“Of course,” she said. “What can I do?”
“I need you to go to Camp Jupiter,” Hazel said. “I’m pretty sure that’s where Will and Nico are right now, assuming they escaped.”
“Nico!” Naomi’s face lit up. “Oh, I’m so glad he’s here, too. But…escaped? Escaped what?”
Hazel did her best to explain, but it was a lot. She felt like she was tossing Naomi Solace a million balls to juggle all at once: kidnapped mythics, the Court of the Dead, the plan to break the Mist and put Hades on trial. Once she saw Naomi’s eyes glaze over, she realized the details didn’t matter. Whatdidmatter was that Hazel needed to get her whereabouts to her friends as soon as possible. She instructed Will’s mom about how to find the entrance to Camp Jupiter and what she should say to Frank and the others.
When she was done, Naomi grimaced. “Yeah, I didn’t understand most of that. Court of the Dead. Dodecahedrons. Frank Zhang. But I can definitely relay the message.”
“I can’t thank you enough.”
“You don’t need to, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.” Her face wrinkled in worry as she typed Hazel’s dictation on her smartphone. “I admit I haven’t had much experience with your world. I was there the day a flock of birds attacked my son in New York and the satyr Maron rescued us, but since then…” Her voice trailed off.
Hazel realized that Naomi was looking past her now, at something that had made her jaw drop.
Hazel turned to find Asterion towering over her.
“You are speaking to a human,” the bull-man noted. “Is she an ally or an enemy?”
“Oh my gods,” said Naomi, her eyes wide. “Are you…?”
“Naomi Solace, meet Asterion,” said Hazel, before Naomi could use the dreaded wordMinotaur. “Asterion, this is Will’s mother.”
At the mention of Will’s name, Asterion immediately took a knee. “Your son is a brave hero, madam. I am indebted to him and his boyfriend for all their assistance.”
“Asterion, it’s so good to meet you,” Naomi said. She seemed to have recovered her wits in record time, given that she was talking to a mountain of mythological muscle. “And please, get up. I wish I could shake your hand or give you a hug!”
“She’s going to Camp Jupiter for us,” Hazel explained.
Asterion rose. “Thenyouhave my admiration as well. Thank you. You will help us immensely by informing our friends of our location.”
“I’ll get going, then.” Naomi hesitated for a moment. “Wow, I’m glad I stopped by the park today. It’s like fate!”
Hazel had dealt with the Fates before, and she didn’t think much of them, but she gave Naomi a grateful smile. “We’re glad, too. Please, be careful.”
Naomi Solace dashed off, still talking to herself excitedly.
“She will find them,” said Asterion. “This is a wonderful development.”
“I know,” Hazel said. “But I’m still so worried.”
“That is natural when one is trapped,” he said. “Imagine how I felt in the Labyrinth. I knew I could easily best every human that was sent to me, yet I still could never leave.”
Hazel took his hand. The baby-blue nail polish was starting to chip off his fingernails. Hazel made a mental note to share some new colors with him if—when—they got back to camp. “I’m sorry you’re a prisoner yet again.”
He twitched his ears. “At least now I am with friends. And this time, I was taken prisoner for living the life I wanted to live. That is a risk always worth taking. Besides, hope is not lost! I was just coming to tell you that the telkhines have an idea.”
“An idea? For what?”
He smiled. “They think we candigour way out.”
Nico stood at the crossroads. To the east, the road led to New Rome. To the south, it meandered toward Temple Hill.
His original impulse had been to visit his father’s shrine. Hades had never been one to respond to his prayers, but Nico harbored a slim hope that, after their most recent interaction, the god might be open to appearing and giving him some advice.
Now he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Did he really want to burden his father with yet another demigod conflict? Surely Hades already knew what was going on with Pirithous and this Court of the Dead. And if he didn’t, did Nico really want to be the one to break the bad news?
Savannah’s words echoed in his head:It’s not easy to ask for help.
