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Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Titan's Curse
Battle of the Labyrinth
>> The Sword of Hades
The Last Olympian

Heroes of Olympus

The Son of Neptune
The Mark of Athena
The House of Hades
The Blood of Olympus

The Trials of Apollo

The Hidden Oracle
The Dark Prophecy
The Burning Maze (Nico is not in or mentioned)
The Tyrant's Tomb
The Tower of Nero
>>> Nico's canonpoint - Before the whispered prophecy

Un Natale Mezzosangue (A Half-Blood Christmas) - Translated by riptide2406 on wattpad
Camp Half-Blood Confidential

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Persephone sat on a silver throne and studied us. ‘If this were spring, I would be able to greet you properly in the world above. Alas, in winter this is the best I can do.’

She sounded bitter. After all these millennia, I guess she still resented living with Hades half the year. She looked so bleached and out-of-place, like an old photograph of springtime.

She turned towards me as if reading my thoughts. ‘Hades is my husband and master, young one. I would do anything for him. But in this case I need your help, and quickly. It concerns Lord Hades’s sword.’

Nico frowned. ‘My father doesn’t have a sword. He uses a staff in battle, and his helm of terror.’

‘He didn’t have a sword,’ Persephone corrected.

Thalia sat up. ‘He’s forging a new symbol of power? Without Zeus’s permission?’

The goddess of springtime pointed. Above the table, an image flickered to life: skeletal weapon-smiths worked over a forge of black flames, using hammers fashioned like metal skulls to beat a length of iron into a blade.

‘War with the Titans is almost upon us,’ Persephone said. ‘My lord Hades must be ready.’

‘But Zeus and Poseidon would never allow Hades to forge a new weapon!’ Thalia protested. ‘It would unbalance their power-sharing agreement.’

Persephone shook her head. ‘You mean it would make Hades their equal? Believe me, daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Dead has no designs against his brothers. He knew they would never understand, however, which is why he forged the blade in secret.’

The image over the table shimmered. A zombie weapon-smith raised the blade, still glowing hot. Something strange was set in the base – not a gem. More like…

‘Is that a key?’ I asked.

Nico made a gagging sound. ‘The keys of Hades?’

‘Wait,’ Thalia said. ‘What are the keys of Hades?’

Nico’s face looked even paler than his stepmother’s. ‘Hades has a set of golden keys that can lock or unlock death. At least… that’s the legend.’

‘It is true,’ Persephone said.

‘How do you lock and unlock death?’ I asked.

‘The keys have the power to imprison a soul in the Underworld,’ Persephone said. ‘Or to release it.’

Nico swallowed. ‘If one of those keys has been set in the sword –’

‘The wielder can raise the dead,’ Persephone said, ‘or slay any living thing and send its soul to the Underworld with a mere touch of the blade.’