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If he was honest, Nico was a little apprehensive about this task.
Normally, when his father sent him to do something, it was a quick job. No longer than half a day. But Nico had been out here since yesterday searching for the godsdamn ghosts his father insisted he had to collect. It would usually only take a few hours to collect souls, but night was falling fast, and Nico had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
His father had sent him to some abandoned ghost town in New York; ironically, it was called Happy Valley. Well, Nico was about to happily send some ghosts back to the Underworld – as soon as he could find them.
Nico had hunted around the town for a while. It wasn’t much; most of the houses had been torn down, so there was only about twenty of them left on two separate streets. There was a little general store, too, which had unfortunately been ransacked of supplies. Nico hadn’t packed much food, not having expected to be gone so long, but he needed it now. He hadn’t slept last night, either, which made this whole ordeal worse. Every little noise had his muscles tensing and his fingers twitching for his sword.
The sun had almost dipped below the roofs of the houses opposite him, and Nico sighed. He leaned back against the wall behind him, taking a short sip from the nearly empty water bottle he’d brought. He only had two houses to go, then he’d be on his way home. Hopefully.
Nico stretched, then slipped his bag back on his shoulder and made his way over to the one of the derelict, abandoned houses that he still had left to search. He tried to door – locked. Nico pulled his sword out of its belt loop and jammed it in the lock. It broke under the duress, and Nico swung the door open.
It was dark inside. No light entered the windows, and the rooms were devoid of any furniture. Nico crept through the house, pushing doors open and casing each room. When he’d searched the whole of the bottom floor, he cautiously ascended the stairs. They were in good enough condition, but Nico was still worried about something surprising him. He soon reached the top of the staircase, and peered down the hallway. He spotted his target instantly – a ghost was floating at the end of the hallway, as though waiting for him.
“It’s time to go,” Nico said. The ghost appeared angry. Nico started towards it, but the ghost started speeding through the air towards him. Nico stayed calm and swiped through it with his sword the moment before it would’ve been upon him, and it disappeared to the Underworld.
Is that it? Nico wondered. But Father said ghosts, plural… Nico decided to search the rest of this house and the other one before leaving, just in case there were any others. Finding one ghost had encouraged him, so another 10 minutes searching the remaining areas wouldn’t kill him. The rest of the upstairs was empty, so Nico ran back down the stairs and out of the house to look in the other one.
It was completely black outside when Nico exited the house. He hadn’t packed a flashlight, but he could see in the dark better than most people because of his demigod powers, so it wasn’t a struggle.
He fumbled with the doorhandle for a minute then flung open the door, fully prepared for it to be a quick, easy search. Nico was dead tired (pun unintended), and his sleep deprivation was getting to him. All the downstairs rooms were empty, but Nico kept seeing flashes of white in the corners of his eyes and hearing strange shuffling noises. He thought it might’ve been a ghost, but they tended to more straightforward and less haunting than people thought, so Nico put it down to his extreme sleep deprivation. Gods, please let me go home after this, Nico thought exhaustedly.
He trudged up the last set of stairs, choosing to go down the right side of the hallway. He peeked into the first room in front of him to see a woman standing in the middle of it with her arms spread wide.
“Gah!” Nico stumbled back out of the room, slamming himself against the wall next to the doorway. He took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword, then turned back into the room.
The woman was right in front of his face. Nico jumped, his heart rate spiking. He brandished the sword at her, but faltered as he realized who she was. Her body looked like it was split in two, one half white as paper and one half black as the night. She was dressed in a shimmering gold cloak, and her long two-toned hair flowed down her back like water.
“Melinoe,” he breathed.
“Hello, dearest half-brother,” she said, her grin eerily wide. Nico was instantly on guard. Melinoe hadn’t been kind to him before, and he didn’t expect her to be now. But at least she was in her real form and not someone else’s – that was something? It was then that he noticed the train of ghosts behind her.
“I have to send those back,” he said, gesturing to them with his sword.
“You already sent one back. Do you really have to?” She pouted. Nico nodded.
“Father said.”
“Well, he always did dislike my night-time jaunts.”
They stood in silence for another minute or two. Nico shifted awkwardly. “So, uh, I’ll just-” He pointed at the ghosts with his sword, sucking them back into the Underworld. They wailed a bit, but in a few seconds they were gone.
Melinoe stared at him. Nico felt a deep unease stir within him. I knew this was a bad idea. Melinoe’s animosity radiated off her in waves, making Nico shiver.
“Um, I’m just gonna go-” Nico said, his voice slightly higher than usual, but as he backed out of the room he was slammed to the doorframe.
“YOU BANISHED MY GHOSTS,” Melinoe roared. Nico choked, a heavy weight pushing down on his chest. Melinoe bore down on him, her own dark blade in her hand. Nico wondered if it was Stygian Iron like his own. The pressure eased, and Nico darted into the room behind her and held his own sword out in front of him. Melinoe turned to meet his gaze.
