Nina's POV
And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And designer love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
I need someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child who saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
"That was pretty, Daddy," Freya said happily.
"Glad you think so, Sunshine," Apollo smiled. He picked Freya up and balanced her on his hip. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. "You alright, Sparkles?"
I sighed. "Just thinking about Lav and Percy. Do you think they're okay?"
Apollo kissed my cheek. "They're strong, Nina. They'll make it out alright."
Lav's POV
I was officially being overloaded by weird. First, we pass the Altar of Hermes. I had this strange dream there from my mom. I sent a message up to Camp. I was able to send it backwards thanks to some godly magic. I sent it to Rachel to give to the Romans. Hopefully, Reyna would take the initiative and come fetch the Athena Parthenos so the rift between Roman and Greek would close.
Bob was leading us through this black mass he liked to call Death Mist. We were off to see the Lady of Death Mist. Bob refused to say her name. I couldn't blame him. Saying Bob's name brought Bob to us. What if saying another name brought something much more powerful to us?
Bob made us stop when he saw a kitten. Percy recognized it as one of the saber-tooth-tiger kittens from the quest to save Artemis and Annabeth. Bob wanted to keep the kitten. He named it Little Bob.
We were walking through the Death Mist when dark shapes started forming a little way off. At first I thought they were the furies. Percy and I weren't nearly that lucky. The things came at us. I'm sure Nina would have been able to tell what they were in an instant.
"What are you?" I asked the lead one.
The arai, a voice hissed. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from all around us. The curses! I had never read about arai, but they didn't sound all that pleasant. The arai looked exactly how I had always pictured a robeless dementor to look. Their skin was gray and stretched creepily across their faces. They had dead eyes and their expressions were frozen, almost like a puppets. We were so screwed.
Nina's POV
This morning I woke up to find a weasel staring down at me. At least, that's what I thought it was when I first saw it. It was really a polecat with digestion problems. Hazel apologized profusely when she finally found the polecat, Gale. Apparently, it's one of Hecate's pets.
All Gleeson did all morning was complain about how rude the polecat was and how it refused to give him a straight answer. Apollo, Leo, Sirius, Tonks, Cassie, Remmy, and I were cracking up the entire time.
After breakfast, I went up on deck to look at the white cliffs of Croatia. Leo was on deck too, manning the controls. "Something bad is about to happen," I said as Hazel walked onto the deck.
"Yeah," she agreed. "That's why she sent Gale, to see how well we handle it and-"
"To see if we're worth helping," I finished ominously. Hazel nodded as she moved to stand next to me.
"Something is in the water!" Annabeth shouted. I looked up to see her in the rigging. I couldn't believe I had missed her when I was scouring the deck to see if anyone was up here. Suddenly, the boat lurched to the side. I grunted and went sprawling into Hazel as I lost my balance. She grabbed my arm, but I just dragged her down with me.
"Gahh!" Leo shouted. "It's eating the oars!"
Everyone quickly ran on deck. "Hey! HEY!" Piper yelled, waving a cornucopia she had picked up in Rome around. It was magic and spewing food into the water. "Eat this, ya stupid turtle!"
"Una tartaruga?"(A turtle?) I asked Apollo curiously.
He nodded and helped me up. "We're under attack."
I gave him a look that just screamed Seriously!
"You okay?" Frank asked as he helped Hazel up.
"Yeah," Hazel groaned. "Go!"
Frank pulled out his bow and arrows and ran to the helm. "Oars won't react!" Leo yelled. "Get it away! Get it away!"
"Styx – it's huge!" Nico shouted. "Port! Go port!"
The Argo II shuddered as more oars snapped. "No, no, no!" Leo shouted. "Dang slimey-shelled son of a mother!" Hazel, Apollo, and I ran to the stern. I couldn't believe what we saw. The turtle was the size of an island! I watched as it snapped off another half-dozen oars in its toothless mouth. "Stop that!" Leo wailed.
