Missing

Awake

Thalia's POV

"Grace." The voice was instantly recognizable. I searched the darkness for where it was coming from but saw nothing.

"Nico?" I asked.

"Listen to me. Paris is a bad idea. You can't go there no matter what," He warned, his voice filling every inch of dark space.

"Why? My friends are there. What if they need help?" I asked, still trying to locate where he was. It always weirded me out when he did this.

"Look. Two hunters made it back to camp. They've told everyone about Lycaon. About his shape shifting monster. The rumors are spreading like wild fire. Lycaon has your scent. The girls said he was talking about a 'boss.' Someone who wants you alive. Lycaon knows where you are. He knows what you're doing. You're playing right into his hands." Nico's voice was urgent.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't just abandon my friends and even if I did I promised Reyna I'd find her sister," I argued. My pulse was pounding in my ears. There was no doubt in my mind that Nico was right. Lycaon was playing us. We were sport for him. Nothing more nothing less. He was supposed to keep us busy while something else was happening.

"I know, but if you continue on this quest you're going to need help. Come back to camp. We can send out a search party," Nico reasoned.

"No. I've tried that already. The nymphs and satyrs already looked. Nobody's dug anything up!" I insisted. For some reason, no one seemed to comprehend that tid-bit of information.

"That's more of a reason to come back. Someone's keeping this quiet for a reason. The only way you'll find anything is if they let you." Nico was growing impatient. I could hear it in his tone of voice. "Please listen to me Thalia. We're all worried okay? The last time something happened with the Hunters my sister died."

He sounded like a little kid again stuck on the verge of crying. It was how Jason used to sound when he was sad. I couldn't hold out on him. "Okay. But I'll have to convince the others. What if they don't believe me?"

"I've already talked to Reyna," Nico explained.

"You have? How?" I asked.

"The same way I'm talking to you. Now you need to wake up. Trouble's on its way." All at once I was falling.

My eyes snapped open and I sat bolt upright. My hands were shaking but I didn't care. Getting to my feet I stumbled out of the tent. "We can't go to Paris!"

Reyna and I said at the exact same time. She studied me carefully. "Nico talked to you to didn't he?"

"Yeah," I sighed scanning the area for any threat. "We need to pack up and we need to get moving. Quickly."

Reyna nodded in understanding and immediately marched into the tent and shook the others awake. My hand inched towards my pocket where I kept my spear. My eyes peeled the dark. Everything had grown quiet. What was worse, there weren't any birds whistling. In most cases they took up a song when the sun began it's ascent onto the sky. Sweat began to make my palms slippery and I wiped my hands feverishly on my jeans.

A taxi cab whistle startled me but it was only Becca calling Blackjack and his friends back. The grim expression on her face meant she understood the situation perfectly. A twig snapped to my right and in an instant my spear was ready. Thankfully it was a squirrel shuffling the leaves with its tail. I sighed in relief when I went flying backwards. It felt like a train had just smacked me in the side. The trees flew by at an uncanny rate until I hit the forest floor with a painful thud. I was disoriented to say the least but I scrambled to my feet and sprinted back towards camp.