Page 64 of The Court of the Dead (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #2)

H azel’s brain ached as it tried to process what she was seeing.

A large Ferris wheel loomed to her right, flashing with cheerful multicolored lights as it spun. Kids giggled and shrieked with joy as they ran to a booth selling funnel cake. She could even smell it. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her how long it had been since she’d last had a meal.

“Hazel!” cried Quinoa.

When she looked for the source of the voice, all she saw was a large stick of pink cotton candy abandoned on the sidewalk.

“Hazel, on your feet!” the cotton candy screeched. “Pirithous is getting away!”

No , he isn’t , she thought. I will not disappoint my friends!

Hazel reached out with her senses, pushing against the Mist, though every breath hurt her lungs.

She needed to work with the Mist, she reminded herself—to find the currents and use them. Fortunately, the currents in the park were now like class-six whitewater rapids. She caught them and channeled them—blasting them outward.

The cotton candy became her karpos friend Quinoa. The Ferris wheel melted into clear blue sky. The kids at the funnel cake booth morphed into the Stymphalian bird collective Gregory, who was swarming around one of Pirithous’s Cyclops guards.

And there was Pirithous himself, climbing into Camp Jupiter’s Chevy minivan. One of his skeletal guardians was behind the wheel. The motor was already revving. Were skeletons allowed to drive in San Francisco? She watched as the van began to make a U-turn.

Hazel let loose an anguished howl. She’d felt like this before, years and years ago, when she was in Gaea’s cavern in Alaska—a helpless pawn in someone else’s violent plan. She refused to fail like that again.

She pressed her hands against the ground. She called out silently, with all her willpower, reaching past the Mist, beyond all the chaos in the park.

“Hazel, are you okay?” Quinoa’s voice was tight with worry.

“Calling a friend,” she muttered.

She didn’t know if this would work. The Chevy was already pulling away from the park.

Then she felt a rumble in the cement beneath her fingers—the rhythmic beat of something running fast . And the stallion Arion materialized before her in a cloud of dust.

“Holy horse!” yelped Quinoa.

Hazel grinned. Just seeing her old companion filled her with new hope. “Come on, Quinoa!” She launched herself onto Arion’s back and patted his neck. “Thank you for coming, my friend.”

Quinoa edged away nervously. “Uh, does that horse eat quinoa?”

“He prefers chunks of gold,” Hazel said.

The karpos perked up. “Well, in that case, ride ’em, cowboy!” He fluttered onto Hazel’s shoulder. She raised her spatha, and they charged after the retreating van.

Whoosh!

Another gust of Mist knocked Nico breathless, but at least it made the searing pain in his head subside.

For a moment, he saw clearly through the shifting illusions, and what he saw gave him hope: the statues were gone.

Will sat right next to him, clearly trying to stay calm and stay put, the way you’re supposed to if you’re lost in the wilderness.

And at the far end of the plaza, Asterion was leading hundreds of mythics to safety. All was not lost. It couldn’t be.

He rose to his feet. Stay with me, Semele. I’ll need your help.

But your mind is rebelling , she said.

“Then let it rebel,” he said aloud. “We have to end this.”

He trudged toward Dolus and Apate, still dancing above the fountain.

There was a dull ache in both his chest and head. He felt like he’d been hit by a truck, but he couldn’t stop now.

“Dolus!” he yelled. “Apate!”

Thankfully, they heard him this time. They stopped dancing.

“Demigod!” Dolus grinned in his skeletal face paint, looking genuinely pleased to see him. “Have you come to praise what my counterpart and I have done?”

“You…have…to…stop,” Nico wheezed.

“Stop?” Apate frowned, tilting her wide flowery hat. “But this is what we were asked to do! The Mist is restored!”

“There is so much deception happening in this park!” Dolus rubbed his hands gleefully. “We’ve done cats, dogs, Halloween, a carnival—we’re thinking maybe a volcano next—”

“No!” Nico yelped. “I mean, you’ve done an amazing job, but it’s too much. Can you dial it back?”

Apate stared at him blankly. The skeletal paint was not making her face any less terrifying. “Dial it back ? But we’re having such fun!”

Nico shuddered, feeling Semele take over his voice.

“Remember your vow,” she said. “I am Semele Thyone. And I am not pleased .”

Dolus and Apate glanced at each other. Nico recognized the look instantly. It was the same expression he and Bianca had exchanged many times when their mom returned from work and they realized they hadn’t yet done their homework or chores.

