Page 60 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

W hen Hazel Levesque yells “ATTACK!” and charges you with a sword, followed by an angry Minotaur, the only sensible thing to do is run.

Nico saw Pirithous do just that—at least at first. The judge scrambled back to the safety of his own guards as Hazel led her forces forward, taking control of the museum’s front drive and forming a defensive ring around the two chained beings.

We must reach her , Semele said in Nico’s mind.

Well, duh , Nico replied.

No need to be rude , said Semele. Just because I am in your mind does not mean I can read everything in it.

They crashed into a line of dog-headed cynocephalus warriors who had been facing the other direction, thinking the main threat was from Hazel’s friends in the plaza. They were not expecting eight angry demigods, a blemmyae, and the world’s tiniest griffin to attack them from behind.

One dog-man ran away yipping and whining with Orcus clamped to his head, pecking at his left eye.

Another staggered off, clutching Deion’s spear, which was lodged in his gut.

Will loosed multiple arrows, and pride filled Nico’s heart as all of them found their targets.

Each of the warriors burst into dust, and the rest scattered when a full-size male lion jumped into their midst, roaring and baring his fangs.

Where did the lion come from? Semele wondered.

That would be Frank , Nico guessed.

I have questions , said Semele.

Later! said Nico.

They continued their push forward, wading through the temporarily confused ranks of Team Pirithous.

Down in the plaza, the situation looked like the most violent Black Friday sale ever.

Imprisoned mythics rushed in every direction, trying to overrun the circle of guards.

Harpies fought harpies above the cypress trees.

Giants threw park benches at other giants.

A giant crab—why was there a giant crab?

—scuttled sideways through the bedlam, holding a screaming telkhine in either claw.

Once the armies of prisoners and captors clashed, things got even more confusing, as nobody seemed to know which side anyone was on.

“Nico!”

Hazel rushed toward him, grinning as she sliced down an enemy donkey satyr—the same strange courier they’d followed into the Court of the Dead days ago. Asterion and Arielle were on either side of her, the karpos Quinoa flying around them like an avenging grain angel.

Hazel threw herself into Nico’s arms. “You made it!”

Nico blinked back tears. He’d never been so happy to see his sister, even if she smelled like she’d been hanging out in a monster’s dirty-laundry hamper.

Johan sobbed as he embraced Arielle. Quinoa and Orcus collided in midair trying to hug each other. Semele made Nico’s body pull Asterion into the group hug, and then she used his voice to shout, “I love you, you big, beautiful cow!”

Asterion seemed a bit startled, but he accepted the hug. “Is that—Semele?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Nico grinned. Then he regained control of himself. “I mean, yes, it’s her. She’s possessing me. Kind of. Long story.”

The other mythics looked at him dumbfounded.

Hazel shook her head in amazement. “Well, I guess it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard in the past couple of days.” Then she spotted the lion padding toward her, his fangs bloody from biting the butt of many a retreating dog-man.

“Frank!” she squealed. “What a good kitty!”

The lion morphed back into Frank just as Hazel flew into his arms and kissed him. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Friends, we must be quick!” Asterion warned, grabbing an enemy harpy out of the air and throwing her into the nearest parked car. “Pirithous has imprisoned two gods. We must free them before they can pledge to his cause!”

That jolted Nico out of his temporary euphoria. “What? How?”

“Also a long story,” Hazel said, but she did her best to explain as quickly as possible.

Even with two minds inside his brain, Nico wasn’t sure he understood it all: twin gods of trickery, chains of Prometheus, oaths and traps, and trading up to capture Hades himself.

Meanwhile, Pirithous’s forces were overcoming their initial panic.

The judge himself, now protected by two Cyclopes and the red-robed skeletal guards from the court, had rediscovered his courage.

He climbed onto the pedestal of a cement sphinx about fifty yards away and started barking orders—“Kill them! Kill them!”—while imperiously waving his gavel.

Now that Nico knew about the chains of Prometheus, he understood why so many minor gods had pledged to serve this self-important chief justice.

He also understood why those gods had not yet jumped into battle.

They probably didn’t like Pirithous any better than Nico did.

But with Pirithous giving them direct orders, they had no choice but to obey.

Things were about to get dicey for Team Hazel and the Mythics.

“Perhaps freeing those gods should not be the first priority right now,” said Arielle, her expression anguished. “We need to get our fellow mythics out of here safely!”