“Father told me to!”
“They were my ghosts!”
Melinoe struck, but Nico blocked it with his own sword. She lunged again, and Nico moved to dodge, but a force threw him across the room. He crashed into the wall opposite the door, and Melinoe advanced threateningly. Nico tried to get back up, but something was holding him down.
“It’s been a while, little brother,” Melinoe murmured, slowly and deliberately placing her sword under his chin and tilting it upwards. Nico glared, but he knew Melinoe could see the terror in his eyes. She traced his jaw with the sword, then pressed harder, drawing a line in his skin up his cheek. Nico bit his lip, determined not to make a sound even as blood welled up from the stinging cut.
“You’re insufferable,” Melinoe said. She released the pressure, watching as Nico leapt to his feet and held his own sword out in front of him. The slash on his face burned like hell as Nico wiped the blood from it with his sleeve, but he had the sinking feeling that it wouldn’t be the last injury he’d suffer tonight.
“You’re a sadist,” Nico replied.
Melinoe laughed, swaying. “Perhaps.”
Nico started to slide into the shadows, hoping to sneak away, but a force gripped him again. Nico trembled as Melinoe crowded into his personal space, looming over him with her towering height. Up close, she was even more intimidating; her eyes were as black as the nightmares he suffered every night, and her smile was sharp and dangerous.
“You can’t get away,” she whispered. “You’re stuck here, for as long as I wish you to be.”
The fear really started to set in now. Horror crept under Nico’s skin, threading itself in between his muscles and digging into his bones with an icy grip. Melinoe’s grasp was tight, and Nico writhed as he tried to escape, though he knew it was futile. Melinoe watched with a mad glint in her eye, and Nico’s gaze met hers.
He pitched head-first into Tartarus. It took Nico a second to realize it wasn’t actually Tartarus, but a nightmare – another thing Melinoe was the deity of. She appeared beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, which he was physically unable to refuse.
“Remember this?” She spoke, her voice echoing strangely in his ear. Nico couldn’t turn his eyes away from the sight in front of him. It was him, but younger – when he was on his journey through Tartarus. He was facing off against Akhlys, who was moaning about how perfect he was in his grief. “She was right, you know – you used to be so tortured. Now you’re… less so.” He was thrust back to reality, where Melinoe had her sword in hand and his across the room.
“You’re not really angry about your ghosts,” Nico said quietly.
“Well, yes and no.” Melinoe hummed, dangling her sword from her fingers. Nico found he could move again, and took a small side-step towards his sword. “I came here to stir a bit of trouble. But you shouldn’t have messed with me.” Melinoe shot him a dark glare. “You send my ghosts to the Underworld, I’ll make you wish I’d done the same to you.”
Nico gulped, then lunged for his sword. He swept it up in one hand and took his eyes off Melinoe for a second, then turned to face her.
No one was there.
Fuck, Nico thought, swinging around to point his sword in the opposite direction. He spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint where Melinoe would pop up. He backed up to the exit of the room, closing the door and pressing his back to it so Melinoe would only be able to attack him from the front.
He realized his mistake as Melinoe viciously slammed the door open, throwing Nico into the wall behind it. She entered gracefully, shutting the door behind her. She smiled at him.
“Hello again,” she said pleasantly. Nico stayed still against the wall where he’d landed. Melinoe frowned and poked him with the toe of her sandal. “Well, are you going to do anything?”
Nico reviewed his options. He could try to escape and fail, or fight and endure whatever Melinoe had planned for him. He was weak, but Melinoe wouldn’t kill him, or else she already would have. “Fuck you?” He offered.
Melinoe’s expression turned dark again. If Nico wasn’t already pressed against the wall, he’d have fallen back into it. Melinoe whipped her sword out, cutting deep into his leg. Nico yelled out, not expecting her reflexes to be so fast, and pulled out his own sword to strike at her. He managed to land a hit, and Melinoe’s frown turned into a grin. Nico shot to his feet, preparing for the fight.
She attacked wildly and unpredictably, Nico able to hold his own against her. She landed a few more shallow hits on him, but the adrenaline rushing through his veins allowed him to ignore the pain and keep fighting. He struck, again and again, but no blood flowed from her skin, and her fighting only became more ferocious.
Melinoe lashed out, cutting deep into his side. Nico gasped, shock overtaking his body. Melinoe stood back, looking satisfied. Nico bent over and clutched the wound, still holding onto his sword tightly.
“Fuck off,” He growled. He heard the door opening behind him, but he didn’t pay attention to it as he threw himself back into fighting Melinoe.
