Nyx
The next day was strangely quiet, for the seven who had crossed the United States, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. No monster attacks, and that might be related to the Primordial traveling with them.
But the tranquility was temporary after all.
A girl screamed.
At the same time, two beings shouted similar things.
"What is she doing here?" exclaimed a certain son of Poseidon.
"What am I doing here?!" exclaimed a certain primordial goddess.
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" shouted another primordial goddess, completely annoyed by the attitude of everyone present there, excluding her, of course.
On the abandoned dock of the island of Ithaca, nine beings confronted each other. Nyx was trying to calm down the seven Greek and Roman demigods, who were looking at Akhlys, the goddess of misery, with disgust. Two of them specifically seemed to be completely upset and had drawn their weapons, a celestial bronze sword and a drakon-bone sword.
On the other hand, Akhlys looked completely terrified. The confrontation with Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus was surely still affecting Misery, who was standing behind her mother like a child, watching the half-bloods behind her mother.
"Nyx, you said you would help us!" said Percy, visibly shaken by Misery's presence. "Why the Hades is she here?!"
Nyx sighed, frustrated.
"If you guys need to infiltrate Odysseus' palace, the Death Mist is going to be more useful than tricks with ordinary Mist. No offense, daughter of Pluto."
Hazel didn't seem particularly offended, but Annabeth decided to argue against it.
"But, Lady Nyx," Annabeth, even with Akhlys' presence, she tried to keep her composure "the Death Mist makes us completely invisible, no? Only immortals can see us, and I don't believe there are titans or giants up there, just spirits."
All of the seven seemed to agree with her. Even Akhlys seemed to agree. Nyx on the other hand was completely frustrated.
"Fine!" Night snapped her fingers, and Akhlys disappeared taking one last look at the seven, which caused everyone to shudder. Once again, Nyx's form was completely covered by a black mass, and when it was gone, Nyx did not look like herself. Her features still looked the same, but her hair was now blonde with dark roots, she wore a white sleeveless gown, with laced sandals. It was an obvious disguise as a Greek maiden.
"I'll wait for you up there!" said the now disguised Nyx, leaping into a shadow and disappearing.
Hazel turned to Annabeth, Jason and Piper with a smile on her face.
"Showtime!"
Jason swallowed dryly.
...
Nyx was sitting on top of a tree, and from a distance she spotted three figures approaching. Piper and Annabeth still retained their usual appearance but possessed a disguise identical to Nyx. Jason, on the other hand, was disguised as a smelly, and now panting old man after climbing the hills.
"What took you so long?!" asked Nyx, startling Piper, who brought her hand to her chest dramatically. Annabeth stared at her wide-eyed and Jason just looked annoyed.
"Couldn't you have shadow-traveled us here? Since children of Pluto can, you probably could do it too..."
"Of course I could" Night replied "But what's the fun if you guys make no effort?"
Jason gritted his teeth, and the three of them moved on. Nyx jumped out of the tree gracefully, and ran to catch up with the others. She looked at Jason, now a bit worried.
"There is something tormenting you, son of Jupiter."
Jason looked surprised.
"No." That was all he managed to say.
"Did I happen to ask a question? I'm making a statement." she retorted, smiling.
The son of Jupiter just sighed.
"Better not to think about it, let's just go. In and out."
The four of them entered the palace, where about two hundred spirits were having a big party. What appeared to be the leader of them sacrificed a statue of Zeus that looked suspiciously hippy to a sand geyser, which in response made an exploding noise.
Jason clenched his walking stick. "That guy just disintegrated my dad. Who does he think he is?"
"I'm guessing that's Antinous," said Annabeth. "One of the suitors' leaders. If I remember right, it was Odysseus who shot him through the neck with that arrow."
Piper winced. "You'd think that would keep a guy down. What about all the others? Why are there so many?"
"I don't know." Annabeth said. "Newer recruits for Gaia, I guess. Some must've come back to life before we closed the Doors of Death. Some are just spirits."
"Many look like other ancient warriors. Not just Greeks." Nyx observed.
"Some are ghouls," Jason said. "The ones with the gaping wounds and the grey skin, like Antinous... I've fought their kind before."
"Can they be killed?"
