RIPTIDE - Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, Pirate AU fanfic

56 | Greed

Percy grabs a fistful of sand and chucks it at Nico's face, but all the man does is laugh, startling Piper and the others.

Leo turns around abruptly, the knife that was in his boot now in his hand.

Nico lays slumped in the sand, his arms dead at his side. His stomach moves up and down, his breaths countering with the bellowing laughter.

"Captain..." Zhang turns around in question, the word coming out shaky.

All he does is laugh, laughing eyes and a laughing face.

"Nico?" The voice comes from the tree line. Everyone's eyes shoot to where the man stands, his pale fingers wrapped around a broken blade. Beside him is a women who Percy recognizes as Hazel.

"Hazel." Percy says her name in desperation, praying she won't become lord deaths next victim.

He glances momentarily at the sword in Octavian's hand, the hilt is cracked, making it practically useless in battle.

Octavian walks over, ignoring Leo's verbal commands and bends down next to Nico. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Nico grins, the sweat on his face dripping into his eyes. "What's happening with you?"

"I'm here with Hazel. Do you know who I am?"

Leo's gaze goes to Hazel, who has bent herself over Annabeth's body, brushing the hair from her face.

"Of course I know who you are. I worked for your father."

At that, Piper and Frank share a look.

"What about before that? Do you remember your life before?"

Nico furrows his brow in contemplation. "I remember my sister."

"What was her name?"

"Bianca."

"Tell me about Bianca."

"She was very pretty. She worked at a winery."

"What was your favorite thing about her?"

Nico doesn't say anything.

Octavian presses. "How did you know Bianca?"

"She was my sister."

"No." Octavian's voice goes gravelly and he grabs a hold of Nico's arm, squeezing until the man starts to snarl. "How do you know Bianca Di'Angelo?"

"We grew up together-"

"NO!" Octavian strikes Nico across the face. "You bastard! How do you know Bianca Di'Angelo and what did you do to her?!"

Nico's face warps into fury, annoyance, and then frustration. He starts to pout. "I don't know what you want from me."

Octavian drops his face down to Nico's, close enough to feel his breath. "I want you to leave. I want you to let him go." Octavian pauses. "You killed her didn't you?"

Nico quiets himself and stares into Octavian's eyes. Dark pupils, unrelenting and cruel.

Finally he sighs. "I skinned her like a pig and I enjoyed it. But not before I greened her gown, taking in every last bit of her beauty." Nico smiles, a grin that spreads to his ears.

Octavian leans away from him and rises. "He's been gone for quite some time."

Leo draws himself up to meet the Octavian, the steel knife still gripped in his palm. "How do you know Di'Angelo?"

Octavian doesn't meet his eyes and instead looks at Annabeth and Jason, still lain on the ground. "Like the man said, he worked for my father." Finally he looks at Leo. "Why is there blood on your face?"

"I don't..." Leo sputters. "It's a family-"

"Tradition?" Hazel cuts in, grabbing Octavian's arm. "He's likely from a family of witches similar to mine." Hazel grins. "I bet it's a curse."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Percy yells at them, baring his pointed teeth, the mist revealing them to be sharp and carnivorous in nature.

Leo is taken aback at the sudden change of character. "Percy what-"

Percy stands, the nearby river starting to churn. "They're dead and you stand here conversing as if they meant nothing to you, and ignore that their killer lies next to you in the sand." His fists are balled and shaking. He looks at Octavian. "You have it in your hand and yet you just stare."

Octavian unconsciously grips the blade tighter in his fist. "Well thanks Percy, now Nico knows."

Percy glances at Nico on the ground, the mans eyes are wide with earnest desire. He stares at the broken blade in Octavian's hand, the greed growing in his heart. "Give it to me." He whispers.

"No." Octavian replies.

"Give it to me..."

"No."

"Give it to me!!" Nico starts to thrash, his nearly dead arms being thrown by the momentum of his head. "Give it to me! Give IT TO ME!! GIVE IT TO MEEEE!!!"

"No!" Percy wretches the broken blade from Octavian's hand and backs away, distancing himself from Nico as well as Leo's knife. "None of you deserve this power, you don't know how to use it." Percy clutches the sword closer to his chest. "You're playing games with people's lives."

Octavian rolls his eyes. "It resurrects the dead, so that means we have all the time in the world. Besides, I'm the one who found it." He reaches for the blade.

Percy smacks his hand away aggressively. Octavian lowers his head, pacifying a rising anger. "Percy, what I'm saying is true, the only reason Hazel is here is because I used it on her. It works Percy, so please just give it back." Octavian puts his hand out, waiting.

Percy slowly releases his grip on the sword, extending his arm. But just before Octavian grabs it, Leo snatches it away.

"You know," Leo says, flipping the blade over to study it. "None of you would be here if it wasn't for me, including the beached whale." At that, Leo looks at Percy.

Percy's eyes widen.

Leo laughs, "My jacket is laced in elderberry, a well working resistant to the mist." Leo's eyes flit around in thought. "I had my suspicions at first, minor but consistent, but after combining with the SoulEater, I knew for sure. We were as one and I could see through his eyes." For a moment Leo quiets himself and then looks at Percy. "How does it feel to be the ruin of your people?"

🔱

Does everyone still hate Octavian? Jw.