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expression was calm and content, as if he’d just come home from a lovely evening strolling through<br />
the Fields of Punishment, enjoying the screams of the damned.<br />
‘Getting some redecorating ideas?’ Nico asked. ‘Maybe you could do your dining room in<br />
mediaeval monk skulls.’<br />
Hades arched an eyebrow. ‘I can never tell when you’re joking.’<br />
‘Why are you here, Father? How are you here?’<br />
Hades traced his fingers along the nearest column, leaving bleached white marks on the old bones.<br />
‘You’re a hard mortal to find, my son. For several days I’ve been searching. When the sceptre of<br />
Diocletian exploded … well, that got my attention.’<br />
Nico felt a flush of shame. Then he felt angry for feeling ashamed. ‘Breaking the sceptre wasn’t my<br />
fault. We were about to be overrun –’<br />
‘Oh, the sceptre isn’t important. A relic that old, I’m surprised you got two uses out of it. The<br />
explosion simply gave me some clarity. It allowed me to pinpoint your location. I was hoping to<br />
speak to you in Pompeii, but it is so … well, Roman. This chapel was the first place where my<br />
presence was strong enough that I could appear to you as myself – by which I mean Hades, god of the<br />
dead, not split with that other manifestation.’<br />
Hades breathed in the stale dank air. ‘I am very drawn to this place. The remains of five thousand<br />
monks were used to build the Chapel of Bones. It serves as a reminder that life is short and death is<br />
eternal. I feel focused here. Even so, I only have a few moments.’<br />
Story of our relationship, Nico thought. You only ever have a few moments.<br />
‘So tell me, Father. What do you want?’<br />
Hades clasped his hands together in the sleeves of his robe. ‘Can you entertain the notion that I<br />
might be here to help you, not simply because I want something?’<br />
Nico almost laughed, but his chest felt too hollow. ‘I can entertain the notion that you might be here<br />
for multiple reasons.’<br />
The god frowned. ‘I suppose that’s fair enough. You seek information about Gaia’s hunter. His<br />
name is Orion.’<br />
Nico hesitated. He wasn’t used to getting a direct answer, without games or riddles or quests.<br />
‘Orion. Like the constellation. Wasn’t he … a friend of Artemis?’<br />
‘He was,’ Hades said. ‘A giant born to oppose the twins, Apollo and Artemis, but, much like<br />
Artemis, Orion rejected his destiny. He sought to live on his own terms. First he tried to live among<br />
mortals as a huntsman for the king of Khios. He, ah, ran into some trouble with the king’s daughter.<br />
The king had Orion blinded and exiled.’<br />
Nico thought back to what Reyna had told him. ‘My friend dreamed of a hunter with glowing eyes.<br />
If Orion is blind –’<br />
‘He was blind,’ Hades corrected. ‘Shortly after his exile, Orion met Hephaestus, who took pity on<br />
the giant and crafted him new mechanical eyes even better than the originals. Orion became friends<br />
with Artemis. He was the first male ever allowed to join her Hunt. But … things went wrong between<br />
them. How exactly, I do not know. Orion was slain. Now he has returned as a loyal son of Gaia,<br />
ready to do her bidding. He is driven by bitterness and anger. You can understand that.’
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