Jason remembered a quest he'd taken for Camp Jupiter years ago in San Bernardino.
"Not easily. They're strong and fast and intelligent. Also, they eat human flesh."
"Fantastic" Annabeth muttered. "I don't see any option except to stick to the plan. Split up, infiltrate, find out why they're here. If things go bad-"
"We use the backup plan." Piper said.
"What's the backup plan?" Nyx questioned, curious.
Jason shuddered.
"Let's say Leo is going to make the Greek Fire weapons he used on you look like a joke. The palace will..." He made an exploding noise.
Nyx smiled maniacally.
"I like the idea. We'd do it right now for all I care."
Annabeth put a shoulder into the Primordial's hand.
"We appreciate your taste for destruction, Lady Nyx, but we really need the information."
Night got frowny, but nodded and headed toward the tables, playing her role as a maiden. She walked past the tables, conjuring wine glasses in her hand and handing them to each of those who didn't already have them. Fortunately, none seemed to notice the glasses appearing out of nowhere. She heard Jason talking to Antinous, now looking a little different. Hazel's magic really was very effective, thought Mother Night. Nyx tried to listen to the conversation between the two.
"Tell me, Iros, what do you have to offer? We don't need you to run messages for us like in the old days. Certainly you aren't a fighter. As I recall, Odysseus crushed yourjaw and tossed you into the pigsty." - said the host.
Nyx remembered the story. Iros was the old man who'd run messages for the suitors in exchange for scraps of food. Iros had become their pet homeless person. When Odysseus came home, disguised as a beggar, Iros thought the new guy was moving in on his territory. The two had started arguing and it didn't end well for the old man.
"You made Iros– " Nyx cursed, thinking that Jason had blown it, but the son of Jupiter managed not to ruin his cover. "You made me fight Odysseus. You bet money on it. Even when Odysseus took off his shirt and you saw how muscular he was... you still made me fight him. You didn't care if I lived or died!'
Antinous bared his pointed teeth. "Of course I didn't care. I still don't! But you're here, so Gaea must have had a reason to allow you back into the mortal world. Tell me, why are you worthy of a share in our spoils?'
"What spoils?"
Antinous spread his hands. "The entire world, my friend. The first time we met here, we were only after Odysseus's land, his money and his wife."
"Especially his wife!' A bald ghost in ragged clothes elbowed Jason in the ribs. "That Penelope was a hot little honey cake!"
Nyx felt a little queasy, which was not normal. In the distance, Piper seemed to have had a similar reaction.
Antinous sneered.
"Eurymachus, you whining coward. You never stood a chance with Penelope. I remember you blubbering and pleading for your life with Odysseus, blaming everything on me!"
"Lot of good it did me." Eurymachus lifted his tattered shirt, revealing an inch-wide hole in themiddle of his spectral chest. "Odysseus shot me in the heart, just because I wanted to marry his wife!"
"At any rate..." Antinous turned to Jason. 'We have gathered now for a much bigger prize. Once Gaea destroys the gods, we will divide up the remnants of the mortal world!"
"Dibs on London!" yelled a ghoul at the next table
"Montreal!" shouted another.
"Duluth!" yelled a third, which momentarily stopped the conversation as the other ghosts gave him confused looks.
"What about the rest of these... guests? I count at least two hundred. Half of them are new to me." Jason asked, and Antinous explained that everyone there had their conflicts with gods and heroes, and were now serving Gaea to get revenge.
"And Michael Varus-"
Jason visibly choked.
"Who?"
Nyx once again cursed. Couldn't he stop blowing his cover up?
Over by the sand fountain, a dark-haired guy in a purple T-shirt and legionnaire armour turned to face them. His outline was blurred, smoky and indistinct, and Nyx could feel that he was a son of Janus. Not a good sign. Jason's seemed very uncomfortable when he met Varus's gaze. Antinous waved dismissively.
"He's a Roman demigod. Lost his legion's eagle in... Alaska, was it? Doesn't matter. Gaea lets him hang around. He insists he has some insight into defeating Camp Jupiter. But you, Iros – you still haven't answered my question. Why should you be welcome among us?"
Nyx could feel the Mist thinning around the son of Jupiter, reacting to his uncertainty.
