Chapter 23

~Nick~

I didn't have time to transform Death and Darkness. I waited until Percy was close, pivoted and kicked out with my right foot. He tripped. He was about to fall on his own sword. No matter how much I disliked the Percy Jackson, I knew it was only because of Nico and how he felt about him. I felt threatened by Percy. In another life we could have been friends. But why not this life? I flicked my wrist. Riptide flew off and impaled itself in the ground a few feet away.

Percy was not himself. I knew I had to help him, but Nyx hadn't exactly taught me how to deal with Shadows. They weren't exactly Greek or Roman for that matter. Maybe she didn't know how. I quickly thought back over everything I had read, everything I had been taught. Here goes nothing.

"Percy this isn't you. Fight this!"

He snarled dragging himself to his feet once again. He was hardly Percy anymore. He was an animal and the spirit in control was angry, chaotic and malevolent. He threw himself at me. I thrust out my hand and squeezed. He stopped comically. Panic overcoming his features. Good, shadows didn't feel panic. It wouldn't know how to control him in this state of mind. He clawed helplessly at his throat. I denied him air and soon the shadow would be malleable enough to exorcise. The problem with this plan was not killing Percy in the process.

"Think of Annabeth, Percy," I said quickly, frantically. "Think of Camp Half-blood. You are the Savior of Olympus, defeater of Kronos. Not a murderer."

His face began to lose his anger and panic. Lack of oxygen was forcing his body to shut down. I walked forward, placing my hand on Percy's forehead. I felt for the shadow that was housed within. I could feel it's presence like a disease or corruption. It begged to live and breathe…and kill. It needed a body to stay in our world and Percy's mind was easy to take over. His confusion about his sexuality fueled the ease at which the possession had been possible. I forced the shade out. Moving the shadows just like creating a shield or shadow traveling. I forced it to bend to my will. I was the Son of Night, controller of shadows. I would not be denied.

Finally it loomed out of Percy's mouth and I released my mental grip on his throat. He dropped to the ground sucking in air. Coughing and choking while life surged into him once again.

The shade's eyes were red and hungry. It screeched telepathically. Percy clutched his head moaning. I dropped to one knee as pain lanced through my mind. The shadow surged forward, flying into me. Unimaginable pain and delight flowed through my body. I fought against the shadow's will. I would not submit this…demon. I frantically clung to thoughts of myself and who I was. I loved Nico. I was on a mission to get him back. A memory tickled the edge of my mind. What was an action that would deny the shadow existence in my body? An act of pure defiance or selflessness. There was no way to be selfless in this situation. How could I be even more defiant to the creature than I already was?

"Nyx," I whispered, praying to my mother for help. Salvation. The shadow hissed and my body echoed its demand. It did not like I had invoked Nyx and in her realm no less.

My son. Nyx whispered in my mind. A blazing rune of blood flared in my mind. It was an eye, but looked odd. Not Greek or Roman. No…it was Egyptian. Just like the style of fighting I sometimes employed. Nothing threw monsters, demons, gods, or even demi-gods off more than a technique they had not faced before. And ancient tactics were even better (and more infuriating) than new ones. Greeks and Romans alike had modeled their religion, their ideas and civilizations on the greatest one of all time: Egypt. At least on Earth. It was an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection. A ward against evil. It was only now, close to losing every part of myself did I realize why Nyx had taught me so many concepts spanning not only before Greece but after as well. It was all connected. We were all connected.

I forced my body to respond to my will and not the demons. I could see Percy several feet away staring at me in shock and fear. He wasn't sure what to do. With a will I wasn't sure I possessed I tapped my bracelet and it dropped to the ground as Death: my left black obsidian sai inlaid with magical diamonds.

I gripped it up quickly before the demon or sheer common sense deterred me from what I needed to do. I pushed up my hoodie seeing all the cuts I had inflicted on my arms, seeing all the scars from cuts long since healed. Ambrosia didn't work on self-inflicted wounds. I had learned that long ago. I slashed the symbol of an eye in my arm and blood rose to the surface. A bloody eye looked back at me. It flashed black and then white. The shadow within in me screamed and as such a scream was ripped from own throat. The shadow was literally burning up inside me. As white piercing light flooded my being. Finally, after the shadow had been burned from existence and I was on facing my limit when it came to endurance. I mercifully began to lose consciousness. The last thing I saw was the empty void of stars and space above me and those damn sea-green eyes that haunted my chances with Nico. While they were mocking me, I succumbed to the black.