The Curse of the Ghost Captain

by L. Monster

Merchant Will Solace and his crew rescue a man at sea, seemingly the only survivor of a terrible shipwreck, but he never expected the man to be a pirate. Solangelo Pirates AU, in which Nico has magical ghostly powers, Percy is a fearsome pirate with dubious intentions and Will tries hard not to die.

4. Masks

The Curse of the Ghost Captain

CHAPTER 4

"Masks"

Nico sat on top of Jack, the mule, glaring mutinously towards the cheese farm in the distance. He wore a straw hat over a red bandana tied around his forehead, and the same cream-colored shirt and brown pants he had decided made Will look like an apprentice farmer, though, according to him, the garments did not have the same effect when worn by the seasoned pirate captain he was. The words 'strapping' and 'rugged' had been liberally used to describe his own appearance.

Will walked a few steps ahead, pulling at the mule's harness, trying to keep the animal from walking sideways or stepping on his foot for the umpteenth time that day.

They had been working the field for no fewer than four whole days, and they were advancing at a dawdling pace.

"I'm going to kill him," Nico muttered loud enough for Will to hear, his eyes narrowed in contempt. He dipped his hand into the leather pouch he was holding, pulling out a handful of seeds and popping them into his mouth with unnecessary ferocity.

Will turned to where Nico's gaze was directed.

Despite the rays of the dying afternoon sun, Will, now much more used to the sunlight, could perfectly discern the two figures sitting on a blanket under the shadow of an olive tree.

"They're just talking," Will said with an indulgent smile. Other than complaining about the heat, the work and the mule, Nico's favorite pastime for the past few days had been complaining about Magnus and the way he seemed to bend over backwards for Alex-Fierro.

"He's hogging my ghost, Will," said Nico through gritted teeth. "It's bad enough that I have to share Fierro with you. And now, this moron comes along…"

This was, in Will's opinion, a wild overstatement. Alex spent most nights in their company, and only ever allowed Magnus to accompany her during the daytime. In addition, Will's mental link with Alex had seemingly disappeared over the past few days, so the whole 'sharing' idea was just Nico unable to let go of the fact that Will had been allowed, if momentarily, to share proprietorship of his ghost.

"He's just smitten," Will replied. "And in case you haven't noticed, she's been working her charm just fine. We've got a much better deal because of her."

Nico rolled his eyes and spit out a few seeds onto the back of Jack's head, who snorted in annoyance.

"Sowing half of what they originally wanted us to sow and 10 instead of 15 hours per day is not a better deal. Giving us all their valuables and two horses, that would be a better deal," he added. "Or they could just give me my ghost back, because Fierro makes a mean stallion, then I'd leave you here to churn butter for the rest of your life."

Jack came to an abrupt halt as if she had understood him, and Will had to tug her back into action.

"I'm starting to get a better picture of how spoiled you really are," chuckled Will. Nico threw him a handful of seeds in response.

"Stop wasting those!" Will said, taking cover under his straw hat.

Reluctantly, Nico stopped throwing seeds at Will and sighed loudly.

"Your plan better work," said Nico. "Cause if it doesn't, I'm definitely putting you up for sale, and I'm taking my goddamn ghost with me."

Will snorted. "That particular threat is getting old," he said indulgently.

Nico held Will's gaze for as long as the sunlight permitted, and a jolt of electricity went through Will's spine all the way to his toes, then Nico blinked and rolled his eyes, a playful smile on his face.

"We can switch now, if you want," Nico offered.

Will looked at him incredulously, then he grinned and shook his head.

"That sun right there is going to set in about a quarter of an hour, and you're offering to switch now? My breeches are half-destroyed and I've treaded holes in my shoes, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pay for them, since they were originally a loan. I swear, if it weren't for the fact that you're still as weak as a Sardinian cup of tea…"

"English condescension!" Nico laughed, bowing exaggeratedly. "I love it."

Will's face broke into a grin and he shook his head disbelievingly.

Only a few nights ago, Nico had been complaining about Will making him laugh so much his sides hurt. Now, it was entirely the other way around. With every passing day, Nico's mood seemed to improve beyond anything Will had anticipated. Nico cracked jokes every other sentence, he laughed loudly, throwing his head back and clutching at his stomach. He even started to strike up a friendship with the giant Gunderson, of all people, ganging up on Magnus whenever he had the opportunity, making Will howl with laughter. In spite of his mounting complaints, Nico seemed to be having the time of his life these past few days.

Admittedly, Will felt the exact same way.

As the days went by, Will and Nico became better acquainted with the activities that were carried out throughout the farm, and each of its inhabitants' individual chores.

Mallory Keen was in charge of caring for and milking the cows and sheep, a feat which took up most of her time. She had offered to teach Will, but he utterly refused, thinking of Nico violently ripping a poor random cow's udders off.

Gunderson was in charge of most of the heavy lifting, which entailed performing maintenance tasks on the farm, pressing the milk curdles for the cheese, slaughtering the larger animals and, when the time came, shearing the sheep. Will left him alone most of the time, enjoying the way Nico would automatically levitate towards the giant and watch them from a distance as they playfully pummeled each other. Later on, they discovered that Gunderson also took to amateur blacksmith tasks, forging a few weapons in his spare time, mostly knives, but the occasional longsword here and there, which Nico often dismissed as another display of the giant's Viking-obsessed mania.

Blitz and Hearth were in charge of food, which was a lot more time consuming than simply cooking; collecting eggs, catching fish, slaughtering a chicken or a duck now and again, all the while carrying out complex conversations with their hands. Will was especially proud of having contributed, if only slightly, to the pair's culinary expertise, by pointing out that the bones of the animals could be later used for making stock. Nico had kissed him deeply for that.

T.J. was mostly in charge of the packaging of their products, as well as laundry and mending of garments, unfazed by the fact that these activities were traditionally left to the women, as Mallory Keen – the only female member of the entourage – utterly refused to wash anything other than her own undergarments during her time of the month.

Last but not least, was Magnus. The easily flustered youth was in charge of trading their products with the farms in the area, occasionally visiting the more distant cities with the purpose of collecting the supplies they were unable to make themselves.

All in all, that small company of 'imaginary Vikings', as Nico had taken to calling them, had built an altogether self-sufficient ecosystem which provided them with just enough to enjoy the stability and prosperity that many looked for their entire lives, and few actually found, earning Will's entire respect and admiration.

In addition, there was the small detail of Will's growing infatuation, a term he'd only just decided to give up altogether the night before. With every passing day, he felt himself falling more and more in love with Nico di Angelo. This much was fact, he had come to terms with the truth only very recently. He wasn't just smitten with the pirate Captain anymore. This was something else altogether, and the idea both thrilled him as much as it terrified him.

He had never been in love before, and that's how he knew he was now, because every single time his eyes landed on Nico di Angelo, his organs took to summersaulting in a way that made him want to whimper like an injured animal. Every time they were alone together, despite the bickering and the occasional playful punch, Will had to physically restrain himself from gathering Nico in his arms. When Nico laughed, Will's heart swelled and fluttered in his chest, to a point that it was almost painful to breathe.

Aye. Will Solace was in love.

Will Solace, however, had also never confessed to anyone before. How on earth he was supposed to go about his newly discovered feelings, Will was at a complete loss for ideas. He decided it was best not to share the information until he came up with a way to let Nico know without looking or feeling like a complete fool. He was most definitely not ready for the world to know that he was in love, both with a pirate and the pirate life. As his mental link with Alex had dissipated over the last few days, which he somewhat regretted, he also felt distantly relieved that he could keep his secret to himself, at least for the time being.

And yet, despite of the veil of adoration that occasionally clouded his mind whenever Will's eyes landed on the pirate, no ostensible display of buffoonery from the latter's part, could fool him into thinking that Nico's physical health had in any way improved. At night, once back in their sleeping quarters, the pirate Captain fell into a feverish stupor, barely ameliorated by the gallons of bone soup that Alex kept secretly brewing and bringing back to them under the veiling darkness of the night.

For the past two nights, Will had barely gotten a wink of sleep, watching over Nico; pressing a cold cloth to his forehead whenever the pirate started tossing in his sleep.

To his surprise, every morning, after he woke up, Nico's spirits seemed magically lifted, as if he hadn't just spent the entire night drenched in cold sweat and mumbling in his sleep.

Will made a casual comment about it once or twice, but Nico always waved him off dismissively, assuring him that it was all side-effects of the curse.

In the distance, a ram's horn was blown twice, snatching Will back from his reverie and signaling the end of the day's work. Will turned, eager to see Nico roll his eyes in his own endearing, condescending way.

"To the Hall of the Fallen!" Nico exclaimed, his tone dripping with sarcasm, raising his arm and (perhaps) accidentally spilling half of the contents of the leather pouch on the floor.

Dinner at Valhalla had become somewhat of a choreographed routine: Blitz and Hearth would display their endless creativity by bringing out increasingly complex and surprising new dishes made entirely out of the same ingredients they used every day, as if trying to show off in front of their guests, positively glowing at every compliment thrown their way; Mallory Keen would make snide comments at the sight of each one of them, but would fill up Will's and Nico's cups before she even got to hers, and kept it up the rest of the night; Gunderson constantly patted Nico's back in camaraderie, while the latter replied in kind by punching the giant in the stomach at every given opportunity, amusing each other in kindly violence; Magnus and Alex often sat close to each other, deep in conversation, sometimes throwing looks at each other from opposite sides of the table; T.J. sought Will out constantly, eager to discover any similarities in their English pasts.

Will loved the little cheese farm that had given them sanctuary, and despite Nico's snide comments, he knew he was enjoying himself as well, for the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth had become more prominent, and the ever-present aura of doom that usually surrounded the young captain had mostly disappeared. In addition, the longing looks they threw one another, as well as the way their feet deliberately touched under the table, not to mention the stolen kisses they shared whenever they were alone, in the dark, were a true testament to the very real magic cast around that little piece of Sardinian land called Valhalla, its roughly crafted table, laden with delicate, humble dishes, and its colorful collection of Viking fanatics.

Will felt incredibly fond of each and every one of the spirited men (and woman) he had come to know over the past few days.

Walking into the cool dining area made Will sigh with contentment. He had even grown accustomed to petting Odin, their only male pig and permanent resident of the Hall of the Slain (the dining area), every night before supper.

This particular evening, a few surprises were in store for some of the attendees, and the excitement was almost palpable as the cheese platter was passed from person to person and the wine flowed freely.

"Einherjar, guests," said Magnus rather magnificently, taking a stand once the last crumb of cheese had been swiped clean off the platter. "We have a special surprise in store for you, courtesy of our foreign guests. Milady," he said, bowing his head in Alex-Fierro's direction, "and her faithful servants Plutarch and Uranus have made a discovery only last night, and they've graciously agreed to share it with us."

"Been exploring the land, have you?" said Mallory Keen, her forearms on the table. "Perhaps trying to find your way into our storage rooms, ye bilge sucking biscuit eaters."

"There is a difference between exploring and marauding, not that you would know the actual meaning of either of those words," Nico promptly cut in, popping a piece of cheese into his mouth. Mallory threw a peach pit at Nico, who ducked just in time.

"I assure you, we only took the liberty of looking around the area for safety reasons," said Will quickly, all part of the insult-retort-relief routine they had grown accustomed to.

"Listen to Uranus," said Gunderson with a snicker, a phrase he had come to adopt and had now become somewhat of his trademark interjection whenever Will opened his mouth.

"Friends," said Magnus, his hands raised. "Hear me out, the news I bring you tonight are going to please you beyond words!"

"You're not pregnant, are you?" asked Gunderson, making Nico snort so hard wine came out of his nose. "Cause last thing we need is yet another mouth to feed, even if it sucks directly at your teat!"

Nico coughed and bit his lip, leaning on Will for support.

Magnus turned bright red.

"Wh-what? No!" he stammered.

"You finally got your monthly curse, then," said Mallory. "I'll be teaching ye how to wash your undergarments down the stream next time."

"Wh-what-"

"Guys," said T.J. raising his hands to reign in the cackles around the table. "What Magnus is trying to tell us might be of actual importance."

"Thank you, T.J." said Magnus, his face like a beetroot.

"Maybe his testes have finally dropped!" T.J. interjected loudly, prompting the entire group to roar with laughter.

"I give up!" said Magnus, sitting back down.

Beside him, Alex-Fierro leaned in conspiratorially, her face flush with enjoyment.

"You're doing great," she said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Blitz and Hearth were seemingly the only ones not having a laugh at the expense of Magnus, and the former came quickly to his aid.

"Let the man speak!" roared Blitz in a deep, commanding voice. They sat in silence for a few seconds, broken only by Nico's hiccups.

"Thank you, Blitz," said Magnus. "I was going to tell you a thrilling story of night exploration –"

He stopped talking as he caught at least three members of his entourage readying themselves for a clever way to twist his words, then quickly corrected himself.

"I mean, they went out exploring, I didn't do any night exploring, nothing to explore whatsoever!"

Alex-Fierro snorted, then caught Magnus's eye and gave him another thumbs-up, mouthing the words 'Really, you're doing great.'

Magnus sighed, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll just show you, then," he said.

He got up from the table and exited the room, returning only a few seconds later pulling into the room a large wooden wagon loaded with crates of wine and barrels of ale.

Gunderson was on his feet in a flash.

"Is that –" he stammered, walking around the table and almost tripping on his own feet.

"Wine and ale," said Magnus. "They found a hidden cellar down in the abandoned mill to the north."

"Impossible!" said T.J., his mouth open.

"Very possible!" said Magnus, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Turns out we never thought of searching the grounds for hidden trapdoors. These two fine gentlemen are much more resourceful than we gave them credit for! And now, they've offered us the entire bounty as a token of gratitude!"

"Almost the entire bounty," Nico whispered into Will's ears, drawing a hand over Will's thigh and making the latter jump and swat it away playfully.

Gunderson waded in a trance-like stupor towards the wooden wagon, his eyes on the larger barrels. He knelt before them as if falling in awe before a deity that had suddenly appeared before him.

"Let me feel you," he intoned in an almost erotic whisper. Next to him, Magnus gagged. The rest of the company looked away, visibly shaken by Gunderson's sudden display of obscene excitement at the sight of the coveted drink.

"Uh," said Magnus, scratching his head. His eyes landed on Alex-Fierro for a second, then he looked away just as quickly. "Yeah, we'll need you to step away from those barrels. For hygienic reasons, you understand."

Nico perked up. "Let's crack one open!" he suggested, his words immediately followed by a roar of approval.

"Nay!" Gunderson roared, standing before the barrel with his arms wide open. "MINE!"

Mallory Keen grabbed a peach and threw it at the giant with such force it almost embedded itself in Gunderson's face.

"Ye keep standing where you are, ye giant oaf, I've been looking for an excuse to pummel that mug of yours for years, and now, I'll take my ale spiked with yer worthless, pagan blood!" she roared.

In response, Gunderson reached down, took off his boot and aimed it at her threateningly.

"Come at me, woman!" he roared back.

"Those two are absolutely fucking," Nico whispered into Will's ear.

Will snorted and looked at Nico conspiratorially, but his eyes landed on his lips and his smile faded away just as quickly.

Magnus chuckled uncomfortably. "I knew this would come to happen, that's why I took some precautions. Blitz, Hearth?" he motioned to his friends with a nod.

The pair stood up and walked into the kitchen, returning with several large pitchers of ale and placing them on the table with such reverence they might have been filled with molten gold.

"Ale for everyone!" Magnus spread his arms enthusiastically.

Gunderson all but threw himself back onto his seat, reaching for one of the large pitchers and downing half its contents in a single, animalistic guzzle, not without keeping an eye on the unopened barrels of ale on the wooden wagon.

Mallory Keen stared, trance-like, at the way the drink trickled down the giant's chin and neck. Will shuddered as he realized he would never be able to unsee the way her chest heaved up and down with something akin to excitement or anticipation as Gunderson deliriously put away an entire pitcher of ale in a matter of seconds.

"Thank you for that," Will whispered back at Nico, "this moment will haunt me for the rest of my life."

Nico snickered and put his hand back on Will's thigh.

"I'll dismiss Fierro for the night, if you're feeling frisky," he replied quietly.

Will shuddered and closed his eyes, allowing his imagination to take over momentarily. It wasn't as if Nico hadn't been more than straightforward when it came to the idea of being intimate with Will – on the contrary, his advances were resolutely clear in that respect – but as desperately as he clung to Will's embrace each time they returned to their sleeping quarters, he would nonetheless fall ill within minutes, leaving Will in a state of both arousal and concern.

"Drink your ale," Will said instead, filling their cups and raising his for a one-on-one toast.

Nico's eyes were hard to read. He picked up his cup and nodded curtly.

"To you," he said and drank.

It was their most enjoyable supper to date, what with the ale flowing freely around the table, the pitchers having been refilled four times, and the conversation taking colorful turns here and there.

It wasn't long before the drink had started to take its toll around the table; T.J. struggled to keep his eyes open, but kept perking up every now and again, as if expecting something important to happen; Blitz and Hearth had stopped drinking a while before, joining in the conversation whenever it made the slightest sense; Gunderson and Keen had taken up an arm wrestling competition, the former suspiciously losing more often than not.

However, the most unexpected development came from the side of the table whereupon Alex-Fierro and Magnus sat conspicuously close to one another.

Will gently elbowed Nico, who sat pressed so close to him he was practically leaning on him for support.

"Hey," Will whispered. "Look at those two."

Nico narrowed his eyes, his mind addled with drink.

Magnus was leaning forward, his elbows on the table, his mouth stretched in a permanent grin as he listened to something Alex-Fierro was saying. The ghost herself looked disruptively human and so utterly alive Nico had to blink twice in order for her to come into better focus, unsure if he was simply drunk or his ghost had suddenly come back to life.

"Is my ghost… flirting with that moron?" Nico grunted, his words slurred.

"Uh-huh," Will replied, as confident of his answer as he was inebriated. "She is flirting and… drinking?"

Alex-Fierro raised her cup, seemingly unaware of the two pairs of eyes that stared at her from across the table, and took a sip.

Not a drop of liquid trickled through her as if falling through thin air. Instead, her throat bobbed up and down slightly, and she exhaled with satisfaction.

Both Will and Nico audibly gasped. Alex-Fierro instantly turned her face in their direction as if she'd been struck by lightning.

Will tried to listen, hoping his mental link with the ghost had magically been restored, but he could hear nothing but the sounds of bickering and laughter from across the room. Nico, on the other hand, stiffened and instantly perked up.

