How Did I Fall for Nico di Angelo

CHAPTER 15: AMBER

I dont remember very much from the fall. I remember Nico gripping my hand tightly as we fell, and Thetis doing the same to Josh. I watched as Josh passed out then...nothing. I only remember waking up on the bank of a river. It was made of...glass?! Nico was giving me nectar. Then we went to the river, drank liquid fire, and then...here we are. At a cliff that over looks a barren field, and beyond that, a forest of black trees.

"Um...how are we going to get all the way over there?" Thetis asked Nico. He looked down and we all did the same. There were ledges that go all the way to the bottom of the cliff. We were going to climb.

"We better start moving," Nico said and jumped down to the first ledge. Josh did the same. Then Thetis. But not me. I was deathly afraid of heights. Even talking about it made me want to cry. Nico noticed my fearful expression and reached up his hands.

"I'll catch you," he said gently. I nodded my head and counted in my head. 1..2..3!! I jumped and, as he said, Nico caught me. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"You good?" Nico asked. I nodded. It went on that way for five more ledges. Nico jumped down, followed by Thetis and Josh. Then Nico would catch me. It went wrong on the very last ledge. The one that I was jumping off of to reach the ground. Nico was positioned to catch me.

"Last one," I said to myself. I once again counted in my head and jumped. But I didn't feel the ground underneath me. Instead, I felt talons sink into my shoulders and begin to carry me away. I screamed in pain and felt blood coming out of my shoulders. I heard Nico and Josh yelling, then heard a whoosh and a shriek. The thing that was carrying dropped me and I began to fall to the ground.

"Josh!" Nico yelled. I then stopped falling. I looked down to see that I was still in the air, but Josh stopped my fall. He began to lower me slowly, and as soon as I touched the ground, I ran over and hugged him.

"Thank you," I said as I pulled away. Nico ran up and hugged me. Thetis just stood around and tried not to stare. Tried.

"Let's keep moving," I said and began to walk along the fields of absolute nothingness. Nico, Josh,and Thetis all followed close behind.

"That was a gryphon," Nico said trying to break the awkward silence. I nodded my head as Nico grabbed my shoulder, trying to turn me around. I winced in pain and he pulled his hand away. I turned to see him grabbing out ambrosia and handing it to me. I gladly took it from him and began to nibble it. It tasted like the kettle corn my mom would make for movie nights when I was younger. The memory made me frown.

"Thanks," I said and began to walk again. Nico grabbed my hand and walked up next to me. I gripped his hand tighter and he squeezed my hand in return.

After about twenty minutes of silence, we reached the forest. Nico pulled out his sword, as did I. Josh pulled off both dog tags, turning them both into swords. He handed one to Thetis and got into position to attack. We heard a screech and whipped our heads to that direction.

'And so we meet again, Nico di Angelo,' said a voice in my head. I turned in a complete circle to see that we were surrounded. Well, shit.

"And the pleasure is none at all mine," Nico said back venomously. The demons in front of us...arai. It was obvious. Now, the curse part was the bad one. How many would I have? I sure didn't want to find out.

One lunged at me and I hit it, turning it to golden dust. I then collapsed, clutching my stomach. It felt as though the fire water was catching fire again. Nico rushed to my aid, still aware of the many demons.

'Ahh. The darling girl has gotten quite a curse. From Kronos himself. He cursed any child of the Big Three to experience pain in the most horrible way they can imagine.' I stood up, dispite the horrible sensation in my stomach. It felt like a knife twisting in a wound, slowly. It was horrible but I got into position to fight, back to back with Nico. He got back into position. That's when all Hades broke loose.

One lunged at Thetis but Josh slashed it, turning it to golden dust. He then fell to the ground, clutching his blood soaked side.

'That's for the Sphinx. You inflicted it much pain. It cursed you to feel it's pain.' An arai lunged at Josh but Thetis killed it. She seemed completely fine at first but then collapsed to the ground blood coming from a wound on her head. She was a child of the Big Three, so she must be living though her idea of pain. But how come I wasn't bleeding? I looked down and my shirt was soaked in blood. So I was bleeding, that just left Nico unharmed.

One lunged at Thetis and Nico at the same time, but Josh and I killed them. Josh didn't feel anything but I, on the other hand, felt extreme pain in my shoulders. It felt as though the gryphon was piercing them with it's talon once more, except a hundred times worse. I was fazed for only a few seconds, but an arai took those seconds as a chance to strike me. Nico killed it, immediately stopping and collapsing on the ground. He contorted in pain as Josh and Thetis continued to kill the demons.

"Nico," I whispered to nothing in particular. He was still on the ground, curled in the fetal position, screaming in pain. I watched helplessly as more arai closed in. Only four were left, so I killed two, only recieving one curse, although it was horrible. I looked at myself and saw that I was gone. I was still there in spirit, but I was physically not there.

Thetis and Josh killed the last two arai just as Nico stopped screaming and laid on the ground, gasping for breath. When he began to breathe normally, his eyes darted around the area we were in. His eyes rested on me, and he looked like he was gonna cry.

'Ah, yes. The young one has recieved the curse of Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife. You are no longer existant. And everyone will remember you, and mourn.' said a disembodied voice. Thetis looked at me too but Josh just looked around confused. I was extremely confused. Why is it that only the children of Hades- oh no. I...I'm only a spirit now. Not alive. I'm basically dead.

"No..," Nico whispered. He took his sword and hit the ground with the sword, summoning skeleton warriors. He conversed with them briefly, and they handed him a vial. They dispersed and he held out the vial, in my direction. I hesitated before grabbing it. Would I be able to lift real things as a spirit? I apparently could as I grabbed the vial, opened it, drank it. I slowly began to reform, and got very light headed. As soon as I became solid, Nico pulled me into a tight hug, as if I would disappear if he let go.

"Okay," I said raspily. "Let's keep going. I'm tired of stopping." Nico nodded and grabbed my hand. We started walking in silence. I used this chance to think about everything that is happening to me. I was claimed by Poseidon, chosen for a quest, died, and came back all in the last week. Pretty eventful, if I do say so myself. Nico suddenly stopped in front of me, making me bump into him.

"What the-" he cut me off by shushing me. I stopped talking and pulled out my sword. I looked in front of me and saw what looked like a wall of darkness. I mean, it was pretty dark in Tartarus but this...it was pitch black. As soon as we stepped into it, you could feel nothing but coldness and darkness surround you. The only thing keeping the space lit up was a torch, about two hundred feet in front of us. We slowly made our way towards it.

"What is that?" I whispered to Nico. He shrugged. I reached out my hand and touched it. As soon as I did, I felt the darkness take me over as I blacked out.

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Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I know it isn't too long but I'm probably gonna have a big chapter tomorrow afternoon. And sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger but, hey. That's what great author's do (Rick Riordan). And remember, Everybody Loves Mango is on every Friday night at eight on the Palm Tree channel.

Nico smooches and back rubs,

M. Leigh