The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

four

THEY GET SURROUNDED

As they started down the cliff, Ariana concentrated on the challenges at hand: keeping her footing, avoiding rockslides that would alert the empousai to their presence and of course making sure she, Percy and Annabeth didn't plummet to their deaths.

About halfway down the precipice, Annabeth said, "Stop, okay? Just a quick break."

Her legs wobbled so badly, Ariana cursed herself for not calling a rest earlier.

They sat together on a ledge next to a roaring fiery waterfall, Ariana could've sworn she saw an angry face and an arm emitting from it.

Percy put his arm around Annabeth, and she leaned against him, shaking from exhaustion.

Ariana could tell Percy wasn't much better. His eyes were lined with exhaustion.

For a moment Ariana was thankful there were no mirrors in Tartarus, whatever she looked like she was certain it wasn't a pretty sight. Not did she feel extremely unhygienic but she felt like she was going insane every minute that passed.

The whispers and voiced slowly became more frequent; they got louder each time. Ariana had to resist the urge to gauge her own eyes out their sockets.

Sighing, Ariana only had one hope: they would find a way out of Tartarus.

They had to. She didn't think much of fates and prophecies, but she did believe in one thing: they hadn't survived so much just to get killed now.

"Things could be worse." Annabeth ventured.

"Yeah?" Percy tried to sound upbeat.

Annabeth snuggled against him.

"We could've fallen into the River Lethe." Ariana said. "Lost all our memories."

Ariana's skin crawled just thinking about it. Ariana had enough trouble with amnesia for one lifetime.

Only last month, Hera had erased her and Percy's memories to put them among the Roman demigods.

Percy and her had stumbled into Camp Jupiter with no idea who they were or where they came from.

And a few years before that she'd fought a Titan on the banks of the Lethe, near Hades's palace.
Percy blasted the Titan with water from that river and completely wiped his memory clean.

"Yeah, the Lethe." Percy muttered. "Not my favourite."

"What was the Titan's name?" Annabeth asked.

"Uh ... lapetus. He said it meant the Impaler or something."

"No, the name you gave him after he lost his memory. Steve?"

"Bob." Ariana whispered, trying her best to ignore her pounding headache.

Annabeth managed a weak laugh. "Bob the Titan."

Ariana's lips were so parched, it hurt to smile. She wondered what had happened to lapetus after they'd left him in Hades's palace ... if he was still content being Bob, friendly, happy and clueless.

Ariana hoped so, but the Underworld seemed to bring out the worst in everyone - monsters, heroes and gods.

She gazed across the ashen plains.

The other Titans were supposed to be here in Tartarus - maybe bound in chains, or roaming aimlessly, or hiding in some of those dark crevices.

Ariana and her allies had destroyed the worst Titan, Kronos, but even his remains might be down here somewhere - a billion angry Titan particles floating through the blood-coloured clouds or lurking in that dark fog.