The Return of Evil | A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

=20= ANOTHER ROUND OF SUFFERING? OH JOY

=ANNABETH'S POV=

"They don't care about you. No one does. Especially not Percy. He doesn't even know the real you."

I tried to block out the voices as they whispered, the sound echoing through the tunnels. With every step I made, more dread filled my body. There was no way I could face her again. But I had to. That was the only way out of this nightmare.

I breathed in the foul smell of the tunnels under Rome. Careful not to step on any spider silk, I continued making my way forward. Right. Left. Right Left. Just keep going. Don't stop. Don't look back.

"I wish Percy was here." I muttered. "Would be great to have an all powerful son of Poseidon right about now."

"But he's not here." The voices cackled. "He doesn't even want to be here."

"Shut up." I growled, the sound sending a slight tremor through the walls. This place was prone to collapse any minute. All the more reason to get out of here.

I decided to pick up the pace as I jogged around the next corner. At the end of the hallway, the Mark of Athena blazed on the wall, reassuring me I was going the right way. Or maybe it was just there to tease me. I could already imagine the gods laughing up on Olympus. They'd be saying: 'Omg this demigod is such a loser. Let's just send her back to the place where she spent the worst few hours of her life. It'll be fun!'

Right now, I was not in the mood for fun. I had woken up here after getting knocked unconscious back at the big house. And trust me, opening your eyes to a sight as horrible as this is not the definition of a good time.

At least my ankle wasn't broken this time. That was a plus. Unless, of course, the cavern collapsed and Percy and I plunged back into Tartarus. That would be even more fun.

Anyway, as soon as I'd got to my feet, the Mark of Athena had appeared on the wall nearest to me, leaving behind a strange inscription. It went like this:

Spawn of Athena, powerful and great,

Shall wander the tunnels and meet her fate.

Coming face to face with the Spider Queen,

Will be worse than everything she has ever seen.

If she looks inside the tomb,

Little will she know, she has already sealed her doom.

It wasn't exactly a prophecy, but it was the best I'd got. And the 'best' was pretty much the worst in this case.

I mean, the whole thing was basically talking about my demise and how I'll die in agony. Not a promising start.

Looking around, I realized that the passage I was in had closed up, a new wall behind me, cutting off half of the tunnel. On the other end of the hallway, a mysterious door had appeared. I was pretty sure it hadn't been there two seconds before. Great, now I was being forced to walk through a door that would probably lead to my death. Awesome.

"Gods of Olympus." I cursed, taking out my knife. Apparently, whoever created this illusion, was kind enough to give me back my weapon. Or maybe they were evil enough to take it away from me as soon as I escaped. Assuming I survived, that is.

My eyes narrowed. They wouldn't let me just walk straight through the corridor, would they? This had to be some kind of test. Choosing my path carefully, I stuck to the walls, hoping that no spikes would suddenly pop out and stab me in the chest. After about five minutes of exhausting balancing, I made it to the end.