Will's eyes went from one to the other in quick succession, and he saw the way Alex leaned close to Magnus, whispering something into his ear.

Magnus nodded enthusiastically, then promptly got to his feet.

"Einherjar, guests," he said, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

Mallory Keen threw Gunderson's boot at him, and Magnus wasn't quick enough to duck. Thankfully, her aim wasn't true and she ended up hitting him across the stomach as opposed to his face.

"Thank you, I'll be keeping this," Magnus said, frowning with surprising determination, slipping the soft, leathery leg of the boot into his sash. "I have another announcement!"

T.J. perked up, blinking fast and rubbing his eyes with his fists. "About time," he said, stifling a yawn. "Some of us have work to do in the morning. Wait, we all have work to do in the morning."

Hearth patted him on the back and offered him a piece of stale bread as if it were a sweet and T.J. were a child.

Will and Nico exchanged perplexed looks, suddenly completely awake.

"As some of you may know," Magnus began, nodding towards Alex-Fierro in a conspiratorial yet tender way, then throwing a threatening glance at his friends, as if afraid his company had forgotten a previously established agreement, "the tradition of reciprocity has been sacredly observed by our clans for generations, as our ancestors strived hard to mirror that same exchange of valuables between both warriors and chieftains, humans and gods…"

Across the table, someone blew a raspberry, but Magnus remained remarkably in control of himself, his face flush with pride as opposed to his trademark sheer embarrassment.

"In the spirit of honoring our ancestors, we raise our glasses to the efforts put forth by our honored guests. Milady," Magnus nodded at Alex-Fierro, "and her gallant servants, Plutarch and Uranus!"

"Uranus!" Gunderson roared, raising his pitcher and spilling half its contents, which he then proceeded to siphon straight off the table.

Nico snickered despite his drunken state, and Will elbowed him hard on the ribs.

"Uh," Magnus hesitated. "Yes, that is all very well. However, as I was saying –"

"And Poo-tarch!" Keen interjected, emphasizing the word so strongly, snot spilled out her nose.

Nico's laughter caught in his throat, unsure whether he had heard correctly. Next to him, Will snorted and fell forwards upon the table, getting up just in time to see the death glare Nico threw his way, as if daring him to comment on the butchering of his self-adopted alias.

"Enough!" roared Magnus. Silence fell around the room as if it had been cast by a magic spell. All eyes turned towards him in awe.

Magnus cleared his throat.

"Thank you," he said. "As I was saying, in the spirit of reciprocity, we have decided to present you, our honored guests, with a small token of our appreciation, as a thank you for your valuable contribution to our cellar," he said, with a nod towards Will and Nico, "as well as the pleasure of your company," he said, his eyes on Alex-Fierro.

The ghost was visibly flushed, rolling her eyes with thinly-veiled pleasure.

Will could have sworn he heard Nico's chest rattle with the sound of clattering bones.

"We have unanimously deemed your debts paid in full and in good standing!"

To his side, T.J. began to clap, only to be subdued by the reigning silence across the room.

"Yeah," said Magnus sarcastically, "like that would be all. Nay, friends! After careful discussion between all parts concerned, I am happy to announce that we have also decided to honor your efforts by offering you the information you require, and the means for its acquisition! The answers to all the questions you so desperately seek; the whereabouts of the sea historian, the most ancient sage amongst the court of the Governor of Sardinia, Signore Aides!"

Next to him, Alex-Fierro turned towards the two youths travelling incognito under aliases with such ferocity her eyes almost went up in flames.

Nico remained frozen on the spot, but Will perked up and began looking into each of the faces individually.

He saw Mallory and Gunderson smirking at him, Blitz and Hearth smiling benignly at both of them, and T.J. nodding slowly, silently validating Magnus's announcement.

"Does… does that mean –" Will stammered.

"We are ready to offer you guidance and transportation to Cagliari, and I will personally escort you to the hall of the sea historian!" said Magnus, rather magnificently, as the entire company burst into proper applause.

Will's jaw went slack, a shiver going up his spine in utter excitement and relief – his gamble had paid off, after all – but when he turned his face towards Nico, he almost jumped out of his skin.

Nico was pale beyond recognition, his forehead moist with perspiration.

"Ni – P – Plutarch!" he stammered, catching Nico just as the pirate's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell backwards on his seat.

Magnus and company got to their feet, suddenly sobered by concern.

Alex-Fierro was behind Nico with such inexplicable velocity nobody even noticed.

"Is Plutarch alright?" Magnus asked.

Will hesitated, looking at Alex for advice. The ghost simply stood by his side, her eyes bursting with a silent message that was never successfully conveyed.

"Tell me!" Will hissed, looking desperately into Alex's eyes, but the ghost merely shook her head.

"I can't say," she muttered so quietly Will might have read her lips.

In Will's arms, Nico began to twitch, muttering incomprehensively.

"He needs rest," Will declared in despair, feigning a smile and hauling Nico up, draping his limp arm over his shoulders. "No need to fret, it must have been all the ale and the excitement."

He was surprised by the stillness in his voice, the conviction in his words, as if mentally willing himself to believe that Nico would be alright and this was nothing but the side effects of Angelica's curse, to which only he and Alex were privy.

Magnus frowned at Will's weak explanation, but ushered the pair out of the room, even going as far as offering to wheel Nico back into their sleeping quarters on the wooden wagon currently loaded with their recently acquired bounty of wine and ale.

The offer was instantly deemed moot at the way Will singlehandedly lifted Nico off his feet and positively glared at anyone who dared to come close to him.

As they filed out of the so-called Hall of the Fallen, hauling Nico's limp body towards their cabin, Will had the distinct feeling that they were walking in a funeral procession, an idea that made all the hairs on his arms stand on end. He turned to Alex, desperately trying to mentally convey the image of a freshly brewed bone broth, but the ghost merely stared back at him in almost detached interest.

Won't you help him?! Will thought desperately, but Alex merely tilted her head, as if trying to understand someone who spoke in a foreign language.

They reached their cabin soon enough, and Nico was promptly set upon the straw mattress.

"I'll get some cold water," Gunderson was the first to speak, to everyone's surprise, and he ran towards their fresh water supply.

Magnus stared at Nico's feverish face and the way Will knelt beside him, their faces almost touching, as if they had been tied together around the neck by an invisible, paradoxically-unbreakable rope. He looked away quickly, his cheeks flushing at a sight he recognized only too well. He suddenly felt hot, as if he had been witnessing something that wasn't meant for his eyes.

The inhabitants of the cheese farm fumbled about for as long as was pertinent before their presence became a downright nuisance, and one by one, they left their guests to their thoughts.

Despite feeling like he was intruding, Magnus was the last to leave. He hesitated for a few seconds as he stood upon the small cabin's threshold, his fingers itching to reach out for the feminine hand that hung only a few inches away from him, resting upon the mounds of her dress's exaggeratedly-shaped silhouette.

"Can I do something?" he whispered, somehow sure only his Milady would hear.

Alex-Fierro tilted her head in his direction, her mismatched eyes zeroing in on his own.

"We leave tomorrow," she said in a commanding voice, and she herself was slightly thrown aback by the conviction in her tone, unaccustomed to giving orders.

"T-Tomorrow?" Magnus stammered, his eyes on the limp figure on the straw mattress, and the pale young man who knelt beside him, his head bent forward seemingly in prayer.

"Before the storm hits," Alex-Fierro replied. "We must leave tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises."

Magnus frowned. He had not anticipated a storm to arrive anytime soon. Sure enough, the rain season had been late to arrive this year, but how an heiress of the New World –

He suddenly flinched, amazed at his quick, unequivocally correct conclusion – Milady must have come from a druid-like clan from the New World, sagacious enough to read the movement of the stars.

"Of course," said Magnus, summoning as much admiration as he could with a single nod. "Whatever Milady commands."

Once Magnus had disappeared into the darkness of the night, Alex-Fierro turned on her heels and shut the door behind her. She knelt by Nico's side, directly opposite the place where Will resolutely remained, and pressed her hand to Nico's forehead.

"What do you sense?" Will asked, his own forehead drenched in sweat.

Alex frowned and remained silent for a second.

"Something is not right," she grunted. "I can't say. Something is not right. That much I know."

Will stared at her in rapt attention, but quickly lost his patience at the lack of useful information.

"Is there anything you can do?" he hissed through gritted teeth, an edge of despair to his voice.

When his eyes connected with Alex, Will almost flinched back, utterly surprised by the look of frustration she threw his way. Why Alex suddenly looked at Will as if everything had been his fault, he could not come up with a single explanation.

"I can't say," she replied bitterly.

Then, just as Will opened his mouth to retort in equal bitterness, Nico began to stir.

"Aides…" he mumbled feebly, tossing and turning.

"Nico?" Will perked up. "Nico, are you alright?"

"No… Don't… Bianca, don't… Don't trust him…"

Will pressed a hand to Nico's forehead.

Nico's skin was cold and clammy, as if a corpse had suddenly broken into a sweat.

Will's instincts kicked in faster than his mind made sense of things. He climbed onto Nico's berth, reflexively gathering him into his arms, trying to cover as much of him as he was bodily able to.

"Alex," said Will. "A blanket, a coat – anything!"

To his surprise, perhaps expecting another sample of insubordination from his formerly obedient ghost, Will sighed in relief as Alex began to drape them with every spare bit of cloth she could find – their mended breeches and shirts, sashes and woolen stockings – piling them upon their embracing bodies as if she were building an ever-growing mound of garments layered by sheets upon sheets of hay and sawdust.

In his mind, Will heard a soothing whisper speak to him as if his own mother were cradling him into slumber.

Close enough, the voice said, and Will distinctly felt Nico's heartbeat begin to calm down. As if driven by the sudden serenity that washed upon them, Will took his and Nico's shirts off, piling them on top of the small mountain of layers that Alex kept building with them as foundation, hissing slightly at the feel of Nico's clammy skin against his, but equally subdued by the steady rhythm of their heartbeats.

"Aides…" Nico murmured feebly, just as Will drifted cradled him in his arms, silently lulling himself into sleep.

To his side, Alex-Fierro adjusted the pyramid-esque structure of garments and hay, until she was seemingly satisfied with its position.

"Close enough," she said, then straightened up.

She stood by their side, watching the boys sleep, until she could discern the sun rise over the horizon through the cracks in the wooden panels upon the windows that kept the sunlight resolutely out of the room.

Will was standing in a dimly-lit room, exquisitely decorated with Persian rugs over stone floor, gold-gilded mirrors over Italian walnut cabinets and expensive settees and silk cushions left and right.

Will rubbed his eyes, somehow aware this was a dream, but only vaguely so, as the detail with which this dream was weaved made him question whether or not he had simply travelled somewhere else by magic, in which he now believed completely.

All of a sudden, as if having appeared before him in the millisecond it took him to blink, two figures appeared in the middle of the room – a lanky but broad-shouldered man with long, dark hair and a foreboding expression, a beautiful woman with olive skin and equally dark hair – seemingly to be in the middle of a fight.

Will stood motionless for a few seconds. The man made a move to turn in Will's direction, but the woman held him by the wrist. Will flinched and looked around the room for a place to hide, unsure if they would be able to see him.

He bolted behind a large cabinet on the corner, cast into further shadows by a heavy satin drape that hung to its side, and almost screamed out loud when he came face to face with Nico di Angelo. But this wasn't the Nico di Angelo he had come to know.

Silently crouching behind the cabinet was a Nico that could not have been over 10 years old. His hair was shorter and his face fuller and much darker than it was now. He did not even turn as Will settled next to him, and Will realized this must have been a dream.

He smiled against all odds. He was not much of a dreamer, but the fact that he could conjure up a dream-version of Nico, and that this Nico was cute beyond belief, made his heart swell up with affection.

He was brought out of his reverie by the voices in the middle of the room. They were screaming now. Will couldn't understand much of what they were saying, as if the soundtrack of his dream had become muddled by ghostly voices that surrounded him, further addled by what sounded like a sandstorm in his mind.

"We tried once," said the man. "It didn't work!"

"We didn't do it right!" the woman replied shrilly, desperately.

"I will not try it again. It would be the end of us, of them. There is only one thing I can do to help you now," he said.

The woman replied something unintelligible. The man drew a hand through his hair in a way that seemed vaguely familiar to Will. He narrowed his eyes as if trying to make sense of the man's face.

The dream began to get murkier. The figures became more and more undistinguishable, as were the words they were speaking.

Will caught but a few words: Brothers, danger, children.

Will shook his head as if trying to sober up, when next to him, he heard a whisper.

"Will?"

Will turned. Nico di Angelo, the grown version, was staring at him through disbelieving eyes.

Will woke up with a start, covered in a thin layer of sweat. He looked around the room as if to spot long shadows lingering around him, but all was calm and quiet. He could discern the gray sky through a crack in the wooden panel upon the window, and he wondered if somehow the overcast sky of his dreams had followed him into consciousness.

All of a sudden, he felt a gentle tug on his long hair, which had come undone during his sleep. He looked down and saw Nico staring back at him, his pupils so dilated his eyes looked like deep, disbelieving pools of fresh, dark blood.

Nico, who had also been there, all along, inside his dream.

Will rubbed his eyes, then pressed a hand to Nico's forehead.

"Stop that," Nico muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Will sighed. Nico's fever was completely gone and his pallor had returned to normal. With that out of the way, he realized he was stiflingly hot underneath the massive pile of clothes and hay that Alex had thrown on top of them the night before.

"I need to get out of here," he said. He made a move to get up, but Nico held him by the wrist.

"Will, I need to tell you something." Nico's voice was brittle, and he wasn't blinking.

Will remained where he sat, suddenly afraid.

"What is it?" he asked with a frown.

Nico lay in silence for a few seconds, and just when Will was about to open his mouth to say something, Nico pulled him close and kissed him deeply.

Will was so surprised he barely kissed him back.

When they broke apart, Nico stood up quickly.

"Never mind," he said, and began to get dressed. "Where are my breeches, Solace? Why do you keep undressing me in my sleep, you slimy pervert?"

Will shook his head and smiled feebly.

"Somewhere in there," he replied, nodding at the pile of clothes on the floor.

As Nico got dressed, Will sat on the opposite cot, his face in his hands. He did not want to think of the dream he had just had. It hadn't been a nightmare exactly, but the vividness of the entire ordeal seemed to cling to him even as he sat there, wide awake, watching Nico toss away his borrowed clothes and slip into his own, which Alex had so carefully mended only a few nights before.

He wondered if his imagination had been corrupted by the otherworldly events that had befallen him over the past few weeks, because he had never been much of a dreamer in the past, and that dream had been more vivid than many of his actual memories from his own childhood. The name Angelica, which had not been even mentioned in the dream, kept swimming around in his head, as if it were being whispered somewhere inside his brain. Will shook his head and drew his fingers through his hair.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked from the other side of the room.

Will looked up and smiled.

"Yeah," he stammered. "I seem to have lost my leather strap to tie my hair with."

Nico smiled, slipping into his mended shirt, then walking towards the bed they had shared the night before.

"Here you go," he said, tossing a thin leather strip at Will, who caught it in mid-air with incredible reflexes.

Will decided it was best not to talk about it – he didn't want Nico to feel like he was pummeling him with questions yet again. Instead, he took his time tying his hair, all the while watching Nico put on his boots. In a matter of minutes, the 'strapping' farmer was gone, replaced by a fully-recovered pirate who stood before Will in all his deathly glory, unnervingly handsome and in the prime of his life.

Will smiled.

"You look well," he said. "As if nothing had happened."

"And you still look like a milk maiden, won't you get dressed? We're leaving as soon as Alex has procured our transportation."

Will frowned.

"What do you mean, we're leaving?" he asked.

Nico had spent the entire night tossing in his sleep, and Will himself felt as if he had barely gotten a wink of sleep last night. The downcast sky in the distance threatened nothing but rain, and they hadn't had a chance to discuss their plan of action.

"You're free to stay behind," said Nico dryly, walking towards the door. "I'm going to wash my face and gather some supplies for the road. If you still want to come, you better be dressed by then." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving Will alone in the room, feeling a little hurt.

Nico trod along the path that led to the farm's washing area, his teeth on edge. He made for the large tub in which they kept their freshwater supply and gathered up a bucketful. Without walking into the room, he practically threw his head into the bucket, relishing in the feel of the cold water against his skin.

It hadn't been a dream. Or, perhaps, it hadn't simply been a dream, after all.

Will had been there, in his dream, standing on the sidelines as Nico relived yet another terrible memory.

He remembered the entire thing as if he himself had been just another spectator, as opposed to the main character of the comedy that was his life.

When he couldn't hold his breath any longer, Nico pulled his head out of the water, his hair whipping him across the face.

He wanted to be mad at Will, he wanted to lash out and yell at him that he wasn't welcome in his dreams, not those dreams anyhow.

And just as he recalled Will's horrified face as he stood in the corner, Nico could also distinctly recollect the gentle way in which Will held him in his arms throughout the night. He felt as if the dream had been a play on stage, which both Will and he had seen from the front row, their arms around each other.

How could he be mad at him?

How could anyone harbor anything other than deepest love and tenderness towards Will Solace, king of merchants and fool extraordinaire.

Nico shook his head and touched his fingers to his lips. The skull ring that held the curse of Angelica glinted in the dim sunlight, and as used as Nico was to feeling its power each time he focused on it, the tingling sensation on his lips felt twice as potent, the lingering touch of Will's mouth on his burning him like chili powder.

Nico closed his eyes and allowed himself a few seconds of reverie, thinking of the way Will's hot skin felt against his, when he was suddenly interrupted by quick steps his way.

"Plutarch," said Magnus excitedly, "glad to see you're up. I was only just gathering the supplies for the road. The gang is getting up as we speak, most of them want to see us off."

Nico rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"There really is no need," he said, but Magnus waved him off.

"You try arguing with that lot. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm just a ghost lingering about," he said.

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"I can't say I know what that feels like," he said honestly.

Magnus smiled.

"I wouldn't expect you to, strapping young lad like yourself!" he said.

Nico was rather taken aback by the compliment, then snorted almost automatically, which made Magnus smile broadly.

"Anyway, you better go get Uranus, uh, you know, your friend. Milady should be up as well, I can't believe how she is always up at the crack of dawn, but I'm sure she's ready. Cagliari is not far, but I sense a storm coming, and we better try to get there as soon as possible."

