The Return of Evil | A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

=25= LEADS, PLOTS AND MORE BICKERING

=NICO'S POV=

"Will?!" I yelled as entered the attic. No answer. Scanning the room, I soon established the Will was definitely not here. But where else could he be? I'd already searched all over the Big House, with not a clue whatsoever leading to his location.

My eyes landed on the shriveled hag who sat slumped down on her stool at the end of the room.

Her glassy, unfocused pupils stared back at me, and her mouth seemed to be curled into a sort of half-smile. I shivered. It was as if she was taunting me. I could already imagine words coming out of her thousand-year old mouth.

Find it, Nico. Find it.

I froze. Had I imagined her mouth moving to form those two sentences? My heart sped up to twice its usual speed. No. She couldn't have. It was impossible. Chiron had said that since Rachel was the new oracle, this old mummy sitting in front of me would lose all of her power. That didn't seem to be the case now.

Find it.

Find it. Not him. It. The oracle didn't want me to find Will, it wanted me to find an object. But what? I started moving closer to the hag, making sure to glance at the many rows of old souvenirs and spoils of war along the way. As I passed a obsidian-black chest plate, my eyes caught on something in the very corner of the room. It was a chariot. A blown to pieces chariot, that's for sure, but a chariot nonetheless. A very familiar chariot. Something I hadn't laid eyes on since the Titan War.

"The flying chariot." I whispered. I remember hearing that it got destroyed when Butch, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo were coming back from the Grand Canyon.

The same chariot that had led to a huge argument between the Apollo and Ares cabins. The same chariot that had led to Silena's death. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any tears pricking the backs of my eyes like they did whenever someone mentioned a dead camper. I guess it was because Silena and I were never that close. I cast my eyes down, feeling ashamed. How could I be so...cold?

Making a mental note never to bring up that subject around Percy, I took a quick glance back at the oracle. She stayed silent.

The chariot was now right in front of me. Gently, I ran my fingers over the enchanted wood. It was sad to see it in ruins like this.

I wondered if this could have any connection to Will's disappearance. "Will Solace..." I said quietly, finding the sound of my own voice reassuring, given the eerie silence of the attic. "Where are you?" Unfortunately, I didn't get an answer.

Find it, Nico. Find it.

Grunting, I started scrambling though the pile of splintered wood which barely resembled the glorious vehicle it used to be. Throwing pieces aside, I was about to give up, when I spotted something sticking out among all the faded gold.

A dusty piece of paper.

Gingerly, I picked it up and held it in front of my face. The letters were faded, but still readable.

IF SOMEONE EVER FINDS THIS PIECE OF CRAP WHICH USED TO BE MY CHARIOT, PLEASE... JUST TRY TO PUT IT BACK TOGETHER. THEN I'LL OWE YOU ONE.

-WILL SOLACE

I could feel the beat of my heart thumping against my chest. I suppressed the urge to scream in joy and fury. I'll owe you one. This was obviously written a long time ago, probably just after the chariot got destroyed. Will obviously loved his precious chariot a lot if he would go all the way to ask someone to repair it.