Battling Demons: Book 2 [COMPLETED]

Chapter 11: Animonsity

Nico's POV:

Nico opened his eyes and immediately shut them. The blinds had been opened and sunlight was streaming in. He rolled over, facing away from the window. He looked over at the bedside table. On it was a clock, revealing that it was noon, and a tray of food. He propped himself up to look at the breakfast tray. On it was a plate of bacon, toast, eggs, a mug of coffee, and a note. He picked up the note.

Nico,

I decided to surprise you with a romantic breakfast in bed. I hope you are feeling a little better after this morning. Helping Percy with his dreams was a really great thing to do. Here's some breakfast so you can build up your strength. Come out and rejoin the world of the living when you're finished.

Your beloved,

Will xxx

PS I will be working in the infirmary until 2, but let me know if you need anything

Nico rolled his eyes, tucking the letter in his bedside drawer. He pulled the tray onto his lap, surprised to find himself starving. Within five minutes, he had finished about half of what was on his plate. He jumped out of bed, looking around for something to wear. He pulled on a clean shirt, black jeans, and Will's hoodie. It was black, so it did not divert from Nico's color scheme.

He wrapped his hands around the still-warm coffee mug and opened the door. He stepped outside into the winter air. Even though the weather was regulated around the camp, the boundaries had been lifted to allow some snow to seep in. He glanced at the top of Half-Blood Hill and saw Festus and Peleus wrestling by the pine tree.

He looked around the camp. The first thing he noticed was the tents around the hearth; the Hunters of Artemis were visiting the camp. Wolves were snoozing outside the tents. The second thing he noticed was the explosion of decorations. A huge Christmas tree had been set up in the middle of camp with presents below it. Snowmen had sprung up in the commons. The Hermes cabin was working on a fort, preparing for a major snowball fight with the Ares cabin. The Hecate cabin had magicked tinsel and wreaths on each cabin. The Aphrodite cabin had hidden mistletoe all around the camp, springing unexpected kisses on unsuspecting campers. Menorahs and Stars of David were also sprinkled around the dining pavilion to satisfy the other holidays as well.

Nico reached the dining pavilion to find Percy and Annabeth pouring over maps for the Capture the Flag game that night. Camp Half-Blood was battling the Hunters plus Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. Although the number of campers outnumbered the Hunters, the girls always came up victorious. But Camp Half-Blood was determined to win. They looked up as Nico approached.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Percy called out.

Nico rolled his eyes and sat down on the bench across from them. "Percy, Annabeth. Where's everyone else?"

"Activities. We snuck out to plan for tonight. We have to win so we need to make sure this plan is perfect. We are team captains, after all." Percy said.

"How goes the battle strategies?" Nico asked.

"We have a solid plan, but Reyna is worth all of our demigods combined. I don't know if we can defeat her, much less the Hunters, whom we have never beat before." Annabeth mused, scratching at the paper in front of her. "Our offense will be fine. It's the defense I'm worried about."

"I can call in some reinforcements," Nico suggested softly.

Percy and Annabeth looked up at Nico's quiet words. They were silent for a beat.

"Don't play with us, di Angelo," Annabeth warned. "This is very important to me."

"I can call on some dead soldiers to keep the Hunters at bay and help break through their ranks." Nico pulled the map over to him. He spun the paper around and held his hand out for Annabeth's pencil. She handed it over. He circled some locations on the map. "From my past explorations of the camp, these are huge hot spots for the dead. If we can put our flag here, then we can protect our flag using the dead. If we draw them over here..." he drew a line across the map "... they would be ambushed by a large group of soldiers."