Chapter 32
They appeared atop a tall tree. Nico clung to the branch next to Isabella, looking around to check if they'd been spotted. Everyone carried on walking by, so he assumed they hadn't been, and began to climb down, gracefully swinging from branch to branch. "Come on, Is. I'll catch you if you fall!" He grinned cheekily at his twin and she stuck her tongue in in reply, lowering herself down.
"We're looking for a Magnus, right?" Nico asked. Issy nodded. "Alright. You know what he looks like?" Issy pulled out a picture Annabeth had given her and showed it to Nico.
"He looks like this." She told him. Nico nodded.
"Let's go find us a Magnus, then."
The twins wandered the park for half an hour until they stumbled across two teenagers, looking as though they were in deep conversation. One of them, a boy wearing a beanie, had his hands wrapped around a necklace he was wearing. The other, a girl, Isabella thought, although she could have been wrong, had her hand on the boys knee in a comforting gesture. Isabella turned to Nico, pretending to start a friendly chat. "What?" Nico asked, suddenly alert and fearing danger.
"Just pretend to talk to me," Isabella said, "I want to listen to what they're saying." Nico exhaled, a slight laugh, and shook his head.
"Okay." Isabella tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and began gesturing slightly with her arms, faking an appearance of talking.
"Nah, Annabeth knows what she's doing. It'll be fine."
"You know who her parent is?" The girl asked.
"Annabeth wouldn't say. Said it was complicated. We'll find out eventually."
"It'll all be fine Magnus. Although, if she doesn't hurry up and show her face soon, we might as well leave without her." Isabella nodded at Nico, and sheepishly approached the bench.
"Magnus?" She asked. The boy looked up.
"Isabella!" He said, standing with a grin on his face and sticking out his hand. Isabella hesitantly shook it.
"Who's this?" The girl asked, pointing at Nico.
"I could say the same about you." Nico retorted.
"Hey." Isabella interrupted. "Uh, I hope it's alright, but I brought my brother, Nico, with me. He's not staying for the quest, he just didn't want me to come here alone." Magnus shook Nico's hand.
"I'm Alex." The green haired girl kept her hands firmly by her side, and Isabella felt like the girl was probably quite hostile. She felt something else as well, something she couldn't quite place, but filled her with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Nico was firing questions at Magnus and Alex, but Isabella's mind was elsewhere. There was something off about these two. What was it?
"Where will you be taking her?" Nico asked in a threatening tone.
"Um, wherever we need to go, really." Magnus had a weird look on his face.
"And you'll look after her?"
"I'll try my best."
"Not good enough. My sister has been through too much. If you don't bring her home safe, there will be consequences." Suddenly, Isabella grabbed Nico's arm and pulled him away.
"Di immortales Is, what?" Nico asked as he stumbled backwards.
"Nico, they're dead."
"What? No they're-" Nico's brow furrowed as he used his power, checking their life forces. Their non- existent life forces.
"Father of Zeus, how did I not realise that sooner?" Nico was shocked at himself. He was always on guard. How did he miss something as important as this? Grabbing his sister's hand, Nico shadow travelled them behind the two dead people and held a sword to Magnus's back. He stood very close so that no one could see what he was doing. Magnus held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. Isabella had her dagger held to Alex's neck. The girl kicked Isabella in the knee, but she stood firm and kept her balance.
"Dude, chill out." Magnus said, trying to calm the situation.
"Who. Are. You?" Nico growled. Magnus laughed nervously.
"Did Annabeth not tell you? We're einherji. We're descendants of Norse gods who died with a blade in their hand. I'm a son of Frey, Alex here is a child of Loki." Nico took a step back.
"Seriously?" Isabella asked, confused. "How many gods are there? Apparently there's Egyptian gods on top of Greek and Roman gods, and now you're telling me there's Norse gods. Di immortales, how does that even work?" Alex shrugged, then hissed as the dagger dug slightly into her neck because of the movement. Isabella dropped the dagger, but still clutched it in her hand, ready to defend herself.
