Chapter 10 - Part 1

~Percy's POV~

"Ughhhhhh...." Everything hurt, and my eyelids, lips and throat were sealed with a sticky substance, most probably blood. I heard a sharp intake of breath from somewhere beside me, and suddenly, a cool, damp cloth was dabbing at my eyelids. Once the crust of blood was wiped away, I cracked open an eye as the cloth moved to my lips and a glass of water was lifted to them. Drinking greedily, I hurriedly finished the water and tried to sit up, but a cool hand was laid on my chest, applying gentle pressure until I gave up and lay back, letting healing sleep overcome me.

The next time I woke, I was in better condition, and managed to sit up properly, despite my head feeling like it was being hammered full of six-inch nails. "Ugh." As my vision cleared, I turned to the seat beside me, which was occupied by a scrawny boy with ebony hair and sunken eyes. "Nico?" At my voice, he started, and I immediately felt guilty of waking him from his restless sleep.

He didn't seem to feel the same way, grinning happily though groggily at me. "Percy, you're awake!" Quickly reaching for a glass of water, he handed it to me, and I nodded gratefully. "Thanks, man." Suddenly, something left him and he slumped a bit, before straightening and looking me in the eye. "Are you feeling alright?" Shrugging, I took a gulp of water. "I could really use a trip to the beach or something. Somewhere there's water, it could help me heal faster. But other than that, I'm good. Thanks." Nico nodded silently and we sat in silence for a while before a question that had been buzzing in my mind for a while surfaced.

"Uh...where are we?" He smiled. "We're on the Isle of Shadows. My father created this place for his children some millennia ago. It is tuned to their minds, which means I can mostly control it. Cool, huh? I discovered a secret entrance to it in the Underworld. I can't be sure, but I think my father meant for me to come here. No one can touch me here, I think. No monsters, at least." I nodded, I had had way too many close shaves with monsters to not appreciate the safety.

"How did I get here?" Nico shook his head. "Don't you remember?" I racked my brains for a second before recalling it. That little shit Octavian had gotten his supporters to jump me, and they'd almost managed to kill me before Jason and Rachel showed up. After that it was mostly a blank, but presumably they'd brought me here to the Isle of Shadows.

"Uh...I guess I'll go now..." Nico stood awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. I reached out, clasping his hand, not wanting him to go, but after a moment I let go. Nico would probably hate me too if I told him the truth, so I quickly shut up.

"G'night." He nodded to me, a small smile on his face, before walking out of the room.

Hey guys!

Sorry for the late update, but I was away in Malaysia and you had to pay for Wi-Fi. I was like "Nope."

And I've been having some trouble with my phone, I lost it at Legoland, and I've been using an iPhone 3, which has like iOS 4 or something so yeah it's been really hard to write.

Also, I'm going away to the UK today, and the Wi-Fi may be sketchy so I'm just gonna upload a short chapter after this. :D

Peace

~N