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halothenthehorns · 5 months

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Chapter 6: NICO BUYS HAPPY MEALS FOR THE DEAD

Even when Percy looked moments away from torturing Will just to get an answer out of somebody what happened on this quest, Nico licked his lips nervously before he could start anew. Would it be awkward to ask if it was all in his head every time he got this book it seemed like a worse than usual chapter?

Then he read the new title and sunk low in his seat, waiting for the bombardment of freaking out that would ensue about his next death entrapment of them all.

"Well that was very considerate of you, but I have questions," Magnus tried to begin as politely as ever. "Do they prefer chicken nuggets or burgers? What toys were available?"

"When it says buy, like where did you get the money?" Alex asked with diabolical interest. "Did you ask your dad for it? Try to pay them in drachmas? Mythomagic cards?"

"I'm over here hoping he didn't threaten the cashier with that sword," Jason admitted.

Nico was only blushing a tiny bit as he smiled at them. "Um, a bit of all three." He'd tried to ask Hades for money and information, but hadn't even made it past the front gates of his palace before he was bared by the fury's telling him now wasn't a good time.

Minos had helped him with the details among his own research and he'd just stolen the rest.

That unfortunate incident with the chicken nuggets and the dog chasing him out of the car would not be discussed.

At least I got a good night's sleep before the quest, right?

"Do you jinx yourself on purpose?" Thalia asked him in concern. "Like, you do know when you throw questions like that out into the universe, you're just going to get slapped with the opposite answer."

"I'm starting to get that, yeah," Percy mock rubbed his cheek.

"Will it stop him from doing it?" Alex snorted.

"Nope," Magnus sighed.

Wrong.

"So, should I just start wishing for a horrible night's sleep?" Percy groaned.

"Percy, I don't think anything can fix, whatever this mess of your life is," Jason told him with nothing but sympathy.

"I've already tried shock therapy, so I'm out of ideas," Thalia agreed cheerfully.

That night in my dreams, I was in the stateroom of the Princess Andromeda. The windows were open on a moonlit sea. Cold wind rustled the velvet drapes.

"There is either a really inappropriate dream about to take place, or a nightmare with monsters and dead people," Magnus shivered at that setup.

"My money's on both, Luke's nighttime routine with one of those bear twins," Alex rubbed his hands together. Magnus mock vomited over the side of the couch, though for a moment they weren't sure if he was faking it.

Luke knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.

In the moonlight, Luke's blond hair looked pure white. He wore an ancient Greek chiton and a white himation, a kind of cape that flowed down his shoulders. The white clothes made him look timeless and a little surreal, like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been broken and unconscious after a nasty fall from Mount Tam. Now he looked perfectly fine. Almost too healthy.

Percy shivered with the kind of forbidden knowledge nobody could joke away. Somewhere inside his head was the answer to that mystery, and as his stomach churned while he looked down at his own shaking hands, he didn't think he was going to like the answer he'd inevitably get.

"Our spies report success, my lord," he said. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted.

Nico really hated that word, traitor. He knew everybody at camp thought he was one bad day away from being one himself. He'd really never gotten to know Silena that well to be calling her anything.

Our side of the bargain is almost complete."

They were already to late, Jason frowned in concern. Their quest hadn't even started and Krono's forces were almost guaranteed through the maze at their convenience. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he imagined the camp in ashes- No, surely Thalia and Will weren't that good of actors. They'd be more than mildly distressed at this if that were the case. Annabeth's quest had come through, somehow.

Excellent. The voice of Kronos didn't so much speak as pierce my mind like a dagger. It was freezing with cruelty. Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself.

"The sarcophagus doesn't grow legs, does it?" Magnus asked in concern.

"Let's be more concerned if he's almost about to leave the coffin," Alex shook his head sharply. "What the heck kind of deal was struck to cause that?"

There was no answer except Thalia playing with her bracelet. She was grateful they didn't seem to connect Luke's life force with Krono's, it was such a twisted bit of magic she couldn't stand to link the two herself.

Luke closed his eyes as if collecting his thoughts. "My lord, perhaps it is too soon. Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead—"

No. the voice was quiet but absolutely firm. I will lead. One more heart shall join our cause, and that will be sufficient. At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus.

"Who the heck is that special last someone going to be?" Alex wasn't really joking even as he laced his voice with sarcasm. "Is it going to be some sweet underdog story about an invisible person finally feeling seen by Luke? Is it going to be some mad powerhouse?"

"We really need to take away whatever the heck is feeding his imagination," Percy told Thalia as he watched Alex.

"Or bottle it and use it as a weapon," Thalia agreed.

"But the form, my lord..." Luke's voice started shaking.

Jason shivered right along with him. Was it terror? Excitement? He didn't know which was worse, but any answer wasn't going to be great for Percy.

Show me your sword, Luke Castellan.

"I didn't even think this guy had a last name," Percy jolted in surprise. "I thought he was just born Luke Evil, or Luke Son of Hermes, and just dropped it to Luke."

Thalia didn't even have the heart to smack him for being an idiot. Sooner than she'd like, Percy would know all to well what came attached with the last name of Castellan.

A jolt went through me. I realized I'd never heard Luke's last name before.

"Annabeth never cursed it in front of you," Alex agreed, "we didn't get to hear Chiron chasing him around and yelling it."

"Now we just need to know his middle name, surely then somebody can do an evil spell to curse him or something," Magnus agreed.*

"We're not the fae folk Magnus, that's not how that works," Thalia couldn't help but snicker at him, keeping to herself Luke's middle name was Oro in case anybody wanted to try.

It had never even occurred to me.

Luke drew his sword. Backbiter's double edge glowed wickedly—half steel, half celestial bronze. I'd almost been killed several times by that sword.

