Chapter Text
The night was restless at best. Nico tossed and turned and he could tell, by the way Will’s fingers twitched and the way he breathing didn’t relax like it normally did, that Will wasn’t fairing much better. His sleep came in bits and pieces and wasn’t restful at all. Will had sometimes referred to it as his “hover sleep.” A state of being that hovered somewhere between being asleep and awake. Will wasn’t usually a light sleeper. He was usually out cold (much to Nico’s dismay, snoring louder than some monsters roared) and didn’t wake up for any reason other than Nico’s nightmares or the sun coming up.
So, for Will to be hover sleeping, was unsettling.
Of course, the entire situation was unsettling. They were demigods— they were used to going into a war without knowing too much— but they weren’t used to going into combat without knowing anything about what to expect.
Nico’s mind was spinning.
Why hadn’t his father told them his plan?
The Gods were cryptic at best, but still, it was odd, even for Hades, to leave his son completely in the dark.
“I can hear you thinking,” Will muttered against Nico’s neck.
The raven grunted and rolled over to face his boyfriend. “No you can’t,” he juxtaposed the snide comment with putting his hand on Will’s chest tenderly.
Will melted against the touch. “You know what I mean.”
“Fine.”
“Obstinate little gremlin.”
“Excuse you,” Nico put on his best fake glare.
Will kissed the tip of his nose. His forehead, both of his cheeks, and finally his lips.
“Time is it?” Nico asked between short, closed mouth, kisses.
“Close to six. Sun’s about to come out.” Freaking children of Apollo and their innate sense of time.
“Gross,” said Nico.
“I know,” said Will as he kissed Nico again. “I love mornings, but what I’d give to have more time to snuggle and kiss you right now.”
Nico groaned and kissed Will back a little harder.
And Will wanted nothing more then to keep kissing Nico and to ask him to shadow travel them to Italy, Scotland, anywhere that wasn’t a fairy protected camp along the coastline of Canada.
Nico muttered a curse under his breath and pulled away from Will. “We gotta go,” he grimaced.
Will nodded. “Gods, I wish we knew a little more of what’s going on. I mean, do we even have a plan beyond going to this meeting point?”
“We’ll have to fight,” said Nico. His voice was even and emotionless. “And some of us will have to die.”
Will’s breath hitched. “That’s doesn’t have to—“
“It does. Hel said a great soul or many lesser souls, right? So some of us have to die in order for the exchange to go down. It’s the deal my father struck and he has to abide by it,” Nico sighed heavily.
Will put threw his shirt of forcefully and strode over to face Nico. “Baby, listen to me, okay? Your father, the God of the underworld, isn’t going to let any of us die in order to keep an agreement.”
Nico shivered at the steadfast nature of Will’s statement. “It’s more than an agreement, it’s a binding deal between two Gods. That can’t be broken or bent and you know it.”
“Nico,” Will shushed the boy and grabbed his hands tenderly. “Nico, look at me.” He waited for the younger boy to lock eyes with him before he continued. “Your father loves you. In his own, weird, morbid, and incredibly toxic way, he loves you. He won’t let you suffer a loss again.”
Nico so desperately wanted to believe Will, but he found himself shaking his head and looking down at his stocking feet. “Will…” Nico felt the boy squeeze his hands. “Maybe it’s not your life my father’s willing to take. Maybe…maybe it’s mine.”
There were exactly three beats of silence between Nico’s words and Will’s reply. Nico knew, because he’d counted. Three beats of heavy silence, before Will’s voice was hardly audible.
“Fuck that,” he breathed. Both his body and voice shook. “Fuck that, Nico. No father would ever, ever, sacrifice his son’s life for a deal. He said he didn’t want to see you risk your life anymore.”
Nico laughed humourlessly. “Hades…he isn’t like Apollo. He doesn’t have compassion. He doesn’t love his children like Apollo does. Plus—“ Will opened his mouth to interrupt Nico, but the son of Hades stopped him with a feather light kiss on the lips. It was heartbreaking. “Let me finish, Will. I need to get this out,” Nico exhaled shakily. “Think about it. I’d be the most valuable exchange. Hades may even be able to negotiate a different deal with me in play. And if Hel accepts it—say my life for my father getting Elysium forever—“
“No, Nico. No!”
“Will, listen to me!”
