Page 17 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

A line of campers snaked away from a long counter laid out with various grilled meats and vegetables.

Tonight’s theme seemed to be kebabs, which meant everyone was running around with even more pointy objects than usual.

Legionnaires laughed and joked with one another.

Aurae and Lares floated through the hall.

Torches burned cheerfully along the walls, illuminating the war banners and the golden eagle standard behind the officers’ table.

The atmosphere was relaxed…except for a thirty-foot-diameter zone of ostracism that surrounded the mythics’ dinner table, separating them from everyone else.

Hazel was doing her best to set an example. She was sitting with the mythics, showing Orcus how to eat a kebab. The others poked glumly at the food.

Anytime one of them got up for more, the legionnaires parted around them like a school of fish making way for a shark. Otherwise, the mythics were studiously ignored.

It made Nico irritated… angry .

Savannah wasn’t at dinner. Neither was Arielle.

At the officers’ table, Will and Frank were having a heated conversation with Maurice, the centurion of the Second Cohort, maybe trying to explain what had happened during the training session. Maurice looked exasperated, like he was saying I told you so!

Nico didn’t feel like joining them. He was still on edge, processing Savannah’s freak-out. He and Will had already conferred, and they’d agreed on what had happened. Nico knew the symptoms: wide eyes, shallow breaths, the sheen of sweat coating Savannah’s face.

It had looked like a panic attack.

Maybe something about Arielle had triggered Savannah. Maybe she was still dealing with the deaths of her parents. Whatever the case, the incident seemed like just the latest flare-up of a much bigger wildfire.

A sense of foreboding was burying itself underneath Nico’s skin. He didn’t have words for it. It all just felt… off .

Had his early days at Camp Half-Blood been this bad?

The world hadn’t felt right then, either.

He’d felt out of place. He’d been afraid to get close to anyone, and he’d often disappeared for days at a time before returning.

But he’d never felt like the campers were actively trying to exclude him… had he?

He was jolted from his thoughts when a meal tray hit the floor right next to him. A demigod with blond pigtails squealed and backed away. The room fell silent.

“What was that?” the girl shrieked.

“Sorry, dear,” an earthy voice replied. Semele. “Sometimes I lose track of where I’m going. I didn’t mean to walk through you.”

The girl’s eyes darted from side to side. “I—I can’t see you! What did you do to me?”

Whispering broke out at the nearest tables. Some legionnaires got to their feet. Nico was the closest. He had to intervene before things got out of control.

He stepped in front of the girl with the pigtails. “Semele can’t help that she’s invisible. She meant no harm.”

“No h-harm?” the girl spluttered.

Nico felt the floor tremble and crack around his feet, threatening an eruption of a fresh crop of undead. “Walk away,” he told the girl. “Now.”

The girl screamed and fled. The nearest campers fixed him with dark looks. He cursed under his breath, then turned in the direction of Semele’s voice. “Follow me, will you?”

He stormed out of the mess hall, hoping the eidolon was behind him.

He didn’t stop until he was outside the bathhouse. He paced back and forth, flexing his fingers to try squeezing out the anger.

At his side, a gray wisp of smoke coalesced and swirled, more visible in the evening shadows than she had been in the light.

“That was unfortunate,” said Semele. “I apologize. I’m still adjusting.”

“I know.” Nico tried to control his tone. He didn’t want to snap. “And I’m afraid I made it worse. I’m just wondering…can we actually figure out some way you could announce your presence so you don’t frighten the other campers?”

There was a cold silence.

“Well,” Semele said finally, “we should be honest with each other. I’m an eidolon. They’re all going to be afraid of me no matter what I do.”

Nico sighed. “I hope that isn’t true.”

The gray smoke twisted in the air. “I have existed for millennia, son of Hades. First as a human. Then as…this. Often, what we hope for is not reality. Apparently, even this place cannot protect us.”

The bitterness in her voice caught Nico by surprise. “You were human once?”

No reply.