“We— Of course!” Dolus stammered.

“Dialing back is fun, too!” Apate said.

Immediately the pressure eased between Nico’s eyes. He could breathe again. All around the park, mythics started to come out of their trances. Will stood, his eyes lighting up when he saw Nico.

“Thank the gods!” he cried, running toward Nico.

But then a harpy swooped down at him, grazing his shoulder. Will tumbled and spun so that his back was against the ground. Panic filled Nico, but as the harpy came for a second pass, Will reached into one of the pockets in his cargo pants and pulled out…

Is that—? Semele said.

It was indeed a wool sock.

Will chucked it at the harpy as it neared him, its mouth open wide in a shriek, and the sock landed perfectly in the back of the harpy’s throat. The bird-woman dropped immediately and began to try to cough it up, but the thick wool garment was lodged deep inside.

The harpy shook a few more times and then keeled over, dead.

“You have to be kidding me,” said Nico, his mouth open. “Did you actually kill something with a wool sock?”

Will grinned wide. “Told you they’d come in handy!”

Semele had more important things to focus on, though. “Dolus, I appreciate your obedience,” she said, using Nico’s voice.

“You’re quite welcome,” Dolus said.

“Now,” she continued, “if you really want to help, perhaps instead of causing chaos throughout the entire park, you could stop the man who put you in chains. Focus your deceptions on Pirithous .”

The two gods shared a look of utter delight.

“We had not thought of that!” Apate said. “What a grand idea!”

“You must forgive us, Semele Thyone,” said Dolus. “We have been ignored and forgotten for so very, very long. I suppose we got carried away!”

“You will be forgiven,” she said, “as soon as Pirithous is defeated.”

“Then let’s go find that bitter buffoon!” exclaimed Apate.

The twin gods flew down to them. Apate grabbed Nico’s hands. Dolus grabbed Will’s. Together they lifted off, flying back toward the de Young.

When this is over , Nico said to Semele, you need to explain this “Thyone” thing, and why these gods are so scared of you.

When this is over , Semele agreed. But I should really vacate your mind before—

Not yet , Nico said, because he suspected as soon as Semele left him, he was going to pass out. When Pirithous is defeated.

He just hoped he could keep his consciousness intact that long.

Hazel had never been in such a satisfying car wreck.

Arion literally ran circles around the van, and then stopped right in front of it. When the skeletal driver swerved to avoid the sudden magical horse, Arion zipped to one side, allowing the van to careen into the nearest eucalyptus tree.

Hazel didn’t love wrecking the camp’s only working mortal vehicle, but she did enjoy the sound of Pirithous wailing as he hurtled forward and cracked the windshield with his face.

This is why we always wear our seat belts, kids , she thought.

The skeleton in the driver’s seat had gone halfway through the windshield, conducting a violent mind meld with the eucalyptus tree.

Hazel didn’t think he would be recovering anytime soon.

The side door of the Chevy rolled open, and the second skeleton staggered out, drunkenly waving his bident.

But he was no match for an angry grain spirit.

Quinoa flew under his spear and executed a perfect aerial roundhouse kick to the guard’s bony face, causing the skull to pop off and roll under the van.

The rest of the guard collapsed in a pile of red robes and bones.

That left only Pirithous, who stumbled out of the passenger’s-side door.

His judge’s robes were in tatters. He still held his gavel, but it had snapped in half, so it now looked like a wilted flower.

A large piece of glass was embedded in Pirithous’s forehead.

The rest of his face didn’t look so great, either.

If he survived, he would need stitches, plastic surgery, and probably a new left eye.

Somewhere behind Hazel, a voice said, “Well, look who we found!”

She turned to see Apate and Dolus floating in for a landing, carrying Nico and Will by the hands.

Hazel dismounted. She ran to Nico, wrapping him in a hug. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, though his face was even paler than usual and his skin was cold. Will met Hazel’s eyes and shook his head, confirming that Nico was going to need medical help, and soon.

Dolus hooted as he looked Pirithous up and down. “Hey, buddy. How’s that judicial system working for you?”

Pirithous snarled, but he didn’t have enough energy to be properly menacing. “It is not too late,” he mumbled, a trickle of blood seeping from his ear. “We can still work together! There’s so much synergy here! Don’t you feel it?”

Apate glanced at her counterpart. “Wow, he doesn’t give up, does he?”

“I still have allies!” Pirithous insisted. “Those gods are bound to me until I release them!”

