Hidden Half-Bloods 2

Chapter Five: Heat and Hearth

Helena's backpack was painfully empty. She decided to leave her military uniform in the Hades Cabin, leaving her with a spare change of clothes, her toiletries, and some rations. She assumed that Grant and Riley had other stuff to put in their backpacks, like cool survival supplies or pictures of their loved ones.

"When you go on quests, don't you have other stuff in your backpack?" Helena asks Nico as he returns to their cabin after fetching Will. Will answered first, pushing past his boyfriend to whip a picture out of his back pocket.

"We don't go on quests anymore, but I always keep this picture of us with me. You can take it with you, if you want." Helena can see Nico roll his eyes from behind the son of Apollo, but she accepts the slightly crumpled polaroid photograph. "James has a polaroid camera, and he takes pictures of everyone, so you don't have to worry about returning it. We have lots of other pictures of us." Helena's eyes widen as she notices that in this picture, Nico is actually smiling. He and Will are standing in front of the Hades cabin, arms looped around each other and cheeks pressed together.

"Thank you." She tucks into her backpack and slings it over her shoulders, situating it so that it doesn't block the bident that is strapped over her back. Nico's eyes follow the movement of the weapon.

"Since you're not completely mortal, that thing will only suck more life out of you. Try not to use it." Helena nodded, and together the three of them walked out of Cabin Thirteen and towards the woods. When they were far enough in, Nico stopped, and nodded to Will. The son of Apollo walked off, leaving the two half-siblings by themselves. "I have another word of advice for you." Helena felt her eyebrows raise, and an annoyed scowl settled over her brother's face. It was times like these that Helena remembered that Nico was two years younger than her. "Don't push it." Helena rolled her eyes. "As a child of Hades, we're able to shadow-travel. Even Hazel, who's a daughter of Pluto, Hades' roman side, can shadow-travel, although she usually needs my help. All you need is shade and determination to pull you through to the other side. Focus on the shadow closing around you, and then the place you want to go once you're inside." Helena nodded, and Nico clapped his hands twice. Will skipped out from the trees, happily resuming his place next to Nico. Helena would miss them on the quest. They made her feel like she was a part of a family.

~

Riley and Chiron were waiting next to Zeus' Fist, a large pile of boulders in the woods, a few paces away from the Labyrinth opening, and Riley could feel her anxiety spiking. She still had regular nightmares about that place, and now she was going back inside.

"I've got a present for you!" Leo skipped through the trees, followed more slowly by Grant and Calypso. It was a welcome distraction for Riley, who arched one eyebrow at the demigod's words. From his magical toolbelt Leo brandished what appeared to be the handle of a lightsaber. "I thought you might need a slashy-slashy weapon on your quest, so here's a prototype lightsaber. I haven't figured out how to properly stabilize the fire, so it only lasts for a minute after activation, and there's only enough juice for it to activate three times." Riley hesitantly too the weapon, staring down at it with an edge of fear.

"Are you sure you should be giving this to me?" Riley wasn't used to close-combat fighting, even after the battle against Echidna when she had used Gabi's dagger. Leo put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving his trademark mischievous grin.

"I have a feeling that you'll appreciate it more than anyone else." Riley clipped it onto her belt, hearing the sounds of other people approaching. Nico, Will, and Helena weaved out from the trees, and Riley was faced again with the knowledge that she was the only one able to see through the Mist that covered Helena's arms. It was so unnerving that Riley had to consciously force herself not to look at Helena's zombified arms so she didn't start to feel nauseous before the quest had even began.