Page 45 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

“Because it was unfair!” he shouted. Then he paused, evidently trying to regain control of his anger. “But that’s fine. I let it guide me to moral clarity.” He pointed a finger at Hazel. “That’s how I crossed paths with you . In a way, you inspired my court as much as your brother did.”

Hazel held back angry tears. She didn’t want to give Pirithous the satisfaction.

“Don’t blame your megalomania on me,” she said. “You don’t deserve power over anyone.”

Pirithous feigned shock. “Oh, do I not? Yet I was king of the Lapiths. I was worshipped as a hero across Greece. I led armies into battle. And then, when Theseus and I ventured into the Underworld, we both were fused to that cursed rock. Theseus was freed by Hercules. But me? No. Your father deemed me unworthy of rescue. He would not allow it. He…”

Pirithous seemed to realize that he had been subconsciously gripping the gold mask hanging around his neck, trying to crush the face of Hades. He dropped his hands.

“At any rate,” he continued, “I was left behind. I was stuck in that rock for thousands of years. Then you came along, Hazel Levesque. You were in Asphodel for, what, a few decades? One of a billion souls who actually belonged in that place. But then your entitled brother freed you! Did Hades object to that? No! Did you deserve it? No!”

His pale face had turned bright red. A vein in his right temple looked like it was about to burst. “Do you know what it feels like to be disrespected like that?”

There were a lot of things Hazel could’ve said in response, but Pirithous’s words were so absurd Hazel just broke into laughter.

He peered at her with disgust. “Of course you do not understand.”

Hazel steadied her breathing. It felt good to laugh in Pirithous’s face, but there were other lives on the line besides hers.

“If your grudge is with Nico and me,” Hazel said, “let the mythics go free. They haven’t done anything to you.”

Pirithous scoffed. “Nice try, but that’s not in the plan. Remember, you all have been sentenced to death.”

“Allow me to hazard a guess,” said Asterion. “You put us in here with little food and water. Then you wait until we turn on each other. In this way, you prove to yourself that we were monsters all along, unworthy of any other life.”

Pirithous looked stunned. “Oh, that’s good. That’s very good! I confess I hadn’t thought of that. But no, Asterion, I don’t really care how or when you die in this cage. Your fate will serve a much greater purpose than simply proving the obvious. You will help me put the world to rights!”

Arielle slammed her fist against the barrier, and then she reeled backward, cradling her injured hand. “We won’t help you with anything . Let us out!”

“You’re an impatient one, Arielle.” Pirithous shook his head like a disappointed father. “Give it time. More and more of you will appear in this prison, and with each new addition, I’ll be closer to my goal.”

Hazel felt like she was banging her head on the invisible wall. “Which is what ?”

“For starters, I’m going to break the Mist.”

Hazel blinked. “Excuse me?”

“The Mist has always hidden our world from that of the humans,” said the judge. “We’ve fought entire wars without mortals knowing what was really happening.”

“And?” asked Asterion.

The man’s smile was absolute evil. “Never has there been such a high concentration of mythical beings in one small space at the same time. Eventually, it will be too much for the Mist to cover. When it breaks from the sheer pressure I’ve exerted on it, the mortal world will see exactly what you are, and how sloppy the Underworld has been about enforcing its borders.

There will be chaos. Hades’s misrule will be laid bare for all to see. He will have to respond.”

Asterion snorted. “All of this, to embarrass Hades?”

“That is the beginning,” Pirithous said. “When he arrives…well, I have a veritable army of gods, monsters, and demons on my side. All the forgotten and misunderstood stand with me. They all appreciate my logic. No one is above justice, even the gods.”

Hazel shivered. “So that’s what this is about. You want to put my father on trial?”

“And why not?” he cried. “Have you seen the state of the Underworld since the Doors of Death opened? It’s chaos .

You have Titans becoming heroes, heroes venturing into Tartarus, the Minotaur playing dress-up in the mortal world with his hand-knitted outfits.

There is no order. No just punishment. Hades must answer for this. He will have his day in court.”

“You’re delusional,” said Hazel. “If my father does show up, he will tear you into a million pieces.”

The gleam in Pirithous’s eyes was calm and self-assured. It made Hazel nervous.

“We will see,” he said. “But for now, I must return to court. So many cases on the afternoon’s docket!

” He turned to go and then hesitated. “By the way, I heard the tail end of your conversation. There is a top to this prison. Can’t have anyone flying out, can we?

And I suppose you could try convincing a mortal to move one of the dodecahedrons…

.” He smiled at Arielle. “If, for instance, you had someone who could charmspeak. But I don’t think that would end well for the mortal.

These devices carry quite a charge when they are generating a perimeter of this size… .”

Then Pirithous disappeared in a burst of flame and ash…which was not nearly as satisfying to watch as Hazel would’ve hoped.

Arielle swore under her breath. “I hate that man. We have to get out of here.”

“I know,” said Hazel. “Even if we don’t run out of food or water, we have another problem. Because if Pirithous is telling the truth about this prison, we’re in a sealed box with limited vegetation and more mythics arriving all the time.”

“Meaning?” asked Arielle.

“Eventually,” Hazel said, “we’re going to run out of oxygen.”