Found Light in the Shadow (Solangelo)

Chapter Eighteen

Nico

I had my clothes on before Will picked out a pair of jeans to wear. While my baby finished getting dressed, I went to the hall closet and dug out our battle armor. I carried the armor to the bedroom and we helped each other strap it on after Will was dressed. I kept my helm in my hand, not wanting to put it on until the battle. It was a replica of my father's Helm of Darkness, the same helm that Perseus once wore. However, since I was a Son of Hades, the helm intensified my own dark powers.

We left the apartment and started walking across the city. With the exception of the soldiers in the streets heading to their posts, there was nobody else to be found. Even the corner café that Reyna was so fond of was closed. When we got to the Senate building, one of the guards outside showed us the way up to the roof. We found Reyna standing close to the edge with a pair of binoculars in the hands. There was a table set up beside her with a map of the camp and city on it. A few of her Lieutenants were standing around the table talking about something.

Reyna took the binoculars from her eyes and let them hang from the strap around her neck. She turned around and faced us. "It's about time that you boys got here. I was about to send out a search party for you two. I'm not sure what to make of this situation, my scouts haven't found any monster armies within twenty miles."

I was just about to say something when the moon came up from the horizon. The eclipse was already well underway with most of the moon already covered in red. I checked my watch and found that it was 6:57 pm. The sky was completely clear, there wasn't a cloud in sight. Reyna went back to looking around with her binoculars as the moon slowly disappeared behind the Earth's shadow. It stayed eerily quiet for almost another hour. I kept checking my watch as time went by without anything happening.

At 7:47 pm the moon was in a total eclipse, glowing with a reddish tint to it. That was the moment that all Hades started to break loose. We looked off to the Field of Mars, where a glowing form started to appear from the tree line. It was the Titan Hyperion with an army of monsters flanking each side of him. It was hard to see them all with the reddish glow of the moon, but there was definitely lot them. As the army enters the Field of Mars, we started to hear noises off to our right. There was another army approaching New Rome from Mount Diablo. Luckily, this was the exact scenario that Reyna had prepared for.

Reyna had a earbud on her ear that was tied into her radio. She was issuing orders to her cohorts as the monster armies approached. Reyna had the first and second cohorts on the New Rome side while the other three were protecting Camp Jupiter. After both of the armies were out in the fields, we were awestruck by the vast number of monsters. From where we were at, it was hard to tell exactly what kinds of monsters that we were facing. It was too dark to see anything but their silhouettes in the dim reddish light. However, we could tell that they were lined up from on side of the fields to the other on both flanks. Hyperion stood in the back of the Field of Mars, glowing bright red. It was as if he wanted to make himself the easiest target to find. After to cohorts had finished moving into place, both sides faced each other in complete silence.

I was starting to wonder how long this face off was going to last when Hyperion started to speak. "Romans, you have meddled in my affairs for the last time. I have come to seek revenge for your destroying our palace on Mount Othyrs. Now we will destroy your home as you destroyed ours."

As soon as Hyperion finished his little speech, the monster armies on both sides began their attack. Hyperion stayed at the back of the field while his monsters advanced on the Romans. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the cohorts were doing a decent job holding back the monster armies. Reyna had Bob hiding in the colosseum until the battle was underway. He came out from his hiding place and helped the first and second cohorts attack the monsters on the New Rome front. It didn't take them long with Bob's help to wipe out all of the monsters. The second cohort stayed on the New Rome side in case there were more monsters coming, while the first cohort along with Bob headed to help on the other front.