“What happened to our being honest with each other?” he asked. “You’ve been with us all day, haven’t you? Watching, listening. What was Arielle talking about back at your quarters…someone finding you if you left Camp Jupiter? Is something hunting you all?”

“Perhaps you should ask Johan,” Semele said. “He enjoys ancient history.”

She disappeared, leaving Nico staring into empty shadows.

He stood there, his nerves jangling. It felt like a thousand bees were buzzing in his mind.

The evening was cool, the sun nearly gone. Over the last year, Nico had learned to enjoy sunlight, but he still preferred nighttime. He loved the shadows. The silence. The certainty that this was his world. In the darkness, Nico felt most certain of his parentage and his sense of self.

That was what he needed right now, because Camp Jupiter was unearthing thoughts he hadn’t had in a while.

He was remembering small incidents from his childhood, his time at Westover Hall, and even at Camp Half-Blood, when he’d felt excluded, teased, or bullied.

Nothing big. Strange looks. Laughter behind his back.

People leaving a table when he sat at it.

Once, some joker had left a dead bird on his bedroll.

He’d pushed these things down, trying to erase them from his memory. He’d told himself that he’d chosen to stand apart wherever he went. Now he wasn’t so sure.

He started down the Via Praetoria, hoping to get away from the bustle of demigods now exiting the mess hall. His Puffs trailed behind him, rambunctious and squirrelly after sleeping through the day. He hoped they wouldn’t spend all night terrorizing the camp.

In the road up ahead, he spotted Johan and Quinoa.

They’d just left dinner and were ambling in his direction.

Nico considered ducking into an alley. He wasn’t sure he could take any more social interaction today.

Then he saw two demigods trailing behind the mythics, grinning like they had something malicious in mind.

Nico didn’t have to wait long. One of the Romans yelled, “Hey, monster! Heads up!”

He threw an apple that bounced off Johan’s hairy, headless shoulders.

Nico’s vision went red.

“Knock it off!” he yelled, marching toward the demigods. “Would you like me to tell your centurion what you’re doing?”

He must have looked pretty scary emerging from the shadows with his army of mini demons. The campers’ eyes widened. They turned and fled before Nico could get a good look at their faces.

Johan picked up the apple. A confused frown spread across his abdomen. “I do not understand. Why did they toss me a piece of fruit?”

“They threw it at you,” Quinoa said with a snarl. “Nasty kids. I should chase ’em down and shove that apple—”

“No, no,” Johan said. “Conflicts are to be expected. Besides, I quite like apple slices with my tea.”

“Why do you have to be so polite?” Quinoa complained.

“Blemmyae are always polite. I am sorry if it is a problem.” His frown deepened. “Oh, dear. That would mean my politeness is impolite. I am confused.”

Nico’s head began to ache. “I’ll find out who those demigods were—make sure they’re punished.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” said Johan, “but you don’t need to do that on my account.”

“Listen to yourself,” said Quinoa bitterly. “This is never going to work. We should do what Arielle said and leave this place.”

Nico froze. “When did Arielle say that?”

“When do you think?” said the karpos. “After she tried to play nice in the sparring exercise and that other girl popped off like a corn kernel! Arielle’s been home ever since. She’s probably still sobbing. Your help ain’t helping, di Angelo.”

Nico didn’t think Quinoa was angry at him. Grumpy and scowling seemed to be the karpos’s default setting. Still, his words stung.

Nico couldn’t imagine Arielle crying about what had happened. Then again, if she’d suggested leaving camp despite the dangers involved, she must’ve been really upset.

He knew he should ask Johan about what Semele had said—to find out if he had more information about what the mythics feared beyond the boundaries of Camp Jupiter—but his heart was too heavy. He wasn’t sure it could handle any more weight tonight.

The two mythics walked on, leaving Nico by himself. Anger and disappointment swirled within him—anger at seeing the same thing he’d gone through himself repeating itself here, and disappointment that he hadn’t done more to stop it.