Page 26 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

A t sunset, Asterion and his friends gathered outside the mythics’ quarters. They had dressed for bed, though no one expected to get any sleep tonight. Orcus wore his tiny nightcap, while Asterion had donned a handmade blue sleeping gown. Semele…well, she was smoke.

Johan wore briefs and a bathrobe, open at the chest so he could see.

His large pectoral eyes shifted from side to side, so his whole midsection looked like the face of a paranoid neighbor peeking out from between terry-cloth curtains.

Nico couldn’t blame Johan for feeling afraid.

In his position, Nico would’ve felt the same way.

He instinctively looked down, expecting to see Fear hugging his ankle, but no.

The Puffs were likely fast asleep in the guest barracks.

Nico wondered if the cacodemons were linked somehow to his own exhaustion.

That might explain why they’d been sleeping so much the past few days.

Or it simply could have been all the physical activity and shadow-travel.

The thought of how much Nico had done in such a short span of time made him tired all over again.

Will went over the plan once more with the mythics.

Usually when he overexplained like this—telling everyone not to be nervous, assuring them that the plan would work—it meant he himself was nervous and unsure the plan would work.

But Nico didn’t judge. He appreciated the calming sound of his boyfriend’s voice.

“Nico and I will be roving,” he said. “He’ll shadow-travel us wherever we’re needed.

Frank’s going to be directing operations from the principia.

The Second and Fifth Cohorts have deployed groups of sentries along the boundaries of camp.

Terminus will be on speed dial. If anyone detects anything, he’ll personally check it out and go ‘minor god’ on any intruders.

Don’t worry. We are going to find out how your friends disappeared. ”

“Disappeared.” Semele added a hint of disgust to the word. “That’s a funny way to describe what happened. Our friends were stolen .”

“Maybe so,” said Nico. “But if the mythic-napper tries again tonight, this whole plan is designed to catch them.”

Asterion studied the tessera that now hung from his wrist. Savannah had spent the day collecting, modifying, and redistributing every bracelet in camp.

Now each mythic had one (except Semele, who couldn’t handle physical objects) and so did at least one person in every sentry group.

Nico wasn’t sure how Savannah had done it, but she’d managed to turn the brightness down to zero so the Iris-messages conveyed voices only—because it would be a little hard to run night surveillance and catch an intruder if the sentries were communicating with giant glowing rainbow spheres.

“We just whisper into it?” Asterion asked.

Will nodded. “All the tesserae will be linked in one big Iris-network. Don’t speak into it unless you absolutely need to, but you should be able to hear anything going on at any location.”

“Ingenious,” Johan said.

Will smiled. “Occasionally, my boyfriend has a brilliant idea.”

There was no reason for Nico to blush. He blushed anyway.

Orcus flapped his wings. “So while you’re roving around, who’s here protecting us?”

“Here they come now.” Nico gestured across the field, where Hazel was marching toward them with Yazan and a goat-legged guy with the unlikely name Maynard Thee Faun.

Semele hissed like steam from a kettle. “And they’ll actually protect us?”

Heat rose to Nico’s face again. He wanted to yell, That’s Hazel! Do you know how much she’s done for you?

“Of course,” he said instead. “But I understand why you’re asking.”

“Then you’ll understand why I don’t trust mortal guards.” She fumed, literally, and drifted into the house.

“Please excuse her,” said Asterion. “She is the oldest among us and has the most reason to hate the upper world. She is trying, but her journey is her own. I cannot ask her to speed it up.”

“I don’t take it personally,” Nico said, though he wondered what had left Semele so bitter. If she was older than the legend of the Minotaur…that was old .

“Are we going to be safe?” asked Orcus.

“As safe as we can make you,” Hazel said, joining the group. “You already know Yazan. He’s a child of Vesper, the god of dusk.”

“Nighttime is the right time,” Yazan said with a grin. “Nobody is going to sneak past me in the dark.”

“And this is Maynard Thee Faun, who is…well, a faun, obviously,” Hazel continued. “He’s our best tracker.”

Maynard flashed the mythics a peace sign. He wore night-vision goggles and a tie-dye T-shirt in camouflage colors. “ ’Sup, dudes,” he said. “When it comes to tracking, I’m like the dude, dudes.”

“And of course Hazel,” Nico added, “who’s the best in camp when it comes to manipulating the Mist.”

“The three of us will be inside with you all night,” Hazel said. “Hidden, of course. Centurion Lavinia will be outside with three of her best people, hunkering down in covered foxholes.”

