The Last Olympian

him.”
    “Father!” Nico said. “You promised!”
    “Husband, we talked about this,” Persephone chided. “You can’t go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he’s brave. I like that.”
    Hades rolled his eyes. “You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit.”
    “Father, you promised!” Nico said. “You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you’d explain.”
    Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. “And so I shall. Your mother—what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman.” He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone. “Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That’s where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm’s way.”
    “That’s why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?”
    Hades shrugged. “You didn’t age. You didn’t realize time was passing. I waited for the right time to bring you out.”
    “But what happened to our mother? Why don’t I remember her?”
    “Not important,” Hades snapped.
    “ What? Of course it’s important. And you had other children—why were we the only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?”
    Hades grit his teeth. “You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As for the lawyer . . .”
    Hades snapped his fingers. On top of his throne, the Fury Alecto began to change until she was a middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit with a briefcase. She—he—looked strange crouching at Hades’s shoulder.
    “You!” Nico said.
    The Fury cackled. “I do lawyers and teachers very well!”
    Nico was trembling. “But why did you free us from the casino?”
    “You know why,” Hades said. “This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy.”
    I plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sank harmlessly into his robe. “You should be helping Olympus!” I said. “All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you’re just sitting here—”
    “Waiting things out,” Hades finished. “Yes, that’s correct. When’s the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When’s the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I’ll stay here with my forces intact.”
    “And when Kronos comes after you?”
    “Let him try. He’ll be weakened. And my son here, Nico—” Hades looked at him with distaste. “Well, he’s not much now, I’ll grant you. It would’ve been better if Bianca had lived. But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods.”
    “You’re crazy,” I said. “Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus.”
    Hades spread his hands. “Well, you’ll get a chance to find out, half-blood. Because you’ll be waiting out this war in my dungeons.”
    “No!” Nico said. “Father, that wasn’t our agreement. And you haven’t told me everything!”
    “I’ve told you all you need to know,” Hades said. “As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should’ve made me swear on the Styx. Now go to your room!” He waved his hand and Nico vanished.
    “That boy needs to eat more,” Demeter grumbled. “He’s too skinny. He needs more cereal.”
    Persephone rolled her eyes. “Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can’t let this little hero go? He’s awfully brave.”
    “No, my dear. I’ve spared his life. That’s enough.”
    I was sure she was going to stand up for me. The brave, beautiful Persephone was going to get me out of this.
    She shrugged indifferently. “Fine. What’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”
    “Cereal,” Demeter said.
    “Mother!” The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat.
    “Don’t feel too bad, Percy Jackson,” Hades said. “My ghosts keep me well informed of Kronos’s plans. I can assure you that you had no chance to stop him in time. By tonight, it will be too late for your precious