Nico nodded, more to himself than anything else. He looked up at the downcast sky and frowned.

"Magnus," he said, catching the young man by surprise – Nico had never referred to him by name before. "Last night, you mentioned something about the Governor of Sardinia, is his name really… Aides?" he asked almost hesitantly.

Magnus nodded curtly, surprised at the question.

"Yep. Personally, I never met him. How could I, right? I'm a simple farmer, after all. But he is known for hosting the most lavish parties in his private villa. He's a bit of an eccentric, apparently. Why do you ask?"

Nico stared at him with unblinking eyes, his mind working furiously to retain every single bit of information.

"No reason," he said. "Curious, that's all."

"Ah," said Magnus. "Well, let's get going. If we leave within the next few minutes, we might be able to beat the storm, the clouds are moving in our direction and I don't fancy getting wet just yet."

As if he had conjured up the rain, large droplets began falling over their faces.

Magnus let out a curse and began to run in the direction of the main house.

"Let's go! The sky looks clear to the south!"

Nico muttered something under his breath, and he closed his eyes, focusing on his ghost Fierro, who, he could see, was standing in her private accommodations facing his way.

Fierro, get Will. We're leaving. Meet you in the main house, NOW!

Once sure the message had been received, Nico began to run after Magnus, who had only just reached the Hall of the Fallen.

Nico wasn't much bothered by the rain – quite the contrary, he loved the feeling of water droplets against his skin, which reminded him of his time at sea. He felt childishly tempted to stop and tilt his head upwards, open his mouth and drink in the rain, but his attention was suddenly called by the neighing mule, Jack, who stood harnessed to a ridiculously large four-wheeled wagon, complete with sacks upon sacks of hay for cushioning and a flimsy canvas top perched upon wobbling, improvised masts on each corner to hold it up.

Nico shook his head in utter disbelief, refusing to travel anywhere by caravan. He walked into the main house, his eyes on the mule, and he bumped against a warm, solid body who stood only a few feet past the door.

"Nico!" Will hissed. "Alex just grabbed me and whirled me here, I haven't even… wh-what's the matter?" he asked, following Nico's eyes.

Nico turned to Will, ready to complain about the lack of actual horses, when he realized that Will was half-dressed – his shirt barely over his head, lace undone, and the same borrowed breeches they'd been wearing for the past few days.

"Why haven't you changed?" he asked loudly. "Will, I told you we were leaving in –"

"I was changing! But then Alex just grabbed me, I tell you, she has complete disregard for me lately, I –"

Alex stood innocently behind him, her head tilted to the side, seemingly torn between arguing back to defend herself and simply standing there in silent agreement.

Nico shook his head and looked around the room for Magnus, ready to give him an earful. How were they expected to beat the rain if they were traveling on a massive cart pulled by the single most asinine mule Nico had ever seen?

Magnus suddenly walked into the room from the back door holding a massive crate of fresh fruits and other carefully packed provisions.

"Courtesy of Blitz and Hearth!" he said, raising the crate in his arms. "Bread, cheese, and jam for the road!" Behind him walked the other inhabitants of the cheese farm, chattering amicably and seemingly wide awake, in spite of the early hour.

Will groaned and began doing the laces on his shirt, just as he tugged at his borrowed pants with an uncomfortable grimace.

"I'll go change, it'll take me seconds –" he began to say, but to his and everyone's surprise, T.J. tackled him in a hug.

"Uranus!" he said excitedly. "I'm going to miss you, mate!"

Will felt winded at the sudden hug, but patted the other man on the back indulgently.

"Me too," he said awkwardly, his eyes on Nico.

"Here," T.J. said, offering Will a small package wrapped in a white handkerchief. "For the road."

Will took the package and blinked.

"T-This is for me?" he asked in surprise. To his side, Nico rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Can we stop with the niceties? Magnus, I have a bone to pick with you," Nico interrupted, raising a finger and pointing straight at Magnus's chest. "Just where the fuck are horses, mate?" he asked.

Magnus's smile faded off his face, then hesitated awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"The horses, well…" he stammered. "I – I don't know how to put this…"

"Magnus is afraid of horses!" Mallory Keen interjected loudly, and that would have been the beginning of an entirely new conversation, when suddenly, the giant Gunderson made his way from between the small crowd, stopping only when he was directly in front of Nico.

"You," he said in his booming voice. "You are in charge of this expedition, as such, you require the proper equipment."

To his side, Magnus sighed in relief and the rest grinned broadly, as Gunderson summoned a large leather sheath from behind his back, pressing it against Nico's chest with such force the shorter man almost stepped back in both surprise and pain.

"W-what is this?" he asked, his eyes going from person to person.

"Sword," Gunderson replied dryly. "Been working on that for quite some time. The tip is blunt, but the blade is sharp as nothing you've ever handled before, be sure to return it with Magnus. It is only to be used for emergencies on the road."

Nico's mouth was slightly open, his eyes trailing the length of the leather-bound object.

"I – I –" he stammered, completely at loss for words. He recovered quickly and added, "what the hell do I want a blunt sword for?" his words lacking their usual irony.

Gunderson snorted.

"Puny Plutarch," he said. "The sword is not for pin-pricking your enemies, it's for hacking them to pieces!" he finished with a roar.

The rest of the company cackled lightheartedly, but Nico felt his chest swell with a strange bout of affection and gratitude.

Before either of them could utter another word, and to everyone's surprise, Mallory Keen took a step forward, coming to a stop directly in front of none other than Alex-Fierro.

"Here," she said, offering the ghost a small bundle of clothes. "Proper garments from the great North," she said, her freckles coming alive with the heat on her face. "You can't go around wearing that ridiculous dress without calling unwanted attention. I don't wear dresses no more, so you can have this one. It's a simple design, but the fabric is fine and strong. Treat it with care, and return it if you can."

Alex-Fierro looked like someone had hit her on the back of the head. Next to her, both Nico and Will stood closely by, concern clouding their faces, seemingly worried the ghost would suddenly combust with emotion and blow their entire cover.

However, the solid ghost did no such thing. Her face shone with emotion, but she merely bowed her head. When she looked up, her eyes were glassy.

"O-okay, everyone!" Magnus cut in, looking out the window and at the darkening sky. "I'm sure this is not the last we've seen of our humble guests! But we have to leave now if we want to beat the storm!"

Sitting on the cart, Nico, Will and Alex-Fierro waved at the farmers that remained behind, who waved back at them from where they stood just outside the main house. Magnus sat in the front, directing Jack, the mule, to trod forwards, to where the sky was clear and to where, a few hours down the road, Cagliari awaited them.

In the distance, Hearth began to make signs with his hands.

"What's he saying?" Will yelled, loud enough for the farmers to hear.

"He wishes you a fair wind, ever and always!" Blitz yelled back, and Will reached for his heart.

Nico, Will, Alex-Fierro and Magnus were a few miles away from the farm when the company of pirates that had been hiding in the bushes and up the olive trees, shielded from sight and out of earshot thanks to the pummeling rain, descended from their hiding places. The majority of them creeped towards the main house from the back, separating into groups and spreading about the different areas of the farm, their targets in sight.

Just as stealthily, perhaps even more so than the rest, a lone pirate made his way to the stables. Without being seen, the pirate mounted a horse and began riding in the direction where Nico, Will, Alex-Fierro and Magnus rode, careful to keep a distance, but mindful not to lose sight of them, for his instructions were clear, and his mission was crucial.

They had been on the road for about an hour when the sky finally cleared up. Magnus, who sat at the front and outside of the scope of protection that the makeshift tent afforded them, was drenched to the bone, but his smile was as radiant as ever.

Over the past few days, Magnus felt as if his adult life so far had been black and white, and had only just been tinted back with the brightness of the colors of his childhood.

He looked back at the travelers who rode on his cart: gentle Uranus was fast asleep, his head bobbing up and down with the mellow wagging of the cart, cradling T.J.'s gift under his arm; Plutarch, ever brooding, sat with his knees against his chest, his eyes on the horizon; and Milady, ah, Milady. She sat with her back straight, her hands gently folded over the bundle of clothes that Mallory Keen had given her.

He smiled contentedly, then sighed, aware of the fact that they would most likely be heading in separate ways once they reached Cagliari. It was a shame, really, that he couldn't follow them further, or that they would not return to the farm with him, for these people were clearly from a completely different world, and as much as Magnus would fantasize about taking to the seas once again, he couldn't fool himself into thinking that he was free to roam the world, now that he was part of a family that needed him, and that he needed back in turn.

He shook his head. He would not be seduced into any sad thoughts, not with the sun shining brightly in the distance, and the cloudless sky offering him an unobstructed view of the vast blue mantle that enveloped them from way above.

Unbeknownst to him, an entirely different conversation was being shared between two members of their traveling entourage, in a matter that Magnus could neither hear nor conceive in his wildest dreams.

Master is sure this is what he wants done? Fierro asked through her mental link with Nico.

Yes, Nico replied. As soon as we stop. We are never going to reach Cagliari at this rate. We'll just load him in the back of the cart. Make sure he sleeps until we reach the city, then we'll wake him up, and have him take us to the Seer.

And the mule? Fierro asked.

Can you still do your thing? Nico asked, a particular memory in his mind.

Fierro frowned, then nodded.

That's settled, then, Nico said.

And Signore Aides? Alex asked, uncertainly, making Nico frown.

Has this moron mentioned him before? Nico asked.

The ghost shook her head almost imperceptibly.

No. I've asked, he knows nothing. He is completely innocent.

Nico frowned at his ghost's phrasing and emphasizing of the word innocent.

Do not be mistaken, Nico said after a while. You are dead, Fierro, and he is alive. He has his life ahead of him. I don't know what has gotten into you, or what connection you made with Will in the past that has somewhat revived you, if only in the slightest, but do remember this: Magnus is a living man, while you died over a hundred years ago.

Nico felt suddenly ill, as if preaching to his ghost about the morality of life and death clouded him in a sickening miasma that threatened to suffocate him.

I'm being a hypocrite, am I not? he asked to himself, yet he was fully aware that he was sharing his thoughts with his ghost at the moment.

Fierro tilted her head.

Hypocrite? she asked back.

Nico chuckled silently, his eyes on Will's sleeping form.

Who am I to tell you not to love someone, simply for the fact that you are dead and they are not? Is it not the same for me? For us?

Master is not yet dead, Fierro said with conviction.

Nico smiled sadly.

Yet, he said, pulling a strand of Will's hair behind his ear.

Will woke up when the sun was right above their heads. He'd enjoyed a dreamless nap and felt utterly recovered from the night before. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, his eyes narrowed against the blinding afternoon light.

"Morning," he said, scratching the back of his head.

Nico smacked him in the arm. "Moron," he said. "About time."

Will smiled, his spirits completely lifted. His stomach grumbled loudly just as his eyes landed on the crate of provisions that Magnus had loaded that morning. He attempted to reach into the crate, but Nico swatted his hand.

"We're about to pull over for a break and a meal, don't let me catch you snacking before any of us have had a chance," Nico said playfully.

Will rolled his eyes in such a perfect imitation of Nico, the latter had to laugh.

"Uranus," said Magnus from the front of the wagon. "You're awake! And I just happened to spot the perfect place for a break!"

They looked to where's Magnus's gaze was directed – a large ficus tree casting a massive shadow over the grassy field – just as Magnus directed Jack towards it.

Within minutes, Magnus and Will had unloaded the provisions, while Nico and Alex-Fierro lounged under the shadow of the large tree, the former lying on his back, an arm perched over his face, the latter sitting up straight, clad in the simple emerald-green silk dress that Mallory Keen had gifted her, her guardainfante nowhere in sight.

"Whoah," said Magnus in surprise when his eyes landed on her. "When did you even – whoah, you look… you look amazing," he stammered, a blush creeping up his face.

Alex-Fierro smiled widely, edged on by the warm nod that Will directed her way, as if letting her know that it was okay to accept the compliment.

"Magnus," mumbled Nico from under his forearm, "stop flirting with my ghost."

Magnus did a double take.

"Huh?" he asked, "What –"

It didn't take Alex-Fierro two seconds to reach Magnus and place her hand on his forehead. Instantly, the young man crumbled down to the ground, his mouth wide open in a lingering grimace of surprise, fast asleep.

Will's eyes widened just as his jaw went slack.

"Nico! Alex!" he said, his voice on edge. "Just what –"

"Finally," said Nico, getting to his feet and dusting dirt and grass off his clothes. "Fierro, do your thing. Will, load the provisions back on the cart. And hold on to something," he said with a wicked smile. "Things are finally about to get interesting here."

Will stood there, completely dumbstruck for a few seconds, and just when he thought he'd seen enough magic for a lifetime, Alex-Fierro suddenly began to change.

Smoke began to billow around her silhouette, and her face was momentarily frozen in a grimace of pain. In the blink of an eye, she fell forwards, her hands hitting the ground, her back arching in the most inhuman way possible – Will suddenly felt like gagging. In a matter of seconds, a massive black stallion neighed before him, right where Alex-Fierro's blushing maiden form had only just stood.

"Will!" Nico yelled from the front of the cart. "Get the food and get your ass here! We're about to bolt!"

Will did not have to be told twice. He returned to the cart carrying the crate of provisions he had only just off loaded, and watched, slightly horrified, as black-stallion-Alex-Fierro's teeth sank into Magnus's sash, loading him back onto the back of the cart without much effort. Nico tied a rope around Magnus's mid-section, then secured the end of the rope to the front of the cart.

Will only managed to get a foot on the back of the wagon when Alex began to whinny, nicker and snort in the unnerving dulcet tones of a massive stallion in heat.

Stupidly, Will felt compelled to confirm his suspicions, and glanced in the direction of the black stallion's nether regions. Sure enough, the large appendage that hung underneath the stallion's belly told Will everything he needed to know – and just as quickly, Jack, the mule responded with a squeal unlike anything Will had ever heard before, and began to bolt forwards in unexpected speed. This confirmed Will's suspicions from a few days prior – Jack, the mule, was a female mule, horrified at the prospect of being mounted by the giant creature into which Alex-Fierro had transformed.

The sudden burst of speed was so sharp that Will almost fell out of the cart, but Nico was quick and held onto his wrist, pulling him back to his side, wrapping Will's arms around his own waist.

"Hang on, Uranus," Nico said almost gleefully, the wind on his face.

"One of these days, I'm going to kill you, Nico di Angelo – ahhh!" Will screamed at the top of his voice, just as Jack the mule began to run downhill, gathering twice as much speed as before, the massive black stallion in heat hot on their trail.

"Pass us a peach, will you?" Nico asked, grinning broadly.

They must have set a new record, as the city of Cagliari began to stretch before them way before the sun set, red rooftops and stone buildings visible from way in the distance. An array of dark palm trees lined the cobbled streets, just as the sky began to show strokes of purple to the east, and deep pinks and reds to the west, the sun still resolutely perched upon the cloudless sky, the Mediterranean glittering in the distance.

As soon as they reached the outskirts of the city, Alex-Fierro, in his black stallion form, began to slow down, allowing Jack the mule a short distance of seeming safety before he turned back into his original human form. He wasn't even out of breath.

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath, relishing in the saltiness of the air. Beside him, Will drew a hand across his completely disheveled hair, hoping Nico wouldn't comment on the state of his matted mane after hours of riding a cart at lightning speed.

"We're here," Nico sighed. He felt for Will's hands around his waist and squeezed them in his, turning his face to land a kiss on Will's neck.

Will smiled and shivered at the contact of Nico's wet lips and the cold tip of his nose against his skin.

"You and I are going to have a conversation about the things you do to me," Will joked, trying and failing to catch Nico's mouth with his own, just as the latter got to his feet and practically jumped off the cart, an impossibly large smirk on his handsome face.

"Fierro," Nico commanded, "wake him up."

"Wait!" Will interjected, stumbling over towards Alex-Fierro. "You're male! And uh… you seem to have a bit of a problem… downstairs…" he stammered.

Alex looked down and his eyes widened.

"Madre de Dios," said the ghost in surprise.

"Turn back to female, for godssake!" Nico yelled, shielding his eyes.

Despite it being the middle of the afternoon, Magnus did not seemingly take well to being woken up from a nap. It took him a full ten minutes to fully regain consciousness, and as soon as he did, he began to complain about being hungry, all the while apologizing profusely about falling asleep on the job, coming up with increasingly embarrassing excuses with regards to the little sleep he'd gotten over the past few days.

He settled down quickly enough as soon as Alex-Fierro, freshly back to her female form, offered him a carefully sliced piece of bread.

While Magnus ate, accompanied by Alex-Fierro, who sat resolutely by his side, Will and Nico decided to take a quick walk around their immediate surroundings. A few houses were scattered here and there, their large lawns stretching in front of their properties, each holding at least half a dozen palm trees themselves.

"People live well here," said Will, looking around, feeling slightly lightheaded at the sheer beauty of the city's architecture.

Nico nodded, sighing almost reminiscently.

"Call me crazy," he said, "but this place reminds me a lot of Venice."

Will couldn't come up with a retort, he merely looked at Nico with tenderness, wanting nothing but to shuffle his hair and hear him laugh once again.

"Do you think this Seer Historian person will see us?" he asked in turn.

Nico raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yes," he said just as quickly. "If the legends are right, he does not take payment in the form of physical objects. We'll have to trade."

Will smirked.

"That's good news. I don't quite fancy the idea of you going around with that thing in your mouth, plucking gold out of people's purses. Luckily for you, I'm a merchant, and I know a thing or two about trading," he said, sounding entirely too full of himself.

Nico snorted.

"If you land us with a deal the same way you did back in Crazy Farm back there, I'm going to pretend I don't know you," Nico threatened weakly, lacing his fingers with Will's surreptitiously.

Will looked down at their interlaced fingers and smiled.

"Nico," he said, "I don't know if I did something to offend you back there –"

Nico stiffened, squeezing Will's hand.

"Stop. Will, just, don't. You've done nothing wrong. It's about high time you learned what a detached bastard I can be, but I don't want to be that with you," Nico said. "I can't even begin to fathom what it is you see in me, but rest assured, I am not, and will never be offended by anything that comes out of that stupid mouth of yours."

Will chuckled, snaking an arm around Nico's waist and pulling him a tad closer.

"You up for dismissing Alex tonight? I'm feeling a little frisky after all," he said.

Nico punched him on the chest, then walked away, turning his face towards Will, the orange sunlight hitting him on the cheek, making him look more alive than ever.

