again.

Nico watches him go, not following right away, just considering. Will had returned to the Hades Cabin from the Big House only hours ago, around one o'clock. He'd left Chiron to watch over Lou Ellen. Neither of them had gotten much sleep.

Will looks back over his shoulder as if he's just realized Nico isn't with him, and the relieved smile and half-wave he gives convinces Nico to give him a break. Even if they do return to their quest right away, he decides to insist they stop and make camp earlier rather than later. Sleep deprivation isn't Will's friend; he recalls that well enough as he catches up with Will at the volleyball court and they continue to the Big House together.

They find Chiron in his office, his chin on his chest and dozing.

Will lifts his finger to his lips and motions for Nico to follow him down the darkened hallway.

"I want you, if you don't mind…" he says, keeping his voice low, "…to take a look at Lou. See if you can tell what's happening to her?"

Nico agrees. He doesn't think it could hurt anything to have a look.

He realizes how very wrong he is a minute later.

Standing in the dark hallway outside the Infirmary doors, his heart beats so fast it feels like it might wear out and stop altogether. He focuses on the ugly striped pattern of the wallpaper on the wall across from him and can't get the image of Lou Ellen – more vapor than anything, an empty husk, a mirage – out of his head. He doesn't sense death around her, but then he can't access his powers right now, so he can't rely on that. The loss of his powers has never felt so real. He wonders if he can trust the rest of his senses anymore. His memory slides back to the dark tunnels in the shadow realm, the figure of Hekate blurring into three, and then returns to Lou Ellen. His knees ache. The old hole in his chest chews its way back into existence. Sweat slides down his face from his temples in cold trails – like snails, like rot, like death claiming him.

"Nico."

Will's voice.

The sound of a door closing, another one opening, creaking wheels.

"Mr. Di Angelo." The deep and kindly voice of the aged centaur.

He comes back to himself, the image burned into his mind finally dissipating. Nico blinks. He meets Chiron's concerned dark eyes, and then finds Will staring at him, pale and aghast, like he can't believe he'd been so stupid not to foresee how Nico would react.

"I – I'm okay," Nico stammers as Will rushes forward to steady him. The flood of self-deprecating apologies that Will thankfully does not voice, bathes Nico in a rush of calm. He wants to tell Will to stop being an idiot, that he doesn't blame Will for his reaction, but not with Chiron looming over them.

"Let's talk in my office," Chiron suggests. He turns his chair around in the hallway with well-practiced ease, and they follow him.

The bronze-plated walls in Chiron's office have always given Nico a bit of a headache, but with his body still reeling, he feels like his brain is swollen and pressing against his skull. He sinks into one of two chairs before the desk. Will shuts the door and takes the other, then drapes his arm around Nico's back as if to keep him steady.

When Chiron finishes maneuvering his chair behind his desk, he folds his hands on the desktop and levels them with his eyes. "What happened?" he asks. He keeps his voice calm, but it doesn't quite mask his immortal power and intelligence. Nico picks up his annoyance. Before Will starts blabbering apologies and getting them wound up in an unnecessary conversation that will take more time than they have, Nico speaks first.

"I'm really okay. I just had an unexpected reaction to seeing Lou Ellen. But the real reason we're here is to talk about our quest." He grits his teeth after he finishes, his head throbbing.

"We just came from talking to Apollo," Will picks up, and Nico finds some relief in being able to rely on Will to explain the rest. "The prophecy hasn't been fulfilled yet, and Apollo has given us his blessing to continue it."

Chiron listens, his brow furrowed, his lips tight.

"Tartarus is rising, Chiron…" Will explains, "…and Hades is fighting back. Nico has seen it in his dreams. It's a doomed fight unless somebody comes to his aid. Apollo knows about it, but he can't defy Zeus's orders directly. He's here as a punishment. Nico, Lou Ellen, and I started this quest and we need to be the ones to finish it."

Chiron relaxes, sitting back in his chair and stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Yes. I am aware of the restraints on your father, and Tartarus rising would explain the lack of monsters in the world as of late. I'm not going to forbid you picking up where you left off, but there's one thing that troubles me. How are you going to help? Mr. Di Angelo, without your powers, and Will, your strength has always been geared toward healing rather than fighting."

Will slumps forward, his hands in his lap and leaving a cold spot on Nico's back where his arm had been. "Yeah, I know. That's part of why we went to talk to Apollo. But when I asked him if he could give us any hints about where to start, how to get Nico's powers back, how to succeed, he said he couldn't interfere."

"Really?" Chiron draws out the word as if he doesn't believe it for a second. "Do you recall what your questions were and how he responded?"

