The Angel of Death

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The next day was warm and sunny, and I woke to Hazel's empty bed and someone knocking loudly on the door. I groaned, stuffing my head under a pillow.

"Nico, I know you're in there, get your butt out of bed before I send Hazel in there!" It was Leo. He and I hadn't known each other very long, but I considered us friendly enough, if just for the fact that he was a very persistent person. But I liked him. He didn't mind my silence, he could talk enough for the both of us.

I sighed, rolling out of bed and pulling on my discarded shirt from last night, padding across the cold floor to the door. Leo stood beaming on the other side. "Dude, there you are! Reyna's here, and we're all going to the beach! Get your stuff and come down!" He ran off, in the direction of the lake, wearing trunks and a white t-shirt.

Before, I would have avoided the beach at all costs, hating the sun and sand and water and pretty much everything about it. But now, I was kind of almost excited to go. Seeing Reyna again would be an added bonus, too.

...↞⇹↠...

I was the last to arrive, dressed in bright red swim trunks and a smoky-grey tank top. The ankle brace was water-proof, and light-weight enough that I could wear it in the water. Everyone was sitting on the sand, close to the edge of the water, a large red-and-white plaid blanket underneath them, a wicker basket set to the side.

Guess we were going for the stereotypical approach. "Hey, guys," I said, plopping down between Reyna and Hazel. Reyna leaned in to give me a side-hug, squeezing my shoulders.

"It is good to see you again, frater meus."

"Good to see you too, mia sorella. It's been a while." She smiled softly, but our moment was interrupted by Percy squealing.

"You got tattoos?! I want tattoos!" He turned to Annabeth, making puppy eyes.

"Percy, no. I will break up with you if you get any tattoos." Despite Annabeth's words, she was grinning fondly at her boyfriend.

"Can you show us?" Asked Piper, who was waving Jason, Frank and Will over from the water. They came running over to us, shaking water off themselves, laughing.

"I guess," I said. I held out my arm, the one sleeved in ink. "These are purple oleander flowers. They were my mom's favourite. She met Hades in a graveyard, and he commented on the sketch she was making, of a tomb covered in purple oleander. I got the tattoo done in the same town they met."

"Oh my Gods," Piper squealed. "That's so sweet! What did Hades think of it?" I smiled a little. "I think he liked it. Persephone likes it too." I grimaced. "She thinks I got it for her. I haven't told her otherwise."

"This one is for Bianca, I guess it's pretty clear. Then the SPQR one, although I'm not sure if it counts, since it's technically more of a brand but whatever." I pulled my collar down, exposing the writing. "This one I had done half in Ravenna and half in Athens. You can't read it without someone who knows both ancient Greek and Roman, which I thought was kinda symbolic. You know, like the whole two-camps-coming-together-to-save-the-world thing."

" 'I fly on my own wings'," Jason read, squinting at the letters. " 'But I do not fly alone'." Annabeth finished. "Nico, that's incredible."

"Thanks. This one," I turned my calf so they could see the pomegranate one, "was done in China, mostly just because I thought the style looked cool, but I also thought it would be funny to have the food of the Underworld tattooed. It kind of was."

"What's this one?" Hazel asked, tapping my ankle, where the lines of silver Italian lay.

"That one... is actually kind of personal," I murmured. "When I first left, I wasn't... really in the best place. So I had that done, before I left the States." I didn't tell them what it meant.

"And the one on your back?" Will asked, seamlessly changing the topic. I smiled again.

"That one is my favourite," I said, turning and pulling my top over my head so they could see. There were impressed noises all around. "This one was actually a gift from Hades, for all those missed birthdays or something." It was also much more than just a tattoo, but I wasn't really up for going into details. I just wanted to have fun with everyone.

Past Nico would be gagging at me right now, but call me sentimental. I missed these guys. While everyone started talking about what to do, I leaned over to Hazel and whispered "Hey, I've got an idea. You up for pranking Percy?" Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Always."

I told her my plan and she said she would pass it on. Jason was definitely up for it, agreeing to play his part, which would end up being the cherry on top.

I stood up, and before anyone could suggest anything else, I looked at Percy. "I challenge you to a breath-holding contest."

He blinked at me, then looked around at everyone else, who were waiting for his answer. "You do know I can literally breathe underwater, right?" He asked. I nodded. "I know. I just want to see who can last longer."

He shook his head, pushing himself off the ground. "Alright. But if you drown, it's not my fault. You signed up for this!" He followed me into the water, and we both hung on to the edge of the pier, where Reyna stood.

"Here are the rules," she said. "You must be within arm's reach of the pier, no sabotaging each other, and the first person above water loses. On your marks, get set, GO!"

The contest lasted for about five minutes. After the first minute, Percy stopped looking so smug. I was using shadow-breathing, pulling from the shade under the trees by the edge of the sand, and every few seconds, a stream of bubbles issued from my nose.

When five minutes had passed, Percy finally had enough, and broke the surface, me following a second later. "How did you do that?!" He demanded, as we waded back to the shore. Everyone was struggling to hold back laughter.

"What do you mean? I've always been able to breathe underwater. You didn't know?" I was struggling to keep my face straight. Percy wheeled around, looking at Annabeth. "Is that true? How did he do that?"

Annabeth swallowed to hold herself together, before saying "Well, I've read that because the big three are all siblings, closer related to each other than the other Gods, that their children can sometimes share traits. I'm pretty sure that's why Nico can breathe underwater, like you."

Percy was gaping like a fish as he turned to Jason. "Is this- can you do that too?" Jason laughed, shaking his head. Then he held his hand out, fingers exaggeratedly clawed, and I twitched my fingers, making the shadow he was reaching towards shift, then form itself into a rude gesture.

Percy was looking between me and Jason. "So does this mean I can fly?!" He shouted, still incredibly confused.

...↞⇹↠...

We spent the whole day at the lake, nearly. Calypso and Leo had left early, and Frank, Hazel and Reyna had left, too, to get ready to return to camp Jupiter after dinner. It ended up just being me, Will, Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Piper. The sun was just beginning to lower, casting long shadows over everything. The girls were lying on the blanket, and Jason and Will were having some kind of serious-looking conversation sitting on the edge of the pier. Percy and I were out in the near-middle of the lake, floating lazily.

"-But when I went to stab him, he jumped out of the way, the audacity, and-" Percy was in the middle of telling me about the time he had to hold off three hellhounds in his university cafeteria. I wasn't really listening, mostly just basking in the gentle movement of the water.

Percy cut off suddenly, pushing himself upright, alert. "Percy?" I asked, looking around. "What's going on?" He shook his head.

"I don't know. It's like there's something in the water. I can't tell what it is, but it's big. It shouldn't be here." His eyes were flicking all over the surface of the lake water nervously. I couldn't see anything. "Let's head back. It's almost dinner anyways," I suggested. He nodded, still looking apprehensive.

We only made it halfway back.

Oooo cliffhanger haha! I also realised the drawing of nico I made didn't actually appear when I tried to do it the first time?? so i hope it works now idk let me know. 

Fun fact: moose can dive up to twenty feet underwater, which is why one of their regular predators is the orca whale.