ACHILLES ( annabeth chase )

nine | CRAZY DANCING SCORPIONS TRY TO KILL VAL

DARKNESS HAD NEVER BOTHERED VAL. Her mother was a goddess of lots of night-timey things. The only dark that had ever given Val a sense of unease was that dark, cold corridor in her dream that gave her a sense that she was invading something, and whatever was waiting for her wasn't very friendly, but she didn't have to worry about that right now. She only had to worry about staying alive and annoying Annabeth.

It was still light outside when they entered the woods, but the shadows from the tall trees made most of the light go much darker. It was cold, too, even in summer. This darkness made her slightly apprehensive; she'd never liked these woods, that's for sure. Annabeth and she (well, mostly Annabeth) found tracks almost immediately - scuttling marks made by something with a lot of legs. They began to follow the trail.

After a very little walking, the girls jumped over a small creek and heard twigs snapping. Annabeth and Val quickly crouched behind a boulder, but it was only the Stoll brothers tripping through the woods and cursing. Their dad was the god of thieves, but they were about as stealthy as giant buffaloes.

Once the Stolls had passed, Annabeth forged deeper into the west woods and Val followed. This where the monsters were wilder. Val knew that very well, thanks to being trapped in there for a few months. Val caught up to Annabeth and they were standing on a ledge overlooking a marshy pond when Annabeth tensed. Val tensed too, not even knowing why, just trusting Annabeth's instinct. "This is where we stopped looking. And where we met you." Annabeth turned to face Val on the last word.

Looking around, Val recognised the clearing, even though not much of the woods ever looked much different (and it was also easier to look at than Annabeth's eyes). Last winter, this was where Valentine overhead Annabeth, Grover and Percy's conversation about Nico, whoever that was. And it was where Valentine had scared them by appearing. It was also where Valentine had battled a skeleton that wouldn't die until a boy so full of pain and hurt let loose his feelings. It was also where Valentine had been at her weakest. Val had mixed feelings about this place.

"Were you looking for Nico?" Val asked. "The son of Hades?" She was beginning to suspect she knew who the boy had been. Or at least Annabeth knew.

But Val's question caught Annabeth by surprise. "How did you ... how much of our conversation did you hear?"

Val shrugged. "Depends on how long it had been. Long enough to figure out this Neeky boy-"

"Nico," Annabeth corrected.

"Close enough. I heard enough of what you guys were saying to know that he's been alive since World War Two, Hades didn't break the oath, he has a sister Bianca and he wants Percy dead," Val finished.

Annabeth stared at Val. It was the one time that Val had actually been smart, and it had shocked Annabeth speechless. It was a little offensive that Annabeth was surprised by her intelligence. "Are you part of every conversation?" Annabeth asked, almost sarcastically but not quite.

"No. The real question is, why does everyone keep thinking that?" Annabeth was about to answer before Val cut her off. "Also, what does Neeky boy look like?"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to correct her, but knew it wouldn't be any use. "Uh, he's kind of short, about ten biologically, got really dark hair, dark eyes and pale-olive skin. I'm not really sure, to be honest. I didn't see him all that much."

"I did." Val said. "Well, I saw him at least."

Annabeth stared at Val again. It was making Val a little uncomfortable. Her eyes were intense. "And you never told us this?"

Val just shrugged. "Nobody asked."

Annabeth looked like she wanted to answer back, but then she fully registered what Val said and almost laughed, much to Val's confusion. Annabeth regained her composure and asked her next question. "Where did you see him?"