Through the Ice ― Nico di Angelo & Will Solace

―xi. will solace the human furnace

IT WAS TOO MUCH TO HOPE THE FIGHT WOULD BE EASY. 

Isaac engaged with Cal as he'd done in a million drills at camp, feigning offense to goad Cal into making the first official move. Cal fought like a Greek, but the trainers at Camp Jupiter had started to add Greek techniques into their regimes since the end of the war, so Isaac was ready.

Of course, Cal was better than Isaac had expected.

As Isaac tried to parry a blow from Cal's sword, the Boread used his brute strength to overpower Isaac, shoving his sword forcefully down to the snow. Isaac managed to keep a grip on it, but Cal kicked him square in the stomach, sending him stumbling back a handful of steps.

Cal took large steps toward Isaac, jagged sword raised in the air, but an arrow lodged itself in his thigh and made him falter. "Ow!" he shouted, sounding more offended than truly hurt. "Bad arrow!"

"Isaac, you good?" Will yelled from his vantage point by the tree line.

"Yeah," Isaac managed around a cough as he tried to catch his breath.

Cal attacked again, but Isaac feigned to the right and dodged toward the left. As Cal recovered, Isaac jabbed his gladius in the direction of his torso just barely missing from impaling the Boread and instead just grazing his side. Golden blood stained his hockey jersey.

Cal roared at the sight. "My jersey!"

He struck with renewed effort, and Isaac was quick enough to use his opponent's outrage to his advantage, dodging under one blow and jamming his sword forward again, this time managing to cut his other side more deeply—though it was still far from a killing blow.

Isaac decided to leave honor at the door and play dirty, kicking Cal right in his fresh wound and knocking him off-balance, though the damn Boread refused to fall. Isaac brought his sword up and around in an arc—a Greek technique he had nearly perfected by now—and would have landed a decent blow if not for a blast of snow hitting him straight in the eyes.

Isaac stumbled, temporarily blinded by the snow. Nearby, Nico blurted out a startled shout that made Isaac wonder if he'd gotten the same treatment.

"They're Boreads!" Will called to them. "They can control the snow!"

"Really?" Nico shouted back, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Didn't notice!" 

"Find the flower!" Isaac yelled at Will, blinking snow out of his eyes. "We'll keep them distracted!"

"On it!"

Isaac brought his sword up to block a strike seconds before it would have hit him, forcing his blade up and to the side to force Cal's sword to slide noisily off the blade of Isaac's own. As soon as they were disengaged, Isaac side-stepped to the right and momentarily out of Cal's reach, breathing heavily.

"Isaac, on your left!" Nico shouted. "Switch!"

Isaac didn't hesitate, diving to his left and somersaulting into a fight with Zethes, slashing at his torso the second he was in reach.

"You—little—pests!" Zethes shouted, aiming a blow down toward Isaac's head. Isaac twisted out of the blade's path, but Zethes was quick. Before Isaac could use the missed attack to his advantage, Zethes was bringing his sword back up in an arc and managing to slice the back of Isaac's forearm.

As blood dripped onto the snow, it felt as if ice was creeping into the open wound. Zethes tried to land another blow, but Isaac moved fast enough to dodge and slash at his opponent, giving him a matching cut in the side with his brother.

Zethes growled in obvious frustration. "That is it!" he shouted. "You do not deserve the honor of death by sword! I will dispose of you as befits an enemy of Boreas!"