Fortunately, Annabeth decided that this was the time to intervene, "accidentally" pouring wine on Antinous, who cursed. This was the cue for Jason to get back into the role of Iros. Nyx decided to advise Jason.
"Tell the truth. Your journey. They will believe you." she whispered in his head.
Night saw Jason turning to her, perplexed, as Antinous cleaned himself up. The son of Jupiter nodded, and began to tell his story. How he had become Gaea's messenger, and that he had just come from the House of Hades to see what this group was up to. That he was one of the last to leave Epirus before the Doors of Death closed. Jason confronted them, saying that they were doing nothing for Mother Earth but partying. And when Antinous asked about Porphyrion, Jason described the Giant King perfectly, making the former go silent for the first time. Nyx saw Piper smiling at Jason, and she once again spoke directly into his mind.
"Good boy!"
Jason looked discreetly at her with narrowed eyes, and she didn't hold back a little smile.
Eurymachus decided to intervene, and Antinous ended up revealing that Gaia would be awaken in the Acropolis. To Nyx, it seemed a bit obvious, they weren't gonna wake up the Earth in a random mountain, even if it had been the home of the gods millennia ago. To Antinous displeasure, however, Eurymachus talked a bit too much, revealing the obstacles the demigods of the Argo II would have to overcome to get to Athens. Armies of Cyclops in the Straits of Corinth. Raging storm spirits in the air. Sea monsters. And something at Delphi. That was basically all that they needed to know, and as punishment for talking too much, Eurymachus ended up being killed by the leader of the suitors. Jason seemed terrified by the way Antinous killed the bald ghoul. The two talked some more, the host assuring him that Delphi was no longer in control of Apollo, and something about Victory being rampant in Olympia. This made Nyx a bit uncomfortable, if she was referring to that Victory.
"Time to go." Nyx said telepathically to Jason.
"Very well. I will report as much to King Porphyrion. Thank you for the, er, meal."
Over at the fountain, Michael Varus called. "Wait."
Nyx sensed that something was wrong. Varus walked over, surrounded in a hazy white aura, his deep-set eyes like sinkholes. At his side hung an Imperial gold gladius.
"You must stay" Varus said to Jason.
Nyx was then distracted by a ghoul who tried to touch her. She stared deep into his eyes. For a second, her cover flickered, just for that one ghoul to see the truth. Nyx knew what had happened to that spirit. Images of fear, terror, the dark, everything that was under her domain and that of her children. The ghoul almost fell out of his chair, completely terrified. If spirits could wet their pants, that surely happened now. When Nyx turned to the center of attention, she wasn't the only one looking.
Jason's disguise was gone. Piper and Annabeth had stopped walking and now were now in a defensive position, making sure they were not turning their backs on any spirits. In front of the table where Jason and Antinous stood, a female spirit hovered, arms outstretched, looking at Jason. Everyone's attention was turned at them.
Night rolled his eyes. Maniae were the creation of her daughter, Lyssa. This mania was very similar to Jason, and Nyx guessed that this was Jason's mother. The reason why he was uncomfortable early heading to a place full of spirits. Night didn't know the full story, but she knew that Jason had arrived at Camp Jupiter when he was still a child.
She made her way to the head table, interrupting Jason's mother's monologue about some hunter who never rests being the one who was chasing the demigods and satyr who were carrying the Athena Parthenos.
"Jason." Nyx said in a firm voice and approached the son of Jupiter. The mania looked uncomfortable and the other spirits pointed weapons at her. "She is real indeed. But you know what she is now. I feel that you know what she is. Don't succumb to it."
"Who..." Antinous began, but he was speechless for what happened soon after. With a snap, Nyx's disguise came off. The surrounding world went dark. The afternoon sun was covered, as if by an eclipse. All the spirits there were completely surprised. Beryl Grace stepped back, her form flashing and changing colors.
"You're a mania,' Jason finally came to the conclusion. "A spirit of insanity. That's what you've been reduced to."
"I-I am all that remains." Beryl Grace agreed, but still looking at Mother Night, with fear in her cloudy blue eyes.
"No" he croaked. He glanced at Nyx by his side, and to Annabeth and Piper. "My loyalties haven't changed. My family has just expanded. I'm a child of Greece and Rome." He looked back at his mother for the last time. "I'm no child of yours."
