Love & Chaos 2: A New Pharaoh for Egypt

Chapter 12

The Merry Nordstrom

Liz

"So, are you glad to have seen her?" Liz asked after a million years of silence, sitting beside Leo on her bed.

He shrugged. At first, he looked so happy... then it faded to a bittersweet smile... and now...

Nothing.

"I mean, that's more than you expected to get out of this trip, right?" she prompted gently. "And she was pretty happy to see you, and-"

"Liz, please stop trying so hard," he begged. "She doesn't know what's happened these past few years, you know? Like, Drew, for example. Or you, or your sister - which is by far the worst thing I've said this week - or the fact that I've gone back to how I was before meeting her. I mean, how else was I going to cope? But now, it's like, she's still out there, waiting on me. And I'm destined to be with your sister."

She placed her hand on his, squeezing lightly. "No. You will be with Calypso, forever. I promise you that, okay? There are a lot of things that the prophecy suggests, and I intend to take every last opportunity to escape the Fates."

"That's a great band," he laughed.

"I mean it," she promised. He didn't look at her, didn't seem to believe her, so she got up and knelt in front of him, taking his face in her hands. "Look at me. I just saw my best friend with the love of his life, and I am the second most powerful woman in the world, next to my sister. I will make sure that you end up with Calypso if it tears a hole in the fabric of the universe, do you understand?"

His eyes were bright with tears, but he nodded. "You don't have to try so hard," he repeated.

She shushed him, sitting back next to him and pulling him onto her lap. "I do," she countered. "I have to, because you mean the world to me."

They stayed that way for a while, until the ship was rocked sharply to the left, throwing them against the wall. "Mother of Zeus," Leo hissed, straightening himself back up. "Looks like we've got trouble in paradise."

"Welcome to the Mediterranean Sea..."

"What's the deal, guys?" Leo shouted up the stairs as they ran.

Percy was throwing water in mini hurricanes at some bird-like creatures in the sky, that squawked and screed at him. "Oh, just the birds of hell," he replied. "Don't kill them," he added hastily, gesturing to Zachary, who was screaming for Cammie, asking her where she'd gone, and why she'd left him.

Liz knew what they were, she remembered from the stories of Tartarus - the arai. "If we can't kill them, then what do we do?" she asked. Right as she said it, she knew. "They aren't trying to hurt us," she realized.

"What?"

"Excuse me, ladies," she began loudly. The flock of curses stopped zipping around, flapping their wings to steady themselves in front of her. "Hello. I have a feeling that you're looking to help save your mother, the Lady Nyx?" she questioned.

"We are the arai," one of them hissed. "We are the daughters of Nyx, and Chaos has captured her, freeing us from Tartarus, but disallowing our return."

"Why would you want to go back?" Percy wondered.

"We are of the darkness," the ara replied. "We belong to the darkness, we belong to Nyx."

Liz understood. "I can't exactly guarantee you help to return for quite some time," she admitted apologetically. "But, I can promise to help, once we go to Tartarus for the final battle. But you must refuse any offers Chaos gives you, no matter how attractive, otherwise I will lock you up in the sun."