DIVINE! | percy jackson

chapter twenty-one - nico disappears

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
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          ESTELLA WAS more than relieved to be back at Camp Half-Blood. This quest felt longer than the last, especially with the burden of Annabeth missing and the two friends they'd lost along the way. She was ready to finally be home, and grieve those friends and her future.

Chiron greeted them at the Big House when they arrived with hot chocolate and grilled cheeses.

Estella, Annabeth, and Percy sat with Chiron and some of the senior campers such as Beckendorf, Silena, Clarisse, and the Stoll brothers. They goofily gave Estella a wave, glad to see that their 'almost sister' was back.

"I got news," Clarisse mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at the two of them gratefully.

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

"Wait, what?" Estella asked in utter disbelief. She'd watched his body fall, and become mangled on the rocks below. How could he have survived?

Percy told them what Poseidon had told him about the Princess Andromeda.

"Well." Annabeth shifted in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy and Estella are eighteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

Percy seemed annoyed at the blonde, but he kept his mouth closed. Chiron's expression was gloomy. He was sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, looking especially old at that moment.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the children of the prophecy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Percy asked. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but-"

There was a knock at the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor. Estella's face was drained of heat, as she knew Nico had no idea of his sister's passing.

He was smiling but looked around nervously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?'

Silence. Nobody at camp had told them about Bianca.

"Hey, Nico." Percy got up. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."

They both walked out of the room, leaving the parlor filled with silence.

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          NICO WAS devastated to hear the news and took off. Estella, Annabeth, and Grover helped Percy search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico.

"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said.

"No," Percy responded.

They all stared at him.

"Um, what do you mean...no?" Grover asked.

"We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a-"

"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

"I don't think Hades broke the oath," Estella said. "They were alive for years, stuck in the Lotus Casino, since before World War II."