Orcus farted. “I am glad Yazan is here.”

“Me, too, little guy,” said the legionnaire. “Nobody’s going to steal my buddy.”

“We appreciate you all,” Asterion said. “I am just sorry it has come to this.”

“Ditto,” said Nico. “All of you belong here.”

“No, we don’t!” Semele cried out from inside.

Asterion rolled his eyes. “Whatever happens, I thank you, demigods.” He gathered Hazel and Nico into a tender hug.

He smelled of wool and cowhide…not unpleasant odors at all.

Sheltered in his massive arms, Nico felt safe and cared for, but also sad.

If this huge and powerful mythic couldn’t protect his companions, what hope did Nico have?

“You have done everything you could for us,” the bull-man said. “I am honored to have you as friends.”

A lump formed in Nico’s throat. Asterion released him and led the others inside. From the threshold, Hazel glanced back at Nico one last time and mouthed Good luck . Then she closed the door behind her.

Will and Nico stood alone on the porch.

“I hate this,” said Nico. “The whole situation makes me feel bad .”

“I know,” said Will. “It’s bringing out the paranoia in everyone.”

“Yeah, that’s part of it.” Nico watched the sunset turn to dark purple over the western hills. “There’s more going on, though, and I can’t piece it together.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not doing this alone.” Will smiled, hefting his backpack of endless supplies. “And I’ve got Kit Kats.”

Nico’s heart fluttered. A couple of years ago, he could not have imagined having an actual boyfriend.

It hadn’t even been a dream of his. He’d never dared to think that someone would stick with him through so many experiences like this.

And yet here that someone was, ready to accompany him on every twist and turn of his journey.

It was going to be a long, nerve-racking night. But in that moment, Nico let Will be the balm to his scattered soul. The promise of Kit Kats didn’t hurt, either.

Around midnight, a terrible, chilly wind whipped through the Berkeley Hills.

Nico was grateful for his thick wool beanie—a gift from Asterion.

In an upsetting turn of events, Will had actually had to change into pants .

They were cargo pants, of course, and Nico was sure they were stuffed to the gills with first aid supplies, snacks, hand warmers, and whatever else Will thought they might need in the next four hundred years.

(That boy was prepared for anything .) Nevertheless, Will seemed uncomfortable in full-length trousers, as if he was worried the Surfer Boy Vibe Police might give him a citation for ruining his aesthetic.

When they’d stopped by the guest barracks for warmies, some of the Puffs had decided to join their adventure.

Now, as Nico and Will stood with the forward sentries above the Caldecott Tunnel, the Puffs bounced around Will’s feet, looking up at him with their demonic puppy-dog eyes, probably hoping he’d drop some food they could gobble up.

The Puffs were smart. They knew Will was the guy with the snacks.

Nico wondered if he should train them not to beg, but he decided it would be way funnier if he didn’t.

Deion and Savannah were on duty at the tunnel entrance. It was a pretty miserable assignment on a blustery winter night, but both had volunteered. Nico doubted any intruder would march right up to the main entrance of camp, but he appreciated that the two demigods wanted to help.

Savannah in particular had been indispensable.

She’d spent much of her watch talking over the Iris-network with teams who were having trouble, offering tessera tech support.

“No, you don’t have to shout.” “Yes, just whisper the name.” “No, please don’t ‘reply all.’ ” “Have you tried taking the bracelet off and putting it back on again?”

“That’s gotta be overwhelming,” Nico observed when she finished a service call.

Savannah smirked. “It’s fine. Better once I figured out how to mute and hold messages so I’m not overhearing everyone’s conversations at once.”

“Smart,” said Will. He poured her more hot chocolate (with marshmallows, naturally) from his thermos.

Nico knew he and Will should probably shadow-travel elsewhere and check on the other teams, but he’d been popping around the valley all night.

He would have passed out hours ago if not for adrenaline, sugar, and caffeine.

Besides, the Caldecott sentries were allowed to keep a fire going in their brazier. Fire was warm.

Deion took off his helmet and tied back his locs. He peered across the lights of the East Bay flats, glittering in the cold like diamonds on black velvet.

“So, what exactly are we watching for?” Deion asked. “I’ve seen zilch.”

“Anything out of the ordinary,” said Will.

“That doesn’t narrow it down.” Savannah squinted at Nico. “Do you really think someone is sneaking into camp and capturing monst—” She caught her choice of words. “Sorry. Mythics .”