Untitled Part 30
Orcus swooped down to join Nico, Will, and Deion just before they entered the tunnel on the Camp Jupiter side. The griffin landed on Deion's shoulder.
"I am practicing my surveillance," he announced. "I did not see any others following the human. Also, I did not get stuck on the highway this time!"
"Great job, buddy!" Deion said. "So...you're sure this person is a human?"
"She seems to be," said Orcus. "Apparently, she took an Uber to Tunnel Road, right above the sentry post, and walked down the side of the hill from there. She nearly scared our sentries to death. But perhaps this is the Mist again, and we're about to be tricked!"
The griffin sounded weirdly excited by the possibility. Maybe he really was getting comfortable being part of Camp Jupiter.
"We'll see," Will said. He looked down at Loneliness, who was harnessed in the special pouch on Will's chest. "You all right there, little guy?"
The fuzzball cooed at Will.
As they headed into the tunnel, the rest of the Puffs bobbed along behind them, jostling and wrestling with one another. Nico felt like his nerves were doing exactly the same thing inside him: chaotically bouncing up and down. Were they about to be fooled again? Was this another trap from Laverna or Pirithous?
He recalled his father's recent words: Continue to trust your instincts.
That would've been great advice if Nico felt like he did trust his instincts. Instead, he was constantly second-guessing himself. Or was he second-guessing an instinct he should pay attention to? Or...
Nico decided to shelve that internal conversation. It would get him nothing but a headache. He was trying to guard against this human visitor without knowing anything about them, which wasn't helpful at all. He reached for Will's hand.
"Everything okay?" Will asked quietly.
Nico hooked his index finger around Will's pinkie. "It will be."
Still, the walk through the tunnel itself was nerve-racking. The closer they got to the double doors, the more furiously Nico's heart beat.
"We're going to find Hazel," said Will. "No matter what."
Nico nodded mutely. When they reached the western doors, Deion flung them open, and light filled the tunnel. Nico saw the outline of someone standing just outside. It took him a moment to make out Frank.
"Thanks for coming," the praetor said.
Nico wondered how Frank had gotten there so fast. As the eagle flew, it was a mile or more from the Field of Mars. Then Nico remembered Frank could literally turn into an eagle, so maybe he'd answered his own question.
Nico stepped onto the sentry platform, shielding his eyes. "Where are they?"
Frank pointed to the other side, where two guards—Claudia and Janice from the Fourth—faced a tall human woman with curly blond hair and a sort of glam country-singer outfit. Nico couldn't help but admire her maroon leather jacket.
He'd expected to find the sentries holding the unknown visitor at spearpoint. Instead, they were laughing at a story she'd just told.
"No way," said Janice. "You met Beyoncé?
The visitor grinned. "I mean, it was really brief, but she was so nice. 'Texas Hold 'Em'—incredible, right?"
Will squeezed Nico's hand. Hard.
The next word out of his mouth was the last thing Nico expected. "Mom?!"
Will rushed forward, plowing straight between Claudia and Janice and into his mother's open arms.
"Oh my gods, Will!" the woman sobbed, holding him tight.
Nico's jaw hit the ground. He wanted to say, That's your mom? But he had lost the ability to use words.
Will pulled back. "Mom, what are you doing here? I knew you had some Bay Area shows this week, but—"
The woman laughed, and Nico instantly heard how similar she sounded to Will. "I was just walking through Golden Gate Park, minding my own business. I had no idea you were even on the West Coast! And then I met your lovely friend Hazel."
"Hazel?" Frank stepped forward urgently. "She's all right? And she's in Golden Gate Park?"
He looked so fervent, Nico was afraid he might turn into a ram and head-butt Will's mom until she coughed up answers.
Will held up his hand for a pause. "I want to hear all about that. But first, introductions. Guys, this is Naomi Solace, my mom. Mom, you've met Claudia and Janice. This is Deion, and Orcus, and Frank." He turned toward Nico and smiled. "And this grumpy ball of darkness is—"
She didn't let Will finish. If Nico hadn't known any better, he would've sworn Will's mom had superhuman speed, because she ran toward him, squealing with delight, and pulled him into a warm hug.
"Nico!" she said. "I'm so excited to finally meet you. Thank you for loving my son."
