Wildfires, Heroes of Olympus ₂

055, finding nemo

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
SILVIANA       DUVALL

Percy had taken Sylvie on some romantic walks before. This wasn't one of them.

They followed the River Phlegethon, stumbling over the glassy black terrain, jumping crevices, and hiding behind rocks whenever the vampire girls slowed in front of them.

It was tricky to stay far enough back to avoid getting spotted but close enough to keep Kelli and her comrades in view through the dark hazy air. The heat from the river baked Sylvie's skin. Every breath was like inhaling sulfur-scented fiberglass. When they needed a drink, the best they could do was sip some refreshing liquid fire.

At least Sylvie's ankle seemed to have healed into a sprain. While she was still limping, her bones weren't broken anymore. Her various cuts and scrapes had faded. She'd taken out the elastic that had barely been holding her hair back in a knotty mess. Thinking of her little brother Cedar, Sylvie re-tied her hair back in a simple knot; there would be no intricate braids for a while, no flowers heavy with meaning.

Percy was more or less the same. His cuts and scrapes had faded too. His messy hair was messier than usual. Not only were his clothes wine-stained (from the wine bath Finn put him through), but they were also tainted by blood and dirt. At this point, Sylvie couldn't tell if it was his or hers. In the fiery light of the river, his sea-green eyes looked more like a mossy color. Despite being beat-up, sooty, and in the depths of hell, Sylvie thought he was beautiful.

Under different circumstances, Sylvie would be beaming up at him with a ridiculous grin. Just for the sole fact that they were together. But she was thirsty, hungry, and scared out of her mind. They were in Tartarus. They stood a slim chance of surviving.

And Percy was singing "Life Is a Highway."

"Perce, for the last time, stop," Sylvie hissed, glaring up at him. He was singing the Rascal Flatts. They were in the middle of Tartarus, and he was singing the Rascal Flatts.

"Sorry," Percy said sheepishly, shifting Riptide from one hand to the other. "It's stuck in my head right now."

"Get it unstuck before the murderous vampire girls turn around and eat us whole," Sylvie whispered. "Life is not a highway."

"Hey, you're the one who put me on the Cars franchise."

"And when we get out from the depths of hell, I'll rewatch the movies with you," she said. "But for right now, be quiet. Please."

Percy shrugged, sighing. "Yes, ma'am."

Time was impossible to judge. They trudged along, following the river as it cut through the harsh landscape. Fortunately, the empousai weren't exactly speed walkers. They shuffled on their mismatched bronze and donkey legs, hissing and fighting with each other, apparently in no hurry to reach the Doors of Death.

Once, the demons sped up in excitement and swarmed something that looked like a beached carcass on the riverbank. Sylvie couldn't tell what it was—a fallen monster? An animal of some kind? The empousai attacked it with relish.