THE HOUSE OF HADES

PROLOGUE:

The chamber groaned. The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on one of Arachne's support cables, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling. Nausea swelled in Annabeth's chest. If the statue fell into the chasm, all her work would be for nothing. Their quest would fail.

"Secure it!" Annabeth cried. Her friends understood immediately. "Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get me to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."

Frank transformed into a giant eagle, and the two of the soared towards the ship. Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. He turned to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and shot into the air.

"This floor won't last!" Hazel warned. "The rest of us should get to the ladder." Plumes of dust cobwebs blasted from holes in the floor. The spider's silk support cables trembled like massive guitar strings about to snap.

Hazel lunged for the bottom of the rope ladder and gestured for Nico to follow, but Nico was in no condition to sprint.

Percy gripped Annabeth's hand tighter. "It'll be fine," he muttered. Looking up she saw grappling lines shoot from the Argo II and wrap around the statue. One lassoed Athena's neck like a noose. Leo shouted orders from the helm as Jason and Frank flew frantically from line to line, trying to secure them.

Nico had just reached the ladder when a sharp pain shot up Annabeth's bad leg. She gasped and stumbled. "What is it?" Percy asked. She tried to stagger toward the ladder. Why was she moving backward instead? Her legs swept out from underneath her and she fell on her face.

"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!" Annabeth's mind was woolly from pain. Cut her ankle? Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either. Then something yanked Annabeth backward and dragged her toward the pot. Percy lunged. He grabbed her arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.

"Help them!" Hazel yelled. Annabeth glimpsed Nico hobbling in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder. Their other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel's cry was lost in the general shouting and the rumbling of the cavern.

Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit. Her legs went over the side. Too late, she realized what was happening: she was tangled in spider silk. She should have cut it away immediately. She had thought it was just a loose line, but the with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn't noticed that one of the strands was wrapped around her foot - and the other end went straight into the pit. It was attached to something heavy down in the darkness, something that was pulling her in.

"No," Percy muttered, light dawning in his eyes. "My sword..." But he couldn't reach Riptide without letting go of Annabeth's arm, and Annabeth's strength was gone. She slipped over the edge. Percy fell with her...

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