The Last Olympian

Appalachian Mountains by midday.”
    “So at best,” I said, “we’ve got another two days before he arrives.”
    Jake Mason cleared his throat. He’d been standing there so silently I’d almost forgotten he was in the room.
    “Percy, something else,” he said. “The way Kronos showed up at the Williamsburg Bridge, like he knew you were going there. And he shifted his forces to our weakest points. As soon as we deployed, he changed tactics. He barely touched the Lincoln Tunnel, where the Hunters were strong. He went for our weakest spots, like he knew.”
    “Like he had inside information,” I said. “The spy.”
    “What spy?” Thalia demanded.
    I told her about the silver charm Kronos had shown me, the communication device.
    “That’s bad,” she said. “Very bad.”
    “It could be anyone,” Jake said. “We were all standing there when Percy gave the orders.”
    “But what can we do?” Grover asked. “Frisk every demigod until we find a scythe charm?”
    They all looked at me, waiting for a decision. I couldn’t afford to show how panicked I felt, even if things seemed hopeless.
    “We keep fighting,” I said. “We can’t obsess about this spy. If we’re suspicious of each other, we’ll just tear ourselves apart. You guys were awesome last night. I couldn’t ask for a braver army. Let’s set up a rotation for the watches. Rest up while you can. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
    The demigods mumbled agreement. They went their separate ways to sleep or eat or repair their weapons.
    “Percy, you too,” Thalia said. “We’ll keep an eye on things. Go lie down. We need you in good shape for tonight.”
    I didn’t argue too hard. I found the nearest bedroom and crashed on the canopied bed. I thought I was too wired to sleep, but my eyes closed almost immediately.
    In my dream, I saw Nico di Angelo alone in the gardens of Hades. He’d just dug a hole in one of Persephone’s flower beds, which I didn’t figure would make the queen very happy.
    He poured a goblet of wine into the hole and began to chant. “Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this offering. Maria di Angelo, show yourself!”
    White smoke gathered. A human figure formed, but it wasn’t Nico’s mother. It was a girl with dark hair, olive skin, and the silvery clothes of a Hunter.
    “Bianca,” Nico said. “But—”
    Don’t summon our mother , Nico, she warned. She is the one spirit you are forbidden to see .
    “Why?” he demanded. “What’s our father hiding?”
    Pain , Bianca said. Hatred. A curse that stretches back to the Great Prophecy.
    “What do you mean?” Nico said. “I have to know!”
    The knowledge will only hurt you. Remember what I said: holding grudges is a fatal flaw for children of Hades.
    “I know that,” Nico said. “But I’m not the same as I used to be, Bianca. Stop trying to protect me!”
    Brother, you don’t understand—
    Nico swiped his hand through the mist, and Bianca’s image dissipated.
    “Maria di Angelo,” he said again. “Speak to me!”
    A different image formed. It was a scene rather than a single ghost. In the mist, I saw Nico and Bianca as little children, playing in the lobby of an elegant hotel, chasing each other around marble columns.
    A woman sat on a nearby sofa. She wore a black dress, gloves, and a black veiled hat like a star from an old 1940s movie. She had Bianca’s smile and Nico’s eyes.
    On a chair next to her sat a large oily man in a black pinstripe suit. With a shock, I realized it was Hades. He was leaning toward the woman, using his hands as he talked, like he was agitated.
    “Please, my dear,” he said. “You must come to the Underworld. I don’t care what Persephone thinks! I can keep you safe there.”
    “No, my love.” She spoke with an Italian accent. “Raise our children in the land of the dead? I will not do this.”
    “Maria, listen to me. The war in Europe has turned the other gods against me. A prophecy has been made. My children are no longer safe. Poseidon and Zeus have forced me into an agreement. None of us are to have demigod children ever again.”
    “But you already have Nico and Bianca. Surely—”
    “No! The prophecy warns of a child who turns sixteen. Zeus has decreed that the children I currently have must be turned over to Camp Half-Blood for proper training , but I know what he means. At best they’ll be watched, imprisoned, turned against their father. Even more likely, he will not take a