She was toying with him. She easily parried his jabs, driving him back out the door and into the hallway. She pushed him back, but Nico kept fighting until she knocked him off balance then held him in place with an immovable force.
“This is getting boring,” She sighed, shaking him like a ragdoll. Nico closed his eyes, nausea welling up in his stomach. “And you’ve completed your little quest and banished my ghosts, so there’s really no reason for any of us to be here. So, I’ll let you go now.” Was she really going to let him go that easily? Nico doubted it.
Melinoe smiled at him, then lunged suddenly, stabbing him in the leg. Nico shrieked, not expecting the attack. Melinoe laughed cruelly. She let go, and Nico swayed on one leg, desperately trying to stay standing. Then Melinoe shoved him to the side.
Preoccupied with fighting, Nico hadn’t noticed that they’d been so close to the staircase. Melinoe’s push sent him flying, tumbling down the stairs and landing bruised and bloodied at the bottom.
For a moment, Nico couldn’t move. The pain was overwhelming and the breath had been knocked out of him. He managed to take a tiny, gasping breath, looking up at the staircase. Melinoe stood at the top, regal and powerful and intimidating. She waved goodbye mockingly, then disappeared. Nico just looked back at the ground and took another breath, then another, his breathing returning to normal. He muttered some not very nice things about Melinoe under his breath then tried to stand. The dizziness immediately hit him, and Nico abruptly sat back down. That was a no-go.
He reached out for his sword, which had clattered to the side when he’d been thrown down the stairs. He’d lost his backpack at some point during the fight, but he decided it wasn’t important. Mustering up all the energy he could, Nico shadow-travelled to camp.
He landed with a thud, stumbling back against a piece of furniture. He panted, looking around. He appeared to have landed in one of the cabins, but it wasn’t his own: this one was full of demigods. His vision blurred and Nico swayed, knocking several things over as he fell back against a dresser with a bang.
There was a shout, then another, but Nico couldn’t pay attention anymore. His ribs hurt like hell and something was dripping from his nose, and Nico had the bad feeling that it was blood. He dropped his sword and pressed a hand to his nose, and another one to the injury on his side. He tried to put weight on one of his legs, then fell straight to the floor. He’d forgotten he’d been stabbed in the leg.
Bright lights pierced his eyes, and Nico squeezed them shut in response. Gasps rang out, and he moaned. He just wanted to go to sleep.
A familiar voice started ordering people around. The lights were shut off, and Nico opened his eyes again to see a faint glow from a few lamps around the room. A worried face was in front of his, hands hovering over his injuries.
“Nico? Can you hear me?” Will said urgently.
“Mmm,” Nico hummed, nodding then wincing. “Hi.”
“Fuck, okay… I’m gonna pick you up, okay?”
Hands slipped under Nico’s knees and behind his back, and he was carefully lifted onto an empty bed. Someone put pressure on his leg, and Nico cried out. Bandages were wrapped around his various wounds, but Nico could barely keep track of time while the lights kept flickering. Nico closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, the room was light again.
He shifted, and was pressed back into the bed. “No, don’t move,” Will said. Nico ignored him and struggled upwards, a hand pressed over his mouth.
“Will – a trash can-” Will’s eyes widened and he quickly grabbed one, holding Nico’s hair out of the way as he threw up. When he was done, Will put the bin back on the floor, then did a double take.
“Shit, that’s blood…” Will paused for a moment, then turned back to Nico and pulled up his shirt. He was bandaged up like a mummy, but there was a deep bruising on his stomach. “Oh, shit. Kayla!”
Kayla rushed over, and paled when she saw the bruises on Nico’s stomach. “Fuck.” Nico was starting to panic, breath wheezing in and out of his chest.
“Okay, get Grace and Austin, we’re gonna have to heal him. The internal bleeding doesn’t seem too severe, but it’s obviously worsened overnight,” Will ordered.
“That’s… that’s where the blood’s s’posed to be,” Nico slurred, slumping back down as he got too dizzy to stay upright. Will ignored him, organizing his siblings and pressing his hands to Nico’s stomach.
Warmth flooded into him, and Nico coughed a couple times, but the ache in his chest had eased. He blinked, the dizziness more or less gone, and sat up again.
“Feeling better?” Will asked.
“Yeah,” Nico said, putting a hand to his face. There was a gauze bandage where Melinoe had cut him, and he quickly thought about something else. He wasn’t quite ready to think about his encounter with his half-sister yet. He noticed blood seeping through some of the bandages. “Um, is that meant to happen?”
“Oh, fuck,” Will swore again, then pursed his lips and picked Nico up. “Alright, we’re going to the infirmary, you need somewhere better medically equipped.” Nico nodded, wrapping his arms around Will’s shoulders and leaning his head on his shoulder. He was exhausted, and still recovering from the fight, but he was glad it was over.