"Can the ship fly?" Hazel asked.
"Not with half the oars broken off," Remus groaned.
"There!" Cassie exclaimed. "Can you get us to those straits?"
I raised my hand and willed the water to push us away from the turtle and towards the straits. Leo swirled his Wii controler and we were sent forward even faster as cannons fired out of the stern. We shot into the channel. It was too thin for the turtle to get in. We ran into another problem though. The channel ended in a V. There was no way out.
"Well, the turtle can't get in, so at least we're safe," Piper said optimistically.
That didn't sound right. I've learned over the years that it doesn't pay to be optimistic. I was right. As soon as the words left Piper's mouth, an warning arrow flew within six inches of her face. We all studied the cliff. "Up there," Frank said, pointing. "Single shooter. See him?"
"Who the heck is he?" Leo asked.
Apollo scowled. "Sciron, a pirate son of Poseidon."
"Why am I related to all the weirdos?" I groaned.
"Guys," Tonks said. "There's a note."
Hazel grumbled, stormed over, and untied the note. She read out loud. "First line: Stand and deliver."
"Deliver what?" Gleeson asked. Hazel shrugged.
"There's more. This is a robbery. Send two of your party to the top of the cliff with all your valuables. No more than two. Leave the magic horse. No flying. No tricks. No gods. Just climb."
"Climb what?" Piper asked.
"There," Nico pointed at a white set of stairs climbing up the face of the cliff.
"I do mean all your valuables. Otherwise my turtle and I will destroy you. You have five minutes."
"Use the catapults!" Gleeson cried.
"P.S." Hazel read, "Don't even think about it."
"At least he's thorough," Sirius shrugged. We all looked at him oddly. He shrugged and leaned back against the rail of the ship.
"I'll go," Hazel said grudgingly. "It's my test. Hecate set this up as some sort of twisted challenge."
"I'll go with her," Jason sighed. And so, they began to climb the stairs. And we waited...and waited...and waited...then something interesting happened, wait, nope, still waiting. We waited or about half an hour until something finally happened.
"Jason!" Piper screamed as he went flying off the side of the cliff and into the turtle's mouth.
Apollo frowned. "That's-that's not Jason. That's just Mist. Hazel is controlling it."
"It sure looked like Jason," Leo snapped.
Apollo stared at him for a second. "You do realize I have about three thousand more years of knowledge than you, right?"
"Oh yeah," Leo blushed. Suddenly, a new figure came careening down off the side of the cliff. It wasn't Hazel or the real Jason though, it was Sciron. Sciron fell into his turtle's mouth, caught in his own trap.
"Impressive," Sirius grinned. A few seconds later, Jason had flown Hazel and himself down. Piper launched herself at her boyfriend.
"That was odd," Annabeth frowned. Hazel collapsed to her knees as frost began climbing up the sides of the ship and across the deck. She stared out ahead of her, like she was looking at something, or someone. She began speaking aloud.
"She's talking to Hades," Apollo whispered in my ear. "C'mon, let's go check on Freya. I told her to stay in your room." Apollo grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs.
Percy's POV
We are the arai, the voice said. You cannot destroy us. These arai things were seriously creeping me out. They had Lav, Bob, and me surrounded. Lav was pressed up against my shoulder.
"What are these things? she hissed.
"I don't know," I whispered back. I jabbed Riptide at one. Lav pulled her wand out and pointed it at the arai threateningly.
We serve the bitter and the defeated, the voice said. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you.
"I appreciate the offer," I said. "But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers." The nearest arai lunged at me, her claws extended. I slashed her in two and immediately felt a sharp pain in my chest.
"Percy you're bleeding," Lav gasped. "Oh gods, on both sides." I felt like a javelin had just run through me. Or an arrow...
These things dealt the curses from the slain. My mind flashed back to Texas two years ago. The quest into the Labyrinth. "Geryon," I said slowly. "This is how I killed him..."
