Death's Son (Even After Death)

Chapter 5

Nico watched his mom sing to him and Bianca, watched her sing him to sleep in his dreams. In this new life, this seemed to be the only dream he'd ever have. His mother, his sister, happy as ever. Nightmares didn't come anymore.

In the mornings, he'd wake up with warmth flowing through his body, the body that had been cold for far too long. He'd wake up next to Will in that bottom bunk, wake up to sunlight streaming through the open window.

When Will took Almaji to school, Nico took the opportunity to walk the woods on his own. He could feel the plants and their life force, feel Pan's power still kicking. Persephone's flowers grew, Demeter's crops ripened. Despite the lousiness of the gods, there was some good that came from them.

The plants leaned toward him as he walked, roots tried growing over his feet if he stayed still too long. The air he breathed in was nice compared to Tartarus, the air kept him living despite all the blood having been emptied from him four years before. That terrible moment, the moment he died, would forever haunt him. He tried to remember how he could have lived again, but everything was fuzzy. He remembered the rain, remembered the plants around him. He remembered pretty eyes and a feeling of warmth, remembered Almaji's touch.

But not everything he remembered involved Almaji. Those hadn't been Almaji's eyes, hadn't been his feeling of warmth. It was a warmth Nico remembered but couldn't place, a warmth that felt like a lifetime ago.

The shadows still bent to his will, but he was nowhere near as powerful as he had been when he had Anubis with him. With Anubis, he had been unstoppable. Or so he had thought. But on that day, the day he had died, something that shouldn't have taken any effort swept the will right out of his bones. He had tried to attack and had gotten knocked out, something that happened if he had used too much power. But he hadn't. He had simply done something he could have done moments before. So what had changed?

Whatever it was, whatever messed with his powers, it was the reason he had died.

The forest was full of birds and animals, of scattered noises that filled the peaceful air with a halycon sense. Nymphs murmured amongst themselves, deer crept through the fallen trees, the sun poked through the holes in the canopy. All around Nico, he watched nature do its thing, the thing it had been doing for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of years.

The plants spoke to him, the flowers rustled away his fear. Except for when Will held him, Nico found the first place he was truly peaceful. He would never have imagined the woods, but his life was one roller coaster to the next.

Nico... His name was whispered in the breeze. Nico...

"Who's there?" Nico pulled his sword from his belt and held it up defensively but saw no dangers in sight. "Who said that?!"

The woods rustled and the birds chirped. How could such a peaceful place have been home to his death? And such a gruesome one at that?

After hours spent walking the trees, Nico finally headed back to the cabin area of camp. The sun was midway in the sky and the summer heat was thick in the air. With new and old campers alike, they were all buzzing for the game of Capture the Flag that night. With the borders broadened again and Percy Jackson there, it'd be a Friday night worth remembering.

"Nico!" As soon as he stepped foot out of the woods, Will Solace was in his face. "Where were you?! I thought...I thought..." Before Nico could speak, Will's head was buried in his chest. "I was scared I had lost you again..."

"Oh..." Nico moved a hand to Will's hair and stroked the blond strands. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Will. I won't do that again."

"Thank you," Will stayed buried in him but seemed to calm down. "What were you even doing?"

"Honestly?" Nico shrugged. "Walking. It's peaceful out there."

"Nico, that was where you...you..."

"I know," Nico laid his head on Will's shoulder. "I don't know why. Something with the plants."

"Maybe you're one of them now." Will joked. "You look like it."

Nico cracked a smile. "Maybe I am."

The sun shone down around them, birds chirped and the smell of strawberries was in the air. They could hear kids laughing, hear swords against swords, hear the practice of thousands of demigods. It was Camp Half-Blood, they were there, they were okay. Everything was okay.

"Nico, Will," Percy jogged up to them, breaking them out of their moment. "Grover's coming over. He said...he said he sensed something weird about Nico."

"What kind of weird?" Will asked, finally letting Nico go.

"Um...a...weird...thing..." Percy looked down. "Maybe a, I don't know, blessing of some sort..."

Nico and Will looked at each other before looking back to Percy. Will snapped in front of Percy's face, causing the son of Poseidon to look up at them. "You mean he has a blessing? From a god?"

Percy smiled sheepishly. "Grover's coming over. He needs to make sure he's sensing the right thing."