Chapter 13
"You want to send a dyslexic newborn vampire with ADHD and a human who also has dyslexia and ADHD to school with five other teenage vampires and another human?" I asked Carlisle in disbelief.
"Basically yes." Carlisle replied calmly.
"Is it just me that thinks this is a really bad idea?" I asked partially to myself and partially to the others in the room.
"No it's not just you." Nico said from the chair beside mine. On the plus side Nico didn't fall down the stairs, or out of a tree. He wasn't attacked by monsters or any rabid squirrels. Yes, I asked.
"It's a better idea then having two dyslexic and ADHD teenagers here all day with just Esme around." Carlisle commented. I sighed reluctantly before nodding.
"Don't expect me to do the homework though." I warned him and Emmett cheered from his seat.
"Two more for the Cullen table." He shouted causing Esme to glare at him.
"Emmett don't shout." She told him sternly.
"Yes mum." He said like a little kid causing me to stifle a laugh. This family is so weird but it's kind of comforting in a strange way.
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It was about an hour after the family meeting had finished and I was out in the woods again. I swear if there wasn't a woods in Forks I would go insane. Nico had decided to come with me to find the white wolf/wolves. It wasn't just me that wanted to know what in the name of Hades was going on lately. I was listening for any signs of movement not that I could hear anything other than birds in the trees and rabbits.
"How are you coping with all of this?" I asked Nico breaking the silence.
"All of what?" Nico asked me sounding slightly confused. A bit like a confused puppy.
"The whole vampire thing." I replied and he considered it for a moment before shrugging.
"Vampires aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I thought they were all mindless killers. Monsters. Though it doesn't seem that way after meeting you and the Cullen's. You all seem pretty much human. Nothing like I expected." Nico said.
"We are monsters. Once we give ourselves into the hunt we are pretty much mindless killers. We can hardly control ourselves. Heck, I want to kill you. I want to kill. Wether I'm human, vampire, Demi-god or even a Fury wanting to kill makes you a monster."
"In a way it's like humans killing animals for food. They pretty much do it to survive unless they're a vegetarian. A bit like the Cullen's drinking animal blood. Animals are killed by humans, humans are killed by vampires. It's like a food cycle. Humans have to have something that hunts them to prevent too much overpopulation."
"You don't seem particularly bothered by the fact I want to kill you." I noted and he shrugged.
"Lots of things have wanted to kill me in the past plus the fact that pretty much everyone I care about other than my half-sister Hazel is dead." He replied.
"You honestly don't seem to realise that I can kill you before you can even blink." I sighed. "Also, Hannah and Abby were the only people I knew. They're both dead. I have no-one. That doesn't mean I won't have people in the future. It doesn't mean you won't have people in the future." I told him.
"People don't want to get to know the Son of Hades. They're either scared of me or hate me because of my father. I hardly go to Camp Half-blood because despite having helped saved the world twice I'm still an outcast."
"I'm a Demi-god vampire, Nico. As far as I know the only one ever to exist." I commented before smiling slightly. "We can always form an outcast club." I said seriously. We glanced at each other before laughing. I don't even know what was that funny. It just was.
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After over half an hour of literally just wandering around the forest with Nico with no signs of any white wolves anywhere we gave up like the determined people we are. Nico and I were currently both in my room, I was sitting on my bed and he was sitting on the chair at my desk. Somehow despite neither of us being that sociable we had been talking for the whole of the half an hour in the woods and also now. Not even about anything particularly just random things.
It was in the middle of a sentence about strange phobia's (don't ask) that I heard a loud growl. "Did you hear that?" I asked Nico quietly not sure if I had been imagining it.
"The growl?" He asked and I nodded. "Yeah I did."
"It sounded like hellhound." I muttered just loud enough for Nico to hear and not any of the vampires downstairs. "I just hope none of them heard it."
