When he came to, Nico wondered if heโd passed out from exhaustion.โ
He was back at the bottom of the stone stairwell, his cheek pressed against the rough, rocky floor of the cavern. His body was sore all over, so he stayed still for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Heโd fallen asleep, hadnโt he? The endless repetition of walking down the steps behind the Door of Orpheus must have drained him of his energy.
This was unlike him, though. Nico generally had trouble falling asleep, unless he had shadow-travelled a long distance. The memory of the gigantic Athena Parthenos statue flashed in his mind, and he shuddered. That
summer had involved a lot of sudden, long-lasting naps in order to manage transporting the Parthenos via shadow-travel halfway around the world.
But this was different. His mind was even more tired than his body, which didnโt make any sense. He couldnโt seem to string his thoughts
together. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldnโt identify what or why. He blinked a couple of times, his eyes adjusting to the dim light of the Underworld, and thatโs when he saw the shadow.
A dark mass flickered in the near distance, swaying back and forth.
Nicoโs heart began to thump so loudly he worried that this thing would hear it.
Appendages of some sort swirled and twisted about its body. It moved unnaturally, quavering and jerky, and Nico remained as still as he could. Maybe it thought he was dead; he certainly wasnโt going to give it another idea. But where was โฆ?
He shifted his head just a bit, his breath even and slow, and his gaze fell upon โฆ
Will.
Nicoโs pulse quickened. He would have recognized that bushy blond hair anywhere. Will was splayed on the ground about six metres away,
completely still aside from the gentle rise and fall of his back as he breathed.
And that shadowy thing was looming above him, its appendages โ almost like tentacles โ swaying over Willโs body as if casting some kind of spell. โSleep, demigod,โ it said in a slimy, slippery voice.
Nico acted without thinking. He pushed himself up with one hand, and with the other he drew his sword.
โGet away from him,โ said Nico.
His dark blade glowed fiercely as he held it towards the monster, pointing the tip towards โฆ well, this creature only had the vaguest shape of a body,
so Nico just guessed where its head might be. For all Nico knew, he was targeting one of the beingโs armpits.
Nico probably didnโt look all that threatening anyway.
The creature shifted towards him, pulling in all its appendages. As it did so, the darkness encasing it drifted away like birthday-candle smoke, leaving something behind. A vaguely humanoid shape with arms, legs, a
chest, a head (which was in the place Nico had guessed) and โฆ
A face. Beneath a black spiked helmet of Stygian iron was a visage as
shiny and slick as tree sap. Other details fell into place: half a dozen milky-white eyes, a chiselled V-shaped jaw and a triangular bone-like protrusion that might have been a beak or a nose. Their emaciated body was wrapped in inky, form-fitting cloth, and their appendages folded elegantly behind them so it looked like they were wearing a cape.
Nico didnโt want to tell the creature that they were supercool, but โฆ They were supercool.
โNico di Angelo,โ they said, and their words seemed to slither under his skin. โFinally, you might put up the kind of struggle I was expecting.โ
โIโll do more than that.โ Nico jabbed his blade towards the creature, though it was hard to look intimidating when he was propped up on one arm and his legs felt like wet sandbags. โWhat have you done to Will?โ
The creature smiled โ at least Nico assumed thatโs what the jagged line of pointy black teeth indicated. โI only pushed him towards what he wanted.
His mind did the rest.โ
โWhat he wanted?โ Nicoโs stomach twisted. โIf you hurt him, I swear โฆ Who even are you?โ
The creatureโs smile shrivelled and died. โWho am I?โ
โWell โฆ yeah. I donโt recognize you. Do you work for my father?โ โAs if!โ the creature roared. โEw, why would I ever do that?โ
โI donโt know. Youโre down here, you arenโt in Tartarus, and Iโve never seen you or your kind before. You havenโt exactly given me a lot to go on.โ
โHonestly, Iโm offended,โ they said. โI know who you are. Do you not do your own research into demons?โ
โI โ What? Research?โ
The demon dropped and sat cross-legged in front of Nico. โItโs ludicrous,โ they said. โJust ludicrous. Here we are, roaming the Underworld, sending our choicest monsters and spirits back to the upper world to give you demigods something to do, and you canโt even muster up the slightest bit of interest in who we are?โ
Nico blinked. โIโm so lost,โ he said. โShould I recognize you?โ
โI would hope so!โ The demon threw their hands up in despair. โI visit you all the time.โ
โNo, you donโt!โ
โI just did!โ they hissed.
Nico lowered his sword. Just visited him?
The answer came to him suddenly, and it was so obvious.
