In the darkness, one finds light. (Solangelo)

chapter 9. (No cool chapter title, sorry :/ )

Sorry for the late update. You know. Finals and what not. Enjoy. 

Nico withered in my arms but was otherwise unmoving. My father had picked me up and laid Nico and I in the back seat. My concerns were all over the place. Nico's life was fading from his eyes. I couldn't feel my legs. And, what is more, was the female spirit's body writhed on the ground behind Apollo's sun chariot. Light pouring out of her wound from the sun dagger. Light weaved its way through her veins and it looked like bright, golden vines had weaved their way through her body. Apollo took his place in the front of his chariot. 

"This is bad. This is bad." he kept muttering to himself. I would have whole-heartedly agreed with him if I wasn't too preoccupied with Nico.

I gently kept slapping his cheek asking him to stay with me, stay with me, stay with me babe. Please don't leave. Keep your eyes open. Despite my encouraging words, Nico's eyes dropped by the second. 

"Let's go!" I shouted at Apollo. I was becoming increasingly concerned with the spirit who's body had begun morphing into a dark monster, five times her original size. Apollo glanced at me in his rearview mirror and shot his hand back toward me. 

"The dagger." He said.

I fiddled with the thermos I had stored it in and had to point it away from me and turn away from it as I opened the container. Golden bright light poured from the thermos revealing its contents. As a child of Apollo I figured it was safe for me to pick up. I handed the dagger to my father.

Upon contact, the dagger morphed into a small key but retained it's golden metal and jeweled handle. A small key chain hung from it. It was a sold gold sun. I didn't have much time to marvel at it as Apollo shoved it into the ignition and the chariot roared to life. 

As the car took off at an impossible speed I shouted to my father, "How did you get this down here?"  

"Hades!" He yelled back. "How's your boyfriend doing?" I glanced down at Nico. He had become pale and his breathing had become shallow and fast passed. Tears swelled in my eyes and I shook my head at my father. He gave me a comforting smile in the rear view mirror.  

"What about you?" He asked me, his eyes flicking down to my legs. I opened my mouth to answer, but movement out of the corner of my eye stopped me. My eyes widened in shock.

My eyes widened in shock. The previous spirit girl (a/n Who's name is still unknown  I'M JUST TO LAZY TO MAKE ONE UP OKAY?)  was no more. Instead, a huge, black, gorilla-like monster ran behind the chariot in hot pursuit. It had no fur, only taunt charcoal black leathery skin with what looked like ruins etched into the side. Bright yellow veins could be seen through the skin and stretched about the spirits body like cracked glass. The eyes were rage intent, and murderous. The chariot was going roughly eight hundred miles along the underworld floor, but the monster was slowly gaining. Throwing everything from fellow spirits to and rocks out of its path. 

"What is that?!" I exclaimed. 

"That's what happens when you strike a creature of the underworld with the sun dagger. They go mad." I clutched Nico close to my chest. He had begun sweating and panting heavily. 

"Can we outrun it?" I asked. Apollo shook his head. 

"Not here." Apollo reached over and popped open his glove compartment. He reached inside, which was like vast, infinite space, and pulled out a huge solid gold long bow. If we ever got out of this, I would have to talk to my father about owning everything in solid gold. At first, I wondered how my father was going to shoot the monster and steer us out of the Underworld at the same time but he handed the bow back to me.