In a few moments my wolves were gone and I was alone. I missed them. I never considered myself a lonely person, but I was alone a lot. For one I was lonely and just a tiny bit afraid if I were being honest with myself, but if I was going to die I didn't want anyone else to die with me. I didn't want to be one of those people that stood back while everyone around me died.

Now I was a bit of a moron about sending my wolves away. They might have been silent as the grave, but they were natural born killers that said high when I asked them to jump. Not that I would. I was responsible wolf queen, even if a newly crowned one. Though it was nice knowing someone, anyone was here with me. I fought the urge to shiver and wrap my arms around myself. Damnit, I was turning into one of those girls. Maybe when this was all over I could get an inoculation or something. I didn't want to turn into one of those girls. Aphrodite was enough of a pox on the world. Well I liked Piper, she wasn't so bad, she was only that sort of girl once a month.

Thinking about my friends tugged at something in my chest. I rubbed the center of my sternum. This wasn't a great feeling. I'd only been at Half Blood for a few days but I'd already gotten used to people being around. Even though I had a cabin all to myself, there was always other people around, and Nico had the annoying habit of watching me sleep and stroking my hair. Seriously who sat up to watch someone else sleep and play in their hair?

"Get your butt in gear girl." I muttered to myself. If I stood around worrying about being lonely my boyfriend was going to wind u being eaten by the earth goddess.

I turned back down and started walking, being sure to pick up my pace. I wasn't sure how long I had to go but the sooner I snagged my kind of boyfriend and got the hell out of here the better for everyone.

I hadn't gone long before something caught at the corner of my eye. I stopped, my breath hitching.

I'd always scoffed at people who claimed they were scared of the dark. I mean seriously if you're over the age of five the dark shouldn't scare you anymore, but being in the throat of the Underworld, without even the thought of light I was getting a little uneasy.

I was greeted with silence, and my panic started to spike.

I was a demigod that could set fire to New York. I made gods tremble when I flexed my pinkie finger. I was not going to cower in a corner and suck my thumb because it was a little dark!

Plus it would be just my luck to try a thumb sucking break only to have someone or something pop up and see me. I would never live it down.

I closed my eyes and took a few calming breaths. Then I counted to 100 a few times, berating my mind into stillness. My eyes flicked open, and I waited for them to adjust to the darkness.

My mom didn't raise no cowards. I turned left and marched down that tunnel with a new sense of determination.

Hell only knows if I was going in the right direction, but forward seemed to be a good bet. I marched along humming some soothing Beyonce. I felt like barreling down into the Underworld like a bullet, but a fight was coming and I wanted to be fresh as a daisy.

Well a slightly smudged and pissed off daisy, but who didn't like a daisy?

It was too quiet. It was starting to get to me. How did they expect demigods who are gold medal champions at the ADHAD stuff to take all this darkness and quiet! My clenched into fists, my anxiety spiking again. Beyonce wasn't helping. I switched to Tupac, at least it might hype me up to kick some ass. I forced my hands to relax. I took a few deep breaths and kept walking. I could do this. I could make it. I was going to rescue Nico and then we were going to kick some godly ass and call it a day.

"NICO!" I shouted as loud as I could. My voice bounced back to me, each time fainter than the last.

"Not wise to shout around here," A raspy voice responded.

Hands crackled with lightening as I whirled around. A shadow detached itself from its neighbors and drifted over towards me. I clenched my fists, the lightening danced around my knuckles.

"Settle down little sister. I mean no harm." The shadow dissolved into a dog like shape with blurred edges.

"Yeah well I'm not in the mood for a family reunion." I turned my back to the wall and faced the dog with my feet spread and my knees loose in case I needed to run.

The dog nodded his head. "Some of us are jerks, but I'm one of the nice ones." Its tongue lolled out of its mouth in a doggy grin.

"If you're a friendly who are you?" I asked.

The sat down down on its rump. "I'm Erebus." He looked at me expecting a reaction.

I searched my memory for mention of the name. My mom's stories rolled through my head like marbles, but I couldn't find the one that I wanted. What a time to have a brain fart.

Erebus sighed, resigned to my stupidity. "What are they teaching you at the fancy camp? I am darkness, I am the night." He waved a paw eloquently, warming up for a prepared speech.

"Are you Batman?" I grinned. I could use the Dark Knight right about now.

Erebus snorted. "Hardly. I don't fly, well I don't like flying. I leave that up to my sister and that upstart Apollo. I mean honestly who pulls the sun across the sky in a corvette? And no one summons me with a signal in the air." He snorted again, a bit of doggy snot falling from his nose. "Anyways my mother said to give you any help you needed. So here I am." His doggy chest puffed out.

He was going to hate me, but I had to ask a stupid question. "Who's your mother?"

Erebus rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Didn't you meet her earlier?" I blinked. Now I earned a doggy sigh. "Nyx. The god of creation." He forgot to add the doh, and I appreciated it.

"She's a god?"

Erebus nodded. "Of course she is. Do you think she sits around combing her hair and staring into pools to gaze at her reflection." Now it was my turn to snort. "She birthed creation, she's a tab more important than Demeter."

"Well life is more important that wheat I suppose." But wheat helped make hamburger buns. Bacon burgers were pretty awesome if you asked me. But as always no one ever did.

Erebus nodded. "Right then, lets get moving. Not a good idea to be in one spot too long. Stand around too long and something might mistake you for doggy chow. Gaia's had her little brainless minions roaming around since she started to stirring. Some of them don't have the sense of humor I have."

"I can handle myself. I'm not a ditzy damsel in distress you know."

Erebus looked me up and down. "Oh that I believe, but your prowess is battle is not the issue. I just hate getting ichor in my fur. Its a pain to get out." He turned and trotted down the tunnel fully expecting me to follow.

I did.

Erebus wasn't sparring my booted feet. He moved fast eating up the ground with his looping gait, and it took everything I had to keep up with him. I wasn't a fat slob by anyone's imagination but I hadn't really been the best student in gym class. I just didn't the point in throwing a tiny red rubber ball at whoever was on the coach's crap list that day. Now I wanted to kick my own behind for not paying more attention to breathing techniques. I was huffing like a steam engine behind the silent tour guide.

I thought I heard a doggy chuckle.

I wasn't sure how long we ran or how far we went. It was just a stretch of darkness but having the god of darkness in front of me made the shadows a little less sinister.