"I'm going with you."
"No you're not."
"You can't just leave me here. You kidnapped me, now you gotta put up with me." Isa argued as she followed behind the pale demigod. Her words seemed to bounce off his back for no matter what she said his answer wouldn't change.
"Well, if you'd like I can just take you back..." Nico trailed off, knowing very well she didn't want to go back.
"I'm good, thanks. Where are we going, anyway?" Isa shuddered. She wrapped the aviator jacket tighter around her shoulders to ward off the cold. When Nico had taken her from the manor he hadn't grabbed anything of hers, so he'd leant her his jacket.
"I'm following the ghost trail, and you're doing as you're told. How do you know I'm not just like your father anyway? How do you know I'm not going to take control of the ghosts for myself?" Nico said.
"I might not meet lots of people, but I know not everybody is inherently evil. My brother's not. Besides, you already told me some of your plan." Isa gave a smug grin as she picked up her walking pace to keep up with the demigod.
Nico sighed. He had no retort for that.
He looked at her. "Look, you're not coming in with me. It's too dangerous."
Isa frowned. "Then where am I going to stay?"
"You're going to hide and not come out regardless of what happens." Nico informed her. Wherever this ghost trail was leading them, it wasn't fair for him to involve Isa. These ghosts were vicious, taken from the depths of his father's realm.
The young girl pouted. "Fine. But all least tell me about this boyfriend of yours."
Nico spluttered and turned red, the shade thankfully masked by the dark cover of the night. "You're so nosy!"
"I'm eleven," she said as if that explained everything.
"He's not my boyfriend," Nico muttered. He pushed a branch out of the way as they continued to make their way through the forest. In the far distance Nico could see his next destination, another house.
"Of course not. Your crush then."
"No! Boy-friend! Friend who is male!"
Isa decided to let it slide. "Fine then. What's your 'male-friend's' name?"
"Gods you're insufferable. It's none of your business." Nico scoffed.
"Well you can't blame me. I'm bored. Talk to me. I don't get to meet people often. So shoot me, I'm curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
"Yeah? Well satisfaction brought it back." Nico glowered at her and she offered him an innocent grin.
The demigod sighed in defeat. She was never going to meet him anyway. "His name is Will. Happy?"
She beamed at him. "Very. What's he look like? Is he nice? Where's he from? Does he know about your whole 'Ghost King' thing?"
Nico groaned, beginning to regret bringing her along. It had proven to be nothing but a nuisance to have her with him, but he couldn't find it in his heart to abandon her or send her back. All she had were questions and then more questions. Most of which were about Will. Not that he particularly minded talking about the son of Apollo, but that was besides the point.
When they got close enough for Nico's comfort, he told Isa to hide up the tree. It was both a good hiding spot and vantage point. She'd be able to see everything from up there, with a clear view of the manor. The witch would be harder to spot up the tree, because few people walked around with their faces to the sky looking for run away children hiding in trees.
Nico gave her a hand up the tree and tossed up his bag after her, which she caught and wedged between a couple of sturdy branches.
"Stay here okay? I'll be back soon," Nico promised. Isa was hard to make out in the dark.
"Alright. But be quick."
With a short nod, Nico turned and scurried off into the surrounding bushes, creeping forwards towards the manor. He disappeared too fast to hear Isa's soft gasp.
"That's the Malfoy Manor!"
It was too late to warn him of what she knew. He was already hiding in the shadows at the stump of a tree. He did a quick headcount of the ghosts he could see. Combined with the numbers he'd counted back at the Clove Manor, this seemed to be the full scope of ghosts escaped from Hades' Realm. All he had to do now was find the perpetrator and tell his father where they'd gone and the rest was out of his hands.
This must be the main base of operations, meaning the owner of the house was involved in some way. Nico didn't need to do too much snooping, for already he knew the plans of this group. An attack on a place called 'Hogwarts'. Without the ghosts however, Nico could delay them a while for it would severely impact their numbers.
The son of Hades reached for the shadows when suddenly he heard his name, loud and clear to his left.
