Nico's Quest {on hold}

Room 666

Chapter 8

 Nico stepped out of a shadow and into a hotel store room. He leaned against the wall and breathed heavily. It was hard enough to shadow travel alone but to do so with a young girl and a bulging rucksack was definitely taking a toll on him.

After a few minutes, Nico straightened up with Rhea still in his arms and quickly made his way to the door. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened for any signs of life outside. None, it was quiet. Good.

Silently, he opened the door with one hand; the other pressed Rhea to his chest so he didn’t drop her, and glanced around the empty corridor. Satisfied that no one was around, Nico pushed the door open wider and stepped out of the cramped store room. It was close to midnight so no one should be awake.

He walked down the corridor until he reached the door with the number 666 on the front. Tiredly, he rummaged in his pockets before taking out the room card and inserting it in the slot at the door handle. The light flashed green and the door slid open. Taking the card back, Nico stepped into the room and the door automatically shut and locked itself. He flipped the switch on the wall down and a light flickered on. Nico took in his surroundings.

The room was quite spacious and had a double bed with a table holding a lamp next to it. There was also a chair, a cupboard and a balcony. To his left was a small bathroom and to his right was a little store room full of towels, toilet paper and extra blankets.

Nico finished inspecting his room and tiredly walked towards the bed. Gently, he placed Rhea in the bed and covered her up with the duvet. He then stretched before shaking his aching arms to get the blood flowing again. Rhea wasn’t heavy but holding her for a while did make his arms ache.

Once the pins and needles had passed he took his shoes off and placed them neatly near the table next to the bed. He put the rucksack down next to his shoes and rolled his shoulders. Yawning, Nico switched the light off and crawled into the left side of the bed.

It’s great that I managed to Iris message Father and ask him for a room card to the nearest hotel. I don’t think Rhea would have liked to camp out in the rain tonight and as a matter of fact, neither would I.

Lying in the bed, Nico was annoyed to find that he couldn’t fall asleep even though he felt really tired.

He jumped when a small body snuggled into his side, seeking out his warmth. Looking to his right, he saw that Rhea had rolled over to his side of the bed and curled into a ball near his side. She was shivering slightly so Nico pulled her closer and wrapped the duvet securely over them both, cocooning them in heat.

Tomorrow I need to save Bianca. Gaia wants me to meet her at the Statue of Liberty. It’s probably a trap but what choice do I have? I’ll get Gaia to swap Bianca with me; I only hope that Bianca manages to take Rhea back to Camp Half-Blood safely.

Nico drifted off to an uneasy sleep, wondering what surprises the next day would bring.