The rocking of the train put me to sleep almost instantly. It was nice to get some sleep after the last few, hectic days. I would have loved to have a nice, peaceful sleep, but of course I wasn't that lucky. The dream started the second that unconsciousness took over my mind.
"Naida, hurry up. Where are you?" a high, frail-sounding voice demanded.
I tried looking for the women yelling at me but I was in the labyrinth of a funhouse and all the crazy mirrors were making me confused and dizzy. Everywhere I looked I could only see my frantic reflection trying to get out. "I'm coming. I'm trying to get there but it's hard."
"Well of course, it's hard," a second, gruffer voice said. "We wouldn't need your help if it was easy."
Tears welled in my eyes. "I can't do this. I'm not a hero."
"Naida, get a grip on yourself," the second voice snapped. "Get us out of here."
"Please, Naida, we need you," a child's voice whispered.
I shivered from the cold. My tears flowed down my cheeks and I fell to my knees. I couldn't do this. Who the hell actually thought that I'd save the Fates?
"It's not just us at risk, you know," the first voice said gently. "If you fail, Naida, all heroes will fail. If we can't control destiny, the others will and they'll send the world into peril. The Titans and their monsters will rise faster and they will once again rule if you don't help us. Please, Naida, you're the only hope for the world."
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "Why me?" I sobbed pathetically. "Why would you depend on me? I just want to go home."
"You can do this," the three said as one. "We believe in you, Naida."
The sound of the voices faded and the darkness surrounding me became even more impossibly black. "Do you really think that you can save them?" This voice belonged to a man. It was deep and booming, but sounded like the wind. "You're nothing, Naida Hale."
"Who are you?" I demanded. It was hard to keep my voice steady but I somehow managed it. "What do you want with me?"
He laughed. "I don't want anything with you. The Fates are the ones that decided to put destiny on the shoulders of an unwanted child."
I choked on his words. "That's not true!"
"Oh no? Think about it. The only person that ever stuck with you was your mother and she was pretty quick to ship you to the camp. Percy didn't want you to be his sister. And do you really think that Nico would be interested in you?"
My jaw snapped shut. "Oh, go to hell."
"I'll see you soon, love."
I sat up with a gasp. The compartment we were in was completely empty so I didn't embarrass myself with my stupid outburst. I sat there for a good five minutes trying to get my breathing under control.
Someone knocked gently and slid open the compartment door. My head snapped up in time to see Nico walk in with something tucked behind his back. His eyes narrowed when he saw how distressed I was.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded quickly. "Just a dream. It was nothing."
"Naida..."
"I'm fine, Nico. I promise. It was a stupid dream. Ya know, one of those ones where you go to school and forget to wear pants," I lied easily.
He laughed. Apparently I was a pretty good liar. "Well, I got you a present."
He pulled out something from behind him. My eyes darted down to the brownish cover and the drawing of the dark-haired boy. I glanced back up at Nico with a confused look. "A book? I appreciate that and everything but I'm not big on reading. It sucks with my dyslexia and I get sick trying to make out the words so I'm not exactly a fan of books."
He laughed again but it was more nervous and embarrassed this time. "You'll like this one, trust me."
I pursed my lips and took the book from his hands. I looked back at the cover and the letters started rearranging themselves. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". It took me a minute to realize that I could read the title with perfect clarity. My eyes widened and I flipped to a random page.
"Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig."
I could read it perfectly without giving myself a headache by trying. "Nico! I can read it! This is so cool."
He smiled shyly. "I guess that you're not the only demigod that likes that book. I found it down in the gift shop and I thought of you. It's in Greek."
I threw my arms around his shoulders. I stiffened after a second when I realized what I was doing. I pulled away and we were both bright red. "Um-I- I mean-"
"Hey, c'mon," Annabeth said, running into the compartment. "We've got a slight problem."
“Another one?” I hissed as I followed her out. Couldn’t we just catch a break?
“Well, it wouldn’t really be a big problem if we weren’t running out of time.”
“What do you mean?” Nico asked.
By then we’d reached the others who were sitting in the shadowy dining car talking to one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. She was tall and thin, her perfect skin pale and almost luminescent while her eyes and hair shone black. She wore a navy dress that flowed out around her and seemed to twinkle with starlight. It took me a minute to realize that it was starlight.
“Hello,” she said airily with a smile on her red lips. “You are Naida. My name is Nyx, goddess of night. Isn’t it so gorgeous today?” She looked out the window dreamily.
“You’re a goddess? Why are you on a train?” I really needed to get a filter on my mouth and stop saying stupid things without thinking.
She turned back to me and smiled like a teacher indulging a slow student. “I enjoy meeting new people and this train is just full of strangers. And as much as I love the scenery in the day, it is better for me to be indoors during that time. Besides, we’ll reach our destination just as the sun goes down and I can meet with my loving husband, Erebus. I so love the nightlife in Oklahoma.”
I froze and my heart felt like it dropped to my toes. “Oh-Oklahoma? I thought we were going to Seattle.”
The goddess let out a small laugh. “Oh no. This train only goes south to Oklahoma.”
I glanced over at Annabeth who was sadly shaking her head. Now I knew what she meant by a problem. “We’re actually getting farther away from Seattle.”
I gnawed nervously on my bottom lip for a minute. I knew that Poseidon couldn’t flat out help us but I had to believe that he’d known what he was doing by sending us to this train. “Ma’am, do you know anyway that we could get to Washington from Oklahoma?”
“Hmm?” Her expression turned thoughtful and I couldn’t stop staring at her endless black eyes. “Well, the Muses are going on tour. There first stop is in Oklahoma then they’re going to Seattle to see their mother. That’s why Erebus and I are going to Noble tonight, you know, to see them preform.”
If it was possible my heart fell even lower. “Did you just say Noble? As in, Noble, Oklahoma?”
“Oh, yes, dear. We’re having a good old fashioned hoedown. Perhaps you can convince the Muses to take you with them to Seattle. You’ll have to impress them, of course, with some sort of art or talent, but it would be worth it to tour with the Muses. They only tour with the best: The Beetles, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears. Well good luck and perhaps I’ll see you tonight.” She slowly stood and drifted off leaving us with, as Annabeth had said, another problem.

Notes

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