“Nico!” Will’s voice broke.“I am listening to you! But I don’t believe you! I can’t believe you! We didn’t survive two wars and countless threats on our lives, to have it all end like this! And you heard your dad when we went to see him! He doesn’t want you to die!”
Nico tried to smile weakly. “Maybe it’s not death. Maybe it’s…something else. Like returning as a spirit.”
“Stop saying shit like that, baby. It’s not going to come to that,” Will cupped Nico’s face with his hands. “I’m not letting you go, Nico. I swear on all the Gods, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you alive.”
There was a ominous rumbling of thunder. Not even the shores of Atlantic Canada could keep the Greek Gods too far away.
Nico angrily swiped under his eyes. When had he started crying? He wanted to stay in Will’s arms forever. Shadow travel them away to Vienna where they could have coffee at an open air coffee shop and then go to a concert.
But before Nico’s desires could get the better of them, the door flew open.
“Norse soldiers approaching the boarders!” Mr. Lugh shouted. “We ready for battle!”
“What?” Nico shouted back. “Wasn’t there some kind of meeting place arranged? I don’t understand—“
“You’re a son of Hades, aren’t you? One of your big three? Traveling through shadows and commanding skeleton armies? I would think someone as experienced and powerful you wouldn’t need much of an explanation as to what a war entails? Or do the Greeks not train their soldiers to be prepared for anything? Like, for instance, a Norse army that can, apparently, break through protective barriers?”
Nico cursed under his breath and reached for his sward. “You want someone angry enough to summon a hundred piece skeleton army?”
Mr. Lugh flapped his wings. “That would be ideal.”
“Well, it’s your lucky day. Because I’m fucking pissed.”
“Good,” Mr. Lugh flapped to face Will. “And you’re a healer?”
Will gulped. “I am, sir.”
“We’ll need you at the sidelines. We have emergency tents at the ready.”
Will nodded and watched the fairy flap away.
“Hey,” Nico put a hand on Will’s shoulder and handed him a dagger. “We’ve done this song and dance before, right? We can do it again.”
“He talked to you like you’re nothing but a battle machine.”
Nico sighed. “Maybe so, but he also did that deliberately. He knows demigods fight better with passion. I know I fight better when I’m angry. He just wanted me to get me angry enough to fight my best.”
“Drain yourself again, more like,” said Will.
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you. Mr. I’ll-heal-someone-until-I-pass-out,” Nico’s eyes narrowed at Will, but there wasn’t any threat behind them. If anything, there was a ghost of a smile playing on Nico’s lips.
Will chuckled lightly. “Okay, okay, point taken,” he put on the breastplate that had magically appeared by his bed overnight. “How about we both promise not to do anything stupid?”
Nico shifted his weight from side to side as they could hear more and more Celtic demigods gathering outside. He hated empty promises.
“Okay. Nothing stupid.”
“Nothing stupid,” Will stepped in front of Nico and kissed him firmly. “I love you.”
Nico nodded and kissed him back. “I love you too.”
They headed out onto the shore where the Norse army was approaching on massive, intimidating, viking longboats. Mist appeared behind them. Celtic demigods lined the shoreline as well as the tops of the caves. Those up on the caves were ready with bow and arrow. Those bellow had swards and daggers in hand.
Will looked behind him and saw Austin on the top of a cave, his bow and arrow at the ready. Max crouched next to him. Right at the front of a line of Celtic demigods, stood Eric, sward held high over his head. He was ready and waiting for a first command from Mr. Lugh.
“Go,” Nico whispered over the anticipation in the air. He gestured over at the red crossed medical tents not two meters away from the caves.
Will looked down at the boyfriend. He couldn’t stand leaving him. “Nico…”
“Just go, Will. I’ll be fine.”
Will pressed a final kiss to Nico’s lips and ran off in the direction of the tents. Seeing Will leave, gave Nico at least some relief. Being a field medic didn’t mean he couldn’t get hurt, but it least made Will a little bit safer. At least he wasn’t in the direct line of fire.
The sound of thunder crashed from above them. In a fanfare of lightning and wind, a God appeared at the shoreline. He was foreboding in a way Nico had never experienced. He’d experienced his father’s anger, Zeus’ wrath, and Poseidon’s power. He’d been blown away by Apollo’s might. This was entirely different. Nico knew he was looking at Taranis, the Celtic God of Thunder. He had a long beard and a mane of dark blonde hair that whipped around in the wind. His golden crown gleamed in the early morning sunlight.
