Nico
There was a cave. That, Nico had been expecting. What he wasn't expecting were the plants and trees that sprouted out from the seemingly dead soil.
Nightshade, oleander, foxglove, wisteria, lilies, daffodils, hydrangeas, and azalea blossomed along the rocky cliff and, from what he could see in the dark cave, also lined the cave walls. Cedar, ash, pine, and silver birches also littered the cliff, leading into a dense canopy beside the cave entrance.
A freaking forest was growing here, on the top of a cliff, in Tartarus.
Granted, all the flowers were highly poisonous, but it still amazed him that such life could exist here in Tartarus.
"How did you. . . " Nico's voice trailed off.
Raven smiled a true, genuine smile that lit up her face. "I have some power over the earth." She wiggled her fingers and the rock beneath her feet rose a foot. "And..." she hesitated before saying, "someone told me that I need more life in my life."
Oh? Nico stared at her. She'd met another person? Nico was about to inquire after the bone she'd tossed her way when he looked at her face. It was as emotionless as ever, but that was pain and agony, the dying, aching kind, swimming in her beautiful golden eyes.
"So, is it just, like, a cave?" Nico asked, changing the topic. He walked down the rocky path that led to the cave entrance.
"No. I mean, yes, but no," Raven replied quietly, following him.
Nico stepped into the cave. "Are there lights or something?"
Raven laughed. "Of course. Not everyone can see in the dark." She flicked her fingers and lights ignited along the cave walls in lamps.
"That's-what is that?" Nico asked, peering at the lamps.
Raven smiled grimly. "Pure energy."
Nico gaped at her. Pure energy? How in Hades was that even possible? Her mother and father are both primordial gods, he reminded himself.
"It's a cave system," Raven called, her voice echoing through the stone. "I created it. There's the central room- the one you're in now- a library, two bedrooms, and another chamber for eating and stuff."
A library, huh. Trapped in Tartarus, yet she has a library. This girl needs to meet Annabeth, he thought to himself, shaking his head. Immediately, his thoughts sprung to him. Nico shoved it back down.
"How did you get all this?" he asked, joining Raven in the mess room.
"Uh," she started. "Borrowing?"
Nico sighed. Of course. Borrowing. Then again, he couldn't imagine Nyx giving her daughter an allowance.
Raven raised her arm and a section of the wall disappeared, revealing a black and purplish box. "Don't," Raven warned as Nico examined it. "It's colder than Khione's coldest ice."
Gods, that was cold. Nico drew back. "Is that a fridge?"
Raven sighed. "If that's what you want to call it." She reached into the fridge and drew out a chunk of ice. Upon closer inspection, Nico realized that it was a frozen meal on an even more frozen plate.
Raven held a hand over it and the strange purple-black fire formed at her fingertips, melting away the colder-than-Khione's ice, which was drawn into her other hand.
"Here's your food," Raven announced. "A sandwich. You're not vegetarian, are you?"
Nico shook his head. "Thanks."
Raven sat on the floor of the cave. "What does it taste like?"
"Mmm," Nico mumbled around his mouthful of chicken-lettuce chipotle sandwich. "Good."
Raven sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could eat."
Nico put the sandwich down on the plate, not hungry anymore. "What does it taste like?"
"What does what taste like?" Raven asked, turning to look at him.
"Blood."
"Depends on the creature," Raven replied. "Monsters all taste the same, except for empousai, which tastes like human blood-" she stopped. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Nico nodded.
Raven gazed at him before continuing, "Empousai blood taste like human blood mixed with a bit of spicy flavour to them. Human blood," she sighed. "Human blood tastes like nectar or liquid sunshine. It's delicious. It also gives a surge of energy that feels like liquid power surging through your veins."
She licked her lips. "It also sustains me for longer, up to a week if need be."
"When was the last time you drank human blood?" Nico asked.
"A hundred twenty-seven years ago."
Nico started. "Why? If it tastes so good, why that long?"
Raven smiled sharply. "Are you offering?"
"N-no," Nico replied. "No, absolutely not."
"My reasons are none of your concern," Raven answered, her gaze sharp. "Finish your food. The room on the right is yours. There's water in the room."
She stood up from the floor and stalked down a tunnel without a backward glance.
Nico picked up his food, staring after her, and chewed thoughtfully.
Not wanting to use her magic because of memories, even though her power was almost unlimited.
Someone telling her that she needed more life in her life and she listened.
Frozen food in the fridge and water when she only needed blood.
Swearing off human blood though it tasted the best.
Two bedrooms.
The cold, sarcastic, vicious, cruel mask that she hid behind and the walls she'd put up.
The anguish and pain in her golden eyes.
And, the pieces clicked together.
Nico hurriedly finished his sandwich, grabbed his backpack from where it lay on the ground, and headed towards the room Raven had told him to stay in.
