Leaving camp was the hard part. Nathan had only spent one night there but he knew that leaving was probably the stupidest and most dangerous thing he'd ever do in his life, well at least if he survived.

Getting through Long Island was complicated and most of his travels involved nasty looks and a sense of danger at every turn. Nathan even had to run a couple of blocks in Manhattan out of fear that monsters were chasing him.

When he arrived back at his house he gazed up at his bedroom window. He plopped up the door mat pulled up the stashed away key and opened the door. Inside, his mother sat one the couch worrying. Her eyes were red from crying and tissues were scattered over the coffee table.

Taking a deep breath, he closed the door and began a march-line to the living room. "Mom?" He exclaimed calmly. His eyes held disappointment, but not in her, it was in himself. He never made his mom sad, she was always happy peppy and alive.

Gazing at him, her tears vanished but her nose still was stuffy. She wore pajama bottoms and an old Yankees t shirt. "Nathan. Where were you?" She asked.

Hesitantly, Nathan gazed at her. "It's about dad." He said. "I know what he is, and more importantly who he is."

"He's a Greek god." Olivia explained. "Your father was the one of an abyss. I don't remember exactly why he liked calling himself the pit, but he likes the night time the most and brooklyn beach."

"The beach?" Nathan replied. "Weird."

In an instant, his mind wondered to Camp Half-Blood. He could imagine himself walking on the beach with Talia, smiling and laughing. He could see himself cuddled up next to her on the empty half-blood hills, or taking a graceful walk through the trees.

The more he thought about it, the more helpless he felt. He was charged with a death sentence into Tartarus. If that wasn't bad enough he could sense his mother's couriosity peaking in on him.

"Who's the girl?" She smiled, livening up.

Amazed Nathan instantly began to sweat. "What?!" He murmured. "What girl? Who said anything about a girl?!" He gazed in the distance to hint at the fact that she was right.

"Nate, I am your mother, but I was once a young girl, I can see when a boy likes someone, and its obvious that you met a girl at camp." She smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised of you met two."

"I did." He replied. "A daughter of Athena." He muttered.
"Athena? I thought she was a virgin goddess, sworn to being a virgin for eternity."

Nathan didn't know what to say. He never read Greek or learn anything about gods and their sexual lives, much less cared about it all. "I don't know but she's pretty cool, her name's Elizabeth, she even has this bracelet that turns her invisible."

"And the other one?" She asked.

"Her name's Talia."

"One of the Graces?!" She shouted. "Aren't they a bit too old for you, I mean they've been around for more than two thousand years."

"Her name is Talia after the tree. It has nothing to do with that. But she's not human." He replied.

"A goddess?" Olivia smiled. "Like mother like son, eh?"

Nathan didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult but he decided to pass it over. "She's a dryad, but unlike most, she can move everywhere, she can travel because she doesn't have a specific tree, she protects all of them."

Olivia smiled. "Her mother wasn't a dryad, she was a mountain goddess. Ancient probably, only the eldest ones have traits like those. So how is she? Is she pretty? Smart? Shy?"

Nathan wanted to say she's just like her, but he didn't want to get caught up in the details. "She's something. when you meet her, she makes a lasting impression."

"I see." Olivia gazed. "So, you're leaving right?"

"I have a quest from dad, if I complete it, he'll tell me anything I want to know. Answer all my questions."

"Nate." She pleaded. "Be safe."

Standing up tall, Nathan smiled. "When am I ever safe?" Giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, Nathan walked out with a final goodbye to her mom.

Stepping foot outside, he vanished into a darkmist. In a gasp for air, he was in a vast landscaoe. He stood on broken glass and breathed in a thick and humid air. He knew that this was it, there was no turning back. Now he was in Tartarus. . .

Notes

Rule number one don't assume things, normal demigods can't survive tartarus so what do you think a child of Tartarus can do? It's a long shot but whos to say it's easy? It could be ten times worse.

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