Penumbra

Chapter 6 - The Black Fortress

Nico was left confused. He didn't know what had happened, where Hades was or where Percy, Thalia and Clarisse were now. They were supposed to meet up with him, but their disappearance was worrying.

Still, Nico knew he couldn't afford to linger too long in Wyoming. It was dangerous being on the surface. Every block in a city there would be a monster, every nymph was a potential informant to the Titans. But the demigods also found many whom weren't. Nymphs would pop out of their trees or bushes to watch the demigods pass for a brief second, and then turn their heads aside. Others would even turn around and stare off in a different direction until the demigods were no longer there.

So at least Yellowstone seemed reasonably safe from the Titans. Nico wasn't sure how long that would last or how often, but he wasn't sticking around to find out.

He was just grateful that not everything in this new world would be aiming to kill them.

Nico snuck into Jackson, Wyoming and managed to grab some more food and a map of the USA. What he was about to pitch to the other demigods would sound like suicide to them, but it needed to be done. Perhaps ironically, it could be the only safe place in the world for the demigods now.

Nico rolled out a map on the ground for everyone, late one evening. Will made his body glow to give them some light with which to see it.

Nico placed a finger on the map. "We're in Yellowstone right now," he said to the other demigods. "I don't know what's happened to Percy and the others-"

"And Hades."

"And Hades," Nico added distractedly, "but we can't stay here for ages. I'd be surprised if the Titans haven't already found out where we are and sent monsters after us. So we have to keep moving, they can look after themselves." Percy, Thalia and Clarisse were three of the most capable demigods he'd ever met, with a close rival. "There is a safe place we can go," Nico said. "Or at least – safer than out here where the Titans can find us." The son of Hades took a deep breath, and slowly set a finger above San Francisco. "Here," he quietly said.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Mount Othrys?" She demanded angrily. "Are you insane? We'll all be killed! That's – right on the Titans' doorstep!"

Nico shook his head slightly. "Not Mount Othrys," he said. "There's somewhere else – Camp Jupiter. It's where my father suggested we go," Nico added.

Will's eyes furrowed. "What's Camp Jupiter?"

"There are Romans," Nico said flatly to the gathered demigods. "That's their Camp. We were on the East coast to protect Olympus, they're on the West to watch Othrys. But it's protected, shielded with similar defences to Camp Half-Blood – the Titans can't find it."

Annabeth stared down at the map, looking completely disbelieving. "How – why weren't we ever told about this?" She demanded.

Nico shrugged. "Bad blood," he said. "Lots of things happened in the past between the Greeks and Romans. The gods probably don't want to deal with the headache of another Civil War, but at this point I think we need to go there anyway."

"What were they doing?" Annabeth asked. "While we were defending Olympus – where were they?" She demanded. "We could've used their help."

"Hades told me they stormed Othrys," Nico said. "They were winning too, but the gods managed to get a warning to them to pull back when K – when the Titan Lord appeared. Wouldn't have been able to take him on when he returned to Othrys, so they pulled back to their base. Hades was pretty convinced that the Titans wouldn't be able to find their Camp – it's the best option for us now."

Annabeth grimaced. "Romans," she muttered under her breath, saying it much like a curse. "Alright," she said as she stared at the distance on the map between Yellowstone and San Francisco. "I guess that's the best option we have," she said tiredly.