Percy Jackson One-shots

An Oath to Keep (Solangelo)

A/N: Character Death

XxxX

"Nico, how many times do I have to tell you? You're going to fade away, dissolve into vapor to a point I won't be able to bring you back!" 

I left him standing in the infirmary and I shadow-traveled to my cabin. I was in a shadow coma for two weeks and woke to find Will crying his eyes out on my bed. 

When he saw me sitting up, blinking at him, he threw his arms around me and kissed me for the first time and I kissed him back, finally grounded, fully inside myself. We broke apart, leaning forehead to forehead, one of his arms around my back, the other cradling my head, and his words washed over me like a healing balm, like sunshine. "I love you, Nico. Please stay. I couldn't … To think I almost lost you … If you hadn't …"

I stroked his cheek and made a vow. "I'll stay. I promise."

"Really?" He pulled back, grimacing at his stiff back, one eyebrow raised as if he didn't quite buy it. 

And I said the words that haunt me now. "I swear it on the River Styx."

His smile made me think it was worth it. Ear to ear, his inner radiance shone through. "I'll hold you to that, death boy. Come on, you need to eat."

XxxX

How many times did he remind me of my oath in the following year? Exactly zero. The closer Will and I got, the more I realized he could read me. He didn't need to remind me not to abuse my powers, I reminded myself, and him (more frequently than I like to admit).

We spent the year growing together. I learned how to assist more directly in the infirmary, even how to set a broken bone, to recognize an allergic reaction, and how to use my power over people's dreams to buy the healers some extra time in an emergency. 

Will, in turn, took up sword training and finally, finally figured out how to get over his hang-up with archery. I remember the first time he hit the bullseye on purpose, the way it seemed like a film lifted from his eyes and he could see past the mental block he'd developed years ago. 

XxxX

I kick myself for encouraging him now. How could I have done it? He's not a fighter; he's not a killer. He's a healer and there's nothing wrong with that. It's too late for regrets now. My heart leaps in my chest as we duck behind a tree trunk, narrowly avoiding being hit by shrapnel when the medical van explodes. 

Will takes a couple of deep breaths, finding his center. I'm already calm, collected, strategizing. I look at him and he shakes his head, reading my intentions. I put my hands on his arms and force him to look at me, crouched low behind the tree, shrouded by its shadow. "Please, Will. This is life and death. There are only three of them left and they're regrouping at the river. If I shadow-travel, I should be able to take at least one by surprise and the one you wounded won't be hard to subdue. I can do it and make it back in no time."

He stares past me at the burning van, all the medical supplies we were delivering to camp gone up in smoke, and then he meets my gaze. I can see him thinking over my plan, searching for an alternative or weighing the risk. "Okay. Don't forget, Dracanae can sense heat patterns so be quick and don't feel safe in the shadows, and watch their tails, they can use them independently." 

I nod. I know this information already, but Will is good about refreshing my mind when I need it. I start to pull back, but he grips my coat tighter, and pulls me close. "Kiss, for good luck?" 

He doesn't answer with words. 

I fade into the shadow of the tree, my lips tingling and a desperate yearning to have this finished fast so we can get on with our mission. 

I spot the snake women beside the river as I expected. They're hastily pulling out the ingredients for another one of their bombs, crushing them with a large mortar and pestle, murmuring a spell as they go. 

It's now or never. I swing my blade in an arc at the same moment I step out of the shadow, and the Dracanae holding the bowl crumbles into dust. I take another step, and bring my sword up, leaping to the right to avoid getting swept by a serpent tail and slash her head clean from her neck. I breathe heavily, monster dust clogging my nose. The wounded one … I sweep the area with my eyes … is not here.

And then I hear it, a sound that stops my heart, freezes me in my tracks. A cry of pain from a voice that … My blood boils, my eyeballs throbbing, and I fade into the shadows and reappear in time to slash the third to ribbons of yellow smoke. I turn, my shoes slipping in the wet leaves, and run to Will. 

He's down. I drop to my knees beside him, all the training I've had racing through my mind, keeping my body calm, even as my mind screams. 

I pull his shoulders into my lap, cradling his head, and he looks up at me. "Where are you hurt?" My throat feels like I'm choking. He opens his mouth to say something and blood dribbles out. I feel Thanatos breathing down the back of my neck. "No. Nonononono. Not yet, not here." 

His blue eyes look up at me as though seeing through a fog. I start to chant, to reach out to him, to put him into a deep sleep, perhaps deep enough death won't be able to find him and I'll have a chance to treat his wound, but he shakes his head ever so slightly, his mouth forming a word that comes out as a gurgle. "Pro-mise?" 

My eyes burn as my tears come. How dare he bring that up now? Now? "No, please, please, don't leave me!" Sobs bubble up from my chest, racking my body, my bones, but I won't look away, can't, and then the light leaves his eyes. I hear his soul pass into Thanatos's embrace like the snuffing of a candle, and then they're gone with the whisper of death's cloak. 

And the bloody promise, the oath. I can't follow him. Instead I curl around his body, soaking up the last of his warmth and cry until I have no tears left. 

It takes a very long time.