He found the room with no problem and glanced down the tunnel before entering. The only thing that was in the room was a couple of rocky ledges, a hook made of rock, and a mat of something white and fluffy. One of the ledges held several bottles of water, and Nico quickly opened one and drank it, putting a few more in his bag. He turned his attention towards the mat.
Was that sheep wool? Nico rubbed it between his fingers. "Yep, sheep wool," he muttered. How did she get it? Was it borrowed? Sent from her parents? Nico doubted that. Wait, he thought. If her mother is Nyx, then her brother would be Thanatos. And Thanatos worked for his father.
Why haven't I heard of her before? Nico thought.
He set his bag on the rock ledge and looked around the room carefully. There has to be something that proves my theory, he thought.
And so, the hunt began. Nico checked every crook and cranny, for what he didn't know, hidden doors, cracks, anything, that would show that there was someone else before him. Nico didn't know why, but he really wanted to find out more about Raven and her past. She was . . . . interesting, to say the least.
After checking every crack and inch of the room, Nico ran his hand through his hair in frustration and plopped down on the fuzzy mat.
There had been nothing. Nothing to show that this room had been occupied before. Nico stared up at the cave ceiling. The only other option was Raven's room, but that was definitely out of the question. Maybe she destroyed it, he thought, and immediately scratched that. If it was precious, she'd likely kept something. But where?
Ten minutes later, it hit him.
Nico jolted upright and crept out of his room, looking for the library. After a couple turns, he stumbled into it.
The library wasn't huge, but it was larger than he'd thought. There were at least ten rock shelves, each around seven feet high, with books in each one of them.
How long is this going to take? Nico wondered. He sighed and started his detection.
After checking the walls and ground and still turning up with nothing, Nico was about ready to give up. Sweeping his eyes across the shelves and shelves of books one last time, Nico walked to the entrance of the cave and prepared to leave when the flapping of wings shook him out of his reverie.
He lunged behind a bookshelf just as one of Raven's ravens flew into the room. This one had silvery undertones beneath it's glistening black feathers and more speckles of scarab green, lapis blue, and royal purple. It perched on one of the many rock ledges littering the cave and fixed its amber eyes on him.
"Umbra?" Nico hissed. "What are you doing here? Is Raven coming?"
The bird turned her head and Nico took that for a no. "Why are you here?"
Umbra clicked her beak and swooped towards the wall beside the last shelf. She hovered there and squawked.
Nico looked at her in confusion. "What?"
Umbra cawed in impatience and flew back to him. She nipped his hair and dug her talons into his jacket, dragging him towards the last shelf.
"Ow!" Nico snapped. "What are you doing?" He rubbed his shoulder. "That wasn't fun. And you ripped my jacket."
Umbra squawked again and flew back up to the area of stone above the shelf, by the shelf tapping her beak against the stone.
Stupid bird, Nico thought.
Suddenly, a thought hit him. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
Umbra bobbed her head.
Nico peered at the stone, fixing his eyes on the spot she'd tapped. Huh. The rock looked a bit darker.
Could it be?
"Thank you, Umbra," Nico said to the bird.
Umbra puffed up her feathers and squawked at him once more before nipping his hair again and flying back out of the room.
Carefully, he pressed a finger against the stone. Surprisingly, his fingers went right through it. Nico drew back his hand.
What?
Her father's Erebos, the primordial god of the darkness and the Mist. Illusions come naturally to her, his brain reminded him. Right.
Nico reached towards the stone again and braced himself as his hand slipped through the illusion. Sure enough, there was an alcove behind it. Nico grimaced and patted around for something. Finally, his fingers brushed against a wooden box and Nico carefully pulled it out.
The box was about the size of a card and made of ash. There were golden details engraved around the side of the box, and a large sunstone with a moonstone in the center.
Nico held his breath in anticipation as he slowly flipped open the lid.
Inside, there were multiple objects. Another sunstone, a golden watch, other little things, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom, where he could see the edge of a photobook sticking out.
Nico cautiously slid the book out.
Inside, there were pictures of all the different flowers and trees outside the cave, and Nico flipped through without sparing them another glance.
There.
Nico paused as he beheld the page in front of him.
Raven was standing there, her arms around a cute boy with golden blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.
In the mortal world.
Nico flipped through the next few pages. They were all photos of her and the mystery boy, all in the mortal world. And Raven was laughing and smiling. It looked like those carnival photo booths or something like that.
Raven looked so different and carefree. Not quite unlike yourself four years ago, a voice in his head whispered. Even though he barely knew her, Nico felt sorrow and pain on her behalf, as he could guess how the story ended.
He flipped through the last pages to the end and squinted at the back.
Engraved in golden letters, was a name:
Elian H. Day.