"Be careful what you wish for, Solace," he said tantalizingly.

Once Magnus was properly fed, it took him no time to redirect his unexpectedly exhausted mule towards the city's higher ground. Soon enough, they had reached the top of a tree-covered hill on the outskirts of the city, where a series of dirt roads that zig-zagged amongst the wilderness led to the large cobblestone esplanade of a massive structure.

"That's unexpected," said Will, his eyes on the medieval castle that towered above the trees.

"This is Castello di San Michele," Magnus explained. "Built around five hundred years ago. Used to be a military fortress, then the home of a noble Spanish family, and now it's almost in ruins. Few people come here now, since there are no other buildings around, the wilderness has started to take over."

"So, why are were here?" Nico asked, feeling unnerved, as if they were being watched.

"Is this the home of the Seer?" Will asked, his mouth slightly open.

"Sea historian, Uranus," Magnus corrected him amicably. "Try to get his title right when you meet him, he seemed awfully sensitive to me last time I saw him."

Will smiled tenderly and nodded.

"I will try," he said.

They got off the cart and began walking in the direction of the ruins.

"Wow," said Will, "is this where that guy lives?"

Magnus smiled indulgently, looking around at Alex-Fierro to catch her reaction, when suddenly, a deep voice behind them took him by surprise.

"Welcome, guests," said the booming voice of a man, making everyone turn and reach for their weapons.

Nico's hand was on his borrowed broadsword before he even knew was he was doing, while beside him, Will reached for his sash, then cursed inwardly as he remembered he was still wearing borrowed breeches.

"Oh," the man said. As he walked out of the thicket that obscured him, Nico realized he walked with a bit of a limp, supporting his weight on a walking stick. "I assure you, there is no need for drawing your weapons. Magnus, I see you are doing well," the man said.

To Nico's side, Magnus gasped, his hand on his chest.

"Master Sea Historian," he said happily. "You do me a great honor in remembering my name."

The man waved him off dismissively, a broad smile on his face.

Do I kill him? Fierro asked Nico through their mental link.

Before them, the man visibly stiffened, raising his eyebrows.

"Ah," he said rather pleasantly. "I see."

"Are you the Seer Historian?" Nico asked, his voice low and dangerous.

The man's eyes twinkled pleasantly. If the legends were true, and this man was indeed over a hundred years old, then he must have been some sort of immortal druid, because he looked to be around forty or fifty, with thick brown hair and a well-trimmed beard. He had a broad chest and powerfully-built arms. His legs were on the thinner side, which explained the fact that he used a walking stick to support that massive upper body of his.

"Please," he said, "no need to use that name, it makes me feel rather old. You can call me Chiron, and you must be Master di Angelo. I've been expecting you."

Nico almost dropped his sword. Beside him, Will gasped and took a few steps forward, standing just in front of Nico as if to shield him from the strange man.

To the side, Magnus's smile slowly faded off his face.

"Who…" he began, but Alex-Fierro gripped his arm and he stopped talking.

For a few seconds, there was silence, broken only by the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of a few passing birds.

Will stood in front of Nico in a protective stance, unsure whether or not they would be suddenly surrounded by a horde of pirates, and regretting very much not having changed out of the ripped borrowed breeches he was currently wearing.

The man chuckled, his teeth pearly white.

"I assure you," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, "you have nothing to fear from me, you are perfectly safe here."

"I've heard that before," said Nico through gritted teeth. "How is it you know my name?"

The man smiled. "I would recognize your face anywhere, young Captain. You look so much like her, after all."

Nico stiffened, his grip on the sword faltered momentarily.

"Who-" he stammered, but the man held up a hand.

. "May I invite you into my apartments? We have much to discuss, and not nearly enough time, I'm afraid. This way, watch your feet." With that, the man turned around and began to walk in the direction of the trees to the side of the castle.

"Wait, we're not going to the castle?" Will asked Nico quietly.

Nico shrugged and began walking in careful steps after the man.

"Just stay close to me, if anything goes wrong, Fierro will –"

"Don't you dare have her kidnap me away from you again," Will interrupted, his hand on Nico's shoulder. "I'm staying with you this time."

Nico smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Stay close to me, regardless," he repeated dryly.

They had walked for barely a few yards when they came upon the entrance of what looked like it had once been the stables. The rotting wood had turned black in places, and moss covered the outer walls and roof, camouflaging it against the greenery that surrounded it.

"Don't worry," said Magnus knowingly, holding up the rear. "It is much cozier once you get inside."

The man led them into the stables and pulled on a trapdoor on the floor, revealing a well-illuminated flight of stone steps. Candles had been lit and placed on every other step, making their descent somewhat less eerie.

The man called Chiron descended with unexpected ease for a man with a walking cane. Magnus walked closely behind him, joining the man in pleasantries and meaningless conversation. Meanwhile, Alex-Fierro and Will walked on either side of Nico, who seemed only slightly ruffled by the protective gesture.

When they reached the landing, they were surprised at the amount of natural light that bathed the cathedral-sized room cut out of the same stone that had built the castle above their heads.

"Is this part of the castle?" Will asked out loud.

Magnus turned and nodded enthusiastically.

"The castle was left in ruins a few decades ago during one of the Genoese battles against foreign invaders. You can't access the upper stages through the ruins anymore. This is one of the only passageways left," he explained.

Chiron nodded indulgently. "Very well put, Master Magnus. Now, if you could follow me up these stairs here," he motioned to another flight of stone steps that led to what seemed like an open atrium, judging by the sheer amount of orange light that illuminated the steps.

The stairs led them back above ground into a large hall, its side half destroyed and inaccessible from the outside. They walked through a few hallways until they reached yet another set of doors that opened into what must have once been the private apartments of whatever Lord or noble family had previously inhabited the place.

"Welcome to my humble abode," said the man, turning around and spreading out his arms as if to embrace them. "Magnus, if you and your friend would be so kind as to wait here. I need to have a private word with –"

"Nico's not going anywhere without me," Will suddenly cut in, putting himself in front of Nico yet again. He looked so utterly ridiculous standing there without a weapon to brandish and half-torn breeches that Nico had to smile and roll his eyes, the tension on his shoulders dissipating slightly.

Chiron smiled amicably.

"That's just as well, Master Solace, as I need to speak with both of you."

The blow was so swift and unexpected that Will almost tumbled forward.

"How do you know my name?" he asked quietly, taking a step back and bumping against Nico, who gently pushed him to the side.

"Lead the way," Nico said, then looked back at Fierro who had not moved an inch from her place. "Stay here, with Magnus."

Fierro looked like she would have liked to argue, but decided to settle on the carpeted floor, on top of a large purple cushion and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Follow me," said Chiron.

He showed them into an adjacent room, which then led to another room, and then another, each one of them with large windows that let in the salty breeze and the orange rays of the afternoon sun. Will and Nico walked close together, but the décor in the room had somewhat ameliorated their initial concerns. This did not look like the improvised hideout of some evil pirate, on the contrary, it showcased an incredible array of curious objects that could not have been procured by anyone other than an obsessive collector of precious artifacts.

"What in the name of…" Will muttered as they walked past a drawing room that looked like it was being used as an artist's studio, with hundreds upon hundreds of canvases and beautiful watercolors lining the walls.

"Ah," said Chiron. "This is the art gallery. I'm something of a collector myself."

The next room made Nico gasp so loudly Will flinched and smacked him on the arm for scaring him. It was the largest room they'd seen yet, with bookshelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, and books and scrolls covering almost every surface of the floor except for a handsome walnut table, whereupon a dozen candlesticks were perched.

"I know what you're thinking, young Captain di Angelo, but this is not the time for lingering about. As I said, we have much to discuss," said the man.

They had lost count of how many rooms they had walked through when Chiron opened one final set of doors and led them into a comfortable looking sitting room. They must have somehow reached the upper levels of the castle because one of the walls opened into a large railing-balcony that offered one of the most magnificent views of the city. Nico and Will stared in awe at the sheer beauty of the scenery.

"Please," said Chiron, taking a seat on one of the cushions on the floor and prompting the other two to do the same.

Almost automatically, Will and Nico sat down next to each other, their eyes still on the horizon.

"May I offer you something to drink?" asked Chiron, his voice warm and pleasant, his eyes twinkling.

"How do you know our names?" asked Nico pointedly, not bothering to give the man the satisfaction of an answer.

Chiron took his time collecting a dusty bottle of wine and pouring three glasses, as if he, too, was avoiding answering any questions.

"I believe you are aware of how the exchange of information is carried out, if you know who I am. As I have mentioned before, I am a collector, and not only of paintings and beautiful objects. I collect information – have done so for many years – and the only payment I require is quite simple. You tell me something I don't know, something that I find of value, and I will tell you how I know both your names, and all I know about your present predicament."

Nico and Will frowned at the same time.

"How is it that you know of any predicament we might or might not be in? You better speak now, or else…" Will said threateningly, trying to imitate the sagacious tone of the man sitting before them.

Nico snorted and looked at Will, tickled by the utter lack of authority in his voice.

"Ah. I thought we would get to that. In order to entice you to fully accept my terms, I must first prove that I am not some charlatan who is only hoping to extract information from you, or worse – to detain you while reinforcements arrive, is that correct?"

Nico tensed, unable to distinguish neither irony nor threat in the man's words.

"My apologies, I'm not used to being suspected of fraud, that's all. Drink, my friends. I assure you, this is the best Sardinian wine you'll ever taste," said the man, raising his glass. "To Angelica," he said and drank.

Nico's mouth fell open. Beside him, Will flinched as if he had been stung by a bee.

"How…?" Nico stammered.

"Bianca was here," said the man simply, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "She told me everything. And I have a message for you, if you wish to hear it, you know what to do."

Will and Nico exchanged looks of shock, and Will cursed the fact that they were no longer able to communicate telepathically, because he really wanted to scream something akin to HOLY FUCK NICO, HE KNOWS ABOUT YOUR SISTER, WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!

"I'll take the deal," Nico said, trying to get to his feet.

Chiron stopped him with a gesture, prompting him to sit back down.

"No need to rise, young Captain. We are all friends here," he said.

Nico drew a hand through his hair, and Will frowned at the familiar gesture, as if he'd only just remembered he'd seen someone else do the exact same thing not too long before.

The last remaining Di Angelo had more than a few skeletons in his closet, he could simply reach in and pick out the first thing he came in contact with, his only true concern was the fact that Will was there too, and he wasn't sure how much of his past he wanted to share with him just yet.

"I can tell you about the lootings and attacks I've carried out through the years," Nico offered, hoping the man would take the bait.

"I am aware of most," Chiron replied matter-of-factly. "In fact, I know so much about you, young Nico di Angelo, that I doubt there is a single thing you'd be able to tell me that would surprise me, or that I don't already know."

Nico frowned and glared at the man.

"I'm warning you, Seer. I am not known for my patience, and you are stretching it so thin now, it's close to snapping," Nico said through gritted teeth.

Chiron laughed.

"I meant no disrespect. Ah, young men are so easily upset these days. I'm afraid what I meant was, there is little you would be able to tell me, as I am so familiar with your story already. What I want, what I would really like, is to know more about the young gentleman sitting right next to you," he said, and Nico turned to his side, expecting to find a fourth person in the room.

Will blinked.

"Me?" he asked.

"You, young master William Solace. I would like you to tell me about yourself," said Chiron pleasantly.

"Why me?" asked Will, still in shock.

"Because I don't know anything about you," he replied simply.

Nico looked from one to the other in surprise.

Will laughed awkwardly.

"But there is nothing interesting about me. I'm not the one with all the adventures and the…" he waved his hands in Nico's direction, as if cleaning an invisible window between them. Nico rolled his eyes.

"I am not a collector of adventures exclusively, Master Solace. And I assure you, your story interests me very, very much."

Silence followed that last remark. Nico's eyes were narrowed in Will's direction, as if he, too, could not understand why in the name of everything holy, this man would rather hear from Will, a simple merchant, rather than a seasoned Pirate Captain with his own ghost vessel and a ring that gave him otherworldly powers.

Will turned and made eye contact with Nico, as if silently asking for his permission to speak.

"You're free to refuse," said Nico, his voice brittle. "We don't have to get information from this insane person. We can find answers on our own."

Will considered this for a minute or so. It wasn't like he was afraid of sharing his story with the two men in the room. Truthfully, he was afraid the man would deem it unworthy or of little value, and ultimately refuse to share any information with Nico, who'd been looking for answers for so many years.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll tell him," he said, taking Nico's hand in his and squeezing it tightly, then letting go just as quickly and reaching out for his glass of wine.

"I'm glad," said Chiron, refilling their glasses, except for Nico's, which had remained untouched.

Then Will began to tell the sad story of his life.

"I am told my mother died during childbirth, and my father was so overcome by grief that he couldn't bring himself to raise me on his own. He left me on the doorstep of an Abbey in London, and I never even knew his name.

"I spent the first few years of my life in an orphanage. We had teachers who taught us how to read, but I was always a bit slow, and the letters kept mixing up in front of me. I got in trouble for not being able to read properly. Then, by some miracle, I was adopted by a loving couple who couldn't have children of their own. As soon as they took me from the orphanage, we left London and relocated to a small village in Genoa, where my adoptive father was from.

"They taught me everything they knew, with the infinite patience that actual teachers lack. My father taught me music, poetry, medicine, and found me a tutor to teach me all the required knowledge to thrive in his trade, he was a merchant you see. And my mother, Naomi, the gentlest woman you ever met, taught me to be kind," Will said. His voice had adopted a musical cadence Nico had never heard before.

For a second, Nico almost snorted, thinking of Will's mother's contribution to her son's education and finding it worth very little compared to navigational skills and perhaps poetry.

The young Captain, however, enthralled by Will's story, reached out for his glass and began to drink.

Chiron nodded approvingly. "Go on, Master Solace."

Will smiled sadly.

"We had a good life in Genoa, and I have fond memories of my childhood. My father would go on long trips, but every time he returned, he told me amazing stories of all the things he saw. My mother had to work three jobs to make ends meet when he was gone and money was tight, but she was a hard-working woman, and she never complained. Meanwhile, I got the best education they could provide, and I never went hungry, not even once.

"It wasn't until many years later, that I discovered my father was not a merchant at all. He'd been lying to me, all those years, hoping to inspire me to one day become a successful merchant myself, a career he held in the highest esteem, having himself failed at becoming one. We had a terrible fight the day I found out, and I stormed out of the house. I was a child at the time, around fifteen. He went out looking for trouble. I picked a fight with the first kid that crossed my path.

"But I had never learned how to fight. That kid broke my ribs in no time, and I lay on the floor until way after the sun had set and the stars were high up in the sky.

"When I finally managed to drag myself home, my father was gone. He'd gone looking for me, you see. We never saw him again, unfortunately. He'd been in an accident while he was out, looking for me. He'd been throttled by a wayward carriage."

Will paused to have another sip of wine, then looked around the room, as if waiting for someone to say, 'thank you for your story, but it's not nearly good enough. Next!' but no such thing happened.

Nico stared at him with an unreadable look in his eyes, while Chiron gave him a sympathetic nod. He continued.

"I was grief-stricken for weeks. Wouldn't leave my room, wouldn't eat, for a few days it was because I couldn't eat much, my ribs being broken, but after they mended, I still refused sustenance. After a few weeks of slowly going mad, and I decided to go find out more about my father's death. It didn't take me long to discover that it hadn't been an accident at all – my father had been run over by a money-lender. Apparently, he'd gotten himself in debt while paying for my education. He'd borrowed more than he could repay with his salary as a music tutor, which was his actual trade. I don't think the man actually meant to kill my father, in the end, all witnesses agreed that the man had simply lost control of his carriage. But I didn't let it go.

"I was set to kill the man, you see. I borrowed a sword and a pistol from a neighbor, and I was ready to challenge him to a duel. That day I ran out of the house with murder in my eyes, my mother threw herself at me and begged me to let it go. She said I was all she had left. I pushed her away, she fell and broke her leg, and I didn't even stop to look back. I found the man as he was leaving his house and I took aim, suddenly afraid I might miss my chance to kill him.

"Then I saw his children walk behind him. Then his wife. Then his dog, they all boarded the same carriage that had taken my father's life," Will stopped, and his voice sounded broken for the very first time.

Chiron offered him a fresh glass of wine and Will took it, his hands shaking slightly.

Nico felt compelled to reach out and touch him, but he couldn't find the strength to move.

After a few seconds, Will's eyes found the horizon, where the sun had finally started to set, the red-tinged sky bathing the room with blood-like pools of light.

"I couldn't do it," he said simply, and to Nico's surprise, he smiled widely.

"Why the hell not?" Nico asked, sounding outraged.

Chiron smiled wider than ever, then clapped his hands.

"Master Solace decided to forgive," he explained, as if he were giving a lesson instead of listening to the story of another man's life.

"Why?" asked Nico loudly. "He killed your dad, he deserved to die!"

Will chuckled and threw an arm around Nico's shoulders, gathering him close to him and ruffling his hair. Nico fought back and punched Will on the chest.

"Nico," said Will, unfazed by the sudden outburst of violence, "life is a precious thing. As I saw the man and his family ride away upon that blood-stained carriage, I had a glimpse of the smiles on their faces, they might have been heading out for a day of pleasure in the countryside, for all I knew, and I thought of how easy it would be to end their lives and mine. It would have taken minutes, perhaps seconds, and we would all cease to exist. But what would have been the point of that?"

Nico frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Some people deserve to die," he muttered, looking pointedly away from Will and the Seer Historian, who studied their exchange with great interest.

Will reached out and placed a hand on Nico's arm.

"Nobody deserves to die," he said simply. "We all deserve to live."

We all deserve to live, whispered a voice in Nico's mind, and he jumped back, staring wildly at Will, his heart beating madly in his chest.

"What happened next?" asked Chiron.

Will kept his eyes on Nico for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

"I went back home to take care of my mother. Then, a few months later, I became an apprentice under a distant relative, who was in fact a real merchant."

"And the money-lender?" the man asked.

"Funnily enough, he came to find us soon after that day I almost killed him. He was repentant and full of regret. He forgave my father's debt and paid all our other debts. He offered my mother a sum in compensation for my father's death, and paid for my schooling until I was old enough to leave.

Nico shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Something to add to that, Captain di Angelo?" Chiron asked.

Nico raised his head to retort, then his eyes found Will and he felt his world shift upside down. He suddenly felt as if Will's words had imbibed themselves into his mind, heart and soul.

