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‘Maybe we should give him a chance,’ said Will. ‘We both know people who were once terrible and then turned things around. Like Ethan. Or Luke.’

When he put it that way, Nico had to concede the point. And wasn’t that the whole purpose behind this quest, after all? They were rescuing someone who had dared to be different.

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Menoetes, we’ll find a way to get you that fruit, as long as you promise to let us pass afterwards.’

Menoetes put his hand on his red chest. ‘I swear on the Styx.’

‘That’s good enough for me,’ said Will.

‘Me, too,’ Nico decided.

A flurry of hissing and clicking passed between Screech-Bling and Hiss-Majesty.

‘We cannot go with you, demigods,’ Screech-Bling announced. ‘It is too dangerous, even for brave troglodytes. If we were caught, our whole people might face the wrath of Hades!’

‘Shiny though the garden may be …’ Hiss-Majesty added dreamily.

‘I understand,’ Nico said. ‘You’ve done plenty already. It’ll be difficult enough for justtwoof us to sneak into the garden.’

‘Which brings me to another question,’ Will said, his legs wobbling. ‘Isn’t Persephone’s garden next to Hades’s palace? Do we have to walk all the way back there?’

‘Stop fretting and follow me,’ said Menoetes. ‘I have a solution.’

The bull-man led the group down the hill, through pastures filled with black cattle that seemed utterly uninterested in them. Nico tried to dampen his racing thoughts, but he was drowning in worries about how to avoid his father’s detection – and Persephone’s.

As they passed through the orchards, Menoetes patted one of the enormous, thick-trunked trees. ‘Have any of you ever had nectar straight from the source?’

Will stared at one of the spirits, who was sticking a spigot into a trunk. ‘Is that what these ghosts are harvesting?’

‘They’resouls, first of all,’ said Menoetes. ‘Sometimes souls in the Fields of Punishment want to work off the horrible things they did in the mortal world, so Hades allows them to come here. Which is perfect for me, since handling too much nectar at once is toxic.’

‘Wow,’ said Nico. ‘I knew about your cattle, but I guess I never asked Father what else you did on this farm.’

Will nodded. ‘How did no one at Camp Half-Blood ever teach us about this?’

‘A lot of gods and demigods just take it for granted,’ said Menoetes. ‘Nectar and ambrosia are so plentiful that most folks don’t ask where they come from.’

‘I think we should have a conversation with Chiron when we get back,’ said Will.

Thatwarmed Nico’s heart.

To their left, spirit workers were pulling ambrosia chunks from the ground like giant tubers and piling them in wheelbarrows. Menoetes waved at them as he brought the group to a hitching post where half a dozen smoky jet-black donkeys were tied up.

‘Donkeys?’ said Nico. ‘Aren’t they pretty slow?’

Menoetes laughed. ‘You could walk instead.’

‘Donkeys sound great,’ said Will quickly. ‘Please, Nico.’

Nico noticed the dark circles under Will’s eyes. He lookedexhausted. It was the reminder he needed that he couldn’t ask too much of Will in a place like this. It wouldn’t be fair.

‘Demonic donkeys it is,’ said Nico.

Menoetes threw saddles on two of the donkeys and then stepped aside. ‘This is how we deliver ambrosia and nectar to the mortal world. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no better way to travel.’

Will narrowed his eyes. ‘You mean these things deliverallour nectar and ambrosia?’

‘No,’ admitted the bull-demon. ‘Like I said before, I’m pretty sure the dryads manage the grove at Camp Half-Blood. But there are many customers who require it elsewhere, and this is where it comes from.’