He quickly crumpled the aeroplane and ate it.
Reyna and Nico got to their feet. Aurum and Argentum scampered to Reyna’s side and growled at the intruder.
How this guy had got so close with none of them noticing, Nico didn’t understand.
‘Bryce Lawrence,’ Reyna said. ‘Octavian’s newest attack dog.’
The Roman inclined his head. His eyes were green, but not sea green like Percy’s … more like pond-scum green.
‘The augur has many attack dogs,’ Bryce said. ‘I’m just the lucky one who found you. Your Graecus friend here –’ he pointed his chin at Nico – ‘he was easy to track. He stinks of the Underworld.’
Nico unsheathed his sword. ‘You know the Underworld? Would you like me to arrange a visit?’
Bryce laughed. His front teeth were two different shades of yellow. ‘Do you think you can frighten me? I’m a descendant of Orcus, the god of broken vows and eternal punishment. I’ve heard the screams in the Fields of Punishment firsthand. They’re music to my ears. Soon, I’ll be adding one more damned soul to the chorus.’
He grinned at Reyna. ‘Patricide, eh? Octavian will love this news. You are under arrest for multiple violations of Roman law.’
‘You being here is against Roman law,’ Reyna said. ‘Romans don’t quest alone. A mission has to be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. You’re in probatio, and even giving you that rank was a mistake. You have no right to arrest me.’
Bryce shrugged. ‘In times of war, some rules have to be flexible. But don’t worry. Once I bring you in for trial, I’ll be rewarded with full membership in the legion. I imagine I’ll be promoted to centurion, too. Doubtless there will be vacancies after the coming battle. Some officers won’t survive, especially if their loyalties aren’t in the right place.’
Coach Hedge hefted his bat. ‘I don’t know the proper Roman etiquette, but can I bash this kid now?’
‘A faun,’ Bryce said. ‘Interesting. I heard the Greeks actually trusted their goat men.’
Hedge bleated. ‘I’m a satyr. And you can trust I’m going to put this bat upside your head, you little punk.’
The coach advanced, but, as soon as his foot touched the cairn, the stones rumbled like they were coming to the boil. Out of the grave site, skeletal warriors erupted – spartoi in the tattered remains of British redcoat uniforms.
Hedge scrambled away, but the first two skeletons grabbed his arms and lifted him off the ground. The coach dropped his bat and kicked his hooves.
‘Lemme go, ya stupid boneheads!’ he bellowed.
Nico watched, paralysed, as the grave spewed forth more dead British soldiers – five, ten, twenty, multiplying so quickly that Reyna and her metal dogs were surrounded before Nico even thought to raise his sword.
How could he not have sensed so many dead, so close at hand?
‘I forgot to mention,’ Bryce said, ‘I’m actually not alone on this quest. As you can see, I have backup. These redcoats promised quarter to the colonials. Then they butchered them. Personally, I like a good massacre, but, because they broke their oaths, their spirits were damned and they are perpetually under the power of Orcus. Which means they are also under my control.’ He pointed to Reyna. ‘Seize the girl.’
The spartoi surged forward. Aurum and Argentum took down the first few, but they were quickly wrestled to the ground, skeletal hands clamped over their muzzles. The redcoats grabbed Reyna’s arms. For undead creatures, they were surprisingly quick.
Finally, Nico came to his senses. He slashed at the spartoi, but his sword passed harmlessly through them. He exerted his will, ordering the skeletons to dissolve. They acted as if he didn’t exist.
‘What’s wrong, son of Hades?’ Bryce’s voice was filled with fake sympathy. ‘Losing your grip?’
Nico tried to push his way through the skeletons. There were too many. Bryce, Reyna and Coach Hedge might as well have been behind a metal wall.
‘Nico, get out of here!’ Reyna said. ‘Get to the statue and leave.’
‘Yes, off you go!’ Bryce agreed. ‘Of course, you realize that your next shadow-jump will be your last. You know you don’t have the strength to survive another. But, by all means, take the Athena Parthenos.’
Nico glanced down. He still held his Stygian sword, but his hands were dark and transparent like smoky glass. Even in the direct sunlight, he was dissolving.
‘Stop this!’ he said.
‘Oh, I’m not doing a thing,’ Bryce said. ‘But I am curious to see what will happen. If you take the statue, you’ll disappear with it forever, right into oblivion. If you don’t take it … well, I have orders to bring Reyna in alive to stand trial for treason. I have no orders to bring you in alive, or the faun.’
