Thomas Jefferson held up his hand. Silence settled in the judgement pavilion. The three judges seemed to be waiting for something.
The ground where Nicki once stood shimmered. The figure of a tall, college-aged young man with an athletic, muscular build slowly came into existence. He had short-cropped sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, a sharp nose, and the sneaky look like all Hermes demigod children.
"Luke." Nicki breathed.
For a second, she hesitated. Everything she had seen in her final hours of life weighed in her conscience.
Luke, however, didn't hesitate. He sprinted across the hall, slamming into Nicki. His powerful sobs racked his body. "Nicki! My darling Nicki, I'm so sorry!"
"It wasn't your fault," Nicki said, clinging to Luke's ghostly t-shirt. "Not what happened to me."
At her words, Luke pulled away from her to look at the ghosts behind them. "I'm so sorry. I know I can't be forgiven, I thought I was doing what was right."
Charles shrugged, a broad grin on his face. His fingers were intertwined with Silena's. "We'll have all of eternity to annoy you over it. You died for us. You died a hero."
The others nodded along with Charles. Lee smirked. "I can try all my new stitches on you!"
"As long as you don't hate me for all eternity, I'm okay with that." Luke allowed himself to laugh, something Nicki hadn't heard in a very long time.
Jefferson cleared his throat. Returning their attention to the three judges, the teenage ghosts rallied around Nicki, keeping her in a tight group hug.
"Phoenix Kate Driscoll. Daughter of Hecate, Queen of the Witches. Murdered by your own magic in line with your prophecy. You stand before us now, to have your life judged and your place in the Underworld decided, is this correct?"
"It sounds very dramatic, when you put it like that," Nicki mumbled, fiddling with her sling.
"Your name is Phoenix?" Lee whispered.
Bianca let out a soft 'ah'. "Now the burning makes sense."
"Thanks, you guys. Really helping me right now."
"Silence in the judging!" Minos shouted, shutting the teenagers up.
Jefferson waved his hand, and the floating mist screen reappeared. "Phoenix, you have done many brave deeds in your life, and made many memories."
Thousands of images flashed into existence. Thousands of moments that shaped Nicki's life. Memories even Nicki herself had forgotten played through in front of their eyes. Thousands of smiles, laughs, and tears flickered through the mist.
Nicki's eyes welled up as she realised that she would never get to see Thalia again and if she did that it wouldn't be for a very long time.
"Please stop," Nicki whispered.
Upon her word, the mist froze. A pair of sea-green eyes stared out of the mist, filled with adoration.
With a distressed wave of her hand, the image dispersed into the air.
Minos's face screwed up so tightly that Nicki was afraid he was going to explode. "Impertinence! Interference with the judging!"
"I don't care!" Nicki screamed back at the ghost. "I don't care about what I did when I was 14. I care about where Ethan is, and if Annabeth is okay, and if someone told Nico and Thalia, and if... if Percy is safe. I don't care about your damn judging!"
The judgement pavilion fell silent.
Nicki's forest-green eyes bulged out of her head, but it was too late to take back her words.
أنت تقرأ
Bewitched || P. Jackson
قصص الهواة"𝙄'𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙄'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧." From an early age, Nicki Driscoll was inherently aware of the world of gods, monsters, and magic. Nicki was used to being in control, she was used t...
