Half Human

Chapter 8: Hades's Anger- Where to Turn?

Will sat in the silent room, his heart in his stomach and his hands motionless on his lap. Chiron, Clarisse, Conner, and Travis were seated as well on the couches while Thanatos stood against the back wall. The only one missing was Nico, who had been out all day. He still didn't know.

Hazel was sleeping in Nico's bed. It was the only place she still felt safe.

Nico opened the door and peered into the room, his eyes narrowed in confusion, his aviator jacket on like usual. "Look, I'm sorry for skipping out on work, but I'm back now. Promise. So why's the coffee shop closed?"

Chiron gestured him to close the door. "Nico... Investigators killed Marie."

Anger. More anger than Will had ever seen crossed Nico's face. He wasn't sure how anyone could stand to hold that much anger.

Nico punched a hole in the wall, a picture nearby falling and breaking. "What about Hazel? Is she safe?"

Chiron nodded. "She's sleeping in your bed."

Nico took a deep breath. His eyes were red. "They saw her face, didn't they?"

Another nod.

"Damn it!"

"When the time is right, we'll send her to another city," Chiron continued. "It's the safest way to keep her out of their sight-"

"Hell fucking no!" Nico denied. "She just lost her family, there's no fucking way she's leaving me. I turn eighteen in January. I'll adopt her. She'll be mine. But you're not sending her away!"

"Nico, they saw her face-"

"Then we'll kill them!" Nico gestured to Thanatos. "We have Thanatos, and even Clarisse, and the Stoll's. We can work together. We'll kill them."

Thanatos let out a low breath. "Nico, if we kill the Gods, more will come swarming in. It won't solve anything and you know this."

"But-!"

"Nico!" Thanatos snapped. "You're letting your anger control you! Chiron doesn't like it any better than you, but he's thinking rationally."

Nico flipped him off before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him. All Thanatos did was sigh.

Will didn't share the anger that Nico did. All he felt was uncontrollable guilt and dread. Yes, he had saved Hazel, but he had let Marie die.

Those Gods had killed an innocent woman while thinking they were doing righteous work. How many more cases like this were out there?

Ghouls were being legally slaughtered. It was a genocide. And not one human gave a damn.

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Percy left the meeting with even more conflicting thoughts than the day before. They were hunting a child. They had killed her mother.

"Remember," Athena had warned, "She's seen our faces. Be careful."

Yeah, like a child could ever kill them. Percy went out to the bar that night with the two other investigators that had helped capture the woman, Pollux and Castor. Best friends, he soon learned.

"We always come here," Pollux chatted as they sat at the bar. "Serves great wings. Castor gets the same thing every time."

Castor rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should try what I get instead of dissing it."

"What do you get?" Percy asked, just to be polite. But he still wasn't sure who he was sitting with. Murderers like Athena? Did they even think of her as a murderer?