‘Satyr!’ the coach yelled. He kicked a skeleton in its bony crotch, which seemed to hurt Hedge more than the redcoat. ‘Ow! Stupid British dead guys!’
Bryce lowered his javelin and poked the coach in the belly. ‘I wonder what this one’s pain tolerance would be. I’ve experimented on all kinds of animals. I even killed my own centurion once. I’ve never tried a faun … excuse me, a satyr. You reincarnate, don’t you? How much pain can you take before you turn into a patch of daisies?’
Nico’s anger turned as cold and dark as his blade. He’d been morphed into a few plants himself, and he didn’t appreciate it. He hated people like Bryce Lawrence, who inflicted pain jus
t for fun.
‘Leave him alone,’ Nico warned.
Bryce raised an eyebrow. ‘Or what? By all means, try something Underworldy, Nico. I’d love to see it. I have a feeling anything major will make you fade out permanently. Go ahead.’
Reyna struggled. ‘Bryce, forget about them. If you want me as your prisoner, fine. I’ll go willingly and face Octavian’s stupid trial.’
‘A fine offer.’ Bryce turned his javelin, letting the tip hover a few inches from Reyna’s eyes. ‘You really don’t know what Octavian has planned, do you? He’s been busy pulling in favours, spending the legion’s money.’
Reyna clenched her fists. ‘Octavian has no right –’
‘He has the right of power,’ Bryce said. ‘You forfeited your authority when you ran off to the ancient lands. On August first, your Greek friends at Camp Half-Blood will find out what a powerful enemy Octavian is. I’ve seen the designs for his machines … Even I’m impressed.’
Nico’s bones felt like they were changing into helium, the way they’d felt when the god Favonius turned him into a breeze.
Then he locked eyes with Reyna. Her strength surged through him – a wave of courage and resilience that made him feel substantial again, anchored to the mortal world. Even surrounded by the dead and facing execution, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano had a huge reservoir of bravery to share.
‘Nico,’ she said, ‘do what you need to do. I’ve got your back.’
Bryce chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. ‘Oh, Reyna. You’ve got his back? It’s going to be so fun dragging you before a tribunal, forcing you to confess that you killed your father. I hope they’ll execute you in the ancient way – sewn into a sack with a rabid dog, then thrown into a river. I’ve always wanted to see that. I can’t wait until your little secret comes out.’
Until your little secret comes out.
Bryce flicked the point of his pilum across Reyna’s face, leaving a line of blood.
And Nico’s rage exploded.
XXXI
Nico
LATER, THEY TOLD HIM WHAT HAPPENED. All he remembered was the screaming.
According to Reyna, the air around him dropped to freezing. The ground blackened. In one horrible cry, he unleashed a flood of pain and anger on everyone in the clearing. Reyna and the coach experienced his journey through Tartarus, his capture by the giants, his days wasting away inside that bronze jar. They felt Nico’s anguish from his days on the Argo II and his encounter with Cupid in the ruins of Salona.
They heard his unspoken challenge to Bryce Lawrence, loud and clear: You want secrets? Here.
The spartoi disintegrated into ashes. The rocks of the cairn turned white with frost. Bryce Lawrence stumbled, clutching his head, both nostrils bleeding.
Nico marched towards him. He grabbed Bryce’s probatio tablet and ripped it off his neck.
‘You aren’t worthy of this,’ Nico growled.
The earth split under Bryce’s feet. He sank up to his waist. ‘Stop!’ Bryce clawed at the ground and the plastic bouquets, but his body kept sinking.
‘You took an oath to the legion.’ Nico’s breath steamed in the cold. ‘You broke its rules. You inflicted pain. You killed your own centurion.’
‘I – I didn’t! I –’
‘You should’ve died for your crimes,’ Nico continued. ‘That was the punishment. Instead you got exile. You should have stayed away. Your father Orcus may not approve of broken oaths. But my father Hades really doesn’t approve of those who escape punishment.’
‘Please!’
That word didn’t make sense to Nico. The Underworld had no mercy. It only had justice.
‘You’re already dead,’ Nico said. ‘You’re a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won’t be sharing any secrets.’
‘No!’ Bryce’s body turned dark and smoky. He slipped into the earth, up to his chest. ‘No, I am Bryce Lawrence! I’m alive!’
‘Who are you?’ Nico asked.
The next sound from Bryce’s mouth was a chattering whisper. His face became indistinct. He could have been anyone – just another nameless spirit among millions.