Page 45 of The Sun and the Star

Their every appendage rose into the air, then whipped towards Nico and his lifted sword.

Will rolled onto his stomach, his hands now free, and the stench of the Underworld hit his nose. He nearly gagged, but there, just ahead of him, he saw the demon Epiales, surrounded by a host of terrible creatures.

He saw the manticore and knew exactly who it was from the stories Nico had told him.

He heard Epiales’s warning: ‘You can’t defeat me. Iamdarkness. Yours, Will’s,everyone’s.’

Epiales’s horrible appendages rose and …

Will understood.

Of course Nico hadnotabandoned him at the River Styx, or drained the light out of him when Will tried to heal him.

They were just nightmares – Epiales playing on his worst fears, just as they were now doing to Nico.

And Will wasn’t going to lie there and letanyonehurt his boyfriend.

Will didn’t think. He rose to his feet and shouted in defiance and, when he did so, his skin glowed brighter than ever before.Light erupted from his chest, slicing through the dark appendages that whipped at Nico.

He watched in shock as they fell to the ground and flopped there.

Epiales looked just as shocked. As the manticorepoofedout of existence, the demon of nightmares stared at their severed appendages, which wriggled like long, lanky eels out of water.

‘Ow,’ they said, staring at Will, eyes wide. ‘Did you just –?’

‘Will?’ Nico pushed himself up on one elbow. ‘What wasthat?’

‘No, seriously, whatwasthat?’ said Epiales, folding their remaining appendages protectively behind them. ‘Mother never told me about … whatever that was.’

‘It’s light,’ said Will, breathing heavily, a line of sweat trickling down his left temple. ‘You said you were darkness. Well, I’m the opposite.’

Epiales inched back, whimpering pitifully. Suddenly they seemed more like a scolded child than a demon. ‘Mother is going to be so disappointed in me. She already thinks I’m not as powerful as I could be. Now you’re probably going to defeat me, aren’t you?’

‘I kinda have to,’ Will said. ‘We have a quest to complete, you know.’

The demon stomped a foot. ‘You demigods always have to ruin things! And no one appreciates whatIoffer the world.’

‘For what it’s worth,’ said Nico, struggling to his feet, ‘your nightmares … they’rereallygood.’

‘Totally,’ said Will. ‘I believed they were real until about two minutes ago.’

At that, Epiales perked up, their appendages fluttering. The ones Will had severed were already starting to regrow. ‘Really? You think so?’

Nico nodded. ‘Definitely high-grade material.’

‘Well, shucks,’ said Epiales. ‘No one has ever told me that.’

‘And you’re sure you weren’t the one sending me nightmaresbeforewe entered the Underworld?’

‘Very sure,’ said Epiales. ‘I would claim it in a heartbeat if ithadbeen me.’

Will frowned at his boyfriend, wondering what conversation he’d missed, but a different question rose to the surface of his thoughts. ‘Who is your mother?’ he asked the demon.

Epiales merely smiled. ‘You’ll find out soon enough. Just go ahead and blast me with your light. Get it over with.’

Will hesitated. It somehow seemed wrong to blast someone on request. But Epialeswasa demon. They’d regenerate down in Tartarus anyway, starting the cycle all over again. They were a monster; Will was a demigod. That’s how it worked, right?

Epiales must have sensed his reluctance. They raised their appendages and roared at Will, and, just like that, it happened again. Will’s fear guided him: light burst from his chest, smacking Epiales in the face, and with a piercing scream the demon dissolved.

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