Battling Demons: Book 2 [COMPLETED]

Chapter 30: Trials

Will's POV:

It was trial day. The rec room was set up like a courtroom. The ping-pong table had been removed. There were two thrones at one end, with Chiron sitting in his wheelchair. Dionysus was at the center, his throne wrapped with grapevines. He would be the head "judge" in Aaron's trial. Hades was to his left in a throne of black marble. Chiron was to his right.

There were a table and chair set up in front of the thrones for the witnesses to sit and testify. Behind the table were two benches for the two parties to sit. Aaron, Ryan, Tyler, and Drew sat on the left side with Clarisse and Reyna looming over them, keeping them in check. To the right, Nico, Will, Jason and Kayla sat. Behind these benches were an assortment of folding chairs and deck chairs for the head counselors and the few campers allowed to witness the proceedings.

Nico was frozen in place, staring directly at Aaron, who was glaring back at him. The son of Hades appeared to be lost in his memories because he shuddered a moment later, tearing his gaze away from Aaron's.

"You okay?" Will asked under his breath.

"Yeah, little nervous," Nico muttered back.

"Hey, everything is going to work out. We all got your back."

"Yeah." Nico absentmindedly said, still lost in his thoughts.

"Nico," Will said. Nico looked up to meet Will's eyes. "It's going to work out. We have enough evidence to take these guys down."

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened."

"Hopefully, with their punishment, you can start to put it all behind you." Will offered.

"Hopefully." Nico looked off into the distance.

After the late-night conversation that he had had with his father, Nico seemed ever more reserved within himself, with traces of self-deprecating humor mixed in. Nico would talk with his father for hours. Will wondered what they were talking about, but Nico would never say. It had been a relatively calm couple of days. No major incidents. Will still avoided touching Nico as much as possible. And Nico had really put the effort forward to try and be ready for the trial. Will knew that Nico just wanted to get it over with.

Will looked up as people started making their way over to their seats. Annabeth stood in front of the table to discuss something with Chiron. She and Percy had headed back to school but continued to return to camp in order to handle the investigation. Leo and Calypso, sitting close behind their bench, had taken permanent residence at Camp. Leo had gone to Camp Jupiter to get Frank for the trial. Hazel, Frank, and Reyna would head back to Camp Jupiter when the trial was finished. Jason and Piper were missing school, not having gone back yet, but Will had a feeling that they would be spending more time at Camp Half-Blood to help Nico to heal from his traumatic experience. Will himself had made his own arrangements with his mother that he needed to tell Nico about. But, now was not the time. Annabeth had finished speaking with Chiron and was now looking out at the crowd. The campers fell silent.

"We are gathered here for the case of Aaron Stevenson, Ryan Diaz, Tyler Smith, and Drew Tanaka and their alleged assault of Mr. Nico di Angelo," Annabeth spoke. "I have led the investigation into the assault and have received conflicting testimonies from both sides as well as inconclusive evidence linking Mr. Aaron Stevenson to the attack. Today, Dionysus will provide an objective ruling on what he believes to be the truth. Are both sides ready to begin?"

"Yes." Aaron asserted.

Annabeth looked at Nico, needing him to confirm before proceeding. He was lost in thought. Will lightly nudged him.

He started and spoke up. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Annabeth smiled sympathetically at him. "Then the case shall begin." She cleared her throat.