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‘Well,duh,’ said the demon. ‘I mean, your brain and your body probablythoughtit was real, but nope.’
Nico glanced at Will, still passed out cold. If his boyfriend was trapped in a dream, then … Not great, but at least fixable, if Nico could figure out how. Maybe Will would wake up on his own if Nico could just keep the demon’s attention away from him.
‘I’m impressed,’ Nico told them. ‘I’m usually really good at knowing when I’m in a dream.’
At this, the demon puffed up with pride. ‘Well, I do good work,’ they said. ‘But sometimes it would be nice to get a little acknowledgement.’
Nico had an idea. Slowly, he sheathed his sword and sat upright. This was the Underworld. He had more weapons at his command than just a blade, if he could only gather enough strength …
‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘That’s on me. You did a wonderful job. You had me believingeverything.’
To Nico’s great shock, the demon appeared to blush, the dark skin on their face turning red. They waved a tentacle dismissively. ‘Aw, thank you! You have no idea how much it means to hear that.’
‘So, could you tell me your name? Obviously, I need to correct this oversight in my research.’
The demon’s appendages fluttered behind them in what Nico could only interpret as a happy dance. ‘Well, my mother always wanted to go for the dramatic, so she decided on Epiales.’
‘Ephialtes?’
The demon frowned. ‘No.Epiales.’
‘Ah. Sorry. It’s just … I once knew a giant by the name of Ephialtes. Terrible guy. Your name is so similar.’
‘It’shardlysimilar!’ said Epiales, back to being offended again. ‘There aretwowhole letters added to it!’
‘My bad! I promise to get it correct.’
Nico placed his right hand on the ground. He would need to beverydelicate if he was going to pull this off without Epiales noticing. He dug his fingers into the dirt, carefully sending his consciousness downward … looking for bones.
‘So, earlier, you saidwe,’ Nico continued, trying to split his attention. ‘How many demons like you are there?’
Epiales crossed their arms over their chest. ‘Oh, let’s see … to count just my own siblings would take more appendages than I have, but demons, total?’
Nico leaned forward. ‘Yes?’
Epiales leaned forward, too. ‘If I had to hazard a guess, probably ten thousand.’
‘Ten thousand.’
‘Indeed.’
‘And you’re all down here … What did you say? Roaming the Underworld?’
‘Notallof us,’ they said. ‘Every so often, a few of us get lucky and are sent topside to wreak havoc for a while … at least until one of you demigods sends us right back down. Then it’s back to centuries of busywork, cataloguing monsters, filling out performance reviews, waiting for our next chance.’
‘Sounds exhausting,’ Nico said, leaning back. He dug his left hand into the dirt, his mind searching the ground for –There.A nice cluster of dormant skeletons, just waiting to be weaponized.
‘You havenoidea,’ said Epiales. ‘You demigods are always sosneaky.’
‘Notalways.’ Nico pushed downward with his power, willing those skeletons to rise …
… when two of Epiales’s appendages shot forward and wrapped around Nico’s wrists. They yanked him towards the demon, making him cry out in pain.
‘Yes, ALWAYS!’ the demon shrieked. ‘Did you believe you could fool me? You truly don’t know me, Nico di Angelo!’
More tentacles wrapped around Nico, holding him fast against the demon. Their breath smelled like dry rotted leather. Nico jerked back hard, but Epiales held him tight.
‘What do youwantfrom me?’ Nico screamed.
