Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕊omething to do with a door

"Jason!" Piper kept calling his name as she held him, though she almost lost hope. He'd been unconscious for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head. She couldn't tell if he was even breathing.

"Will you stop trying to die on me!" Ethan whacked Nicki's shoulder aggressively. "Stop it." Making no attempt to reply, Nicki simply rolled over to face Jason. A lovely matted red patch decorated the back of her head where she had cracked the concrete she landed on. A groan slipped through her lips in pain.

"It's no use, child." Hera stood over them in her simple black robes and shawl. Piper hadn't seen the goddess go nuclear. Thankfully she'd closed her eyes, but she could see the aftereffects.

Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either. The monsters had been vaporized. The ruins had been restored to what they were before—still ruins, but with no evidence that they'd been overrun by a horde of wolves, storm spirits, and six-armed ogres. Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia had jumped straight down into the empty pool. Resting her hand on Jason's forehead to check his temperature, she pressed a hasty kiss to Nicki's cheek. Thalia glared up at the goddess. 

"This is your fault. Do something!"

"Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen—"

"Fix him!"

Hera's eyes flickered with power. "I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form."

"Um ..." Leo frowned. "True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?"

"I unleashed my power to help you, fool!" Hera cried. "I became pure energy so I could disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice."

"But mortals can't look upon you in that form!" Thalia shouted. "You've killed him!"

"Piper?" Nicki nudged the girl. "Piper, the doors." 

The younger girl frowned. "What?"

"The doors!" Nicki urged. Looking somewhat like a slug, Nicki shimmied around so she could grasp Jason's hand. "Please." She mumbled.

Leo shook his head in dismay. "That's what our prophecy meant. Death unleashed, through Hera's rage. Come on, lady. You're a goddess. Do some voodoo magic on him! Bring him back."

Piper was focused on Jason's face. "He's breathing!" she announced.

"Impossible," Hera said. "I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever—"

"Jason," Piper called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. She could not lose him. "Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You're going to be fine."

Nothing happened. 

"E." Nicki groaned. "The doors! Jason!"

A comforting nod and a shoulder squeeze was Ethan's reply. He had no idea what Nicki was trying to communicate. "Piper, keep going." This seemed to appease the injured girl.

"Healing is not a power of Aphrodite," Hera said regretfully. "Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit—"

"Jason," Piper said again, and she imagined her voice resonating through the earth, all the way down to the Underworld. "Wake up."

He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light—glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. "What—what happened?"