Percy Jackson's Twin Sister

Drinking The Poison

Despite the midst heat and the thought of death looming over, a group of tourists were climbing over the ruins.

Nico was leading the way. At the top of the hill, we climbed over an old wall into a trench. Finally we arrived at a stone doorway leading straight into the side of a hill. The death storm seemed to have originated right over our heads.

Nico faces the group, "From here, it gets tough."

"Sweet," says Leo, "Cause so far I've totally been pulling my punches."

Nico glares at him, "We'll see how long you keep that sense of humor. Underground you may see things that are hard to look at or hear voices trying to lead you into astray tunnels. Frank, do you have the barley cakes?"

"What?" Frank says looking up like he'd been paying no attention.

"I've got them," Hazel says

She pulls out the magical barley crackers we made from the barley we got in Venice. She passes them out and we all chew on them. It takes all of my power not to gag.

"Ok," Nico says, "That should protect us from the poison."

"Poison?" Leo asks, "Did I miss the poison. I love poison."

"Soon enough," Nico says, "Just stick together and maybe we can avoid getting lost.... Or going insane."

On that happy note Nico lead us underground. The tunnel spirals down gently.

As we walk hazel ran her hand along the wall.

"This isn't the temple part," she whispers, "This was.... A part of a manor."

"Please don't tell me we're in the wrong place," says Frank.

Nico assured him we weren't. We walk until we reach a what looks like a cave in. The first test.

Hazel steps forward. She places her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder crumples to dust. The tunnel shudders. I brace myself for the cave to tumble down on us, but it didn't.

We keep walking. A set of stairs curve deeper into the earth, the barreled ceilings held up by repeating arches. Painted on the walls are crude pictures of black cows.

"Look," frank points.

On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleams. The cup was full of dark green liquid.

"Hooray," Leo says, "I suppose that's our poison."

"We're standing at the ancient entrance of the Necromanteion. Odysseus came here and many others searching for advice from the dead," nico says.

Nico frank from the chalice. He hands it my way, "You trust me?"

"Always," I say drinking it without hesitation.

He turns to Jason, "You asked me about trust, and taking a risk. Well, son of Jupiter, how much do you trust me?"

The thought passes my mind to do a small spasm and see how they would react but I decide against it.

Jason took the cup and drinks some without any hesitation at all. It was impressive.

The group passes the cup around each taking a sip of poison. Frank being the last finished the chalice.

Nico nodded satisfied, "Congratulations. Assuming the poison doesn't kill us first we should be able to find our way through the first level of the Necromanteion's first level."

"Just the first level?" Piper asks.

Nico turns to hazel, "After you my sister."