The Boy of Shadows and Sin

Chapter 5

Will was tapping his foot while whistling a vaguely familiar tune, and it was driving Nico insane. They were sitting at a table in the Life Cafe, waiting for Rachel's friend to show up. It was a lively place, with loud raucous people sitting at the bar cupboard, a group of ragged-looking bohemians occupying the centre of the room, a pair of soft-spoken goths conferring in the corner, and a kind-faced portly waiter serving them all. Nico felt almost out of place due to the upbeat attitude of the cafe.

He could barely make out the sound of the shop bell ringing when a shaded figure entered. The person seemed to scan the large room when his gaze settled on Nico. Even under the hood that the person was wearing, Nico could make out the glowing red eyes. None of the mortals noticed, so Nico assumed that was covered by the mist.

Nothing human ever had glowing red eyes.

Nico placed a hand on the pommel of his sword and kicked Will lightly. The other boy looked where Nico pointed—the hooded figure walking straight towards them. He could see Will tense up, and kept in mind that the most Will could do would really be to run. He wasn't a fighter. Nico would have to protect both of them. In a cafe full of mortals. While injured. Yes, this was cracking up to be an incredible day.

"Will," he muttered with fake casualness, "if this turns into a fight, you are going to run out that side door no matter what happens."

"I'm not going to be leaving if that thing is murdering you," Will growled through a false smile.

Nico laughed, glaring at the medic. "Yes, you will. If I die, and you get killed, then your sister is going to die as well."

A shadow stood over them—the figure with glowing eyes. Nico could have punched Will for getting so wrapped up in an argument to pay attention. Damn him for being so stubborn! He glanced at the golden haired boy one last time, as if to say, go!

The figure reached up to take off his hood. Nico gripped his sword. Will shifted to the edge of his seat.

The hood dropped, and Nico blinked in surprise. Not a monster—a person with a mohawk. A girl.

She appraised the pair of demigods with a judgemental eye. "So you're the kids Rachel wanted me to meet. Not much, are you?"

Nico let go of his sword as the girl took a seat. "You're Ricky?" he asked suspiciously.

The girl leaned back in her chair and propped her very large boots up onto the table. "Unless there's another Phobos kid with the name Rick, then yeah, I'm the one you need. And you definitely need me."

Nico studies her warily. She had a rather tall spiky mohawk dyed neon green. Innumerable piercings dotted her face and ears—a bar in her left eyebrow, shark bites, medusa, labret; every part of both ears had metal through them; a chain hung from the side of her nose to her left ear and there was a bar through the bridge of her nose. And those were just the ones that he could see.

Ricky raised a pierced eyebrow. "You done staring, shorty?"

Nico couldn't make himself meet her glowing eyes—inherited from her dad, no doubt. He knew horrors awaited him if he did. "Your big head might be able to hold all those piercings," he told her, "but we don't have room for it on this quest. So you'd better bury your ego, or your mohawk is gonna be leading you out the door."

She didn't say anything at first, but then a slow grin spread across her metallic lips. "Damn, boy. You say I've got ego? Fine. Your quest, your rules. Doesn't matter what you say, though. I'm still coming with you, death boy."

Nico shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was bad enough when Will called him that, but a complete stranger? That was crossing the line.

"What's up with sunny over there?" Ricky pointed to Will. "He gone mute? Chimera got your tongue?"

Will sat up. "I'm not really inclined to talk to people who I've never met."

"He's had a rough few days," Nico clarified. It was strange to him to be the mediator. Normally he was the one who wasn't talking much.

Ricky's face turned impassive. "Right. Now to clear some things up—rule number one: you touch the hair, you die. Rule number two: don't ask about me, my parents or my name. Rule number three: you treat me like a damsel in distress, I kill you. Rule number four: don't bother trying to make a move on me. I am generally far too busy running for my life to worry about my libido. All clear?"

"As mud," will muttered sarcastically.

"Then let's get going. Wait—what do you have on you for weapons?"

Nico patted his sword. "Stygian iron sword, a dagger."

Will put up his hands. "I'm just the medic here."

Ricky grunted. "You need something to fight with, coz if you need to protect yourself, that pretty voice of yours ain't gonna be much help."

Will looked nervous. "How do you know I sing?"

She grinned. "Oh, I know lots about you, Will Solace."

He looked like he'd been slapped, and Nico felt a pang deep within him.

"It doesn't matter what I know. It's about you being able to fight and survive." Ricky examined her hands. "Which one...yes." She pulled a ring off of her finger and threw it at Will. He stepped to the side and both he and Nico stated at the double-sided battle axe embedded in the dartboard. The people at the bar glanced over and cheered. Maybe they thought it was a bulls-eye?

"Well?" Ricky prompted. "Go get it."

Seemingly reluctantly, Will yanked the axe out of the dartboard. It dropped and yanked his arm down with it.

Ricky cackled. "Not expecting it to be that heavy, were ya? Come on, you look like a strong boy. Pick it up."

With little effort, Will grabbed the axe and swung it around a few times to try it out, before it shrank back to a piece of jewellery. In spite of himself, Nico was impressed. He hadn't realised how strong the son of Apollo was.

Will walked back over to the table, ring in hand. "It's great," he told the girl, "but the ring just doesn't suit me, dontcha think? Rather inconvenient for a medic."

She snorted. "No problem, man. You've just gotta decide what you want it to be. That one, I call Godslayer."

Nico felt a chill run down his spine as Will made the celestial bronze axe turn into a hemp bracelet, which he fastened on his wrist. "Why's that?"

Ricky smiled cruelly. "Don't you know? That's what it was made to do."

An awkward silence hung over the table in wake of that statement. Will cleared his throat. "What kind of weapons are you packing?"

Rick started counting them off on her fingers. "Oh, I've got a Greek sword, a bow and some arrows—hunter made, of course—a couple daggers and some throwing knives, a Viking battle axe, there's a khopesh somewhere, I have an Aztec knife, a Roman spear, a whole bunch of shuriken...but normally I use these little lovers." Two nine-millimetre handguns materialised in her hands. "Glocks. Fire celestial bronze magazines, custom made."

Nico was in turn horrified and awed. The girl was a walking arsenal. "And your ammo?"

She gestured to the three bullet belts around her hips. "You don't think these are for decoration, do you? Each bullet actually has a magazine in it, enchanted to fit. I just have to pull one off and..." She snapped a bullet off her belt and it enlarged itself into a magazine, which she swapped out into one Glock so fast Nico could hardly see. She stood up. "We going to France, or just standing around?"

Nico slung the bag over his shoulder again. "Let's get going."

Will put a hand on Nico's shoulder. "Let me take the bag. You're still injured."

In a rapid movement, Nico grabbed Ricky's wrist and then they hit the shadows.