Death and Madness|| Nico di Angelo

Now would be a good time to be anyone but me

We were doing okay until we hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and we were keeping up, but then we spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. Grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" I said.

He didn't move. He stared open mouthed into the dark tunnel. His curly hair rustled in the breeze.

Suddenly I felt it too. Imagine a fresh breeze hitting your face, energising you. That's what it felt like. It was magic, I was sure of it. But what exactly? I had no idea.

"Come on!" Annabeth said. "We have to keep moving."

"This is the way," Grover muttered in awe. "This is it."

"What way?" Percy asked. "You mean...to Pan?"

"The god of the wild?" I asked. Grover nodded. "So that's what I can feel"

Grover looked at Tyson. "Don't you smell it?"

"Dirt," Tyson said. "And plants."

"Yes! This is the way. I'm sure of it!"

Up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. A few more seconds and we'd lose it.

"Well come back," Annabeth promised. "On our way back to Hephaestus."

"The tunnel will be gone by then," Grover said. "I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!"

"But we can't," Annabeth said. "The forges!"

Grover looked at her sadly. "I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?"

She looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. The spider was almost out of sight. 

"We'll split up," Percy said.

"No! That's way too dangerous." Annabeth said. 

"Annabeth, I know I haven't been with you guys for that long. But even I understand that it's something Grover needs to do" I told her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone."

Tyson put his hand on Grover's shoulder. "I—I will go with him."

"Tyson, are you sure?"

The big guy nodded. "Goat boy needs help. We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends."

Grover took a deep breath. "Percy, we'll find each other again. We've still got the empathy link. I just...have to."

"I hope you're right," Percy said.

"I know I am." 

"Be careful," Percy told him. Tyson gave Percy, Annabeth and I a big bear hug. Then he and Grover disappeared through the tunnel of tree roots and were lost in the darkness.

"This is bad," Annabeth said. "Splitting up is a really, really bad idea."

"We'll see them again," I said, trying to sound confident. "Now come on. The spider is getting away!"

It wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.

The stone walls glowed. The air felt as if we were walking through an oven. The tunnel sloped down and I could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. The spider skittered along, with Annabeth right behind, while Percy and I did our best to follow. 

On the way I had told him a bit about myself. I didn't tell him about Luke though, or how Nico and I really met. But I was glad he didn't ask. 

"Hey, wait up," Percy called to Annabeth. Oh those two definitely had something going on.

She glanced back at us. "Yeah?"

"Something Hephaestus said back there...about Athena."

"She swore never to marry," Annabeth said. "Like Artemis and Hestia. She's one of the maiden goddesses."

I blinked. I'd never heard that about Athena before. 

"But then- How come she has demigod children?" I asked.

"Violet, you know how Athena was born?" 

"She sprung from the head of Zeus in full battle armor or something." I racked my brain for the myths I had read.

"Exactly. She wasn't born in the normal way. She was literally born from thoughts. Her children are born the same way. When Athena falls in love with a mortal man, it's purely intellectual, the way she loved Odysseus in the old stories. It's a meeting of minds. She would tell you that's the purest kind of love."