Boys Like Boys [Nico di Angelo]

chapter thirty-two

'My ideal way of letting you find control of hour powers was...well, you figuring it out for yourself,' Thanatos said, walking along a worn path, dark trees looming over us, the moon barely casting enough light to see. 'Unfortunately, with Atë's arrival in three days, I'm going to have to influence you.'

'So unfortunate,' I agreed sarcastically, a tension releasing itself from my shoulders. If I could find out how to get rid of this curse, my life would be so much easier.

'There's a switch in your brain,' Thanatos informed me. 'Right here.' A cold finger pressed itself to the middle of my forehead, and a vision of the switch flashed behind my eyes. 'Turn the switch off.'

I flicked the switch and felt a wave of dizziness hit me, but it soon subsided.

'If you want to use the power again, just will the switch to flip. You have other powers as well,' he informed me, continuing on his hike down the creepiest forest I'd ever been in.

'The ones Nico didn't want me to know about,' I realized and Thanatos nodded.

'You may not notice, but when I take people's souls from their bodies and bring them to the Underworld, I am completely invisible. That is one trait you inherited from me. Just utter 'invisible' in Ancient Greek,' he said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

'I don't happen to be fluent in Ancient Greek,' I admitted sarcastically.

  'I can't tell if that's just the tone you take with everyone or if you're just being spiteful,' he murmured, throwing me a look over his shoulder.

  'My bet's on the latter.'

  'It's αόρατος,' Thanatos said, and I was tempted to try it, just so I could give him a nice kick in the - moving on. 'You can fly as well.'

  'Like...I get wings?' I inquired, looking to Thanatos' black and looming wings.

  'No, it's more like shadow traveling. Like the son of Hades does,' he explained and I didn't like the tone he took when mentioning Nico, but I stomached my anger. 'Just think of where you want to go.'

  I instantly thought of home, but Thanatos seemed to read my thoughts.

  'You have to imagine yourself dematerializing here and rematerializing where you want to go,' he said. 'That's it.'

  'That's all you contacted me for?'

  'Were you hoping for more?' he inquired and my blood boiled. Of course I was hoping for more. Maybe a good job, son or a I'm proud of you or even a scolding for agreeing to join Atë.

  'No,' I said, defeat blooming in my chest. 'How could I?'

  'There will always be that hole, demigod. I cannot help you fill it,' Thanatos admitted, his tone even like it always was. I hated it. I wished he could show me more emotion than he would a stranger on the street.

  'Do you know what happened to Veda?' I inquired and his gold eyes held more emotions than his tone ever did. Regret, longing, and sadness all swirled in them.

  'I don't think you're ready for that information.'

  'I want to know. I want to know why you let her escape death. I want to know why you told her to look after me. I want to know what her affiliation with Hermes was,' I said, watching as he turned to face me complete me. 'If anything, you owe me this.'

  'Veda was never a pure soul,' Thanatos began, taking in a deep breath. 'Not because she was a daughter of Hecate, but because Atë had her talons in her since she was a baby. When she grew older and found herself at Camp Half Blood, she explored the darkness. She learned dark magic and experimented on forest animals, either destroying them or severely mutating them. Atë liked her and since she was already dark side, Atë decided to lure her in to join her army.' Thanatos paused, his eyes glancing to the moon. His skin looked like dark silver, like steel. 'She died, but not before she killed an innocent demigod and attracted Hermes.'  

  Attracted? That was an odd word.

  'How old do you think Veda is?' Thanatos inquired, which was a weird question.

  'Sixteen, seventeen maybe?' I guessed and Thanatos shook his head. 'Then again, I...I never remembered her telling me her age.'

  'She never did. Veda is actually twenty-two, but she manipulated the Mist to make others think she was younger. Of course, her trickery and deceitful nature attracted Hermes. They were very close - in more ways than I am going to discuss.'

  It clicked. They were in love.

  'Veda died of an experiment gone wrong. I took her soul from her body and gave it to Hermes to take to the Underworld. He begged me not to let her die, he was so overwhelmed by love and heartbreak. She swore to do anything for me as long as she should live.' Thanatos glanced at me. 'So I made her swear to protect you. To guide you and bring you to camp safely. To teach you of what you're worth and how important you are to this world.'

  'You broke the rules so that...' I didn't feel so angry any more.

  'So that you would be safe.'

  My gut twisted and I felt my eyes water. I was bitter and angry towards Thanatos, but for what? He made sure I was safe and cared for and protected.

  'Gods cannot directly influence their children, or be an active part of their lives,' Thanatos said gently, his gaze flickering to the moon. 'If it was so, I would still be with you and your mother.'

  That was the nicest thing he'd ever said to me - and probably the most emotion filled thing. A tear slipped down my cheek, but I hastily wiped it away.  

  'Veda's dead, now, Calum,' Thanatos informed me, and my head shot up. He'd never said my real name before. 'She's in the Fields of Punishment.'

  'How did she...' I trailed off, watching Thanatos sigh.

  'Hermes had to kill her. That was his punishment.'

  I couldn't imagine the heartbreak the two of them faced. I balled my hands into fists and glared at Thanatos.

  'They didn't deserve that,' I snapped and Thanatos gave me an empty look.

  'It wasn't my decision. It was Zeus and Hades',' he informed me, before his voice became distant. 'Goodbye, Calum. I doubt we'll be meeting again.'

  And then I woke up.