Melpomene (PJO)

21. Pan's Labyrinth

I only knew Mason for two weeks, too, Mari thought. I still understood him. Or I thought I did.

"What is it with you?" Percy asked. "Why do you keep defending him?"

"Hey!" Rachel interrupted. She'd been sat on the other wall with Nico. Mari couldn't imagine either of them felt the most comfortable with this - neither of them had even met Luke until six hours ago. Gods, had everything really happened in less than half a day?

Rachel continued. "Knock it off. We have other things to worry about."

"Stay out of it, mortal girl!" Annabeth snarled. Whatever miniscule progress she'd made with the redhead had clearly been flushed down the drain. "If it wasn't for you..."

Annabeth broke down into sobs again. This time, she let Mari squeeze her shoulder but it didn't seem to give her much comfort. Mari wasn't sure how long Annabeth cried. The rest of them sat around her as she sobbed, in a heavy silence.

Nico was the one who broke it.

"We have to keep moving," he said. "He'll send more monsters after us."

They stood up and started walking again. None of them asked Rachel, or even Mari, for directions. They just walked the same way they had before - away from Kronos. After a little while, they turned into a natural cave, stalactites covering the ceiling, and they had to be more careful not to fall as they went. Nico hung back, falling into step alongside Mari.

"Your brother," Nico whispered. "The one you talked about at the Triple G Ranch. He's... gone, isn't he?"

Mari startled. She looked ahead, but the others weren't paying attention. Percy and Annabeth were walking side by side, not talking, and Annabeth had her arms crossed. Rachel was behind them, looking like there were a thousand other places she'd rather be. Mari looked back at Nico, nodding.

"I... I think he died a very long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Be sorry for him, not me, I don't deserve it."

"You said that he was allied with Luke."

Nico didn't try to refute her statement but he didn't agree with it, either.

"That isn't good. My father won't look kindly on it and neither will the judges of the dead. It means he's probably looking at a one-way ticket to the fields of punishment. You know that, right?"

"I was trying not to think about it." Mari scowled.

"Oh," said Nico. "Well, there might be a way I can help you. Help him, too."

Mari froze mid-step, her heart pounding. Nico hastened to continue, shaking his head. "I can't bring him back, don't get your hopes up! The dead have to stay where they are. I kind of just learnt that, the hard way."

"I don't want you to bring him back," Mari said. The words were just as surprising to her as they seemed relieving to Nico. Mari realised something. She didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself for what she'd done to Mason, but a part of her couldn't help but feel relieved that he was gone. Mari's gut clenched. How could she think that? How dare she think that? She'd killed Mason. What kind of awful person killed her own brother and then wanted him to stay that way? What was wrong with her? She gulped. "I just... I don't want him to suffer down there. He's suffered enough."

"That I can do something about," Nico told her. "Maybe. I don't know if it would work, but my Dad is technically in charge of the judges of the dead. He can overrule their decisions, if he has reason to do so. I don't know if it would work, but I can ask him to go easy on your brother, if you want."