Order of the Olympians

Order of the Olympians Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The man reached out as if to grab onto Nico's shoulder, but abruptly pulled his hand back, instead moving to link his fingers through the woman's. "Protect my son." The man urged fiercely. "Please, protect Harry."

Nico's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. These people were Harry's parents?

Their expectant gaze helped Nico find his voice. "I will. That's what my friends and I are here for." The couple's tense shoulders relaxed by an inch, and grateful smiles stretched across their translucent faces. Before Nico could open his mouth to say anything else, the temperature around them dropped sharply and gooseflesh broke out against his skin.

The dim lights from the shops and pubs surrounding him shut off abruptly, throwing Nico into the thick, sinking darkness. A cruel laugh echoed harshly between his ears and he was gripped by the icy touch of fear.

"You might be here to protect the Chosen One, but who will protect you, little demigod?"

Nico felt the blood drain out of his face. He had heard that voice before. He didn't even have time to scream before the shadows swallowed him whole.

XX

Nico jerked awake from his nightmare and scrambled to sit up in his bed. The sheets pooling by his waist were covered in sweat.

He was faintly surprised to find light pouring in through the windows and commotion in the bedroom. Percy and Annabeth were already dressed and in the process of stuffing their Camp Half-Blood bags into their new trunks. Will was tugging a cashmere blue sweater over his head when he noticed Nico rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms.

"Hey, I was just about to wake you. We're headed out soon." He explained, offering a hand to help Nico up. He grumbled in response and distantly tried to remember what his dream had been about. Something important, he was sure, but for some reason when he thought back, faded white noise sounded in his head and a sinking feeling sat heavily within his chest.

Will must have noticed Nico's expression because he crouched down and waved a hand in front of his face. "You okay?" Nico jumped, startled, and grunted in frustration before pushing off from the bed.

"What's wrong with you this morning?" Will challenged. Nico couldn't seem to shake his bad mood and ignored his boyfriend. Will obviously wasn't about to let it go though because he quickly blocked the door to the bathroom. "Seriously, tell me what's wrong. Doctor's orders."

"Nothing!" Nico hissed, tossing his hands up in frustration. Finally, he hesitated and glanced down at the floorboards. "At least, I think it's nothing." He could see Percy and Annabeth approach out of the corner of his eye.

"Dude, what's going on?" Percy asked with concern in his eyes, which only served to help grow Nico's mounting frustration.

"Nothing's wrong! I just, I just have a bad feeling, that's all." Nico huffed and crossed his arms over his chest protectively. His friends exchanged worried looks.

"We've been through enough to know that we should be trusting our instincts." Annabeth urged, but relented in taking a step to the side so Nico could get through to the bathroom. "If you have a bad feeling, Nico, then we all need to be on the lookout."

That seemed to satisfy Percy, so he moved out of the way as well. Will stood still with narrowed eyes, tapping his foot in annoyance. "When you stop acting so grumpy, then we can talk about what's bothering you."

Nico rolled his eyes and pushed past his boyfriend, slamming the door behind him. He quickly turned on the shower, then leaned his back against the sink and rubbed at his temples while waiting for the water to heat up. In a few minutes, steam had filled the bathroom and Nico stepped in, letting the water slide over his skin.