Thickening Shadows (Percy Jackson/Rise of the Guardians Crossover) - Completed

Chapter 12

A/N

Happy Birthday to me! Yup, today is my birthday: 27th March. So, as a birthday gift to myself, I will finally finish updating this story today. Yeah, there are like 4 chapters, including this chapter,  and I'll rush now so that I could finish this book on time. Well, here is Chapter 12! Hope you like it! ;)

Read on! XOXO,

Lea V.

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The clearing was black. Percy couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He gazed upwards to what he presumed to bee the general direction of the sky and found no moon to welcome him. He could smell freshly upturned earthy dirt, trees- perhaps pine- filled his nose. He must be out somewhere rural.

Only small towns and secluded areas were left in total darkness due to their lack of electrical lights. Breathing deeply, he pulled out Riptide and uncapped it, letting the dim light help him see his surroundings. For a moment he half expected Annabeth to be besides him- just like it always been in Tartarus- but no; he was alone.

From what he could tell, he was in a forest of some kind; the trees were sparse due to winter, and it gave the whole area an eery feel. The chill of the night bit into his skin, making him shiver and jump a little on the spot to warm up. His work polo, jacket and jeans weren't anywhere near warm enough. He could already feel his cheeks beginning to numb from the cold.

A rustling to the left made him stop his mental whinging about the cold. Lifting his sword, he tried to shed more light on the forrest, but failed. So instead, he carefully called; "Nico", hand tightening around the mythomagic figurine.

Hot breath was suddenly blowing against his neck. Not Nico- the boy had been shorter then Percy- and certainly not human. It reminded Percy of a Horse. Turning around, he found nothing, only a bare tree. Heart missing a beat, he carefully repeated the same mantra he had been saying nearly every morning in his head.

"You're not there," his voice pierced the silence of the night, "This isn't Tartarus."

"Nico!" He shouted louder this time, "I know this has to be you!"

In the distance, something gleamed gold, and Percy took that as a sign. Moving quickly but carefully he approached the gold. When he came close enough, the light of his sword let him see the source of the gold. Standing in front of him was a horse with empty golden eyes, and a body made of some sort of glimmering black substance. If Percy didn't know any better, he'd say it was sand.

"Hey there," Percy moved to touch the horse, "did Nico-"

It suddenly reared up, massive hooves flailing wildly. Percy hardly had time to duck and roll out of the way. He tried to hear the horses thoughts,. but he couldn't get anything. Scrambling to his feet, he watched as the horse turned around and disappeared into the shadows without a sound.

"Nico? This isn't funny," Percy said, "this isn't funny."

Golden eyes appeared all around him. Gripping his sword tighter, he tensed into a fighting position. He was obviously facing an intelligent foe. If only he had been smart enough not to go into mysterious shadows. He had been blinded by the prospect of seeing his cousin. Annabeth would have her head when she found out.

"Come on then," above him, thunder boomed and lightening flashed, despite the fact that nothing in the area leant to the indication of a thunder storm. Perhaps these sandy horses were bad enough to invoke the wrath of the big man himself.

"I don't have all day," Percy mocked.

One of the horses suddenly exploded. Percy heard something clang to to the ground by his feet. Gritty sand rained down on him, distracting him momentarily. The other horses whined nervously and began skittering around. While the horses became distracted by their fear, Percy knelt down and picked up what had been dropped by his feet.