Chapter 17: The calm before the storm

Authors note:

Alright, for me its monday morning, half an hour after midnight actually, so sorry that this came out kinda late, but it's a 1500 words more than I usually write (granted, 400 words of those are the sneak peak from last chapter). This is probably the darkest, most fighting oriented chapter yet, and probably for a while too. Won't be able to get much darker than that. The fight scenes where a pain in the ass to write, so I hope they're all right for you guys. I have quite some knowledge on historical longsword fencing, so I drew on that to make it realistic, but obviously I had to keep it grounded in a somewhat understandable language and emotionally engaging as well, and I am certainly not sure if I achieve that. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: None. of. this. belongs. to me.

Nico:

Two more nights. Two more nights, or so Leo had said. Then his little project would be ready, then they'd all be safe. Then… if a then existed. Nico moaned. His back was sore and probably all blue, his arms covered in bandages, blood seeping through. They had found Will Solace and Theo Rakham the other day, equalling out the casualties they had sustained during the night. They were thus still seven, eight with him. Eight against a few dozen shadows, which, until now, only stygian Iron could kill. That at least was a light. Knowing that they COULD be killed. On the other hand, it meant that he had to do most of the fighting.

"Then why don't you ask Hades for more weapons? You know that the whole 'only a child of hades can carry stygian iron' myth is bullshit." Nico's conscience intruded.

So I'll just walk in, and be like; Dad, I need some more of that really precious type of sword to save some people I don't really know. Oh, and btw, most of them probs hate you. I'm sure its no big deal, right? Not like their parents hate you too XD. I'm sure it would work. He'd give an entire armoury worth of that stuff, and add in a skeleton legion just for fun.

"HEY, dont get sarcastic with me young brother!"

Nico sniggered. "Look, you're literally my subconscience, at the most its me thats bossing you around. Don't reverse the roles here."

His imaginary sister shut up at that. Nico had the bad feeling that he wouldn't hear again from her for quite some time. He looked up, gazing over their camp. The large trees surrounding them offered at least some protection from the biting wind. The fires burnt brightly, the work of their last hephaestus kid. Weapons lay strewn across the clearing. Spears and axes lent against the trees, swords were scattered next to their sleeping owners. The exhausted demigods were not in the shape to organize it any neater. Those that weren't on guard, or like Solace fixing up the wounded, were lying on the floor, so quiet and unmoving they could have been mistaken for dead. Nectar and Ambrosia had run out a day ago. Shadow Travelling had become so difficult- some magic of the Eternals Nico assumed- that should he collect supplies, he would be knocked out cold for at least a week. For that same reason the other three demigods from hogwarts weren't here. They did all they could from the distance though, Nico wasn't blaming them for any of this. He heard a rustling of leaves behind him, and turned around.

Malcolm stood there. He could have looked better. A nasty gash was open on his forehead, blood slowly trickling down and missing his left eye by millimeters. His eyes were underlined by dark shadows, and his cheeks dusty. His fatty hair hung dully down, almost to the tip of his nose, some stuck in the wound.

"It is time." was all he said.

Nico turned back. He was right. the sun had almost reached the horizon; the orange gleem a hellish inferno. Nico grabbed for his necklace, a skull. He pried it open, to look at the picture inside. A picture of Kai. A sad smile crossed his lips as he closed the amulet.

The Ghost King pulled his sword. The black blade reflected the firish light of the sun, a dark gleam, as if the weapon was covered in blood. He gave out a piercing scream, not from this earth. A challenge the son of Death gave every night. A challenge to the shadows, to come and try kill him.

It did give away his position, it also however inspired the other demigods. Ripped out of their sleep, they grabbed their bows, spears and swords and howled at the rising moon. As long as Nico was alive, they new, the shadows would get what they deserved. And the only thing they deserved was Death.

Harry:

Harry was lying wide awake within his bed. Where the hell where the americans? They hadn't shown up, not since friday night.

No one had seen them. No one had really noticed, or cared on the weekend, but by tuesday morning, even the teachers had been seen exchanging worried glances.

