Pain and blood. Lots and lots of blood. The long fall into Tartarus hadn't left me undamaged. A long, jagged cut along my chest stung and my broken ankle throbbed incessantly. By how stiff my limbs were, I figured I'd been out for about three days.
Gingerly, I took off my jacket and searched for nectar I knew I had in there somewhere. No such luck. The tiny glass bottle had shattered in my pocket leaving a damp spot behind. I swore as loudly as my agonized voice would allow. I knew I should probably be more careful since Tartarus was crawling with monsters, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight. To be honest, I was terrified and that doesn't help me to think.
I drew Erebus and held it in the defensive position in front of my face. I stood, feeling the fracture in my ankle plainly. Taking a deep breath, I willed myself to move forward. I was hungry. Was there anything to eat in the monster hell? I sure hoped so.
"Dad, I could really use some food right about now," I stared up into the dark cavern above. Silence. "Of course." I muttered gloomily and set off, my stomach moaning.
My heel sent a sharp stab up through my leg and my chest bled a bit, but I kept moving.
My mind had thoughts only for survival...and Paris.
Gods! Why had I kissed her by the edge of Tartarus? That was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Holy Hades, how I missed her. Those sparkling green eyes, that perfect smile and laugh...I bit my lip and felt a burning pain in my heart. I knew I'd known her for less than a week, but I felt such strong emotion toward her. It was nearly unbearable to not know how she was doing. Did she miss me?
I shoved a hand in my pocket, the one not holding Erebus, and felt something that hadn't been there before. What--?
I pulled the something out of my pocket and found a sandwich? Huh. Maybe my dad had been listening after all. "Thanks," I whispered, looking about nervously to assure no monster was around to over hear.
"Crap," I muttered to myself. "Erm, fire?" I glanced up into the darkness above. If I didn't offer some of my food to the gods, it would probably be the last thing I'd ever eat.
"There's no point," A bored voice behind me drawled.
I jumped and whirled around, Erebus in the defensive position.
"What? Scared of monsters? My dear Nico, there's no need to be afraid of me," A tall man stepped forward from the shadows. My heart thundered in my chest as I took in the man's physical appearance. The only thing that really stuck out was that his eyes were two different colors, one a deep brown and the other a vivid blue. Why did he look so familiar? And how did he know my name?
"W-who are you?" I backed up several paces as the man sauntered forward.
"Who am I?" He considered the question. "I come of many names, young demigod. Which would you prefer?" He walked over to me. I backed up still further and found myself trapped against a cold, damp stone wall.
"I-I don't know any of th-them," I stumbled over my words.
"Are you so certain? Let me see, Terrence?" I shook my head. "Professor Montague? Ah, how about Dr. Thorn?"
With a clatter, Erebus slipped from my fingers and hit the ground.
"Dr. Thorn?" I shuddered at the onslaught of memories that came crashing through my head.
"Yes," The manticore purred, moving ever closer.
Images of Bianca's panicked face made me stumble. She was being chased by Dr. Thorn, who was really a manticore. For a long time after that had happened I had nightmares. And note that I was only ten, so yeah, can you blame me?
I dropped down to pick up my blade, clearing my head of Bianca's face, but Dr. Thorn snatched it up before me and my fingers brushed cold stone.
"What do you want? Bianca is dead. Or do you no longer care if we're a matched set?" I didn't know where the fury was coming from, but I decided to put it to good use.
I pulled myself up to my full height, a mear inch shorter than Dr. Thorn.
"You think you can intimidate me. Ha! As if any demigod could frighten me after all I've been through, all I've witnessed down here," Dr. Thorn threw a sharp glare that hinted with fear over his shoulder, then turned back to me, sneering. He fingered my sword so possessively that I reached out a hand to take it back. For a moment the beast held my gaze, then turned his attention back to the sword, not allowing me to touch it.
"Give me Erebus," I growled.
"Ah, Erebus," The manticore rolled the name over his tongue. "Son of Chaos. First god of the darkness. Intriguing name choice." All of a sudden Dr. Thorn chucked the blade viciously to his right; it faded into the darkness.
I went to scramble after it, but Dr. Thorn caught one of my wrists. He gripped the other firmly and pressed his face close to mine.
"Luke Castellan, my master, is alive," The manticore's putrid breath washed over my face. I fought the urge to gag. It smelled like blood.
"Not possible. Annabeth said he d-died."
"You trust Annabeth Chase over one of Luke's own fighters? How foolish," Dr. Thorn shook his head, smirking in a wicked, knowing fashion that made me shudder.
"I was visiting my dad when Luke Castellan's soul entered this world," I said truthfully. Luke's soul had traveled into the Underworld, most likely headed for the Fields of Punishment.
"I do not believe you," He hissed.
"Guess what, dude? I don't care," I yanked my wrists away from him.
"So, you don't care?" Abruptly Dr. Thorn began to morph into a manticore. Let me just say, if you ever meet a manticore, I suggest running. Not that I could run away in here without bumping into another monster. Manticores have the face of a human, so in his case, Dr. Thorn's face stayed the same, the body of a lion, and a scorpian's tail. All in all, not a fun monster to try to defend yourself from. Especially when you have a broken ankle.
"I'm going to kill you now. Luke will be pleased," The manticore snarled and stepped forward, ready to stab me in the chest with it's tail.
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A/N
Hey! Here's the next update!!! I hope you guys love it! Sorry it was so short :/.
Anyway, remember to vote, comment your opinion/CC, and to hopefully enjoy this chappy!
And I know 'mear' is spelled wrong. Sorry.
See ya later, Narwhals!!
The Unicorn Lover
