"This rope is never going to be long enough," Thalia shook her head as she held her electrically lit up fingers into the dark below us.
"What're we going to do then?" I snapped. I was beginning to get frustrated. Only ten yards down, and we were already nearly out of hope. There was only about seventy feet of rope left. I didn't know how I did that. Maybe an Athena brain thing? Maybe I could sense numbers like Percy could depth of water?
"O Hecate, goddess of Magic, please help us," Annabeth whispered.
"Uh, Annabeth? Are you...okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Suddenly a golden light filled the air around us, illuminating our faces with the glittering glow.
"What is that?" Thalia gasped, momentarily forgetting her deathly fear of heights as she gaped at the gold orb.
"Hecate is sending us help," Annabeth said, a look of complacency crossing her face.
"Why?" Thalia and I asked her simultaneously.
"She...owes me a favor. Long story, little time!" She held up a hand as I opened my mouth to ask one of the many questions that were crowding my mind.
"What's she doing?" The glow was growing bigger and brighter.
"You'll--" Before Annabeth could finish her sentence there was a deafening zap! and my feet hit solid ground. My knees buckled and I fell, slamming my hands down to try to stop my fall. I stood, picking small, sharp stones from my palms.
"Oh my gods...are we...actually in Tartarus now?" Thalia took a shaky breath. "Wo--AAAH!" A terror permeated scream filled the air and a ripping growl that seemed to be coming from all directions was the only thing that could be heard above Thalia.
"Thalia!" Annabeth yelled and held her dagger at arm's length, searching for the monster who was making Thalia shriek.
It was my turn to clamp my hand over Annabeth's mouth as she kept calling for the daughter of Zeus. "Shh," I whispered. "The monster will hear you."
"But, Thalia..."
"I know," I said back. "But we have to be quiet in order to help her." Another holler had tears streaming down Annabeth's cheeks. I had no idea what could cause her so much pain.
I tiptoed forward, Annabeth following along behind, crying silently. Thalia was dangling from one leg, caught in one of the Hydra's claws. Nine serpentine heads, a huge scaly body, and mouths that shot poison. Thalia screamed again, a high pitched sound that made my skin crawl with goose flesh. Her limbs flailed around, Aegis was on the ground at the beast's colossal feet.
How were Annabeth and I going to save her?
"Thalia!" I yelled. Annabeth stared at me, her wise gray eyes wide.
"What're you doing?!" She hissed. "You just said we had to be quiet!"
"I've got this," I reassured her. "And that was before I had a plan," I explained as she started to argue. "Thalia! Can you summon lightening?"
"AAAH!" Was the reaction I got. I yanked Dio's sheath from my belt, handed the double-bladed sword to my sister, and gripped the hard leather in my right hand. I whispered my plan to Annabeth as quickly as possible because Thalia was screaming louder than before, and she nodded, her hair brushing my shoulder, she was so close.
"Hey, Thalia, make some lightening, then shoot it at my sheath!" I ordered in a firm tone.
Something crackled in the dark, then lit up a bright blue that matched Thalia's eyes exactly came to life in her outstretched palm. With a loud sizzle, the electricity made contact with the leather, but burnt my fingers in the process. I yelped, but kept a tight hold on the sheath. Thalia's hand was shaking as she concentrated. Her eyes were closed, her forehead wrinkled with the effort. The cloth began to smolder and smoke. Finally, the sheath caught on fire, and the Hydra turned its heads in shock at the sudden heat.
