I heard a rustling in the bushes. I ran over, jumped over, unsheathed my sword, and pointed it at his throat. The boy froze. He was still a child, but i could sense that he had been through a lot. He carried no weapons, but he seemed like quite the fighter. Nevertheless, he posed no serious threat to me.
I put my sword down. "What is your name?"
"Get away from me." Obviously, the kid had been through a lot. His black hair was incredibly dirty and his eyes had tons of bags under them, as if he had spent many days without sleeping. He regarded me with cold eyes and back away quickly, but he showed no fear. "Go away."
I looked at him questioningly, staring into his eyes. "Who are you?"
The ground split apart. Three skeletons clawed their way from the dirt and stumbled towards me. I looked down and, with a few swishes of my sword, scattered the bones all over the floor. While they mindlessly tried to retrieve their parts and reattach them, I turned back to the boy.
"Son of Hades, then? That would be a first. It's been a few years since a Child of the Big Three has made themselves known."
"That's not true. There's another guy, Percy Jackson."
My mind raced. "You know Percy Jackson?"
He scowled, as if I had triggered some bad memory. "Knew him."
"He has perished?"
"I can only hope."
I sighed. "Holding grudges helps no one, kid. You need to learn to forgive people for what they have done to you."
"Whatever." He turned to leave.
"Wait," I said. He turned to me, looking slightly annoyed. "Take this." I threw the Stygian Iron sword to him. He caught it and stared at it. "A child of Hades will be much more adept at using such a weapon. It was meant for you, uh..."
"Nico. Nico Di Angelo."
"Yes. Nico, you would do much better with that sword. I wish you happy travels."
He nodded and walked off. As he passed under the shadow of a tree, he vanished. I sighed. That was one thing that I had actually gotten done today. I turned just in time to come face to face with Ashley.
She looked out of breath. She had grown at least two inches since we last separated. She somehow looked even more beautiful than before, despite the countless weeks spent in the wilderness.
"Hi," I said, cracking a smile.
She slapped me. It didn't really hurt, but I moved my head to be polite.
"Yeah," I said, turning back to her. "I expected that."
"You think you can just run off with Kronos, do some errands for him, and leave the rest of us?"
"No, actually. Trust me, Ashley, I have a plan."
She sighed and rubbed her face, as she did most of the time around me. "Look, it's not too late, Brandon." She grabbed my hand. "You still have a choice. Come with me. We can finish our quest. We can do this. You don't have to stay with these guys. You know what they do."
"Ashley, I have a plan. Trust me. I am doing this for us, the demigods. In the end, I promise that I know what I am doing."
She stared into my eyes, no doubt looking at the new blue that coated it. "You actually have a plan?"
"Oh, Ashley," I said, smiling. "I always have a plan. Even when I am the most spontaneous, I have a plan laid out."
She looked startled. "You've changed, haven't you, Brandon?"
I nodded. "I've become stronger."
"No, not just that. You aren't the same guy from camp anymore. You seem to know a lot more. You're more strategic. You don't tell me as much."
An awkward silence followed that last statement.
"Why can't you tell me things anymore? We used to be able to tell each other anything."
"Yes. We used to. Times are changing, though. I have some secrets that I just cannot tell you, Ashley. Every person carries their own secrets, and I am no exception."
Tears sprung from her eyes. "I thought you would be able to talk to me. I thought that you would be willing to talk to me. If you can't talk to me, how can I trust you?"
"Ashley, no."
"How do I know that this isn't a plan that you have that double bluffs? How can I trust anything you say anymore, Brandon?"
"Ashley, come on."
"HOW CAN I KNOW THIS ISN'T A TRICK?"
It was silent for a moment.
"I guess you can't, Ashley," I blinked and started sobbing. "I guess I can't convince you." I looked at her, tears coming from my eyes. "Maybe it would be better for you to leave, to forget me. Go back to camp and just say the quest was failed. Tell everyone I'm dead, I don't care." I took a shaky breath. "But I know what I have to do. I can't stop now. My plan is almost completely under way. Maybe it would be best if you left."
"Best?" I turned to see S, eye shining in the sunlight. "Why would you want her to leave? She knows too much."
