The Demigod King; Book 2

"I Was Gone"

Jason
"No!"

"NO!"

Hermione and Ron screamed from above him as Harry's eyes went wide, the blade through his chest gleaming.

Laughing, Nico withdrew his sword as Harry fell the ground. His friends ran over to him while Jason struggled to get to his feet.

For a moment, everything was silent as the campers stared in shock at what Nico had done.

And then, with a heart shattering gasp, Percy shot up from the funeral pyre.

Campers screamed in shock as the shroud slipped off Percy's body. The demigod's eyes were wide and terrified as he stumbled, flailing off the wooden pure. No one could move. All they could do was watch as Percy's breathing came out in panicked rasps, his chest rapidly heaving.

"Percy!" Sally cried, lunging forward to catch her resurrected son as he collapsed, panicking.

"Oh my gods," Percy panted, trembling with terror. "I was—I was there. I was gone. In—in Elysium. I went to wait," he added, turning to look at Annabeth. "I went to wait for you." He gulped, pressing his hands to his chest and throat. "How?" His voice cracked.

"Me," Nico hissed darkly, stepping forward.

Percy's eyes widened. He took in where he was—the entire camp staring at him, his mother and Paul behind him, the funeral pyre and the shroud tangled around his legs. Percy cried out and scrambled away from the fabric. "No!" He yelled. "No, no, no!"

"I told you he didn't want this!" Annabeth screamed at Nico.

"Why?" Percy croaked, looking at his friend with moist eyes. "How could you do this? You know I never—I would have never—" He cut himself off, eyes catching Harry'a fallen form on the grass a few feet away. "Oh my gods, Nico, you killed Harry?"

Hermione was sobbing, pounding on Harry's chest frantically. Ron was watching in shock, frozen at Percy's resurrection and his best friend's death.

"Harry, Harry!" Hermione cried, pressing down over his heart. She breathed air into his lungs desperately, trying to awaken her dead friend. The wizard lay unmoving, his body jerking with Hermione's fruitless efforts. Ron, who was shaking with grief, pulled her away, wrapping his arms around the witch.

"What is wrong with you, Nico?" Hazel demanded, looking crushed. Jason understood how she felt. Nico, Nico had just killed an innocent mortal. Sure, Harry has been annoying at time and had a bad habit of being insensitive to other people's feelings, but he didn't deserve to die.

The son of Hades merely laughed. "I am more alive than ever, daughter of Pluto. And for the last time, I am not Nico di Angelo."

Jason stilled. Suddenly it all made sense. Nico's cruel behavior, why it had seemed too easy to take Percy down...

"Ouranos," Annabeth gasped.

Nico nodded, grinning maniacally. "I said you couldn't kill me, did I not?" He yelled, spamming his arms wide as he glared at the crowd of demigods. "I cannot be killed!"

"How is this possible?" Piper asked in horror, backing away.

"When I knew my host would die, I left Perseus's body to save myself," Ouranos told them cleverly. "I transferred my soul to the son of Hades' body. For a moment, I doubted he could hold me, despite his power. I wondered if Tartarus had really made him as strong as he claimed. He rejected me at first," Ouranos continued, strolling past Percy's trembling figure. "The pain was unimaginable for him. I remember hearing his thoughts. Nico believed the pain was worse than any loss of a soul he'd ever felt. But he survived. It took a few minutes, but I took hold with one goal in mind: bring Perseus back."

"Why?" Percy asked, his voice breaking. "Why me? I died. I died! Can't you just leave me in peace?"

"I need you, Perseus," Ouranos drawled. "Nico di Angelo is strong, but his body will not be able to hold me for long. You are my permanent host."

"Stay away from him!" Jason yelled.

"You can not stop me, Grace. Once his body has recovered from death and is strong enough to hold me, I will return to him." Ouranos examines Nico's arms. "And you had best recover quickly, Perseus. This form is dying from my possession. I will not be able to hold him for much longer."

"Nico," Will choked out, horrified. "Oh my gods."

"Spare me your foolish romantics, child," Ouranos sneered at Will. "Your boy is gone."

But that wasn't true, Jason realized. When Ouranos had left Percy's body, the son of Poseidon had been there. Percy has still been inside himself right before he died. And that meant that Ouranos's possession didn't obliterate the cattier'a soul but shoved it to the side.

So why did Ouranos want them to think their friends were gone when he possessed them? What was he scared of?

"I will retake the world with your body, Perseus," Ouranos sneered. "But the son of Hades will sustain me through my transition. I can begin my work with him." He turned back to Percy and stared down at the horrified demigod. "Until you are healed, son of Poseidon. I shall be with you again." And then Nico stepped back into the shadows once more.

Percy relaxed, his body caving in. Will ran over to him and immediately started tending to him...although there wasn't much to be done. He had been brought back for the dead. There wasn't exactly a cure for that.

"No, no!" Percy said, feebly pushing the healer away. "Don't help me. Once I'm recovered, Ouranos will be back. I need to stay as weak as possible."

Will nodded and stepped back reluctantly. He was a healer and it was his nature to help. But not now. Jason couldn't imagine what the boy must be going through with Nico gone like this.

"You need to kill me," Percy breathed. "Send me back. Please."

Piper shook her head. "No, Percy, we can't!"

"You need to," he insisted, reaching up to grab Annabeth's arm. "Please, Annabeth, please. This is wrong, so wrong. Let me go back. Let me be at peace."

The daughter of Athena stared down at him with tears eyes. Jason knew what she was thinking. She wanted Percy to be okay, but how could she lose him again? A selfish part of Jason was glad Percy was back, and he imagined part of Annabeth felt the same.

"Anna please," Percy begged.

"If Percy dies, then Ouranos won't be able to inhabit anyone, right?" Leo asked.

"We don't know that," Chiron said, trotting over. "Although he prefers Percy as his host, Ouranos might just make Nico bathe in the Styx or prepare him in another way." He looked down worriedly at Percy. "I know this feels wrong, my boy. But the Fates would not have allowed you to return if there wasn't a reason. Perhaps you were never meant to die at all."

"Either way, we can't let Ouranos get ahold of Percy again," Sally insisted.

Paul nodded. "We won't let that happen."

"We need to strike Ouranos now," Will told them. "While he's weakened in Nico's body. We heard him say it—he doesn't have long inside Nico. We can't let Nico die. We have to act now."

Annabeth nodded. "I think you're right, Will. Ouranos will likely be weakest right before Nico's body gives. That's when we need to go after him."

"But how?" Hermione asked. She was still kneeling by Harry's side, Ron holding her. "We tried to attack Ouranos. Nico killed him. How are we supposed to get rid of this primordial if he isn't a physical being? An external approach didn't work. How can we kill someone who cannot die?"