This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―xv. bacchus ruins the underworld family reunion

NAOMI CAME TO AS THE ARMORED MANIKINS started doing the jitterbug.

Naomi blinked, unsure if she was dreaming or not. Judging by the distinct smell of smoke and something heinous, she probably wasn't.

"Guys!" Leo shouted. "Take cover!"

Naomi, Frank, and Hazel barely managed to tuck themselves under the nearest table before the warriors blew up. Rods, pistons, and bronze shards flew everywhere. On all the tables, spheres popped like hot soda cans.

And then the room was strangely quiet, save for a few random sparks and sizzles. The air smelled like burning car engines.

Leo raced down the stairs and peered under the table at his companions. "You're alive!"

Hazel's left eye twitched. "Uh, what exactly happened?"

"Archimedes came through!" Leo said. "Just enough power left in those old machines for one final show. Once I had the access code, it was easy."

He patted the control sphere, which was steaming.

"The eidolons," Naomi said. "Are they gone?"

Leo grinned. "My last command overloaded their kill switches—basically locked down all their circuits and melted their cores."

"In English?" Frank asked.

"I trapped the eidolons inside the wiring," Leo said. "Then I melted them. They won't be bothering anyone again."

Leo helped them to their feet.

"You saved us," Frank said.

"Don't sound so surprised." Leo glanced around the destroyed workshop. "Too bad all this stuff got wrecked, but at least I salvaged the scrolls. If I can get them back to Camp Half-Blood, maybe I can learn how to recreate Archimedes's inventions."

Hazel rubbed the side of her head. "But I don't understand. Where is Nico? That tunnel was supposed to lead us to Nico."

It was obvious Nico wasn't here—he probably never was. The place was a total dead-end. So why were they drawn here in the first place?

"Oh," Leo said. "Hazel, how exactly were you tracking Nico? I mean, could you just sense him nearby because he was your brother?"

She frowned, still looking a bit wobbly from her electric shock treatment. "Not—not totally. Sometimes I can tell when he's close, but, like I said, Rome is so confusing, so much interference because of all the tunnels and caves—"

"You tracked him with your metal-finding senses," Leo guessed. "His sword?"

She blinked. "How did you know?"

"You'd better come here." He led Naomi, Hazel, and Frank up to the control room and pointed to the black sword.

Naomi's breath caught. "No."

"Oh. Oh, no." Hazel would've collapsed if Frank hadn't caught her. "But that's impossible! Nico's sword was with him in the bronze jar. Percy saw it in his dream!"

"Either the dream was wrong," Leo said, "or the giants moved the sword here as a decoy."

"So this was a trap," Frank said. "We were lured here."

"But why?" Naomi demanded, her vision blurring with tears. "Where the hell is my brother?"

A hissing sound filled the control booth. At first, Naomi feared the eidolons had come back for round three. Then she realized the bronze mirror on the table was steaming.

Ah, my poor demigods. The sleeping face of Gaea appeared in the mirror. As usual, she spoke without moving her mouth.

You had your choice, she said. Her voice echoed through the room. It seemed to be coming not just from the mirror, but from the stone walls as well.