Well, "nobody cared" wasn't strictly speaking true. Kai had been pestering all the Gryffindor students, since saturday morning already. He was clearly sick with worry. By monday, he had been all pale, sleep deprived and seemed at quite the loss of what to do. Before that, Harry hadn't been sure about the relationship between the british and Nico. It had all seemed so rushed. But after that weekend it was clear Kai did love him. It was sweet, but Harry was even more conflicted by that. He wasn't supposed to find a possible enemy sweet.

Nico, Percy, all of them. They all smelled like trouble. Even after that unbreakable vow between Annabeth and him, he, Ron and Hermione had kept spying on them. All the time, except friday night. And now the americans were gone. But none of their stuff seemed to be missing. Their clothes, their school supplies, all of it was still here.

Tomorrow, when no one was there, he and Ron would search through Leo's trunk. Maybe they'd find a clue on what the four where doing. With that positive thought he fell asleep.

Nico:

It felt as if the sun had gone down centuries ago. Their arms were heavy from the fighting, their knees weak from pain. Nico was running, Malcolm and Will shortly behind him. Four of the beasts were on their heels. The son of Apollo was panting, slowly falling back. Nicos face was grimier than ever; he had face-planted when stumbling over a root in the darkness. The Shadows got closer and closer. Nico felt the cold air on his neck. Cold Air. It always surrounded the monsters, wherever they went.

The darkness around the halfbloods was pure. Not a light was to be seen. The eternals however were darker, a pitch black, pulling them in. Only their godly senses kept the three from running straight into the tree trunks. "Hurry!" A voice called out in front of them. Nico put on another burst of speed.

"ssssshhhhh" he heard as the arrow whizzed past him. The hoarse ratter behind the demigods was enough for him to realize an Eternal had been hit. Three more arrows flew across the clearing, each reaching their target. The ghost king dared a look back, but without slowing down in his run. All four of the black silhouettes had arrows stuck within their heads- right between their eyes. And all four lifted their hands in union, grabbing the shafts and, as if in slow motion, pulling them out millimeter by millimeter. But no blood came. Only dark mist. A black sand that trickled out, over their shredded robes and down onto the ground. Nico's head snapped around as someone touched his shoulder. Still running at full force, he stumbled when coming to a halt.

It was Theo; bow in hand he grinned at the ghost king. Nico took the leisure of catching his breath for a few seconds. The shadows would need almost half a minute to regenerate fully. Theo slung the bow over his shoulder and pulled Nico with him. They ran down a steep hill. While healing, it seemed that the Eternals could not use their senses. If they were lucky, they'd be able to hide until the four had passed.

"There is a valley down there, protected by high cliffs and overhanging rocks. Its a shortcut. If we take that route we'll be safer, and come out at the rendezvous-point early."

Theo whispered.

Nico nodded, impressed by both Theo's night vision and his knowledge of the terrain. By now, the ghost king deeply regretted that he had spent so little time at camp Halfblood. All of the others knew the hills and rivers of this land much better than he did. It mattered less and less as they got further away from camp, but Theo had been one of the few that had extensively explored all of the territory between New York and the camp.

Quietly, the two where now huddled against a rock at the bottom of the crevasse. They could see the shadows moving above them, hissing. The holes where their eyes should have been had a slight red glow. Maybe Nico imagined it, but their feet looked like those of crows. He shivered. The cold moon was slowly rising to the height of its cycle, giving all of the forest a slight blue gleam. Nico held his breath. He doubted that he and Theo were convincing rocks within this light. A moment passed, then two. The shadows moved out of sight, a ghastly mass of smoke and darkness, limbs moving so fast they where almost impossible to identify.

The two stayed in cover for another few seconds. Then they stood up, and slowly jogged down the valley, Nico's sword gleaming blue in the moonlight.

During their first night they had realised that what they needed was maneuverability, not a defendable camp. Stakes, mounds, even fire, the Eternals just passed right through these sorts of blockades. Thus, staying in one place was not an option. This was where the horses they had stolen from the farm came in handy. They had three in total, but as they were only eight demigods, that meant that almost half of their forces were cavalry. Nico thanked all the gods for that. The shadows where fast. But not as fast as the horses, or a child of death.

