Nico di Angelo: A Darkness Comes at Dawn

Chapter 12: Melinoe

Disclaimer: Uncle Rick owns them not me! Leave me alone! Please!

Nico POV ☠

Hooray for us!(sarcastic) We get to recruit minor gods while the others get the fun. Wait... Melinoe, my half-sister. Could she be behind this. I was suspicious. Even with a power of the god, no one could teleport to the underworld without the Ancient Law's permission. It had to be an underworld deity. Time to pay Melinoe a visit. 

I shadow-traveled to her cave. She immediately noticed me.

"Ah, if it isn't my godly half-brother." She spat. "What do you want?" I drew my Stygian Iron Sword and pointed it at her.

"I know you are behind this." I stated calmly. "Tell me everything you know!" 

"Ah, little god. I know none of this whatever big deal. I was in my cave this entire past week. It's my break from scaring people." She said calmly. I decided to read her mind. 

I managed to find it. She knows something. I immediately seized her arm as she yelped. I shadow-traveled both of us to our father's palace. Hades was busy planning with Persephone on how they would recruit the gods in the upper world.

"Father," I called, "I may have found a goddess who knows about this... stuff." Hades, Persephone, and lots of dead souls planning with them all turned to me. "Your daughter knows something. I've read her mind. She succeeded in hiding the whole thing from me. I was only able to pick up this from her mind: 'I must not tell him what I know.' , before I seized her and brought her here."

"Let me go!" Melinoe groaned.. 

"My own daughter!" Persephone shouted. "How dare you do this?!" My father picked up from here.

"Melinoe, tell us everything! Or else, I will not allow you to leave the underworld. I am in control of the Ancient Laws that allow you to stay or leave in the underworld." Hades threatened.

"Fine!" Melinoe said, putting her hands up in a I-Give-Up gesture. "Hecate. Two weeks ago, she came to me in my cave. She told me about Nyx and how she would win this war. Hecate asked me to help. I told her I didn't want to get involved with this war. She then told me to at least keep this a secret to support her in that way. She is my best friend so I couldn't say no! Daddy! It's not fair!"

"Hmm..." I thought aloud. "No wonder when I shadow-traveled into the high school Percy and the others were studying in, the mortals saw everything. The Mist was down. Hecate probably did that on purpose."

"So we found a huge clue." Hades said. "We must warn Lord Zeus and the others." 

I felt like we were missing something important. Wait! Oh my gods! I'm stupid! 

"Wait!" I interrupted. "What about the other stranger! Remember how I said that a stranger with a jet pack shot a poison dart at the evil demigod we were about to interrogate! Zeus and the others forgot about that!"

"Very well, son. I will send you and that scummy Zeus spawn who is now also a god to locate that person. He may as well be a mortal. Gods and demigods do not use jet packs and poison darts. There are rogue criminals in the mortal world called 'Bounty Hunters' that do dirty work for a bounty. Go to the criminal systems where you might find them there. And you, Melinoe! You are grounded to your room for the rest of this war! Swear on the River Styx!" 

"Nooo!" Melinoe wailed. Hades pulled out his Stygian Iron Sword. "Fine, I swear on the River Styx blah blah blah I'll stay in my room for the rest of this war blah blah blah and I won't harm anyone or break anything blah blah blah ONLY IF I GET TO PRACTICE MAGIC."

"Fine." Hades said. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "I will tell Lord Zeus about this and the bounty hunter. You and Thalia Grace, the Zeus scum, search for the bounty hunter."

"Okay."