The eidolon’s voice nearly gave Nico a coronary. Once he knew where to look, he could discern the telltale signs of gray smoke, but Julius Caesar! He wondered if smoke could be spray-painted, maybe neon orange.
“You mean whoever has been speaking in your dreams?” he asked.
“Perhaps.” Semele sounded both angry and weary. “Although it’s clear some of you demigods hate Arielle and her kind.” She paused. “Ourkind. Is it so unbelievable that someone could have taken revenge on her?”
None of the demigods had an immediate response. Nico didn’t want Semele to be right. Would anyone in Camp Jupiter actually do that?
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Hazel. “I’ll go into the city and talk to Terminus.” She glanced at Will. “He’s the Roman god of boundaries. If anyone knows whether Arielle left the valley, he will. Meet you back at the mess hall for breakfast?”
Nico watched as she trudged away. He felt terrible for her, knowing she’d soon have to make an announcement to the whole legion, and if she didn’t have any hard information to share, the legionnaires would jump to more wild conclusions.
Meanwhile, Will did his best to console the other mythics. He assured them Arielle would be found.
“I hope you are right,” said Asterion. “I do not think a demigod harmed Arielle. I cannot believe she was taken by a dream voice. But we will stay in our quarters today, just to be safe.”
“Hey!” Quinoa protested. “I got an audition with the New Rome kindergarten today. I even made pots of dirt and seedlings for the kids! I ain’t missing my big chance!”
“Besides,” Semele said bitterly, “staying in our quarters won’t keep us safe. Arielle wastakenfrom our quarters. We need to leave this place.”
“We will discuss this in private,” Asterion commanded, his voice gruff. “Come, all of you. Inside.”
Once the mythics were gone, Nico surveyed the Field of Mars. Gray light was just giving definition to the surrounding hills.
A feeling of danger needled his skin.
He sensed that someone was watching him. Not Semele…something more powerful—larger, more malicious. The last time he’d felt this was back in Tartarus, in the presence of Nyx. He glanced down at his Puffs, who also seemed agitated. They huddled around his ankles, pushing and shoving to get closer to Nico.
“What is it?” Will asked.
“I’m not sure,” Nico admitted. “Let’s get back to camp. I want to check on Savannah.”
News of Arielle’s disappearance spread fast through Camp Jupiter. To Nico’s irritation, most of the legionnaires reacted with a shrug, or even worse, made jokes about it. Nobody seemed terribly concerned. Along the Via Praetoria, Nico heard bits and pieces of conversations like: “It was bound to happen.” “Good riddance.” “Maybe we should smack the rest of them with practice swords.”
Only Lavinia’s Fifth Cohort seemed to take the disappearance seriously. With Frank’s permission, they had mobilized to search for the empousa, but even this became the subject of wisecracks: “Losers looking for losers. Lavinia and the vampire would make cute tap-dancing partners, wouldn’t they?”
It was all Nico could do to control his rage and not summon an army of skeletons to kick some Roman posteriors.
He found the Second Cohort on the Via Principalis. Savannah was lined up with the rest of the group, running pre-breakfast spear drills like on any other day. Centurion Maurice didn’t look thrilled when Nico asked to borrow her for a few minutes. Nico insisted it was important.
“Whatever,” Maurice said. “Just don’t upset her again. She’s been through enough.”
Nico led Savannah to the porch of the guest barracks. They sat together on the steps as the sun rose a baleful red over the eastern hills. The Puffs, who were both sleepy and smart, took this opportunity to scamper back inside and catch some more z’s in Nico’s bunk.
Without preamble, Savannah said, “I had nothing to do with it.”
She sounded sad rather than defensive. Her red hair was gathered back in a messy bun. Her armor was well polished, as per regulation, but her hands and jeans were speckled with gray flecks that looked like dried clay. From one wrist dangled a glazed blue stone pendant on a twisted rope bracelet. Nico realized he’d seen other Roman demigods with those. Had Frank been wearing one? Hazel? He’d been too busy to pay much attention.
He waited for Savannah to say more. He didn’t believe she had the ability to abduct an empousa from her room in the middle of the night. On the other hand, Savannah had wounded Arielle badly. She’d made the empousa a pariah at camp. Her personal tragedy didn’t excuse those things, and Nico didn’t trust himself to respond.
Savannah scraped a fleck of clay off her knee. “Yes, I wanted her gone. I…I’m glad she’s gone.” She scowled at Nico, daring him to object. “Monsters should notbehere.”
Nico stayed silent for a count of ten.
“But…?” he prompted.
“But I shouldn’t have attacked her,” Savannah said. “I know she’s not the empousa who killed my parents. She didn’t deserve the way I treated her.”
That was something. Nico’s desire to yell at Savannah subsided.I’m an elder demigod, he reminded himself.It’s my job to guide others.