"Nico?" The demigod jumped and stifled a yelp.
"Shhh!" Nico whispered harshly.
The voice came quieter this time. "Nico, where are you? You've been missing for days."
Nico stilled. He knew that voice.
He glanced to the left and saw the flickering hologram of an Iris Message. Standing in the center was a tall blonde boy wearing an orange shirt.
"Will?" Nico exclaimed quietly. "What-"
"You suddenly disappeared, nobody had heard anything from you and Chiron didn't say anything either. I waited a few days but I got worried. If you're going to disappear you normally tell me first. So I got a little concerned okay?"
Nico sighed. "Look, this really isn't a good time, can I call you back some time? I'll tell you what's going on, I swear, but right now-"
"Who's there?" Nico flinched as a loud feminine voice echoed across the yard. Nico became silent and lay perfectly still, blending in with the scenery. He hoped Will understood and didn't say anything else.
"Over there..." a voice hissed.
Nico held his breath and gritted his teeth. Damn ghosts.
The demigod reached for the shadows, feeling them begin to wrap around him when a spark struck him and his body seized up momentarily, long enough for whoever it was to through something at his head. It struck him squarely on the side of his face and with a soft cry he lurched sideways, blood running into his right eye from the cut. His vision blurred and his heart pounded.
"Nico!" Will cried out. He couldn't do anything but watch as a lady clad in black with ridiculously bushy hair came along and pointed a stick at the boy. She muttered a word under her breath and a flash of light burst from the tip and disappeared upon contact with the son of Hades. His body jerked and his eyes rolled shut, unconscious.
The lady in black poked Nico experimentally and when she was sure he was out, she giggled and turned to the translucent creature trailing behind her. "Well done, you."
She picked Nico up by the neck of his shirt and with surprising strength, hauled him back up the hill to the manor.
Isa saw all of this from her vantage point and stifled a horrified cry when she saw the door slam shut behind them. Nothing good ever happened in there.
The young witch scrambled down the tree, heart lodged in her throat and crawled to the tree where Nico had hid. She saw a flickering light and approached. There was a tall boy with shaggy blond hair staring in shock at the place his friend was knocked out. When he noticed her his eyes flickered to hers.
"You need to get out of there, it's not safe," he warned in a hushed whisper.
"Where'd they take Nico?" she whispered back. He looked taken aback.
"How do you know his name?"
"I've been travelling with him. He saved me. Who're you?"
"I'm Will Solace, a friend. Listen, it's not safe, where are you?"
A cheeky grin surfaced on her lips because quickly disappearing, realising that was probably a really weird reaction.
"I'm Isa. We're in England hunting ghosts."
"England!" Will took a deep, steadying breath. "What's your last name? Get out of there and I'll call you in ten minutes."
She hesitated briefly. "Clove," she whispered and suddenly the vision dissolved. She scurried off deeper into the woods. Maybe he can help.
True to his word, ten minutes later his face appeared appeared before her and the witch skidded to a halt. "Where in England are you?" Behind him now was a girl, also blonde.
"Who's that?" Isa demanded. The more people involved, the worse.
"This is Annabeth, she can help, I promise. Where are you?"
Isa bit her lip. She could tell them where she was now, but that would do no good. She wasn't familiar with the area or layout of the Manor. All they'd do is get caught if they tried to stage a rescue - especially given the inhabitants of the place. However there was someone who did...
If they were anything like Nico, they should be able to get there quickly... "Meet me at the Kings Cross Station, tomorrow."
They were going to Hogwarts.
~~~~
IMPORTANT: So I'm coming to the States again, so my "Monday" is going to change to Monday in American time for the next four weeks or so while I'm there. If I end up missing an update, it'll be because I've either been hella busy while over there or I've got no WiFi or data access to upload the chapter. So yes, just a warning that updates may become a little wacky.
On that note I'M GOING TO COMIC-CON AND I'M SUPER EXCITED.
Peace,
BTSWD
Borntosingwithdrama