We all deserve to live

We all deserve to live

We all deserve to live

Will smiled at him, his eyes twinkling under the rays of the dying sun.

All his life, Nico had found moments in which he'd wanted nothing but to die. He'd killed many men before, he'd never stopped to think about the morality of his actions. Now, as Will looked at him with an unassuming smile, Nico realized, for the second time since having met the young merchant, that he wanted to live.

And now, for the first time in his life, he'd come to consider the fact that not only did he want to live, he also deserved it.

Looking at Will sitting in front of him, the red rays of the sun in his eyes, Nico felt himself moved to the core.

"N-No," he stammered back, his eyes on Will, a blush creeping up his face.

All of a sudden, Chiron got to his feet and stretched out his arms as in invitation.

"I accept your offering, Master Solace. Please wait here, I shall return to collect you shortly."

Will promptly got to his feet, and Nico followed suit.

"W-where are you going?" Will asked.

"I need to retrieve a certain document. I also want to check up on Magnus," Chiron said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That young man has a good heart, but I'm afraid he is as blunt as a broadsword, and I long promised his parents to keep him out of trouble. Help yourselves to more wine if you so desire, this castle is large and I have a bit of a limp."

With that, he walked out of the room, leaning heavily on his walking stick, leaving Will frowning and deep in thought.

When Will turned around, he realized Nico had walked out of the room and onto the balcony, where only half of the sun could be seen over the horizon.

"Nico?" said Will with a chuckle. "I think this Seer Historian character might have actually known Magnus's parents, isn't that crazy? Nico?" Will walked to Nico's side, waving his hand over the latter's face. "Anybody home?"

Nico did not respond for a few seconds, he merely stared at the horizon, his hands on the iron railings.

Will frowned in concern.

"Is everything okay?"

Nico turned to face him, his eyes brighter than Will had ever seen them.

"Did you really mean what you said?" he asked.

Will blinked in surprise. He had never seen Nico look so sad.

"About what?" he asked.

"About living," Nico replied quietly. "About everyone deserving to live."

Will sighed and chuckled.

"I was afraid you were going to be cross with me about something else. Yeah, I really mean that, you see -" he began, but he quickly shut up when he felt Nico lean closer and gently press his hands to Will's chest.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," Nico whispered, his palms hot on Will's clavicle.

"Uh," Will stammered, looking around unsurely. "It's fine? You know, for a second there I thought -"

"Will," said Nico. "I need you to stop talking now."

Then he leaned in and kissed him.

They had kissed many times before, under many different circumstances, and within various degrees of danger. Yet, Will had never been kissed the way Nico kissed him right there and then.

Nico pressed his lips against Will with an air of reluctance, light as a feather, yet projecting as much need and lust as he had done on those occasions they had been much too close to intimacy.

Will's hands found Nico's waist and he pulled him closer reflexively, but Nico managed to retain the upper hand, dictating the terms of their kiss by fixing Will with a glance so utterly full of tenderness that Will found himself staring.

He did not immediately shove his tongue into Will's mouth. Instead, he pecked Will's jawline, then licked a trail towards his chin. Will replied by drawing his hands up Nico's back and tangling his fingers in his hair, tilting his head so he could lick the inside of Nico's mouth.

Nico let him, his eyes wide open, taking in as much of Will's face as he could.

"Nico," Will muttered. "I can't –" he said, pressing his forehead to Nico's lips instead.

"Stop talking," Nico insisted, tilting his head and breathing into Will's mouth before prying his mouth open and rolling their tongues together.

Will moaned into the kiss, but pulled back just as quickly.

"I can't. I… I won't be able to hold off. I want you so badly, but then we always stop and –"

"So, don't," Nico whispered simply, his hands on Will's chest.

"Don't?" Will asked.

"Don't hold off, don't stop," Nico offered. His eyes glowed red under the intensity of the dying sun. He laced their fingers together and pulled Will back into the room.

"What?" Will stammered, letting Nico direct him back onto the carpeted floor, allowing him to push him onto a large cushion that had been conspicuously sitting right next to them all along, warm from sitting under the rays of the afternoon sun for so long.

Once Will was on his back, Nico crawled on top of him and began to ravish his mouth, his hands roaming the area of Will's broad chest and shoulders, then down to his abdomen, all the while kissing him feverishly, until they were both out of breath.

"Nico," Will hissed through gritted teeth.

"Stop, talking," Nico whispered back, kissing Will's jawline, his neck, his chest, then shimmying down his body until his face lingered precariously over Will's abdomen.

"What are you doing?" said Will, his voice suddenly hitched with panic. He looked around the room, as if expecting Chiron to return any second.

"He won't be back," Nico interjected, lifting Will's shirt and placing an open-mouthed kiss on his abdomen.

Will hissed at the feel of Nico's wet mouth against his skin, his fingers clawing at Nico's shoulders, not sure if he wanted to stop him or prompt him to continue.

"You don't know that," said Will, his voice broken with lust and excitement at the way Nico's long hair fell over his crotch area, just as the latter began to work on the tattered sash of his breeches.

Suddenly, Nico drew himself back up Will's body until they were eye to eye.

"Will, stop talking. This is finally happening for me, so don't ruin it," he whispered against Will's lips. Then Will felt Nico's hand trail down his own body until he cupped his erection entirely, squeezing it gently, then rubbing his palm up and down its length. Will hissed, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

As if he were trying to make a point, Nico squeezed again, the tips of his fingers feathering over Will's sac. He drew his hand back up Will's crotch until his fingers were just over the top of his breeches, then pressed down gently. His hand went under the sash and his palm came into contact with the white-hot skin of Will's cock.

Will hissed and arched his back, then quickly clasped a hand around Nico's wrist.

"Nico, don't –" he whined, but Nico shut him up by shoving his tongue down Will's throat, all the while drawing his hand up and down Will's hot erection.

Nico would have smiled at the feel of Will's well-endowed nether regions, but he found his chest constricted with emotion and undying devotion for the young man who had so suddenly and irrevocably captured his heart and moved him close to tears.

He wanted to own him, he wanted to possess him, all the while he wanted nothing more than to belong to him, to give himself to Will entirely, up until the moment Death itself came and pried them apart.

Just as gently as the voice that whispered nonsensically in his mind, Nico's mouth began to trail kisses down Will's body until he found himself facing Will's mound again. With one swift swish of his wrist, Nico extricated Will's cock from his breeches, and took the tip into his hot, wet mouth.

An electric shiver went down Nico's back as he began to swallow Will's swollen appendage. Unbridled pleasure ran through him as he felt the veins of Will's cock with his tongue, the saltiness of his skin sharp against his taste buds.

Will moaned and writhed underneath Nico, his fingers digging into Nico's scalp.

"N-Nico," Will whispered throatily, trying to reign in the cataclysmic sensation of Nico's mouth wrapped around his most sensitive spot.

Nico's hands began to roam the expanse of Will's sides, sliding under his shirt and feeling every inch of his skin – the sharp contours of his abdomen, the well-defined lines of his chiseled chest, the perky nubs that were his nipples – all the while bobbing up and down, swallowing every inch of Will's cock until he felt it bump against the back of his throat, then sliding back up until he could trail his tongue around the shape of the head.

Nico had bedded many men throughout his life, and he'd been both top and recipient in his many sexual interactions. He had never, though, felt compelled to take his lovers in his mouth.

Will was different. Will was special. Will was unique in his innocence, his gentle admonitions, his kind heart. Will made Nico hungry – a wild statement for someone who could forgo food for days on end, for the sheer sake of it – and it was not a hunger that he had ever suffered before, neither as a wealthy heir, nor as a wayward pirate, and which seemingly could only be satiated by wolfing down as much of Will as was humanly possible.

As Will's cock filled his mouth with its ever-expanding girth, Nico could feel his own breeches growing tight between his legs. He could just as easily reach down and stroke himself, but the thought of ripping his hands off of Will's body was non-negotiable. He began to thumb Will's nipples with one hand, then reached down to cup one of Will's ass cheeks with the other, moaning loudly as he swallowed Will's weeping cock, his vibrating throat drawing wanton moan after moan from Will's increasingly raw throat.

In a moment of clarity, Nico relaxed, letting his tongue sit heavily in his mouth, and felt Will slide an entire inch deeper into his throat. Tears began to gather around the corners of Nico's eyes at the intrusion, but he refused to stop, as his own cock twitched in turn, pleasure suddenly blinding him just as much as if it were Will's cock that had been filling him from behind.

What a marvel, the human body was, after all. After all those years of yearning for nothingness, seeking the sweet oblivion of being but a vaporous ghost, Nico di Angelo was finally aware of the miracle that it was having sensatory nerves covering every inch of his body, very much alive and sporadically exploding in pleasure as Will bucked his hips and drove his cock deeper into his throat time and time again. His palm, resolutely perched upon Will's chest, could sense the wild beating of Will's heart as if he held the thing in his hand, like an Aztec priest raising the detached, ticking muscle of a man that lay heartless, yet still alive, upon a stone altar, paying bloody homage to the sun.

The sun.

The dying sun upon the horizon, that so resembled Will in his glowing beauty, routinely sacrificed to the relentless darkness of the night, that in turn, resembled Nico, as he began to cover Will's entire being with the small expanse of his lips, swallowing hungrily every inch of Will's perfectly pink cock, fit to burst.

Nico's eyes ventured up and caught the expression on Will's face – a look of shock mingled with the same lust that attacked Nico's every pore, and Nico's own name being silently mouthed over and over by Will's kiss-swollen lips.

"Nico. Nico. I'm going to spill, Nico, I'm going to…" Will's voice threatened to die in his throat, yet resonated around the room with such force it made him sound more alive than ever. He began thrusting quickly into Nico's mouth, moaning and whining, his fingers in Nico's hair, tilting him just so, just so.

Nico perched his hands on Will's hipbones and impaled his throat with Will's cock, just as pleasure rippled through him. His own cock exploded in his breeches, making a mess of him, just as Will's salty seed began to spill in fragmented bursts down his throat.

The taste of Will's essence filled his mouth, and Nico's eyes flew open in sheer shock at the sudden burst of life that engulfed him, setting him on fire like a human torch.

In the back of his mind, Nico saw grassy hills, tiny stone houses with red-tiled roofs, a quiet stream that crisscrossed through a quiet village as clearly as a voice began to whisper into his ear: it's him, it's him, it's him!

As soon as he began to feel Will's cock grow limp in his mouth, Nico let it out with a gentle pop and collapsed onto his side, sparks filling the back of his eyes.

As if in a dream, Nico heard he distant rustle of clothes just as Will readjusted himself, his clammy palms sliding into Nico's own shirt and finding the sweaty expanse directly above his heart.

Still out of breath, Will found Nico's mouth with his own and devoured him in a sloppy kiss, tasting his own essence that still lingered on Nico's tongue. A single ray of silvery light found its way upon Nico's face, and Will licked it with devotion, as if trying to soak in the powers of the moon.

"Nico, I'm… I'm…"

I'm in love with you, Will thought desperately. He willed his lips to move, he ordered his mouth to issue sound – any sound – but his body failed him.

Nico drew the tips of his fingers across Will's lips.

"Shut up," Nico purred, pressing the tip of his nose to Will's cheek, his hand on his neck. "That was the single best moment of my life so far, don't you dare ruin it with words."

Will frowned but couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

They would have fallen asleep entangled in each other's arms, the gentle moonlight enveloping them like the softest of blankets, until their ears caught the distant sound of several footsteps approaching.

By the time Chiron opened the door, Will and Nico sat on opposite sides of the room, looking resolutely away from each other.

The man looked barely surprised at their sudden distant positions as he positively strutted into the room, pulling the front of a clothing rack, Magnus and Alex-Fierro bringing in the rear.

"Change of plans," said the man in a booming, excited voice. "We are going to a party tonight!"

Nico, who had been silently biting his nails, suddenly looked up.

"What the actual fuck are you talking about?" he spat.

Chiron smiled benignantly.

"I am merely fulfilling my part of the deal, Captain di Angelo. I realized, as I received payment for information in the form of Master Solace's story, that I could not possibly fulfill my oath of providing you with all the information you seek all on my own. There is someone, a very important individual, you must see first," the man said, motioning with a hand so Magnus and Alex-Fierro finished drawing a clothing rack and a large chest into the middle of the room.

Will sprung to his feet in outrage.

"You, you liar! You conniving, evil –" he spat, pointing an accusatory finger in Chiron's direction, just as words began to fail him.

Chiron laughed.

"Relax, Master Solace. All questions shall be answered tonight, at the Governor's Masked Ball!" he finished rather magnificently, opening the chest and revealing a large array of Venetian masks of all sizes.

Will whipped around in Nico's direction, whose frown revealed nothing.

"The Governor's Masked Ball," Nico repeated automatically, his voice devoid of emotion. "The Governor's Masked Ball that requires Venetian Masks?"

Chiron nodded and clapped his hands.

"Get dressed! Here is your invitation. Show this to the guards and remember to keep your masks on, it's a masked ball after all! A carriage will arrive to collect you, Magnus and your foreign friend" he said, nodding in Will's direction.

Nico gaped at the man, feeling his patience stretch thin once again, but before he could utter a word in complain, Chiron spoke.

"I must have a word with Captain di Angelo, it would be my honor if you accepted to ride by my side," he said.

It wasn't as if Chiron, the Seer Historian, had given them much of a choice.

Furthermore, the name Aides had been mentioned, and Nico would not miss an opportunity to meet the man whose name had stirred blurry memories and struck a chord inside him.

Nico barely glimpsed at the rack of outfits lined before them, intent on filing out of the room with the clothes right off his back, but Chiron stopped him, forcing him into an elegant outfit that Nico did not remotely care for – an elegantly fitted, sleeveless crimson doublet with leather straps on the front, cream linen shirt with puffed sleeves, and black breeches and boots. It wasn't much too different from what he was used to wearing, but when Chiron added a cape that matched the lining of the doublet and slung it artistically over Nico's right shoulder, the young Captain let out an array of particularly colorful insults.

"This is a formal event," he had chided rather paternally. "You don't want to stand out by not following the dress code."

"Fine," Nico spat.

"That settles it, then," said Chiron, and he summoned a black velvet box from one of the cabinets. He opened it to reveal a large array of jewelry – everything from necklaces, rings, earrings, pendants, lockets and hair pieces. "You could do with more shine," he declared.

Nico groaned as Chiron insisted Nico took at least two more rings, a small pendant on a golden chain, a pocket watch and a brooch.

"This is so unnecessary," Nico complained, but Chiron paid him no mind, offering him a white Jester half-mask with red and gold decorations.

Will, Magnus and Fierro remained behind, taking their time to get dressed as they waited for their carriage to arrive.

As he filed out of the room, Nico felt Will's fingers trace a path from his shoulder to the back of his hand. Nico shuddered inwardly, then walked out of the room, and it was the hardest thing not to turn his head for one more look at Will.

Within minutes, Nico and Chiron were perched upon large, black stallions, and began to ride into the night across a series of cobwebbed passageways that zigzagged between the trees, leading them downhill into the city of Cagliari. The castle had been well-lit by the time they left, the paths, however, were not. They rode in the darkness, but Nico had no trouble whatsoever discerning their whereabouts.

As they left the castle grounds, a lone Pirate, dressed in shadows, hiding up on the branches of a large tree and armed to the teeth, watched them ride past. He had been hiding in the dark long enough so that his eyes were accustomed to the darkness, and when his eyes landed on Nico, he shook his head.

It wasn't him. He must wait longer; his true objective must still be inside the castle.

After a few minutes of riding in silence, Nico finally spoke up.

"Tell me about Aides," he commanded.

Chiron chuckled.

"Young Captain di Angelo, you go straight to the point."

"And you seem to take pleasure in avoiding answering any questions. You wanted to speak to me in private, we are alone, now speak," said Nico.

As he looked at the older man, Nico realized his face had lost much of its previous youth; he looked withered and tired, if only for the few seconds that their faces were level with each other.

"I have known about the Curse of Angelica for many years, child. I am aware that you now must be its final recipient, as the Di Angelo line ends with you, am I correct?" '

Grudgingly, Nico assented.

"How do you know this? Have there been others that have come to see you? And don't call me a child," he added, trying not to show his nerves.

"Your sister was here, as you might have already guessed. That is how I recognized you so quickly. Well, that and…"

He stopped talking and Nico's hair stood on end in frustration.

"What?" he almost yelled.

"You've come to me for answers, and you have fulfilled your half of the deal, so I am bound to tell you as much as I know, unfortunately, there is the small matter of another oath that takes precedence. I can only tell you so much, before someone else must come and fill you in with the rest of the details, the ones of a more, uh, sensitive nature," he explained.

Nico's blood began to boil in his veins. He had half a mind to reach out for his sword, when he realized the cutlass he was wearing around the waist was an accessory, his actual broadsword back in the castle at Chiron's insistence. No matter, he would have Fierro bring the sword in the carriage.

"Tell me what you can, then, and I suggest you do this now, because I am not squeamish about killing a man with my own bare hands," he threatened.

Chiron did not chuckle, as he so often did every time Nico made a threat of violence.

"Young Captain, let me first confirm with you all the things you already know. Your sister came to see me looking for information on how to break the curse. I believe you already suspected as much. She was brought here by another young man who would, in turn, become a Captain of his own – Perseus Jackson –"

"I would avoid saying that name in my presence if I were you," said Nico through gritted teeth.

Chiron nodded.

"And are you aware of the nature of their relationship?" he asked.

Nico felt like he had been punched in the throat. He hadn't dwelled much on his past feelings for his childhood friend over the last few years, for each time he did, he realized he hadn't completely moved on, his rage towards Percy were nothing short of all the proof he needed. He still felt utterly betrayed.

"They were lovers," Nico replied, his voice a venomous whisper.

Chiron flinched, turning to Nico with a frown on his face.

"They were not," he declared, and Nico's mouth fell open.

Before he could speak, Chiron continued.

"I am aware there must be some bad blood between you two, since both of you have turned to piracy over the last few years. I can't be sure of Captain Jackson's intentions at the moment with regards to you, but I can assure you, at the time we met, the young man harbored nothing but the best intentions with regards to your sister. He came here as her protector, her advance guard. He might have risked his life to save her more than once, by the looks of it. They were not romantically involved, not from his side, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked, his chest constricting with a jumble of unknown feelings.