He made the ancient sign of warding off evil – three fingers thrust out from the heart – and the ghost of Beryl Grace disappeared with a soft hiss, like a sigh of relief.
Nyx grinned at Jason. "Good work." she whispered in his mind.
"Maybe we can negotiate?" - Antinous tried, looking terrified at the sight of Mother Night.
In response, Nyx conjured the dagger she had used to threaten Leo. And she threw it at the ghoul's face, who disintegrated without a word. The other spirits were even more terrified now.
"It's been a while since I've seen a little bit of action. Would you like to join the carnage, Jason Grace?" she asked the son of Jupiter, extending her hand for him to stand up. He smiled, and took her hand, drawing his gladius. Nyx gave a signal to Annabeth and Piper, and they also drew their weapons.
Within a second, four hurricanes of destruction were slaughtering the spirits, who tried to flee, not standing a chance. Part of it was thanks to Piper, who used charmspeak to make the numerous spirits be afraid of her. But much of it was the work of Nyx, who grinned like a crazy woman as she destroyed everything that she could. It had been millennia since she had fought, but just her presence made the bravest undead warriors call out for their mothers. Within moments, all the spirits had returned to Tartarus or the Fields of Punishment.
"That was so awesome!" shouted Nyx, as if she were a child after riding a roller coaster. "We should do that more often!"
The three demigods looked at each other, but the relief in them was evident. Maybe they had a chance against Gaea.
"We have to alert Nico, Reyna and Coach Hedge," Jason said. "If there is a son of Gaea chasing them, a giant, probably, we must warn them."
Annabeth nodded.
"What did Antinous mean about victory runs rampant in Olympia?"
"I think it's Victory, with a capital "V"." answered Mother Night.
Jason seemed to have an idea.
"A bed" he said. "There was a special bed in this palace."
Piper looked confused.
"What?"
"The marriage bed was sacred. If there was any place you could talk to... Juno!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, about sixty feet away, the stone floor cracked. Branches muscled through the earth, growing in fast motion until a full-sized olive tree shaded the courtyard. Under a canopy of grey-green leaves stood a dark-haired woman in a white dress, a leopard-skin cape draped over her shoulders. Her staff was topped with a white lotus flower. Her expression was cool and regal.
"My her..." Juno was smiling, until she saw Nyx. The smile on the goddess of marriage's face disappeared.
Nyx grinned widely at her reaction.
"She's a friend of ours." said Jason, a little embarrassed at how Juno was looking at Night.
"I see." the expression of Juno seemed to turn somber. "I suppose you want to know what your next move should be."
Jason, Annabeth and Piper nodded. Nyx continued to smile, still holding the dagger in her hand, which was clearly making Juno uncomfortable, but she didn't question it.
"Sail around the Peloponnese" said the goddess. "It's the safest route. On your way, seek out the goddess of victory in Olympia. She is out of control. Unless you can subdue her, the rift between Greeks and Romans can never be healed."
"You mean Nike?" Annabeth asked. "How is she out of control?"
Thunder boomed overhead, shaking the hill.
"You're gonna know when you get to her, daughter of wisdom." Juno said sarcastically. Nyx assumed that her and Annabeth didn't have the best relationship. "I must flee before Jupiter finds me. Once I leave, I will not be able to help you again. As you heard, the giants have gathered in Athens. Few gods will be able to help you on your journey, but I am not the only Olympian who is out of favour with Jupiter. The twins have also incurred his wrath."
"Artemis and Apollo?" Piper asked. "Why?"
Juno's image began to fade. But she didn't take her eyes off Nyx.
"Reach the island of Delos, they might be prepared to help you. They are desperate enough to try anything to make amends. Go now. With luck, we shall meet in Athens" Juno disappeared, leaving the four of them alone in the palace ruins.
But not for long. Slowly, the light seemed to return, replacing the darkness that had engulfed the palace, and Nyx took a fight position. The demigods looked confused.
"Lady Nyx?" asked, Annabeth, but Night was already looking at another divine being who was standing at the palace entrance.
Day was standing there, radiating light from her being. It was hard to even look at her, but Nyx was not shaken by that and gritted her teeth.
"Hello, mother." Hemera greeted, not looking exactly happy.