"Ok. I'm going to Iris-message Annabeth. I'll be back in a second. Issy, you alright if I do that?" Isabella nodded and smiled comfortingly at her brother. Nico looked around and went to find some water he could place a call from.
"So you are actually dead?" Isabella asked the two einherji. They turned to face her.
"Yeah." Magnus said. "We are. Weird, right?"
"Not the weirdest thing I've ever heard." Isabella bit her lip and looked at the ground. How could life be this weird? This had to be some weird fever dream, and if she just went along with it, she'd wake up, back with mama and Nico and Bianca and they'd all be fine.
"So what's the deal with you and goth boy? How did you know we were dead?" Alex asked. Magnus elbowed her arm.
"A little more tact, Alex. She's doing us a favour."
"Er, I'm a daughter of Hades. It's kind of my thing."
"The god of the underworld?" Magnus asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah." Issy didn't know how she felt around this topic of conversation, so kept her answer brief.
"So what can you do?" Magnus pursued the subject, curious.
"I, um... Well, I can control the dead. And shadows. I can summon skeletons and stuff. I've even vaporized monsters before. So, yeah..." Issy trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. Magnus exhaled through his nose, a quiet laugh.
"Cool. It's funny, we're polar opposites, you and I. I heal people, you know? Keep them alive." Issy smiled at him awkwardly, wondering when her brother would come back. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe she should just turn around and- no. She had to do this. She'd said she'd help, and it was written in a prophecy after all. Alex had stayed oddly silent for a while, but she suddenly began speaking.
"Hang on, if you can control the dead, does that mean you can control us? Because I'm not ok with that."
"Um, I don't know. I'm not sure I'd even want to try and do that. Er, look, sorry, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it."
"It's ok." Magnus said. "If Annabeth trusts you, then I trust you. And I hope Alex does to." The girl had a look on her face that obviously meant she was still undecided. An awkward silence settled in the air. Issy wasn't sure if she should say something. She opened her mouth, but luckily at that moment Nico appeared next to her.
"Their story checks out. Annabeth says sorry she forgot to mention it." He then turned to address the two dead demigods. "So when do you leave?" He asked.
"As soon as possible." Magnus replied, a sympathetic smile tugging at his lips. Nico took a deep breath and nodded.
"Ok. I'm just going to say goodbye to my sister." Nico beckoned with his head that his sister should follow him as he walked away from Alex and Magnus. She did so, a look of anxiousness on her features.
When Nico felt satisfied that they could say their goodbyes privately, he lapsed back into his native Italian. "Are you ok with this?" He asked Issy, his voice laced with concern. Issy let out a long breath, then nodded.
"Yeah. I think so. I've kind of got to be. And if anything happens, well then I can just Iris-message you." Nico pulled his twin into a tight embrace.
"Don't you dare die." He mumbled into her hair. "Or I'll kill you." Issy grinned slightly at that.
"I'll try not to." She replied.
"Good. I'll be checking up on you, you know that, right?" Nico said. "If anything happens, I will be right there."
"And I'll be doing the same." Isabella promised. "If you even think about dying while I'm away, I will kick your ass." Nico smiled as he pulled away from the hug. "Love you, Neeks." Issy told him.
"I love you too, piaga." Nico said. (A/N- 'Piaga' means 'annoying girl' in Italian). Isabella stuck her tongue out at him and Nico laughed as he took a step backwards. "I'll see you soon."
"Yes." Issy agreed. "See you soon." And with that, Nico stepped into the shadows and disappeared.
Alex and Magnus were back in deep conversation as Isabella approached them again. Alex noticed her first, and turned Magnus to face the girl. "You ready?" Alex asked her. Isabella nodded slowly, took a deep breath and sighed. "Yes. Let's go."
A/N- Eh up lads! It's another chapter, which I would love reviews for. Thank you so much to the reviewer who called themselves 'hi', who's reviews gave me the kick up the arse to finish this chapter (which has been in the works for a long time). I hope it's okay! And as always, PLEASE REVIEW!! Ta very much.
~Alaya out :)