"You've almost been killed several times by being in school too and we don't go around reminding you of that," Will said.

"Yes you do, frequently!" Percy yelped.

"It was a silly detail Percy, we assume everything's tried to kill you at this point, including the kitchen sink with lava in it," Magnus rolled his eyes.

It was an evil weapon, able to kill both mortals and monsters. It was the only blade I really feared.

Nico's hand twitched uncomfortably to his own sword that could do the same. That was branded the same. The only difference was his blade had never tried to kill Percy. He hoped that distinction would be enough nobody would try to disarm him if the truth of what he carried came out.

You pledged yourself to me, Kronos reminded him. You took this sword as proof of your oath.

"Yes, my lord. It's just—"

You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?

A shiver ran through Luke's body. "Yes."

Thalia knew in that moment she could hear that a thousand more times and it would still hit her fresh and raw every time. It just wasn't the same person to her. Luke might as well have died instead of her and come back as someone else.

The coffin glowed, golden light filling the room. Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated, we will march on Olympus.

"It's an honor to be so bothersome we have to be eliminated before the gods," Percy said with all the snap of a dragon.

"C-compliments?" Will agreed hesitantly.

There was a knock on the stateroom doors. The light of the coffin faded.

"Does Kronos only talk to him?" Alex asked with his head tipped to the side. "Like, imaginary friend style?"

"I can't imagine why, I'm surprised there isn't a speaker attached to his lid so the whole ship can hear him monologuing," Jason rolled his eyes.

Luke rose. He sheathed his sword, adjusted his white clothes, and took a deep breath.

"Come in."

The doors opened. Two dracaenae slithered in—snake women with double serpent trunks instead of legs. Between them walked Kelli, the empousa cheerleader from my freshman orientation.

"This book stays rated K right?" Magnus asked with mild concern for their joke from the beginning of the chapter getting another uncomfortable piece set in.

"How should I know? How do you rate monsters turning to dust, because it's pretty traumatic to any age from where I'm sitting," but Percy looked just as queasy why she'd walked in like this was a red carpet ceremony.

"Hello, Luke," Kelli smiled. She was wearing a red dress and she looked awesome,

"The highest amount of praise a teenage boy can give," Thalia snorted.

"Oh gods, please nobody ever tell Annabeth I called an empousa awesome before her," Percy groaned, causing a round of snickering he really didn't approve of.

"You told her she was going to do awesome on this quest," Will reminded fairly without dropping his smile. "I think she'd give you a pass on the demon that's supposed to be hot."

but I'd seen her real form. I knew what she was hiding: mismatched legs, red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair.

"What is it, demon?" Luke's voice was cold. "I told you not to disturb me."

Magnus mock wiped sweat from his brow Luke was disgusted with her. Now they'd just get death threats and insults...though it did make him wonder why Luke apparently didn't have an attraction to her like Percy had.

Kelli pouted. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice shoulder massage?"

"I wouldn't let that thing near any part of my body," Jason shivered. "I'm not banking on the fact she'd just drink from my neck."

"Good instincts," Alex approved.

Luke stepped back. "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise leave!"

"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You used to be fun to hang around."

Thalia would have rather been slapped than realize she'd ever think the same thing as Kellie, and yet the sick feeling in her gut only seemed to settle in at home. How long exactly had these two been hanging out for her to claim this?!

"That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle."

"Oh, he meant nothing to me," Kelli said. "Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke."

"My heart belongs to my snacks too," Alex frowned. "Whatever she did to that boy in Seattle has to be something alright."

Magnus had a very concerning look on his face as he struggled with the idea of whether he wanted to know details of that or not. What could she have done that was so awful even this guy deemed it too horrible?

"Thanks, but no thanks. Now report or get out."

Kelli shrugged. "Fine. The advanced team is ready, as you requested. We can leave—" She frowned.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"A presence," Kelli said. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched."

She scanned the stateroom. Her eyes focused right on me. Her face withered into a hag's. She bared her fangs and lunged.

"Eep!" Magnus jumped in his seat no matter the lack of harm that was coming to him. "Can you die in your dreams!"

"Gods I hope not, I've had enough close calls," Percy was rubbing his chest in here plenty to prove it had been real enough to him too.

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I could've sworn the empousa's fangs were an inch from my throat.

Percy's trembling fingers brushed over his thumping pulse one last time too. Not a reminder he needed, but when did he ever get a say in those?

Tyson was snoring in the next bunk. The sound calmed me down a little.

"I would have thought it was the ocean," Thalia snorted.

"To each their own, hopefully Annabeth snores," Jason snickered.

I didn't know how Kelli could sense me in a dream,

"I really didn't question that to much," Magnus admitted, "or I'd just fall back down the rabbit hole of wondering how she even existed."

but I'd heard more than I wanted to know. An army was ready. Kronos would lead it personally.

"So what specifically in that would you like to know less about?" Alex frowned. "Because I'm personally interested in any details I can get how to stop that!"

"The part about what they'd be wearing while doing it," Percy rolled his eyes.

"But the details make it!" Alex looked personally wounded.

All they needed was a way to navigate the Labyrinth so they could invade and destroy Camp Half-Blood, and Luke apparently thought that was going to happen very soon.

I was tempted to go wake up Annabeth and tell her, middle of the night or not.

"Regardless of those pesky, man-eating harpies inflicting curfew huh?" Will chuckled.

"Percy is the reason the curfew exists," Jason said in exasperation.

"Nuhu!" Percy yelped. "The Aphrodite kids, or heck the Hermes kids are far worse about that!"

"You're the only person in your cabin, so you get all the blame," Thalia reminded with a smirk.

