Solangelo 4

Part 41

LEO

I place my hands on Nico's chest and, despite every bone in my body trying to stop me, I set him on fire. I can see him lose control in his eyes - I can see someone else, or something else, take over.
Instantly, he grabs my arm and twists it round. I hear it break. I drop to my knees and watch helplessly as he storms to the water, still on fire.
I hobble behind him. Annabeth and Reyna help Will into the boat and they push themselves off.
I hear Will scream as he sees Nico alight. It's a deep, painful scream. He yells at me to stop. I see Reyna and Annabeth holding him back from rushing to Nico's aid.
Nico drops to his knees before he reaches the water. I know he can't take it anymore. I rush up to him and stop the fire. He gasps for breathes for a moment before pinning me to the floor and cutting off my breathing.
I clutch at his arms. Try to push him away. But he's too strong. He knows he's stronger than me. Easily. So he heads to Will again. I roll myself onto my stomach, gasping for breath. My arm aches and I can barely see straight from the pain.
I look up to see Nico half submerged in the water. He tries to swim before realising he can't. He looks to the boat, where Will is, and then back to me.
He comes back. I do my best to crawl away, but I'm no match. He lifts me up, easily, and drags me to the edge of the water.
And then he takes his dagger out from Hager ever he keeps it and hold it to my neck.
'Leo!' Annabeth yells as she sees what's about to happen.
'Nico, stop!' Will shouts, pleading. He fights against Reyna, trying to get to him, 'let me go.'
Nico presses the dagger closer to my neck. It draws a little blood. I feel my knees weaken. I'm leaning fully against Nico now, unable to stand on my own.
'He's going to kill me.' I yell, 'he's going to...he's...' I can't speak, I'm too focused on Nico. I don't want to die. I want to remember my girlfriend. I want to see her again. I don't want to die.
And then, a huge crash. I'm thrown to one side. I think I black our for a moment.
When I come back to, I see Frank returning to human form from an elephant. Nico lies, unconscious, on the floor.
I try to sit up, but I can't. I cough over and over, bringing my hand lightly to my neck. I'm still bleeding. Frank rushes over to me, checking me over. He's blurry though, and I see three of him. When he speaks it sounds distant. A loud ringing pierced my ear.
And then, all at once, I hear everything perfectly clear. I hear Will rushing over to Nico's side. He's crying, clearly desperate to check Nico's okay.
He rolls Nico onto his back, so they're face to face. And then Nico opens his eyes, and grabs Will by the shoulder.
I let out a yell as I see what's about to happen. Nico takes his dagger and plunges it into Will's stomach. Will looks down in shock. He touches his stomach tentatively, unused to his own blood.
Nico pulls the dagger out and then, he blinks. His mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He drops the dagger.
'Will.' He says, quietly, 'Will, no. No. No. No. Help him, what do I do?' He turns to me, to Frank, 'what do I do? Apply pleasure. I have to...I have to apply pressure.'
Annabeth and Reyna keep their distance. Frank and I watch as Nico presses his hands to Will's wound. Blood covers Nico's hands.
'Help me!' He yells at Annabeth and Reyna. They don't move, 'Oh my god.' He says, over and over, 'Oh my god. Oh my god. Will. Will don't. Don't. Don't do this. What did I do?'
He turns to me, and looks at me. He's sobbing. I've never seen him so emotional. He presses his forehead to Will's.
'Nico-' Annabeth tries to speak.
'No!' He yells, 'No! He's not...he's...he's not...' he gets quieter and quieter. He stares at Will. He's dead. He's clearly dead. And whether Hades has abandoned him or not, Nico is still a child of Hades; he can still sense death. He knows.
'He's not....' He says again, but he says it weakly. He doesn't believe it.
'Nico.' Reyna says, gently. Nico stands up, he takes a step back from Will's body. He wavers for a moment, and then he drops. Frank manages to catch him before he hits the ground.
It's a dismal sight. Will lying soaked in his own blood, and Nico unconscious. Annabeth is crying, covering her mouth to stop herself from making a noise. Reyna just stares ahead. She turns to me.
'Are you alright?' She asks. Her voice is monotone. She shows hardly any emotion.
'I don't know.' Is all I can say.
'Annabeth, wait with him.' She instructs. Annabeth does as she's told, 'I'll send medics down. I'll...' This is the first time I hear her voice break, 'I'll take Will up.'
She goes up to Will and lifts him up, gently. She's careful to support him. I see her lip quiver slightly, but she maintains her stoic position.
'Frank, with me.' She says. Frank follows Reyna, carrying Nico. Annabeth waits with me. It's quiet once again.