Yes, the voice agreed. Feel the pain you inflicted upon Geryon. So many curses have been leveled at you, Percy Jackson. Which will you die from? Choose, or we will rip you apart!
I managed to stay on my feet. The blood stopped spreading, but I still felt like there was an arrow sticking out of my chest.
"If you kill one, it gives you a curse," Bob muttered unhappily.
"But if we don't kill them, they'll kill us anyway," Lav said unhappily.
Choose! the voice yelled. Will you be crushed by Kampê? Or disintegrated like the young telkhines you slaughtered under Mount St. Helens? You have spread much death and suffering, Percy Jackson. Let us repay you!
An arai lashed at Lav and she sent what looked like a severing charm at the arai's neck. It disintegrated, but Lav screamed almost immediately after. "I can't see!" she yelled. I remembered a Laistrygonian we had run into on a date. Lav had blinded it with her knife.
"I've got you," I promised, putting my arm around her. In truth, I didn't know if I could keep us both safe.
A dozen arai leaped at us, but Bob yelled, "SWEEP!" and knocked them all into dust with his broom handle. One after another, he killed the demons off. The curse never affected him.
"Bob, you okay?" I asked. "No curses?"
"No curses for Bob," Bob agreed.
The arai snarled and circled us. The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory.
Bob's broomhandle dipped. I was floored. At the time, I had been acting in self defense. I didn't stop to think what would happen to the Titan. All I cared about was protecting Nina, Thalia, Nico, and myself.
"Bob, don't listen to them," Lavender said. "They're evil!"
Bob slowly turned to face me. "My memory...It was you?"
Curse him, Titan! the arai shouted. Add to our numbers!
I felt guilt weighing me down. "Bob, it's a long story. I didn't want you to be my enemy. I tried to make you a friend."
By stealing your life, the arai argued. Leaving you in the palace of Hades to scrub floors!
Lavender grabbed my hand. She stared blankly ahead of her, still unable to see. "Which way, if we have to run?" she asked quietly.
Our only chance was to run if Bob didn't help us. That wasn't much of a chance at all. "Bob, listen," I tried, "the arai want you to get angry. They spawn from bitter thoughts. Don't give them what they want. We are your friends."
Even as I was saying it, I felt like a liar. I hadn't been there for Bob. What gave me the right to call him my friend?
You see his face? the arai growled. The boy cannot even convince himself. Did he visit you, after he stole your memory?
"No," Bob whimpered. "The other one did."
"The other one?" I asked.
"Nico," Bob scowled at him. "Nico visited me. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. That is why Bob helped."
I couldn't say anything. I felt to guilty. The arai attacked, and this time Bob didn't stop them.
"Left!" I yelled, dragging my blind girlfriend. I slashed through a dozen arai, not even registering the curses I inflicted upon myself. I had to get her out of here. I couldn't let her down. She was counting on me. She trusted me. The darkness was getting thicker. I realized why just in time.
"What?" Lav asked. "What is it?"
"Cliff," I gasped. "Big cliff."
"Which way then?"
I was about to chose a direction when the demon voice surrounded us again. Did you have a nice walk?
Lavender crushed an arai that tried to attack her with her bare hands. "Percy?" she asked, panic in her voice.
"I'm right here, Lav," I called over to her. I tried to pull her up against me, but every time I reached for her, she would vanish and reappear a few feet away.
"Percy!" Lav shrieked. "Why did you leave me?"
"I didn't!" I shouted. "What did you do to her?" I demanded of the arai.
We did nothing, the demons smirked. Your beloved has unleashed a very special curse. A bitter thought from someone you abandoned. You punished an innocent soul by leaving her in her solitude. Now her most hateful wish has come to pass: Lavender Brown feels her despair. She, too, will perish alone and abandoned.
"Percy?" Lavender asked. Tears were pouring out of her unseeing eyes, streaking her beautiful, grimey face.
