Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 26 - Nico

Chapter 26 - Nico

Milling around a small town, avoiding tourist's questioning gazes, and trying to conceal Amphitryon's physical appearance with his own shadows was not an idea of fun for Nico. But there he was, walking along one of the main streets, strolling awkwardly down the sidewalk, while Amphitryon lumbered ahead, the rifles on his back quivering, his bows and arrows rattling, his gadgets and other technical equipment hooked to his tool belt jingling with the noise of over a million pennies being spilled onto a marble floor all at once.

Yeah... definitley not a fun day for Nico.

He had to absorb nearby shadows with his own abilities, refresh himself for a moment, then let them spill over Amphitryon; a method somewhat similar to Hazel's mist. It blurred the god's appearance so he didn't entirely look like a cereal killer on the hunt for fox pelts. He now looked more like an angry business man, on the hunt for customers who gave him a poor performance record.

"It appears to be a church," the hunter muttered to himself when Nico picked up the pace to catch up with him. "Yes, a church is sheltering you... Very clever; very clever indeed, Cadmean vixen." 

"Uh, what...?" Nico asked, waving his hand through the air, pouring another droplet of shadows on Amphitryon, to disguise his appearance. 

"Nothing, nothing," the god murmured, his eyes on a tracking device that appeared to be making a series of beeping noises like a metal detector. 

"Oh okay," Nico said.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Amphitryon said. "Laelaps appears to have scented the fox south of north, and west of east. I know this because my dog and I share an empathy link. Yes, an empathy link is normally common between Satyrs and demigods, but being a god, we have our advantages."

"Huh?"

"South west..." the god said as if it were obvious. "But not entirely south west of the town. More like, south west of north east."

"Huh?"

Amphitryon stopped, turned around, and fixed Nico with an annoyed look. "I'll explain very slowly... Fox go up to the top of town..." the god raised his hands high as if he were describing north. "Then... Fox go down toward bottom of town." Amphitryon lowered his hands slightly as if speaking to a child. "Fox stay where he is, still towards top of town." He raised his hands slightly. "But not too far down that we passed by fox." The hunter stopped his hands in the middle as if making a 'tie' symbol, his eyes open very wide, his pupils dilating. "Nico understands...?" 

"Oh yeah, I understood the first time, you didn't need to explain," Nico said, brushing past the hunter and continuing down the side walk. He could hear the unmistakable noise of Amphitryon face-palming behind him, and he smirked slightly to himself.

Gods and their arrogance.

Continuing down the road, the god caught up to him. "Now as I was saying, since the fox has appeared to have moved slightly southward, my sensors indicate it's loitering either in, or near a church somewhere close by." 

"Well, that shouldn't be hard to find then," Nico said, stopping slowly.

"Why so?" Amphitryon asked. 

"Cause I'm looking at it right now," Nico said.

Sorry, but I think this will be the last update for tonight. I'll probably update a few short chapters tomorrow, but not so sure since school's starting up again.  I hate homework... so much...

But please leave a comment and a vote. I deeply appreciate the feedback. 

Talk to you all later, everyone!

Until next time