Nico had to force himself not to disintegrate into ugly-happy crying. First, a loving conversation with his father. Now the warmest greeting he'd ever received—from Will's mom, no less. He realized this must be what Hades had meant about arranging a "happy coincidence," and he decided he owed the lord of the Underworld an excellent Father's Day card this year.
"It's—it's nice to meet you, too," he said into Naomi's shoulder. Her guitar-shaped dangle earring dug into the side of his face, but he didn't mind.
Naomi released him and then looked down at the Puffs bouncing around his feet. "And who are these cuties?"
The Puffs all froze in shock and stared at her, as if wondering Who is this woman and why does she have such excellent taste?
"Mom, priorities!" said Will.
But Naomi insisted on meeting and greeting everyone personally— including Orcus the griffin and each of Nico's emotional demons.
Frank looked like he was about to cry. "I—I'm very glad you're here, Mrs. Solace, but about Hazel—"
"Oh, you are all so cute. I'm so happy to meet you!" She pulled Frank into a hug next. "But I'm Naomi. Please, please don't call me Mrs. Solace or Ms. Solace. Just Naomi will do. Now, about your brave friend Hazel..."
Naomi told them how she'd run into Hazel in the plaza outside the de Young Museum, where she was apparently being held inside a massive dodecahedron cage with several hundred mythic friends.
Nico had never felt such dramatic emotional whiplash. "So Asterion is alive, too? And Arielle and Quinoa?"
"This is amazing news!" Orcus cried. "I must go tell the others!" He launched himself from Deion's shoulder and took off for Camp Jupiter. =
Naomi smiled. "I like him. Somehow, I thought griffins were bigger, but he's just about purse-size! Adorable."
"I feel like my brain is going to explode," said Deion.
Will put his hands on either side of his mom's face. "Mom, please focus. One thing at a time! You're sure Hazel said dodecahedrons?"
"Yes, I— Well, let me check." Naomi pulled out her cell phone and read something from it. "Yes. Four dodecahedrons. And they're running out of food, and water, and air. That's important."
Frank groaned. "We need to leave immediately."
"Hold on," Nico said. "We still need to gather the rest of the team, plus debrief with Johan and Semele. They might've found some more info on Pirithous. Can we bring Naomi inside Camp Jupiter? Do we have your permission?"
"Of course," Frank said without hesitation. "Anyone who can help us bring our friends home is a friend of Camp Jupiter."
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Naomi said. "Is this like Camp Half-Blood?
Deion looked offended. "Uh, no. We are far superior to the Greek camp."
"Please," said Nico. "You've never stepped foot in Camp Half-Blood."
"Anyway..." Frank intervened. "Claudia, Janice—good job. Stay on duty. The rest of you, let's go."
The sentries looked disappointed that they couldn't follow Naomi and hear more of her stories, but they glumly went back to their posts.
Frank gestured to the tunnel entrance. "Ladies first?"
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Naomi grinned at Will. "I know your demigod life is your own, but I've always wanted to see a little more of it."
He blushed. "Well...prepare yourself, Mom. This might be a lot."
Nico was pretty sure that nothing would be "a lot" for Naomi Solace.
In just an hour, it seemed like Naomi had won over half of Camp Jupiter with her bubbly personality and the need to introduce herself to practically everyone she came across, including the fustiest of the Lares. Even Vitellius Reticulus called her "delightful." She was one of the most rambunctious people Nico had ever met, and he was obsessed with her.
They made a pit stop at the mess hall because Naomi wanted to see how the wind spirits delivered food. Nico left the Puffs there to feed on table scraps—their new favorite hobby—and then they headed down the Via Principalis, where they met Semele with Orcus in tow. Will's mom had a field day with both the concept and the reality of an eidolon.
"This is all so exciting!" Naomi said. "Eidolons and griffins and ancestral ghosts wandering the camp...It makes me want to write a song."
Frank gave her a nervous look. "Uh...the camp's existence is technically a secret, so—"
"Oh, honey," she said. "You can't suppress inspiration when it strikes."
"Don't worry, Frank," said Will. "She writes in metaphors. It's not like she'll publish directions to the camp."
"Your love like tiny griffin wings," Naomi sang. "An eidolon to pull my strings. Hmm, I'll workshop it!"
