Being a Demigod (Percy Jackson fanfiction)

CHAPTER 8

Effie was immediately on her feet running towards the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder holding her back. She turned her head only to realize it was Percy, smiling sadly at her.

"What?" she asked impatiently. "We've gotta go. They need help."

"You'll stay here," Percy told her in a protective tone. "You haven't been trained enough for that."

"No way," Effie was on the verge of screaming but she managed to keep her voice at a normal tone. It only went a little higher than usual but no one commented.

"I'm sorry Effie, but I won't let you fight." Percy answered calmly. He looked at Nico and they seemed to have a silent conversation. Finally Nico nodded and sat back on the couch.

Leo opened the door and walked out, followed by Hazel, Annabeth and Percy. He slammed the door shut before Effie could march past him. When she grabbed the handle, she heard a clear voice coming from the room:

"No." Effie turned to see Nico. She had totally forgotten about him, that guy was like a ghost when he wanted. "There's no use going out there. I don't know if you're a fine warrior or not but I'm sure that Percy won't pay any attention to anyone else just to keep you safe."

Effie looked at him with rage but he didn't even seem to notice. He yawned and tapped his hand on the couch, gesturing for Effie to come sit near him. She sighed giving up and sat.

"Do you know what he wants?" she asked. Her voice came out as a whisper. She had to admit she was scared with all these weird things happening. "And you haven't told me his name yet."

"His name is Octavian." Nico answered after a moment of silence. "I'm not sure what his plans are, but he wants revenge. I'm glad he didn't kill you or kidnap you. The bad news is that he now knows that a daughter of Poseidon is around. I wonder how he survived." He paused.

Effie guessed that he was thinking. Nico looked around her age. Maybe a year or two older, but he looked like he'd been through much. She couldn't prevent herself from asking questions;

"So, have you known that you're a Demigod for long?" she asked.

"I was escorted to Camp Half-Blood when I was 10. That was 4 years ago." Nico said calmly. "I was never claimed officially by Hades," he continued. "I learned that when I commanded some skeletons to leave and a hole opened up in the ground."

"So, what's the average age to be brought here?" Effie continued questioning. She couldn't stand the silence.

"There's none really. But no Demigod comes here after their 13th birthday. It's a deal Percy and the Gods have made two years ago. It's kind of weird you came here being so old. Your aura is very strong as a child of the Big Three." He answered and looked with curiosity at Effie. "Are you sure you have never been attacked by monsters before the Gorgon-incident?"

"Yeah, nothing had hap-" She was cut out by the door slamming wide open and a camper running in.

It was a boy with brown hair and elfish features. He looked as he'd been running. His armor looked used-up, his pants had a black mark on them and there was some smoke coming from them. Effie guessed they had been on fire. He breathed heavily.

"Nico. Thank Gods I found you. We need help with these birds." He said.

Nico nodded and stood up. He looked first at Effie and then back at the boy;

"You'll stay here 'cause Effie will run out of the room if I leave her alone." He turned back to Effie. "That's Cecil. He's a son of Hermes." He walked up to the door and opened it. "Take care you two." He said before slamming the door shut.

Cecil who hadn't said anything the whole time looked at Effie with interest.

"You're the daughter of Poseidon," he said and sat on the couch. Effie nodded, she didn't want to talk. She wished she was at the battle.

Cecil breathed deeply; still tired from the "marathon" he had run to find Nico, took a bottle of water and drank from it. Effie saw her chance. She manipulated the water inside the bottle, which exploded with a loud bang. Cecil went still for a second, trying to process what had happened. It was enough for Effie to run, open the door and run out at full speed.