Chapter 7

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Anna

Anna spent Saturday at Camp Jupiter, discussing with Reyna what she was going to do about the increasing problems with the veil and its' demons.

"Go speak with Terminus. He may be a border god, but he is a god. He may know more about the veil, as old as he is." Anna sighed and left to do as the Praetor suggested. She liked Reyna, mostly because she saved Nico's life, and became his friend when he desperately needed one. But Anna didn't trust the Romans. She barely trusted the Greeks. Anna marched across toward New Rome, and when she reached the border she sat down next to the marble bust of the god.

"Isolde. Abominable child of the virgin goddess. What weapons do you have to declare?" The uptight and rather rude statue spoke to her. Terminus may have been a Roman deity, but he and Anna got along very well. Anna let the insult slide off her back as her favorite god appeared next to her. He was the only person she had shared her birth name with since she had buried her old identity.

"Terminus, I retired. I have no weapons to declare beyond what I can do with my own two hands." The god laughed.

"The day you retire will be the day your shade fades from Elysium. If you aren't reborn that is." Anna smiled at the god. Suddenly his face contorted in horror.

"What?" She asked defensively. She felt a breeze whip around her hair and around the threadbare clothing she had borrowed that morning.

"You need to cut exactly three point two inches off of your hair. Whoever you allowed near your head with scissors did a terrible job. It is no longer at regulation! And what are you wearing? Where is your chiton? As an emissary you should have the proper attire." The god continued to huff as he took apart her disheveled appearance. Once she might have been hurt by his callous analysis of her perceived flaws but she knew the god picked on her because he cared. Which was astounding because she was a Greek. Finally she interrupted when he started to get wound up on a tirade on the state of her nails, laughing a little.

"Terminus I've been retired, the state of my nail beds and my hair has been secondary to my school work. But that's not why I'm here. There is news that ancient powers from beyond the veil are rising. I am being asked to return to what I was best at during the war against Kronos." Terminus didn't repress his dramatic gasp.

"Dianne, you cannot. I will forbid it as a god." he huffed. The switch from her birth name to her camp name indicated someone was coming.

"Terminus I must. It involves mortal hunters." She said quietly. The god was struck mute as he processed her quest. She turned around to see Nico standing behind her. She smiled at the quiet young man. He was growing taller and seemed to have filled out a bit in the year she had been away for school.

"Hey there kiddo." She said, patting the ground next to her. Nico plopped down on the grass as Terminus began another round of analysis on Nico; covering his fluster from Anna's announcement.

"Hey Blu." Nico gave her a hug. She stiffened in shock. The introverted loner seemed different. Less like an introverted loner.

"What's going on Nico? You seem...different." Anna spoke slowly. He gave her a wide grin.

"I'm just having a good day. Those happen more now. You were right all along Blu, I just needed to find someone to be my friend. And now I have those and I have Will and I get to see you." his face darkened a little.

"I haven't seen you in months. You used to tell me you worried when I vanished after Bianca. But now you're doing the same thing." Anna shrugged sadly.

"Semi retired and I'm older than you. I'm allowed to be a hypocrite." She ruffled his hair. Terminus finished his rant about Nico and managed to circle back to the topic at hand.

"Dianne! That is far too dangerous. You said it yourself, semi retired. You have no business with what is beyond the veil." Nico leapt to his feet.

"You're doing what!" He yelled. Anna turned towards the god.

"Terminus! Look at what you've done, he wasn't supposed to know!" She scolded the deity.

"What do you mean I'm not supposed to know! You're the closest thing I've got to an older sister now Anna! And you want to mess with the veil? You'll die!" Anna looked over at Nico sadly.

"Nico, it's been written in the stars. The veil is my responsibility now, I already agreed." Terminus glared at her, while Nico crossed his arms.

"Mortal hunters are dangerous. I forbid it!" The god said. Nico nodded in agreement.

"You cannot. Mother sent me an omen last night. I have to go." She had a dream from her mother the night before. A blessing from Athena. And an order. She had no choice. Anna stood up, brushing dirt and grass off her jeans.

"Blu." Nico's voice was quiet. She tugged him into her arms, folding herself around him tightly.

"That's why you came, didn't you?" She asked him. Nico had gotten taller, no longer fitting under her chin. Now the eighteen (ish) year old child of Hades could look her in the eyes, icy grey meeting near black eyes that were clouded with pain and sorrow. He nodded.

"I was hoping it wasn't true. I wanted to keep you safe. The way I should have with Bianca. Too many of our friends have died..." She smiled at Nico, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

*"Ti amo piccolo fratellino molto. Voglio un mondo di bene per te, farei qualsiasi cosa per te. Anche morire." She whispered to him in her flawless Italian. Nico shook his head even as Terminus sniffed quietly, giving the two demigods some space.

*"Non voglio perderti." Nico whispered back. Anna smiled at the younger boy.

"I'm not gone yet!" Anna tried to laugh, even as her words caught in her throat. Nico shook his head resolutely.

"No. And you won't go for a long time, not if I can help it." He wore a familiar look, his jaw set the same way it had when he had tried to summon his mother's ghost, the way it had looked after he had Iris messaged her from Epirus about shadow travelling the Athena Parthenos home. Anna ruffled his hair again.

"Well I'm here to pick Terminus's brain. You go back home, tell Chiron to send me some of the modified guns. A few cases of celestial bronze bullets, a few of the mortal one too. If I'm going to run with hunters, it looks like I'm going to need one." Nico nodded and melted into the shadows. Anna turned to the god.

*"I won't cry over you graeca." He grunted. Anna smiled.

"I would never have expected a god such as yourself to be concerned with a demimortal such as myself. But I could use a latin refresher." Terminus smiled. The strict rules of language was something he enjoyed.

'OCD god indeed.' She thought to herself.

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Translations:

* I love you very much little brother. I want a world of good for you, I would do anything for you. Even die.
*I don't want to lose you

(Italian)

*greek

(Latin)

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