A Quest of Eight; A Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

The House of Hades; Crossroads

Y/n's POV

I didn't think getting into Italy would be that hard. Boy was I wrong. This was the third attack today, and all I wanted to do was have some peace. It didn't look like I'd get my wish though.

"Hard to port!" Nico yelled from the foremast. Leo yanked the wheel, and the Argo II veered left, the magical oars slashing through the air. I glanced over the side of the ship, and upon seeing a large object nearing me, I ducked down. The rock sailed over my head and hit the mast with a sickening crack. The wooden supports snapped, bringing the mast down with Nico inside of it.

"Nico!" Hazel shouted and ran over to him.

"I'm fine," Nico assured her and stood up, dusting himself off. The clouds then cleared to reveal the top of a mountain, and standing at the summit was yet another mountain god. I was getting really sick of them. The god grabbed some rock from the mountain beside him and shaped it into a ball easily with his powers.

"Stupid rock gods," Leo grumbled. "That's the third time I've had to replace the mast. They don't grow on trees you know!"

Nico frowned. "The wood comes from trees."

"Not the point," Leo retorted and tapped on the control panel next to him. A celestial bronze cannon rose from the side of the ship and shot at the god, but just as quickly, another bolder loomed towards us.

"Get us out of here," I direct to Leo. It wasn't long before we were finally out of the mountain range, and the sun lit up the Italian country side. Nico began picking splinters out of his arm, and Leo kept focus on the controls.

"Well that was sucktastic," Leo commented. "Should we wake the others?"

"They need rest," I insist. "We'll just have to figure out another way in our own."

Jason, Piper, Frank, and Coach Hedge had taken the night shift, fighting off whatever monsters had decided to come our way at that time. We had been rotating shifts every so often, giving half of us time to rest while the others defended the ship. Leo, on the other hand, didn't seem to be getting any rest. His white t-shirt was tattered, and his jeans were covered in grease. Ever since Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, he'd been working non-stop. I tried practically everything to get him to take a break, but nothing worked. For the past two days, we had been trying to find a safe pass into Italy. The gods however, were sons of Gaea, so obviously they were under orders of their mother to keep us out.

"It's our fault," Hazel claimed. "Nico's and mine. The gods can smell us."

"Yeah, but we're also carrying the Athena Parthenos." Nico pointed out. "That's like a giant beacon for monsters."

"So the mountains are out," Leo muttered and tapped away at the screen in front of him.

"We could go by sea and sail around the southern tip of Italy," I suggest.

"That's a long way away. And we don't have Percy," Nico reminded me.

I growled and crossed my arms over my chest. "So, what? I'm just invisible? Why don't you guys think I can protect us? I'm just as powerful as Percy."

"It's not that," Leo defended. "It's just that you've been through a lot lately, and we don't want to put more stress on you."

"Whatever," I murmur. "We'll find another way I guess." I was tired of fighting at this point, so I gave up on my idea. My arms dropped back to my sides, and I leaned back against the rail.

"What about continuing north," Hazel proposed. "There has to be a break in the mountains or something."

Leo fiddled with the Archimedes sphere and examined a map of Italy. "I don't know. I don't see any good passes. But it's better than backtracking south."

"Whatever we do, we better hurry. The longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus....." Nico trailed off, not wanting or needing to finish his sentence. "Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects all of us."

"No," Hazel opposed. "We can find a solution." Ever since we had lost Percy and Annabeth, the crew had lost it's cohesion. The worst part was, we had just gotten used to being a team. Now, whenever we needed to make a decision, there was always arguing, which was far from helpful. I turned around to look out at the horizon, and that's when I saw a flicker of beige.

"Hazel, is that who I think it is?" I question.

"Arion," Hazel cheered and joined me at the rail.

"Who?" Nico asked.

"It's Hazel's horse," Leo clarified. "We haven't seen him since Kansas!"

"We have to meet him. He's here to help," Hazel declared.

"Okay, but we talked about not landing on the ground anymore, remember?" Leo recalled. "You know, cause the earth goddess wants to destroy us."

"Just get me close enough. I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel spoke. "I think Arion wants to tell me something." Leo, Nico, and I watched from the ship as Hazel met up with Aron. She produced a golden nugget from the ground and fed it to Arion, who neighed happily.

"Hazel!" Nico called at her. "What's going on?"

"It's fine," Hazel reassured us. "Arion wants to take me somewhere."

"Please tell me he's not taking you to that," Leo pleaded and pointed North. A big storm had brewed on top of a mountain, and a funnel cloud of fog snaked its way down the hillside. And it wasn't just normal fog wither. It was an inky black.

"It's okay. Stay put and wait for me," Hazel instructed.

"Wait for how long?" I quiz. "What if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry. I will," Hazel promised. It wasn't long before Hazel got back aboard the Argo II. But something was off. Her hands were shaking, and she looked frightened of something. She kept looking back towards the mountain, but nothing was there.

"What happened?" I implore. When Hazel didn't answer, I got worried. Nico took a hesitant step towards his sister, his eyes softening at the sight of her.

"Hazel?" Nico pushed, his voice laced with concern. That's when Hazel's knees buckled, and she would've fallen to the floor if Leo and Nico hadn't been there. "Whoa. Hazel, what's going on?"

"I met Hecate," Hazel mumbled. Then she described what had occurred up on the hill top. Hecate told Hazel about a secret pass that could get us through the mountains, and a detour that could lead us to Epirus.

"Hazel, you met Hecate at a crossroads," Nico said. "That's something many demigods don't survive. And the ones who do, well, they're never the same. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Hazel pledged. "I just need a minute."

"What if Hecate is tricking us?" Leo posed. "This route could be a trap."

Hazel shook her head. "I don't think so. If it was, Hecate would've made the northern route sound tempting. And believe me, she didn't."

"That's like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice. Then we'd have to backtrack down the Adriatic, and you said something about dwarfs in Bologna," Leo brought up.

"I guess Bologna is a city, but why we have to find dwarfs there I have no idea. Hecate said they had some sort of treasure to help us with the quest," Hazel disclosed.

"It's our best option," Nico decided. "But we need to be fast."

Leo grinned. "Fast? I can do fast."

"We should rest while we can," Hazel announced. "Take it easy. Tonight, we cross the Apennines, and it won't be an easy feat."