Fire and Ice (Book 2)

Chapter 3

I watched in horrer as Ezio tried to get the Apple out of Nico's hand but it seemed useless. Nico screamed in pain as the Apple shot a beam of light in between his fingers, hitting his left eye. It seem to be ages before the Apple rolled out of his hand as he fell over. Ezio caught him as he fell, running over to him, I turned Nico onto his back and looked at his face. The skin around his left eye was red and swollen, there was also blood running down his cheek.
"Ezio." I gasped.
"Venire. We have to get to a doctor." Ezio said, picking Nico up and running up the stairs with me right behind him.
"Oh my god. Is he alright?" Fenice asked, landing on my shoulder.
"I don't know." Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I followed Ezio through town.
Ezio came to a stop in front of the doctors house, moving around him I banged on the door with my fist.
"Aiuto!"
"What do you want?" A man growled opening the door.
"Per favore, my son." I begged.
"Nico!" His eyes widen when he saw Nico unconscious in Ezio's arms.
"Entra, entra."
I held open the door as Ezio walked in.
"Put him here." The doctor said, gesturing to the bed.
Ezio placed him on the bed before coming over to me and pulling me into his arms.
"I don't know, Drago." He muttered starring at the bed.
"What happened?" The doctor asked examining Nico's eye.
"He found it." Ezio said.
"The Apple."
"Si, it did that to his eye."
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked.
"I'll need a moment. Why don't you go in the other room."
"Bene." Ezio said, leading me into the next room, sitting me down in a chair before sitting down beside me.
"I'm putting off the journey for a few days." I said, getting up and sitting down on Ezio's lap.
"This is my fault." He muttered.
"No." I said, taking his face, turning him so that he was facing me. "This is not your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself."
"It could have killed him."
"Ezio stop." I said, hugging him.
----
A few hours later the doctor came out of the room.
"How is he?" I asked shooting out of Ezio's lap.
"He's fine, awake and asking to see you but..."
"But what?" Ezio asked, coming to stand beside me.
"The eye that the beam it. It's completely gone."
"Oh my god." I gasped.
"Can we see him?"
"Yes."
Ezio and I walked past the doctor, into the room were our son was. He was laying on the bed Ezio had placed him. He smiled weakly at us before looking down ashamed. A sob escaped when I saw the bandage covering his left eye.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"It's okay, dolcezza. We're not mad." I said, crouching beside the bed taking his hand.
"We just want to know what you were doing done there?" Ezio said, coming to stand behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Okay." He said before he began telling us how he snuck into the Sanctuary and found the Apple. How it showed him images before burning him. I had to hold back sobs as he told us what had happened.
"Is my eye going to be alright? I can't see anything with it."
"Um dolcezza. Your eye it's...gone."
"What do you mean it's gone?" He asked, starting to panic. He reach out to take of the bandage but I grabbed his other hand.
"Nico, you don't what to see."
"Yes I do. I am a big boy. I can handle it."
"Nico..." I began but stopped when Ezio squeezed my shoulder.
"Go a head then." He said.
I let go of Nico's hands as he slowly got up, walking over to the mirror and began slowly unwrapping the bandage. When he unwrapped the last lare he pulled out the padding that was inside his eye. I sobbed as he gasped when we saw that his eye was truely gone.
"Why did this happen?" He asked.
"We don't know but we will find a way to help you." Ezio said walking over to him, and helping him bandage up his eye again.
"Let's go home." I said.
"What about Paris?" Nico asked as we walked into the villa. The sun was just beginning to rise.
"We'll have to delay untill you get better but your staying here." Ezio said.
"No."
"Yes and that's final, young man."
"Nico!" Claudia gasped when she spotted him. "What happened?"
Just then Xavier came into the room, holding the Apple, throwing it up in the air and caughting it.
"Ehi, what was this doing on the floor in the Sanctuary?" The Apple seemed to pulse when Xavier came closer to Nico. Scrambling back Nico hid behind my skirt. "Keep that demonic thing away from me." He growled.
"Nico, how are you doing?" Fenice asked landing on his shoulder.
"I've been better." He muttered, glaring at the Apple.
"Okay, what did I miss?"
Ezio began telling everyone what happened, when he was finished Xavier starred down at the Apple in his hand for a moment before throwing it at Ezio, who caught it out of reflects before shaking his head and throwing it back at Xavier, who squealed, dropping it.
"You're such a baby." Claudia said, walking over to it and picking it up.
"How do you know it won't do the same to you?" Mario asked.
"Because it only seems to react to Nico." She said, smirking at the men.
"So we just have to keep it away from him." Maria said.
"Yes, so what should we do with it?" I asked.
"I'll handle it." Ezio said, hesitantly taking it from Claudia, who was chuckling.
Ezio headed for the door, kissing me and then Nico's head as he passed. "Come on, Xavier. You too, Drago." He called over his shoulder.
Xavier groaned, walking after him. I'm assuming that Drago followed as well.
"Come on, let's get you to bed." I said, taking Nico's hand.
"Mother, are you disappointed in me?" Nico asked as I tucked him in.
"No, il mio dolce. I know the Apple as a serten alure."
"Okay, I love you."
"I love you too." I said, kissing his forehead.