When You're Gone

Shadows

Nico loved the Mist. You could go out to the Empire State Building, swing your sword around while a hellhound is tailing you and no one would look at you funny. Yes, he had tried before when he was trying to get Mrs. O' Leary to listen.

If you got it, flaunt it. Just flaunt the weird in you!

Curse you, Perseus Jackson for saying that to Nico.

Will waved his hands. He slowly snuck to the borders, where it was all quiet and sleepy. The statue of Terminus stood still like a real statue, and Julia was nowhere to be seen.

They hid behind some trees, watching as the dim light of the fire crackling at the praetor's houses from a distance, inside the borderline. If you didn't know any better, you'd probably think: Woah! Cool terrain!, and walk straight in. Then Terminus will make you measure every blade of grass in the entire alley.

Ellen's Mist was awesome, but Terminus is a god. Gods are hardly fooled by the Mist. If this were to work, Ellen had to really up her game by a hundredfold.

"This isn't going to work." Nico knew saying this wasn't going to boost the team's morale, but, hey, he is the son of Hades. Light and inspiring people weren't his thing at all. "Isn't there another way? We could wait for him to come out."

WIll snorted. "You know Percy. Grover could play his reed pipes beside him, while the Minotaur holds a tap dance party next to him, and he won't wake up until it's time to eat. If we do wait, it'll be daytime and a hundred armed Roman demigods will be chasing after us like griffins to gold."

"I'll count to three," Cecil decided. "Once I say three, we'll make a beeline towards it. You ready? One, three!"

He leaped towards the statue of Terminus, Will guarding Ellen as she struggled to control the Mist. Nico soon followed, but Cecil was a skilled thief. He could run like a dryad running from Dionysus. Nico had some trouble catching up to him.

If I could shadow travel, it could save us a lot of pain and anguish, he said to himself. But, psych, curse you, Will.

They passed the statue god. The god didn't so much as move. Cecil ran towards the Senate house, which was poorly illuminated by a single light bulb.

"Is that Percy?" Nico whispered, running up next to him.

Cecil frowned. "I don't know the dude like you, so I'm gonna ask ya: is that Percy?"

He scowled. "I'm going to murder you; and no, I don't think that's Percy."

"You are absolutely correct."

They stopped in their tracks. Nico turned his head behind them. When he saw who it was, his heart turned to lead and dropped to his legs. This was the last person he wanted to face during a time like this.

Reyna.

"Just what," she said coolly, "are you doing here, in Camp Jupiter?"

* * *

Cecil gulped, he tried to put on a brave expression, but his neck was sweating like an ice melting away in an oven.

Nico balled his fists. "And just what are you thinking? Waging war, I suppose, almighty praetor. Did you force Percy into this?"

She was in her purple SPQR T-shirt and praetor's cloak, her armor nowhere to be seen for once. It was a rare sight to see the almighty praetor without her golden armor. Her sword was strapped to her waist. Nico knew even without armor, Reyna is a demon to rival Ares.

She crossed her arms. "Percy is capable of making his own choices." Her tone was flat but dangerous.

"So waging war is?" Cecil demanded. "And you allowed it to happen? What happened the last time, huh? It was that Octavian guy, you're repeating his mistakes!"