As every night, it had started with a hunt. The Eternals appeared in two or threes, spread out over what seemed like four square kilometers around the half-bloods exact location. Nico was the one with the most experience; he was therefore, together with Annabeth, the one that was responsible for their overall strategy, one which seemed to work quite well.

The demigods had determined their rendezvous point, and then started to run. First as a group, with scouts on either side, the front and the back. Nico's scream had pulled all of the shadows towards him, and he wasn't with the group. As the only one who could kill them, he had higher chances to survive alone, and could thus be used as bait. As soon as the Eternals found that he was just a ruse, they would of course start searching the forest. And at some point, they would see the demigods, and scream. A long, raspy scream. A scream to let all the other shadows know where the demigods were hiding at. The half-bloods would first of all "kill" (well, incapacitate for 30 seconds) those shadows that had found them and then split into smaller groups, running, hiding, running, hiding.

This night, all had gone smoothly. Not even one of the scouts had been killed during the first skirmish, and the breaking apart had been as orderly done as one could imagine, within the pitch black forest and with enemies all around.

The archers had the horses. They would ride in front of their companions, stop; shoot down shadows which were following the other demigods and once the eternals had come close, ride off again. This strategy worked wonders, and gave both those running and the horses some respite. Nico had joined Malcolm and Will a few minutes after the group had separated. He had been tired, having killed five of the shadows already. Now, with Theo, the Ghost King was sure this night would be a full success. No one dead yet, as far as he knew, a record, he thought grimly. Slowly, the valley turned back upwards, and the two got slower while climbing the steep rise. There it was! The large oak tree, high on a hill, maybe 400 meters in front of them. The rendezvous point; the first of two.

At around the half mark of the night, the demigods usually met somewhere, they would count how many had survived, bandage each other up properly, report any new details or weaknesses within the enemy's strategy they had found. Usually, they would be able to rest for a few minutes, drink some water. The archers, less tired, would stay a few hundred meters off; shooting at the often already approaching eternals. Then, the running would continue. Until morning, after which they would meet at the second rendezvous point, the shadows only a dark memory. The large oak tree was bluish in the light; and looked like a beacon of safety to Nico. 200 meters, a hundred meters, ten meters…

Theo and the Ghost King had made it to the tree and the rocks surrounding it, offering them a good defensive position, one which even the Eternals couldn't cross easily. Theo took an arrow out of his quiver, climbing on his rock. Slowly, he skimmed the area, searching for approaching shadows. From the lack of movement, Nico assumed that Theo could see none. It seemed that the shortcut had worked. The shadows were far away.

"Nico, I think I see Will and Malcolm running towards us. And that's Kira and Michael. And over there… We're complete! No one died!" Theo said, happily, his large smile clearly visible even in the dark. And then-
All went cold. the demigods' breaths turned into small clouds of smoke. Nico shivered. The shadows were already here.

At Hogwarts:

Their new headquarters at Hogwarts was impressive. Annabeth had decided that it was time to use the chamber she had read about. The chamber she had heard about. The dark and gloomy, but gigantic hall was just what they needed. The corpse of a basilisk still lay stretched out across its floor. The statue of Salazar Slytherin was staring down at the demigods, his eyes almost burning with frustration. The chamber of secrets had been reopened. By demigods.

Already the hall had gained a half-blood flair. Annabeth had confiscated the feet of the statue, situating her planing tables, scrolls and the Iris messaging machine there. The eastern wall had been turned into the armoury. Leo had pulled out as many weapons, pieces of armour and tools for their repair as his magical belt would allow, and neatly stacked them up, ordered and well oiled, not a rust stain to be seen. What was most impressive however was the gigantic construction attached to the ceiling. It was a wooden something, surrounding a gigantic, almost unidentifiable central skeleton of a ship. Walkways connected the different parts. Buckets filled with nails and entire tables and benches stacked with tools were standing below, covering the majority of the chambers floor. Hammering could be heard from above. A cyclops was attaching the first planks to the outside hull, each reinforced by stripes of celestial bronze. "Hey brother, could you pass me some more of the nails?" He asked, his voice raspy.