"So are you," Percy shot back. He felt instantly bad for it though, as Thalia winced and looked away. Clearly that was a bit of a sore subject to her, she probably would have preferred if he'd reminded she was responsible for all of the trouble Artemis's Huntresses got up to when there.

Then I realized the room was lighter than it should have been. A blue and green glow was coming from the saltwater fountain, brighter and more urgent than the night before. It was almost like the water was humming.

I got out of bed and approached.

No voice spoke out of the water this time, asking for a deposit. I got the feeling the fountain was waiting for me to make the first move.

"You're grasping a fountains nonverbal cues better than anything Annabeth has ever actually said to you," Magnus snorted.

"Note to self, teach your cousin sign language too," Alex chuckled.

I probably should've gone back to bed. Instead I thought about what I'd seen last night—the weird image of Nico at the banks of the River Styx.

"You're trying to tell me something," I said.

No response from the fountain.

"It's perfectly normal to talk to inanimate objects," Will said innocently. "It's when they start talking back you should be worried."

"How many cups of coffee has that taken?" Nico asked slyly.

Will blushed and decided against answering.

"All right," I said. "Show me Nico di Angelo."

I didn't even throw a coin in, but this time it didn't matter. It was like some other force had control of the water besides Iris the messenger goddess.

Nico still disliked this coming up as much as ever, because he could never ask what the heck was going on. Would his sister have had different abilities than him, was this a manifestation of using the Mist like Thalia could? If she could send messages to Percy, why couldn't she do the same for him?!

He knew the answer though, no matter how many warnings she would have sent about not trusting Minos and to stop what he was doing, he most likely wouldn't have listened until something else had happened, like Percy saving his stupid life. Again.

The water shimmered. Nico appeared, but he was no longer in the Underworld. He was standing in a graveyard under a starry sky.

"It's good to get out and check the scenery every now and then," Alex nodded as if this had been a serious concern of his.

Thalia twirled her bracelet around and decided Nico might not want to know the Huntress's own ideas of his sister looking down on him from those stars. They might not all get a constellation, but they were a part of Artemis up there.

Giant willow trees loomed all around him.

He was watching some gravediggers at work. I heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. Nico was dressed in a black cloak. The night was foggy.

"Really setting the mood I hear, all you're missing is the ominous fire," Alex chuckled.

"I avoid human sacrifices if it's not convenient," the morbid joke slipped out only after a moment of hesitation. He finally got the reaction he was expecting too, Alex laughed.

It was warm and humid, and frogs were croaking. A large Wal-Mart bag sat next to Nico's feet.

"Which I really hope isn't left there when you're done, or somebody's going to end up on Grover's shit list," Jason grinned.

"One of the very few lists I strive to stay off of," Nico promised.

"Is it deep enough yet?" Nico asked. He sounded irritated.

"Nearly, my lord." It was the same ghost I'd seen Nico with before, the faint shimmering image of a man. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."

"I want a second opinion!" Nico snapped his fingers,

Will hummed with appreciation on that. "You should have like, three at minimum before making whatever life-altering decisions go into digging up holes."

"Next time you'll be the third," Nico promised, not bothering to hide his amusement.

and the digging stopped. Two figures climbed out of the hole. They weren't people. They were skeletons in ragged clothes.

"Cooool," Alex grinned. "How long have you been at this? And you've already got minions at the tip of your fingers!"

"Um," Nico kept finding himself grinning in surprise somebody said cool in regards to him. "Just that past month. It used to take a lot of effort to concentrate and resurrect them without passing out."

Will couldn't help a frown at the end, watching Nico with concern how somebody could say that casually. Who had been there for Nico when he woke up? Just some old ghost?

Nico just saw the frown, and the concern, and swallowed anxiously if he'd finally freaked Will out. Alex interrupted with, "Sweet, and you could do it down here?" Alex was starting to eye the walls in a bit of a concerning way.

"Probably," Nico shrugged nonchalantly. "There's plenty of skeletons in the ocean to pull from if I wanted to try, though it's easier pulling them from the soil for some reason."

"Please do not," Magnus did not care his voice cracked, it seemed to encourage Nico to move on just that touch faster.

"You are dismissed," Nico said. "Thank you."

"Politeness!" Will chuckled. Nico felt a tiny breath of relief come loose he'd rather not dwell on. He didn't need anybody's opinion.

The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.

Percy still looked mildly disturbed, but it was definitely at the bottom of strange things he'd seen.

"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."

"Maybe we should thank the shovels too," Thalia sniffed. "I actually do owe my shield a thanks or too for saving my hide."

"I knew a guy who named his vacuum," Percy shrugged.

"That ghost sounds like he's being disrespectful on purpose," Jason frowned. "He's no different than them, just floating there. Is he saying he shouldn't be thanked for all his advice?" His creepy, murdery advice Nico shouldn't be around.

"It wasn't part of the ceremony, just something, I wanted to do," Nico said with a sad smile. He didn't have any specific memories of his mother encouraging manners or anything, but he liked to think that would have made her smile. It had just felt like the natural thing to do.

Nico ignored him. He reached into his Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can. Instead of drinking it, he poured it into the grave.

"There had better be some serious reason you're wasting perfectly good Coke," Percy told him tragically.

Nico gave him an awkward smile he couldn't say yes. It hadn't gone remotely as planned. Did Percy consider everything he did a waste?

"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years, but I recognized it—a McDonald's Happy Meal.

He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.

"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."

"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.

"What's the difference? The grease, I mean, Greek of it all?" Alex snickered at his almost pun.

"The principal," Nico grinned. "It adds that little bit of extra mph," he even sprinkled his fingers like his sister was adding a last dash of cinnamon.

"Mmm, the perfect ingredient then," Alex laughed as he even smacked his lips.