Will looks to Nico, and shrugs, like: do you remember?

Nico massages his left temple, recalling their conversation. It's hard when his head feels like a melon in a vise. "Uh, he talked about how gods were different from mortals, how they don't dream or have souls, about how they can die if people stop believing in them."

"Oh, right," Will adds as he straightens up again. "He said the reason they had demigod children was so they wouldn't lose their connection with the mortal world. Then he said he didn't want to overthrow Zeus because it would cause an imbalance and the Fates don't let things stay off balance."

Chiron nods and hums under his breath. "Mmm, good. That's very true. So when you asked for advice on how to succeed, what did he say?"

Nico wrinkles his forehead, thinking back. "Something about looking at the past to find the future. That everything is cyclical?" He looks to Will for confirmation, surprised to find him nodding, a smile spreading on his face. It gives him the same sort of odd glow that reminds Nico of Apollo.

"That's it!" Will cries, then lowers his voice, glancing at Nico sheepishly before turning back to Chiron. "He did answer. I asked where we should start with reviewing the past and he laughed at me and told me I reminded him of Asclepius."

Nico raises his eyebrows. "I'm not following. You and Asclepius are both his sons, you both have a snake staff thing. I think he said you both don't shut up, but that's not much of an answer."

Will smirks as he glares at Nico, though Nico can read his amusement through it. "Yes, but he said that right after I asked him where to start. So …" He turns to Chiron. "You raised Asclepius. What happened with him that we might benefit from knowing?"

Chiron strokes his beard again, his face drawn in thought. "Hmm. Asclepius performed his diagnoses through dreams after becoming a god, but since Apollo likened the two of you, he is probably referring to the time when Asclepius was mortal. He was Apollo's favorite son, the one he considered closest to his own heart. After Hades complained about Asclepius resurrecting people and cheating death, Zeus struck him down with a thunder bolt."

Will shudders and Nico forces himself to focus, his headache finally clearing.

"Well, let's hope that's not what he meant for you to read from the past." Chiron purses his lips, his head bobbing as he considers what else to tell them.

"How did Asclepius become a god?" Nico asks. "I mean, Zeus struck him down with lightning, right? So how did he go from being demigod toast to the god of healers?"

Chiron widens his eyes, his lips pulling down and chin jutting forward as he ponders Nico's line of questioning. Then he nods again. "Well, that was after Apollo went berserk and nearly caused a civil war among the Olympians. He killed the elder Cyclopes, and it was Athena that brought everything back into order by suggesting a compromise. Apollo agreed to become mortal for one year and to work in a servile position to a mortal if Zeus would grant Asclepius another chance. Athena used the blood of Medusa, taken from the right side of her severed neck and revived him, though the history books get that point wrong. Zeus made him a god, I think because he felt guilty and wanted to make it up to Apollo. Apollo is his favorite son, too, you know? He understands that, or did at one time. However, I think he also did it so Asclepius would be easier to control, especially since Zeus considered Asclepius would be indebted to him."

Silence falls over the room, and then the sound of the conch shell on the porch, signalling breakfast, breaks it. Chiron wheels his chair back from the desk and retrieves a book from a stack on top of the filing cabinet.

"I need to get back to work, but you might read up more about Asclepius in this. I recommend you pack your things and leave camp before breakfast is finished. We want to avoid fanfare, especially with Zeus not being 'hero-friendly' at the moment."

Nico tosses a change of clothes into his backpack along with his travel necessities, then glances round his cabin one more time. A sense of foreboding fills him with dread and when his eyes fall on the small altar to Hades in the corner, he kneels before it without a second thought.

Lighting the candle and spreading a handful of Persephone's potpourri over the assorted bones lying on top, he prays for guidance.

"Persephone. I know we haven't always gotten along and I know part of that is my own lack of trying, but I need some help right now and I understand Hades has his hands full. If there's anything you can do, without breaking any oaths or drawing attention from Olympus, I'd really appreciate it. I'm walking blind right now."

He blows out the candle, and opens the door when Will knocks on it. "All set?"

Will nods as Nico closes the door. They stand on the porch of the Hades cabin, looking up at the Athena Parthenos on top of the hill.

"I checked in with Clovis. He said he'd keep an eye on both Cecil and Lou Ellen while we're gone. Guess it's time."

Nico nods dully.

They turn as a murder of crows take flight all at once from the forest, filling the valley with their cries and darkening the sky as they circle the strawberry fields.

Nico's heart sinks. If that was a sign from Persephone, his prayer may have done more harm than good.

"Just one thing left to figure out," he says, shouldering his backpack. "Transportation. For now, we're just gonna have to walk."