Percy was already walking up the ramparts, carrying two large buckets filled with them. He was sweaty and tired, but hurried nonetheless; his brother was working at such a speed that he used up the nails and wood faster than Percy could bring them. They were lucky to have Tyson, very lucky.

Annabeth sighed in frustration once more. These damned hunters were unreachable! She kicked a table close by, and instantly regretted it. Now not only her head was throbbing in pain, but also her foot. The quick jabs of agony slowly residing, she threw another drachme into the machine. It felt like she had done it a thousand times. "Iris, please please, Please! show me the hunters of Artemis." Annabeth begged. And then-

"Thalia?!"

A punk-rock girl was standing in front of her, the short hair in spikes, the leather jacket ripped and filled with patches of bands Annabeth hadn't even heard of. The eyes of Thalia were as blue and cold as ever, but the corners of her mouth twitched upwards at seeing her childhood friend. After a short, but comfortable, almost nostalgic silence, she said:

"It's good to see you."

Nico:

He turned around, horror struck. 12 Eternals stood behind him, black blades drawn. They made no sound, nor movement. Their shredded cloaks hung down, flattering, as if in a breeze. But there was no breeze. The air was calm. Calmer than it had been all night, and indescribably cold.

Nico shivered. Ice had covered the small puddles of rainwater in front of him. Frost was glinting in the moonlight. One of the the 12 opened the gaping hole, where his mouth should have been, but no sound came out. But as if the others had heard him, they advanced at once. Slowly, one step at a time, their blades held in front of their faces, the tip to the sky, as if in prayer.
"THEO! RUN!" Nico screamed, and at once the calm was broken. The wind howled again, the coldness became bearable. The ghost king pulled his sword and raised his hand. Half a dozen skeletons clambered out of the ground. Theo, not having followed Nico's order, shot at the eternal that had screamed. The shadow lifted a hand, and the arrow bounced off it.

Theo gasped, but shot a second arrow straight at his opponents face. This time, the eternal caught the arrow in mid air, throwing it back at the archer, who barely dodged it.

"I said, RUN!" Nico ordered a second time, and now Theo listened. He jumped from rock to rock and then clambered down, in the direction where Nico was assuming Will and Malcom where coming from. A snap of the Ghost Kings fingers was enough of a sign for the skeletons to attack. They charged the black clad figures, and so did he.

Nico's high guard worked; drawing in the first of the shadows he deflected the attackers strike easily, following up with a quick stab to his opponents face. The Eternal screeched, like rusty metal plates rubbing against each other over and over again. The black figure slowly evaporated into nothingness.

However, the ghost king saw none of that. Instead of waiting for the other shadows to surround him, he followed up with two distinct slashes, driving another ghost backwards. Already, a third had reached him. However, the shadows were no match for the experienced swordsman. A Krumphau and two follow ups later that Eternal had vanished as well. Three down, nine to go, Nico thought grimly. By now, his skeletons were dead. All six of them together had only been able to kill one of the shadows, dragging him down to the depths of Tartarus.

The other Eternals were circling him, trying to find an opening in his guard. But luckily, he had been able to fight his way through to the oak, standing with his back to the tree. The silhouettes stopped in their tracks. Now unmoving, they seemed to stare at him. As easily as one without eyes could stare. Nico's eyes on the other hand darted from one shadow to the next, searching for an opening. He was in perfect control; still no panting, and despite the long running beforehand, his blade was still, his lower guard perfect. He had to buy the others time. Nico hoped Theo had warned them, and that they would be running off as fast as possible. Maybe he could hold the eternals off for long enough for the demigods to be save during the rest of the night. A few quick strikes and he could probably break through their ranks and make a run for it. He'd get out after all. He'd be able to see Kai. At that, his heart jumped. And then fell into an abyss.