Chiron sighed. "I'm afraid your sister, Bianca, was very much in love with the now Captain Jackson. Forgive me for being so blunt, but I suspect, so were you."

"Don't you dare assume – I did not –"

"Like I said, forgive me. I only mention it because you must know of your sister's final regret, which was not speaking plainly to you before she left. The message she asked me to convey to you, the most important one of all, far above the fact that she did not disclose the full effects of the curse of Angelica, which she intended to break, was this: she asks you to forgive her, for taking him away from you."

Nico gasped at the sharp pain he felt on his chest, directly above his heart. After all these years, he had thought they were lovers, and that they had carried a youthful affair before eloping.

Now he realized with a pang, he had been angry at the wrong person, for all the wrong reasons.

It hadn't been Percy who had seduced his sister and taken her away with him – it had been Bianca's idea all along.

He felt like crying, he felt like smashing something to bits or maybe getting in a terrible fight, his mind completely overwhelmed with information.

"Nico," said Chiron, bringing him out of his reverie, "Captain Jackson and his relationship with your sister, the history they shared, should not be your main concern at the moment. You must know there is a larger, much more fearsome threat in your immediate future. Going to the Governor's Ball will bring you answers, but it will also put you in terrible danger. And not just you," he said, his voice growing quieter.

Nico shivered, thinking of Will and Magnus, the other two living members of his entourage. His nerves were completely on edge, and he had half a mind to ride back to the castle, gather his companions, and gallop in the opposite direction, away from Cagliari. But the prospect of new information was too tempting to relinquish.

"How are they in danger?" he asked instead.

"There have been many others, throughout the years, that have coveted the powers of Angelica. Regardless of the fact that most men took the stories as nothing more than scary legends to tell around a few bottles, there have always been those who believed it. Fortunately, the curse had been well hidden for a few generations, and its trace had been lost. It wasn't until your dear mother, may she rest in peace, that the whereabouts of the curse resurfaced."

"How?" Nico asked, but Chiron held up a hand.

"What matters is that the whereabouts of the artifact were narrowed down to a single city, I believe you know what that city is…"

"Venice," Nico replied instantly.

"Correct. And there have been those who have kept an eye around the city, looking for manifestations of the powers of the ring. You were wise to have left as soon as you inherited the curse, but I'm afraid it was too late – you had been suspected of being its future recipient ever since your mother's death, when the curse befell your sister."

"Bianca," Nico breathed. "Is that why –"

"She left, yes. Or at least, it was one of the reasons. Your sister was confident she could find a way to break the curse, and she also knew that by disappearing from Venice, she would take the attention away from you."

Nico shook his head, heavy with the added weight of the ridiculous mask that he had pulled over his forehead and now sat on top of his head.

"This makes sense," he murmured almost to himself. "And those who coveted the ring? Did they find her? Was it Per – was it that asshole she traveled with? Was it him all along?"

Chiron shook his head sadly.

"As far as I know, Captain Jackson was aware of the curse, but he did not covet it for himself. Rest assured of one thing, young Captain Di Angelo, your childhood friend had done everything in his power, up until the time they left my apartments, to help your sister break the curse."

Nico's heart was beating madly in his chest, feeling as if he could topple over any second. Everything he knew was wrong, it was all wrong!

"As I said, However, you ask a pressing question, young Captain Di Angelo. What of those who went after the powers of the curse? The answer is, they are here."

Nico stiffened on his horse.

"Where?" his voice came out brittle.

"Those who have searched all their lives for the powers of Angelica are here, in Cagliari. They followed your sister's trail. She managed to disappear unsighted, and these men made a sort of headquarters here, waiting for you to come find me."

"How would they know I would come looking for you?" Nico asked.

Chiron laughed. "They all come looking for me. Cagliari was the last known whereabouts of your sister, and as such, they knew you would one day trail her down to here. And be sure they will be in attendance at the Ball, keeping a close eye for anything unusual. That's why you must not be recognized, and that's why you must not make even the slightest display of your powers – that ghost of yours, that nagual, must be kept at bay," said Chiron, his voice gaining a tone of urgency.

"Na-what? You mean Fierro? How did you know –"

"The Aztec shape-shifter. The fact that she has solidified into a regular, living human, well, that will hinder her powers, especially if she is caught in that form. I understand you've brought her as a source of protection, but you would be putting yourself and your companions in terrible danger, especially Master Solace, if her true nature were revealed."

"Will? Why?" Nico asked, just as urgently, forgetting his follow-up questions on Fierro. He felt like he could not take any more news, good or bad, lest his heart gave up and he died, after all these years, wearing a Venetian jester mask and riding a borrowed horse.

Chiron smiled sadly.

"Two reasons. Firstly, because he is dear to you, and can be used as leverage against you. It took me a few minutes in your company to see through your feelings, which are in turn, reciprocated. If those who seek your powers are unable to get to you personally, be sure they will come for those dearest to you," he explained.

Nico frowned, rage surging through him.

"And the second reason," Chiron continued. "Master Solace is pure of heart."

Nico was slightly taken aback by the declaration. It wasn't news to him that Will was as innocent as they came, but why that would be a reason for him being in danger…

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked, thinking of Will's smile.

"It directly relates to my final advice," he said ominously.

They had long entered the city, and just then, a large well-lit palace came into view. Chariots pulled into the courtyard drawn by the most magnificent horses, and Nico could see luxuriously-dressed men and women excitedly walk in through the main gates. Music reached their ears and the constant chattering of attendees began to swell over their own conversation.

"The last piece of information I am allowed to give you, young Master di Angelo, is a second message which your sister asked me to convey to you, and that is this: the curse of Angelica cannot be broken… but theoretically, and I do stress that word, it can be shared."

Back in the castle, Will was considering how to keep from Nico the fact that he had had a wonderful time playing dress-up with Alex and Magnus, all the while thinking of ways to casually mention it and suggest a possible repeat of the experience, just the two of them.

Memories of their afternoon activities flashed through his mind from time to time, but he decidedly shook his head, hoping to avoid getting excited at the thought.

Magnus had been passively suggesting this or that, as Alex took it upon herself to dress Will as if he were her plaything, up until the moment Alex rounded up on Magnus, picking out a huge dress from the rack. Magnus paled as he took in the folds of the magnificent, yet undoubtedly female attire.

"No," he gasped, horrified.

"Come on, Maggie," said Alex playfully, and both Magnus and Will flinched at the nickname, the former in terror, the latter in approval.

"No!" Magnus whined. "I'm a man, I'm not putting on a dress!"

Alex made a grimace and raised an eyebrow, as if dealing with a wayward child.

"Only you get to decide what's unmanly and what's not. If you wear it with pride, you might make the boldest fashion statement seen in these parts of the world yet!" she declared.

Magnus and Will stared at her, their mouths slightly open.

"N-No, I mean, thank you for thinking of me… but there is no way I will take two steps on that thing and not tumble to my death. Maybe Uranus here could try!"

Will spat some of the wine he had been drinking, just as Alex shook her head.

"He looks perfect now, I will not readjust my creation," she said, looking Will up and down.

Will wanted to thank her, but he was never good at taking compliments. He blushed and looked away, wondering what Nico would say when he saw him without his farmer clothes.

They boarded the carriage that had come to collect them only a few minutes past the chiming of the old clock in the parlor.

They did not see the man perched up on a tree, nor did they see him land slowly on the ground and run for his horse, which he had cleverly tied between two large trees that obscured him. Not even Alex-Fierro, the terrible ghost, sensed the presence of the man, nor his intentions, busy as she was fixing Magnus's collar and fussing about Will's hair and makeup.

Chiron had warned Nico against revealing his face, presenting the guards with his own personal invitation, plus guest. The guard cast a suspicious look in Nico's direction, but Chiron whispered something into the man's ear, whereupon they were promptly let into a magnificently decorated inner courtyard, complete with several-tiered cakes as decorations on dozens of tables, dancers and jesters, and a string quartet.

"Lovely," said Chiron pleasantly as he walked in and nodded in the direction of several people who recognized him. "An outdoors gathering, although a risky decision, judging by the approaching storm."

Nico looked up at the cloudless sky.

"What storm?" he said, but Chiron waved him off.

"This way, young Plutarch," he said, surprising Nico. "I had a conversation with Magnus as we were gathering the garments for the party. I assumed you were traveling incognito, a wise decision. May I suggest we maintain the farce if only a bit longer?"

Nico nodded.

"The name Plutarch was a particularly insightful choice, if I may say so myself," Chiron added, and Nico only just managed to keep himself from tripping over, wondering yet again, just how much Chiron knew about his life, and why he decided to keep so much to himself.

He led Nico into a massive parlor, so sumptuously decorated it made the outer courtyard look like a parking space for chariots. There must have been a hundred tables laden with food and drink, all placed around a large open space whereupon hundreds of couples were dancing. Men and women, all masked and wearing their best attires, twirled, laughed and sang along the melody that was played by the full orchestra.

Even though Nico knew Will and the others couldn't have possibly beaten them to the ball, he still looked around, trying to spot him and collect his emotions, if only for a second, by making sure he was safe and sound.

"Ah," Chiron interjected, motioning towards a waiter. "Let's have some wine."

He took two flutes and offered one to Nico, leaning in conspiratorially and whispering "Do not drink, only pretend. You are here as my guest, so you must dance and enjoy yourself, until I call you to my side. Go," he commanded, pushing Nico onto the mass of mask-clad strangers and disappearing from view.

Nico looked around the room, his vision somewhat impaired by the ridiculous mask, looking for Will, who was nowhere to be found.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath, taking the flute to his lips and pretending to take a sip. He was about to send a mental message to Fierro when his eyes landed on a particularly striking figure.

A large, powerfully built man was staring at him through the crowd, sitting alone on one of the best-placed tables. Two equally strong-looking men were standing on either side of him, like security guards.

The man was wearing the mask of the Bauta, a tricorn black hat and a black mantle that fell over his shoulders, none of which could successfully hide the man's bushy white beard, rippling muscles and electric-blue eyes.

His nerves already on edge, Nico dismissed the ominous chill that went up his back at the stare that the man directed his way. Instead, he turned to the side and began to pace the room. Once or twice he was approached by another guest who tried to engage him in conversation, or worse, ask him for a dance. He made polite small talk with some, and politely refused to dance, claiming that he only just recovered from a leg injury.

Unaccustomed as he was to the formal gatherings of the respectable minority that was high society, Nico found himself orbiting towards the less-illuminated area of the massive parlor, leaning against a window frame that awarded him with a view of the outer courtyard, hoping to catch a glimpse of Will as he arrived.

It wasn't long before a curvaceous woman approached him.

It had been a while since Nico had refuted the advances of a woman, seeing as he very rarely got close enough to one to begin with, so he braced himself for the inevitable just as she came to stand before him.

"Bella festa," said the woman in a Venetian accent, which surprised Nico.

"Davvero bella," Nico replied once he collected himself. "Scusi, lei è di Venezia, signora?" It had been a while since Nico had come across another Venetian, and the sudden appearance of one caught him off guard.

The lady giggled and waved a hand over her face.

"I'm afraid I have used up all my Italian, young man," she said. Her eyes were green under her half-mask, and her voice was deep and rich in a pleasant way.

"My apologies," said Nico, bowing slightly.

"Am I to understand you are Venetian yourself?" she asked.

Nico assented and caught on only too late. He would have tried to explain himself, retract himself, but the lady reacted faster than he anticipated.

"How marvelous! My husband will be pleased to meet you!" she declared.

Somewhat relieved he would not have to refute the advances of the woman, Nico inclined his head politely.

"I take it Signora's husband is of Venetian descent?"

"My dear boy, there is no one more Venetian than my husband," she said quietly, in an almost conspiratorial way. "You must meet him."

Nico flinched at the way the lady leaned in closer to him, bracing himself to jump out the window if necessary – that was how much his nerves were on edge – until the woman laughed and placed her hand on Nico's shoulder in a loving, almost motherly way.

"I would ask you to take off your mask and let me see your face, keen as I am to confirm my suspicions, but I know better than to ask such a thing from you," she whispered.

Nico felt a jolt of electricity go through him. "Confirm what suspicions?" he asked back, his hand on his fake sword.

She smiled at him, Nico could see her perfectly white teeth from underneath her Colombina half-mask.

"That you are as handsome as your father," she whispered, placing a quick kiss on Nico's cheek and turning away, disappearing into the crowd.

Nico stood there, his nerves on fire and the hairs on his arms standing on edge. He felt like he had come exceedingly close to confirming something that had been bothering him for years, as the wheels began to turn in his mind, but for the life of him, he could not bring himself to believe that his own suspicions were actually true.

The woman hadn't been gone long when a man, curvaceous in his own, slender way, approached him with altogether different intentions. A walk around the grounds, just the two of them, was mentioned, amongst other less virtuous suggestions.

Nico laughed, the lady in the mask momentarily forgotten. He was suddenly nervous at how flattered he felt at the young man's insinuations. He might have been beautiful under his mask, but he knew one thing for sure, he was not Will.

The words were out of his mouth before he even considered them. "I'm flattered, but I'm actually with someone."

"Oh," said the young man. "Lucky her."

"Him," Nico added just as quickly.

When the young man left, Nico felt a strong desire to down the entire contents of his flute, his mind torn between the lady with the Venetian husband and Will's musky scent and the saltiness of his skin, two items he did not wish to mix in the same train of thought, when suddenly, the orchestra stopped playing and a single trumpet announced the arrival of their host.

"His excellency, the Governor of Sardinia, Signore Aides!"

The crowd parted, and Nico caught sight of Chiron, whose eyes were resolutely directed his way, a silent message of 'stand by' perfectly discernible underneath his mask. When the last few men and women that had been standing on his way moved to the side, Nico saw a tall, slender man with long, black hair, dressed in the height of Venetian fashion. He walked to the middle of the room, arm in arm with the lady with the Colombina mask.

Nico dropped his flute, but the smashing of the glass was downed by the thunderous applause that broke through the room.

"Signore e signori," said the man in a booming voice. "Welcome."

When he removed his mask, Nico felt suddenly winded, as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. He didn't know when, or how, Chiron had found his way through the crowds, and was suddenly standing next to Nico, steadying him with a hand on his arm.

"Breathe, young Captain," Chiron whispered in his ear. "Breathe and come with me, now."

Nico let Chiron guide him out of the parlor and into an adjacent room. He was gasping and his vision swam before him. He would not have been able to make it had Chiron not somehow managed to steady him as they walked.

The room was dark and empty, with only a few candles to light the area.

"You must not make a scene now," Chiron chided, as if it had all been Nico's doing. "There are people watching. You will get a private audience with him, I have arranged for it beforehand."

Nico looked up at Chiron, his eyes bloodshot. He tried to speak, to curse him, he would have liked to throttle him on the spot, but it was all he could do not to retch his insides in complete shock.

Chiron suddenly perked up, as if someone had knocked on the door.

"Your friends are here," he informed Nico. "I must go and collect them, if only to warn them that they must not act out, they must remain incognito! Wait here, catch your breath, regain your composure, I will be back for you."

With that, Chiron walked out of the room, leaving Nico a jumble of nerves.

The dream he'd had only the night before returned to him like a slap to the face. The pieces of conversation still made no sense to him, and frustration only added to his state of despair. He wanted to pull his half-mask off, as if the damned thing was hindering his breathing, but the thing was not to blame. Chiron was not to blame. Percy was not to blame. Even Bianca, his real sister, was not entirely to blame.

He was to blame, he said to himself, and it was all he could do not to allow black smoke to billow out of his arms and legs.

He sprung to his feet, unable to remain sitting a second longer, and practically ran out of the room in search of a window, in search of the exit, in search of salt in the air, pulling the door open with such force it almost fell off its hinges. He ran through the crowd, which had seemingly grown larger, the voices and the raucous laughter of men and women amplified a thousand-fold, their masks each more grotesque than the other.

Nico's vision swam as he waded through the room, barely able to keep his balance and stop himself from falling headfirst onto the nearest unsuspecting party guest, when suddenly, a strong hand gripped him around the arm, turning him around on the spot.

"Nico di Angelo?" said a gruff voice, and Nico, suddenly panic-stricken, shook himself loose and began to run through the room, pushing a few outraged guests aside. He didn't know which door he went through, but he barged into an adjacent room and shielded his eyes against the light, half-expecting darkness, instead having run into a smaller parlor, whereupon a more intimate gathering was taking place.

His eyes landed on about a dozen men and women who were dancing in an altogether inappropriate fashion, their bodies close together, some taking wine from cups perched upon the bosoms of heavily-corseted women. A man in a Medico della peste mask turned to him, and his large nose so grotesquely aimed in Nico's direction that he almost screamed, terrified at the ominous appendage that seemed to point him out amidst a sea of enemies.

He managed to stumble into another room, whether the large parlor from whence he had come, or another dance floor, he wasn't sure. The only thing he was aware of was the beating of his heart and the pounding in his head, as a voice seemed to whisper in his mind, growing louder and louder.

He knows, he knows, he has known all along!

Unaware of how he managed to find his way through the crowd, Nico barged into another room, where a lesser, more mellow group of people danced and laughed innocently, seemingly unaware of the tumultuous thoughts that pummeled Nico's mind.

His teeth on edge, his nerves on fire, Nico began to push through the crowd in search for an exit, when he suddenly bumped into someone. He would have drawn his sword, fake or not, had the man not placed a tender hand on his chest.

"Nico?" the voice whispered, and just as relief began to flood him, Nico looked up. "Will?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper and almost pleading for confirmation.

The man looked around as if to make sure they were not being watched, then removed his mask, if only momentarily, to reveal his face.

Nico's eyes widened, as if he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

Will stood in front of him, alright, but it wasn't the same Will to whom he had grown accustomed over the past weeks. He was clean-scrubbed, his hair tamed and shiny, his face powdered and – was that eyeliner? And blush? Nico's eyes roamed down Will's body and took in the exquisiteness of his outfit – the rich, Venetian golden doublet, open at the chest, the lace-embroidered cuffs on his puffed-up sleeves, the black breeches, tightly-fitted at the waist – and it was all Nico could do not to gasp.

Will had never looked more beautiful, more ravishing than he did at that moment, and it wasn't the clothes, it wasn't the makeup. It was his expression, for Will looked at Nico with a mixture of concern, love and utter devotion, a concoction he hadn't seen on anyone's eyes for many, many years. Only Will was different, separate from the way his family had looked at him, as Will's eyes also carried a sparkle of lust.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, his hand finding Nico's arm and squeezing gently.

