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‘Nonsense. You were more like soggy ambrosia.’
‘Your little pile of soggy ambrosia,’ said Will, blowing Nico a kiss.
Nico watched as the north side of Long Island grew in the distance until he could make out details on the shoreline. Trees. Docks. The garish, impossibly huge houses of rich families, their estates sprawling along the coast in both directions. And there, far, far to the west, he could see the outlines of skyscrapers and towering apartment buildings. He couldn’t make out the Manhattan skyline, but that didn’t matter. Those were buildings. Buildings constructed by humans.
He truly was back in the world of the living.
Bob guided the boat through Long Island Sound to the beach, to Euros Creek southward into camp. Each sight they came upon – from squirrels rushing up the trunk of an oak to reeds wavering on the banks – thrilled Nico. He wouldn’t say he was becoming anatureperson or anything like that, but he was overjoyed to be back in a world that wasn’t actively trying to kill him or Will.
Nico finally let loose his own waterworks when he saw Peleus trotting alongside them in the forest.
They were home.
They were home!
The dragon that watched over the Golden Fleece at Camp Half-Blood kept pace for a while, then darted off into the trees. Next two dryads cried out in shock at the sight of the boat and its strange inhabitants. They ran off, too, probably to tell the others.
The others.Oh, Hades, who else was at camp right now? How much time had passed since they’d gone through the Door of Orpheus? The air was chilly but not freezing, so it had to still be autumn.
Will tapped Nico’s arm. ‘Look,’ he said, pointing ahead.
The creek was coming to an end at Canoe Lake, and there, standing on the edge, was Chiron.
Nico had never been so happy to see his centaur friend. He didn’t even wait for Bob to guide the boat to shore – he hopped over the gunwale, water soaking his boots, and splashed his way over to Chiron. He wrapped his arms around the activity director’s waist.
‘Nico,’ said Chiron. ‘You’re … You’re hugging me. Are we hugging now? Is that a thing we do?’
‘Shut up, Chiron,’ he said. ‘Just hug me back.’
The centaur did.
It felt wonderful.
Chiron stepped away, and his eyes went wide. ‘Oh, my.’
Bob the Titan stepped out of the wooden boat, and it was then that Nico remembered just how ridiculously tall Titans were. He loomed over all of them, and one of the nearest trees came up to his chest.
He held out his hand to help Will. The son of Apollo jumped to the ground and wobbled for a second.
‘A real-life Titan,’ said Chiron. ‘At Camp Half-Blood.’
Nico wished he could have bottled the gasp Chiron let out when the Cocoa Puffs hesitantly emerged from Gorgyra’s boat. The one with antlers peeked over the edge, then hopped over and scurried to Nico’s side.
Chiron reared, then slammed his front hooves down on the ground. ‘Nico, what arethose?’
‘It’s a long story,’ he said. ‘But … uh, Chiron, I’d like you to meet my Cocoa Puffs.’
Chiron’s mouth dropped open. ‘Your … what?’
More and more of Nico’s cacodemons poured out of the boat until they formed an inky blot of a group at his feet. A couple of them yipped and jumped up towards his hands.
‘Sorry, Cocoa Puffs,’ he said. ‘I don’t have any food.’
He raised an eyebrow and turned to Will. ‘Wait, what do they eat?’
‘You’re asking the wrong person,’ said Will, shrugging. ‘I didn’t even know anything like them could exist until a few days ago.’
Nico turned back to Chiron. ‘How long have we been gone?’