Ten more of the Eternals appeared, slowly gliding over the large boulders that surrounded the oak. It was those ten that had hunted the others. Nico could only hope that this meant the other demigods would be free from pursuit. 19 vs 1. The odds were impossible. With those numbers there was no way he could fight his way out either. Shadow Travelling was impossible; their magic had already been woven over the entire forest. Now, with so many at one place, he doubted he could even walk into a shadow, not even thinking about appearing out of another.

It was over. And they seemed to know it, for they made no move to attack. They just stood there, feeding from his despair.

Nico fell back, leaning heavily on the tree. It was too much. His life, the people he had cared about, flashed before his eyes. His sister Bianca as she protected, taught and scolded him, Percy the first time he had seen him, standing on that cliff, his hair ruffed by the wind, his father, the sister he had saved, Hazel- Kai. Nico held the image of that boy for seconds. His smile, his wonderful eyes, the way his lips had tasted during their first kiss. A single tear trickled down the Ghost Kings cheek. He knew he had had a good life. A life with hardship, yes. But a life with meaning, with family and friends, with love. A full life.

He was ready to go.

And whispering a last "you know I loved you, Kai" into the air, sending it to the skies for the stars to carry, he charged at the monsters before him, who greeted the son of death with open arms.

Malcolm:

All the other demigods knew of the trouble at the rendezvous-point. He had made sure of that. They were running on, hopefully to safety.

Lee had given Malcolm a horse. They would not leave Nico behind.

The trees were flying past the son of Athena as he was riding back towards the large oak. With any luck, he'd be able to snatch him up and ride off, faster than the Eternals could move their damned heads. And then he saw them. 20 figures, standing motionless, illuminated by the blue moonlight.

They had formed a semicircle, with a boy in the middle, his back to the oak tree. Malcolm knew he would be too late.

They were still 300 meters in the distance, and a large gorge was separating him from that hill. By the time he was around it, it would all be over.

He saw how the son of Hades whispered a last prayer to the skies, so quietly Malcolm couldn't understand a word.

And then Nico charged. His Longsword held high, he threw a flurry of furious blows at the monsters. The ghost king fought with such elegance and speed that he looked like an angel dancing under the stars. One eternal fell, and then another. Nico's gracefully moved from one stance into the next, his defense flowing into attacks and each parry blocking at least two enemy strikes at once.

All of it was done in complete silence, no grunts, no panting, not even the sound of steel clashing on steel. Malcolm wasn't sure whether he imagined it, but Nico's eyes seemed to gleam with green light. And then one parry came too late.

A shadow slashed into the demigod's leg. Blood, so much blood that even Malcolm could see it, gleamed in the darkness, spurting out of the cut. Nico fought on. Two more eternals fell. With a powerful Zwerchhau, Nico halved a third. But then-

Malcolm reached out his hand, grasping in the air, uselessly. He opened his mouth to scream. Nothing came out.

A black silhuette had rammed their sword through Nico from the back, the steel tip that protruded from his stomach gleaming with blood. Nico looked down, surprise written across his face.

Gleefully, the eternal pulled the blade out, inch by inch. The Ghost king coughed blood, a terrible hacking sound. The green gleam in his eyes had vanished.

He fell heavily onto his knees. The shadow in front of him raised the sword, as if in slow motion. One clean cut, and a head toppled to the forest ground.

Finally, Malcolms mouth obeyed him, and a long terrible scream, filled with pain and sorrow, shattered the midnight's silence.

Soooo yeah, that was a fucked up chapter. Nico was my fav character, but this was quite important for the story. If your a die heart Nico fan don't leave tho, I've got some epic Nico backstory I'll be exploring over the rest of the fic, which is extremely important for the plot, so he'll still have some major roles to play. Also, we'll have a full reaction from all the other demigods, plus Kai. Did I go too far? DM me your hate if I did lol. Hope you enjoyed the tragedy anyways tho. I'll see you next week with a new chapter.

Fives

signing out

In Memory of Nico di Angelo; the Ghost King, son of Hades, Ambassador of Pluto. You were a true friend and an idol to all who read about your adventures.