"I think that's excellent," said Orcus.
"It needs work," said Semele, but Nico sensed gentle amusement in her voice.
Frank didn't seem entirely convinced, but he let it go. He sent Deion to gather the rest of their squad—Lavinia, Lucius, Savannah, and Yazan—and then led the group into the principia. Johan was waiting for them with a stack of old documents and a fresh pot of tea. Naomi gushed over the way Johan had organized the bookshelves, which made the blemmyae glow with pride.
"These are mostly camp records," he explained. "Admissions, awards, organizational details...that sort of thing. Dating back hundreds of years!"
"Wow," Naomi said. "I could spend an entire week reading these."
Will gave Nico a pointed look. "Thank you! I thought the same thing."
Nico crossed his arms. "I hope you know just how bizarre this is for me. You and your mom are barely different people. She's just a bit extra."
As if on cue, they both smiled ear to ear.
"I'll take that as a compliment," said Naomi. "And you're right. Will does take after me the most."
That boggled Nico's mind. In the equation Naomi Solace + Apollo, Apollo had contributed the calmer half of Will's personality.
Naomi turned to Johan again. "By the way, this Darjeeling blend is excellent."
Johan's enormous eyes teared up. "It is so rare to meet a fellow tea enthusiast. Would you like to tour the archive downstairs? I've just recataloged our entire collection of magic dangly straps!"
"Maybe later, Johan," said Frank, who seemed a bit in over his head. "We have to do some planning."
"Oh." Johan pouted with his entire chest. "Of course, Praetor."
Naomi winked at the blemmyae. "But I'm sure the dangly straps are amazing."
The group circled around the praetors' desk. "Okay, Mom, tell us everything you can about what you saw and heard," said Will. "No matter how small the detail. Everything is going to help us."
Naomi launched into a thorough and animated recounting of her morning in the park—the mythics, the barrier, her talk with Hazel and Asterion. Nico realized that she was a natural storyteller, so it made sense that she related stories through music for a living. He also loved getting to see his boyfriend interact with his mom. It was like the last piece of the Will Solace puzzle had finally fallen into place.
When Naomi was done, Semele was the first to speak. "Breaking the Mist...Is such a thing possible?"
Johan sipped his tea, which he managed to do daintily, despite the tiny cup and his huge mouth. "I would have to do more research. The closest parallel I can think of is the Trojan War. So many gods and spirits were involved on both sides of that battle, the Mist became unreliable. Mortals ended up seeing the gods in action. Rivers boiled from the intense magic. The earth shattered. Storms raged for months. Homer wrote a book about it."
Frank scowled. "I'd like to avoid that scenario, and also not have a book written about us. Why would Pirithous want to get Pluto's attention like that? It seems...suicidal."
"He must have a plan," Nico said. "Some way to force Hades's—er, Pluto's—hand. Maybe he wants to threaten him or imprison him somehow?"
"Ah..." Johan patted his stack of dusty manuscripts. "I don't believe a dodecahedron would have that power. Nor do I know what plan Pirithous might have, exactly. But I did find out more about him. He was the best friend of Theseus. Pirithous was considered by many to be his equal in skill and strength."
"I know about Theseus," Naomi volunteered. "He killed the Minotaur, right? I mean...your friend Asterion. But I've never heard of Pirithous."
Johan poured her more of his Darjeeling blend. "Indeed, that is part of the problem. Pirithous has been nearly forgotten. In life, he always felt like he was in Theseus's shadow. No one took him seriously. The two friends once made a pact to help each other win wives, no matter what it took. Theseus chose Helen of Sparta."
Will's eyes widened. "As in 'the face that launched a thousand ships,' the most beautiful woman who ever lived—that Helen?"
Johan gave him a bow-nod. "Pirithous helped Theseus kidnap her. Then Pirithous felt the need to one-up Theseus...but whom could he choose who was even more beautiful and difficult to capture?" The blemmyae paused dramatically, waiting for their guesses.
"I don't know," Naomi said at last. "But I'm loving the drama."
Johan turned to Nico. "He chose Persephone, the wife of your father."
Suddenly Nico was glad for his hot cup of tea, because his whole body felt cold. "That explains why he has a grudge against my dad. I assume the kidnapping failed, and Hades punished them?"
