Page 37 of The Court of the Dead
Frank hesitated. “I don’t think they ever met until camp. But Savannah came to this place under…intense circumstances. I’m not sure of the details, but I know she lost her parents….”
Frank couldn’t seem to bring himself to say more. Nico didn’t press, but his chest tightened. He had an idea of what had happened with Savannah. He resolved to get Will’s opinion, though, before he mentioned it to anyone else.
The sparring wound down on its own, the mythics and demigods running out of steam, or maybe just feeling too cautious about causing another incident.
Frank sighed. “I think this training session has run its course.”
Nico could feel his disappointment. “Yeah. Talk more at dinner?”
Frank nodded. “Okay, fighters! Good effort! Let’s do a friendly run back to the camp!”
Off they went, running friendly, with Orcus flying loops through the air and Quinoa keeping pace by pole-vaulting along with his sword.
Well, thought Nico,at least the day is almost over. Surelyit can’t get any worse.
It got worse.
At dinnertime, Nico stood by the mess hall entrance, watching the flow of people. The Cocoa Puffs bounced around his feet, perhaps wondering why he wasn’t heading inside so they could terrorize diners for table scraps.
A line of campers snaked away from a long counter laid out with various grilled meats and vegetables. Tonight’s theme seemed to be kebabs, which meant everyone was running around with even more pointy objects than usual. Legionnaires laughed and joked with one another. Aurae and Lares floated through the hall. Torches burned cheerfully along the walls, illuminating the war banners and the golden eagle standard behind the officers’ table. The atmosphere was relaxed…except for a thirty-foot-diameter zone of ostracism that surrounded the mythics’ dinner table, separating them from everyone else.
Hazel was doing her best to set an example. She was sitting with the mythics, showing Orcus how to eat a kebab. The others poked glumly at the food.
Anytime one of them got up for more, the legionnaires parted around them like a school of fish making way for a shark. Otherwise, the mythics were studiously ignored.
It made Nico irritated…angry.
Savannah wasn’t at dinner. Neither was Arielle.
At the officers’ table, Will and Frank were having a heated conversation with Maurice, the centurion of the Second Cohort, maybe trying to explain what had happened during the training session. Maurice looked exasperated, like he was sayingI told you so!
Nico didn’t feel like joining them. He was still on edge, processing Savannah’s freak-out. He and Will had already conferred, and they’d agreed on what had happened. Nico knew the symptoms: wide eyes, shallow breaths, the sheen of sweat coating Savannah’s face.
It had looked like a panic attack.
Maybe something about Arielle had triggered Savannah. Maybe she was still dealing with the deaths of her parents. Whatever the case, the incident seemed like just the latest flare-up of a much bigger wildfire.
A sense of foreboding was burying itself underneath Nico’s skin. He didn’t have words for it. It all just felt…off.
Had his early days at Camp Half-Blood been this bad? The world hadn’t felt right then, either. He’d felt out of place. He’d been afraid to get close to anyone, and he’d often disappeared for days at a time before returning. But he’d never felt like the campers were actively trying to exclude him…had he?
He was jolted from his thoughts when a meal tray hit the floor right next to him. A demigod with blond pigtails squealed and backed away. The room fell silent.
“What was that?” the girl shrieked.
“Sorry, dear,” an earthy voice replied. Semele. “Sometimes I lose track of where I’m going. I didn’t mean to walk through you.”
The girl’s eyes darted from side to side. “I—I can’t see you! What did youdoto me?”
Whispering broke out at the nearest tables. Some legionnaires got to their feet. Nico was the closest. He had to intervene before things got out of control.
He stepped in front of the girl with the pigtails. “Semele can’t help that she’s invisible. She meant no harm.”
“No h-harm?”the girl spluttered.
Nico felt the floor tremble and crack around his feet, threatening an eruption of a fresh crop of undead. “Walk away,” he told the girl. “Now.”
The girl screamed and fled. The nearest campers fixed him with dark looks. He cursed under his breath, then turned in the direction of Semele’s voice. “Follow me, will you?”
