P.J and the Prison of the Gods ( Book #1 : ✓ )

Collision

Due to the various death threats, I've decided to leave Nico's fate up to Percy's skills as a surgeon. Okay let's get on with this story, it's taking longer than my wife in the bathroom (Oh, wait. I'm not married. Hmm. Then who keeps using my shampoo? Was it you Scruffy? Huh?).

I slid my knife into Nico's open wound. He let out a muffled scream but otherwise took it fine. I took tiny, precise slices, opening up the wound as I searched for the shrapnel. With each cut, Nico screamed in agony.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I don't have much to work with."

"Aw fuck!" he screamed.

When I finally found the shrapnel, I caught my breath. Nico managed to look up at me.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"The shrapnel's lodged in your aorta. I could pull it out now, but it looks barbed. Might end up just sending Stygian iron into your bloodstream. I could cut it out, but then we risk massive bleed out," I told him.

"Make the cut," he ordered.

I wasn't about to argue with a dying son of Hades with an attitude, so I made the cut.

"Shit! Dam Percy that hurts!" he yelled.

"You asked for it," I told him. And he had.

I slowly pulled the shard out. It was about two inches long and covered in blood. Nico grunted, reminding me he was there. I sealed his wound, and it closed quickly enough. Nico was still unconscious. I felt his pulse. It was weak, barely-there even. An idea hit me, and I scrambled for the weapon locker. I shoved a few swords and spears aside and came out holding Zeus's master bolt. I turned back to Nico and fired the smallest lightning bolt I could manage. I must've not had very good control, because a good-sized bolt struck Nico in the chest.

Electricity coursed through him and his body went into a spasm. He suddenly gasped and sat back up. His hair was smoking, but other than that he was fine. He cracked his neck and stood back up.

"Ow," he groaned.

He felt his chest as if to reassure himself it was still there. He sighed contently once he was done making sure all of his body parts were in order.

"Not bad Percy," he told me.

"Well," I said, "I doubt Thalia would appreciate my getting you killed."

Nico laughed. "Oh really, you're bringing her into this?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," I told him. "I saw the way you were looking at her. You didn't take your eyes off her once during the whole freaking hike."

"I was watching her to make sure she didn't fall," he lied.

"I'm sure that's why," I scoffed.

"Yeah well I'm gonna need a new sword now thanks to you," Nico returned.

"Because of me? You're the one who shoved a sword into me," I reminded him. "Why'd you do that anyway?"

"Well, I can see people dying, the energy just leaves them. With you, it was the opposite. It looked like you had too much life force in you, and you were about to burst. So I figured I could use my sword to drain some of your excess energy," he explained.

"So, you purposely drained the life out of me?" I asked.

"I drained the life out of you to save your life," he said.

I huffed. Nico may be a lovesick son of Hades, but he does make a good point. Dam.

We picked up other weapons besides the bolt. My dad's trident, Hades' helm, a new sword for Nico, and a cool rapid fire crossbow to name a few.