"Quite so," said the blemmyae. "Theseus and Pirithous stopped in the Fields of Asphodel to rest on their way to the palace. They fell asleep on a large slab of rock. When they woke, they had both sunk halfway into the stone. Hades left them there for daring to try kidnapping his wife. Eventually, Hercules came along...."
Will huffed in irritation. "It's always Hercules."
"He freed Theseus," Johan continued. "But when he tried to pull out Pirithous, the entire Underworld shook. Hades would not let him be released, so Hercules had to leave him there. And so Pirithous remained... forever, according to the stories."
Naomi sipped her tea with great appreciation. "I am so writing a song about that."
The rest of the group sat in pensive silence.
"Okay," Frank said, "we know why this guy is angry. He thinks he was punished unfairly. Now he wants to punish literally everyone else, especially Pluto and every soul and mythic in his kingdom. He wants to set himself up as the ultimate judge of the dead. He's got delusions of grandeur."
Semele's column of smoke drifted across the table, mixing with the steam from the teapot. "That does not make him any less dangerous. He has minor gods in his employ. He has managed to imprison hundreds. We must rescue our friends, but we must assume the Court of the Dead has a plan for this...and tricks they have not yet revealed."
"So what's the plan?" asked Naomi.
Will frowned. "The plan is that you will stay far, far away from this, Mom."
"What?" she protested. "Are you really trying to tell your mother she can't come along?"
Will pressed his lips together, and despite the grim situation, Nico had to hold back a laugh.
"Ms. Solace—" Frank began.
"Naomi."
He sighed. "Naomi, this isn't exactly a field trip. We're going to face real danger."
"Hmph." She sipped more tea. "You've clearly never been a woman on a concert tour. I can handle myself."
"I like her," said Semele. "She's scrappy."
"Mom..." Will squirmed. "Like you said, this is my world. I have demigod abilities to help keep me alive, but you...I don't want you getting hurt."
Will's mom was quiet for a moment. "Okay," she said. "I hear you. Let me at least hitch a ride with you back to the city. How are you getting there?"
It was Frank's turn to squirm. "We have a Chevy Express van...."
"Well, there you go!" Naomi said. "My first truck was a Chevy! I'll be your wheel girl! And right there's another song—'Wheel Girl.' My goodness, I'm gonna get a whole album out of this." She started typing notes into her phone.
Will wrinkled his nose but finally nodded in agreement.
"All right, then," Frank said. "As far as breaking this dodecahedron cage..."
"Oh, that part is easy enough from the outside," Johan assured him. "We will have to be careful, of course, but it can be done. I must assume, however, that as soon as the cage is broken, the Court of the Dead will know. And they will come to investigate."
"And then I will eat them all!" Orcus exclaimed. "Er, one at a time, of course."
Naomi leaned over to her son. "Is this the kinda stuff you deal with regularly? It's very exciting!"
"I mean...not all the time," he said. "At camp, I'm mostly teaching field-medic skills or making sure campers get to bed on time. This dramatic stuff only happens, like, once a year."
"Twice," said Nico. "Tartarus was only a few months ago."
"Three times," said Frank. "We defeated Nero just prior to that."
Will's smile was eroding. "So...yeah! Not all the time."
Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Well, we'll talk more about this later."
His face flushed red again. "Yes, Mom."
Nico had never seen his boyfriend blush so many times in one day. It was the greatest gift he could imagine.
"So," said Semele, "when do we leave?"
"I need to stop by the armory at some point," said Will. "To stock up on arrows and get my bow."
"Let's meet in half an hour, then," said Frank. "I'll have the demigods ready. Nico, gather the Cocoa Puffs, okay?"
"Half an hour," said Nico. "We'll be there."
With that, the group dispersed. Will and Nico led Naomi back toward the mess hall to collect the cacodemons before they could completely gorge themselves on table scraps. If they went into nap mode, they'd be useless for the rest of the day.
"Semele seems nice," Naomi mused. "Don't you think so, Will?"
He smiled. "Mom, you know I like pretty much everyone."
She kissed his cheek. "Just like me."
Nico smiled, and not only because of the great company. For the first time in days, the hope he was clinging to felt very real.
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