annais min was the god among mortals, the death that came along with life. now more than ever, she knew the cost of her existence, of what hades had done when he chose to pursue her mother. everything came down to her and the four other min girls, t...
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PICK YOUR POISON
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ANNAIS KNEW THERE WAS no turning back the second the Argo II crossed into Greece. It was quiet. That was the first thing she noticed. It prickled like a bug crawling beneath her skin, burrowing in deep where she couldn't claw it out. The landscape that stretched below them was a barren plain strewn with boulders and cedar trees. Cicadas echoed through that hollow silence, a repetitive sound buzzing in Annais' ears even when the ship moved further inland away from the trees. The air quite literally rippled with heat. In every sense of the word, they had reached the gates of Hell on Earth.
"Hot and steamy," Leo grinned from where he stood at the helm. Mel hovered a few feet away from him, having sat beside Hea upon her insistence. She didn't seem to understand why and Hea's calculated expression gave nothing away, but Annais had a feeling that, like her, Hea had realised Leo was lying. That this was the kind of secret which would destroy their sister. "Makes me homesick for Houston! What do you say, Hazel? All we need now are some giant mosquitoes and it'll feel just like the Gulf Coast!"
"Have you learnt nothing, Valdez?" Hea glowered.
"We'll probably get attacked by Ancient Greek mosquito monsters now," added Hazel as Leo raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.
"There!" From his station perched atop the foremast, Nico pointed towards a winding green river that snaked through the valley about a kilometre away. Annais had tried to join him once the group made their hasty return to the Argo II, but Nico had insisted he'd be fine. He still couldn't look her in the eyes, even then, with the House of Hades and its Doors of Death taking top priority. Annais was past the point of pretending that it didn't hurt, but she did as he asked and left him alone. "Manoeuvre us that way, Leo. We're close to the temple."
He'd barely gotten the words out before the sky rippled with lightning again. Not too long into their final voyage, the others had started to notice the phenomenon. Leo had let out a screech worthy of a banshee when the black lightning first sucked the colour out of the sky. It was a rare moment where Annais didn't doubt what emotions he was letting them see. The amusement didn't last long, though. Pretty soon, the reality of what this meant dawned on them, contributing to the looming silence.
"Everyone, arm yourself," Jason commanded as he strapped on his sword belt, prompting Annais to reach for one of Hea's extra daggers, just in case. At the same time, Mel tucked a familiar hair pin into her bun and tried her best to smile when she noticed Annais staring. "Leo, get us close but don't land. No more contact with the ground than necessary! Piper, Hazel, get the mooring ropes."
"On it," Piper made a small saluting gesture with two of her fingers before hurrying away. Hazel kissed Frank on the cheek then ran after Piper, her face bright red as Hea snickered.
