the_blood_of_olympus_-_rick_riordan

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Nico
THE NEXT DAY, THERE WEREN’T MANY ANSWERS.
After the explosion, Piper and Jason – free-falling and unconscious – were plucked out of the sky
by giant eagles and brought to safety, but Leo did not reappear. The entire Hephaestus cabin scoured
the valley, finding bits and pieces of the Argo II’s broken hull, but no sign of Festus the dragon or his
master.
All the monsters had been destroyed or scattered. Greek and Roman casualties were heavy, but not
nearly as bad as they might have been.
Overnight, the satyrs and nymphs disappeared into the woods for a convocation of the Cloven
Elders. In the morning, Grover Underwood reappeared to announce that they could not sense the Earth
Mother’s presence. Nature was more or less back to normal. Apparently, Jason, Piper and Leo’s plan
had worked. Gaia had been separated from her source of power, charmed to sleep and then atomized
in the combined explosion of Leo’s fire and Octavian’s man-made comet.
An immortal could never die, but now Gaia would be like her husband, Ouranos. The earth would
continue to function as normal, just as the sky did, but Gaia was now so dispersed and powerless that
she could never again form a consciousness.
At least, that was the hope …
Octavian would be remembered for saving Rome by hurling himself into the sky in a fiery ball of
death. But it was Leo Valdez who had made the real sacrifice.
The victory celebration at camp was muted, due to grief – not just for Leo but also for the many
others who had died in battle. Shrouded demigods, both Greek and Roman, were burned at the
campfire, and Chiron asked Nico to oversee the burial rites.
Nico agreed immediately. He was grateful for the opportunity to honour the dead. Even the
hundreds of spectators didn’t bother him.
The hardest part was afterwards, when Nico and the six demigods from the Argo II met on the
porch of the Big House.
Jason hung his head, even his glasses lost in shadow. ‘We should have been there at the end. We
could’ve helped Leo.’
‘It’s not right,’ Piper agreed, wiping away her tears. ‘All that work getting the physician’s cure, for
nothing.’
Hazel broke down crying. ‘Piper, where’s the cure? Bring it out.’
Bewildered, Piper reached into her belt pouch. She produced the chamois-cloth package, but when
she unfolded the cloth it was empty.