The Son of Neptune

Nico’s expression turned as dark as Tartarus. Hazel didn’t understand why, but she got the message: Drop it.

‘This story about Gaia’s army,’ Nico said. ‘You warned Reyna?’

Percy nodded. ‘Who is Gaia, anyway?’

Hazel’s mouth went dry. Just hearing that name … It was all she could do to keep her knees from buckling. She remembered a woman’s soft sleepy voice, a glowing cave and feeling her lungs fill with black oil.

‘She’s the earth goddess.’ Nico glanced at the ground as if it might be listening. ‘The oldest goddess of all. She’s in a deep sleep most of the time, but she hates the gods and their children.’

‘Mother Earth … is evil?’ Percy asked.

‘Very,’ Nico said gravely. ‘She convinced her son, the Titan Kronos – um, I mean, Saturn – to kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The Titans ruled for a long time. Then the Titans’ children, the Olympian gods, overthrew them.’

‘That story seems familiar.’ Percy sounded surprised, like an old memory had partially surfaced. ‘But I don’t think I ever heard the part about Gaia.’

Nico shrugged. ‘She got mad when the gods took over. She took a new husband – Tartarus, the spirit of the abyss – and gave birth to a race of giants. They tried to destroy Mount Olympus, but the gods finally beat them. At least … the first time.’

‘The first time?’ Percy repeated.

Nico glanced at Hazel. He probably wasn’t meaning to make her feel guilty, but she couldn’t help it. If Percy knew the truth about her, and the horrible things she’d done …

‘Last summer,’ Nico continued, ‘Saturn tried to make a comeback. There was a second Titan war. The Romans at Camp Jupiter stormed his headquarters on Mount Othrys, across the bay, and destroyed his throne. Saturn disappeared -’ He hesitated, watching Percy’s face. Hazel got the feeling her brother was nervous that more of Percy’s memory might come back.

‘Um, anyway,’ Nico continued, ‘Saturn probably faded back to the abyss. We all thought the war was over. Now it looks like the Titans’ defeat stirred up Gaia. She’s starting to wake. I’ve heard reports of giants being reborn. If they mean to challenge the gods again, they’ll probably start by destroying the demigods …’

‘You’ve told Reyna this?’ Percy asked.

‘Of course.’ Nico’s jaw tensed. ‘The Romans don’t trust me. That’s why I was hoping she’d listen to you. Children of Pluto … well, no offence, but they think we’re even worse than children of Neptune. We’re bad luck.’

‘They let Hazel stay here,’ Percy noted.

‘That’s different,’ Nico said.

‘Why?’

‘Percy,’ Hazel cut in, ‘look, the giants aren’t the worst problem. Even … even Gaia isn’t the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they wouldn’t die, that’s our biggest worry.’ She looked at Nico. She was getting dangerously close to her own secret now, but for some reason Hazel trusted Percy. Maybe because he was also an outsider, maybe because he’d saved Frank at the river. He deserved to know what they were facing.

‘Nico and I,’ she said carefully, ‘we think that what’s happening is … Death isn’t -’

Before she could finish, a shout came from down the hill.

Frank jogged towards them, wearing his jeans, purple camp shirt and denim jacket. His hands were covered with grease from cleaning weapons.

As it did every time she saw Frank, Hazel’s heart Performed a little skip-beat tap-dance – which really irritated her. Sure, he was a good friend – one of the only people at camp who didn’t treat her as if she had a contagious disease. But she didn’t like him in that way.

He was three years older than she was, and he wasn’t exactly Prince Charming, with that strange combination of baby face and bulky wrestler’s body. He looked like a cuddly koala bear with muscles. The fact that everyone always tried to pair them up – the two biggest losers at camp! You guys are perfect for each other – just made Hazel more determined not to like him.

But her heart wasn’t with the programme. It went nuts whenever Frank was around. She hadn’t felt like that since … well, since Sammy.

Stop it, she thought. You’re here for one reason – and it isn’t to get a new boyfriend.

Besides, Frank didn’t know her secret. If he knew, he wouldn’t be so nice to her.

He reached the shrine. ‘Hey, Nico …’

‘Frank.’ Nico smiled. He seemed to find Frank amusing, maybe because Frank was the only one at camp who wasn’t uneasy around the children of Pluto.

‘Reyna sent me to get Percy,’ Frank said. ‘Did Octavian accept you?’

‘Yeah,’ Percy said. ‘He slaughtered my panda.’

‘He … Oh. The augury? Yeah, teddy bears must have nightmares about that guy. But you’re in! We need to get you cleaned up before evening muster.’

Hazel realized the sun was getting low over the hills. How had the day gone so fast? ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘We’d better -’

‘Frank,’ Nico interrupted, ‘why don’t you take Percy down? Hazel and I will be along soon.’

Uh-oh, Hazel thought. She tried not to look anxious.

‘That’s – that’s a good idea,’ she managed. ‘Go ahead, guys. We’ll catch up.’

Percy looked at Nico one more time, as though he were still trying to place a memory. ‘I’d like to talk with you some more. I can’t shake the feeling -’

‘Sure,’ Nico agreed. ‘Later. I’ll be staying overnight.’

‘You will?’ Hazel blurted. The campers were going to love that – the son of Neptune and the son of Pluto arriving on the same day. Now all they needed was some black cats and broken mirrors.

‘Go on, Percy,’ Nico said. ‘Settle in.’ He turned to Hazel, and she got the sense that the worst part of her day was yet to come. ‘My sister and I need to talk.’

‘You know him, don’t you,’ Hazel said.

They sat on the roof of Pluto’s shrine, which was covered with bones and diamonds. As far as Hazel knew, the bones had always been there. The diamonds were her fault. If she sat anywhere too long, or just got anxious, they started popping up all around her like mushrooms after a rain. Several million dollars’ worth of stones glittered on the roof, but fortunately the other campers wouldn’t touch them. They knew better than to steal from temples – especially Pluto’s – and the fauns never came up here.

Hazel shuddered, remembering her close call with Don that afternoon. If she hadn’t moved quickly and snatched that diamond off the road … She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t need another death on her conscience.

Nico swung his feet like a little kid. His Stygian iron sword lay by his side, next to Hazel’s spatha. He gazed across the valley, where construction crews were working in the Field of Mars, building fortifications for tonight’s games.

‘Percy Jackson.’ He said the name like an incantation. ‘Hazel, I have to be careful what I say. Important things are at work here. Some secrets need to stay secret. You of all people – you should understand that.’

Hazel’s cheeks felt hot. ‘But he’s not like … like me?’

‘No,’ Nico said. ‘I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. I can’t interfere. Percy has to find his own way at this camp.’

‘Is he dangerous?’ she asked.

Nico managed a dry smile. ‘Very. To his enemies. But he’s not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him.’

‘Like I trust you,’ Hazel said bitterly.

Nico twisted his skull ring. Around him, bones began to quiver as if they were trying to form a new skeleton. whenever he got moody, Nico had that effect on the dead, kind of like Hazel’s curse. Between them, they represented Pluto’s two spheres of control: death and riches. Sometimes Hazel thought Nico had got the better end of the deal.