The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)(76)

‘Are – are you trying to plant me?’ he murmured.

‘It’s sports medicine with a little nature magic,’ said the coach. ‘Kind of a hobby of mine.’

Nico tried to focus on Reyna’s face. ‘You approved this?’

She looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion, but she managed a smile. ‘Coach Hedge brought you back from the brink. The unicorn draught, ambrosia, nectar … we couldn’t use any of it. You were fading so badly.’

‘Fading … ?’

‘Don’t worry about that now, kid.’ Hedge put a drinking straw next to Nico’s mouth. ‘Have some Gatorade.’

‘I – I don’t want –’

‘You’ll have some Gatorade,’ the coach insisted.

Nico had some Gatorade. He was surprised at how thirsty he was.

‘What happened to me?’ he asked. ‘To Bryce … to those skeletons … ?’

Reyna and the coach exchanged an uneasy look.

‘There’s good news and bad news,’ Reyna said. ‘But first eat something. You’ll need your strength back before you hear the bad news.’

XXXII

Nico

‘THREE DAYS?’

Nico wasn’t sure he’d heard her right the first dozen times.

‘We couldn’t move you,’ Reyna said. ‘I mean … literally, you couldn’t be moved. You had almost no substance. If it weren’t for Coach Hedge –’

‘No biggie,’ the coach assured him. ‘One time in the middle of a play-off game I had to splint a quarterback’s leg with nothing but tree branches and strapping tape.’

Despite his nonchalance, the satyr had bags under his eyes. His cheeks were sunken. He looked almost as bad as Nico felt.

Nico couldn’t believe he’d been unconscious for so long. He recounted his weird dreams – the mutterings of Ella the harpy, the glimpse of Mellie the cloud nymph (which worried the coach) – but Nico felt as if those visions had lasted only seconds. According to Reyna, it was the afternoon of 30 July. He’d been in a shadow coma for days.

‘The Romans will attack Camp Half-Blood the day after tomorrow.’ Nico sipped more Gatorade, which was nice and cold, but without flavour. His taste buds seemed to have phased into the shadow world permanently. ‘We have to hurry. I have to get ready.’

‘No.’ Reyna pressed her hand against his forearm, making the bandages crinkle. ‘Any more shadow-travel would kill you.’

He gritted his teeth. ‘If it kills me, it kills me. We have to get the statue to Camp Half-Blood.’

‘Hey, kid,’ said the coach, ‘I appreciate your dedication, but, if you zap us all into eternal darkness along with the Athena Parthenos, it’s not going to help anybody. Bryce Lawrence was right about that.’

At the mention of Bryce, Reyna’s metallic dogs pricked up their ears and snarled.

Reyna stared at the cairn of rocks, her eyes full of torment, as if more unwelcome spirits might emerge from the grave.

Nico took a breath, getting a nose full of Hedge’s fragrant home remedy. ‘Reyna, I … I didn’t think. What I did to Bryce –’

‘You destroyed him,’ Reyna said. ‘You turned him into a ghost. And, yes, it reminded me of what happened to my father.’

‘I didn’t mean to scare you,’ Nico said bitterly. ‘I didn’t mean to … to poison another friendship. I’m sorry.’

Reyna studied his face. ‘Nico, I have to admit, the first day you were unconscious, I didn’t know what to think or feel. What you did was hard to watch … hard to process.’

Coach Hedge chewed on a stick. ‘I gotta agree with the girl on this one, kid. Smashing somebody’s head in with a baseball bat, that’s one thing. But ghostifying that creep? That was some dark stuff.’

Nico expected to feel angry – to shout at them for trying to judge him. That’s what he normally did.

But his anger wouldn’t materialize. He still felt plenty of rage towards Bryce Lawrence, and Gaia and the giants. He wanted to find the augur Octavian and strangle him with his chain belt. But he wasn’t mad at Reyna or the coach.

‘Why did you bring me back?’ he asked. ‘You knew I couldn’t help you any more. You should’ve found another way to keep going with the statue. But you wasted three days watching over me. Why?’

Coach Hedge snorted. ‘You’re part of the team, you idiot. We’re not going to leave you behind.’

‘It’s more than that.’ Reyna rested her hand on Nico’s. ‘While you were asleep, I did a lot of thinking. What I told you about my father … I’d never shared that with anyone. I guess I knew you were the right person to confide in. You lifted some of my burden. I trust you, Nico.’

Nico stared at her, mystified. ‘How can you trust me? You both felt my anger, saw my worst feelings …’

‘Hey, kid,’ said Coach Hedge, his tone softer. ‘We all get angry. Even a sweetheart like me.’

Reyna smirked. She squeezed Nico’s hand. ‘Coach is right, Nico. You’re not the only one who lets out the darkness once in a while. I told you what happened with my dad, and you supported me. You shared your painful experiences; how can we not support you? We’re friends.’