Death God Alliance

Chapter14

The Kanes laid low at Percy's apartment for about a week so that the dust had time to settle. They only returned to their mansion after they were sure that the House of Life had stopped head-hunting them, and weren't gunning for them any worse than they'd been before the whole kidnapping incident had started.

Nico shadow-traveled their entire group onto the Kanes' balcony. They entered cautiously, each of them with their weapon at the ready in case the House of Life had left any agents lurking about. Once they were satisfied that they were the only ones there, they set about repairing the house's wards. Or rather Sadie, Carter, and Bast repaired the wards. Nico and Percy stayed back, out of the way.

"Anubis says I'll be able to do magic like that," commented Nico as they watched. "Or at least, I should be able to."

"Is that what you want?" asked Percy.

"The more ways I know how to protect myself or attack someone, the better off I'll be," said Nico rationally.

"That's not what I asked," said Percy.

Nico sighed, realizing that his cousin wasn't going to let this go. "I wouldn't have chosen this," he admitted. "Getting a god stuck in my head, being conscripted into Egyptian magic training, getting kidnapped by a sadistic witch, and dragging you into the whole mess was not what I had in mind when I decided to take a walk in Central Park. But now that this is the path I'm on . . . I guess it's not so bad."

"You're planning to stay here with them?" Percy wanted to know.

"For awhile. They're the only ones who can teach me how to deal with my new powers, and probably the best chance I have of figuring out a way to unfuse my soul from Anubis's. Then there's that End of Days prophecy to consider . . ."

Percy put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small shake. "We'll figure out. We'll make this prophecy not about you."

Looking at his cousin, Nico could tell that Percy truly believed that. He, himself wasn't so certain. But he was glad to have Percy on his side.

"I don't want more people knowing about this than absolutely have to," said Nico.

"If we don't get Anubis out of your head, someone's going to find out sooner or later," said Percy.

"Let's hope for later then."

He waited to see if there would be an argument. He knew Percy. His cousin was all about trust and teamwork. He'd want to get his other friends to help them on this one. Annabeth, for certain, and probably Grover and Rachel too. And though Nico liked those three well enough, he was wary of them. His father thought him stupid and naïve, and Nico knew that to some extent, that was true, but he was learning better. Hades himself had taught Nico how few people could really be trusted. In fact, the only people Nico really trusted now were Anubis and Percy. Anubis, because the god was in his head, and he had no choice in the matter. Percy because his cousin had proven time and time again how far he was willing to go to help his friends, and for reasons unbeknownst to Nico, Percy considered him a friend.

"If that's what you want, then I won't tell them," said Percy after a long hesitation, and Nico released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Yet," Percy continued. "There may come a time when I have to tell someone."

"Use your best judgment," Nico told him. "I . . . trust you."

Percy must have known how hard those words were for Nico to say, because he clapped his cousin's shoulder and shook him again. "We'll get through this."

"Finished," said Sadie, walking back to the cousins with her brother. "As long as you don't throw anymore blood on the windows or walls, we should be good."