"Meet me at the edge of the forest." Nico muttered back before melting into the shadows. I ran with vampire speed to the end of my room and opened the balcony doors quickly but quietly. Silently, I shut the doors behind me and jumped up onto the balcony railing before jumping down two stories and landing in a crouch on the grass. I didn't even pause before running to the edge of the forest where Nico was Stygian Iron blade already in hand.
I pressed down on my heart ring and my celestial bronze sword formed in my hand. "Let's go." I whispered and began to run at a pace I knew Nico would be able to keep up with fairly easily. We both ran pretty much silently through the forest, me using my vampire senses to track the hellhounds. There was no doubt in my mind there would be more than one. With monsters grouping together so much lately it was certain.
After less than a minute of running I ducked behind a bush and Nico followed my example ducking down next to me. The close proximity really wasn't doing anything to help me not want to kill him. Carefully I looked through the leaves of the bush to see five hellhounds in the clearing Nico and I go to. They were sniffing around probably trying to track our scents.
I glanced over to Nico who nodded. We both took a breath before standing up and stepping into the clearing. Straight into the view of the hellhounds. Immediately, one hellhound lifted its head to see us and growled alerting the others of our presence. Then all five hellhounds began running towards us.
I raised my sword and sidestepped out of the way of the first hellhound creating a fairly shallow but long cut in its side as I did so. A second hellhound leapt up into the air obviously aiming for my head. I ducked down and raised my sword stabbing it straight through where its heart should be as it sailed overhead turning the hellhound into golden dust that rained down on me.
The hellhound that I had cut and another hellhound had used the time that their dead hellhound had bought them to begin circling me so one was always at my front and one was always at my back. After a split second of though I shot a small ball of light from the palm of my hand at the wolf in front of me which momentarily blinded it allowing me to stab the other hellhound, which began advancing on me, through its skull.
By this time the third hellhound had recovered and was standing in front of me growling.
More of us shall come little Olympus. It's only a matter of tim-
I pressed a charm on my bracelet causing a dagger to appear in my hand which I threw at the hellhound silencing the voice. When the voice fell silent at the death of the hellhound you could say I internally freaked out. How in the name of Hades did I just hear a hellhound speak? They don't even speak. I understood it though and it called me 'little Olympus.' Whatever that means.
All of this ran through my head in only a second and I allowed myself another second to collect myself before turning my gaze to Nico who was stabbing the last hellhound through the heart and killing it. The hellhound dissolved into gold dust which floated down to the ground. I scanned him over for injuries even though I could smell none before slowly sitting down on the ground resting my head on my right knee which was raised.
I was aware of Nico making his was over to me and sitting down in front of me but I didn't move. "It spoke to me. I don't know how I understood it but it spoke to me. Told me more would come and called me 'little Olympus.' whatever that's meant to mean. Why can't things go back to normal? Me, still be on some dead end of a quest fighting monsters that don't talk to me every other day but not Sunday. They never seemed to attack on Sundays." I said laughing bitterly at the fact. "But no I just had to get bitten by a vampire effectively becoming the first- whatever you want to even call me. My dad, Artemis and Aphrodite seem to know something about me that no-one else knows and now your dad is involved in this but even he doesn't know what's going on. Artemis's wolves seem to be following me but then disappear into thin air. Aphrodite comes and visits basically gives me a charm to appear human, tells me I'll need it someday then disappears without any explanation as to why I will need it. A crack appeared on Olympus and Aphrodite seemed to know more about it than she was letting on to anyone, though Artemis and my dad probably know as well considering they're like best buddies now. Just when I think things can't get any more confusing a hellhound talks to me, pretty much threatens me and calls me 'little Olympus.'" I finished all my stress and annoyance coming out in my words. Why can't I just be told what's going on for once?
"Arabelle, look at me." Nico said softly and I lifted my head to look at him reluctantly. "I don't know what's going on either but I'm going to help you find out ok? I'm not going to disappear until we find out what's going on no matter how long it takes. Your stuck with me now." He finished still speaking to me softly and gave me a faint smile at the end. It was the first time I'd ever seen him smile.
"Thank you Nico." I told him and returned the faint smile.