Percy Jackson: Daughter of Shadows

6. My Cousins Attempt Murder

Percy and Nico were waiting outside the exit of the Door of Orpheus. "What happened?" Percy exclaimed, rushing over. "Percy, I'm fine. Just a little banged up" "A little banged up my foot!" Percy said, glancing at my arms. "You look like you've been through hell!" "Technically, we are in hell, so it's natural, I guess" Percy threw his hands up in exasperation. "What happened? To my father?" Nico asked. Percy and I exchanged nervous glances. "He's fine. The wounds are healing nicely, Persephone and the Furies are watching over him, so he should be fine" I turned back to Percy. "They've got the enchantment to bring Demeter back, along with her heart, so we can leave. What happened to you?" "If I tell you, will you promise to not get mad?" "Depends... what did you do?" "Bathed in the River Styx" I took a deep breath. "Very well. You took on the Curse of Achilles, no big deal, you're just incredibly easy to kill with one touch to a single spot, that's not a problem at all" "Lilly? Are you sure you're good?" "Yeah, just fine. Juuuuuuuust peachy" "People who are 'just peachy' don't have their hands yanking out their hair" Percy placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'll be fine, Lilly" I sighed. "Alright. Now, let's get out of here" Nico stepped back. "I'm staying. Going to see if I can convince them to help with the war" I smiled. "Thank you, Nico" Nico nodded, staring at the ground. I sighed and put out my hair. "Come on, let's go" Percy stared at me. "How do you not burn your hands when-" "My sweat creates an aloe that keeps it from burning" "Really?" "No. The flames feel like ice to me, but about three- hundred to five-hundred degrees Fahrenheit" "Huh. That's cool" "Yeah. Now come on, we've got a war to win."

    Viktor just about had a heart attack. He was staring daggers at Chiron until I showed up.  "WHAT. WERE. YOU. THINKING?!" he said, storming towards me and Percy. "Going to the Underworld, fighting Demeter, I get a call from Hecate telling me that she thought that Alecto would've had to hold you back from murdering all three of them, and now you come waltzing in here, Percy with covered in bruises and skin that looks like it's been under a flamethrower, you have six inch long cuts down your arms, and-" I laughed, trying to suppress my smile. Viktor glared at me. "It's not funny, Lilly!" I stood up, kissing his cheek. "I know, but it could've been worse" Viktor sighed. "You have a point" "I have a what now?" "A point, Lil's!" I burst out laughing again. Viktor groaned.  "Gods of Olympus, you can be-" "Yours?" I said. Viktor blushed, and then grinned cockily. "That, and the one woman I will ever love for the rest of my life" "If this is your way of proposing, might I suggest you just toss me an apple?" Viktor smirked, picking me up and spinning me around. "How's your father?" he whispered in my ear. "He should be fine. I hope. Nico's still down there, he's planning on trying to convince him to fight" Viktor nodded, setting me down. "What's your plan?" I grinned. "To win this war, obviously." 

   Charley was sitting by the lake, throwing seashells into the water. "Hey," I said, coming up behind them. They looked up and wiped their eyes. "Oh, hey" "Are you okay?" "Yeah, just great" "Charley, I know that 'great'. I invented it" I sat next to them. "What's wrong?" Charley sighed. "I got a call from my partner" I stared at them. "You have a partner?" "Yeah. Emira, she's amazing. But there's a tiny problem..." "What?" I asked, worried. "Oh, no she's fine!" Charley said, catching the look on my face. "It's just... she asked me to marry her" I stared at him. "Why is that a problem?" "Because, if I die during the war, I won't be able to give her my answer" I sighed. "You know, before I left to fight Typhon, Viktor began to talk about marriage" Charley stared at me. "And before that, my father asked me if I had thought about." "And... have you?" Charley asked. I smiled. "Every day. And I understand that fear, of not being able to give her your answer" "But you're Lilly Black, you're not afraid of anything" I laughed, my voice dry. "I've been scared every day since the day I chose to come back to camp after what happened with Atlas and my claiming, when I saw Zoe and Lily so happy, Viktor kissing me, and my father..." I sighed and stared off into the horizon. "Why are you worried about Zoe?" I stared at him. "Zoe's immortal now, Charley. Fully" Charley leapt up. "How?" "When I brought her back, her half-immortality and my dark magic collided and made her immortal. Hestia told me Lily is too, doesn't ease my nerves" Charley closed their eyes and thought for a moment. "You're really dense sometimes, you know that right?" I jumped up, angry. "How-" "How dare I tell you what you need to hear?" I tried to steady myself. "How in the fuck knuckles did that girl fall in love with you?" Charley laughed. "Lilly, you of all people should know love makes people do stupid stuff" I stood up. "Tell Percy and Annabeth to lead everyone to Olympus. I've got to talk to Zoe." 

    Zoe was sitting on the steps of the Artemis Cabin, Lily bouncing on her lap. She waved me over, not looking up. "Hey" I said, taking a seat. "Hey. How have you been?" "Mentally, physically, or emotionally? I'm going to need specifics" Zoe laughed. "All three" "Mentally and emotionally, moderately fine. Physically, my ribs feel like mush" Zoe nodded, tickling Lily. "You headed to Olympus?" I nodded. "Great. I'll grab my bow" "Wait, what?" Zoe smirked. "Lily's immortal, she'll be fine. Last I checked no one besides you knows how to kill a god, so I trust she'll be fine" I nodded. "Good" I stood up, my swords appearing at my side. "You wouldn't happen to have a plan, would you?" Zoe laughed. "Naturally. When Kronos's armies appear, the demigods and I will hold them back while you and Jackson get to Kronos" I nodded. "Solid plan, except if Kronos doesn't appear instantly. What should we do then?" Zoe thought for a moment. "Why are you asking me? You've already been through wars-" "That nearly resulted in everyone I've ever cared about dying. No thank you. Not with so much at stake" Zoe nodded. "Very well then. I'll bring us to Olympus. Let's see what Perseus's plan is." 

Apparently, the plan was to murder Hermes.

   "PERCY, STOP!" I yelled, pulling him away from Hermes. "Lilly, get out of the way" "No!" I turned to Hermes and socked him in the face. "You too, knock it off!" Hermes cradled his jaw, staring at me. "I don't want him; I want the girl!" I turned around. Annabeth stood there, frozen with fear. "What the hell do you want with her?" "Luke apparently visited her this summer!" Percy yelled, trying to get away from me. "Yeah, I know" They all stared at me. I spotted Zoe summoning a popcorn. "What?" Annabeth asked. "When?" Hermes said. "HOW?" Percy demanded. "Luke is many things, merciful at times is one of them. If he went after Annabeth, it would be for one of three reasons. One, a final ditch attempt to have her join Kronos. Two, to kidnap her and force her to join. Or three, try to ditch the army and run away with her. I'm going to go ahead and guess it was option three" Annabeth nodded, still surprised. Hermes just stared at me. "And you don't care-" "Of course I care!" I yelled, pushing him back. I let go of Percy and stormed over to Hermes. I grabbed him by the ear and pulled him to my level. "I have made a promise to his mother. I suggest if you want me to keep Percy from destroying your son, you stay the hell out of my way" Hermes swallowed. "You can't defy his fate" I let go of his ear, a smirk on my face. "Well, children of Hades are known for being shunned and pushed aside, yet somehow, I'm one of the most powerful demigods, second only to Percy, as I have limits, and it appears he doesn't. So, breaking fate is kind of my thing. Now, if you excuse me, our grandfather has a death sentence."