"At least let me keep the toy," the ghost said.

"Be quiet!" Nico ordered.

"Well now you're just not being nice Nico," Percy grinned. "You should always bring enough of those for everybody."

"You can be quiet too," but there was nothing but an exasperated sigh in Nico's voice for knowing he could never make Percy Jackson do that.

He emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. I caught only some of the words—a lot about the dead and memories and returning from the grave. Real happy stuff.

"All we're missing is the ball pit," Percy tried to say without sounding too queasy.

The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes. Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.

"That is some serious mojo my dude," Magnus told him. He didn't think he sounded that terrified that somebody he now knew, like actually in person, treated this as their casual Saturday night. It was more strange to him than the idea of having a roof over his head again.

"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."

"As much as I don't trust this ghost, I don't think it's great he's the one cautioning you over that when he's just begging you to do some wild stuff," Jason frowned.

"Yeah, yeah," Nico muttered inaudibly. Like he needed another person to tell him what an idiot he'd been for having Minos around.

Jason heard the reluctance in his voice, he realized he'd said something wrong, but he wasn't sure what. He glanced awkwardly between Percy and Nico, who had been more awkwardly still trying at stilted conversation and avoiding each other all morning, and then Will who looked as confused and concerned as he felt. He felt a flash of sadness for Nico, it didn't seem like he'd made many great friends since his sister's death, he certainly never went around mentioning someone he'd rather have down here who would know what had upset him.

"I've got it under control," Nico said, though his voice sounded fragile.

He drew his sword—a short blade made of solid black metal. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't celestial bronze or steel. Iron, maybe? The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it.

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Alex looked so eager, they could literally not predict what was about to come out of his mouth. "Where'd you get the sword? Does they have a name?"

"Um," Nico looked more baffled at his sword being called a they. Was Riptide a they? "It doesn't have a name, and it's a long story," he sighed. "It involves a clown, a fish, and I'm pretty sure Phil hasn't forgiven me for wrecking that statue, so, later."

"You mean, a clown-fish?" Percy tried to correct.

"No, no, fish, clown, two separate dudes," Nico shrugged.

It wasn't even the top twenty weirdest things any of them had tried to wrap their heads around. Alex still looked very much like he was going to protest until he got this story in detail, but Nico was trying to keep reading and had once again masterfully maneuvered out of sharing his own autobiography Alex was clearly after from all of them.

"One at a time," Nico commanded.

A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped French fries out of the pool.

"I really want to say eww here," Thalia looked far to intrigued to sound right anyways, "but I'm more curious what would happen if anybody other than a ghost drank that."

"To clarify, it takes you chanting, right?" Magnus asked with a heavy frown. "Because if I start shoveling fries, a burger, and a coke all at once and swallow, I will blame the consequences on you."

"I promise not to chant over your food while you're eating," Nico said with a little to much of a wicked smile to encompass that promise he'd never chant around him. "Seriously though Thalia, it wouldn't have an effect on anything but a ghost, the ritual just gives them back their human form. So, unless you lost it, it would just taste normal."

"Huh," she grinned, very curious if Artemis knew about this ritual and used it to commune, or if the gods even needed such a thing and could freely interact with any ghosts from their past that lingered.

When it stood again, I could see it much more clearly—a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.

Percy wondered how self-centered it was of him to feel very awkward that an obvious ancestor of his had been the one to get to drink.

Then Alex laughed enthusiastically and ruined the idea it was just his idea. "I'm really getting the impression why Percy thought you wanted his soul though just from this moment. What are the odds of that one Nico?"

Nico looked like he was going to keel over from stress rather than answer.

Percy swooped in anyways, pigheaded or not, "a child of Poseidon got to the water fountain first, it's a matter of pride!"

Alex just gave one last chuckle and was clearly going to let it go, while Nico took deep breaths and fought back tears of shame how stupid obvious his obsession had been. How Percy wasn't cringing in disgust away from him as far as he could he didn't know.

"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."

The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."

"Cool!" Jason yelped like he'd just gotten the best birthday present and the rest could all stay in their wrappings. "Can you summon back any hero of old?!" The idea of being able to converse with The Caligula for any length of time and ask him about all his rulings and advice sounded like a dream!

"Not exactly," Nico said sullenly. If he could just call his sister up like this whenever he pleased, he liked to think he wouldn't always feel so alone.

Jason didn't ask any further questions, though it was obvious he really wanted to.

No way, I thought. This couldn't be the Theseus. He was just a kid. I'd grown up hearing stories about him fighting the Minotaur and stuff, but I'd always pictured him as this huge, buff guy. The ghost I was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than I was.

"That was just depressing," Will frowned. The age of manhood back then had been like fifteen or something. In theory, they all knew the heroes of old had been about the age they were now.

To hear it described so vividly though only emphasized the idea no demigod in history had really gotten an easy life.

"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.

Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."

"Does a ghost telling you something's mad make that better or worse?" Magnus asked.

"I'm going to leave that up to the ghost your questioning," Alex shrugged as if this were an every day occurrence for him.

"Just tell me!"

"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth.

"Tragic," Jason said with sympathy.

"Now see, why couldn't my life parallel that story," Percy huffed.

"Because if Sally pushed Gabe off the roof she never would have discovered her passion for the arts," Thalia tragically reminded.

I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."

Nico's ghost hissed. "My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"

Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."

Percy felt like there was a mosquito bite on his brain. Something he longed to scratch at but knew he shouldn't or it would just get worse.

"No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"

"I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.

"How did Theseus die again?" Magnus asked wearily. "Does dying affect your memory?"

"Very much so," Nico sighed. "They're specters who forgot themselves without the ritual, and even then, it won't all come back."

