"But what happened to our mother? Why don't I remember her?"

 

"Not important," Hades snapped.

 

"What? Of course it's important. And you had other children — why were we the

only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?"

 

Hades grit his teeth. "You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As

for the lawyer ..."

 

Hades snapped his fingers. On top of his throne, the Fury Alecto began to change

until she was a middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit with a briefcase. She — he

— looked strange crouching at Hades's shoulder.

 

"You!" Nico said.

 

The Fury cackled. "I do lawyers and teachers very well!"

 

Nico was trembling. "But why did you free us from the casino?"

 

"You know why," Hades said. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be

the child of the prophecy."

 

I plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sa nk