Page 63 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

“Wait, wait, wait. Where are the others? Did you get them sorted out?”

“I think so,” Will said. “At least, I got Frank and Yazan reunited with their Puffs, and they’re helping the others. I wanted to follow you, though. Thought you might need the help.”

Nico felt equally exasperated and grateful. He would’ve hugged his boyfriend if he weren’t a giant banana with sunglasses.

“It’s fine,” he decided. “Keep your banana—I mean your Puff. I can see well enough. The twins are just up ahead.”

“Lead on!” said Banana Will.

First, Nico took a moment to still his mind, the way Mr. D had taught him. Breathe. Find a center of calmness.

Within him, Semele’s mind reacted well to this idea. A comforting warmth spread through Nico’s body.

Did he teach you that? she asked, obviously pleased. That’s an excellent lesson.

She lent him her focus, and despite the chaos around them, Nico’s thoughts started to clear, as if all the sediment of his jumbled emotions were settling to the bottom of his skull.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw regular non-banana Will standing next to him, his fingers curled around Loneliness like a baseball.

“Better?” Will asked.

“Somewhat,” he admitted. But mythics were still fighting all across the park. The di inferi were sending their army of undead into battle, and Nico was pretty sure those lost souls would not be affected by the Mist. They would hack down anyone in their path—mythic, demigod, house cat, or banana.

Nico had hoped the minor gods would be freed from Pirithous once the chains of Prometheus were broken, but maybe they liked working for him…or maybe something else was needed to free them.

Like the death of Pirithous , Semele suggested.

“That could be arranged,” Nico said.

“What?” Will asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “First things first. Let’s stop this Mist-pocalypse.”

The closer they got to Apate and Dolus, the harder it became to move. After another few feet, Will stumbled.

“Nico?” he cried. “Are you still here?”

“Right in front of you!” Nico said, taking his hand.

Will’s eyes stared through him. “I can’t— I can hear you, but…”

Nico looked down at Loneliness, who was now fast asleep in Will’s palm.

They must be exhausted , Semele said. They will not be able to help much longer.

Worry spiked in Nico again. He had never considered that the Puffs had limited energy, just like he did.

How are you holding up? Semele asked. Do you not feel the strain?

“Not really,” he said. “I mean…I’m a little tired, but it’s nothing like I was before.”

Hmm. Perhaps these two selves in one body will not end badly.

Nico did not like the ominous sound of that, but he needed to take care of Will first.

“Just keep hold,” he told his boyfriend. “Can you feel my hand?”

Will swallowed, clearly trying not to freak out, but he managed to nod. “Okay. Yes. It feels like I’m holding a tiger’s tail, but I’ll assume it’s your hand.”

“I’ll lead you,” Nico promised. Then he muttered an apology to the sleeping Loneliness.

“Hold on, my other Puffs, wherever you are,” he said. “Just help us for a little bit longer.”

They ran for the center of the park.

For a few steps, Nico thought they would make it. He could feel the Mist fighting against him like a hallucinogenic headwind, pushing him back, filling his senses with false impressions. But he kept going, tapping into Semele’s seemingly boundless strength as he clung desperately to Will’s hand.

Then, only twenty feet from the fountain, an unseen force hit him in the gut. He lost hold of Will, falling forward and catching himself with his palms, which scraped painfully against the concrete.

“Nico!” Will called.

“Still here,” Nico groaned.

“Nico? Nico, where are you?”

Oh, no , he thought.

Will couldn’t even hear him now.

Worse: Nico had lost his own grip on reality.

When he looked around him, he saw nothing but endless statues.

Some were cartoonishly inaccurate depictions of gods locked in battle.

Others were abstract art—cubes and pipes and polygons all collapsing together.

Others were Egyptian obelisks, or bronze busts of historical figures.

“Will!” he called out as he pushed himself up. “Will?”

His boyfriend had vanished.

It was horribly silent in the park. Nico spun around as terror rose in him.

Then a sharp pain pierced him between his eyes, so intense he almost dropped his blade. He saw stars. His heart felt like it was beating deep inside his brain.

“What is this?” he said, his voice slurring.

I’m so sorry, Nico , said Semele. I was afraid of this. We eidolons, when we possess, we take over a mind.

I know that , he thought. But I gave you consent.

Even so, your mind is fighting back , she said. If I don’t leave you soon, your identity may be consumed by mine, and I do not want that. If I do leave you, your mind will be exposed and vulnerable. The Mist is so strong here, you might be permanently damaged.

Nico clenched his fists, though the pain of his chafed palms made him nauseated. He was only twenty feet from the twin gods…so close. But now Will was alone, and his eidolon lifeline had turned into a noose. He was out of options. He had no idea what to do.