the Lost Son

Chapter 4

Later that night, Nico ended up getting a voicemail from Will, as he'd fallen asleep before the blonde could call. Thanks to Leo and Annabeth before he died, most phones and technology worked within camp and monsters couldn't use the signals outside of camp to track demigods as easily.

"Papa, did Dad get home safe?" Dakota asked the next morning as she woke up, seeing Nico was awake but he didn't look too good, like something was wrong.

"I don't know." Nico replied with a sigh.

"What do you mean? He called you, right? Like you said?" Dakota was suddenly worried. Nico picked his phone back up and then replayed a voicemail.

"Hey, Neeks. I got home safe. I already miss you all. Let's hope the twins make up soon, stop fighting as much." She heard her dad say in the voicemail. "Well, its late and I should get to bed for work. Love all of you."

"He did get home safe...?" Dakota said after a moment, confused. "Thats what he said?"

"Are you not hearing what I'm hearing? He said he's leaving, Dakota. He blocked my number too." Nico replied and it became clear to Dakota that she wasn't hearing what Papa was hearing.

"Thats not at all what it said." She protested. "He would never-"

"Everyone leaves eventually, Dakota. They always do." Nico snapped, causing her to flinch from the venom in his words. She's never seen this side of him before and it scared her. Quickly changing her clothes, she tried to go find Avery, but he was expertly avoiding her and was nowhere to be found. She asked around and no one knew where he went that day. Dakota ended up hanging out with Vivi that day, to take her mind off things, praying that it was all an act, that it was fake. As she sat next to Vivi at the campfire later that night, Avery finally showed up.

"Papa's acting weird." He said as he slid into the sat next to her, whispering quietly. "He thinks dad left but that's not what the voicemail said." This was the most he'd said to her in the past two days but she was at least thankful he was talking to her

"Something's not right here." She replied. "Same thing happened this morning. I couldn't find you."

"I...i want to know what's going on. What happened to dad? Why are we hearing one thing but Papa's hearing another?" Avery said but right as she finished speaking, she noticed Rachel, the Oracle who had been seated nearby, suddenly seize up, eyes glowing a bit as green smoke trailed out of her mouth and nose. Everyone fell silent immediately as she began to give her prophecy, tension hanging in the air.

"Two opposites search once more,

The sun has left, and the dead is back to before.

Children of the sun and the dead shall halt their fight,

To search for the missing light,

To the place where the child of the dead was slain,

To discover where the sun is chained.

Create a bridge between every world,

Before reality is unfurled.

Together, they face the trials for better or worse

For family is either a blessing or a curse."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Rachel collapsed, and the nearest camper caught her before she could fall and gently lowered her to the ground. Murmurs erupted from the group of demigods as they tried to figure out what the prophecy could mean. Dakota furrowed her eyebrows for a moment as she thought.