"And, um, let's just say it wasn't a happy ending I'd want to end up with," Percy said with a wince. He remembered stories about sons of Poseidon mildly better than others and hoped his powers never failed him when he was thrown into the ocean.

"Right," Magnus agreed reluctantly, realizing he probably shouldn't ask again unless it was about the original Perseus.

"I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"

Will's laugh was nothing but sympathetic. "I'd help you out no problem Nico, with anything other than this."

Nico smiled. Will had already said as much, but it was still nice to hear.

"Win her back?" Jason couldn't help but fret over that word. "Is the labyrinth a game and you win a prize?" The dread in his voice made it sound like one he didn't think he'd participate in if given the chance.

"There are many things to discover down there," Nico answered as cryptically as possible.

Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him. Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."

"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."

"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"

"A part from the absolute ick factor of that being discussed," Alex said cheerfully, "are we going to get details on how that would work?"

"No," Nico said flatly. The little he'd gleaned from Minos had put him off this idea until his last desperate attempt with nothing left to lose. He would not be sharing what he'd considered doing to Daedalus' soul to retrieve Bianca's with it.

"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"

"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.

Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.

"Anything that makes a ghost nervous and I am out," Magnus muttered.

Then again, Nico obviously made them nervous, so maybe that was a little to broad. He still wasn't happy about whatever was coming next, he knew that much.

"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"

"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."

"It's not Hades is it?" Alex asked, sounding far to much like that's something he wanted to happen. "I am honestly expecting him to show up any time now to scold you for messing with this stuff, all the underground talk, the ghosts, it fits perfectly!"

"It was not Hades," but Nico wasn't going to elaborate any more than that. He was not looking forward to that stupid ranch anymore than he was that stupid cavern with Pan.

"Who?" Nico demanded.

"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."

"The one occasion I will always agree the pronoun game is the worst," Alex shook his head with disgust. "Just say his bloody name!"

"He forgot the name of the ghost following Nico around he obviously knows, he might not know whoever it is that's about to show up, just that he doesn't want to be around him," Jason offered halfheartedly.

The water in my fountain began to tremble, humming with power. I realized the whole cabin was shaking. The noise grew louder. The image of Nico in the graveyard started to glow until it was painful to watch.

"Stop," I said out loud. "Stop it!"

The fountain began to crack. Tyson muttered in his sleep and turned over. Purple light threw horrible, ghostly shadows on the cabin walls, as if the specters were escaping right out of the fountain.

In desperation I uncapped riptide and slashed at the fountain, cleaving it in two. Salt water spilled everywhere, and the great stone font crashed to the floor in pieces. Tyson snorted and muttered, but he kept sleeping.

"Man, that was like, the coolest thing too," Alex pouted.

"Hopefully Tyson can fix it," Magnus offered.

I sank to the ground, shivering from what I'd seen. Tyson found me there in the morning, still staring at the shattered remains of the saltwater fountain.

"Nico," Will managed through numb lips. "What happened?"

"I got caught," he shrugged with the kind of nonchalance of this being an everyday occurrence.

Then again, they were all presently kidnapped, so maybe it wasn't such a traumatizing thing the second go around. Better company here anyways.

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist.

"Where Luke was tied up and this problem was resolved in a timely manner for once?" Magnus sighed.

"I'm starting to get worried about your active delusions man, what are you eating over there," Percy shook his head. "If ever something went that easy, I'd be convinced I was being had."

I'd packed my knapsack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. I had Riptide in my pocket. The magic shield/wristwatch Tyson had made for me was on my wrist.

"At least they packed the essentials," Will said in relief, but then continued in a rather concerned tone, "but what about the snacks?"

Nico fought hard to smother a snort of mirth as he looked at this blonde guy in shorts and flip-flops. This was probably his first time ever leaving camp down here. It was all so innocent it almost hurt him.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue.

Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, we could be heading underground.

"And they're all jealous of each other," Alex chuckled.

"Are you nuts?" Will looked at him scandalized. "We were all thanking our lucky stars we weren't heading to the place that didn't have grass! We all pitched in and held a thank you seminar Percy and Annabeth were at camp to do this quest!"

"Thanks man," Percy sighed. At least he knew Will was joking that time...or he'd somehow hadn't been invited to a seminar about him and he really wasn't upset about it.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt.

Percy recalled watching that with a dull sense of confusion. Like that was something his mom would have been doing, not a girlfriend. His eyes had flickered to Annabeth at the time, who had been staring at the rock as if it were going to move and crush her any moment. He'd reached over and zipped a pouch on her backpack left half open without her noticing like that would be of any help.

It had felt silly and stupid at the time, he was really grateful she hadn't noticed then, and the book not mentioning it now.

Since we had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

"One of these days I just want you to not though," Thalia grinned. "The amount of people who will just think he's walking around in the weirdest outfit ever would be so much fun."

"We'll get him a cane so everybody will be to awkward to look long too," Percy agreed indulgently.

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

"What do you mean? That sounds like the best sendoff ever," Jason smiled. "You get to come back and see all the improvements they made, like a then and now skeleton in the works!"

He seemed to be missing the detail they were doing all that in case they didn't come back, and nobody had the heart to correct him.

Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack. When Tyson and I came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."

"The standard morning greeting," Percy sighed.

"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.

Alex clasped his hands as if blessing the book for that particularly strange sentence.

"What?" she asked.

Before I could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

"It is criminal he is that excited first thing in the morning, let alone about this," Will sighed.

"He's probably lacing his morning hay with coffee beans," Nico agreed.

He tried to sound upbeat, but I could tell he was anxious. I didn't want to freak him out any more, but I thought about last night's dream, and before I could change my mind, I said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." I nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed me out of earshot.