He pointed his broken gavel at Nico. “Attack him ! If you believe at all in law and order, destroy these criminals, and you will be pardoned! Join our winning side!”

But the fight was petering out of the “winning” side.

The plaza was now almost cleared of mythics.

Asterion and his allies were cleaning up the last of the enemy forces who hadn’t chosen to desert Pirithous.

Only the di inferi and a few other minor gods remained on the field with their army of undead, but they seemed to be holding back.

Maybe they were waiting for direct orders to attack from Pirithous—orders that they probably realized were never going to come, because even the most forgotten gods aren’t fools.

Quinoa scowled. “Are the bad guys you fight normally this pathetic?”

“No,” Nico said. “This one is a special case.”

“What?” Pirithous snapped. “What about my case?”

“Forget it,” Nico said. “Apate and Dolus, do you think you could convince the judge here to release the other gods from their vows?”

Dolus grinned. “We’d be delighted.”

Pirithous backed up against the van. “Don’t you dare! I’m the hero here! I’m—”

He started to scream and claw at his eyes, which were already not in great shape. “Get them away from me! Get them away!”

The twin gods hadn’t moved, but they’d clearly done something to the judge’s mind.

Hazel frowned at them. “What is he seeing?”

“Giant spiders,” Apate said with glee. “He’s terrified of them!”

“It can stop, Pirithous,” Dolus said, “if you release the gods from their vows.”

The judge crumpled and started to cry. “I release them! You are released, gods! Just…please. No spiders!”

Hazel glanced back across the plaza. The minor gods, along with their army, disappeared like a fog bank burning away in the sun.

Suddenly, Hazel wasn’t sure what to do. They stood around watching Pirithous blubber while their friends slowly gathered around them.

Frank and Savannah were supporting Arielle, who was limping along on her Celestial bronze leg.

Yazan, Deion, and Johan walked arm in arm, laughing about house cats.

Lavinia and Lucius Silver were dancing the Cotton Eye Joe down the road while Orcus flew reconnaissance above them.

Last came Asterion, walking with dignity like a conquering prince, which he was.

Will reached into his pants pockets and pulled out some Kit Kat bars. He passed the first one to Nico. “Eat. Doctor’s orders.”

But he had plenty of extras. By the time all their friends had gathered at the car crash, everyone was munching chocolate and watching Pirithous cry.

The Cocoa Puffs had gathered as well, since they tended to show up whenever food was available. They bounced around everyone’s feet, making puppy-dog eyes and begging for scraps. Defiance sniffed at Pirithous’s shredded robes but apparently decided the judge didn’t smell so good.

“His Honor looks pretty sad,” said Hazel.

“Very,” added Asterion.

“So what do we do with him now?” Nico mused.

“Punish me, of course!” Pirithous screamed. “If you think I’m guilty, it’s what I deserve!”

“Dude,” said Will, “what is with your obsession with punishment? We just wanted to stop your bizarre take-over-the-Underworld scheme. We never wanted to punish you!”

Apate snorted. “Speak for yourself, demigod.”

“I would happily drop him into Tartarus,” Dolus agreed. “There are some lovely big spiders down there.”

Pirithous whimpered and cowered.

“I think you’ve done enough,” said Hazel. “As terrible as Pirithous is, I don’t want to hurt him any more or kill him.”

“Yeah,” Deion agreed. “It would be like killing an injured animal. A nasty injured animal, but still…”

Hazel glanced up at the helicopter, which continued to circle the park. “There’s also the question of how we conceal what happened here. The mortals got quite a show.”

As soon as she said this, the hair rose on her arms. She felt a cold, heavy presence in the woods, just off the road—something familiar, powerful, and dangerous.

The others must have felt it too. They instinctively backed away. Some readied their weapons, but Hazel raised her hand. “No,” she said. “Wait.”

A woman emerged from the trees. Or rather…

three women joined at the waist. Her faces ranged from a teenaged girl to a middle-aged woman to a grizzled grandmother.

Purple flames haloed her body, flickering across the folds of her midnight-black dress.

At her side padded the largest hellhound Hazel had ever seen. On the woman’s shoulder sat a weasel….

No, Hazel realized. Not a weasel. A polecat. The goddess’s sacred animal.

“Perhaps,” said the woman, “you should let me take things from here.”

Dolus and Apate bowed their heads and knelt, still floating in the air since they had no feet to stand on. Hazel took a knee as well.

It had been a long time since she’d seen the goddess of magic, but she remembered that voice. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Lady Hecate,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again.”