LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XIII.

AFTER THEIR FALL into Tartarus, jumping three hundred feet to the Mansion of Night should have felt quick.

Instead, Mia's heart seemed to slow down. Between the beats she had ample time to write her own obituary.

Amelia Starfury, died age 17.

BA-BOOM.

Died of massive injuries while leaping like an idiot into the abyss of Chaos and splattering on the entry hall floor of Nyx's mansion.

BA-BOOM.

Survived by her brother, sister, and maid / business partner, because everyone else she loved was dead. ( And even then, she didn't know if the former two were alive ).

BA-BOOM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Starfury Skyscraper, assuming Gaea hasn't already destroyed it.

Her feet hit solid floor. Pain shot up her legs, but she stumbled forward and broke into a run, hauling Annabeth and Percy after her.

Above them in the dark, Nyx and her children scuffled and yelled, "I've got them! My foot! Stop it!"

Mia kept running. She couldn't see anyway, so she closed her eyes. She used her other senses — listening for the echo of open spaces, feeling for cross-breezes against her face, sniffing for any scent of danger — smoke, or poison, or the stench of demons.

It wasn't the first time she'd plunged through darkness. After all, she'd practically lived in the Underworld, where it was always dark. But honestly the Underworld was like Cancun in comparison to this place.

The squabbling sounds of Nyx's children got farther away. That was good. She could feel Percy and Annabeth's life forces beside her. Also good.

In the distance ahead of them, Mia began to hear a throbbing sound, like her own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully, the floor vibrated underfoot. The sound filled her with dread, so she figured it must be the right way to go. She ran toward it.

As the beat got louder, she smelled smoke and heard the flickering of torches on either side. She guessed there would be light, but a crawling sensation across her neck warned her it would be a mistake to open her eyes.

"Don't look," Mia told her partners in crime.

"Wasn't planning on it," Percy said. "You both can feel that, right? We're still in the Mansion of Night. I do not want to see it."

Smart boy, Mia thought. His instincts were usually right on target. Even if his emotional intelligence wasn't as good as his instincts.

Whatever horrors lay in the Mansion of Night, they weren't meant for mortal eyes. Seeing them would be worse than staring at the face of Medusa. Better to run in darkness.

The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up Mia's spine. It felt like someone was knocking on the bottom of the world, demanding to be let in. She sensed the walls opening up on either side of them. The air smelled fresher — or at least not quite as sulfurous. There was another sound, too, closer than the deep pulsing . . . the sound of flowing water.

Mia's heart raced. She knew the exit was close. If they could make it out of the Mansion of Night, maybe they could leave the dark brood of demons behind.

But then her instincts told her that the water was too close for comfort, and she yanked Percy and Annabeth back so they wouldn't fall into the river.

* * *

"Annabeth!" Percy helped Mia pull her back, and Mia felt Annabeth's shoulder bury into her neck for the first time in . . . well, a long time.

"It's okay," Mia promised.