โThe time loop on the stairs,โ Nico said. โNone of that happened. That was you.โ
โWell, duh,โ said the demon. โI mean, your brain and your body probably
thought it was real, but nope.โ
Nico glanced at Will, still passed out cold. If his boyfriend was trapped in a dream, then โฆ 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 demonโs attention away from him.
โIโm impressed,โ Nico told them. โIโm usually really good at knowing when Iโm in a dream.โ
At this, the demon puffed up with pride. โWell, I do good work,โ they said. โBut sometimes it would be nice to get a little acknowledgement.โ
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 โฆ
โYouโre right,โ he said. โThatโs on me. You did a wonderful job. You had me believing everything.โ
To Nicoโs great shock, the demon appeared to blush, the dark skin on their face turning red. They waved a tentacle dismissively. โAw, thank you! You have no idea how much it means to hear that.โ
โSo, could you tell me your name? Obviously, I need to correct this oversight in my research.โ
The demonโs appendages fluttered behind them in what Nico could only interpret as a happy dance. โWell, my mother always wanted to go for the dramatic, so she decided on Epiales.โ
โEphialtes?โ
The demon frowned. โNo. Epiales.โ
โAh. Sorry. Itโs just โฆ I once knew a giant by the name of Ephialtes.
Terrible guy. Your name is so similar.โ
โItโs hardly similar!โ said Epiales, back to being offended again. โThere are two whole letters added to it!โ
โMy bad! I promise to get it correct.โ
Nico placed his right hand on the ground. He would need to be very delicate if he was going to pull this off without Epiales noticing. He dug his fingers into the dirt, carefully sending his consciousness downward โฆ looking for bones.
โSo, earlier, you said we,โ Nico continued, trying to split his attention. โHow many demons like you are there?โ
Epiales crossed their arms over their chest. โOh, letโs see โฆ to count just my own siblings would take more appendages than I have, but demons, total?โ
Nico leaned forward. โYes?โ
Epiales leaned forward, too. โIf I had to hazard a guess, probably ten thousand.โ
โTen thousand.โ โIndeed.โ
โAnd youโre all down here โฆ What did you say? Roaming the Underworld?โ
โNot all of us,โ they said. โEvery so often, a few of us get lucky and are sent topside to wreak havoc for a while โฆ at least until one of you demigods sends us right back down. Then itโs back to centuries of
busywork, cataloguing monsters, filling out performance reviews, waiting for our next chance.โ
โSounds exhausting,โ Nico said, leaning back. He dug his left hand into the dirt, his mind searching the ground for โ There. A nice cluster of dormant skeletons, just waiting to be weaponized.
โYou have no idea,โ said Epiales. โYou demigods are always so sneaky.โ โNot always.โ Nico pushed downward with his power, willing those
skeletons to rise โฆ
โฆ when two of Epialesโs appendages shot forward and wrapped around Nicoโs wrists. They yanked him towards the demon, making him cry out in pain.
โYes, ALWAYS!โ the demon shrieked. โDid you believe you could fool me? You truly donโt know me, Nico di Angelo!โ
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.
โWhat do you want from me?โ Nico screamed.
โI just want you to sleep,โ the demon said gently. โDonโt you want that, too?โ
Suddenly Nicoโs eyes felt heavy. โNo!โ he said. โI donโt want to go to sleep.โ
โNico?โ
Both Nico and Epiales turned their heads.
Will was sitting upright, his eyes wide. โWhatโs going on? Who is this guy?โ
โUm, excuse me!โ said Epiales, their body pluming angry black smoke. โI am not a guy!โ
Will gulped. โOh, sorry.โ
โLike, do you think that demonkind, in all our glory, would stick to the completely archaic notion of there being only two genders?โ
โNot at all.โ Nico shot Will a look that hopefully said Stay calm, though it might actually have said Help! โI mean โฆ how boring would that be?โ
Epiales smiled. โYou understand me, Nico! You might not know me, but you see me, donโt you?โ
โI promise it wonโt happen again,โ said Will, nodding. โJust let my boyfriend go.โ
โOh, heโs not going anywhere,โ said Epiales. โAnd neither are you, demigod!โ
Will, still groggy from his slumber, was unable to dart out of the way before the demonโs shadowy appendages shot out and held him in place, too.
โWill!โ Nico cried out. โLeave him alone, Epiales!โ
โYou are both right where you are supposed to be!โ the demon said giddily. โOh, Mother will be so proud! I am Epiales, the demon of nightmares, and you two will never wake up again!โ
As more appendages wrapped around both boys, smoke billowed from the demonโs body, stinging Nicoโs eyes and filling his lungs. Nico thrashed in the demonโs clutches, but it was no use. Epiales blasted him with their powers, and Nico gave in to the darkness.