“I come to fight along side you!” the God called out. “Though my powers may not give us an obvious advantage, I believe together, we will be victorious!”
The demigod army shouted in unison. Nico noticed Eric standing impossibly taller, his smile one of pride and honour.
A huge wave crashed upon the shore. A wave larger and more powerful than all the others that had come before. The ships that had been coming closer, all stopped. In the distance, through the fog, someone was gliding along the water and coming towards shore. Nico’s grip on his sward tightened as he prepared to summon his underworldly powers. The son of Hades’ heart hammered in his chest. This wasn’t a normal threat. This was something else entirely.
When they got closer, Nico knew in an instant who it was. It was Hel. Silver-grey robes billowing behind her as she came to shore.
“You—“ she pointed her long, silver, staff at Taranis. “You think your powers will be of use here? And you—“ she pointed out towards the mass of demigods. “You think a few swards and lightening bolts will be enough to stop an entire fleet of highly trained Norse soldiers from taking what is mine. I told the boy—the healer so innocently thinking he’s out of harms’ way—that I require a great soul of many many small souls. You give me these souls freely, and I’ll keep my army off shore. You deny me what is mine and my army will give me everything.”
Nico sucked in a sharp breath. “No!” He shouted. “You’re not taking more innocent lives!”
Hel approached Nico with a chilling swoop. “Son of Hades,” she whispered. “The ghost king. Finally, we meet face to face.”
Nico shivered. Everything about Hel radiated cold. “Leave my friends in peace,” he spat. “They never did anything to hurt or offend you!”
“I find going back on a deal to be very offensive, don’t you?”
“Then take me.”
The air shifted. Nico held his breath. He knew the feeling anywhere. Hades was approaching.
“NO!” The God of the underworld strode across the beach, Apollo in tow. “You will not take my son!”
Hel grinned horribly. “Your son for a lifetime of control over Elysium?”
“You’re horrible at striking deals,” said Apollo.
“Oh really?” Hel pointed her staff at the medic tents. “I’ll burn them to the ground. All of them. Your son is in one of them, isn’t he? Would be a shame to lose a child so unwilling to do harm.”
“Don’t you dare threaten my son—“
“Apollo!” Hades held the God back.
Hel appeared thrilled. “So what will it be, gentlemen? Wer von euch soll sterben?”
Nico didn’t speak German, but he knew what the question was. He knew what he had to do to spare Will’s life and to ensure his father’s control over Elysium. Nico took a deep breath and stepped forward. He opened his mouth to speak when another voice rang out instead.
“Take my life!”
For a moment, Nico feared it was Will. But it wasn’t. It was Eric. Strong, smiling, fun-loving, Eric. He strode towards Hel, casting Taranis aside as he went.
“Eric!” Taranis shouted. “Eric! You don’t know what you’re doing!”
“I do,” Eric stopped directly in front of Hel. “My life in exchange for Elysium being in Hades’ control. In perpetuity.”
“Eric, don’t!” A clap of thunder rang out as Taranis shouted.
The Celtic demigod didn’t even flinch. He held out his hand to Hel in offering. Distantly, Nico could hear Max shouting and trying to push their way through the mass of child warriors.
Nico tried to pull Eric’s hand back, but he brushed the son of Hades aside with a glare.
“Get out of my way, Di Angelo. This is out of your control.”
“Don’t do this!” Nico yelled. Max ran up behind him, but Nico held them back. “There has to be another way! Father!” He looked over at Hades. “There must be another way! This—this wasn’t your plan, was it?”
Hades lips pursed ever so slightly.
“It wasn’t his idea,” Eric pushed his father aside again. “It was mine.” He stretched out his hand out so it practically grazed the sleeve of Hel’s cloak. “So what’ll it be, you power-hungry bitch? I’m one of the big three. One of the last ones alive. Won’t be another one like me for a while. You’ve wanted me dead for years. My life is worth decades of your vanity project and you know it!”
Max tried desperately to get past Nico. “No! Don’t!” They pleaded. “Eric, listen to me! There’s got to be another way! You can’t do this! You—“
Hel reached out her grey hand and shook Eric’s freckled one.
“We have a deal,” she whispered.
“NO! You can’t take my SON!” Taranis leapt forward, but to no avail. When the God finally tried to grasp Eric’s arm, it went right through. Eric was growing translucent. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at his father.
“I’m sure visiting hours won’t be too bad,” the fading demigod managed, before he completely disintegrated.