Nico stared at him, open-mouthed, his legs barely regaining their strength. He realized with a start, that he did not care about the curse anymore. He did not care about finding out the truth that had been kept from him all those years – all he cared about was the young man who stood before him, his happiness, his laughter, and his safety above all.

Without considering the consequences, without stopping to think about the outcomes of his actions, Nico swatted Will's hand away, just as he was about to put his mask back on, and kissed him square on the lips.

"Nn!" Will moaned, flinching back quickly. "Nico!" he whispered through gritted teeth, promptly putting his mask back on. "We're not supposed to stand out, Chiron said so himself."

Nico smiled in spite of himself, instantly soothed by Will's voice, which flowed through him like warm honey.

They did not register the set of eyes that zeroed in on them from nearby, nor the man who quickly ran out of the room with fresh information to convey.

"Sorry," Nico said, suddenly feeling as if they were back on the cheese farm, with not a worry in the horizon other than pulling a donkey through a field. "Couldn't help myself. You look… you look…" he stammered.

Will chuckled awkwardly, then playfully pulled at a lock of Nico's hair.

"You don't look so bad yourself," he said, his voice husky. "Listen, Chiron is looking for you. Something about an audience?"

"Oh," said Nico, his blood losing all warmth.

"Come with me," Will said, taking Nico's hand and directing him through a few rooms until they reached the main parlor, whereupon Chiron awaited, flanked by Magnus and Fierro, both of them recognizable to Nico despite their fancy clothes and ludicrous masks.

That last second they were still holding hands, Nico decided to commit to memory. No matter what happened, no matter who he came to see, he would remember the warmth that radiated through Will's skin, the clamminess of his palm against his, and the way his, Nico's ring finger felt oddly light, despite carrying the curse of Angelica, when laced between Will's own.

"Young Plutarch," Chiron interjected, his voice both urgent and relieved. "I was afraid all that wine had gotten to your head. Come with me, a walk in the grounds will do you good," he said, taking Nico's arm and practically prying him away from Will, who looked back at Nico with so much wariness they might have taken away his only child.

Just before they walked away, Chiron looked back and his eyes landed, strangely enough, on Alex-Fierro. He spoke some words in a strange language, that neither Nico nor Will, let alone Magnus, who stood idly by, could make sense of, but which made Alex-Fierro's eyes widen and her spine straighten like an arrow. She nodded almost unperceptively, just as Chiron directed Nico to a side door, and they both walked out of the parlor.

Back at the courtyard gates, the Pirate that had long been following the small company all the way from the cheese farm, presented a sealed letter to the guards. It wasn't an invitation letter, per se, and ordinarily, he wouldn't have been let in wearing the tattered clothes of a seafaring man, but his own letter carried so much power the guard stood aside, offered the man an additional pistol, and let him through.

Nico and Chiron walked out the manor and into the beautiful grounds, past exquisitely-maintained patches of wild flowers, freshly cut bushes in the shapes of Greek satyrs and centaurs, and a fountain or two, then turned right, entering a maze of overgrown bushes, perfectly cut at the top so they resembled moss-covered walls.

Nico laughed, as if he found the prospect of the unknown nothing short of funny.

"What amuses you, Nico?" asked Chiron, his hand still clasping Nico's arm.

Nico sighed. "Nothing amuses me, except the irony of it all. I've gone around the world yearning for this moment, and now, I couldn't care less."

Chiron nodded gently, coming to a stop, just as the walls of the maze opened into a clearing.

"This is as far as I go. I bid you farewell, young Captain Di Angelo. I must return and see to the safety of your friends. May the seas be calm and the wind on your back," he said, letting go of Nico's arm and walking away.

Nico took a deep breath and stepped onto the clearing.

A lone man was sitting on a stone bench directly underneath the statue of a cloaked figure flanked by a three-headed dog.

He stood up just as Nico stepped into the moonlight.

"Nico," said the man's deep voice.

Nico glared at him, taking a few steady steps and coming close enough to distinguish the man's features. He felt as if he were seeing into an enchanted mirror, that showed him what he would look like if he managed to achieve an older age, and if he had been riddled by anguish and regret.

"Father," he said. "I should have known."

The man stood motionless before Nico, as still as the statue that shielded him from behind, but upon closer inspection, Nico realized his hands were shaking, and his pupils were dilated.

"Do you have something to say to me, or should I kill you directly?" Nico asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Mio figlio," the man spoke, but Nico raised a hand.

"You do not speak to me in my mother's tongue," Nico interrupted coldly.

His father cleared his throat and switched back to English. "I hear you took the name Plutarch for an alias," said Nico's father. "I was surprised to hear you still held my name in some regard."

"Swabs," Nico spat. "Your name means nothing to me."

His father raised himself to his full height, which was considerable, and reached for something behind his back. Nico braced himself, ready to stick his ring into his mouth, when he watched his father raise a bottle of wine and two glasses from the stone bench whereupon he had been sitting.

"Join me for a drink," he said. "I assure you, unlike the wines served at the party, this has not been tampered with."

As if to prove his point, he poured two glasses and picked one at random, drinking from it, then, he picked up the other and took another sip.

"You've touched that one with your mouth," Nico said, pointing at the second glass.

His father smirked.

"My blood is in your veins, my features on your face, what are you afraid of now, child?"

Nico took a few steps and sat himself on the stone bench next to his father, raising up his glass in toast towards the statue behind them, silently daring the stone depiction of Greek death to come and collect him. He knew poison would have no effect on him, other than perhaps making him puke, but a part of him wanted to know if his own father had grown calloused enough to poison his own son.

"To your eternal doom, Signore Aides," Nico said, his eyes on his father's and he drank.

After a few seconds of silence, his father spoke.

"How long have you known it was me?" he asked.

Nico shrugged.

"I should have figured it out years ago. You were always obsessed with the Greeks. Aides is just another form of Hades. Hades, Pluto, Plutarch, you lack imagination, you ridiculous man. I should have known…"

"And yet, you didn't," said his father coldly. "It was enough to make an impression, but not evident enough for you to know straightaway. Tell me, was it Bianca who mentioned the name?"

Nico's wine soured in his mouth.

"Don't you speak her name…" he threatened.

His father made a slow move to his sash, releasing his cutlass and placing the handle of the unsheathed weapon on Nico's hand.

"You are right to doubt me, you are right to hate me, and you would be right to murder me, right here, right now, with this blade I now place upon your hand, if ever I utter a word that is untrue, upon my honor. And if you take my life, which is now yours, I will not return to this Earth but to serve you loyally and eternally, I swear this upon my blood. Let that suffice," his father said, slashing his palm with the sharp edge of his blade, then placing his bloody hand upon Nico's, sealing his blood-oath, his face suddenly young, his cheeks tinged rose, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Nico flinched back as he felt a ripple go through him, just as his father's bloody hand forced his fingers to close around the blade's handle.

"You are free to ask me anything you want to know," said Nico's father, his face still like a marble statue.

Nico stared at him, his own pupils dilated.

"Why did you leave us?" he asked, and he hated how his voice sounded so much like a child.

His father replied without hesitation, as if he had been expecting the question for many years.

"Because I loved your mother, and I loved you and your sister," he replied.

Nico snorted.

"You'll need to do better than that," he said, snatching the bottle of wine off his father's hands and taking a swig.

Signore Aides sighed.

"You must know by now that I have been aware, all along, of the curse that has befallen you?" he asked.

Nico glared at him, snatching away his father's wine glass as if reprimanding him.

"Yes," he hissed.

"Just so. What you might not know, is that I had been in search of the powers of the curse since before I met your mother, since I was nothing but a boy," he said.

Nico stopped drinking and stared at his father disbelievingly.

"Explain," he commanded.

"We were children, orphans, my blood-brothers and I, when we first heard the legends of Angelica, and those stories kept us alive, giving us something to live for, something to look forward to. Life as an orphan is difficult, and we had nothing but each other. As soon as we were old enough to find work on the streets, we left the orphanage and swore to dedicate our lives to finding Angelica," he began.

Nico frowned, trying to recollect the faces of his father's so-called 'blood brothers', whom he had grown up to refer to as his uncles, and coming up empty-handed.

"Still, we never gave up, we spent our youth searching for it, chasing every trail, every whisper, every gossip – until we were led to Venice. We took housing there, and some of my blood-brothers even took up wives and had children of their own – still, proof of the veracity of the legend eluded us. Until the day I met Maria," he said.

Nico felt utterly numb as his father spoke, and yet, he couldn't have been able to pry his ears away from the story he was only hearing for the first time in his life.

"We fell in love, and I knew, almost straightaway, that I had found Angelica, for your mother had always been careless with the curse, and she barely withheld her powers, as much as I begged her to. Would you believe me, my son, if I told you that my love for your mother was real? Would you believe me if I said that I tried to convince her, bargain with her, even threaten her to keep her powers at bay, not only for her sake, but for yours and your sister's?"

Nico made no sign of assent, merely stared at his father's paling face.

"After we married, and while I posed as a rich merchant, as you may have guessed, I was actually plundering ships alongside my mates – a pirate in disguise, for that is all we ever were – pirates. The three of us took aliases, cautious to separate our lives of piracy from our private, steady lives in Venice. Thunderbeard, Prosklystios and Aides. How Genoese officials never managed to relate my name to the fearsome Pirate Captain Aides, I shall never know. They are slower than you think," he said with a hint of irony, which Nico had no time for.

Aides cleared his throat. "I never revealed the true identity of Maria to them, this you must know. However, they were always suspicious, as I seemingly had given up on the quest for the powers of Angelica, an ideal that had so consumed me during my youth. Thunderbeard was especially suspicious of my marriage to Maria, and as such, he kept a close eye on her, and later on, on you, my children. You see, your mother had taken to midnight walks, relishing on her powers to summon ghosts to join her in conversation. I don't believe she was ever aware of the real powers she held in the palm of her hand, or, more accurately, around her neck, so she didn't believe herself to be in any danger. I tried to ameliorate her deeds by starting up rumors of apparitions around neighboring cities, trying to divert the attention elsewhere, but she was relentless, and soon enough, she became a prime suspect."

Nico remembered a conversation he had had with his father, directly under the shadow of the Rialto bridge, when he had urged Nico not to trust his uncles, to flee if he had to.

"Is that why you told me to be wary of my uncles? And their children?" he added sourly.

Aides nodded. "Do not get me started on those boys," he said bitterly, and for once, Nico felt himself siding with his father. Still, he wouldn't let him off the hook that easily.

"Tell me, why did you leave us?" he asked again.

Aides laced his fingers together, his hands white as marble.

"Thunderbeard had always watched Maria closely, and he was aware of her decay as she overused the powers of Angelica and the curse began to eat at her own life. I had to do something to throw him off the scent, I – " he stopped, turning away from Nico. "I made a scene in public, sure my brothers would see. I pretended to be disillusioned with my own wife and children, then I left. I am not proud of what I did, and I am not asking you to forgive me, but I am telling you the truth, because you are all that's left now."

Nico nodded.

"That's why you brought her back to Venice? Hazel?" he asked.

Aimes nodded.

"I traveled to the West and rescued an enslaved woman during a looting of a slave vessel. I took her away and made her my wife. She died giving birth to Hazel, this, you already know. I believed, by bringing a new wife back to Venice, my brother's suspicions would be dissipated. Alas, all I could bring was the child. That innocent child that I had raised myself for years, she was proof that Maria had not been the real carrier of Angelica, for I would never had left her if she had had the powers herself, not without taking them for my own. It was hard enough leaving you two, but that third child, that innocent dark-skinned lass, when I left her in that convent, she held on to my fingers and I have never healed from that grasp."

"Touching," Nico said sardonically, but in his mind, he could see the image of little Hazel as she was introduced to him, her eyes amber and bright, her face so much like his.

"Last I heard, she had escaped the convent, and I never heard from her again. Poor child must have perished in the countryside."

"She did not die in the countryside," said Nico, instantly regretting his words.

"Have you seen her? Is she well?" Aides asked, perking up.

Nico choked, looking away just as his eyes filled with tears.

"She is dead," he said.

Aides hung his head, his hands on his knees.

"I'm sorry. I believed, by bringing her back to Venice, I would tackle two problems at once – I was foolish, and I am many years late in asking your forgiveness."

"Spare me," said Nico, conspicuously drying his guilty tears with his sleeve.

"I believe I have now answered your question in full," said Aides, his eyes on a distant patch of roses.

Nico looked up into the sky, where clouds began to quickly gather above them.

"Tell me about Bianca," he whispered, afraid his voice would betray his emotion if he spoke louder.

Aides nodded, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Bianca," he sighed, as if the name itself could summon ghosts. "Bianca was… unexpected. As a child, she was as cunning as she was tempered, sagacious for her years. She discovered I was a Pirate since she was only just a child," Aides did not chuckle, but the bitter smile that tugged at the corners of his smile was an indication of just how much affection he still harbored for his dead daughter.

"I had left you before Maria had died, and when I returned with Hazel, Bianca had almost entirely blossomed into a young woman. I sensed the power of Angelica in her as soon as I saw her – as much as I can sense it in you, right now, as we speak," he said, drawing a hand close to Nico's face, but not daring to make contact with him.

"I had not anticipated Maria's death to be so sudden, and not having been there for her still haunts me to this day. As soon as I knew Bianca had inherited the curse next, I fled yet again, and I came here, to Cagliari. I married a woman – a good woman – who tells me she has met you, and I became Governor, trying to take the attention away from your sister. Foolishly, I wrote to her under my alias, in a moment of weakness. I missed my family, I missed her and I missed you, whether you believe me or not," he said, and his voice finally gained some color as he spoke of his regrets.

"What did you write?" Nico asked.

"I thought I did well in covering my tracks. I told her to find Aides for help. Little had I anticipated that your wise sister would go to Prosklystios's son for advice!"

Nico flinched.

"You mean, Percy?"

"That bad 'un, that eternal swab! Do not mention that name in my presence!" he spat, in a way so reminiscent of Nico that he almost chuckled.

"Chiron speaks highly of him," said Nico tentatively.

Aides frowned at him.

"Do not mention that half-a-man to me either! That ne'er-to-do-well rapscallion without a nanny, that… that Jackson, bringing your sister straight into Thunderbeard's court, he did. Well, as soon as old Thunders realized who she was, he never took his eyes off of her. Brought her to me, he did, yes, but she barely managed to escape with her life. Reason that bloody scallywag still follows me around, itching for a chance to clutch at my progeny, unable to let past things stay in the past, he won't!"

Up until a few moments ago, Signore Aides had kept his words formal, almost distant, yet as soon as he began to speak of Bianca, he quickly referred to his old seafaring lingo, sounding more like a Pirate than Nico himself ever did.

Something began to tug at the back of Nico's mind, but he couldn't quite place the memory.

"Where is he now?" Nico asked, a shiver going down his spine.

"Thunderbeard?" asked Aides with an ironic smile. "Well, he be right there, son. Right up on that balcony. He be looking at us, staring at us for half the night."

Nico glanced out of the corner of his eye, afraid to turn his head, and his amazing eyesight zeroed in on a man perched up on the manor's second story balcony, the very same man that had been staring at him in the parlor.

"What is he doing? And why don't you just kill him?"

Aides smiled sadly.

"Blood-brothers, child. I cannot kill him without dying myself. We are joined together, as long as I'm alive, he lives. And if we dare to take each other's lives, we die. But now that you are here, I am done. I have said goodbye to my wife, and now, I am ready to face him."

Nico frowned. "Why are you being ridiculous right now?" he asked.

Aides raised an eyebrow.

"Ridiculous, eh? How ridiculous will you find me when you hear what I have to tell you? We are safe for now, and we have a few minutes to spare before they come charging, so don't waste my precious few minutes on this Earth."

"Whatever you have to tell me, do it now. I have a party to return to," Nico said dismissively.

Aides threw him an indulgent look.

"You will not be returning to that manor, child."

It was Nico's turn to raise an eyebrow at his father.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because Thunderbeard will murder you, cut off your limbs one by one and try on each of those pretty pieces of jewelry in which you have so wisely covered yourself, until he finds the one piece that works and gives him the power he has been looking for all these years."

Nico stared at his father in disbelief. He reached for the blade his father had used to cut his palm and took a step towards the manor thinking of Will, when his father stopped him.

"A few minutes, that's all we have. Then, I will lay down my life for you. I will give you time to get away, ride to the ocean, and summon your vessel. There is nothing more for you here, but you must hear me out, for there is a way, child, a way to end this," he said, his voice almost pleading.

Nico looked between his father and the manor, unsure what to do.

He thought of Will and Magnus, he thought of Fierro enjoying her life-after-death experience in an actual, fashionable dress.

Then he thought of Bianca, his mother, and all the questions that still clouded his mind.

He took a step back and returned the blade to its sheath.

"Tell me about the curse," he commanded. "How do you break it?"

Aides suddenly straightened up, looking terribly sober.

"Child, you do not break the curse. The curse be unbreakable. If anything, if conditions are right, if you don't fail where I did, where that bloody Jackson did, best of all case scenarios, you don't break it – you share it, and in doing so, you live, child. You live."

Perched upon a balcony that overlooked the castle grounds – and the maze – a powerful figure stood with his hands on the stone banister. He had long removed his mask and revealed the face of a man in his late fifties, white hair and beard and electric blue eyes. He looked at the two figures who sat in the middle of the maze, by the stone statue of Hades, and smirked.

"Get the messenger," he commanded, and even though he was alone in the balcony, the doors promptly flew open and a tattered-looking man stumbled out, coming to a stop right next to the man.

"Speak," he grumbled again.

"Captain Thunderbeard, sir," the man said. "I have no new information to convey to you, I –" he stammered, but Thunderbeard glared at him, silencing him on the spot.

"I want you to repeat your information. Is that so hard to do?"

The man shivered.

"No, your Excellency – your Majesty – I… I…" he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Captain Octavian, that is to say, former gunner Octavian, whom you had previously sent as an agent upon your son's vessel – Captain Jason Grace's vessel, that is – the Argo III, he…"

"If you do not stop stuttering right now, I will have you flayed," said Captain Thunderbeard quickly.

The man closed his mouth instantly and took a deep breath through his nose.

"It is him, without a shadow of a doubt. Petite, long dark hair, fair skin. A ring in the shape of a skull. Answers to the name Nico di Angelo, travels with a fair youth, unremarkable, answers to the name Will Solace," the man recited without stopping for breath.

