.jpg "the house of hades")
Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. “Nico,” he called, “what does this guy want from you?” Cupid seemed more like a thug, an enforcer. He liked Piper’s version better-considerate, kind, and beautiful. If this invisible guy was Love, Jason was beginning to think Love was overrated. It demands everything from you-especially the truth. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work-a quest that never ends. Games? Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal. “Give us Diocletian’s scepter,” Nico said.
#The house of hades cracked
The grass withered, and the stones cracked as if something was moving in the earth beneath, trying to push its way through. Be honest.Īll around Nico, the ground shifted. “I’ve been to Tartarus and back,” Nico snarled. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. The god’s voice was tinged with disappointment. He didn’t understand why Nico would think of himself as the main target, but Cupid seemed to agree. He was dizzy from getting smacked around. But Love cannot be pinned down so easily. His sword skittered across the road.Ī good try, Cupid said, his voice already distant. Jason was just thinking, Dang, it actually worked, when an invisible force knocked him to the ground. Lightning blasted a crater where the voice had been speaking. He thrust his sword in the sky and thunder shook the valley. She earned her way back to my side, but she suffered greatly. She was even sent to the Underworld on a quest to show her dedication. My poor lover was tormented, forced into exile, given horrible tasks to prove her worth. My mother, Aphrodite, cursed Psyche for her distrust. A mortal cannot gaze upon the true appearance of a god without suffering consequences. “Were you that ugly?” Jason thought he had zeroed in on Cupid’s voice-at the edge of the amphitheater about twenty yards away-but he wanted to make sure. One night, she lit a candle, and beheld my face as I slept.
She was warned never to look upon me, and yet she could not stand the mystery. She was brought here eons ago, when this was the site of my palace. My wife Psyche learned that lesson, Cupid said. It is a costly thing, Cupid said, looking on the true face of Love.Īnother column toppled. The arrow dissolved, leaving no blood and no visible wound, but Nico’s face was tight with rage and pain. Nico gasped as it sunk into his sword arm. The third arrow zipped by Jason’s shoulder. He decided to face that problem when the time came. Did that make him unworthy to lead a legion of Roman ghosts? In New Rome, he’d offered to give up his position to Percy Jackson. Then he remembered all his second thoughts about where he belonged. And only an officer of Rome can lead them. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. Even a glancing hit at true love is more than most heroes manage.Ĭupid laughed. On the paving stones, a trail of golden ichor shimmered-the blood of the gods. He heard a grunt and he swung again, but the invisible god was gone. Movement behind him: Jason spun, slicing his sword through the air. “Now he’s spouting greeting card messages.” Nico stumbled back as the arrow burst into a geyser of flame. Are you on the gods’ side or not?”Ī second arrow hit the ground between Nico’s feet and glowed white-hot. “We just want the scepter!” Nico shouted. Frank, Hazel, and Percy met my counterpart, Thanatos. “Is this guy Love or Death?” Jason growled.Īsk your friends, Cupid said. Jason pulled Nico to one side as another gust of wind toppled a column that would have crushed him flat. The arrow exploded against the nearest wall, peppering them with limestone shrapnel. Jason intercepted it with his sword and deflected it sideways. He felt the air ripple just as an arrow materialized, racing toward Nico’s chest. This time, Jason’s senses were on high alert. Oh, did you expect me to play fair? Cupid laughed. Jason accepted his hand and got to his feet. I would think you’d know better, Jason Grace. He toppled down a set of steps and sprawled on the floor of an excavated Roman basement. Something slammed into Jason and hurled him across the street. Where you least expect me, Cupid answered. It sounded deep and rich, but also threatening-like a tremor before a major earthquake. It definitely didn’t sound like a cute baby angel’s.
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