Page 118 of The Sun and the Star

Amphithemis looked like he was about to burst into tears. ‘But I … But Zeus said … and I –’ He fell to his knees in despair.

Nico rose. This was wrong. It felt so cruel. But he also didn’t understand it. Before, when Nyx and Epiales had crafted Nico’s nightmares, they’d used his existing memories. Yet all this wasnew. He had never met Amphithemis before. So why send him these images? What was Nyx trying to do?

He approached the centaur. ‘Hey,’ Nico said, his hands openin front of him. ‘I’m sorry. I ran because I was scared. But I’m not scared ofyou. It’s just the situation that frightened me.’

‘Did I fail?’ Amphithemis sobbed. ‘Did I fail the child?’

‘No,’ said Nico. ‘You didn’t. Dionysus is healthy and happy now.’

Well, Nico wasn’t sure the god was all that happy as the camp director, but he didn’t think this was the right time to share that observation.

‘You promise?’

‘I do. He’s perfectly fine.’

Nico held out his hand to the centaur, who examined it for a moment.

‘Okay,’ he said, and he reached out so Nico could hoist him to his hooves.

And his hand went right through Nico’s.

It was a strange sensation, but unfortunately a familiar one, one he’d experienced numerous times here in the Underworld and even a few times aboveground.

It was the feeling of a soul passing through a body.

Nico yelped and jerked his hand back, which only upset Amphithemis more. ‘You said you weren’t afraid of me!’ he bellowed. ‘That was clearly a lie!’

Many things dawned on Nico at once.

Amphithemis was dead. Completely and utterly dead, and yet he was the most mortal-looking soul Nico had ever seen.

Nico was not dreaming. This was real.Veryreal.

And Amphithemis was …

No. Even thinking it seemed impossible. But then the centaur’s eyes flashed red once again, and a look of righteous anger passed over his face.

‘The child,’ said Amphithemis. ‘Where is he?’

Nico remained still. ‘He’s not here.’

The centaur tilted his head to the side. ‘Who areyou? Do you know where the child is?’

It finally came together. Amphithemis was a soul obsessed with a task he could not complete, one he had died without fulfilling, and now he was repeating that obsession here in Tartarus in a never-ending cycle.

‘I need to find him,’ said Amphithemis, spinning in circles. He stilled, then focused his blood-red eyes on Nico. ‘You have him, don’t you? Give him back!’

The centaur screamed and leaped at Nico and, as the demigod dived out of the way, he knew the truth for certain.

Amphithemis was a mania.

As Will struggled against the birds’ sharp talons, trying to free himself, his mind went back to the hypothetical brochure.

See Tartarus from up high! Complimentary transportation via Stymphalian birds!

He tried to twist around to catch a glimpse of Gorgyra’s white canoe, desperate to know if Nico was okay, but the birds dipped and guided him further away. Below him, the landscape was covered in zits, craggy hills and shadows of creatures Will couldn’t identify.

‘Okay, this has been fun!’ he called out. ‘Love the view! You can let me down now!’

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