I have a horrible nightmare. I hear Caloses's voice. You may have escaped me, Miss Shane, but you have a greater enemy. What enemy? I want to say, but my voice isn't working. Good luck. Then, his evil laugh jolts me awake. Nico is still at my side, holding my hand, asleep. I look at Dylan. I blink. My breathing speeds up. My heart rate picks up. I look at Nico. He's still asleep. I look back to Dylan. Or should I say, Dylan's bed.
Because Dylan is gone.
I gently pry Nico's hand from my own. I then slip silently out of bed and creep over to Dylan's. He is indeed gone. I grab Nico's jacket and slip out of the Big House. I sprint silently across the lawn, my ankle fully healed. Gotta love ambrosia. I creep into the Hades cabin. Nico's bedspread is disheveled. He must have gone looking for me when I took so long to return. Other than that, the room seems normal. I duck out. It crosses my mind to check the Apollo cabin, but I can't think of any way to do it without seeming stalker-ey or full out breaking into the cabin. I jog a little farther to the edge of the woods. I scale a nearby tree and scan the camp. Everything seems normal. Where is he? I slide down the tree. I hear a branch crack and I whirl around. Suddenly, someone whacks me in the back. I turn and punch the attacker in the face. They kick my legs out from under me and I kick them in the stomach. I roll to the side as they jump for me. They grab my hair and drag me to me feet. I grab for my hair, but my attacker slams me into a tree. I fall forward and my attacker kicks me onto my side. They jump on me, dragging my wrists above my head and tying them. They pull off the mask they are wearing and I gasp. My attacker laughs. "Oh come on, Shane. You knew you hadn't seen the last off me." Sitting on top of me is Ryan, daughter of Hermes.