"Last night," I said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." I told him the details. The news seemed to weigh on his shoulders.

"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."

Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. I mean, we all knew it was true.

"You didn't until he told you," Thalia snorted.

"I assume other kids around camp actually look up the myths. I just wait to live it all out in person," Percy shrugged.

Everybody in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow. But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about. Oh, my dad is the all-powerful evil Titan lord who wants to destroy Western Civilization. I want to be just like him when I grow up!

"How I imagine every rich brat talks to be honest," Magnus scoffed.

"It's a good thing Chiron lives off the saddlebags on his back then and is nothing like them," Jason chuckled.

Thalia smiled to herself they had no idea they'd met a rich brat, and Rachel would have been laughing right along with them.

"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" I asked.

"A bargain is offering one exchange for another, usually with one person getting a much better deal," Magnus smirked.

"Now if only you knew the definition of shutting up, then we'd have it made," Percy chuckled.

"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth...well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."

"Maybe Daedalus is insane, and Kronos will twist him all the way back into being sane, and then you swoop in and rescue him," Alex offered.

"That sounds like a lot of twists and turns," Percy sighed. "Any chance we can just skip to the part where he's on our side?" Then Percy winced for reasons beyond him.

"Then we'd lose out on all your brilliant commentary," Will mock pouted.

"I could live without some of it," Percy huffed. He most certainly wouldn't have advertised his every embarrassing mistake for starters.

"Not anyone," I promised.

Percy smiled with pride for that, until he noticed Thalia's uneasy little wince. He settled quietly into his seat beside her and didn't draw attention to that which Nico had read over without a single bit of surprise.

Chiron managed a smile. "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."

"What else could he want?" Magnus frowned. "How many things can he get from one dude."

"Hercules has defeated everything in the past," Percy reminded in exhaustion just thinking about him. "It's more than possible Daedalus had more than one thing going on."

"What else would he want?"

"Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?"

I nodded. "Luke was taking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause."

"Still disgusting and terrifying by the way," Will promised as if anyone had forgotten that.

"And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?"

A chill went down my spine. "He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

"Kronos clearly needs to get caught up on all the AI movies proving why that won't turn out like he wants," Jason snorted.

"Indeed," Chiron said. "Daedalus was the world's greatest inventor. He created the Labyrinth, but much more. Automatons, thinking machines...What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?"

"He could tell him no," Alex said stoutly. "That powers within anybody's control!"

"I don't think it worked out so well with that evil king," Magnus reminded uneasily. They didn't yet know what had happened to him and his son from that, but going by the history of all these Greek stories, he was guessing, not well.

That was a real pleasant thought.

"If pleasant means bone chilling," Thalia muttered, getting her own flashes of that all over at just the thought of that reveal.

"We've got to get to Daedalus first," I said, "and convince him not to."

Jason frowned as he wondered how far Percy would be willing to go to convince him though. What level of favor would Percy consider to get Daedalus on his side? Would he kidnap the inventor and drag him back to camp just to keep him away from Kronos against his will?

Chiron stared off into the trees. "One other thing I do not understand...this talk of a last soul joining their cause. That does not bode well."

"Must be a pretty special soul to complete such a ritual," Alex said with an almost serious face for a moment before following it up with, "so I guess that leaves Percy out."

"He's got you there," Magnus snorted, "New Yorker's are one in a million."

Percy laughed along at them downplaying this, as well as trying to take some comfort perhaps if his was the soul needed at least that meant this would never happen.

I kept my mouth shut, but I felt guilty. I'd made the decision not to tell Chiron about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though—

Magnus and Alex exchanged surprised, uneasy looks for that. They already knew Kronos would be begging to get Nico on their side by any means necessary, but if Percy's guess was right and he was somehow the child of the prophy meant to help drag Kronos's soul the rest of the way out...well they already knew Minos was evil and could be up to something far worse. What if all this talk of helping bring Bianca back was just practice to get Nico ready for something far worse?

What if Kronos knew about Nico?

"We still haven't gotten clarification how anybody knows anything around here," Will shook his head as if this were a mild concern, "no sense in useless worries until then." He bit back the exclamation Nico would have been safer at Camp in the meantime whether anybody knew his parentage or not only because Kronos was no longer a threat. He'd just have to come up with other arguments.

What if he managed to turn him evil?

"He's literally hanging around with an evil ghost and still making morally ambiguous almost good decisions about not wanting to murder people," Jason reminded with a casual shrug. "I like his chances."

"Thanks," Nico muttered in surprise.

It was almost enough to make me want to tell Chiron, but I didn't. For one thing, I wasn't sure Chiron could do anything about it.

"I'll give you that one," Will agreed briskly. He didn't exactly do a stellar job of the campers already under his care.

"Even the best marksman has a limited range," Thalia said with a bit more sorrow. Even if Chiron couldn't have done anything, he surely would have appreciated a heads-up just in case he could later.

I had to find Nico myself. I had to explain things to him, make him listen.

"Strapping someone in a chair for a lecture is worse than anything Kronos would do to him," Magnus reminded.

"I'd offer snacks?" Percy said.

"Nico?" Magnus let him pass judgment.

He considered for a moment, his stomach in knots over the last time he'd let Percy make him listen. It had only opened a whole other can of worms he was still processing.

So for now, he waved his hand and said, "I'll consider it."

"I don't know," I said at last. "But, uh, something Juniper said, maybe you should hear." I told him how the tree nymph had seen Quintus poking around the rocks.

"Which I'm still mildly offended you didn't do yesterday," Jason scowled, "or her, when this happened!" The safety of their home was not something that should be trifled with!

"Juniper's not great with people," Percy reminded, "and I've had, like, a million other things on my mind!"

