Through the Burning Fires of Hell // A Nico Di Angelo Fanfiction (On Hold)

Chapter 2

Nico

Nico had been walking for hours. It was only a couple of days ago when he'd left Camp Jupiter and told Hazel that he was going to investigate. The second he'd arrived at his father's palace, he'd caught the trail of something amiss, and followed it. And then, he'd gotten sucked into a tunnel, spent hours sliding down it, landed, and now had been walking for at least an hour. 

Nico winced as he tripped on a loose rock. There was something strange about this place. Almost like heading down a. . . 

Oh, no. Those jagged rocks he passed weren't rocks, were they?

Nico braced a hand against the tunnel as the realization of where he was crashed against him, pulling him into its uncharted waters and leaving a pit of numbing horror. 

He was walking down Tartarus' throat. Those rocks had been teeth. And this tunnel . . . I have to get out of here, now, Nico thought, turning around. He tried to shadow-travel back to where he had passed the rocks, teeth, he reminded himself but banged into a wall. Emerging from the shadows, Nico stared, trying to clamp down on the suffocating terror that filled him. The path that had led him into the jaws of Hell had closed, leaving nothing but a wall of rock. He could see the outline of the jagged rocks, which had attached to other rocks that protruded from the ceiling. Tartarus' teeth, Nico shuddered. It's closed. And I'm trapped in here. Fear swept in again like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him and pull him into its waters. Nico felt like he was running out of air and there was a vase-like grip on his chest.

Damn it, Nico yelled into his brain. Fear will get you nowhere. Breath, breath. If there is a way in, there has to be a way out. Focus. He leaned against the wall of the tunnel, focusing on getting his terror under control. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, or as normal it could be when you were standing in Tartarus' mouth. Remember, your job is to locate the doors, he reminded himself. And at least you have a bag full of ambrosia and nectar. The purpose helped ease the fear away and cleared his mind.

Well, this makes my decision easier, Nico thought. He drew his sword and headed down the back down the tunnel, down into Tartarus. The air became hotter and more sulphurous as he continued, making it harder and harder to breathe. 

Time passed. A few hours later, or was it days? Nico couldn't think straight. Either way, he finally emerged from the tunnel next to a river of lava. He looked up. The sky was gray, with blood-red clouds. The sky stretched so far above that he couldn't see the ceiling, and could almost imagine this place as a different dimension than the body of Tartarus. From where he was standing, the only thing he could see was a cliff that stretched downriver for miles, and the river of lava. The Phlegethon, he remembered. He coughed. Breathing the air here was like trying to inhale jagged shards of glass and rotten eggs. He took a minute to become used to the pain and continued. "I've felt worse," he muttered to himself and took a cautious step out of the shadowy tunnel.

Nico followed the river bank downriver, but it soon became apparent that he couldn't continue much further. And, there was also the nagging thoughts at the back of his brain that kept on reminding him that he was in the body of Tartarus. 

Shut up, brain, Nico muttered to himself. He picked his way around razor-sharp stalagmites and the jagged black glass bank. Time passed, and Nico felt his body failing. The bag was also growing heavier. Breathing the air was like breathing sulphur, blisters were forming on his skin, and the glass was cutting in his feet. There was also the suffocating heat of walking next to a river of fire. 

Nico glanced back. He'd only come about a hundred metres from the tunnels, but it had felt like hours, and he was already torn up. That was also minus the monsters that were no doubt prowling the cliff above, waiting for him to go up. Tough luck, he thought. At this rate, I won't be able to climb a flight of stairs, much less a cliff. He staggered along, reminding himself that even though the horrors were already driving him insane, he had a job to do. Plus, the only way out was through the doors, and he had to get there. After a couple of minutes, Nico couldn't take it anymore. The pain from the blisters and the cuts were becoming intolerable, and his lungs felt like they were collapsing. He coughed, and blood came up, splattering the ground at his feet. Nico shook his head, trying to ignore the fact that he was breathing in Tartarus and walking across him. A couple of hours and I'm already splintering, Nico thought wryly. He collapsed on a rock, leaning against it as he tried to collect himself. Sighing, he took out a square of ambrosia and popped a piece in his mouth. Chewing it, he felt slightly better, and the blisters and cuts slowly disappeared. However, not five minutes later, the blisters and cuts were back, along with the pain. Apparently, ambrosia didn't work in Tartarus. Nectar likely wouldn't either. Nico sighed. I'm still taking this. It's better than nothing, even if it is heavy. 

Nico stared out over the fiery river rushing past and wondered if it would be that hard to just succumb to the pull of death. The constant pain he carried around with him was slowly suffocating him anyway, the waves breaking and slowly pulling him down into its dark depths. If he didn't die, the monsters would get him eventually. Maybe it would be better to just jump into the river of lava. 

No, he thought. If it's a constant battle, then so be it. But I won't, not unless I see the sun one last time. With that thought, Nico pulled himself back to his feet, ignoring the cuts on his hands from the rocks. He stumbled along, using the rocks as a handhold, slowly continuing down the riverbank. He stopped when he ran into a wall. Quite literally. A giant wall of rocks was blocking his path. Nico swept his eyes over the rocks, scanning to see if there was a way past it. There was a small opening right at the edge, close to the cliff. Nico limped up to it and peered inside. Nothing. He hesitated. He wasn't sure if this would lead him through the wall, or into a cave. There was no other way unless he wanted to swim past the blockade (which was out of the question), but entering a potential dark cave in Tartarus was more stupid than something Percy would do. If he was in good shape, he would have risked it. But now, with the acidic air, the multiple cuts marring his skin, and the near-intolerable pain, he wasn't sure if he could even lift his sword. 

Screw it, Nico thought. He took a step into the cave. Strangely, the air was instantly cooler and more breathable. Going into the cave also rejuvenated him a bit, and the bleeding cuts that had stubbornly refused to heal were slowly closing up. Something like this can't be intended to harm demigods, can it? Nico questioned himself, as he pulled his backpack from a snag on the rock and squeezed past the final boulder. 

He instantly regretted his words as he came into the circle of stones that had blocked his path.

A girl with midnight black hair, brilliant gold eyes, and black, feathery wings so dark that they shimmered stood in front of him. Her hair flowed past her waist and her skin was as pale as moonlight. She was easily the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. Nico could see the tip of her sword hilt peeking out between her wings, but that was the least of his concerns. 

The girl was emanating an aura of power, stronger than anything he'd ever felt, except for a god. He got the feeling that her power was the one that had soothed his wounds, but why?

Two ravens, each the size of an eagle swooped down, landing on the rocks behind him, effectively blocking his way back out with their cunning eyes, hooked beak, and razor-sharp talons. 

I'm dead, he thought.

The girl opened her mouth, and he caught a glimpse of silver fangs as she spoke in a midnight voice that concealed the steel beneath.

Her golden eyes pinned him in place as she spoke, "What is a demigod like you doing in the burning fires of Hell?"