Tyrant King - A Percy Jackson FanFic

Chapter 4

Percy was still falling. He didn't know how long he'd been falling for, but it felt like forever. And it had given him time to think. It took a while for the terror to sink in, but once it did, all Percy could think about was dying. Because that's definitely what was going to happen. He had nearly died last time, and he'd had Annabeth to save his butt! 
He looked down, and noticed the black had turned into a foggy red colour. Below him, he caught a glimpse of the River Cocytus, which made him confused. Wasn't this entrance in Rome? He didn't have much time to think about it, however, because it was coming towards him, fast. He extended his chained hands, but not much happened. The water rose a little, but not much. The chains must've been nullifying his power. So Percy clenched his butt, tucked his arms into his chest, and plunged feet-first into the freezing cold water. Almost immediately, grief and despair took hold of him. What was the point in getting to shore? He would just die anyway! There was no way he could swim with these chains on!
He sunk into the water, the voices of despair echoing around him. Just give in! They whispered, You won't make it far anyway!
He felt arms on his shoulders pulling him up. He didn't struggle. He just wanted to sink deeper into the water, until he faded away. 
Suddenly, his head was above water, and he was being hauled onto the sand, which he remembered was actually glass. He began coughing, both from the water in his lungs, and the sulphorous air around him. When he managed to get all the water from his lungs he turned to his rescuer, and his stomach dropped. 
"Well this is a surprise," Kelli the empousa smirked. 
"Are you going to kill me?" Percy asked. She rolled her eyes, "No! If I wanted you dead I would've let you drown."
"Why did you save me?"
"Because," Kelli snapped, "You have the marks of a traitor to the gods."
Percy frowned, "I'm not."
She raised an eyebrow, "Really? Because you are wearing the chains they only give to traitors."
It was Percy's turn to roll his eyes, "Zeus is a gods-damned idiot. That's why I'm here."
Kelli walked towards him, and he flinched back. He had beat her before, but that had a) been in the human world and not Tartarus, and b) he'd had both his hands and legs free, and had Riptide, which hadn't returned to his pocket. Kelli laughed, "Relax demigod, I'm not going to kill you. I'm not even going to have a taste."
She drew a long imperial gold sword, "Lift up your arms."
Percy was surprised to find that he did. She lifted the sword and struck the chains. They cracked in half. 
"Feet."
He sat down on his backside, which kind of hurt on the glass, and extended his legs in front of him. Kelli cut through them as well. At his gobsmacked expression, she said, "Only imperial gold can cut imperial gold."
Well that kind of made sense. Kelli held out her hand to help Percy up. After he hesitated, she rolled her eyes, "Haven't I already proved that I'm not going to kill you?"
Percy took her hand and she hauled him to his feet. She smirked, "Nice pyjamas."
"Can we just get out of here?" Percy asked. Kelli let him lean on her as they walked through Tartarus. They came to the cliff above the River Phlegethon, and Percy's knees buckled. Kelli pulled him back up, "We have to get down there to that river, or you will die."
"I'll probably fall if I try to climb down that cliff."
To Percy's immense surprise, the cliff began moving, began sinking. The cliff was moving down to the valley level, preventing the long climb. Kelli smiled at him, "It seems Tartarus is working in your favor."
"Great," Percy said saracstically. Kelli looked at him seriously, "Tartarus is now no more your enemy than I am."
Together they hobbled to the Phlegethon. Percy knelt down next to the river and scooped fire into his palms. He tipped back his head and poured the fire-water into his mouth. He gagged, "Ugh, gasoline."
Kelli chuckled, "Come on, it isn't much farther."
"Where are we going?" Percy asked apprehensively. Kelli smiled mischeviously, "You'll see."
They walked for what seemed like ages, occasionally stopping to drink some fire. As they went along, Percy felt his strength slowly returning. He also found that the air was becoming less sulphorous, and the terrain less forboding. Any monsters they passed barely looked their way. Tartarus really was working in his favor. Soon, they came to a house. A large, black house. Kelli led him inside, and through the hallway to a large council room. And it wasn't empty. All around a large table were giants, titans, and even Gaea and Tartarus. Terror seeped into Percy's bones as the entire room silenced, staring at him. Then Tartarus grinned, "Finally! We've been waiting for hours!"
"Maybe he should go rest," Gaea said, "He looks tired."
"Or maybe," Tartarus said, "We should hurry up and get this done!"
"Um, what are we getting done?" Percy asked nervously. Tartarus rolled his eyes, but Gaea put a hand on his arm, "It's a reasonable question. Kelli, take him up to his room. Percy, we'll answer your questions in the morning."