"Which is 999,999 more than he usually does," Thalia smirked.

Chiron's jaw tightened. "That does not surprise me."

"What does surprise him is when we spend Father's Day hiding his arrows from him and call it advance practice," Will chuckled. He realized after the fact he was probably being a little to nonchalant about this when he got some strange looks for that, or they just didn't think it was funny. Probably the first though.

"It doesn't sur—you mean you know?"

"Percy, when Quintus showed up at camp offering his services...well, I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious."

"Fair enough," Percy huffed, he still thought somebody could have at least gasped.

"Then why did you let him in?"

"Because sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him.

"I always hated that saying," Alex scowled, "the adage only works in enclosed spaces to know what your enemy is doing intimately, and even then if they're clever enough they'll pull a wool over your eyes. Otherwise, it's safe to be as far away as possible. Or just kill them."

It wasn't much of a guess which Alex leaned towards.

"There's a certain strategy in both," Jason passively said.

He may be just what he says: a halfblood in search of a home. Certainly he has done nothing openly that would make me question his loyalty. But believe me. I will keep an eye—"

Annabeth trudged over, probably curious why we were taking so long.

"What, is she jealous Percy's having a conversation without her in it for a change?" Alex chuckled.

"She's probably convinced Percy will monopolize himself into being Chiron's new favorite," Magnus mock agreed.

"Percy, you ready?"

I nodded. My hand slipped into my pocket, where I kept the ice whistle Quintus had given me. I looked over and saw Quintus watching me carefully.

He raised his hand in farewell.

Our spies report success, Luke had said. The same day we decided to send a quest, Luke had known about it.

"That's happened the last few quests though where he's up to date," Magnus shook his head. "Can't explicitly blame that on him."

"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."

"If he asks you to bring him back a skin, tell him to get in line," Alex mock waved.

"You too," I said.

We walked over to the rocks, where Tyson and Grover were waiting. I stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow us.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

"Hopefully not the last thing they agree on," Jason said with a wayward smile.

And together, the four of us descended into darkness.

"Real happy, go-getter of a last sentence there," Nico shook his head as he passed the book along to Will.

"At least you never leave camp angry at anybody," Alex offered. "By the rules of writing, that would spell trouble with a capital death."

"My life is not an actual book," Percy told him blankly.

"Well the narrator sure isn't reliable enough for this to be a biography," Magnus smirked. "How many times did you say you're voice has cracked from puberty break?"

"And we're moving on!" Percy yelped.

PJOPJO

*There are no canon middle names for any characters in the series except Will, and it kind of drives me nuts.

#pjo #Percy Jackson #Jason Grace #Thalia Grace #alex fierro #Magnus Chase #nico di angelo #will solace #percabeth #solangelo #fierrochase #percy jackon and the olympians #battle of the labyrinth #mcdonalds #reading the books #big three kids

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gatesofember · 4 years

Text

The Ballad of Ladon Creek

Chapter 1

Wild West au | Pairing: Solangelo | Rating: T | Read it on AO3 | Next Chapter

Summary: Doctor Will Solace had lived in the secluded Oregon town of Ladon Creek for a year when a mysterious stranger arrived and turned his world upside down.

For @solangeloweek’s auctober

In the years after the Civil War, a young woman by the name of Hazel Levesque discovered a massive supply of gold in the hills near Ladon Creek. With the help of a few close friends, she established her own mine—something that she should not have been able to do, because Miss Levesque was not only female, but black, as well. At the time, blacks had been prohibited from entering the state of Oregon at all; they certainly weren’t granted the right to own property. It had taken some clever manipulation and sneaking around to have the land registered in her name.

The mine brought so many settlers in its first year of operation that one of Miss Levesque’s friends—Miss Annabeth Chase—designed a town named Ladon Creek after the nearby river. It was the largest town for miles but not far from Grande Ronde and it sat largely undisturbed by the county marshal and outside lawmen. That, and the fact that it had been founded by a black woman and her friends, was why Ladon Creek had attracted all manner of social outcasts and “undesirables” in the years since the mine’s opening—one of whom being Dr. William Solace.

Dr. Solace had kept to himself since arriving in Ladon Creek the year before. While his mother, Mrs. Naomi Solace, was a pleasant and sociable woman, Will never sought out companionship. Even when invited, he listened more than he spoke and hardly ever stayed long.

Still, Will remained well-liked in Ladon Creek. Something about him made people feel safe and comfortable. He was of average height and his posture was unthreatening. His face was handsome and smooth, his voice sounded pleasantly melodic, and his demeanor was gentle and calming. His hands felt soft like he’d never worked a day in his life, yet he labored over his patients so arduously that you might have thought they were his own kin. Every touch was careful and every word was warm.

On one bright summer afternoon, a stranger rode into Ladon Creek slouched on the back of a bay-coated horse. He was clothed almost entirely in black and his face was hidden in shadow under the brim of his dark hat. When he stopped a couple on the street and asked where he could find the doctor, they pointed him in the direction of Will’s clinic.

Will looked up when he heard the rustling outside his office and saw the black-clad stranger tying up his horse outside the windows. He noted a limp to the man’s gait and clicked his tongue. Wounded travelers came into his office too often for Will’s liking—out west, people were far too careless and the terrain was far too dangerous.

Will folded his hands on the desk in front of him as the man opened the door and walked inside. “You’re the doctor?” asked the stranger.

“Yes,” said Will. “How may I help you?”

The man took off his hat, revealing a head of unkempt black hair and a pair of bottomless dark eyes that reminded Will of staring into a well. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow and dark circles under his eyes, and Will almost feared the man might pass out right in the doorway of his clinic. But despite his obvious exhaustion, he was handsome in a rough kind of way—the dangerous sort of handsome that was best admired from afar.

