Misery Loves Company

No Seance Necessary.

When Will woke up, tucked against one of the walls of Hecate's Crossroads, he was not alone. That fact alone might not have been so disturbing, had it not been for the fact that he hadn't been expecting company. As it was, a figure stood over him peering down as Will blinked blearily, a faint shimmer of blue light outlining their form.

"About time you woke up," The ghost—Jason Grace—said with a smile.

Will's mouth fell open. "Jason?" he croaked, pushing himself up onto his elbows. There was no mistaking those electric blue eyes, even if they were now more like the blue of lightning at risk of fading behind cloud cover. Will stared unabashedly at the deceased son of Jupiter, the sight of him tearing through every layer of numbness the cold of the Underworld had infused him with.

"Umm, yeah," Jason said sheepishly, a hand resting on the back of his neck. "Sort of." He gestured vaguely at his translucent body.

Will sat up fully, "You're a ghost." The words were out before he could swallow them back, and a part of him wondered if that was rude. Maybe he should have asked Nico what the protocol was when meeting ghosts. Were you supposed to bring up their...lack of life?

Jason chuckled in good humour. "Yeah, that's what happens when you die."

"Right," Will said dumbly, "And you're here?"

"Mm-hmm, Melinoe thought you could use a guide."

Will nodded numbly, attempting to place the name with no success. "...Sure."

Electric blue eyes slid back to him, unimpressed. "Goddess of Ghosts?" Jason supplied, his voice tinged with exasperation. When Will's expression remained blank, Jason's brow furrowed. "One of Nico's godly siblings. Nico helped me make her shrine before I died."

Oh. Nico's sister. Why hadn't Will ever thought to check if the son of Hades had godly siblings—Nico after all was closer to his godly heritage than most demigods could ever hope to be. His sister was likely important to him—perhaps he made her offerings, whispered prayers into the dark. And Will didn't know. "So she sent you to guide me?"

Jason was still watching him disapprovingly but responded, "Something like that," Jason said, "Nico's got a complicated relationship with some of the Underworld gods, but he and Melinoe... they understand each other. She likes him, which means helping you."

Will swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat that was half gratitude, half guilt. Nico's sister—who he hadn't even known existed—had chosen to aid him. He'd certainly owe her burnt offerings and prayers if—when—he returned to New Rome.

"Are you ready?" Jason asked, inclining his head toward the eastern gateway, that read 'to find his hearth.'

Will's eyes followed the direction of Jason's gaze. Under the arch the shadows lengthened like the jaws of a python lying in wait to swallow him whole. East meant plunging deeper into the Underworld, to walk away from the very sun that called to his blood and body. Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, but his heart—Nico's name etched into every beat and his life drawn across his skin—pressed him forward. "Yeah," he said, voice tense as a bowstring drawn. "I'm ready."

"Let's go, then," Jason said, his ghostly form moving ahead, the blue light around him flickering like a lantern's flame. As they crossed the threshold of the gateway, Will couldn't shake the feeling that they were stepping into the maw of something vast and insatiable.

Jason seemed to sense his apprehension as they returned to the barren surface. "You don't know much about the Underworld, do you?" he asked, glancing sideways at Will.

"Not much sun down here is there," Will said, willing light-heartedness into his tone. "Not really compatible."

"Nico is." Jason was watching him again and Will had to resist the urge to squirm.