Death's Reason

Chapter 8

The first time around, Minos played Nico. This time, Nico played him.

There was something off about Nico, something Minos could tell right away. And Nico knew he knew. But he let him do as he did the first time, let him "train" him, let him lead him through the Labyrinth, and eventually to the Triple G Ranch.

Up until then, Nico let Minos "train" him, pretended he wasn't that good with his powers, acted naively despite everything he had been through. Minos looked at him weird sometimes, especially after the nightmares, but the old ghost was too self-centered to really see what was going on.

So there he was, sitting in that ranch house, waiting for Percy Jackson to show up.

Minos was nearby, he could feel him. But he could also feel Cecilia, could feel Lance, could feel Allen and Clayton. He could feel all the dead he now protected.

He was going to be okay, at least for now. Kronos was the only threat for years. And Kronos was someone he had faced many times before.

He broke a sword against Gaea herself. He could fight Kronos himself if he needed to.

But that prophesy. It warned him that things weren't going to be the same as he hoped they would.

But he was still going to try his damn best.

Nico walked out of the house when he heard Percy's voice, forcing himself to glare at the son of Poseidon. "You let my sister die." He remembered how irrational he used to be. "Probably came to kill me, too."

Percy shook his head. "Nico, we're not-"

"That's not important." Annabeth pointed at Geryon. "How do you know our names?"

Nico tried to hide his boredom. He honestly couldn't think of what the four in front of him were going through.

"I make it my business to keep informed, darlin'. Everybody pops into the ranch from time to time. Everyone needs something from ole Geryon. Now, let's take that tour."

Nico scowled but followed the party down the steps. He could slightly hear Cecilia laugh.

He sat in the back of the trolley, his arms crossed and his head back. Percy would save him, he'd gone on, everything was okay.

But nothing was okay. He missed his dad, he missed Hazel, he heard Gaea every time he glanced at the ground.

Damn, was he conflicted. Things were okay, they weren't okay. Things should stay the same, the Fates now said things would change.

He just wanted to sleep. He wanted death whenever death was safe again. And he still had years of fighting left until that was possible, still had time in Tartarus to go through.

He stayed quiet throughout the whole ride. When they were finally finished, however, he got off the trolley and stomped over to Geryon. "Look, I'm sick of this. My ghost told me you could help lead us to the soul we need."

"Wait a second," Percy said. "I thought I was the soul you need."

Nico glanced over. "Why would I want you? Your soul would never be worth Bianca's. Geryon, you helping me or not?"

"Oh, I imagine I could," Geryon said. "Your ghost friend, by the way, where is he?"

Nico frowned. "He can't form in broad daylight. It's hard for him. But he's around somewhere."

Geryon smiled. "I'm sure. Minos likes to disappear when things get...difficult."

"Minos?" Percy asked. "You mean that evil king? That's the ghost who's been giving you advice?"