The Solace Twins (Nico Di Angelo Fanfiction)

Burn

Quiet humming and the soft beating of wings filled the silent night. Lights glimmered below in what Skylar assumed to be a city in Pennsylvania. So far their journey had been unsuccessful. Two full days have passed and no leads on Nico's whereabouts. Sure they had another purpose for being outside of camp but looking for him was a bonus condition. Soft sighs escape her lips as she rests her head against Ortus's neck. The pegasus snorts shifting his body to ensure she didn't fall off. Skylar barely slept since leaving camp, only taking light naps when her pegasus needed a break. For a child of Apollo who worries about other's health she really doesn't watch her own. Ortus soared past the bustling city into a more rural area with less buildings.

"It should be around here somewhere..." She mumbles surveying the neighborhood for a specific household. A slip of paper glowed faintly in her hand as she compared the addresses. The accompanying photograph sealed the deal. "Set me down behind that house please Ortus." Skylar points to a two story yellow house with white shutters. His hooves touch the grassy backyard hiding slightly underneath a large Oak tree.This is the place but... The smell of burning wood wafted to her nose eliciting a sneeze from both horse and human.

Smoke seeped into the air from a window on the second floor. Large flames licked the corner of the house rapidly advancing to the rest of the premises. She shakes her head in disbelief at the shattered glass that used to belong to a sliding door. Without much thought the blonde wraps a scarf around the lower half of her face and runs inside bow at the ready.

"You've got to be kidding me." Voices in Skylar's mind begged her to run right back outside. The heat seeped through her clothes. A faint call of distress reaches her ears as she rushes up the stairs, carefully jumping over burning debri. Flames covered almost everything on the top floor leaving only a small space for her to maneuver. Large claw marks littered the walls. That looks promising. The overpowering scent of smoke began to seep through her makeshift mask. Skylar pressed onward arriving at the doorway the voice was coming from.

It was a time like this she appreciated the survival instincts that came with being a demigod. Upon entering the room a fresh wave of fire launched in her direction. A Chimera rampaged around the room. One side of the lion's face had a fire poker protruding from it's eye socket. Ocean eyes fall upon the person she was looking for. The kid looked to be about eleven. His wavy brown hair stuck to his forehead and soot caked his face. A gash on his side seeped blood through his blue t-shirt. She was surprised to find him still conscious. Dodging the venom soaked snake-headed tail, Skylar lands next to the boy.

"W-who are you?" He winces gingerly touching his wound only to have red stain the fingers. Green eyes narrowed in suspicion at her sudden arrival. Coughing wracked his thin frame causing the wound to bleed even more. He'll die from smoke inhalation or blood loss if the Chimera doesn't devour him first.

"That's not important. We need to move before that thing kills us both." The blonde demands. Carefully Skylar lifted his arm around her shoulders ordering him to shut his eyes as she shot an orb of light at the beast. It's body reeled back from the blast. They neared the window leading to the back yard. All the glass had been blown out earlier making their escape slightly easier. Most of the boy's weight fell on Skylar as he inched closer to unconsciousness. Angry growling resumed as the Chimera began to regain its composure.

"We...can't go out this way...unless you can fly..." He mutters into her ear, half lidded green eyes watching as they sit on the window sill.

"Just trust me." She coughs sliding him down the roof and on top of her trusty steed. The brunet instinctively grabs onto the horse's neck. Skylar ensures he's safely on before turning back to the monster. "Hey ugly! I don't take too kindly to monsters like you disrupting my job!" She unleashes two arrows into its hide avoiding the fire as much as possible. Her bow is swiped from her hands as the snake-head tail turns on her. The forked tongue flickers at its newfound prey.

Angry roars shake the foundation of the room loosening the ceiling that falls atop the Chimera successfully pinning it to the ground. Skylar seizes the opportunity and jumps on the monster dragging her dagger into it's flesh. A sharp pain rips through her leg as the snake's teeth dig in. Hissing in pain the blonde removes the blade to cut off the snake tail covering her head to toe in monster dust. Staggering to the window she stumbles off the sloped roof and onto Ortus's back as firefighters hose down the blazing home. She trusted the pegasus to bring them somewhere safe.

After flying for about ten minutes Ortus touches down just outside a small grove of trees. With shaking hands Skylar dug through her backpack pulling out a canteen of Nectar and bag filled with Ambrosia squares. She chewed on a square while trickling a small amount of Nectar into the boy's mouth. He passed out from exhaustion not long after they landed far away from the monster incident. Blue eyes narrow in concentration as Skylar stitched the gash on his side. The bleeding had thankfully stopped otherwise she would have make up a lie at the hospital over how they were hurt. Lying was one thing she hated to do even when necessary.

Will could do a much better job. He's always been the best healer. She frowns wrapping clean bandages around the fresh stitches and laying his body in her sleeping bag. A tightly bound bandage adorned her right calf having used up most of her strength in the fight and not having enough to heal it completely. "I should check in and see how camp is." She leans against the tree trunk removing a glass prism protected in a small black cloth.

Prisms were a convenient way for Skylar to send an Iris message. She could easily pour a small beam of light into it producing a rainbow. The golden haired girl chants the incantation. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering." A shiny gold drachma dissolves into the rainbow. "Camp Half Blood, Wi- Lee Fletcher please." She changes her mind opting to call the counselor instead. I'm sure Will's still mad at me.

The familiar image of her older half sibling appears in the light. His body sat hunched over at a desk writing in a journal. "Hey Lee." Skylar greets startling the older boy into scratching ink across the paper.

"Skylar! Oh wow how are you? Give me a minute and I'll get Will. You two should really talk." Lee rises to his feet, halting when Skylar shouts for him not to. He raises an eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"Please don't. I'll talk to him just...I need to do it in person." She pleads wiping some soot on her face with her sleeve. "How is it at camp?" Shuffling is heard behind her as the brunet boy turns in the sleeping bag. Skylar really needed to explain things to him and learn his name.

"About that. Percy and Annabeth found Daedalus's Labyrinth. They, along with Tyson and Grover, went inside to stop Luke from reaching camp. The rest of us are doing what we can around here to prepare in case the army gets through." Lee fills her in on everything his eyes drifting to something just out of sight of the video message. The screen flickered slightly signalling time was almost up.

"I'll make this quick. I found a demigod and I'm bringing him back to camp. We should arrive within the next few days, much earlier than I originally planned to return. If something comes up you let me know and we'll be home before you can recite one of dad's Haikus." Skylar informs playing with her sleeve.

"We'll be here. With any luck you'll get here before a war breaks out." Lee sighs running a hand through his hair. The image before his eyes started to turn into static. They had maybe a minute left. A boy steps into the frame placing a hand on Lee's shoulder. He was dressed in an orange tank top, khaki cargo shorts and flip flops. His blue eyes held an unreadable expression.

"Will." Skylar breathes, almost severing the connection in surprise.

"Sky, you look...well you've seen better days." Will tells her switching place with Lee as he leaves the room.

"Will...I-I'm so-" She pauses when he hold his hand up.

"We'll talk when you come home. That's what you said remember? See you soon okay?" He sends a small smile her way.

"R-right. Bye." Skylar nods as the image cuts out enveloping the area in darkness once more. The blonde rubs her eyes ignoring the wetness left on her fingers and settling down next to Ortus. He wraps a wing around her as she shuts her blue eyes for some much needed rest.