Thunderbeard nodded, then pointed towards the lone figures in the middle of the maze.

"Does that look to be a petite, dark-haired, fair-skinned youth to you?" he asked the man.

The seafaring man nodded quickly.

"And does he come accompanied, other than by that ridiculous old sage, by a fair youth?"

The man nodded just as quickly.

"Fair, very fair, extremely fair. We heard him call his name, Will, it's most definitely him," stammered the man.

"Ganymede," said Thunderbeard, and a gigantic man walked out of the room into the balcony. "Flay this man for stuttering," he said, and the man's loud yelps were silenced by the giant's hand over his mouth as he took him away.

"Metis," he beckoned, and a large woman came into view.

"Yes, Captain?" she asked politely.

"Please, escort my dear brother to me, and my dearest nephew," he commanded.

"Right away, Captain. What about the sage and the guests?" she asked.

Thunderbeard waved his hand dismissively.

"Capture the sage. Kill the rest," he said. "The Masked Ball has officially come to an end. After all these years, it is my time to rule as Governor. With the powers of Angelica, Sardinia has officially come under my control."

Back in the main parlor, where the Masked Ball was still in full swing, Will looked around the room for Nico.

Chiron had long since returned, having informed them that Nico was set to have an audience with an important individual, and had only just left to see to their chariot, after telling them to get ready to leave, when Magnus suddenly approached Alex, his face as red as a beetroot, and asked her to dance.

Will had watched them wistfully for a while, enthralled at the utter vigor with which Alex commanded their dance in her own, insane moves, Magnus following clumsily, when he heard a commotion just outside the doors.

In a matter of seconds, a band of armed men stormed into the parlor, separating into groups and sealing all exits.

A few outraged exclamations reached Will's ears and he quickly searched for Alex between the crowd. He found her just as she unceremoniously dropped Magnus to the floor, her eyes scanning the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed the voice of one of the men that, upon closer inspection, could not possibly be members of the guards that kept order across the manor. These men were disheveled, their weapons much too gruesome, their features distorted with a thirst for blood that Will was now all-too familiar with.

"We are to carry out an impromptu inspection. We have reason to believe that the Pirate William Solace hides amongst you. You are hereby commanded to take off your masks and reveal your faces!"

Alex-Fierro was by Will's side in the blink of an eye, pulling Magnus by the wrist, but as fast as she moved, she had been long spotted by a member of the newly-arrived crew, and before she could properly grasp Will and lead him away from the parlor, a net made of thin, metal threads had been cast upon her, making her smoke and scream in pain.

"Milady!" Magnus roared, trying to pry the net off of her, but a man caught him before he even touched the fine threads, tackling him on the spot and drawing a blade against his neck.

Will stood by, his eyes wide, his mouth open. He looked around for help, for Chiron, for Nico, for anyone, but all he saw where the wild stares of men and women who stepped back from him in fear.

"William Solace," said a large man with missing teeth, his long blade hanging by his side. "You have been sentenced to death by the authority of the Governor of Sardinia – that is to say –" he corrected himself. "The new Governor of Sardinia."

Will took a step back, horrified at the way Alex seemed to wither and burn against the magical net – for it must have been magical in order to contain a ghost of her caliber – and the blood that began to trickle down Magnus's neck.

"No," said Will. "You're making a mistake, we…"

"Please, remove your mask, Master Solace, that is, unless you don't want to die with honor," hissed the man, and his companions cackled in turn.

Will took in the sneering faces of the men that surrounded him, but it wasn't that which prompted him to reveal his face. It was Alex, who stared at him with fear in her eyes, and he would not stand to watch her die again, no matter what spell they had cast upon the net that contained her so, in her pain, in distinct agony.

Will removed his mask and threw it upon the ground, reaching for the broadsword that the giant Gunderson had gifted Nico, and which Alex had insisted Will carried around his belt.

"Don't even think about it, gorgeous," said the man, slashing a shallow cut on Magnus's neck, whereupon blood began to flow freely, dripping down his chest and soaking his beautiful outfit.

Will dropped his sword instantly.

"Let him go," he begged, raising his hands. "Take me, take my life, just don't hurt him," he said.

The men laughed around him.

One of the giants stomped towards Will and kicked his sword away from him.

"Tie them up, collect the specter and lead them outside, we mustn't tarnish Governor Thunderbeard's new manor with their worthless blood," said the man. "The rest of you," he boomed at the guests. "Get the fuck out, NOW!"

"Chiron said something along those lines," said Nico, drawing a hand through his hair. "And if you don't explain now, I'm going to murder you with this fucking blade and summoning you back as a servant ghost!"

Aides nodded.

"You have the power to do so, but it would do you no good, for I am your only means out of this place."

Nico raised a fist as if to punch his father, but stopped himself just in time, as his father opened his mouth to speak.

"Your mother and I knew of a way to break the curse. At the time we foolishly believed it, and we followed the instructions that were said to do the trick. We had followed the advice of a few ancient scrolls that I had collected over the years."

"What did the scrolls say?" Nico asked, his patience thinning away by the second.

"They were poems, verses written in an ancient language, they were hard to decipher, but there was a main, most important verse we took to heart:

Angelica, a-dying, loves one who knows not;

pure of heart the vessel, lest they be it for naught;

oaths shall be exchanged, one fulfilled, one broken;

a gifted treasure upon the breast be held as token.

Nico frowned and cradled his head in his hands. His mind felt jumbled with ridiculous ideas, as if someone were trying to communicate with him, but his brain was too full of information to take in anything else.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Nico asked, tossing the bottle of wine to the floor and shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"Take this," said his father, getting to his feet and placing a tiny scroll onto Nico's palm. "All it means, my son, is that I failed your mother. By failing her, I hastened her death, and I only managed to escape with mine. I failed her by not being pure of heart, by not being loyal, by not being true. It was both of us who broke our oaths, and my token," he smiled bitterly. "Well, there was no way I could fit that cutlass into my mouth."

Nico looked at the blade his father had given him, then realized what it was, in fact, that he was holding.

"You tried to turn this into your treasure," he gasped, holding the blade before his eyes. "You tried to transfer the curse into... this?"

As Aides opened his mouth to reply, the heard the sounds of footsteps approaching them.

"We are out of time, my son," said Aides, placing his hands upon Nico's shoulders with tenderness, making Nico almost flinch back in surprise. "There is little I can do for you now, except stall them. Head south down the maze into the forest that connects to the grounds. I have a horse waiting for you there, ride until you get to the sea, it's not far," said the former Pirate, unsheathing a larger sword from his sash.

"What?" Nico stammered. "I can't, I must get to the castle, I must…" he stopped, his eyes widening. "Will, Will is up there! I must get to him!"

The footsteps got closer, perhaps not knowing which way to exit the maze.

"Will?" Aides asked, taking a stance. "Is that –"

"William Solace, he's… he's…"

Nico stopped, unsure what to say.

Aides turned his face to steal a look at his son, then sighed and shook his head.

"I see I was too late," he said sadly. "You have that look on your face. Go, if you must, and save him at all costs, now that he is tied to you. If what Chiron tells me is true, and you refuse to give him up to death, it must mean one thing."

"What?!" Nico yelled, "Won't the pair of you stop speaking in parables for one godforsaken minute?"

"It means he is your one way out, my son. But remember, Angelica loves one who knows not."

"Idiot, stupid father," Nico cursed, his eyes scanning the several exits of the maze.

Aides shook his head and rolled his eyes, the exact same way Nico often did.

"It means he cannot know anything, foolish child. Angelica loves one who knows not, if he were to know of your feelings…"

Nico rolled his eyes, trying to hide the shiver that went up and down his spine.

"Goodbye father," said Nico. "You were a terrible father, a terrible husband and a terrible Pirate, and I am not entirely sure I should thank you for the information that you should have conveyed to me years ago. But I will thank you for distracting these assholes while I go rescue Will from yet another mess, and if you do die, I will forgive you."

"Let that suffice," said his father, looking at Nico one last time. "Put that pocket-watch in to your mouth now," he said.

Nico frowned, raising his middle finger at his father, both showcasing his Angelica ring and flipping him off.

"We are not all idiots in this family," he said, then stuck his finger in his mouth and disappeared into nothingness, just as the guards ran into the clearing and surrounded Nico's father.

"Huh," Aides said, returning his sword to his sash, just as rain began to pour down in earnest. "I could have sworn it was the pocket-watch."

Nico ran through the maze as fast as he could, his heart hammering against his ribcage. Invisible, with the ring in his mouth, he barely avoided colliding against a number of ruffians that he recognized by their outfits, but who now, maskless, showed the disfigured faces of seafaring men, perhaps former pirates, hiding from the authorities under the names of possibly well-respected men. The way his father had done.

He shook his head, refusing to dwell on the information he had only just collected. His main concern was Will. He must get to Will. He must.

As he ran into the manor, he turned a corner too fast and couldn't help himself from colliding against one of the men that were walking in his direction. The man tumbled backwards and the rest of the men unsheathed their weapons, looking left and right.

Nico cursed inwardly and got to his feet, but just as he prepared to run into the parlor, a commanding voice stopped him.

"Nico di Angelo," said the powerfully built man with the white beard, who'd been walking behind his escort of pirates. "Turn over the skull ring if you wish to live. I am prepared to forgive you, if only you relinquish Angelica to me," he said, speaking into the empty hallway, unable to locate Nico's position.

Nico shook his head disbelievingly and began to run away. Then again, he was stopped by the man's words.

"Or you could just watch your mates die," the man threatened casually, getting Nico's undivided attention. "Those here, and… those at the cheese farm."

Nico's eyes widened, and without waiting for further threats, he ran into the parlor room, where the hundreds of guests were scrambling left and right, trying to collect their possessions as they ran to the several exits, turning the doorways into clogged funnels.

Nico remained invisible, but that did not give him the power to walk through solid objects. He craned his neck to look through the windows that looked down into the front courtyard one floor below, but as hard as he pushed, he was unable to make his way through the crowd. With difficulty, he made his way towards the window, unable to reach it but close enough to see clearly, and to his horror, he saw Will and Magnus, on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs, and Fierro, his ghost, smoking and writhing underneath a net of iron threads.

Fierro, Nico spoke to his ghost through his mental link, desperately ordering her to save Will, but there was no response but for a distant screaming in his head, as if their connection were suddenly muddled by her agony and pain.

His eyes almost popping out of their sockets, his blood icy in his veins, Nico watched in horror as a man walked out of the group of pirates that surrounded his friends, and summoned a sword. They had made a circle around them, and Nico couldn't see much of what was going on, except for Will's rain-splattered face, tilted up to the sky, his eyes closed, his expression almost serene.

When his eyes fell on the man's sword, which he raised over his head, Nico let out a frenzied scream and black smoke erupted out of him, pushing the crowd away as if they had been hit by a sudden, extremely powerful gust of wind. The way cleared before him, Nico ran headfirst to the window and crashed through the glass, falling out of the second story and landing hard on his shoulder with a horrible crack.

Nico's vision swam in pain, he had dislocated his shoulder on the fall, but he crawled to the circle of men that surrounded Will. He could hear their jeering voices and every single droplet of rain distinctly falling against the stone floor. Loudest of all, he could hear the beating of Will's heart, as if they were alone in the middle of the night and his face was pressed to Will's chest. His heartbeat was so elevated Nico could hear it pummeling against his head, beating like the chest of a caged animal, and Nico got to his feet, tumbling forwards, one arm outstretched and trying to reach Will as the man's blade made a hissing sound as it slashed through the wind, directly over Will's neck.

"WILL!" Nico roared, his ring falling out of his mouth, his knees hitting the ground.

In the last few seconds of his life, Will heard Nico's voice call his name and his eyes flew open, searching for him amongst the crowd. Instead, and his eyes landed on the sword that swung his way.

But the blade never collided with his neck.

Out of nowhere, a man flew out of the crowd with his sword in hand, intercepting the blade that had been inches away from snuffing Will's life away. It was the very same man that had been following them for days on end, ever since they had left the cheese farm.

He stood before Will protectively, his legs planted wide in a combative stance, his wet, black hair splattered across his face.

Frank Zhang, gunner for Captain Percy Jackson, glanced back at Will out of the corner of his eye to make sure he was unscathed.

It was all the time Nico needed, he collected his ring and got to his feet. He ran through the crowd and pulled out the first blade he saw out of a random pirate's sash, slashing at the legs of the few men that stood in his way.

He made it to the inner circle that had formed around his friends and ran to Will, not bothering to thank the man who had saved his life.

The man who had just been about to slash Will's throat stumbled back, surprised at the sudden apparition.

"And who the hell are you, matey?" he spat, looking around in surprise at the men that Nico had slashed down.

Frank smirked, flexing his muscles. "I'm Frank Zhang, member of the crew of Captain Perseus Jackson of the Argo II, and if you wish to touch these men, you will have to go through me!" he roared.

Nico had no time to waste, though the words resonated deeply in his chest. He fumbled with the ropes around Will's wrists and set him free.

"Help Alex!" Will pleaded with Nico, "I'll do Magnus."

Nico nodded and stumbled towards his ghost, who lay on the floor, barely stirring, as smoke continued to billow out of her figure. Her dress had been burnt to ashes, and she lay there naked, soaked in rain, a wild expression on her face.

"I got you," Nico whispered, reaching for the net and flinching back in pain, as if he had touched white-hot metal.

The pirates around him watched with amusement, some of them laughing out loud.

"Captain Thunderbeard knows his legends," said one of them, cackling at the look on Nico's face. "You ain't breaking through that, matey. That net be blessed, good for catching the cursed."

More cackling came from around them, and Nico looked desperately around at Will. He had only just untied Magnus, who looked pale as death, seemingly about to pass out.

But then, Magnus's eyes fell on Alex-Fierro and his face took up on an entirely different expression – one of righteousness and anger. He got to his feet and threw himself upon Alex, perhaps expecting to be burnt by the material, but he only managed to land heavily on top of her with an oomph.

"Get them!" roared a pirate, and all around them, they began to attack.

"I'll protect Solace," roared Frank in Nico's direction. "You get the others!"

"No!" yelled Nico, blocking an attack. "I'm staying with Will!"

Will stood behind them, weaponless, his eyes on Magnus.

"Magnus, pull the net off! Pull it off now!" Will yelled.

Just before a sword collided with his back, Magnus rolled to his side, taking the net with him and off of Alex-Fierro.

Her naked body was only on display for a fraction of a second, free of the constraints of the blessed net that had so successfully trapped her, when her eyes turned blood-red, and her skin began to smoke. Magnus cowered as the blade of the pirate fell down upon him, but before it made contact with him, it was blocked by a massive, dark appendage that swatted the sword away alongside the man who wielded it, as if he had been a toy.

When he turned, Magnus saw the grotesquely enlarged form that had only seconds ago been his beloved Milady, and it kept on growing and growing until it had positively transformed into a massive African elephant.

The pirates stumbled back, horrified, and even Frank Zhang stopped fighting for a fraction of a second, doubting his own eyes.

It was all Nico could do not to punch the air.

"Destroy them," he commanded his ghost, and within seconds, the only remnants left of the former horde of pirates, were the dead bodies of those who were not quick enough to run away.

Magnus stared at the elephant with the expression of a man that had been clocked on the back of the head with a hammer.

"Wha – wha – wha…" he stammered.

Will got to his knees next to Magnus and shook him violently.

"Magnus, we will explain, but we don't have time to lose, more men will come, right Nico? Nico?"

To his surprise, Nico and Frank Zhang were facing each other, their swords pointed at each other's chests, drenched to the bone.

"Nico?" Will asked.

Nico glared at the Pirate. "You're Percy's man?" he asked.

Frank nodded curtly. "Through and through."

"Why are you here?" he asked, his sword steady on his uninjured arm.

"Orders from Captain Jackson," Frank replied. "Find William Solace. Bring him to the Argo II, safe and sound. His orders were specific. No harm is to befall this man as long as I'm alive."

"On that, we agree," said Nico.

Will looked from one to the other, afraid to speak.

"We must leave," said Frank. "There are others coming."

"Agreed," said Nico, "I will allow you to walk away, for the opportune manner in which you saved Will's life. Do not let me see your face again."

Zhang smirked. "I'm afraid I can't accept that deal. My orders were clear, William Solace comes with me. Now, if you wish to join us, Captain Jackson would more than welcome you onboard the Argo II."

In the distance, they could hear the distinct sounds of men gathering weapons.

"We must leave, now!" Frank roared, "I have procured several horses for our escape."

Will suddenly appeared at Nico's side. "Nico, we have to leave!"

Their eyes met and Nico suddenly remembered something important.

"The farm!" he gasped, looking around at Magnus. "They've got men at the farm! We have to help them!"

Magnus blinked and got to his feet.

"What do you mean… the farm? My farm!?" he yelled and began to run in the direction of the forest.

. Alex-Fierro, the African elephant took a few steps towards Magnus and grabbed him around the waist with her trunk, keeping him a few inches over the floor as he kicked and squirmed, begging to be set free.

Frank Zhang sighed and looked at Nico urgently.

"The cheese farm was an unfortunate collateral. I'm sorry about your mates, but there is nothing you can do for them now. We must leave!"

Nico could have punched him on the face. Throwing Frank a look of deepest loathing and disgust, he rounded up on Fierro, pulling Will by the wrist.

"We're riding to the cheese farm. You're not quick as an elephant, I need you in stallion form. Will and Magnus can take the other horses," he commanded, then he turned back to look at Frank.

"I agree to your terms," he said, and Frank flinched back in surprise. "I will board the Argo II, alongside Will, under two conditions. One, we go to the cheese farm now, and two, no harm must come to my mates, do you agree to my terms?"

Frank stood silently for a second, then nodded curtly, offering his hand to Nico.

"I accept," he said.

"Let that suffice," said Nico, shaking his hand.

By the time a second wave of pirates had ran out of the manor, the courtyard was empty but for the fresh, soaked bodies of their comrades. The crowd of pirates parted and let their Captain through.

Thunderbeared looked around in displeasure as he wiped the blood off his blade.

"What are you waiting for?" he roared. "Go after them! Bring me Nico di Angelo, kill the rest! And this time, do not fail!"

To his sides, Thunderbeard's closest advisors stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

"What about Octavian?" asked Ganymede.

"If he is not dead, bring him to me," he said.

"And the sage?" asked Metis.

Thunderbeard smirked.

"To the dungeons. We'll see how much he can keep from me now."