The Unknown (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

32. The Goddess of Ghosts

HI I'M SO SORRY THIS IS ALMOST A MONTH LATE!

School has started and it has been absolutely hectic. I've got important exams coming up in May (sounds a long way away but it's not that far) so I've been given tons of homework and revision, plus I've had to catch up with a few of my classes. I probably won't be able to update as much as I would like for the rest of this story but I will try my best to complete it by at least Christmas. 

I hope you enjoy the chapter! And sorry about the cliffhanger at the end mwahaha. 

Reyna looked a little shaken, but her expression was as composed as ever. Her gaze drifted to the path leading up to the cave. "I guess it's now or never."

Thalia grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's stop this bitch."

Nico

Apparently Melinoe had good hearing.

As soon as those words tumbled out of Thalia's idiotic mouth, a strange hissing came from the cave and the path was suddenly filled with writhing mist. No, he realised with an uneasy feeling, it was the Mist.

Reyna apparently realised this as well. "Keep away from it." She warned. "If the goddess is using it against us..."

"We know." Thalia said, her expression grim as she met Nico's eyes.

Nico remembered the last encounter they had with Melinoe, a few years back. The goddess had tricked Thalia and him by using the Mist to show their deceased mothers, leaving them shell-shocked. Percy had managed to snap them out of it but the memory still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He half-expected for the goddess to come charging out the Mist but nothing happened. The hissing faded and the path cleared, with the writhing trails of white fog curling on either side.

Thalia notched an arrow and marched forward, her electric blue eyes glaring at the Mist as if daring it to attack. It didn't.

Reluctantly, Nico followed with Reyna covering them at the rear, her Imperial gold spear gripped loosely but ready in her hand. Bones crunched under their feet- a sound that he was sadly accustomed to-but apart from that, there was a deep, eerie silence. He felt the hairs on the back of his rise to attention.

As they moved forward, the Mist seemed to swallow up the path behind them, rolling towards them in waves. Nico didn't like that. He'd do anything to have his sister with him now. Hazel was a brilliant sorceress and could manipulate the Mist with a single thought-something that he found impressive and slightly intimidating. But then again, he felt better knowing that his sister was (hopefully) safe in New Rome rather on a quest to have a chat with a goddess of ghosts.

Suddenly, the chorus of hissing restarted and the white fog around them seemed to thicken into huge pale walls. Nico felt his stomach drop. His skin prickled with goosebumps though he wasn't cold.

He drew his sword, the blade pure darkness in comparison to the Mist. "Show yourself, Melinoe!"

The hissing began to sound much more like a woman laughing.

Thalia shot an arrow into the fog. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the arrow came hurtling back towards them. Reyna deflected it with her spear, her dark eyes burning with a familiar intensity; she was ready for a fight.

Nico felt like a coiled spring. He too was ready to attack, if need be. They hadn't thought of a plan together, but the objective was simple enough: get some info, convince Melinoe to stop the apocalypse and subdue her if necessary. Of course, subduing a goddess was no easy feat so he was hoping that diplomacy worked.