“I’m looking to buy some bandages,” the man said.

Will glanced down at the leg the man had been favoring. “You have a name, stranger?” he asked.

“Di Angelo—Nico di Angelo,” the man replied.

“Well, then, Mr. di Angelo,” Will said, rising from his desk. “If you let me examine that leg, the bandages are free.”

To Will’s surprise, the man hesitated before nodding and taking off his duster, revealing the brown-stained bandage wrapped around his left thigh.

“Sit down,” Will said, gesturing to the exam table hidden from the view of the windows by a privacy curtain. He took Nico’s coat and hat and hung them by the door before joining him. Nico had already started unwrapping his bandages. The wound was messy, caked with dried blood and slowly oozing a cloudy yellow fluid. Will could tell it was at least a day or two old and that an infection was setting in.

“You must have gotten in quite a fight,” Will said, standing to fetch supplies to clean the wound. “Run into some trouble?”

Nico didn’t answer. Will hadn’t expected him to.

“I already got the bullet out and cleaned it,” Nico said.

“Good,” Will replied. “You probably held the infection off long enough to make it here, but you’re lucky I asked to see it—otherwise, you might’ve lost your leg.”

Will poured alcohol on a cleaning cloth and Nico tensed when it touched his wound, but held still and didn’t make a sound until Will had finished and applied a healing ointment. “You’ll need to stay in town a few days so I can keep an eye on your progress and care for your wound properly,” Will said. “Mrs. Jackson owns an inn a little ways down the road where you can rent a room. She’ll make sure you eat well and her son will take good care of your horse.”

Nico was quiet and for a moment, Will worried that he’d argue. But then he sighed and said, “I suppose there’s no helping it. Where can I find her?”

Will tried not to feel insulted by Nico’s obvious disappointment. “Only a few buildings down the road—I’ll take you there,” he said as he finished changing Nico’s bandages. “Wait here a moment.”

Will went into the back room of the clinic and retrieved a wooden crutch from his supplies, then returned and offered it to Nico. “You’ll need to use this to walk for a while,” he said. “Try to keep your weight off that leg as much as you can.”

Nico looked at Will with tired incredulity, like he couldn’t believe Will was forcing him to do all this, but he got to his feet and tested the crutch without complaining. Will handed Nico his hat and coat and brought him outside to where his mare was waiting. Will offered to lead her while Nico got used to his crutch, and Nico shrugged like he didn’t care one way or the other.

The Jacksons’ inn was a two-story building just a short walk away with blue painted siding and windows of natural pine. If he walked by at the wrong time, Will would smell a wonderful meal being prepared, which always left him hungry and jealous. He had been invited to join them for supper a handful of times, and each time he swore it was the best meal he’d ever had.

Mrs. Sally Jackson sat on a rocking chair on the front porch as Will and Nico approached, humming softly and holding her sleeping six-month-old baby against her chest. She looked tired, with a few brown and gray hairs out of place, but relaxed and happy.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Jackson,” called Will.

“Dr. Solace!” Mrs. Jackson said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have a patient in need of a room,” Will answered, nodding to Nico. “This is Mr. di Angelo. He’ll be staying here until his leg heals.”

“Poor thing,” Mrs. Jackson tutted as she rose from her chair, careful to not wake the baby. “Take a seat while I bring your horse to the stable out back, Mr. di Angelo. Doctor, I’m sorry to trouble you, but would you mind holding Estelle? Paul’s at the schoolhouse, Percy’s on the ranch, and poor Estelle has barely napped all day.”

“No trouble at all, Mrs. Jackson,” Will answered. Estelle stirred when Will took her, but she quickly fell asleep again in his arms.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Sally said before leading the horse around to the back of the building.

When Will glanced back at Nico, half expecting to find him passed out in the rocking chair, he was surprised to instead see Nico watching him with a curious, unnerving expression that made Will’s hair stand on end. He felt like he was being picked apart, dissected and examined like a dead animal. Will cleared his throat, but Nico kept staring—perhaps not even realizing what he was doing or not understanding that Will was trying to get him to stop.

“Your horse is lovely,” Will said, attempting to distract him instead. “What’s her name?”

Nico finally blinked and he looked thoughtful for a moment, like he’d never considered giving her a name. Then he said, “Cavala.”

“Cavala,” Will repeated, rubbing soft circles into Estelle’s back. “A beautiful name for a beautiful horse.”

Nico smiled, but it seemed more like he was enjoying a private joke than appreciating Will’s compliment. Still, the smile made Will’s heart rate pick up for a second and he almost worried the hammering would wake the baby sleeping against his chest. He glanced away and was glad to see Mrs. Jackson returning.

“Thank you for holding her,” she said when Will passed Estelle back.

“You’re very welcome,” Will said. “Don’t let her nap too much longer or she won’t want to sleep tonight.”

“I know, Doctor—this isn’t my first baby, it’s just been a while since my last,” said Mrs. Jackson. “I’ll set you up in a room on the ground floor so that you don’t have to bother with the stairs, Mr. di Angelo. My husband and my son should be home soon and Percy will look after your horse while Paul helps me with supper. Are you hungry?”

Nico looked at her blankly for a second before nodding, like it took a moment for his tired brain to comprehend what she was asking. “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“I ought to head back to the clinic,” Will said, before the idea of a Jackson supper made him start to drool. “Come by tomorrow morning so I can check on your leg, Mr. di Angelo.”

Nico turned back to Will, once again fixing him with that unnerving stare, and slowly nodded.

When Will walked back to his clinic, he could still feel the stare on his back.

#Wild West au #solangelo #Nico di Angelo #Will Solace #solangelo fanfiction #solangelo fanfic #my fic

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