Master of Death

Act 2 - Chapter 8

Life watched as Nico di Angelo came to face him with Jason Grace. They wanted the scepter that he had. Of course, he would give his angel the scepter. He wanted to have a bit of fun first, however. He was a bit disgruntled about Grace being there, but it wouldn't be hard to keep him out of the way.

Life kept himself invisible for the moment, though he had taken a fifteen-year-old form to match his most recent infatuation. It would be no fun if he showed himself right away.

When Nico entered, Life smiled. He had had many lovers over the years, but Nico was special. It didn't matter what Life threw at him, he never broke. He changed, adapting to each new challenge with relative ease.

Grace entered just behind him and Life's smile fell. He debated how to keep the boy from interfering before just putting up a wall of energy between them. He watched as Grace frowned when he hit the wall and tried to slash at it with his gladius to no avail.

"Lord Eros?" Nico called, eyeing the wall apprehensively. He didn't try to get through it, obviously knowing that it wouldn't falter.

Eros stood directly behind Nico and whispered in his ear,  "Yes, Angel?"

He smirked as Nico whirled around. "Where are you?"

"Ah, ah," Life tutted when he saw that Nico had begun to unsheathe his xiphos by discretely twisting his ring. He snapped his fingers and Nico's weapons appeared on the other side of the wall. "Don't start a fight you can finish, Love."

Nico's eyes widened in alarm when he felt his weapons disappear. He calmed only slightly when he realized Life had left him with his torque.

Grace couldn't hear what they were saying and had trouble seeing through the energy, but he gestured for Nico to explain why they were there.

"Uh, Lord Eros, we're here for the—"

"Scepter, yes, I know," Life said dismissively as he circled Nico. "Diocletian's Scepter. A very powerful weapon."

Nico glared at the ground. "Why did you separate us?"

Life smirked and ran his hand across Nico's shoulders as he walked behind him. "Can't have Grace interrupting us, now can I?"

Nico stiffened at the touch but didn't move. "What do you want from me?"

Life paused at the question before deciding to pretend he hadn't asked and see how far he could go before his angel stopped him. He brushed his hair out of his face and, when Nico immediately bowed his head, asked, "Why do you hide your face, Angel?"

Nico shrugged and said, "It scares people."

Life tilted his head up so he could see his face. His eyes were dark and full of pain, showing his mental scars to anyone who knew how to look. His skin was as pale as a ghost, which was only made to seem even paler by his pitch black hair. His features were unnaturally sharp and it was painfully clear that he had been starved very recently and hadn't eaten well since.

Life supposed that some might find him unnerving, but he couldn't understand why that was cause for hiding the beauty that Life could see. The pain in his eyes showed his strength. His pale skin showed his acceptance of darkness, both literal and figurative. His sharp features and thin frame showed his courage and determination. He was the most beautiful person Life had ever laid eyes on.

He was dangerous, there was no doubting that. Even despite his thin build and young age, it only took one glance to know that he could kill a god. It wasn't his appearance, it was the aura he emitted. An aura of death and danger. A mortal might call it a "vibe" or a "bad feeling."

Despite the danger, Life couldn't help himself from getting lost in the pure beauty that was Nico di Angelo. For the second time in his existence, he felt bad for messing with a life. The first was when he allowed Death to take Hyacinthus, having been eager to know how his lover would handle the loss. The heartbreak on Apollo's face was what got to him. Apollo was such a pure and beautiful soul and cared so deeply that, after his lover was gone, he refused to get so close to another mortal again.