"She wouldn't," I gasped. "She'd never curse me." Calypso wouldn't curse me, would she? The eyes of the demons were blurring together. I could feel myself slowly dying from all the curses. I did he only logical thing. I grabbed my sword and attacked all the demons.
For one exhilarating moment, I thought I was winning. I barely felt the curses. One was really dumb. I got an uncontrollable tic in my right eye. I knew I had killed a lot of monsters before, but I had never thought of it from the monster's point of view. Lavender was wandering farther and farther away.
As I stumbled toward her, a demon attacked my thigh. I quickly sliced through her before falling to my knees, doubling over in pain. The voice started speaking again. You have chosen the curse of Phineas...an excellent, painful death.
No, I couldn't die like this. I needed to keep Lav safe. If I died now, the demons would turn their attention to her. "Bob," I croaked. "I need you. I'm sorry."
He apologizes, shrieked the arai in glee. He regrets his crimes against the children of Tartarus.
"No," I gasped. "I'm sorry, Bob. I should've been honest with you. Please...forgive me. Protect Lavender." I didn't expect Bob to care about what I just said. I expected him to just keep staring at me with the hurt in his eyes.
Apparently, I did strike something in Bob. With a whirl of his broom handle, all the arai turned to dust. I tried to thank Bob, but I couldn't make a sound. That is, I couldn't until I saw Lav about to fall off the cliff. "Lavender," I tried to say. It came out more like "La-er." Bob's eyes widened. He ran to Lavender, scooped her up, and set her down on the ground next to me. Bob gently touched Lav's forehead. She instantly stopped struggling.
"Where?" she asked. "What?" She saw me and horror filled her face. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded. "What happened. She gently lifted up my head into her lap. Her tears were streaming down her face, dampening my blood-soaked shirt.
"Lots of curses," Bob sighed.
"Can you fix him?" Lavender asked. Her voice sounded so broken, like she would never be happy again. I could feel myself fading in and out of consciousness. "Bob?" Lav tried again.
"Iapetus," Bob said. "Before Bob, it was Iapetus."
"I like Bob better," Lav said, evening out her voice quickly. "Which do you like?"
"I'm not sure anymore," Bob sighed. "I cannot heal him."
"There has to be someway," Lavender pleading. I hated hearing her voice so broken.
"I SMELL HIM!" a voice yelled from the distance. I instantly recognized it. "BEWARE,SON OF POSEIDON! I COME FOR YOU!"
"Polybotes," Bob said. "He hates Poseidon and his children. He is very close now. There is one place we can go. There is a giant who might know what to do."
I really wanted to say, Bob, giants are not our friends. They will kill us, not help us! but I was too weak. I felt my body tingle as Lav placed a weightless charm on me. She lifted me up so I was leaning against her. "Giants are bad, Bob," Lav frowned.
"One is good," Bob insisted. "Trust me, and I will take you...unless Polybotes and the others catch us first."
Nina's POV
Jason, Nico, and I were walking through Diocletian's Palace, looking for his scepter. Apollo had wanted to come too, but Freya had made him stay behind and play with her. I didn't want her coming here. I could feel the godly power surrounding us. The magic scepter was supposed to have been buried with Diocletian.
"Look," I said, pointing ahead of us. There was a pale man with dark hair and russet angel wings.
"He's not a returned spirit or a creature of the underworld, so what is he?" Nico asked.
"A god," I replied. "I can feel his energy. We need to catch him." The angel god had flown forward quickly when he heard my voice. Jason grabbed Nico's and my arms and lifted us into the air with him. He sent us flying after the man.
Nico glared at Jason when he was set back down. "Don't ever touch me again."
"Are you okay, Nico?" I asked. Nico turned his glare on me. What had I done to him? I didn't think I had ever done anything to Nico. We were underground now. I was a little freaked out. It felt like the walls were caving in on us. I had never felt like this before. Was this Gaea's doing?
Suddenly, the winged god was in front of us. Jason jumped so bad he sliced the head off a bust of Diocletian with his sword. The god raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I am the West Wind."
