barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly.
[ percy jackson x original character ]
[ book one in the belle series ]
[ the battle of the labyrinth ]
[ bonus: the demigod files - the bronze dragon ]
STATUS: COMPLETED
[ STARTED: september 1s...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖊𝖕𝖙: FROM A SPHINX TO A GOD
★ 。／｜＼。★
THE GROUP DIDN'T want to travel that night after the ghost summons. They had all freshened up in Geryon's house and slept as well as they could. Belle only got about one hour of sleep. She kept having nightmares about the ghosts that they had seen. The next morning, her eyes had dark circles underneath him and she was moving sluggishly. Guaranteed she had woken up not too long ago and hadn't had much time to wake herself up, but it felt like all of her energy was gone. She stood off to the side of the cattle grid while they said their goodbyes to Nico.
"Nico, you could come with us," Percy blurted out.
He shook his head. Nico looked worse than Belle, which was saying a lot. His eyes were red, his face was chalky white, and he was wrapped in a large black robe.
His eyes wouldn't meet Percy's, but he must've still been angry that Bianca came out of the Underworld to see Percy and not him. "I need time to think."
"Nico," Annabeth began. "Bianca just wants you to be okay."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. Nico pulled away and trudged back up the road that led to the ranch house. The morning mist seemed to cling to him as he did so.
"I'm worried about him," Annabeth admitted. "If he starts talking to Minos' ghost again—"
"He'll be all right," Eurytion promised. He had cleaned up nicely, now wearing new jeans, a fresh western shirt, and Geryon's boots. His beard had also been trimmed. "The boy can stay here and gather his thoughts as long as he wants. He'll be safe, I promise."
"What about you?" Percy asked.
He scratched Orthus behind his two chins. "Things are going to be run a little different on this ranch from now on. No more sacred cattle meat. I'm thinking about soybean patties. And I'm going to befriend those flesh-eating horses. Might just sign up for the next rodeo."
Percy shuddered. "Well, good luck."
Eurytion spat into the grass. "Yep. I reckon you'll be looking for Daedalus' workshop now?"
Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Can you help us?"
He studied the cattle grid like Daedalus' workshop made him uncomfortable. "Don't know where it is. But Hephaestus probably would."
"That's what Hera said. But how do we find Hephaestus?"
Eurytion pulled out something from underneath his shirt collar. It was a necklace, which had a smooth silver disc with a thumbprint imprinted on it that hung from a silver chain. He handed it to Annabeth.
