“Hazel can do it,” said Will. “Her powers are growing fast.”
“That’s right,” Nico said. “If my little Care Bear here can learn archery, Hazel can out-magic a minor god.”
That got Frank’s attention. “Archery, huh?”
Will blushed, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation’s detour. “Yeah. I’m overdue…. Like, a lifetime overdue.”
“How’s it going?”
“Despite being so tired, I sneaked in a good training session this morning with one of your Lares—guy named Marcus?”
Frank nodded. “He was part of the auxilia in ancient times, from a famed battalion of Roman archers. You’re getting a lesson from one of the best archers ever. You should be an expert by, like…tomorrow.”
Will laughed nervously. “Don’t know about that, but I am getting better! I can hit the bull’s-eye more often now. On purpose, even!”
Nico waved off his comment. “You’re a child of Apollo. It’s clearly coming naturally to you. Besides, we all have to start somewhere, right?”
“Haven’t I used that exact logic on you before?” Will asked.
“And now I’m weaponizing it,” Nico said with a smirk. “How does it feel?”
“Oh my gods!” Hazel’s voice broke through their conversation. “Are you two going to be this sickeningly cute tonight?”
They both glanced at her.
“Deal with it,” said Nico.
Frank started to laugh. “Definitely glad I’m going to be outside,” he said.
The legion’s vault would not have been Nico’s first choice for a slumber party. The marble floor was hard. The arched ceiling glowed with harsh white light that couldn’t be adjusted. Rows of freestanding mahogany shelves marched down the center of the long room—some filled with books, others with boxes of artifacts or glass display cases. If a fight broke out in here, Nico worried all those shelves would fall like dominos, crushing them under an avalanche of antique magic weapons and battle trophies.
The only exit was a circular metal staircase that led back up to the praetors’ office. The trapdoor at the top was now sealed from both sides with magic and mechanical locks. Nico had never been afraid of being underground, but after his experience as a prisoner in a bronze jar, he didn’t love enclosed spaces.
Also, it was musty. Orcus spent the first half hour sneeze-farting, while Johan apologized that he hadn’t brought a feather duster and complained that no self-respecting archivist would leave a collection in this condition.
“I will fix it,” he promised. “Assuming we don’t have to flee the camp. And assuming we are not abducted and brutally killed.”
“Please stop assuming.” Orcus sneezed so hard that he molted a blizzard of down.
Nothing happened forhours. Hazel sat cross-legged against the far wall, in front of a display of old battle standards. She looked like she was meditating, though that must have been difficult with a cacodemon rolling around in her lap. She’d insisted on choosing Guilt because she thought it would keep her focused on not failing again.
Semele drifted restlessly through the stacks. She was the only one who couldn’t hold a cacodemon, and it seemed to make her uneasy. Every time she came across a row of manuscripts, she fumigated them, seeping between the pages and apparently absorbing what was written there. Nico wondered if this was the eidolon version of flipping through old magazines in a waiting room.
Will had unrolled his sleeping bag next to Nico’s. He lounged on his side like a true Roman, absently scratching Grief’s antlers while the cacodemon cooed with approval. By the end of the night, Nico figured, either Will would be overcome by grief, or Grief would be overcome by Will.
As for Nico, he’d chosen his old buddy Loneliness. The one-eyed urchin-like blob was now sprawled belly-up on Nico’s sleeping bag, blissfully chewing on its drawstring.
This wasn’t the first time Nico had done a stakeout, but he found it hard to relax. Maybe that was just as well. He couldn’t afford to fall asleep.
Will tried to engage him in a rambling conversation, which Nico was thankful for, because it was the only thing that pulled his mind away from the unknown.
Somany unknowns. Who was sneaking into Camp Jupiter? Why had they kidnapped Asterion, Arielle, and Quinoa? And what was thiscourtthe voice had mentioned last night?
Nico had so little to go on, and it was in these undefined areas that his mind loved to imagine the worst: His new friends were dead. More were going to be kidnapped. Nico and Hazel wouldn’t be able to stop it.
He glanced at Loneliness, who was chewing his drawstring into a frayed, soggy mess.You’re not actually alone right now, he reminded himself.You’re not going to mess this up.
He fiddled with his tessera pendant, which Savannah had gotten operational again after last night’s meltdown. “Frank,” he said.