"Zephyros?" I asked.
The god nodded. "Or Favonius," he shrugged. "I brought you here to tell you Diocletian's scepter hasn't been here since the Christians removed his coffin. My master took it."
"Aeolus?" Jason asked.
"Not that blundering idiot," Zephyros scowled.
"Eros," Nico muttered. "Cupid in Latin."
"Very good, Nico di Angelo. You and your companions must go to my master to collect the scepter. To gain the scepter, you must face the god of love."
Nico instantly paled. If facing the god of love meant what I thought it meant, Nico would have to reveal who he loved. "Nico?" I asked, soft enough so Jason couldn't hear. "Are you gay? Is that why you're so embarrassed? It's okay, Nico. I won't judge you for it, and neither will anyone else on the Argo II." Nico's wide eyes told me I had struck the diamond. If only I knew who Nico liked...
"Take us to Eros," Nico scowled at Zephyros. Zephyros smirked and snapped his fingers. We were instantly transported to Eros's palace.
"Do you know how I ender up serving Eros?" Zephyros asked as he appeared next to me. "I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary."
"He...?" Jason asked. "Oh..." Nico blushed slightly. He gave me a pointed look as if to say; I don't think he accepts gays. I bit my lip.
"Yes, Jason Grace," Zephyros frowned. "I fell in love with a dude. Does that shock you?"
"I guess not," Jason mumbled. "So...Cupid struck you with an arrow, and you fell in love."
"You make it sound so simple. Alas, love is never simple. You see, the god Apollo also liked Hyacinthus."
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Not because Apollo liked a guy, but because the thought of anyone else with Apollo made me feel like I was just another one of his girl/boyfriends. Over the millennia, Apollo must have had thousands of consorts. I was close friends with one of the results of Apollo hooking up with someone. It just gave me an uncomfortable feeling. I listened as Zephyros recounted how he had killed Hyacinthus. I couldn't help but wonder if Hyacinthus had been before my prophecy had been made. If he had, and he hadn't died, would Apollo have made him immortal and married him?
A strange sound rung through the still air. "That would be my cue," Zephyros said. "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Eros. If you let your anger rule you...well, your fate will be even sadder than mine." Zephyros disappeared as an arrow shot by my head. Nico, Jason, and I ducked under arrow after arrow until Nico got struck by one in the arm. The arrows began flying at Jason.
"Stop it!" Nico yelled. "It's me you want! Leave them alone! I've been to Tartarus and back. You don't scare me."
I scare you very, very much, a voice who could only be Eros said. Face me. Be honest.
The grass around Nico began wilting. He looked very nervous. "We don't have time for games," Nico growled.
Games? Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work ― a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you ― especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.
"Nico?" Jason asked. "What does this guy want from you?"
Tell him, Nico di Angelo. The daughter of Poseidon already knows part. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone. Nico let out a scream that turned into a whimper. He was unsure of himself.
"I left Camp Half-Blood because of love," Nico admitted. "Lavender...she-"
"Nico, it's okay," Jason said. He didn't understand. He thought Nico loved Lavender. Nico loved Percy. I put my hand on Jason's shoulder to stop him from talking.
You are afraid, Eros sneered.
Nico was shaking. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "I'll always be here for you, Nico," I said to him. "Even in death."
"I-I wasn't in love with Lavender," Nico continued.
"It's okay, Nico," Jason said. "It makes total sense. No one's going to judge you because of it."
"I hated myself," Nico said. "I hated Percy Jackson. I had a crush on Percy. If the others found out..."
"You'd have tons more people backing you," Jason said.
"And to unleash the fury of the gods on anyone who gives you trouble," I added.
"You have conquered me," Eros said as he appeared. He lay a hand on Nico's shoulder. "Your life will get easier. You will find love." He disappeared into the wind. A scepter was left on the ground.
"We should get back to the ship," Nico muttered.
"We won't tell," I promised.
"Thanks."