The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus #4)(66)

“Diocletian…” Leo considered the name, then shook his head. “I got nothing. Why was he so important?”

Frank looked offended. “He was the last great pagan emperor!”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?”

“Why wouldn’t I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity.”

Hazel nodded. “I remember something about that. The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula.” She looked askance at Jason. “Why would you idolize him?”

“He wasn’t a total villain,” Jason said. “Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves…or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter—the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around…”

He faltered when he looked at Leo, who was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil.

“Go on, Professor Grace!” he said, wide-eyed. “I wanna get an A on the test.”

“Shut up, Leo.”

Piper sipped another spoonful of soup. “So why is Diocletian’s Palace so special?”

Nico leaned over and plucked a grape. Probably that was the guy’s entire diet for the day. “It’s said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian.”

“Who was a son of Jupiter, like me,” Jason said. “His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian’s ghost and ask where he was buried…well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him.”

Nico gave him a thin, creepy smile. “Ah…that legend.”

“What legend?” Hazel asked.

Nico turned to his sister. “Supposedly Diocletian’s scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods.”

Leo whistled. “Okay, now I’m interested. Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades.”

“Not sure I would’ve put it that way,” Jason muttered, “but yeah.”

“We don’t have much time,” Frank warned. “It’s already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death—”

“Which are guarded,” Hazel murmured, “by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants…” She hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to ‘rebuild her domain.’ Whatever that means, it’s bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally.”

Frank grunted. “And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the first of August. Besides, the longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus—”

“I know,” Jason said. “We won’t take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we’re at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we’re taking for Epirus.”

Nico nodded. “The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You’ll need my help.”

Jason tried not to show his discomfort, but his skin prickled at the thought of going anywhere with Nico di Angelo.

Percy had shared some disturbing stories about Nico. His loyalties weren’t always clear. He spent more time with the dead than the living. Once, he’d lured Percy into a trap in the palace of Hades. Maybe Nico had made up for that by helping the Greeks against the Titans, but still…

Piper squeezed his hand. “Hey, sounds fun. I’ll go, too.”

Jason wanted to yell: Thank the gods!

But Nico shook his head. “You can’t, Piper. It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian’s ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely…ah, spook him. And I’m the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won’t be able to do that.”

Nico’s eyes held a gleam of challenge. He seemed curious as to whether or not Jason would protest.

The ship’s bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker.

“We’ve arrived,” Leo announced. “Time to Split.”

Frank groaned. “Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?”

Jason stood. “Frank, you’re in charge of defending the ship. Leo, you’ve got repairs to do. The rest of you, help out wherever you can. Nico and I…” He faced the son of Hades. “We have a ghost to find.”

JASON FIRST SAW THE ANGEL AT THE ICE CREAM CART.

The Argo II had anchored in the bay along with six or seven cruise ships. As usual, the mortals didn’t pay the trireme any attention; but just to be safe, Jason and Nico hopped on a skiff from one of the tourist boats so they would look like part of the crowd when they came ashore.

At first glance, Split seemed like a cool place. Curving around the harbor was a long esplanade lined with palm trees. At the sidewalk cafés, European teenagers were hanging out, speaking a dozen different languages and enjoying the sunny afternoon. The air smelled of grilled meat and fresh-cut flowers.