Death Angel

Chapter Eleven

Nico walked along the edge of the Phlegethon, the heat blistering his skin. Every now and then he would stop and take a small drink, the fiery water scorching his throat.

The strange bubbles and veins that lined the pathway made squelching noises. Every now and then, Nico would come across a particularly nasty monster. Then he would stab the pulsating blister and send the monster to reform in another part of Tartarus.

A low snarl made him spin around. Behind him, a trio of gryphons had managed to sneak up on him. They pounced, and Nico raised his sword.

He sliced off the wings of one of them, sending it into the river. He stabbed the other through the heart, and it dissolved. Then the last monster let out an angry screech, and it raked its claws at Nico's head. The ghost king ducked out of the way, slashing open its stomach and cutting off the creatures head.

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Black spots danced at the edge of Nico's vision. He rested a hand on his pocket, where he knew that the bag of pomegranate seeds was. The son of Hades didn't need them quite yet, but something told him that he would soon.

The air rippled, and a roar echoed through the rocky valley that he had chosen to walk in. Something above him was angry, and Nico didn't want to stick around and find out what.

The ghost king stepped into a shadow beneath a stony crag as a shape wheeled and circled in the sky above him. There was a thumping sound, and Nico pressed his back against the cliff as whatever it was started to pace the valley.

There was another sound, and the monster lifted back up into the sky. Nico breathed a small sigh of relief. He mentally thanked the gods that it hadn't noticed him on its quest for prey.

But before he could leave the rock, something beside him scuttled.

Nico spun around, and lept from the crevice when a monster scorpion crawled out from his hiding place. It tried to stab him, and Nico rolled out of the way.

The son of Hades tried to stab the monster's back, but the sword just skidded off. The scorpion lashed out with its tail, and Nico jumped backwards.

For a while, it was just the monster trying to kill him while Nico dodged. Finally, he managed to strike it on a weak spot in the armor. It burst into goop and dust, and Nico continued on.

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There was pain leeching through ever single pore in Nico's body. The monsters around him laughed, and something grabbed his arms. Claws dug into his wrists, and Nico tried to pull away.

"What do you think you're doing, son of death?" A hissing voice whispered in his ear. "We are many, and you are one. Do you really think that you will survive?"

"Tammi!" Someone else called. "Stop toying with your prey. The earth mother needs him alive, for now."

"But Serephone-"

"No buts. Bring him to the twins."

And that was all Nico heard before he lost consciousness.

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Nico woke up screaming.

The walls, floor, and bed that he was in were all pure white. The smell of anesthetic covered every surface, and everything sparkled like it was new.

He was in an infirmary.

It wasn't exactly new. Sometimes Will would make him help out, even though he usually messed up in some way. And if he did to much "dead kid stuff," sometimes he would pass out.

What Nico wasn't used to was the Avengers all staring at him.

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"Are you..." Barton paused. "Okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? And why am I in the infirmary?"

"Something happened. We don't know what," Banner replied. "But you fell unconscious, and you started twitching and screaming. We brought you back, and Fury said to give you this when you woke up."

He held out something that looked like a lemon square. Nico took it and broke off a corner. Sticking it in his mouth, the demigod savored the taste of the blue cake from Percy's sixteenth birthday.

A tingle spread through his body, and warmth replaced the pain as his wounds started to heal. Banner's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What is that stuff?"

"Ambrosia. Part of a demigod's basic supplies. I have some in my bag in my room."

"I want some!" Stark reached for it excitedly. Nico held it out of reach.

"No. If a mortal eats it, they'll be burned up. The same goes for any demigod that eats too much of it. That can be hard, because it tastes like something you love or what you consider home."

"What does it taste like for you?" Steve asked.

Nico looked away and didn't answer. He may not have had a crush on Percy any more, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still embarrassing for the ambrosia to taste like the first birthday cake that he had ever had.

Banner coughed. "That's off topic. Nico, what happened? Back there and..."

He gestured to the son of Hades. Nico looked down. For the first time, he realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Scars, old and new, crisscrossed his skin. Burns, gunshots (he'd trespassed on quite a few trigger-happy mortal properties), stab wounds, slashs, claw marks, bites, and the occasional arrow injury decorated Nico's ribs.

Oh, the things that I could tell you about these, Nico thought. But outwardly he said, "Just normal monster fighting. It's nothing compared to someone like Percy, Annabeth, or Reyna. And earlier, well..."

He hesitated. Nico wasn't really sure what had happened. "I think that it was a nightmare mixed with a flashback."

Stark whistled. "What kind of flashback must you have been having to scream like that?"

"You have no idea," Nico muttered.

He hadn't meant for them to hear. But they did, and the Avengers looked at each other. Romanoff spoke first. "What do you mean?"

Tartarus. The Second Giant War. The Second Titan War. Bianca dying. Finding Hazel. Percy falling into Tartarus. Eros and Jason. Leo dying and then coming back to life. Atlas escaping.

"Nothing in particular."