Changing the Future

Chapter 76

While Camp Jupiter slept, I walked by the banks of the Little Tiber. I had an incoming Iris- message in the next few minutes and knew that it would be better for everyone if I put as much distance between me and the barracks as possible.

No one else needed to hear the words coming my way.

Thankfully, there was enough light from the waning gibbous moon that when it came time to form a rainbow, it didn't take me long. I produced a drachma from my pocket and flicked it into the mist. "Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Bianca di Angelo."

Bianca didn't notice me at first. She'd been laughing at something Zoë had said, the daughter of Atlas visible on the fringes of the IM. Seeing their smiling faces made my heart twinge. Then Thalia came into view, and I fought the urge to swipe my hand through the IM.

No, I told myself, harshly digging my nails into my palms. She deserved to know the truth.

"Hi, girls," I said, taking a seat next to the Little Tiber. With the wave of my hand, the image readjusted itself to encompass the three Hunters at once.

"'Sup, bookworm," Thalia greeted.

"Something ails thee," Zoë said, ending any pleasantries before they could begin. "What's happened?"

"You three are alone, yes?" I asked.

Three heads nodded in unison.

"If I'm being completely honest, things aren't looking great. Yes, Thanatos has been freed, and Camp Jupiter is still standing, and the Argo II is on its way here-"

"That sounds like good news," Bianca interrupted. "Plus, I've heard that I have a half-sister to meet. What's so bad?"

"Luke Castellan is dead, and Nico is being held hostage by twin giants in Rome."

It became so silent that breathing was too loud. I watched the matching looks of shock and horror on Thalia and Bianca's faces. Zoë scowled and swore in Ancient Greek.

"How?" Thalia demanded. "How is it possible that Luke is...?"

I told her everything.

Then, I told Bianca about how Nico had ended up in Tartarus in the first place and how he'd become Otis and Ephialtes's prisoner. Her dark eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her bottom lip quivered.

Bianca's hand slipped into her parka, producing an all too familiar floppy green cap. She wrung it tightly in her hands, knuckles stark white against the olive colored fabric.

"You are nothing but trouble, Andromeda Collins!" Thalia screamed. Sparks flew from her fingers. Her face turned a shade of red that rivaled a firetruck. "How could you? You said you'd get him back! You said you'd get him back!"

I wanted to find the nearest hole to crawl into and indefinitely stay there.

I knew I had failed. I knew it was my fault Luke had died. Thalia didn't have to remind me. Then there was the issue of his lost soul, and I didn't know where to begin to resolve that issue.

"Thalia, thou and I both know-" Zoë began, trying to be the voice of reason.

"I don't care!"

The daughter of Zeus thundered away. A lightning bolt split a tree down the middle, causing Bianca and Zoë to flinch. They turned away from the IM for a moment, probably looking at Hunters who wanted to know what all the commotion was about.

"But Nico's still alive," Bianca said. She scrunched the cap once more. "I'd know if he died. That means he can be saved. Isn't that right?"

She stared at me with such intensity that I'm amazed I didn't spontaneously combust.