Indigo Eyes

Chapter 119

Percy had grabbed Will Solace as they made their way to the Plaza Hotel which had sort of become headquarters for the war effort.

Demigods had completely taken over the top floors. Campers and Hunters were crashed out on sofas, washing up in the bathrooms, ripping silk draperies to bandage their wounds and helping themselves to snacks and sodas from the mini-bars. A couple of timber wolves were drinking out of the toilets. Percy was relieved to see that so many of his friends had made it through the night alive, but everybody looked beaten up. "Percy!" Jake Mason clapped me on the shoulder. "We're getting reports –"

"Later," he said, covered in sweat and dripping in nerves. "Where's Cress?"

"The terrace. Annabeth's with her. We're trying to get a hold of Pollux. She's alive, man, but..."

Percy pushed past him.

He didn't care. He didn't care about anything except making sure she was ok.

Cressida was covered in blankets but still shivering as she lay on a lounge chair. Annabeth was holding her good hand while Silena was trying to dab away the sweat that lined Cressida's pale face. Even her eyes looked paler, like the colour and the life was being leeched from them.

Will then unwrapped the bandages to examine the wound and Percy became almost as pale as Cressida.

The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.

"Cressida..."

He choked up, the lump in his throat more like a boulder. That was the first time he used her full name in over a year.

"Stupid," she muttered. "But I had to keep up with you somehow. You jump in the Styx and I...."

Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Cressida. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

"Hang on," Annabeth said as she reached a hand under the blankets, pulling out a vial of Solace Solution from the pocket she'd seen Cressida stash it in earlier and Will beamed.

"Even better. You are going to be just fine but no more godly food for the next two days."

"No promises," Cressida murmured and Percy took her joking as a good sign.

"Percy, maybe you should hold her hand?" Will suggested, Annabeth nodding as she moved out of the way and Percy laced their fingers together, her skin stained red and hands sweaty.

"Hi," she whispered, her eyes barely open.

"Hey, Grape Girl," he said breathlessly, tears lining his eyes before Will began cleaning out the wound with the godly mixture.

Cressida made pained noises as she squeezed Percy's hand so tight his fingers turned purple, but he didn't care. It was nothing compared to the pain she was probably going through. Annabeth had a hand on Cressida's leg, her face cringing at the sounds her best friend made as Silena muttered words of encouragement.

Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek – a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily. The healing must've taken a lot of his energy.

"That should do it," he said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies." He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a pharmacy on Fifth. Normally, I would never steal –"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."