“Also,” said Quinoa, “did we mention that the twins are gods of trickery ? Before they got chained up, they exploded two judges and Laverna. There was talk of exploding more people, and the only choice they were offering was Cajun spice or extra crispy!”

Nico had to admit that didn’t sound good.

“You know we’re right here,” said Dolus.

“We can hear you,” agreed his sister, Apate.

Their necks were charred and smoking beneath their Stygian iron shackles. Their bodies trembled from the aftershocks of immense pain. They could barely lift their heads enough to meet Nico’s eyes.

“I’m not going to leave anyone in chains,” Nico decided. “Not if we can figure out a way to help.”

His half sister smiled at him. “There’s the Nico I know and love.” She glanced at Asterion. “How ’bout you help evacuate the other mythics? They’ll follow you. Nico and I will figure out these chains.”

Asterion nodded. “As you wish, Hazel. Please take care of yourself. Arielle, Johan, Quinoa, Orcus, with me!”

“I’ll just stay here,” said Semele through Nico’s voice. “Be careful, you gorgeous cow.”

Wow, do you have to? Nico asked.

Yes , Semele said. Yes, I do.

As the mythics marched into battle to help their comrades, Hazel faced the other demigods. “Can you all buy us some time? We can’t let Pirithous get near these two gods. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll pledge their loyalty to him. The pain is just too much.”

Right on cue, the iron shackles began to glow red. Dolus and Apate screamed, writhing in agony.

Frank scowled. “Legionnaires, you heard her. We protect this position at all costs. Orbem instruite! ”

“Praetor!” the demigods replied in unison.

Then they formed a circle around the chained gods, facing outward with their weapons ready.

Will, who wasn’t so up-to-date on Latin commands, looked confused for a second and then added, “Um, yeah, what they said.” He took up a position next to Savannah and got ready to glow, to heal, to send some arrows flying, or to throw Kit Kat bars, depending on what was required.

That left Hazel and Nico to deal with the chains of Prometheus.

Hazel frowned at Nico. “So…you’re possessed. How does that feel?”

He shrugged. “Pretty cool, to be honest. Semele saved my life, so I’m not going to complain.”

Thank you , said Semele. It was a strange sensation to be granted permission, but for now, I much prefer this to the old ways.

For now? Nico asked. Meaning what?

Focus , she ordered.

He wasn’t comforted by that, but he turned his attention to the problem at hand. He knelt next to Dolus and Apate. The shackles had cooled again, leaving the two gods whimpering and gasping for breath.

“Any idea how to get these off?” he asked them.

“If we knew how,” grumbled Apate, “don’t you think we would have done it?”

Dolus wheezed. “I don’t want to pledge myself to that fool Pirithous,” he said, “but your sister is correct. If he asks again…I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist. You have to free us.”

“Then there’s the little matter of you two being the gods of trickery,” Hazel noted. “How do we know you won’t turn on us? Or just kill everyone , including our friends?”

Apate glanced up. Like many gods, her face was unearthly, beautiful and terrifying at the same time, but her desperate expression struck Nico as very human.

“You tried to warn us, Hazel Levesque,” said the goddess. “You alone understood who we were, even when we weren’t telling the truth. We will not harm you if you help us. Look at me. Am I lying?”

Hazel narrowed her eyes. “No. I don’t think so. But honestly, I would help you anyway. No one should be chained like this.”

“Strongly agree,” Dolus said. “Especially when it’s me.”

Nico stood and hefted his sword. “That just leaves the question of how . Hazel, stand back….”

Semele spoke in his mind: That isn’t…

Nico brought his blade down on one of the chain’s links, using his own strength combined with Semele’s. Stygian iron met Stygian iron with a horrific CLANG! Sparks of pure black energy sprayed across the pavement, sizzling as they fell on the gods’ skin. Dolus and Apate both howled.

The impact made Nico’s body vibrate so violently that the cacodemons reemerged from him, dropping to the ground with startled sounds of Eep, eep, eep!

. . . going to work , Semele finished.

“Huh,” Nico muttered. “That knocked the Cocoa Puffs right out of me.”

“Is that a euphemism?” Apate asked.

“No, it’s…never mind. Thought it was worth a try.”

“Well, it wasn’t!” Dolus protested.