Fighting Darkness

Chapter 5

The next day was complete chaos. The Romans who escorted Reyna to camp had called for backup. All of the campers steered clear of Nico. Will was the only one who even looked at Nico. Word had spread quickly about the son of Hades who broke the bond between camps by killing the praetor. The first person who came in was Clarisse LaRue, while Will was running tests on Nico. She was wearing full battle armor, like usual, and was armed to the teeth with weapons. Again, no big surprise there. The scowl on her face wasn't new, either.

"Hey, pipsqueak. I have orders to take you to the cellar. We can make this easy or hard. Your choice. Either way, you're gonna end up in a cell." She said easily, like she was stating the weather or asking about the game last night. Will stood up, looking furious and hot at the same time.

"Who gave you these 'direct orders'?" Will asked, voice hard. He was standing in front of Nico protectively, his tall frame obscuring the son of Hades from view.

"Come on, Solace. You don't need to get involved, too. You can always find another guy to mess around with. He's temporary, and you know it." Clarisse said dangerously. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword, reminding them of who had the upper hand in the situation. Will's fists were balled and his body was rigid. He was a tense wire, about to snap.

"I don't understand what you mean." Will said through clenched teeth, taking a half step toward Clarisse. Clarisse took a step too, not ready to be outdone or showed up.

"You know exactly what I mean, Solace. I see the way you look at half of the people at camp. Anyone and everyone who has a pulse, really. You're known to sleep around, sure, but you have to be kidding me. Trying to lure this poor boy in, now? You've dated almost everyone at camp. Now some psychopath you barely know? Classy, Solace. Classy." Clarisse taunted, a smirk on her face.

Nico didn't have a chance to stop him. Clarisse couldn't act fast enough, either. Will was suddenly on top of her, his fists swinging. The son of Hades was too stunned to do anything but stare as the pair rolled around on the floor.

Was Will really using him? Was Will really a player? Their kiss both proved and disproved the fact at the same time. He was skilled at kissing, which meant that he obviously had done it before, who knows how many times. That spark that he felt, he had been sure that Will felt it, too. But now… he wasn't as sure. He wasn't sure at all. Was he just playing him? Had he really ran out of people to flirt with, and gotten desperate? He must've been pretty desperate, to choose the troubled son of Hades. Nico felt useless, discarded.

Oh, son of Hades. Who would ever pick you over someone else? You are nothing. People ignore you, you're invisible. No one notices you unless they need something. Your own sister abandoned you when something new came along. Abandoned you for people she barely knew.

The sudden voice in Nico's head startled him. He hadn't thought of those things since Tartarus, or at least, he refused to think of those things after Tartarus. Too much pain. It was Erebus.

Coward. You will never be anyone's favorite. No one loves you. You can be my favorite, Nico. Join me. We can rule the world together. We can make everybody pay for what they have done to you. Every wrong, righted. You will get finally get the revenge that you deserve. That we deserve.

That voice didn't belong in his head. It wasn't his, but it had a point. He remembered his dad warning him to stay strong. Don't let it get inside too far, or control you. Nico decided that he wasn't doing a very good job with that. It had possessed him once already, and now it was spitting horrible words into his head, planting seeds of doubt where his trees of trust used to lay. But wait, didn't Hazel love him? Hazel loved him, they were siblings, they were there for each other as long as they had known each other.