The Huntress

Chapter 15

Hazel's POV:

We managed to haul Percy all the way to Olympus. It didn't take too long, but when you're dragging somebody, it tends to feel very long. When we walked into Olympus, there was only three gods there.

Hestia, Zeus and Athena. The minute Zeus saw us, he summoned the rest. Apollo's eyes widened when he saw Percy and ran towards him.

Poseidon wasn't much better and looked extremely nervous. Apollo kept muttering something  I couldn't hear until he finally announced," I need to take him to my palace. He will make a full recovery there."

He placed his hand on Percy's head and flashed away. A minute later, Apollo appeared in his throne again. "Demigods, what happened in the Underworld?" Asks Zeus. Jason and I share a nervous look.

We tell him about the spirits and the state the Underworld was in. "What about Hades? Who captured him?" Asks Poseidon. " Well actually, my Lord, we don't know," I tell him.

He frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we weren't the ones that went to help him." "Yes, my Lord. Jade, follower of Lupa, went to Hades' palace to free him," interjects Jason.

Athena raises an eyebrow. "Well then, where is she?" And as if on cue, Jade marches in, Hades thrown over her shoulders. I want to run up and hug her, but I stop myself when I see how she looks.

Blood all over her face and legs, her left arm hung numbly at her side and her face scrunched up in pain. She walked past us and dumps  the unconscious body of Hadeson the ground, a few feet away from Zeus.

"Sorry I'm late and for the interruption. I had a nap before coming here," she announces. Her voice is hoarse and she walks with an obvious limp.

Apollo rushes forwards and places a hand on her forehead, but she swats the hand away and glares at him. "Later. I would first like to attend this meeting, then you can do what you want." He nods and walks back to his throne.

"Please, continue." She says and walks back and stands next to me. I give her a worried look and she gives me a sad smile, but shakes her head in a, Dont worry about me, kind of way.

"Actually, we were just talking about you," says Athena. "We wanted to know about your rescue." Before she can talk, Hades sits up and looks around. "Tartarus!" He yells.

Nico's POV:

"Tartarus!" yells my father and scrambles to his feet. "Where is he?!" Zeus frowns. "What about Tartarus, Hades?" My father swings around and faces him.

"He trapped me in stupid bubble of purple poison air!" He yells. My eyes widen along with every one else's. We all turn to face Jade. She squirms under all the stares.

"Was Tartarus there when you rescued Hades?" Asks Poseidon quietly. She nods and the blood drains from my face. Children of the Big Three, Roman and Greek, Meet the pit in a land where sanity grows weak.

I wanted to smack myself.

Tartarus is also known as The Pit. How could I have missed that?! "I stabbed him, but I couldn't catch him before he returned to his domain. Um, the Underworld is a bit of a mess. I don't think the spirits returned to normal. Lord Hades, your palace is... sufficiently clean," she informs us, her head down.

"Did he speak about any upcoming war?" Asks Zeus with a frown on his face. She nods. After a short silence, Jason speaks.

"Lord Zeus, I think that the head councillors of Camp Half Blood should be part of this meeting. Zeus nods and waves his hand.

Suddenly the head councillors appear on red velvet couches. They blink and look around. Chiron's also there. He bows and the rest scramble around to do the same.

Annebeth looks crestfallen when she realises Percy's not here. "Yes, he did speak about an upcoming war," repeats Jade. What a nice way to start off a meeting.

"Who?" Clarrise asks Jade. "And who are you?"

"I am Jade, Huntress of Lupa. And Tartarus was the one who spoke of an upcoming war." Clarrise's mouth falls open and looks at Jade in shock. The whole room is quiet.

"He did not die, he simply returned to his domain. He told me I could not stop him from destroying the gods," continues Jade.

"And Tartarus is too clever to rise from his pit just to overtake Hades' palace, he knew that someone would interfere or stop him. He must have a back - up plan that involves rising then returning to his pit." Then she stops and frowns, thinking.

"He must have stolen something," she starts again. "He turned all the spirits insane, and the ones that begged for mercy, he made them take the item back to his pit. Trapping Hades was simply a layer, a solid one that was not meant to be looked through. It would be something that you wouldn't notice gone until you needed it."

The room was quiet. When she spoke, panick rose in the room.

"The helmet. Hades' helmet of Terror."