Bridging the Divide

Death Playdate

Nico

Nico turned his face towards the sun, his eyes closed. Despite his habit of hiding in the shadows, he was not a vampire. Keefe and Leo had been performing in the park, Leo telling jokes, standing as still as statues, or doing flips, Keefe playing the ukulele.

It was surprising, how good Keefe seemed to be at insta-learning any kind of art. Once they had collected a hat full of coins and bills, they turned and raced off to look at something else.

Holding back a laugh, he turned and headed towards the graveyard. Most of the campers had gone home for the school year, but those who stayed behind were exploring New York today, and Nico wanted to take advantage of that by sending restless dead to their afterlifes. If too many spirits remained, the humans would be affected.

The graveyard he was visiting today was strange in that it bridged the river. Nico started in surprise when he noticed another boy among the tombstones. He didn't look dressed for a visit to the graveyard with the family, and Nico's death-meter was going off. 

The other boy looked surprised to see Nico as well, and Nico began wondering exactly what was going on when a black, smoky jackal formed in front of them. The other boy didn't seem at all nervous, but Nico got ready to run.

"Anubis. How have you been doing?"

The jackal shrugged and answered nonchalantly. "Pretty well, thanks."

The boy looked between the jackal and Nico, settling on staring at the black smoke. "Dude, do you know him?"

When Nico and Anubis both nodded, he said "Well, could you maybe introduce me, then?"

"Nico DiAngelo. Son of Hades." Nico always preferred to introduce himself, but Anubis had beaten him to the punch.

"Walt. Wait, did you say Hades? That's the Greek god of death, isn't it?" An hour later, Nico waved at his new friends Walt and Anubis, then jogged up to Will, who had rightly guessed where Nico had gone.

Will

Will looked around, trying to remember exactly when they had decided they would meet up in Times Square. The late August sun was warm and pleasant, and Will had spent most of the past hour browsing the library for books. 

He must have gotten the time about right, because Keefe and Leo walked up, chatting (or signing) merrily about whatever they had gotten at some random Target.

"Anyone seen Nico?" Will asked.

Keefe shrugged, then signed 'Try a graveyard. Seems like the kind of place he'd hang out.'

"Be nice to Nico," Will admonished. "Although, you are right that he's probably there." he conceded. Will hurried over to the nearest graveyard, where he saw Nico waving as he exited the gate.

"New friend?" Will asked as they walked back to the meeting spot.

Nico nodded, then explained "Yup. Turns out there are death-powered people on the other side of New York!"

Will had many questions, but even the zombie butler Jules-Albert freaked him out a little, so he kept quiet. By the time they got to the square, Jason and the others who had gone out into the city were about to leave.

By the time they got back to Camp, the bell for dinner rang, and they ate quickly so everyone could enjoy the first campfire in the cooler weather.

I'm trying to get as many of my books finished before summer because my schedule will go haywire and I really hate giving y'all long hiatuses.